Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Alright. Come, set a heartlamp alight,” Lord Woodflower said. “The normal rule is that only Daolords can leave. However, you are capable of becoming a Daolord whenever you choose, and so we won’t force things. For now, we’ll temporarily keep your heartlamp on the first level.”

  A dark, gloomy lotus-shaped heartlamp hovered before Ning. Ning stretched out a finger, sending out a stream of his soul into the heartlamp. Poof! The wick within the flower petals of the heartlamp instantly lit up. Ning could sense the strong connection which now existed between his truesoul and the blazing flames. It almost felt like one of his clones.

  With but a thought, Ning sent the heartlamp flying to the borders of the first level of the stone dais, then set it down.

  “After you become a Daolord, training will speed up significantly at first. It shouldn’t take you too long to reach the second step! Reaching the third step will take a bit more time, while reaching the fourth step will be the most difficult of all.” Lord Woodflower had a complicated look on his face as he said softly, “As for the Daomerge… it’ll be up to luck.”

  Countless monstrously powerful Daolords had perished. Only a miniscule number became Eternal Emperors.

  “However… failing in the Daomerge doesn’t mean that much. To be able to roam the universe freely for 108,000 chaos cycles is enough.” Lord Woodflower laughed. “If you stifle yourself and choose a weak Dao… even if you are lucky enough to become an Eternal Emperor, you’ll live in perpetual fear of being killed by one of the powerful Daolords. Even if you live forever, that just means you’ll be pitiful bug forever!”

  Ning stared at the ancient, dispirited Lord Woodflower. Suddenly, he could sense a terrifying sword-intent emanate from the man’s body. Ning couldn’t help but nod.

  To mortals, cultivators seemed to have unlimited lifespans; upon becoming a Celestial Immortal, it was said that your lifespan would be as long as that of the heavens themselves. However, in reality there was still a limit! Even entire chaosworlds and the heavens within them would eventually perish and be born anew. As for World-level cultivators and Daolords, they could at most live for 108,000 chaos cycles! They had to succeed in the Daomerge within this allotted time span.

  If they did not complete their Daomerge, then when the time came they would perish. Thus… even the most powerful of Daolords could only live for 108,000 chaos cycles. This was why the Sword Palace had more than 80,000 powerful Daolords in its records, but only a hundred who were still alive.

  Only by succeeding in the Daomerge would they gain true eternity. For the most powerful, such as the Hegemon, time flowed on in an endless stream but they remained at the very apex of the universe. The almighty Brightshore Hegemon had been alive for far longer than even the Twelve Palaces.

  ……

  With the heartlamp lit, Ning left the pagoda.

  Su Youji was waiting for him outside. There was actually a green-robed creature with hundreds of tentacles that served as hair and a pair of golden eyes.

  “Greetings, Master.” The green-robed creature immediately knelt down and called out with respect when he saw Ning emerge.

  “And you are…?” Ning was puzzled.

  “This is your servant,” Lord Woodflower said. “A servant which the Brightshore Kingdom has prepared for you.”

  “The Brightshore Kingdom is giving me a servant? A World-level servant?” Ning was puzzled. What was the point of giving him a World-level servant?

  Lord Woodflower said, “Don’t underestimate his usefulness. He will be extremely important to you! Normally, only real Daolords of the Twelve Palaces will be given access to servants like him. Those black-armored Daolords never will. Every one of them is raised here within the Brightshore Kingdom and possesses both self-cloning abilities as well as incredibly powerful souls. Just one of his clones will accompany you, with another one remaining in the Brightshore Kingdom.”

  “Senior apprentice-brother, are you saying…?” Ning was starting to understand.

  “Exactly so. He’ll be used to send messages.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “If you you run into trouble and need to ask for rescue, you can tell him and his clone in the Brightshore Kingdom will be able to immediately report it to us! The Brightshore Kingdom will immediately spread the word to all of the Daolords and Eternal Emperors of the kingom who are in the Endless Territories. The ones closest to you will head to you as quickly as possible!” Lord Woodflower laughed.

