Desolate Era

by RWX

  “One node is right here, at the dimensional storms which we went past. The other is over here, through this vortex tunnel. If they wish to return to the Vastheaven Everworld, they’ll either have to go through either the dimensional storms or pass through this vortex,” the silver-robed Daolord said.

  His two disciples both nodded. This was how travel through the vast territories worked. There were many areas you could avoid, but some critical junctures were unavoidable. Your only option was to slowly fly through them or possibly teleport through them.

  “But there are two possible places. There’s no way we can stop them.” The two disciples looked at their master.

  “So choose one,” the silver-robed Daolord said. “The rest is up to luck.” He chuckled. “If they are lucky and chose the other route, there’s nothing we can do. If they just so happen to choose the place which we are guarding, then we’ll be in a position to block their path. Both of these places are fairly far away from Vastheaven Palace. We’ll be in a position of much greater security.”

  The silver-robed Daolord looked at his two disciples. “Shall we go to the Vastheaven Everworld, or shall we go to one of the two nodes on the star map?”

  “The nodes.”

  “Let’s choose the nodes.”

  Both of his disciples immediately chose the nodes.

  Even an idiot would know that if they chose the Vastheaven Everworld, they would most likely be forced to wait at the spacetime transfer array for quite some time! Given their master’s power as a Daolord of the Third Step, he’d be able to immediately capture Eastherd and Darknorth once they emerged within the formation, then immediately flee. This solution had a high chance of success, true… but it was simply too dangerous to spend that much time at Vastheaven Palace’s base.

  “Then we’ll choose…” The silver-robed Daolord gently tapped at a point on the unfurled star map. “This place.”

  The two disciples immediately looked at where he pointed. Their master’s finger was tapping against the vortex tunnel.

  ……

  Ji Ning’s group had taken a very roundabout path, making a journey of half a year become a journey of nearly two years.

  “Up ahead is the vortex tunnel.” Eastherd was standing at the ship’s prow, staring at the emptiness of space before them. He pointed at an enormous, pitch-black vortex off in the distance. “Once we go through the vortex, we’ll be able to reach Vastheaven Palace in roughly half a month.”

  “Almost there.” Ning revealed a smile. Vastheaven Palace! He had waited far too long for this day.

  On the vessel, Sparrow and his Dao-companion had been behaving in a very low-key manner. There were four others on this flying vessel, after all. One was Sparrow’s master, the second was his uncle-master, and the other two were Daolords!

  “Disciple.” Eastherd looked at Sparrow as he spoke. “There are no generational hierarchies in Vastheaven Palace. We are all brothers, which is why we are very cautious when accepting new brothers into our fold! Formal members are only given a single talisman of welcome, and mine was given to my first disciple long ago. For now, just stay with me within Vastheaven Palace. This can be considered a new, tempering experience for you.”

  “Yes,” Sparrow and his Dao-companion immediately said.

  “But of course, the two of you could also beg brother Darknorth for a chance,” Eastherd said with a laugh. “Your uncle-master Darknorth is probably going to become a Daolord soon! Once he does, he’ll be the fourth Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace. Our Palace Lords have much more authority than the rest of us; they have the authority to directly welcome new cultivators into our ranks.”

  Sparrow and his Dao-companion both immediately looked at Ning.

  Ning chuckled. Once he became a Palace Lord, he’d have a bit more authority, true… but he still couldn’t just randomly accept in new members. They had to be cautious with every new recruit. Otherwise, Vastheaven Palace might end up like some other organizations which were filled with problems and strife. That would be terrible.

  “Uncle-master Darknorth…” Sparrow couldn’t help but call out to him.

  “This disciple of mind has a kind disp-…” Eastherd spoke out as well.

  “I know what type of a person he is.” Ning nodded. Sparrow was indeed a person who deeply valued his relationships. He was willing to risk his own life in order to save his Dao-companion, something which Ning rather admired. Ning nodded. “I’ll handle Sparrow’s entry into Vastheaven Palace.”

