Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Eh?” Ning stared at the two figures in front of him. Although the white-robed, silver-eyed man had an extraordinary demeanor, Ning wasn’t too surprised by his presence; the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands held quite a few Daolords of renown and power. But when he saw that slender, black-garbed figure… Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of shock in his heart.

  He wasn’t too far away from her, but Ning felt like a blind man groping for a flower within the mists. He couldn’t see what she looked like; all he could sense was an aura of incredible coldness radiating from her, so cold that it burrowed deep into his soul and caused him to quiver.

  “Who is this person?” Ning was shocked. “Not even Lord Woodflower of our Sword Palace is a match for her.”

  The black-garbed figure was staring at Ning as well, weighing him with a judging gaze. Her eyes seemed to see right through him and all of his secrets! Ning could sense that she was staring at him. It was a strange feeling; she was staring at him, but he couldn’t see her at all.

  “So it was you.” The black-garbed figure suddenly spoke out, and her voice was just as cold and crisp as he had imagined it to be. Suddenly, she waved her sleeve.

  Whoosh. Ning disappeared into thin air.

  According to the rules of the Church of Annihilation, all violence was forbidden within the Genesis Lands. To forcibly abduct or teleport someone away was similarly forbidden. The nearby Daolord just stared blankly, not daring to make a sound. “Even if the leader of the Church of Annihilation found out about this, he probably wouldn’t say anything.”

  The Paragon of Pills, one of the three Primordial Starkings… even if she chose to massacre everyone in the Genesis Lands, what of it?

  ……

  After making Ning disappear, the Paragon of Pills said calmly, “You may leave now.”

  “Yes.” The silver-eyed man immediately assented respectfully, then fled at high speeds.

  The Paragon of Pills raised her head, staring at the corpse of the muscular, greatsword-wielding man with an almost dazed look in her eyes. She seemed to forget about time itself as she just stared at him silently.

  He had died. Died a long, long time ago. But his corpse looked just like it did when he was alive.

  “Paragon of Pills.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

  “Mm?” The black-garbed Paragon turned gracefully, sweeping the area behind her with her dazzling, bewitchingly beautiful eyes. Off in the distance stood a Daoist dressed in deep blue robes and a high crown. He was walking straight towards her.

  “Maniseal.” The Paragon’s voice remained as cool as ever. “I hear you are quite talented. You’ve even managed to devise something known as a ‘Lifeblood Dao-seal’?”

  Emperor Maniseal was startled. Indeed, his greatest accomplishment in the Dao of Seals was the Lifeblood Dao-seal, but very few people knew of this. In the Church of Annihilation, the only Eternal Emperors who knew of this should’ve been the church’s leader and the White Emperor. How was it that another one of the three Primordial Starkings, the Paragon of Pills, had found out as well?

  “It seems you keep a close watch on things, Paragon.” Emperor Maniseal nodded. “Then I imagine you also know why I have come here?”

  “You wish to reverse the flows of spacetime to resurrect that disciple of yours?” The Paragon said.

  “In terms of mastery over reversing spacetime, you are probably more skilled than anyone else in our universe,” Emperor Maniseal said. “The leader of the Church and the White Emperor have made excessive demands of me. I have no other options, which is why I have come to speak to you and ask if you can consider reviving my disciple.”

  “I cannot save your disciple, but the leader of the Church can,” the Paragon said coolly.

  “Cannot save him?” Emperor Maniseal was stunned.

  “To reverse the flows of spacetime and to bring back to life a being whose truesoul was extinguished… this is a violation of one of the grand Daos that sustains the entire universe,” the Paragon said slowly. “The universe continues to advance towards the future, and so to reverse the flows of spacetime is to go against the will and destiny of the universe.”

  “The lord of the Church of Annihilation can borrow some of the power of the prime essences of our universe and so would be able to resist the backlash from the universe. I, however, cannot,” the Paragon said.

  A look of disappointment appeared on Emperor Maniseal’s face.

