by RWX
Ning nodded. Dreamdust Way was located very deep within the Terror Starsea and was extremely dangerous!
“I hope we won’t be so unlucky as to die here.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked towards Ning. “Let’s go.”
“Mm.” Ning nodded. Swoosh! The black vessel immediately flew towards that bluestone pathway.
Only by passing through Dreamdust Way would they be able to reach the Starflow River. Although very dangerous, this was comparatively the ‘safest’ path for them to reach the Starflow River.
The Ninedust Sectlord held his longstaff at the ready, his eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings. Clearly, he was quite nervous. He said in a low voice, “Given our vessel’s flying speed, we should be able to exit Dreamdust Way in roughly a month. One month. Just one month. We need to stay on our guard this entire month.”
Ning wielded a Northbow sword in each of his two hands as he maintained a vigilant watch. He couldn’t help but smirk. “Ninedust. You almost seem nervous.”
“Can’t blame me for being nervous. The slightest miscalculation in this pla-… careful!” The Ninedust Sectlord’s face turned pale. An azure scaled beast had suddenly appeared off in the distance. This beast had a pair of armored wings and a pair of protruding golden eyes that seemed to contain a vast world within them. Whoooosh. The azure scaled beast blinked. Moments later, more than ten thousand of similar beasts appeared next to it. All of them let out shrill, ear-piercing screeches.
“Dreamdust lifeforms. Careful!” The Ninedust Sectlord was very nervous. “Only one of them is real. The rest are all illusory, but it can switch its true body with the illusory ones at will. It could be any of them.”
Ning stood there at the prow of his vessel, watching as the thousands of beasts charged towards them. A cold light suddenly flashed through his eyes.
Whoosh! An invisible ripple swept out like a wave towards the thousands of azure beasts. One beast suddenly let out a low, agonized scream. Its body trembled, then its golden eyes quickly grew dim as it silently collapsed.
The other azure scaled beasts all completely vanished in an instant, leaving behind that single fallen corpse. Moments later, the corpse began to automatically separate into countless motes of azure light which then began to flow into the bluestone path in a very natural manner.
“It died?” The Ninedust Sectlord turned to look at Ning, rather amazed. “Darknorth, w-what just happened? How did that Dreamdust creature suddenly die?”
Dreamdust lifeforms were terrifying creatures that were born from the unusual, unique Dreamdust Way environment. They were born with incredible skill over illusions, and were able to manifest many false bodies which they could ‘swap’ with their true bodies at will. Thus, battling against them was a very tiresome and troublesome task. Even if you were much more powerful than them, you might die to them if you weren’t careful.
“Heartforce,” Ning said.
“I knew it! I sensed it.” The Ninedust Sectlord was rather stunned. “You are a Heartforce Cultivator?” The Ninedust Sectlord had been keeping a careful vigil, wary of more Dreamdust lifeforms appearing. When he suddenly sensed that strange wave blast out, he naturally was able to calculate that it had most likely been heartforce! However, Ning had never before used heartforce techniques, and Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly rare.
“Haha. I told you earlier that the Hegemon of the Dao Alliance left something for me.” Ning smiled. “I became a true Heartforce Cultivator within that cave.”
“Haha…” The Ninedust Sectlord was overjoyed. “Splendid! My greatest worry with regards to Dreamdust Way was that we might actually be trapped by its illusions! That’s why we have to maintain constant vigilance… but I never imagined that you would’ve become a Heartforce Cultivator. Hahaha! To trap a powerful Heartforce Cultivator with illusions is no easy feat. I can finally relax a little bit and not be as nervous as I was earlier. Just keep an eye out on things.”
“Dreamdust lifeforms are skilled in more than just illusions; they can also create many false bodies and are strong in close combat,” Ning warned. “The legends say that the most powerful lifeforms here are comparable to Eternal Emperors in power. Even though I’ll be able to resist their illusions, I’m probably not going to be a match for them in close combat.”
“Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.
“If push comes to shove, we’ll have to rely on our Dao-seals,” Ning said.