  “Thank you, uncle-master!” Sparrow immediately expressed his gratitude.

  As for his Dao-companion, Eastherd didn’t say anything on her behalf. Recruiting people to join Vastheaven Palace wasn’t something to be done casually.

  In truth, Ning was only willing to help out because he approved of Sparrow’s disposition. As for his Dao-companion? For now, Ning didn’t know what she was like. He naturally wouldn’t promise anything rashly.

  Rumble…

  The flying vessel flew straight into the howling vortex tunnel.

  Within the vortex, space flowed like streams of water which the flying vessel advanced through at high speeds. Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The vortex tunnel linking the Three Realms to the Badlands Territory was riddled with dimensional cracks and tears that would appear at random. It was an incredibly unstable vortex tunnel. Even World-level cultivators, if they were unlucky, might be trapped within one of the dimensional tears and be teleported to a completely unknown location.

  This vortex tunnel, however, was an extremely stable one! The vast territories held both stable and unstable vortexes; generally speaking, only the stable ones would be used by cultivators.

  “The exit is up ahead.”

  The flying vessel spent three days flying through the vortex tunnel. Ning stood at the prow of the vessel, and he was dimly able to see a chaos planet up ahead in the void of space beyond the exit.

  Whoosh.

  The flying vessel surged out from the vortex tunnel. But right at this moment… boom! It was like it had rammed into some sort of barrier which crackled with dim light.

  “Not good.” Ning was in control of the vessel, and his face instantly turned pale.

  “Freeze!” A sonorous voice rang out, instantly filling the entire region and causing space itself to be frozen.

  A silver flying shuttle flew out from a distant pocket of chaotic space. Ning was able to clearly make out that there was a silver-robed man standing within that silver shuttle. He had a grand, imposing aura and was staring straight at Ning with cold eyes.

  “That’s Daolord Blesswind of Clearwind Temple!” Eastherd was shocked.

  “Daolord Blesswind?” Pillsaint and Su Youji’s faces tightened a bit as well. The two of them had learned quite a bit about Clearwind Temple on this journey, and they knew Daolord Blesswind to be one of the temple’s Daolords of the Third Step.

  “At least it isn’t Patriarch Clearwind.” Ning wasn’t worried at all. The only member of Clearwind Temple who could pose a threat to him was Patriarch Clearwind. But of course, if he appeared Ning would simply have to use up one of his precious Dao-seals to wipe the man out. As for this Daolord Blesswind? No need to use one of the seals at all.

  “Darknorth of Vastheaven Palace and Eastherd of Vastheaven Palace, I believe?” A silver-robed man emerged from the distant flying shuttle. He slowly strode through the primordial chaos, his manner grand and imposing. “Darknorth of Vastheaven. You actually have two Daolords of the First Step serving you. Impressive, impressive. But since you’ve chosen to make an enemy out of Clearwind Temple, I’ll have to do what I have to do. I do want to confirm with you, though… are you truly a member of Vastheaven Palace?”

  According to Clearwind Temple’s information, there was no one named ‘Darknorth’ amongst the fairly few formal members of Vastheaven Palace. Given that Darknorth had two Daolords of the First Step serving as his retainers, and given that his sword-intent alone was enough to capture five powerful Wor
ld-level cultivators, he definitely was far too strong to be a irrelevant and nameless figure. Logically speaking, if he was an actual member of Vastheaven Palace, Clearwind Temple would’ve found out about him long ago.

  “This is our first time meeting each other. It can be said that we were brought together by karma.” The white-robed Ning just stood there at the prow of his flying vessel, his black scabbard on his back. “I, Darknorth, am indeed a member of Vastheaven Palace. In the future, Clearwind Temple will remember my name well.”

  “In the future? I’m afraid you won’t have a future.” The silver-robed Daolord shook his head and sighed. “I just randomly chose a place to wait for you. Who would’ve thought I’d end up actually catching a genius such as yourself? If you have to blame anything, blame your own bad luck.”

  “No, no. You are the one with bad luck.” Ning smiled, but his smile was as cold as ice.

