Desolate Era

by RWX

  “But the situation is still quite unfavorable for him.” Daolord Battlemaster frowned. “The Junior Radiant King has manifested over five hundred clones. Darknorth can do nothing but passively accept the man’s attacks. There’s no way for him to counter-attack at all. None of his counter-attacks would land on the Junior Radiant King’s true body.”

  Daolord Solesky nodded somberly as well. “Yes. This is going to be a passive, one-sided battle. If he can’t hit back, it won’t be easy to win.”

  “According to what I’ve heard, the Junior Radiant King is able to use only the first two killer attacks of the three.” Daolord Brightfish said anxiously, “In comparison, the [Lumislayer] is actually the weakest of the three attacks. Next is the [Lumihilator], with the strongest being the legendary [Lumipocalypse].”

  Slay.

  Annihilate.

  Apocalypse.

  These were the three legendary killer attacks. According to the legends, the [Lumipocalypse] was created and practiced by the Radiant King alone. It was this technique which allowed him to be recognized and acknowledged as the third most powerful Daolord of all the Endless Territories. However, the principle of this attack was to first injure the self, then injure the foe!

  Ordinary Eternal Emperors would probably be slain in a single blow by this attack. One could imagine how strong it was! Given that even the Radiant King himself would be injured when using this attack, there was no way the Junior Radiant King ‘Daolord Yanmi’ was qualified to use it.

  ……

  “Is that so?” Daolord Yanmi had an ugly look on his face, and he was verily brimming with murderous intent.

  “I hear that you can use two of the three killer attacks of the Radiant King. I wonder how strong the second attack is?” Ning’s eyes gleamed with excitement. He wanted to see just how strong the so-called [Lumihilator] was and how it measured up to his own attacks, such as the Blood Drop stance and the Shadowless stance! The Radiant King himself normally just used the [Lumihilator] in combat, as the third killer attack would cause him severe injuries. Thus, he wouldn’t use it without a very good reason.

  “Then have a taste of annihilation for yourself.” Daolord Yanmi’s hundreds of clones suddenly all vanished into thin air. Whoosh. They dispersed into motes of light that reformed into a single Daolord Yanmi.

  Ning narrowed his eyes.

  “I’m fairly weak,” Daolord Yanmi said in a soft voice. “Thus, I’m unable to maintain my clones while using the [Lumihilator]. The Radiant King, however, is able to launch this attack with all of his clones at once, making it impossible to tell which is real and which is false. That is true power! However… against you, my strength is enough.”

  Ning immediately grew vigilant. Daolord Yanmi was down to just a single body now, and it didn’t seem all that powerful… and it was precisely the fact that he had reserved all of his power that Ning felt all the more vigilant.

  Daolord Yanmi produced a single black sword in his hand. “Annihilate,” he murmured softly. Swoosh! His entire body seemed to merge together with that sword and transform into a dazzling strand of golden light. Even though he was under the pressure of the heartworld projection and the Yin-Yang Sword Domain, he still moved at seventy-two times the speed of light.

  “What terrifying speed.” Ning was stunned. He himself was far slower than his opponent. “However… you wish to fight me in close combat? Hmph. Close combat isn’t all about speed.” Faced with the attacking strand of golden light, Ning struck out with both hands, forming sword-fingers with them to block.

  Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

  The power of this strand of golden light came from pure speed. Just as it started to clash against Ning’s fingers and be blocked by them, it instantly changed directions. The strand of golden light continuously circled around Ning, moving at terrifying speeds as it attacked him again and again, almost as if it was bouncing between multiple mirrors. Ning was forced to rely on his Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart stance and pour all of his efforts in to defense.

  “How is this possible?! How could his defenses be completely flawless? How can his avatar keep up with my speed?!” Daolord Yanmi was stunned even as he executed this killer attack.

