Desolate Era

by RWX

  The breakthrough in the Yin-Yang sword-intent had come in a natural fashion as he hastened towards the Eastroad Sect after his battle against Daolord Kongsan. As for the other three Supreme Daos, he had made those breakthroughs during the ten thousand years he had spent in the Void Pathway. Alas, to use them to form an even higher-level Omega Sword Dao required that brief moment of epiphany, a eureka moment.

  “In the end, one simply cannot reach the apex through cultivation alone. Perhaps this fight will give me a chance to gain the insight I need to make a breakthrough in my Omega Sword Dao. Once I master my second-stage Omega Sword Dao, I’ll be able to become a Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning eagerly awaited that moment. He was slightly more powerful than he had been when he had battled Kongsan, but he hadn’t made any truly transformative breakthroughs. He was in desperate need of something to stimulate him into making a breakthrough.

  ……

  Rumble… the towering gray shrine finally appeared in the horizons as it flew towards the Eastroad Sect.

  “There it is.”

  “The Ninedust Sect has arrived.”

  “They are here.” Many cultivators were hidden off in the distance, having teleported to arrive in advance of the shrine.

  The towering gray shrine suddenly came to a halt in midair. The Daolords of the Ninedust Sect and its cultivators all stared off into the distance, as did the Ninedust Sectlord atop his throne. Their gazes almost instantly turned towards the mountain peak which was almost directly in front of the Eastroad Sect. There was a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back who was on that mountain peak, and the youth rose to his feet and stared right back at them.

  “A Daolord of the Second Step?” The Ninedust Sectlord murmured softly, “A puny little Daolord of the Second Step actually dares to block our advance towards the Eastroad Sect… to block my Ninedust Sect?”

  * * *

  Book 30, Chapter 7 - Attack!

  “Sectlord.” Daolord Clevermind looked at the Ninedust Sectlord. “This man is a mere Daolord of the Second Step. He knows that we have come, but he actually dares to stand in front of their gates. He clearly is treating us as an enemy. Hmph. Let us send one of our brothers to wipe him out.”

  “Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord calmly assented. Given his status, how could he possibly hold a mere Daolord of the Second Step in any regard?

  “Brother Huzhen.” Daolord Clevermind immediately glanced downwards. “I’ll have to trouble you to get rid of this Daolord of the Second Step! You are our first attacker, and as such you need to be decisive in this victory. Shock and awe them. Make sure they know that submission and surrender is the correct decision, and that defiance leads only to death.”

  “Understood,” Daolord Huzhen said respectfully. He was one of the sect’s three Daolords of the Third Step, and was quite a formidable fighter. Whoosh! Daolord Huzhen immediately flew out of the Ninedust Shrine and towards the distant mountain peak with Ji Ning on it.

  ……

  “Who is that?”

  “That white-robed youth actually dares to stand in front of the Eastroad Sect and block the Ninedust Sect’s path. He’s being a bit too brash, isn’t he?”

  “If my senses are correct, he appears to merely be a Daolord of the Second Step.”

  The cultivators watching from afar were all staring at Ning curiously. Now that the Ninedust Shrine had descended upon this place, it made no sense for a Daolord of the Second Step to stand in its path. It was like a cricket trying to stand in the path of a carriage.

  ……

  “It’ll all be up to Daolord Darknorth.”

  “I wonder if Daolord Darknorth really is as powerful as he claims or if he is just bragging. No matter what, I just don’t feel safe.”

  “Ugh.”

  “Let’s just watch and see.”

  The disciples of the Eastroad Sect were all quite nervous, especially when they saw that towering shrine hang in the air right in front of them. Would Daolord Darknorth really be able to stand up to them?

  “Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat watched silently. He was more nervous than anyone else, as it was up to him to defend and run the entire Eastroad Sect. He was the one who had chosen to trust Ning.