  Swish.

  Ning’s flying vessel instantly charged towards the silver-robed Daolord at high speeds.

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 8 - Inside Vastheaven Palace

  “Impudence.” The silver-robed Daolord laughed coldly. “You really don’t know your own limits.”

  As he spoke, he waved his right hand casually through the void of space. His sleeves instantly began to flutter as a black wind flew out from within it, instantly filling the surrounding area for a million kilometers around then sweeping straight towards Ji Ning’s charging vessel.

  Aboard the vessel, Su Youji and Pillsaint both had solemn looks on their faces. As for Eastherd, he was panicking. Sparrow and his wife simply watched. Elder Gods weren’t even qualified to take part in a battle at this level.

  Ning just let out a cold snort. Rumble… lightning and water suddenly surged out of him.

  The golden lightning and the jade-green water instantly burst out into the void, and they actually seemed to twine around each other in a complementary manner as they almost instantly transformed into sword-light! Endless amounts of sword-light furiously merged together, coalescing into the Yin-Yang Sword Domain. At his current level, Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Domain was now more brutal, savage, and terrifying than ever before.

  A Yin-Yang Sword Domain formed from quadressence lightning and quadressence water was more than enough to annihilate a Daolord of the Second Step.

  Although there was a big difference in power between a Daolord of the Second Step and a Daolord of the Third Step, it would still be quite difficult for the latter to slay the former with ease. Daolord Blesswind was skilled in the Dao of Wind, and he was able to easily slay Daolords of the Second Step in close combat. He would not, however, be able to wipe them out from a distance merely by using a few secret arts.

  In the end, Daolord Blesswind was nothing more than a Daolord of Clearwind Temple. He simply didn’t have any earth-shatteringly powerful secret arts.

  Ning’s sword domain of lightning and water was capable of slaying Daolords of the Second Step, but this black tempest was not. When these two surges of power clashed against each other…

  Whoooooosh. The dominating sword domain of water and lightning forcibly ripped the black tempest into shreds, then continued to surge towards Daolord Blesswind in a savage manner.

  “What?!” Daolord Blesswind’s face instantly turned pale. “Impossible. How could my secret art be defeated by a World-level cultivator’s secret art?” This was an absolute joke!

  “B-but…” The two World-level disciples of Daolord Blesswind were completely stupefied.

  ……

  Ning’s vessel. Eastherd, Sparrow, and his Dao-companion had been extremely nervous. Now, they were just as stupefied as Daolord Blesswind’s disciples. The secret arts of a Daolord of the Third Step had been broken, just like that?

  Pillsaint and Su Youji glanced at Ning, their eyes filled with veneration and awe. This was a Daolord of the Third Step! Their own master had actually won in a competition of secret arts against this figure!

  “It seems you must’ve had some truly lucky encounters. Your Dao-seal was quite powerful… but it won’t be able to do anything to me.” The silver-robed Daolord Blesswind quickly regained his calm. He had immediately decided that Ning must have used a Dao-seal, as he still refused to believe that a World-level cultivator could possess a secret art of such unearthly power.

  And in truth, it made sense. This sword-intent domain of lightning and water was a product of many factors. It was created by Daolord Allgod, utilized in accordance with the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] of the Paragon of Pills, and controlled by Ning’s powerful azureflower mist energy. This was why it has such tremendous might!

  “Then die beneath my blade.” Daolord Blesswind suddenly produced an enormous long saber in his hands.

  Whoosh! His silver robes fluttered as he instantly charged through the skies, holding the long saber in a double-handed grip. Although Ning’s sword domain furiously assaulted him, Daolord Blesswind charged forwards with incredible valor, his divine power flaring outwards and completely resisting the attacks. Clearly, the sword domain wasn’t nearly strong enough to deal with Daolords of the Third Step; all it was able to do was have a bit of constrictive power over him. He moved straight through the sword domain, and his icy gaze was filled with a murderous intent.