  The [Lumihilator] could be described by one word – fast! It vastly surpassed all other techniques in this area, and it was able to continuously change directions. Generally speaking, experts on the same level as the wielder would at most be able to block three or four times before they were no longer able to handle the changes in direction and were defeated! To date, when fighting opponents on the same level, Daolord Yanmi had only ever seen opponents rely on special techniques such as ‘invulnerable bodies’ to endure this attack. In all his life, he had only encountered two figures who were able to actually use their weapons to block this attack… with Ning being the second of the two!

  The first was the legendary number one expert of the entire Endless Territories. But of course, back then the man had merely been a Daolord of the Third Step.

  “He really is quite fast. Incredibly fast, in fact, and the changes in direction are fast as well. This single attack is virtually all-encompassing and omnipresent. Its speed and agility alone allows the wielder to dominate much of the Endless Territories and defeat the vast majority of Daolords. However, its actual close-combat techniques are fairly weak. Its defenses are quite weak, and its attacks are excessively fixed and not sufficiently unpredictable. I’m able to easily tell where the next attack will be coming from.” This was Ning’s private evaluation. “Anyone faster than him would be able to defeat this attack with ease.”

  However, Ning also knew that this current level of speed was in spite of his heartworld projection and his Yin-Yang Sword Domain. Even the most supreme of Daolords like Ninedust would generally be unable to keep up with these attacks. As for the Radiant King, he himself was already able to move at a hundred times the speed of light. One could imagine how fast his [Lumihilate] would be!

  “Failed. Failed. Failed again…” Daolord Yanmi was increasingly anxious. He had launched more than a thousand attacks in an incredibly short period of time, but all of them had been blocked by Ning. Ning was clearly much slower than him, but Ning’s defenses were so airtight, flawless, and perfect that he wasn’t able to find a single opening at all.

  “I’ve tested out both of your killer attacks, and they seem quite so-so. Time for my counter-attack!” Ning’s heartforce instantly surged out, silently and soundless infiltrating Daolord Yanmi’s body.

  At present, Ning had two incredibly powerful heartforce attacks! This was his second one – the [Dreamstar]! The [Heartforce Eradicator] focused on a head-on clash, while the [Dreamstar] focused on illusions!

  “Eh?” Daolord Yanmi had been focused on this furious battle, but he suddenly sensed his soul and truesoul being entranced. Illusions began to appear in front of him, but he instantly brought himself back into wakefulness as his mind let out a furious shout, destroying the illusions before him.

  BOOM!

  However, right at this moment… Ning’s right hand pierced directly through his chest!

  “You…” Daolord Yanmi was stunned. He realized that in the end, the illusions had disrupted his concentration after all, albeit for just a brief instant… but he had slowed down during that instant, allowing Ning to seize the opportunity to strike him.

  “What’s going on?” Ning was surprised as well. “He should have an Eternal armor protecting his body. Why was I able to so easily pierce into his chest?”

  “Daolord Darknorth, you are very powerful. Your close combat skills are just as strong as your heartforce skills.” Daolord Yanmi ignored the heavy injure as he stared at Ning, then sighed. “I imagine it will be difficult to find anyone on our level of power who is capable of defeating you. Most likely, only the most supreme of first-tier Daolords would be able to beat you. You’ve beaten me, and I have no excuses to make.”

  Whoosh. Daolord Yanmi’s body instantly dissipated into co
untless streams of radiant light. The light quickly reassembled into a second Daolord Yanmi off in the distance. He stared at Ning, then smiled. “This is what the true secrets of having a body of light incarnate are all about. Not only can my body transform into countless clones, I’m also virtually invulnerable! Although you are a bit stronger than me, you aren’t able to kill me. Alas… I had been hoping to find a chance to improve my odds, but I ended up running into someone like you. It seems my chances of acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals really are slim.”

  After speaking, he turned and took a single step forwards, then vanished without a trace.

  Ning continued to stare in the direction Daolord Yanmi had disappeared into. He murmured softly, “A body of light incarnate?” All second-tier Daolords had extremely strong life-preserving abilities. Kongsan, for example, was nigh-invulnerable thanks to his ‘darkness incarnate’ body. Daolord Yanmi’s life-preserving ability was just as strong as Kongsan’s had been. Beating him wouldn’t be difficult, but actually killing him would be very difficult.