“No matter what, you being a Heartforce Cultivator means that we’ll have an easier time of it when dealing with illusions.” The Ninedust Sectlord said curiously, “What heartforce art did you use just now? It seemed quite incredible.”
“Heartforce Eradicator,” Ning replied. This was a heartforce art which Ning created himself after studying and modifying the heartforce legacy left behind by Daolord Featherdress. It was highly suited to him and also extremely powerful.
Daolord Featherdress was far more powerful than the current Palace Lord of the Heartforce Palace! Daolord Feather had been the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories in that era and had three supreme heartforce arts.
These arts were known as the [Heartforce Eradicator], [Dreamworld], and [Featherdress Soulthrall Song]. Daolord Featherdress had primarily relied on the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song] to become the number one Daolord of that era. The song mesmerized the soul, ensuring that even powerful Eternal Emperors would be caught by it if they weren’t careful. Even many of the most supreme of Daolords were unable to resist such a terrifying heartforce art.
Ji Ning, however, was different from Daolord Featherdress. Ning’s Dao was that of the Omega Sword Dao, an offensive Dao. Featherdress was more subtle and more guileful, and also extremely skilled in the musical arts. This was why Featherdress had been able to create the terrifying [Featherdress Soulthrall Song].
The two walked different paths and naturally had very different styles. Ning had learned just a tiny bit of the [Featherdress Soulthrall Song] and had barely managed to learn 20% of [Dreamworld], but he had mastered the extremely offensive [Heartforce Eradicator] art. He had then modified it to make it better suited to him, resulting in it becoming even more powerful.
His heartforce lashed out like a sword, eradicating the opponent’s soul and truesoul. It was an extremely dominating attack!
However, if his foe was able to endure the attack, this heartforce art would be very ineffective. In other words, it was an ‘all-or-nothing’ type of attack. Daolord Featherdress had been skilled in many areas and thus was much more dangerous. In the end, Ning simply hadn’t been training for long enough. He primarily relied on the power of his Omega Sword Dao. For him to be able to master and then retrofit the [Heartforce Eradicator] was already quite incredible.
“The name makes it sound pretty wild and dominating.” The Ninedust Sectlord said in a resigned fashion, “I had thought that the gifts the ancestor gave me would enable me to beat you. It seems I’m not a match for you anymore.”
“You really aren’t a match for me now.” Ning nodded.
“You little…” The Ninedust Sectlord glared at him. “You don’t know the meaning of ‘modesty’ at all. Just you wait. When I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step… hmph! I’ve already gained many insights during our time in the cave. It won’t take me too long to break through and become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. By then, you’ll know just how awesome I am.”
“It’s quite normal to be stuck at a bottleneck for several chaos cycles. Don’t worry, I won’t abuse you too much in the interim,” Ning teased.
The two bantered back and forth as they advanced on the black vessel. The reason why they were able to relax and banter was because they knew that illusions, at least, would not be a problem! Their only worry would be head-on encounters.
“Outsiders.” An azure beast appeared in the distance, its golden eyes filled with a murderous look. “Die.” Instantly, more than ten thousand duplicates of it appeared, with all of them charging towards the vessel. Neither Nin
g nor the Ninedust Sectlord could recognize the real one, as every single body could theoretically be the real one.
“Hmph.” Ning turned and swept his gaze across the beasts, his heartforce surging out like a wave. Instantly, all of the beasts vanished save for a single one that fell down dead. The corpse naturally dissipated and merged back into the bluestone road.
“Impressive, impressive. You looked at it and it died! I’m really jealous now.” The Ninedust Sectlord chortled in praise. “I wonder when and if I’ll ever become a Heartforce Cultivator. I’ll stare at people until they die! What a wonderful life that would be.”
* * *
Book 31, Chapter 4 - Heartworld Projection, Descend!