  Upon seeing this, Ning couldn’t help but sigh. This Yin-Yang Sword Domain was already his most powerful attack, on a slightly higher level than even his close combat abilities. Alas, he still wasn’t able to do anything to his opponent. In the end, he was still just a World-level cultivator, and his attacks weren’t enough against a Daolord of the Third Step. He had no choice but to rely on an outside form of assistance.

  “Die!” Daolord Blesswind’s saber-light flashed like the wind, tearing apart everything in its path as he continued to soar towards the vessel.

  Whoosh. Suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere in front of the flying vessel. It was a white-haired, icy-eyed man who held an ordinary-looking longsword in his hands.

  “Go capture him, swordsman,” Ning said.

  “Mm.” The white-haired man nodded, his face quite calm. He was the strongest of the four golem servants Ning had acquired from Emperor Mirrorsnow’s legacy! Ning had chosen to summon him out of an abundance of caution, wishing to have a higher chance of success.

  “A golem?” As Daolord Blesswind continued his charge, his gaze fell upon the white-haired man’s body. He was able to immediately tell that this was a golem, and a flash of avarice appeared in his eyes. “Not only did he have that incredibly powerful lightning-water Dao-seal, he also has a seemingly strong golem. This World God named Darknorth truly must have had some special experiences. I’ll wager he has quite a few treasures on him. He might even have more than me!”

  “Hahaha, golem! You should accept me as your master instead.” Daolord Blesswind’s aura expanded even further. He refused to believe he would encounter a golem comparable to a Daolord of the Fourth Step, as those were far too valuable. He wasn’t worried about this golem at all.

  “Hmph.” The swordsman charged towards Daolord Blesswind as well.

  Rumble…

  Space tore apart as Daolord Blesswind and the swordsman golem began an utterly earth-shaking battle, even as Ning’s sword domain continuously launched attacks against the Daolord.

  The swordsman had the power of a peak Daolord of the Third Step, and he was skilled in both unpredictable attacks and assassination techniques. His technique was completely based off of Emperor Mirrorsnow’s [Heartseal] sword-art.

  Daolord Blesswind was truly quite formidable in close combat. Although he wasn’t exactly a genius, he still had the power of a peak Daolord of the Third Step. He might’ve been weaker than the swordsman in close combat, making the battle rather difficult, but his secret arts allowed him to hold his own.

  “What a powerful golem. How can it be this powerful? I feel as though he’s a bit more powerful than even me!” Daolord Blesswind was stunned to discover that the golem actually ha
d the upper hand. “However… he just barely holds an advantage over me. This golem is using up the chaos jewels inside of him. Once his energy is used up, he’ll lose.”

  “Eh?” Ning frowned when he saw this from atop his distant vessel. “The swordsman is already the strongest of my four golems, but he still can’t capture Daolord Blesswind? It seems I’ll have to have the fisherman and the emperor emerge as well.”

  But right at this moment, Su Youji suddenly clenched her teeth. She was standing right next to Ning, and her face instantly turned red as a streak of crimson light flickered in her eyes. An invisible ripple of power instantly surged through the skies and shot towards the distant Daolord Blesswind.

  The distant Daolord Blesswind, who was still engaged in a battle against the swordsman, suddenly moved sluggishly for a brief moment, as though he had been distracted for a moment.

  Swoosh! The swordsman already held the upper hand. In this moment, his longsword suddenly coiled outwards like a whip, instantly wrapping itself around Daolord Blesswind’s body. Daolord Blesswind struggled furiously to break free, but that was no easy feat upon already being bound.

  “Come in.” The swordsman produced a gourd in his hand, then caused it to emit a powerful attractive force that drew Daolord Blesswind into it.

  The swordsman turned his head to glance at Ning, then was drawn back into the estate-world within the Mirrorsnow Painting once more.

  “No.”

  “Master!”

  The two World-level disciples in the silver shuttle were completely stunned. They were also completely surrounded by that sword domain of lightning and water. They knew exactly how powerful this sword domain was, and so they didn’t dare to fight back at all, allowing Ning to capture them as well.