Desolate Era

by RWX

  It must be remembered that not even the combined treasures of all three Hegemons would necessarily be enough to invite an Autarch to help out. To have the three of them jointly come up with sixty percent of the necessary funds represented them essentially bankrupting themselves. For them to sacrifice the majority of their treasures simply to view the [Omega Sword Dao]… the three Hegemons weren’t willing to do such a thing.

  “How embarrassing.” Daoist Bluestone looked towards Ning. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I’ve already offered as much as I can! To ask an Autarch to help out is just far too difficult. Perhaps the only person belonging to the Flamedragon Realmverse qualified to do such a thing is Emperor Waveshift, but he’s always been roaming the outside world. There’s no way to even locate him… and even if you somehow found him, he probably wouldn’t be willing to give you that much treasure. He might be weaker than Hegemons in actual combat, but he has definitely reached the Hegemon level in the Dao of Numerancy. Your [Omega Sword Dao] would be of limited use to him.”

  Ning understood. His [Omega Sword Dao] was of limited interest to the Hegemons; it was of far more interest to the Emperors who were trapped at a bottleneck and who sought to break through it to reach Hegemony.

  “Well, you know my offer. I’m willing to give you the vast majority of my treasures, and I’ll even be willing to do anything you ask me to do.” Daoist Bluestone smiled. “If you decide to accept, you can come seek me out whenever you wish.”

  The Dao which Daoist Bluestone had chosen was the Dao of Black and White. Black and white… they encompassed all things, including both evil and good, darkness and light. They were all-embracing. His mindset was quite calm and even – acquire what he could, but not to force what he could not.

  As a cultivator, his behavior had to match up to his Dao.

  ……

  Ning could sense Daoist Bluestone’s sincerity. In fact, Daoist Bluestone hadn’t tried to threaten him or give him the slightest bit of pressure. He was someone who even the three Hegemons were wary of, but he didn’t try to threaten Ning at all. Ning couldn’t help but admire him for this… causing him to change his mind! Reviving Yu Wei via reversing the flows of spacetime would be incredibly expensive, and it would be very hard to accumulate all the treasures needed at once.

  Since that wasn’t possible… he would slowly accumulate the amount needed. Given that he already had the verdant azuresoul and the mutated omnigeddon bloodfruit tree, if he added in Daoist Bluestone’s treasures… some more time and adventuring would give him a chance at acquiring what he needed.

  “Brother Bluestone,” Ning suddenly sent mentally to Daoist Bluestone. Daoist Bluestone’s heart trembled, but he kept his face expressionless to ensure that no one could tell.

  “After this conference concludes… let us discuss the Omega Sword Dao in private,” Ning sent mentally.

  “Very well. I, Bluestone, won’t forget the kindness you have shown me,” Daoist Bluestone sent back. He was extremely excited. Daoist Bluestone had already reached the maximum level he could reach in secret arts, divine abilities, or treasures. Although he had many treasures, none of them were really useful in increasing his level of power. To further refine and perfect his Dao was just far too difficult, which was why this inconceivable ‘Omega Sword Dao’ had truly stirred his interest.

  Ji Ning was merely a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but the power of his Dao was already comparable to that of Daoist Bluestone’s. Daoist Bluestone felt certain that this inconceivably profound Sword Dao would help open up a new path and new horizons for him.

  The two spoke mentally in private, agreeing to chat after the conference but not revealing any hint of the decision outwardly. There were far too many who were interested in the [Omega Sword Dao], after all; even if Ning was to agree, he wouldn’t agree publicly.

  “Hmph.” Emperor Goldface let out an angry snort as he rose to his feet. He pointed at Ning and yelled, “Fellow Daoist Bluestone has shown you great sincerity, but still you refuse? Where does a mere Daolord like yourself get the gall to act so arrogantly before the three Hegemons and we five Emperors? Hmph. Everyone says that you are powerful, but I haven’t had the chance to witness it myself. I really don’t believe it. Why don’t you show me if you really have the power to back up your arrogance.”

  Right after speaking, Emperor Goldface flew off his throne. His entire body began to glow with golden light that swept towards Ning like a crushing wave.