  Ning stood there at the top of the mountain peak, watching as a Daolord flew towards him with robes fluttering in the air. The Daolord called out from afar, “I am Daolord Huzhen of the Ninedust Sect. Listen up, kid. The Ninedust Sect has come to tame and subdue the Eastroad Sect. How dare you stand in our way and cause trouble for us? Are you really tired of living? I’ll give you a chance to live; submit to us right away and join us, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise… today is the day you die.”

  His voice boomed out and echoed within the skies. Clearly, he was doing this to put on a great show. As Daolord Clevermind had instructed, he was going to shock and awe the Eastroad Sect, with the ideal outcome being terrifying them into surrender.

  “Haha…” Ning stood there atop the mountain, a smile of amusement on his face as his own voice echoed through the skies as well. “Daolord Huzhen, yes? If you wish to submit to me, I’ll accept you as a retainer. If you attack, you’ll die here and now.”

  “What a joke. Go to your death, then!” Daolord Huzhen let out an angry laugh, then pointed from afar. Boom! A series of wooden planks appeared in the skies, culimating in over a thousand planks. Every single plank was covered with complex divine runes; clearly, this was a set of extremely powerful magic treasures. The divine runes began to tremble, causing the thousand-plus wooden planks to instantly form into a stream of azure sword-light that slashed through the heavens towards Ning.

  Ning slowly shook his head. Just as the azure streak of sword-light reached his body, he waved his hand. Boom! The azure sword-light was actually blasted apart.

  “What?” The distant Daolord Huzhen’s face turned pale.

  “Die, then.” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Instantly, the world around them began to darken as streams of sword-intent appeared out of thin air. The terrifying sword-intent condensed into sword-light that swirled around Daolord Huzhen, and then… swish! The sword-light ground him apart like countless millstones.

  “N-no…” Daolord Huzhen had a look of horror on his face. He wanted to use his magic treasures to defend, but… splat. The thousands of streaks of sword-light swirled around him and ground away at his body, splintering his divine body and distintegrating his truesoul. He died on the spot.

  Ning took a single step forwards, moving through the skies to stand next to the place where Daolord Huzhen had died. With a wave of his hand, he took the treasures which Daolord Huzhen had left behind. A powerful wind was blowing through the skies, stirring his robes. Ning wanted to make use of this battle to find a way to further improve his Omega Sword Dao. How could he possibly be wary of combat?

  The white-robed Ning raised his head to stare at the distant, towering gray shrine. He said in a cold voice, “Ninedust Sect, if you leave right now you’ll be able to keep your lives. Otherwise… I’ll kill as many as dare trespass on the grounds of the Eastroad Sect.”

  “Kill as many as dare trespass.”

  “Kill as many as dare trespass.”

  His voice was filled with Immortal energy and echoed throughout the skies, reverberating throughout the world. The distant cultivators watching this from afar were all stunned by this. The disciples of the Eastroad Sect and Daolord Thunderheat were speechless, and the major powers and cultivators of the Ninedust Sect were the most shocked of all.

  “What? He was able to slay a Daolord of the Third Step with nothing more than manifested sword-intent?”

  “He didn’t even use those swords in the black sheath on his back. He didn’t even enter close combat, nor did he use any magic treasures. His sword-intent alone was enough to slay a Daolord of the Third Step?”

  “B-but…”

  “This is terrifying.”

  “This is no ordinary Daolord of the Second Step. He’s one
of the most freakishly powerful Daolords of the Second Step in existence.”

  ……

  Everyone present was stunned. The Eastroad Sect now understood that Daolord Darknorth truly did have a terrifying level of power! As for the Ninedust Sect, it now understood that the white-robed youth before them would be the greatest impediment to their designs over the Eastroad Sect.

  “Brother Huzhen!”

  “Huzhen!”

  “Master!”

  A number of anguished cries rang out from within the Ninedust Shrine, with the cultivators in question filled with rage. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he let out a soft laugh from atop his throne. “Interesting. It seems this Daolord of the Second Step does have a few skills to rely on. Still… in the end, he is just a Daolord of the Second Step. Clevermind, Graceful, Bruteflame, do not be overconfident. We need to smash through the Eastroad Sect like rotting wood. All three of you should simultaneously attack and crush this Daolord of the Second Step.”

