Desolate Era

by RWX

  “The six of you… you shall be called the Northbow swords,” Ning said.

  Northbow. North, because his own Daoist title was Darknorth. Bow, because ‘Rainbowflame Fairy’ was Yu Wei’s Daoist title. His greatest ambition, his purpose behind wanting to become stronger and reach the apex, was in large part because he wanted to bring her back to life. If it hadn’t been for her… even though he would still pursue the path of a cultivator, he wouldn’t be as frenzied as he currently was.

  With Northbow swords in hand, he would carve a grand path for himself through the thistles and thorns that filled the path of cultivation.

  “Northbow swords? Then I’ll be Boss Northbow.”

  “I like that name!”

  “I’ll be Northbow Three.”

  “I’ll be Northbow Four!”

  They all called out, one after the other. However… the final sword, ‘Northbow Six’, just shook his head and let out a disdainful snort.

  Ning blinked, then started to laugh. He then sent out his will, causing his sword-intent to pour into the six swords. Ning’s five Supreme Daos began to link together once more as his sword-intents joined together, coiling into the six swords and transforming into their quintessence cores.

  Instantly, the auras of the six swords expanded dramatically. Their auras exploded outwards in an awe-inspiring fashion, and the six young fellows revealed looks of delight as well.

  “Come in.” Ning willed it, instantly causing all six swords to fly into the scabbard on his back.

  “Right now, in terms of quality they are already comparable to top-grade Eternal weapons,” Emperor Gonflame said. “However, they will continue to grow and advance towards the Universe level. Although it is incredibly difficult for lifeblood treasures to grow to become Universe treasures, they’ll continue to strengthen as they grow. Thus, they’ll need to consume various types of materials and ingredients. It’ll be up to you to provide them.”

  “Understood.” Ning smiled and nodded. “Helping raise them is part of my responsibilities.”

  “Haha, right. ‘Raise’ them well.” Emperor Gonflame smiled as well.

  “Emperor, I won’t thank you because mere words will not suffice. I bid you farewell,” Ning said gratefully.

  “Mm.” Emperor Gonflame nodded.

  ……

  That very day, Ning had Daolord Yuhong guide him out of the Trileaf Realm.

  “Here is a star map of our universe. Our Trileaf Realm has three spacetime tunnels that lead to three different parts of this universe,” Daolord Yuhong explained.

  Ning chose the tunnel that led to an exit closest to the place he had to go.

  “Here’s the spacetime tunnel which Master constructed. She is the only one capable of creating spacetime tunnels which traverse virtually the entirety of our universe.” Daolord Yuhong pointed at the enormous, pitch-black vortex up ahead.

  “Alright.” Ning turned his head to stare off into the distance, then stepped into the black vortex.

  At that very moment, a cold, black-garbed figure was standing outside the Paragon’s estate. The black-garbed Paragon of Pills stared off into the distance. She was able to see the white-robed youth with the black scabbard on his back, and she watched as he stepped into the spacetime tunnel and departed her Trileaf Realm.

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 1 - Spacetime Disc

  Rumble…

  A streak of sword-light was flying through the transversal conduit.

  Ji Ning flew incredibly fast when using the Blood Drop evasion skill, but the transversal conduit was simply too long. It had taken their group over three years to fly from the Brightshore Kingdom to the alternate universe. Still, by now Ning flew twice as fast as he had in the past.

  “Here I am.” When Ning saw the light up ahead, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight as he darted towards it.

  In the instant that he flew through, Ning could sense… Su Youji! He could also sense his other true body clone! He could also sense the Primaltwin which was safeguarding the Three Realms.

  “I’m back.” Ning laughed. He was home.

  ……

  The Endless Territories. The Badlands Territory. An unremarkable chaos planet.

  Whoosh.

  A figure suddenly appeared on the surface of this chaos planet. It was yet another white-robed Ji Ning.

  “I’ve benefited tremendously from this trip to the alternate universe. I’ve now perfectly joined five Supreme Daos together! Although I can sense that this isn’t the true apex of the Dao of the Sword, I trust I’ll soon be able to break through to that level.” Ning had the feeling for some time now that he was very, very close to the true apex.