This was the most frightening aspect of supreme Heartforce Cultivators! Their attacks were silent, fast, and incredibly deadly. Worse, not even Universe treasures were useful in defending against heartforce attacks. You could only rely on your Dao-heart, your soul, and your mental fortitude! There was no way to counterfeit any of these things. Even if you were incredibly strong in combat, if you had mental flaws then you would still die at the hands of a Heartforce Cultivator.
Long ago Ji Ning, Prince Greatjoy, Heartlord Solewind, and Waterlord Firesurge had journeyed to the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. Together, they had tested themselves against the primessence chains that led to the heart of that universe. Although all four of them were very similar in power, Firesurge was noticeably much weaker than the others mentally.
This was why Heartforce Cultivators had very special statuses. Even when they were slightly weaker than others, they would still be afforded with the utmost of respect by even the most powerful of Daolords!
“Die, outsider!” Yet another azure scaled beast emerged. A second later, many thousands of illusions appeared around it. This was their standard, innate attack. But Ning just glanced at all of them, then swept out with his heartforce like a sword. Whoosh! They all dissipated like smoke as a single corpse fell down.
……
The first twelve days in Dreamdust Way were extremely relaxed. Sometimes they encountered ten of those Dreamdust lifeforms at the same time, but in each case Ning was able to wipe them out with a single glance. None of them were able to resist Ning’s [Heartforce Eradicator] at all.
On the thirteenth day, they finally encountered a Dreamdust lifeform that was capable of withstanding the [Heartforce Eradicator] and not perishing. This beast was noticeably larger than the previous ones that they had fought. Although it was able to survive the heartforce attack, it clearly was rather dazed by it, giving Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord a chance to charge forwards and slay it in close combat.
On the sixteenth day, they encountered an extremely tough-to-deal-with beast that was able to ignore the [Heartforce Eradicator]! It was also on the same general level of power as Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord in close combat. In the end the two had to join forces, with Ning finishing it off with a blow from his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop.
The two continued to advance on their black vessel, but after the seventeenth day they begin to grow puzzled. “Odd. Why haven’t we seen a single Dreamdust lifeform?” Life had suddenly become quite tranquil, and they didn’t run into any of the beasts at all.
“This is odd. Extremely odd. According to Patriarch Vulturas’ notes, Dreamdust Way should only grow in danger as we move deeper into it, with the Dreamdust lifeforms increasing in number and power.” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned. “It should take us roughly a month to traverse the entire Dreamdust Way. We should be at the very center of it right now. Why don’t we see as much as a single one?”
……
The eighteenth day. The nineteenth day. The twentieth day…
Everything was very calm. No Dreamdust lifeforms appeared. Twenty-six days had gone by in the blink of an eye, and they were close to exiting Dreamdust way.
Whoooosh. The black vessel continued to advance at a hundred time’s the speed of light. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood alongside each other at the prow, staring off into the distance. Neither relaxed in the slightest. It had been ten days since they had encountered any Dreamdust lifeforms. Something was very wrong.
“Not good.” Ning’s face suddenly tightened.
“Stop!” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately called out.
The black vessel came to an immediate halt in the darkness of the void. The two of them stared off into the distance, where an entire host of azure scaled beasts had gathered. These creatures all had stooped figures, scaled wings, and protruding golden eyes. In front of them was the largest Dreamdust beast the two had seen thus far, a creature that was at least thirty meters tall. The beast at the very back was the smallest, merely fifteen meters tall.
“This looks like trouble.” The Ninedust Sectlord murmured, “Darknorth, the scaled beasts we saw previously were eighteen meters tall at best. This group is led by one that is thirty meters tall, and there are five beasts that are twenty-seven meters tall and twelve that are twenty-four meters tall. Even the weakest one is fifteen meters tall. In total, there are twenty-one of them.”
“Fifteen meters is the cutoff for surviving my [Heartforce Eradicator],” Ning sent mentally. “Clearly, the Dreamdust beasts have come prepared.”
The two sides stared at each other from afar. Off in the distance, more than a hundred more scaled beasts also stared at Ning’s group, their protruding golden eyes seeming to hold boundless worlds within them.