  Ning’s eyes lit up. Absolutely incredible. To use a messenger relay of clones to ensure that the Daolords and Eternal Emperors of the Brightshore Kingdom were in constant contact was an effective way of maintaining communication.

  “However, given how truly vast the Endless Territories are, generally speaking it would be difficult for an ordinary World God’s clone to be able to sense past a thousand or so territories. Thus, the Brightshore Kingdom has arranged for this one to work with you. His soul is incredibly powerful,” Lord Woodflower said.

  Ning nodded in understanding. There was a limit to the distance at which a clone would be able to sense the presence of another clone. Elder God and Ancestral Immortal clones could only sense each other up to ten territories apart, whereas World-level clones would only function up to a thousand territories apart.

  The so-called ‘sensing’ method was actually a type of soul resonance. Thus, the stronger the soul, the greater the distance at which the connection could be maintained! Take Ning as an example. Although he was merely at the World level, his soul was comparable to a Daolord’s! As for these World-level cultivators who had been trained by the Brightshore Kingdom, they all had clones and souls which were far more powerful than that of ordinary World-level cultivators, allowing them to sense at a great distance as well.

  “It is quite rare for World-level cultivators to have clones.” Ning sighed with emotion. “Ones with such powerful souls are even more rare.”

  “The Brightshore Kingdom doesn’t have that many Daolords. That’s why we can afford to do this,” Lord Woodflower said. “There’s no way the Dao Alliance, for example, could do such a thing. Still, they have methods of their own… but of course, those methods are far slower than ours.”

  Ning nodded. The Brightshore Kingdom was able to transmit information at truly shocking speeds.

  “When you wander through the outside world, the Brightshore Kingdom shall be the strongest shield available to you.” Lord Woodflower smiled at Ning. “And all of the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom have sworn oaths from the day they joined to never engage in battle against each other.”

  Ning chuckled. When he had received the Sword Palace’s medallion, he had also sworn a lifeblood oath. No members of any of the Twelve Palaces could kill each other.

  “The major powers of the Brightshore Kingdom are extremely unified when wandering the outside world. If you encounter other Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom who are in danger, you should help them as well.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning.

  “Understood.” Ning nodded.

  “Right. This is the star map of all territories which are known to the Brightshore Kingdom.” Lord Woodflower handed a rolled-up golden star map scroll to Ning.

  Ning accepted it. Upon opening it, a look of shock instantly filled his face.

  “Amazed, right? The Endless Territories are truly vast, and some of its danger zones are also truly massive. Many cannot even be fully mapped out.” Lord Woodflower let out a sigh.

  Ning stared, stunned, at the star map. Good heavens. This… this was far larger than the entire star map of the alternate universe!

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 3 - The Journey

  The territories occupied by cultivators in the Endless Territories roughly made up around sixty to seventy percent the size of the alternate universe. However, there were many ‘danger zones’.

  For example, the region marked down as the ‘Terror Starsea’ was considered the most dangerous location in all the Endless Territories. It had yet to be
fully mapped out, but its known area alone already surpassed the entirety of the rest of the Endless Territories. It was incredibly dangerous, and less than one in ten thousand Daolords would survive a trip into it! Generally speaking, only incredibly powerful Daolords would be lucky enough to survive, and even the majority of Eternal Emperors who entered that place would perish.

  The Terror Starsea, in and of itself, was nearly comparable to the entire alternate universe in size. It was without a doubt the most dangerous place in the Endless Territories. The Endless Territories also had some other similar danger zones which were quite terrifying. Chances of entering and surviving were very slim.

  “If we factor in those danger zones, the Endless Territories is far larger than the alternate universe.” Ji Ning was rather stunned as he carefully read through the information the star map contained regarding the Endless Territories.

  “Is that…” Ning’s eyes narrowed as he saw an explanation of the six major forces within the Endless Territories.