  He had spent over six million accelerated years in the Trileaf Realm, and during that period of time this feeling had only grown stronger and stronger. It looked as though he hadn’t improved at all, but in reality he had been slowly accumulating experience in his Sword Dao. When it reached a certain level, it would burst forth!

  “If I wish to become a Daolord, I must become one with my clone first. It is time for my clone to head off to Vastheaven Palace.” Ning smiled, then strode forwards. Whoosh! He instantly tore a hole in the space around him. By now, Ning’s sword-intent alone was completely capable of tearing a spatial tunnel open for him, allowing him to enter a different spatial continuum and move even faster through space.

  His true body and its clone would reunite at Vastheaven Palace!

  ……

  The Brightshore Kingdom. The Sword Palace of the Twelve Palaces. Within an estate located at the very peak of one of the many awe-inspiring mountains in the Sword Palace.

  This estate belonged to Ji Ning. Because Ning had yet to return, the gates to the estate remained barred firmly shut. Next to the estate there was a wooden house, with Flamefairy Su Youji having taken up temporary residence here.

  Ever since she had returned from the alternate universe she had lived here, waiting for Ning.

  “Master!” Su Youji had been meditating in the lotus position, but she suddenly opened her eyes, revealing a look of joy with them.

  She could sense that Ji Ning had returned!

  ……

  The lofty peak of a mountain. This was the other end of the transversal conduit. When Ning exited the conduit, he appeared here. Moments later, a snow-robed old man with six horns and a white beard suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

  “Hegemon.” Ning was in an extremely good mood due to having returned. When he saw the Hegemon suddenly appear, he couldn’t help but be badly startled and hurriedly bow.

  “You are back.” The white-bearded elder had a smile on his face. “It is good that you are back. You were the last one to return from the alternate universe.”

  Ning was stunned. So Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others both returned as well.

  “First, return the Archaeus medallion to me,” the white-bearded elder said.

  “Yes.” Ning hurriedly produced the Archaeus medallion. It was now of no use to him, but the almighty Hegemon would be able to use it to allow other World-level cultivators to venture through the alternate universe in the future.

  “Greatjoy, Solewind, and the others have already narrated what happened in the alternate universe to me. You once saved their lives, which is no small thing. As I said long ago, the better you perform, the heavier I shall reward you.” The white-bearded man smiled. “And I heard that you even managed to enter the inner reaches of the Genesis Lands…”

  “It was luck,” Ning said.

  “It wasn’t luck. Solewind, you, and Greatjoy all managed to make it inside. In the future, I imagine that the three of you will be every bit the equal of Eastcult and Bertulu,” the white-bearded elder said.

  Ning was secretly surprised. So Greatjoy had made it into the inner reaches as well?

  “This is a spacetime disc I created myself.” The white-bearded elder produced a strange disc of mixed white and black colors. “Through using this spacetime disk, y
ou can flee through spacetime in a dangerous situation. It contains the power of a secret art which I personally infused into it. However, it can only be used once. After you use it the energy within will be consumed, making it unusable.”

  As he spoke, he sent the strange disc towards Ning.

  Ning was rather excited. Before going to the alternate universe, the almighty Hegemon had indeed said that if he provided assistance to Skyfire Brightshore, he would be richly rewarded upon his return. Still, he hadn’t expected the reward to be so ample.

  “Given my mastery over the Dao of Spacetime, there won’t be many who can chase after you once you activate this spacetime disc.” The almighty Hegemon was completely confident in his abilities. “Still, you have to be careful. Major powers have countless abilities at their disposal, and some are so strong that you won’t even have a chance to use the disc. Thus, you still have to be careful.”

  “Understood,” Ning said respectfully. Given how much Emperor Maniseal had doted on his disciple, he had most certainly provided his disciple with life-saving treasures. And yet, his disciple had still died by the hands of Emperor Trisilk.