“Wonderful… absolutely beautiful…” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly had a sappy, stupid grin on his face.
“Eh?” Ning’s face tightened. He immediately sent out a surge of heartforce smashing outwards like a ripple-wave that blocked all outside sources of power, allowing the Ninedust Sectlord to immediately regain his clarity of mind.
“I-I was actually trapped by an illusion.” The Ninedust Sectlord immediately came back to his senses, a cold thrill of fear going down his spine. He stared at the distant beast leader. “I was caught in an illusion without even realizing it. No wonder the Patriarch said Dreamdust Way was dangerous and that I might die here. He told me to be prepared at all times.”
“Prepared?” Ning glanced at him.
“Yes. My original plan was to engage in a continuous mental conversation with my retainers; whenever I stopped talking, that would be a sign that I had been trapped inside an illusion and my retainer would immediately use a Dao-seal to wake me up!” The Ninedust Sectlord continued, “But since I knew that you were a Heartforce Cultivator, I didn’t go through the trouble.”
Ning couldn’t help but nod upon hearing this. This wasn’t a bad idea at all.
“Cultivators…” An ancient voice rang out from afar. “I’m impressed that you were able to resist my illusions. No wonder you were able to slay so many of my compatriots with ease… but the end result of trespassing onto Dreamdust Way will still be death.”
The largest beast’s aura washed out like a tidal wave as it pointed at the two of them. “Kill.”
“Kill.”
“Kill.”
“Kill!” All of the Dreamdust lifeforms let out enraged howls as tens of thousands of illusions appeared around them. All of a sudden, there were over a million of the howling figures, and all of them charged straight towards the two.
“Use your secret art,” Ning sent mentally to the Ninedust Sectlord.
“Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.
BOOM! Nine energy dragons immediately flooded out of Ning’s body. These were his nine novessence arts.
WHOOSH! Curtains of rippling water appeared around the Ninedust Sectlord that quickly surged off into the distance.
It took time for secret arts to attack. Generally speaking, even the most supreme of secret arts would still only be able to fly at a hundred times the speed of light. This was a major bottleneck for cultivators and attacks alike. There were many Eternal Emperors who were unable to breach this limit.
The nine awesome secret arts and the waves of wa
ter swirled around each other, forming a perfect whole as they smashed towards the million-plus figures charging towards them.
BOOM!
Instantly, the many figures caught within the secret arts began to move much slower than before. However, all of them appeared completely unharmed. This was what made them so terrifying; there was no way to tell which one was real and which one was false.
Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord’s decision to join forces with their secret arts caused the fifteen meter beast and the eighteen meter beast to be completely locked in place, unable to move at all. The body of the fifteen meter beast actually began to shudder and slowly crumble apart. These two secret arts were simply too powerful. As for the other Dreamdust beasts, their speed dropped sharply as well.
“Die!” Ning focused his gaze upon them. Suddenly, an absolutely enormous world appeared in the void above the bluestone path. This world held tall mountains, deep canyons, and flowing rivers within it. At the very center of this world, there was an absolutely titanic mountain that was shaped like a giant sword. This enormous world was Ning’s heartworld!
Ning’s heartworld projection descended upon the bluestone road.
Heartworld projections were different from secret arts. Secret arts needed time to fly out and strike foes, but heartworld projections required no time at all. They were illusory projections and thus could descend instantly. Ning’s heartworld was absolutely enormous, on the same level as that of Daolord Soleman’s. His heartworld projection was thus just as powerful as his nine novessence arts.
When the nine novessence arts and the water curtain joined together, it had to be done in a careful way to prevent them from interfering with each other. The illusory heartworld projection, however, was able to overlap over them perfectly!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The fifteen meter beast was already at the verge of breaking apart, while the eighteen meter beasts had been completely frozen. Both were instantly annihilated when the heartworld projection came crashing down. The twenty-one meter beasts were now completely locked in place, while even the twenty-four meter beasts were dramatically slowed down.