  And similarly, killing Ji Ning would also be extremely difficult.

  ……

  Within the Waveshift Realm.

  A white-robed youth whose long golden hair glimmered with radiance was strolling slowly through the realm. The youth was quite handsome, and none of the other cultivators dared to even look him directly in the eye.

  He was the Radiant King, one of the truly supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories, ranked at the very top of the listings.

  “I told him long ago. Daolord Solesky would merely leave his avatar at Vastheaven Palace, with all the other disciples having fled long ago. Clearly, Daolord Solesky has already decided to let his avatar perish in battle if need be.” The Radiant King shook his head. “Yanmi and the others, however, still harbored their foolish illusions and hoped to gain some intelligence.”

  “To Solesky, that information represents his chances of succeeding in the Daomerge. How could he possibly be willing to tell others about it? Only those weak Daolords would harbor any illusions that they would win the information from him. All of the truly powerful Daolords chose to waste no time in heading straight to the Waveshift Realm. Every single moment might give them an advantage in acquiring the Voidsea Jadeseals.” A hint of a smile was on the Radiant King’s face.

  * * *

  * * *

  Book 31, Chapter 24 - Entering the Waveshift Realm

  The three spacetime tunnels of the Brightshore Kingdom were used quite frequently in recent days, because quite a few wandering Verge-level Daolords had hastened back and traversed them enroute to the Badlands Territory.

  Whoosh. A white-robed youth emerged from the dark vortex exiting one of the tunnels.

  “Daolord Darknorth.” Suddenly, a voice called out to him. Ji Ning turned his head, only to see a smiling, golden-robed elder beam at him. “Daolord Darknorth!”

  “Daolord Goldsaber?” Ning recognized the old man.

  “That I am. I feel quite embarrassed when I look at you. It took this old man years to reach the Verge as a Daolord. Just a short while ago, you were a World-level cultivator, but now you are more powerful than me! I heard that even the Junior Radiant King, Daolord Yanmi, was unable to defeat your avatar. Impressive, truly impressive,” the golden-robed elder sighed.

  Word of the battle between Ning’s avatar and Daolord Yanmi had indeed spread throughout the Endless Territories. In truth, Solesky and Battlemaster had done this on purpose, so as to ensure that the other Daolords would give up their fantasies and withdraw.

  “I’ve heard some important information that I’m not sure if you are aware of, Daolord Darknorth,” the golden-robed elder said.

  “What is it?” Ning asked.

  “Just a few hours ago, Winesage of the Dark Kingdom has appeared in the Badlands Territory. By now, he’s already entered the Waveshift Realm!” the golden-robed expert said solemnly.

  “Winesage?” Ning’s face turned slightly pale. Winesage of the Dark Kingdom? He was one of the legends of the entire universe, because he was now publicly acclaimed as the number one Daolord of all the Endless Territories! It was actually something of a joke; the most powerful Daolord of the noble Endless Territories actually stemmed from the outsider organization known as the Dark Kingdom. Alas, no one could deny how terrifyingly strong Winesage was.

  Anyone in any era who was publicly acknowledged as being number one possessed truly incredible power. Daolord Featherdress herself had been the number one Daolord of her era.

  Winesage was supposedly skilled in the Dao of Darkness… and he was also a Heartforce Cultivator! The legends said that as a child, he was born into and grew up within a world of slaughter. The Dark Kingdom was an outsider organization, making it very difficult for them to truly establish themselves in the Endless Territories. Thus, all of the geniuses who grew up within the Dark Kingdom were extremely violent and brutal, with the Dao Alliance not intervening at all! It was hard to imagine the difficulties and torments which Winesage experienced.

  As a result, he became a notorious alcoholic, using alcohol to douse away his worries… but in one alcohol-induced dream, he suddenly came to master an incredible heartforce art known as the [Slaughterfiend Field]!

  “It was only expected that Winesage would go to the Waveshift Realm.” Ning was quite calm. “Now that the Voidsea Jadeseals have emerged, I imagine that most of the most powerful Daolords will all go there. Given Winesage’s power, how could he not?”