  “Hegemon, I wish to leave the Brightshore Kingdom for a time, but…” Ning said. Per the rules of the Brightshore Kingdom, one was generally permitted to leave only upon becoming a Daolord.

  “Permission granted. Just go speak with Woodflower of your Sword Palace.” The white-robed elder nodded. “Be careful when voyaging through the outside world. You can easily die, given how weak you still are. Enough. You can go now.”

  “Acknowledged.” Ning bowed respectfully, then used the nearby spacetime tunnel to first travel back to the imperial palace, then head to the Sword Palace.

  The white-bearded old man nodded slightly as he watched Ning leave. “These young fellows have all benefited quite a bit, and Darknorth has undergone a truly earthshaking transformation. Now, even I can only barely sense what his destiny will be like.”

  The Brightshore Kingdom’s grand strategy lay in the production of elites! The Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom were, on average, much stronger than those of the Dao Alliance. However, they were also much fewer in number! As for Ji Ning, Bertulu, Greatjoy, and the others, they were the elites of the elites, the cream of the crop! The Brightshore Kingdom would naturally protect them carefully.

  Giving Ning a spacetime disc as a form of ‘thanks’ was just an excuse! Even if he didn’t have this excuse, the Hegemon would’ve come up with another excuse to give this monstrously talented kid a protective treasure.

  ……

  Ning stood there at the front entrance to the Sword Palace, staring at the beautiful, fiery-robed woman who stood at the other side of the entrance.

  “Youji.” Ning smiled.

  “Master.” Su Youji’s eyes were brimming with tears. She had actually benefited greatly from her visit to the Genesis Lands, and she had improved significantly as well. She was at the point where she could become a Daolord whenever she wished. However, she was too worried about Ning. When she returned to the Sword Palace, she simply couldn’t calm down and so she didn’t make her breakthrough.

  Now, at least, she saw Ji Ning once more.

  “Look at yourself! Your master won’t die that easily, you know.” Ning grinned.

  “I knew you had to believe. Firesurge and those other bastards said that you…” Su Youji revealed a brilliant smile.

  Ning’s gaze suddenly turned to someone who stood behind Su Youji.

  “Ah. It seems I’ve disturbed the two of you.” A figure emerged from behind Su Youji, a smile on his face.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower,” Ning immediately called out. The newcomer was indeed Lord Woodflower.

  Lord Woodflower smiled as he looked at Ning. “I just learned from the Hegemon that you’ve returned. Solewind, Greatjoy, and the others all returned some time ago. You were the only one left. You really gave me a bad scare.”

  When Ning hadn’t returned with the others, Woodflower really had been worried for quite some time.

  “I’m back now, right?” Ning laughed.

  “I imagine this trip was quite fruitful for you,” Lord Woodflower said.

  “Not bad.” Ning grinned.

  As far as treasures went, the deceased Hegemon had bestowed upon him a pair of Dao-seals, a suit of armor, and chaos nectar. The most precious treasures, of course, were those six lifeblood swords which Emperor Gonflame had labored over. Still… weapons and treasures, upon being bound, could have their auras restrained, making it so that outsiders couldn’t tell how powerful they were. Not even the almighty Hegemon had noticed how extraordinary Ning’s six swords and suit of armor were.

  “As long as you benefited from it. When are you planning to become a Daolord?” Lord Woodflower asked.

  “Soon. I need to make some further preparations,” Ning said. “Right. Senior apprentice-brother, I’m planning to leave the Brightshore Kingdom on a trip.”

  “No problem.” Lord Woodflower nodded. “If you are going to leave, follow me. We’ll go light a heartlamp first.”

  “Alright.” Ning nodded.

  Heartlamps were lit through one’s own truesoul. Generally speaking, one would be able to sense right away when its master perished. Once its master perished, the heartlamp would be extinguished as well. But of course, if you entered an alternate universe or some particularly dangerous ruins, it was possible that the connection to the heartlamp would be severed.