  “All three of us, attack together?” Daolord Graceful couldn’t help but want to confirm this. They were different from Daolord Huzhen, as the power gap between Daolords of the Third Step and Daolords of the Fourth Step was quite significant. To reach the fourth step meant that you were a major power who had virtually reached the absolute apex of a certain personal Dao. Daolord Clevermind in particular possessed incredible power, and was capable of killing ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step.

  “It is enough for Bruteflame and myself to attack,” Daolord Graceful said. “If we work together, we can deal with even the most freakishly powerful Daolords of the Second Step.”

  “No.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Let’s not waste any more time on a Daolord of the Second Step. All three of you should attack simultaneously and let the Eastroad Sect understand that resistance is futile.”

  “Understood.” Daolord Clevermind, Daolord Graceful, and Daolord Bruteflame all assented respectfully. If the sectlord had made up his mind, then they wouldn’t dare to argue any further.

  “Let’s go,” Daolord Clevermind barked, then transformed into a streak of light that flew out.

  “Let’s go.” Daolords Graceful and Bruteflame followed behind him.

  “All three vice sectlords are attacking. Even if this Daolord of the Second Step is one of the most legendary of geniuses, he’s definitely going to die.”

  “The three vice sectlords are probably enough to crush the entire Eastroad Sect by themselves.”

  The many cultivators within the Ninedust Shrine were filled with complete confidence.

  ……

  As the three flew out from the shrine, the skies instantly darkened around them. Rumble… a terrifying, endless streak of saber-light filled the skies, and at its edges was an aura of gray mist as well as boundless flames.

  Saber-light, mist, and flames. They filled the skies for countless kilometers around in a manifestation of the might of the Dao of the three. The three vice sectlords had been famous in the surrounding territories for countless years now, and the manifestation of their Dao alone was enough to stun everyone present.

  “The Ninedust Sect is actually sending out all three of its vice sectlords at the same time? This is a bit much, isn’t it? For a Daolord of the Fourth Step to fight against a Daolord of the Second Step is already bullying. Three against one?”

  “This isn’t bullying. This is a war between the Ninedust Sect and the Eastroad Sect. This Daolord has only himself to blame for daring to get involved.”

  “The Ninedust Sect wants to crush this Daolord in an instant.”

  Many of the distant spectators, especially the ones belonging to the organizations of the surrounding territories, were scouts who had been placed here long ago. They couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh. They knew just how terrifyingly strong the three vice sectlords of the Ninedust Sect were. Every single one of them was incredibly formidable. All three at once? None of them believed the white-robed kid had a chance.

  “Hmph.” Standing there in the air, Ning let out a cold snort. Rumble… endless amounts of sword-light filled the skies like a great flood, blanketing the heavens as they smashed towards the saber-light, the mist, and the flames.

  The saber-light, the mist, and the flames were hurtling from one direction, while Ning’s ocean of sword-light came crashing from the other. The two curtains of power quickly collided. The blurry mist and the frenzied flames were instantly suppressed, while the frenzied saber-light clashed repeatedly in the air against Ning’s sword-light, neither able to gain an advantage over the other.

  The might of their respective Daos continued clashed against each other. As for the three vice sectlords, they stared in the air towards Ning. By now, they realized that they had encountered a truly tough foe.

  * * *

  Book 30, Chapter 8 - Sharpened

  The two sides stared at each other from afar. This clash of Daos alone let the three vice sectlords know that in terms of insights into the Dao, this mere Daolord of the Second Step was already on par with Daolord Clevermind and superior to the other two vice sectlords! This caused their ardor to cool down. However, they remained full of confidence. There would be an enormous difference in amount of divine power and Immortal energy, after all; one was a Daolord of the Second Step, the others were Daolords of the Fourth Step!

  “Attack,” Daolord Clevermind shouted mentally to the other two.