  “What, you want to try and take it from me by force?” Ning smiled coldly.

  “And what if I do? Let’s see if you are strong enough to keep it for yourself!” Emperor Goldface had always been an extremely overbearing Emperor, far more so than Bluestone or Jade Phoenix. This was why even Ning had heard of him, despite so many aeons having gone past since those early days; he had caused quite a stir!

  Jade Phoenix and the strongest of the three, Daoist Bluestone, were both very low-key to the point where Ning had never heard of them.

  “Brother Darknorth?” Daoist Bluestone sent mentally to Ning.

  “No need to intervene,” Ning sent back. “This Goldface character was already starting to piss me off. I’m going to teach him a lesson.”

  “Haha, good! I quite dislike Goldface as well. Help me teach him a good lesson,” Daoist Bluestone sent mentally.

  Although Ning had defeated Bloodcloud and Silksnow, the battle had concluded far too quickly. He had defeated all the enemies in an extremely short period of time, and so the only ones to witness it in person had been Hegemon Brightshore and Emperor Goldisle. Even Hegemon Netherlily and Hegemon Windrain had been just a step too slow, much less the other Emperors. None of them had personally witnessed how Ning had defeated Silksnow’s group, they had only watched as he had uprooted Silksnow Fiend Palace.

  “Puny Daolord, I’ll teach you a lesson and let you know that there’s a time for arrogance and a time for humility.” Emperor Goldface’s entire body glowed with golden light, but his gaze was as cold as ice. “When I’m around, you’d best show some humility.”

  He was Emperor Goldface. Only the three Hegemons and Daoist Bluestone were truly superior to him. He held others in no regard at all.

  “Soon, you’ll learn what humility actually means.” Ning rose to his feet as well. His body blurred as he activated [Three Heads, Six Arms] and all six Northbow swords flew into his hands.

  * * *

  Book 36, Chapter 19 - Dispersed

  “And who will teach me? You? You don’t even have a Universe treasure to your name!” Emperor Goldface smirked. “Makes sense, though. You are just a Daolord. It’ll be almost impossible for you to convince a Universe treasure to submit to you.”

  “Even without a Universe treasure, I’ll still knock you flat on your ass,” Ji Ning said coldly.

  “You’ll lose the attitude soon enough.” The look on Emperor Goldface’s face was growing uglier by the moment. He had already manifested six arms and wielded six long shuttles in his hands, each of which glowed with golden light. One of the six had an especially extraordinary aura. It looked semi-translucent, and the cold aura radiating from it caused Ning to instantly understand that it was a Universe treasure!

  Of Emperor Goldface’s six weapons, one was a Universe treasure while the other five were most likely lifeblood weapons.

  Of the major powers present, Hegemon Brightshore was on the best terms with Ning. He knew just how powerful Ning had become, as he had watched that earlier battle from start to finish. This was why Hegemon Brightshore did not move to stop this fight, while Ning had personally waved off Daoist Bluestone. As for the other major powers, they naturally didn’t move to prevent the fight. They were all curious and wanted to see just how powerful Ning’s [Omega Sword Dao] was.

  Whoosh. Endless flower petals began to appear around Emperor Goldface. Some were red, some were black, some were blue, some where violet… the multi-colored petals all danced through the surrounding area, pressing down upon Ning.

 
; Ning didn’t hesitate at all in unleashing his own secret arts. Countless arcs of sword-light appeared around him, while an incomparably beautiful pair of golden wings appeared right above him. The two worked together perfectly in accordance with the profound principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang, with the golden wings being escorted by countless arcs of sword-light. It looked like a phoenix being escorted by countless lesser birds, hurtling through the skies and sweeping towards Emperor Goldface. At the same time, a massive heartworld projection descended as well, with a giant sword-mountain at the very center of it.

  [Grand Diffraction Sword]! [Lumisword Godwings]! The two had been merged together via the Omega Sword Dao – Yin-Yang, then reinforced by the descent of Ning’s heartworld projection.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The countless flowers instantly began to crumble. A single strike was all it took for Emperor Goldface’s secret art to begin to crumble.