  Still, heartlamps and truesoul towers were amongst the best of life-sensing equipment. The connection was almost as perfect as the connection between a true body and a clone. The more casually created items like life-tablets had a much smaller area of effectiveness.

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 2 - Star Map

  Ji Ning led Su Youji to follow Lord Woodflower into the Sword Palace. The Sword Palace had quite a few cultivators within it, but of course most were black-armored Daolords.

  “Swordlord Darknorth has arrived.”

  “It’s Swordlord Darknorth.”

  “That’s Flamefairy Su Youji standing next to him.”

  “He’s been gone for roughly eighty thousand years, right? I’m surprised that Lord Woodflower is actually welcoming him back personally.”

  “Eighty thousand years ago, all of the World-level geniuses of the Twelve Palaces who were acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were ordered to return, then challenged the Daolord Cloudworld. After that, Swordlord Darknorth, Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and Waterlord Firesurge all suddenly disappeared. I heard that they had all gained an incredible stroke of good fortune. Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and the others all returned together tens of thousands of years ago, as did Flamefairy Su Youji. I thought that Swordlord Darknorth must’ve died.”

  The black-armored Daolords all chatted amongst themselves, while the ones closer to Ning all called out in very modest manners, “Swordlord Darknorth.”

  Virtually all of the black-armored Daolords had reached that level through using Pseudo Samsara Pills. It was all but guaranteed that they would forever remain Daolords of the First Step. They thus didn’t spend much time or effort on cultivation, and instead were filled with curiosity about the latest news and going ons.

  When the almighty Hegemon had chosen Ning and the others, they were quickly able to deduce what was really happening. In truth, the Hegemon didn’t really care that they knew some of the details; so long as the secret of the alternate universe was kept hidden, that was enough.

  “Come on.” Lord Woodflower led Ning towards an ancient pagoda. “Su Youji, you can wait outside.”

  “Understood.” Su Youji obediently stood outside the pagoda, while Ji Ning entered.

  The interior of the pagoda was simple and unadorned. Deep within it, atop a stone dais, there were a series of heartlamps that were lit. Heartlamps looked quite similar to lotus flowers in shape, and they contained sparks of truesoul flames. So long as the master remained alive, these flam
es would never die.

  There were five levels to the stone dais. There were many heartlamps on the first level, well over two thousand. The second level had far fewer lamps, just sixteen in total. The third level only had eighty-two heartlamps, the fourth level had merely thirty-five heartlamps, and the fifth level only had two heartlamps.

  “This stone dais has five levels. The first level is for Daolords of the First Step, the second is for Daolords of the Second Step, and so on and so forth. The fifth level is reserved for Eternal Emperors.” Lord Woodflower looked at the two heartlamps on the fifth level, then let out a sigh. “Our Sword Palace has only given birth to a total of three Eternal Emperors. One has perished, while the other two are out adventuring…”

  Ning nodded. The Sword Palace only had around a hundred ‘real’ Daolords. The reason why there were so many on the first level, with over two thousand heartlamps present, was because almost all of them were black-armored Daolords.

  “Senior apprentice-brother, our Sword Palace actually has thirty-five Daolords of the Fourth Step?” Ning asked. The fourth step represented Verge-level Daolords; they definitely would be considered incredibly strong major powers.

  “Think about Daolord Everstarter, who has been missing for countless chaos cycles. Do you think he is alive, or do you think he is dead?” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “The heartlamp remains lit because it cannot sense him, but whether or not he is actually still alive is hard to say.”

  Ning nodded. For example, if he had died in an alternate universe, there would’ve been no way to sense it.

  “As for Daolords of the Fourth Step who we are certain are still alive, there are twenty-two of them,” Lord Woodflower said. “The others, we simply cannot tell. Daolords of the Fourth Step are all searching for opportunities and fortunes that will assist them in their Daomerge. For the sake of their Daomerge, they will risk their lives and plunge into some truly deadly regions… and some of them will never return.”

  Ning couldn’t help but sigh as well. Daolord Solesky was another example; for the sake of his Daomerge, he had chosen to brave the dangers of the Waveshift Realm.