  The Dao Alliance was comprised of virtually all cultivators. It was an enormous behemoth that was also far-flung and dispersed. It had the most Daolords and Eternal Emperors, but it also had so many internecine disputes and took up so much territory that it had always operated under the principle of non-governance.

  The Brightshore Kingdom was created by the almighty Hegemon Brightshore, one of the three mighty Hegemons of the Endless Territories!

  The Aeonians consumed cultivators, using them as food. They were extremely unified and were incredibly powerful after being Awakened.

  The ‘Aberrants’. They were the hundreds and thousands of strange, unique creatures who had been birthed by the primordial chaos. After Hegemon Windrain rose to power and established the Windrain Kingdom, it became a holy land for all Aberrants and countless Aberrants congregated there.

  The Ancient cultivators comprised the most mysterious, secretive organization in all the Endless Territories. They were extremely few in number, but each and every one of them possessed incredible power. Their divine abilities and secret arts were powerful beyond measure, and they were led by Hegemon Netherlily.

  The Dark Kingdom was comprised of cultivators who had migrated from outside the Endless Territories, and they ruled over the border territories.

  “Much more complex than the alternate universe,” Ning mused to himself.

  “Junior apprentice-brother.” Lord Woodflower smiled as he looked at Ning. “Surprised?”

  “I never realized our many danger zones our Endless Territories possess, or that we actually have six major forces here,” Ning said.

  “There’s no need for most World-level cultivators to know such things. The Endless Territories are simply too vast and filled with so many dangers that they would never make it far enough to find out,” Lord Woodflower said. “You, however, are different. This is all information you’ll need to know after you become a Daolord.”

  Ning nodded.

  “As for the danger zones… some are almost infinitely large, especially the Terror Starsea. Not even the almighty Hegemon has been able to fully explore them,” Lord Woodflower said. “Honestly, the main things you need to keep in mind are those six major powers. The Brightshore Kingdom is rather aloof, and we are on fairly good terms with the Dao Alliance, the Aeonians, and the Aberrants. We can be considered enemies of the Dark Kingdom, as they are foreigners, after all. But remember… we are mortal foes of the Ancient cultivators!”

  “Mortal foes?” Ning was startled.

  “Right.” Lord Woodflower nodded somberly. “Thus, you need to be wary of them! But of course, you need to keep an eye out for the other organizations as well. The Dao Alliance, for example. It is so large and filled with so much internal struggles that it wouldn’t surprise me if some of their major powers suddenly assaulted you. Same with the Aeonians; you are a cultivator, after all! Aeonians love eating Samsara Daolord cultivators.”

  “Alright. You know everything you need to know.” Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. “In short… have a safe trip.”

  “Alright.” Ning nodded heavily.

  ……

  After accepting the servant, Ning led Su Youji in leaving the Sword Palace.

  The Brightshore Kingdom was quite similar to the Trileaf Realm, in that it also had three spacetime tunnels.

  “These three spacetime tunnels lead to three different parts of the Endless Territories, allowing our cultivators to waste as little time as possible when travelling.” A black-lord Daolord guard who stood outside the tunnel smiled as he explained to Ning.

  “Mm.” Ning led Su Youji straight into the spacetime tunnel. In his heart, he couldn’t help but muse that the Paragon of Pills and Hegemon Brightshore apparently were quite similar in their mastery over spacetime.

  ……

  The Badlands Territory and Vastheaven Palace had originally seemed quite distant from one another, but if you looked at the star map of the Endless Territories you would realize that they actually belonged to the same general neighborhood! Given Ning’s strength, a few hundred years would suffice for his clone to go from the Badlands Territory to Vastheaven Palace.

  “We should be able to make it in around three or so centuries.” Ning’s true body would be able to move even faster; the spacetime tunnel would save him quite some time.

  Swoosh.

  A flying shuttle was hurtling through the void, with Ning, Su Youji, and World God Pillsaint within it.