  “Didn’t you say long ago that it was much easier to reverse spacetime and bring back to life those who were below the Eternal Emperor level?” Emperor Maniseal felt both impatient and heartbroken.

  The Paragon of Pills gave him a cold glance. Emperor Maniseal’s heart shook.

  Long, long ago, the Paragon of Pills had already risen to stand at the very apex of this universe. Back then, the leader of the Church of Annihilation had yet to rise to power, and the mightiest figures in the universe were the three Primordial Starkings.

  Back then, the Paragon of Pills had done everything she could, paid every price she could pay, to try and reverse the flows of spacetime so as to bring back her big brother. Alas… in the end, she had failed. She had suffered such an incredible backlash from the universe that she herself had nearly perished as well.

  Gripped by despair, she had said to the other two Primordial Starkings, “It would be much simpler if I was trying to reverse the flows of spacetime for someone below the Eternal Emperor level. But to revive someone who has gained eternity… it is far, far too hard…”

  After that, the Paragon of Pills had left by herself and disappeared for a long period of time. Later on, when the lord of the Church of Annihilation had risen to power and unified the universe, he had invited the sixteen Starkings to join his organization. It was only then that the Paragon of Pills had appeared once more.

  “Do not try to reverse the flows of spacetime to revive your disciple. Aside from the lord of the Church of Annihilation, no one can accomplish this task.” The Paragon’s voice was chilly. “I… I cannot bring anyone back at all.”

  Emperor Fubo knew that he could no longer ask any more questions. This was the only female member of the three Primordial Starkings, and she was unfathomably strong. All three of the Primordial Starkings were on very good terms with each other. When the Paragon of Pills had sought to revive her brothers, the other two had sacrificed quite a bit in their attempts to help her succeed.

  As a matter of face, reversing spacetime to revive someone was something of a taboo topic for the Paragon of Pills. The only reason she had been willing to tell Emperor Maniseal so much was because pitied him as someone who shared the same desires as her, due to his wish to bring his disciple back to life.

  “Just now, I sensed that after you came here you abducted a young fellow,” Emperor Maniseal said with a smile. “Is that young fellow your big brother’s successor?”

  “Maniseal.” The Paragon gave Emperor Maniseal a hard glance. “I’m warning you right now that you are not to get involved in the affairs of juniors.”

  “I know that, of course! If there’s anything you need, Paragon, you can just let me know. I’ll do everything I can to assist.” Emperor Maniseal smiled as he produced a strange jade seal that was a mixture of balck and white colors. “Consider this Dao-seal as my gift to that young fellow.”

  The Paragon glanced at it, the corners of her lips curving upwards slightly. She waved her hand, accepting the talisman.

  “No need to send me off.” The Paragon of Pills turned and gracefully departed.

  Emperor Maniseal watched as the Paragon disappeared off into the distance, then revealed a hint of a smile. “The Hegemon of the Dao of the Sword… it has been countless years since he passed away. This should be his very first successor.”

  When the Hegemon had perished, he had set down certain restrictive spells around himself. No one from the outside would be able to see any changes, but those who were able to see through the restrictive spells would be able to see
just how many treasures lay hidden behind them.

  Long, long ago, the Paragon of Pills had first risen to fame due to her mastery over alchemy. This was why she was respectfully titled the Paragon of Pills. In this universe, she was publicly acclaimed as the number one alchemist, and no one had ever surpassed her in this regard. She was naturally far superior to her big brother in terms of restrictive spells, and so she was able to see through it with ease.

  As for Emperor Maniseal, he was the undisputed number one master of the Dao of Seals. As a result, in mastery over restrictive spells at least, he was somewhat superior to the deceased Hegemon.

  Both of them were able to see through the restrictive spells and note the number of remaining treasures. However, neither of them dared to take the treasures by force. If they did, they would suffer an attack from the power of the entire Prime Reaches… and the Prime Reaches was where the prime essences of the entire universe lay. This would represent a strike from the entire universe, a strike of incalculable power.