  “That’s not the only thing I have to share,” the golden-robed elder said. “Winesage actually acquired a Universe treasure!”

  “What?!” Ning called out in astonishment, “A UNIVERSE treasure?! Are you sure about that?”

  “Dead sure. Brother Darknorth, I heard this just a short while ago myself. I imagine that you’ll receive word soon as well,” the golden-robed elder said. “The Waveshift Realm is in a state of chaos right now, and many of the Daolords who aren’t confident in their chances have begun to gather together into groups. More than ten thousand Daolords of the Dao Alliance joined forces to set up a grand formation outside the Waveshift Realm to prevent the Aeonians and the Daolords of the Dark Kingdom to enter the realm! And indeed, they were able to stop the Daolords of both organizations for a time. However, when Winesage appeared and was faced with the grand formation set up by over ten thousand Daolords of the Dao Alliance, he ended up using his Universe treasure and forced a way into the Waveshfit Realm!”

  “A Universe treasure?” Ning still couldn’t believe it. He had run into several Universe treasures by now. The first one had been the shattered sword in the Sword Palace, while the second had been the indigo greatsword of the Sword Hegemon in the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe. The third had been within that cave deep inside the Terror Starsea, the longstaff that had been left behind by that ancestor of the Ancient cultivators.

  None of them, however, had taken a liking to Ning! There was no way to bind Universe treasures by force. This was a case of the weapon choosing the wielder, rather than the wielder choosing the weapon! Every single Universe treasure contained a truly inconceivable amount of power.

  “He was already the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories. If he has a Universe treasure, he’s going to be absolutely unstoppable.” The golden-robed elder sighed. “And… to me, it’s inconceivable that a Universe treasure would ever choose a Daolord. When Daolords fail their Daomerge, death is a certainty. Based on what I know, Winesage has already been alive for an extremely long period of time. I imagine he only has a few thousand chaos cycles left before he reaches the limits of his lifespan.”

  Ning nodded. Generally speaking, Universe treasures would only choose Eternal Emperors! The number of Daolords in the Endless Territories who had acquired Universe treasures could be counted on one hand.

  “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, are you planning to go to the Waveshift Realm as well?” the golden-robed elder asked.

  “Yes.” Ning nodded.
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  “Would you like to travel with me?” the golden-robed elder immediately asked.

  “No need. I’ve already made an appointment with a friend,” Ning explained.

  “Then I won’t force it.” The golden-robed expert knew that he was much weaker than Ning and would just slow the latter down. “Although my chances are slim, I’m still going to go to the Waveshift Realm. If I go, I’ll at least have a slim chance. Haha! However, I’m definitely going to work together alongside a group of other Daolords. We’re not like those supreme Daolords who dare to travel solo or in small groups.”

  Ning couldn’t help but sigh. For the sake of the Daomerge, even the weaker Daolords were still willing to risk it all.

  ……

  Word quickly spread like wildfire throughout the Endless Territories, stunning everyone.

  “Winesage? What an interesting kid.” The Netherlily Hegemon of the Ancient cultivators smiled with praise.

  “Every member of the Dark Kingdom is a madman. They are crazy towards themselves and even crazier towards their descendants. Still, they ended up rearing a fine young fellow.” The Windrain Hegemon was perpetually in a state of slumber, but he had woken up due to this business with the Voidsea Jadeseals.

  “Darknorth and Bertulu are both Heartforce Cultivators as well. I had thought that they would have a shot at overtaking Winesage once they became Daolords of the Fourth Step, but it seems that hope is gone.” The almighty Brightshore Hegemon shook his head. “Their only chance lies in acquiring a Universe treasure of their own… but that chance is far too slim.”

  It wasn’t that the Brightshore Hegemon underestimated Ning and Bertulu. Rather, it was that Universe treasures simply contributed an overwhelming amount of power to their wielders.

  ……

  Within Vastheaven Palace. Ning’s avatar and Solesky’s avatar were holding a meeting.