  “My ‘Hundred Flowers Realm’.” A look of rage appeared on Emperor Goldface’s face. “Kill!”

  Swish! In the end, secret arts were external sources of assistance. He, Emperor Goldface, was most skilled in close combat. His fame had been gained from his genuine abilities.

  “Kill!” Ning charged forwards as well. Swish! Swish! Swish! Six tidal waves of sword-light clashed against the six shuttles. Both sides used very bizarre and rapid attacks. Ning was using his Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless and his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. He was extremely confident in his close combat abilities. However, Ning’s face soon tightened. “He’s fast.”

  Emperor Goldface walked the path of the Dao of Light, after all; in terms of raw speed, not even Daoist Bluestone was a match for him! In addition, the Dao of Light was omnipresent and omniscient. There were no openings at all, making it so that even Ning’s unpredictable sword-arts found it hard to break through Emperor Goldface’s wall of shuttle-light.

  In addition… one of those six shuttles was a Universe treasure! Thus, some of Emperor Goldface’s attacks were incredibly powerful. This made it quite hard for Ning to battle him.

  “Hm? He’s pursued speed to the utmost, focusing all of his efforts on it. Even I am inferior to Goldface in terms of speed… but I didn’t expect for Daolord Darknorth to be able to block these attacks.” Daoist Bluestone laughed as he evaluated the progress of the battle.

  “Goldface’s path is that of the Dao of Light, after all. He is indeed highly skilled in speed and agility.” Empress Jade Phoenix nodded as well.

  ……

  Ning and Emperor Goldface continued their furious battle, but this sort of fight was quite uncomfortable for Ning. It reminded him not to underestimate anyone who had nearly reached Hegemonic levels in the Dao. Even though he was suppressing his opponent with a heartworld projection and two secret arts, his foe was still able to move with unbelievable speed.

  “Break for me!” Ning suddenly let out a furious roar, and his sword-stances changed. Previously, his attacks had been fast and bizarre, but now they completely changed to become incomparably brutal and explosive. Ning was now using his most overwhelming powerful attack, the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! His attacks exploded with power, causing the surrounding spatial fabric to collapse. The three spectating Hegemons hurriedly moved to stabilize spacetime, calming it down in the area around them. However, spacetime the area where Ning and Emperor Goldface were battling had been completely annihilated.

  “What?!” Emperor Goldface suddenly turned pale as he saw a terrifying flood of sword-light crash towards him. This tsunami of sword-light was incomparably ferocious, so mighty as to cause even him to feel a tinge of fear. The only person in the Dao Alliance who had ever given him such a sense of pressure was Daoist Bluestone.

  “Block!” Emperor Goldface hurriedly strove to defend against the attack.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning’s six swords continued to furiously chop out against him in accordance with the principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Emperor Goldface was completely unprepared for this avalanche of attacks. He had reached an apex of speed and agility, and there was no one in the Dao Alliance who could compare to him in this regard. However, what he feared the most was having to deal such overwhelmingly powerful attacks that he had to face head-on.

  Daoist Bluestone had crushed him in just this manner. Long before Daoist Bluestone’s Primaltwin had been transformed into a Black Emperor, the two had fought a public battle. Daoist Bluestone’s staff-arts had struck down like titanic meteors, causing Emperor Goldface to turn completely pale with fear. This was why he had chosen to go into seclusion and had trained so painstakingly in private. He wanted to one day wipe away the humiliation of that loss.

  Alas… he wasn’t able to exceed Bluestone in power. When he heard that Daoist Bluestone’s Primaltwin had been transformed into a Black Emperor, he had instantly felt despair.

  “I told you that I’d knock you on your ass, and that’s what I’m going to do.” Ning’s six Northbow swords howled down angrily like an endless storm of strikes. Delightful, truly delightful! No wonder so many cultivators chose Daos that were focused on crushing foes with overwhelming power. But of course, if one purely focused on such techniques then one’s foes would be able to avoid your lethal strikes with superior agility. Ning’s advantage lay in the fact that his Sword Dao was truly perfect. Foes were unable to avoid his strikes… and so even Emperor Goldface was being smashed down to the brink of defeat.