  ……

  Ning was now within an estate-world. This world was merely a few hundred kilometers in size, and there was no way out of it.

  “Why was I captured and brought to this place? That woman… did she act with malice in mind, or was she motivated by good intentions?” This had been completely unexpected. He hadn’t even had the chance to celebrate the fact that he had become the Hegemon’s honorary disciple and gained his treasures. Instead, he had almost instantly been abducted by this new power.

  Someone actually dared to attack him within the inner reaches? That had to mean she was at least at the Eternal Emperor level.

  “What will be, will be. Not like there’s any way for me to avoid it.” Ning understood that given how this major power had been able to abduct him without him being able to put up any resistance at all… there was no way he could fight back against her.

  Whoosh.

  Ning could sense himself being surrounded by an enormous surge of power. Moments later, the world around him changed.

  “Where am I?” Ning stared up ahead. He was in an area of endless darkness. The only thing within this region was a strange, five-colored space bridge. Aside from this five-colored space bridge, there was nothing but darkness. As for Ning himself, he was standing atop the bridge. Next to him was that slender, black-garbed figure.

  “We’ve already left the Archaeus region. Soon, we’ll reach the Trileaf Realm.” The black-garbed figure spoke out, and the five-colored space bridge beneath their feet was advancing through the darkness at incredible speeds.

  They were travelling countless trillions of kilometers with every moment. They were moving far faster than Prince Greatjoy’s teleporting abilities could handle.

  “Left the Archaeus region?” Ning was flabbergasted. Weren’t they in the Genesis Lands just now? He spent nearly ten thousand freaking years travelling through the Archaeus region and into the Genesis Lands. How the hell did the suddenly leave it in an instant? He felt as though it hadn’t even been enough time to boil a kettle of tea. This level of speed was ridiculous.

  “Senior, dare I ask… what exactly is this Trileaf Realm?” Ning asked.

  “My place.” The Paragon of Pills gave a calm response.

  * * *

  Book 28, Chapter 39 - A Half-Month Loan

  The five-colored space bridge continued to stretch off into the distance, easily traversing the boundaries of both space and time. Just a short while later, a world that looked like an Immortal’s abode appeared before them, vast and beautiful.

  “This place is the Trileaf Realm. Long ago, I chose a location within the Sea of Bitter Darkness and established a world within it. Ever since then, I have been living here.” The Paragon of Pills said in a cold voice, “The Trileaf Realm is a fairly well-hidden place. You probably have never heard of it before today. In the future, you may visit whenever you so desire.”

  Ji Ning relaxed slightly. It seemed as though this mysterious major power was treating him quite well. “Senior, are you planning to let me leave this place?”

  “Of course. Do you think you’ll be able to succeed in your Daomerge and gain eternity just by sitting here instead of going out adventuring?” The Paragon glanced sideways at Ning. “Don’t worry. I’ve brought you here for certain reasons. Once I’m finished, I’ll naturally let you go on your way. In the future, you can enter and exit this place freely! Although it’s quite difficult for outsiders to enter my Trileaf Realm, things are different for you. You are the disciple of my old friend, and you can thus be considered one of the juniors in my lineage.”

  Ji Ning said, “Thank you, senior.” Only then was Ning in the mood to spend some time inspecting this Trileaf Realm. From the outside, it looked like an enormous world that was being held up by a trio of blooming leaves. This world was so vast that it was countless times greater than most of the land masses Ning had encountered thus far.

  “Do you know why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” The Paragon of Pills suddenly asked.

  “Is it because of those three enormous leaves that are holding up the world? Is that why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” Ning guessed.

  The Paragon slowly shook her head, but she didn’t explain.

  Swoosh!

  The Paragon led Ning to fly downwards into the beautiful fairyland world below them.

  ……

  The Archaeus region. The Genesis Lands. The outer reaches.

  A streak of fire suddenly flew out of a secret region. Su Youji was dressed in her usual fiery red robes, and her entire body was bathed in flames that were shaped like a bird of some sort.