  “Master, what sort of a place is Vastheaven Palace?” Pillsaint asked curiously.

  “A place I have to go. In fact, I’m technically a member of Vastheaven Palace as well,” Ning said with a smile. Indeed. He had to reach that place before he could fulfill his lifeblood oath and return to the Three Realms. His Primaltwin had been protecting the Three Realms for quite some time now, but it had to remain physically outside within the primordial chaos just beyond it, unable to actually re-enter.

  “Youji, Pillsaint, both of you have made tremendous gains. I imagine both of you can become Daolords now,” Ning said.

  “Yes.” Su Youji nodded. “After I received the legacy of Feixian the Exalted but prior to visiting the Genesis Lands, I was already comparable to a supreme Chaos Immortal. Thanks to the opportunities the Genesis Lands gave me… even if I don’t use any treasures at all, I am a transcendent Chaos Immortal.”

  Ning nodded. To reach that level only through the usage of Eternal weapons wasn’t that impressive. If you were able to reach a transcendent level of power without needing to rely on magic treasures, you would probably be able to break through to the Daolord level whenever you wished.

  “Thank you, Master, for that Archaeus medallion. Otherwise, I have no idea how long it would take for me to break through.” Su Youji felt rather excited. She had never imagined that she would become a Daolord as well.

  “I have to thank you as well, Master. If it wasn’t for you, I can’t even imagine how long it would take before my Dao of Alchemy would have reached its current level.” Pillsaint was quite excited. “Flamefairy, I can become a Daolord whenever I wish as well.”

  Ning laughed. His two most worthy retainers were both able to become Daolords. This was truly pleasing to him.

  “Right. Have Solewind, Greatjoy, and the others made their breakthroughs yet?” Ning asked.

  “Ah! I was so happy to see you back that I forgot to tell you,” Su Youji said. “Prince Greatjoy broke through to become a Daolord roughly three thousand years after our return! Just two years after that, Waterlord Firesurge became a Daolord as well! Another twelve thousand years after that, Solewind also become a Daolord.”

  Ning was startled. All of them became Daolords?

  “Makes sense. They had reached their bottlenecks long ago; the only reason they held back was because they had made some gains in the Genesis Lands. Any further improvements would be incredibly difficult. I’m not surprised they broke through to become Daolords,” Ning said.

  “Master, when will you bec
ome a Daolord?” Su Youji asked curiously.

  “Right!” Pillsaint was curious as well.

  “It won’t take too long,” Ning said. No matter what, he had to reunite with his clone first. In addition… he could also dimly sense that there was still a slight flaw with his Sword Dao. He had the feeling that he was close to breaking through, but just needed one final stimulus.

  “Since the two of you are both ready to become Daolords… how about this. Let’s find a quiet, secluded place and have you two break through there,” Ning said. “Or would you prefer to train for a bit longer and further solidify your foundations?”

  “I solidified my foundation long ago. I was just waiting for you to come back, Master. I can break through whenever I wish; there’s no need to wait any further.” The Flamefairy smiled.

  “I solidified my foundation back in the Trileaf Realm. I’ve been waiting to make my breakthrough,” Pillsaint said. After acquiring the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters], he had spent roughly a million years in accelerated time training. That was how long it had taken for Ning to acquire thise six lifeblood weapons.

  “If that’s the case… hm. Let’s just go over there.” Ning willed it, and the flying ship quickly shifted into a different dimensional continuum, then landed on a quiet, desolate chaos planet. This chaos planet had no life on it at all, and its surface was a rocky one.

  Ning waved his hand, causing an Immortal estate to descend upon the surface of this planet. With another thought, Ning activated the various layers of restrictive seals and spells on the estate, causing an aura of enormous yet subdued power to cover the entire planet. Anyone off in the distance would never be able to detect any hint of an aura from this chaos planet.

  Breaking through to become a Daolord would cause an enormous disturbance. They had to do their best to dampen their auras and prevent themselves from being discovered, which would cause unnecessary trouble.