  Swoosh! Emperor Goldface’s face turned uglier and uglier to behold. With a swooshing sound, he transformed into a dazzling line of light that quickly retreated far away at incredible speeds.

  The battle came to a temporary halt as Ning simply stared at the distant Emperor Goldface.

  Emperor Goldface felt incredibly ashamed and enraged. He roared loudly, “Everyone, Daolord Darknorth is nothing more than a Daolord, but his sword-arts have already reached incredible heights. This [Omega Sword Dao] truly is extraordinary! I imagine that it would be very useful even for Hegemons; the three of you might gain much from studying it. However, he asks too much!”

  “Daoist Bluestone offered him many treasures, but he still refuses to show us his technique… and he dares act with such gall before us! Since he refuses to give us face, why should we give him any face? I think we should join forces to capture him and force him to hand over his [Omega Sword Dao]! Let’s work together. He won’t be able to escape!” Emperor Goldface roared.

  Everyone fell silent.

  Empress Jade Phoenix glanced at him, then turned to look at the other Emperors and Hegemons.

  Hegemon Netherlily watched silently, not saying a word.

  Emperor Blackcloud glanced at his peers as well.

  The entire region fell into an unnatural, awkward stillness. Ning’s face tightened slightly. He then turned to glance coldly at Emperor Goldface. If they all worked together, he would indeed be in quite a bit of trouble… but logically speaking, Hegemon Brightshore and Daoist Bluestone probably wouldn’t act against him. If so, he wouldn’t be in that much danger. He had yet to reveal his ‘Shadowless body’. In truth, even if all of the major powers present struck against him simultaneously, the end result would at most be him being forced to disperse his body and reveal his invulnerable form.

  “Enough!” Daoist Bluestone barked coldly. “Goldface, you go too far.”

  “I’m trying to help you out, Bluestone!” Emperor Goldface was rather irritated.

  “I didn’t ask for your help,” Daoist Bluestone said flatly. Emperor Goldface instantly felt even angrier.

  “Since we weren’t able to come to terms, let us bring the conference to an end.” Hegemon Brightshore spoke up as well, breaking the unnatural stillness. Just now, there had indeed been a few major powers who were intrigued by Goldface’s suggestion… but since Hegemon Brightshore and Daoist Bluestone had both spoken up, that little ploy came to no fruition.

  “Darknorth.” Hegemon Brightshore glanced at Ning
and smiled. “Come and visit whenever you like.”

  “If you are ever willing to let me view your [Omega Sword Dao], anything’s negotiable,” Hegemon Windrain said with a smile.

  “We Ancient cultivators would also welcome a visit from you whenever you wish to come, fellow Daoist Darknorth.” Hegemon Netherlily rose to her feet as well. All three Hegemons were quite interested in Ning’s Omega Dao… but there was a limit to how much they were willing to pay for it.

  “Hmph.” Emperor Goldface let out a cold snort, then waved his hand and tore a hole through spacetime. He stepped into the hole and then vanished.

  Emperor Goldisle, Emperor Blackcloud, and Empress Jade Phoenix said a few words to Ning before leaving. This realmverse conference had come to an end, and the various major powers all departed.

  ……

  Ning and Daoist Bluestone simultaneously appeared at the peak of a mountain.

  “Brother Bluestone.” Ning smiled.

  “Brother Darknorth.” Daoist Bluestone smiled towards Ning as well. It was time to chat.

  * * *

  Book 36, Chapter 20 - Whitethaw

  A cool mountain wind howled past the two. Daoist Bluestone immediately began to swear an oath: “I, Bluestone, swear on my very life itself that I absolutely will not show fellow Daoist Darknorth’s [Omega Sword Dao] technique to anyone else…”

  The words to the oath echoed within the mountains. Ji Ning smiled, then waved his hand and gently tapped the air. Instantly, a crystal formed from his godsense flew out from his finger. This godsense crystal contained extremely detailed information regarding Ning’s Omega Sword Dao, as well as images of how each stance was used and executed. Since Ning had already chosen to engage in this trade, he wasn’t going to be miserly about it.