  “I can’t sense Master’s aura any longer. Why can’t I sense his aura? I could sense that he was in the inner reaches just a short while ago.” Su Youji stared towards the inner reaches, a look of restless unease in her eyes. In the moment that the Paragon pulled Ning away, Su Youji had lost her ability to sense Ning’s location.

  Ning had given her a message-talisman, and she had given him one of hers. Theoretically speaking, the two would be able to constantly sense where the other was located and could meet up whenever they chose.

  “Why have I suddenly lost all contact with him? What should I do. What should I do?” Su Youji felt extremely uneasy. This uneasy feeling had actually caused her to give up adventuring through the secret region she had been in, and give up on her chances to acquire the treasures within that region.

  Su Youji transformed into a streak of light, repeatedly teleporting forwards as she moved towards the inner reaches at high speeds.

  A short while later.

  “Firesurge!” A group of cultivators was clustered together at the outer reaches end of the primessence chains, and Waterlord Firesurge was with them.

  “Fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately landed, then called out to him respectfully.

  “Flamefairy?” Seeing her, Firesurge immediately rose to his feet and asked curiously, “Flamefairy, why have you come here? Judging from the worried look on your face… what exactly has happened?”

  “It’s my master.” Su Youji said worriedly, “I can sense that Master vanished. I feel very uneasy, which is why I immediately came over here. Have you seen my master, fellow Daoist Firesurge?”

  Firesurge shook his head. “I haven’t seen Darknorth since he entered the inner reaches. Did you just say that you lost contact with him, all of a sudden?”

  “Right.” Su Youji nodded hurriedly. “But his message-talisman is still with me, and it’s completely undamaged.”

  If Ning had died, then the message-talisman should’ve sensed it and then shattered apart.

  “So the talisman isn’t damaged, right?” Firesurge asked.

  “It did not.” Su Youji nodded.

  “The world of the inner reaches is filled with many different dangers,” Firesurge said. “This is, after all, the place where this entire universe was birthed. It is highly possible that Darknorth might have found himself trapped in some location whi
ch prevents anyone outside of it from contacting him. It is highly likely that your master is still alive. But of course, for it to be able to sever all contact means it is definitely an extraordinary location. It’s also possible that your master…”

  Su Youji’s heart trembled. This was exactly what she was afraid of. Ji Ning had been in the inner reaches for many years now, and she had been able to sense his presence this entire time! The same was true for Heartlord Solewind and his own retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback. Now, even Prince Greatjoy had gone into the inner reaches, with his retainer World Goddess Skywolf able to sense his presence.

  But now… all of a sudden, she could no longer sense where Ji Ning was! Something must’ve gone wrong!

  “Wait a bit longer. From what I’ve heard, World-level cultivators generally won’t spend too much time in the inner reaches,” Firesurge said. “Let’s just wait a few thousand more years and see if he ends up coming out.”

  “Alright.” Su Youji nodded slowly. There was nothing else she could do. “Thank you, fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately chose a quiet corner and then sat down in the lotus position. Her mind was now restless, and she was in no mood to continue adventuring. Still… she had already made shockingly great gains during her previous adventures in the outer reaches.

  “Master, you have to live.” Su Youji’s feelings towards Ning were very complex. Ning was extremely powerful, and he had also saved her on numerous occasions. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of love and admiration for him, but she could also sense that he had someone else in his heart. As a result, Su Youji had always been hesitant and unable to voice her feelings for him.

  ……

  Deep within the Sea of Bitter Darkness, there lay the Trileaf Realm.

  A few ripples appeared in front of an ancient, pitch-black building. From the ripples emerged a pair of figures; the Paragon of Pills and Ji Ning.

  “This is my estate.” The Paragon of Pills spoke calmly as she advanced.

  Ji Ning followed her from behind. Rather curious, he asked, “Senior, why is it that I don’t see any other cultivators within this estate?” There wasn’t even so much as a gateguard. This truly was quite odd.