  “GRWAAAWR!” Daolord Bruteflame raised his head and let out a bellow as his stony body suddenly expanded. He transformed into an enormous stone titan that was ten million kilometers tall, and his two giant stone legs slammed into the ground like the pillars of heaven themselves, causing the earth to tremble. His two arms seemed to contain the power to annihilate the heavens as he sent them smashing towards Ning.

  “Interesting.” One of the Northbow swords flew out from Ji Ning’s back, falling into his hands. He transformed into the [Three Heads, Six Arms] form, all six of his arms clenched around the hilt of this sword. His sword suddenly expanded to become massive as well, and his six arms swung it outwards in a furious chop.

  Omega Sword Dao –!

  Ning had made breakthroughs in all five of his Supreme Daos. Although he hadn’t been able to merge them together into a higher-level Omega Sword Dao, his total combat power had still improved by a bit. He was now on par with Patriarch Clearwind in every respect, be it in using quick sword-arts, fierce sword-arts, or unpredictable sword-arts. In fact, his perfection in every area was such that his sword-arts would be enough to force Patriarch Clearwind to flee.

  BOOM! The massive streak of sword-light slammed into those two enormous, heaven-overturning arms which brimmed with flames. An enormous explosion blasted out, and Ning couldn’t help but take two steps back. As for the giant stone titan, Daolord Bruteflame, he stumbled one step back as well.

  “Daolord Bruteflame lives up to his reputation as an Aberrant special lifeform. The star maps of the Brightshore Kingdom described him as an Aberrant famous for his strength. However, he’s weak in terms of speed and technique,” Ning amused.

  “What? A Daolord of the Second Step was actually able to fight Bruteflame head on?” Daolord Graceful was astonished.

  “Not good.” Daolord Clevermind’s face paled. He knew very well that even if he struck at full power, he would still be at a disadvantage when fighting Daolord Bruteflame head-on.

  “It’ll be up to you, Daolord Clevermind,” Daolord Graceful sent mentally. An incredibly dense black mist suddenly arose that instantly covered the surrounding area which could not be dispersed by the aura of Ning’s Dao. Something seemed to be swimming within that dark mist that almost instantly shot out towards the opponent.

  “Oh, a competition in using soft, Yin principles?” Ning’s six Northbow swords all shot out of the sheath, and he wielded one in each of his six arms, sending sword-light flowing outwards and easily defending against the technique.

  “Die, then.” The most powerful of the thre
e, Daolord Clevermind, charged straight towards Ning with six warhammers in his hands.

  Ning’s face tightened. Although Daolord Clevermind’s name implied trickery, his combat style was absolutely savage and dominating, but in a different way from how Daolord Bruteflame merely used brute force. Daolord Clevermind didn’t seem to have any obvious flaws at all.

  “Excellent. The Ninedust Sect is giving me just what I want. I was hoping to have a chance to tussle a bit against comparable foes and see if I can’t perhaps evolve my Omega Sword Dao.” Ning revealed a smile. “Who would’ve thought they’d choose to send their three vice sectlords out to spar?” Three of them at the same time would give even Ning some pressure.

  “Let’s do this!” Ning charged forwards.

  “Kill!” Daolord Clevermind shot straight towards Ning.

  “Hmph.” The distant Daolord Graceful controlled his magic treasures from afar, sending long-range attacks against Ning. He was a Ki Refiner and so wasn’t all that skilled in close combat. As for Daolord Bruteflame, he sent his giant fists smashing towards Ning time and time again, each strike comparable to Ning’s Omega Heavenbreaker attack. Ning had to be wary of him as well.

  ……

  For a time, the scene outside the Eastroad Sect was a scene of complete chaos. Black mist swirled everywhere, and an enormous titan was launching frenzied attacks in every direction. At the center of the action was the battle between the number one vice sectlord of the Ninedust Sect, Daolord Clevermind… and a white-robed youth. Thunder and lightning crackled through the air as the giant warhammers linked together into a cage of lightning around Ning, whose six swords struck out with unfathomable, mysterious power. Sometimes, they were as unfathomable as swimming dragons; at other times, they were as explosive as volcanos. In every aspect, he was as strong as Daolord Clevermind.