Desolate Era

by RWX

  “This Sithe warship is useless once we go inside the prime essences. Once we go inside, we’ll have to slowly fly on our own,” the Blazesun Ruler explained.

  “Open up!” One of the Domain Rulers stepped forward and made a slashing motion with his hand. Swoosh! A gateway was torn within spacetime, and at the opposite end of the gateway was a region filled with an incredible, awesome amount of power and energy.

  “After you, Daolord,” the eight Domain Rules said very respectfully.

  “Let’s go.” Ning was the first to step into the spacetime door, with Flamewing and the eight Domain Rulers following from behind. After they entered, the spacetime door vanished without a trace, leaving behind a very ordinary-seeming region. Ordinary cultivators who came here, including Otherverse Lords, were completely incapable of finding the prime essences.

  ……

  The region they entered was filled with overwhelming power. Imagine a mortal falling into an ocean; the entire area around him would be surrounded by endless waves of suffocating might. The pressure from these waves could easily cause even Hegemons to perish, while Otherverse Lords would find it too difficult to take as much as a single step here.

  Rumble…

  The eight Domain Rulers and the Flamewing God were all under tremendous pressure as well. They had powerful bodies and thus were able to endure it, especially Flamewing whose body was virtually indestructible and who could thus completely ignore the pressure. However, they still had to use all the power they could muster in order to advance through this region. Thankfully, Flamewing had such an endless source of power that this wasn’t of concern.

  “Which way shall we go?” Ning was the most relaxed of the ten. The Sword Dao domain emanating from him was enough to cause the surrounding pressure to instantly vanish without a trace.

  This was because the Dao of his Sword Dao domain was the same as the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was naturally part of the collection of prime essences, and so Ning was able to move through this region as easily as a fish moving through water. He didn’t suffer any pressure or sense of rejection at all.

  Unfortunately, Ning wasn’t able to protect anyone else. The power of the prime essences was omnipresent, while the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was merely one part of them. If Ning pulled Flamewing and the others into his estate-world, they would be protected. Otherwise, they would simply have to endure it on their own.

  “Just follow us, Daolord,” the Blazesun Ruler said respectfully.

  “If you feel tired, you can rest inside my estate-world for a time,” Ning said with a chuckle.

  “No need.”

  “Don’t worry about us, Daolord. We’re used to this place.”

  “Haha, this bit of pressure is nothing at all, Master!” The eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing continued to advance rapidly, but they were all using their full power to do so. As for Ning, he was able to effortlessly follow from behind.

  Ning scanned at his surroundings. The Quintessence itself was like a place that was divided into many different ‘lakes’, with each lake representing a prime essence. He saw the prime essence of thunder, the prime essence of water, the prime essence of ice, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword… every single prime essence was here and overflowing with might. Through them, Ning was able to more clearly scry some of the secrets of the various Daos.

  The prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was nothing more than one of many prime essences.

  “This is the true foundation of our entire Chaosverse,” Ning murmured softly. “Even I am only able to control a tiny part of it.”

  ……

  All of them flew very fast, but even so it took them a full five days before they flew past the many different prime essences. Finally, they arrived at an ordinary-looking wooden cottage that was floating in midair. There was a small courtyard surrounding this wooden cottage which looked rather like a small crop field.

  “Here we are.” Looks of delight appeared on the faces of all eight Domain Rulers. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! They hurriedly flew closer, stepping into the courtyard around the wooden cottage. Ning and Flamewing followed them from behind.

  Invisible barriers had been placed here which kept out the natural pressure of the Quintessence. Only now did everyone finally relax.

  “What a marvelous formation.” Ning scanned the formation, then let out a sigh of approval. A formation capable of completely blocking out the pressures of the Quintessence is impressive indeed. Ning then glanced at the surrounding area. He could sense that no one was here aside from them. He immediately turned to the Blazesun Ruler and asked, “Where is the Autarch?”

  “This is a place where the Autarch often rests,” the blue-armored Sourcewalker said. “She’s cultivating nearby. As soon as we entered her residence, she would be immediately notified. She’ll be coming soon.”

  “Cultivating nearby?” Ning glanced at the area around them. “Eh?” Soon, Ning was able to detect a strange ripple of power emanating from a place off in the distance. This was a temporal ripple, and it contained utterly savage levels of power. It was almost like a terrifying apocalyptic demon that sought to devour all before it. Ning couldn’t help but turn slightly pale; how was it possible that ‘time’ itself could become so terrifying?

  However, the ripples quickly calmed down. A short while later, an ephemeral figure began to drift towards them, quickly leaving the prime essences and arriving in front of the wooden cottage.

  This was a willowy woman whose features Ning wouldn’t describe as exceptionally beautiful. In the Three Realms, her features would be considered quite common and ordinary. Her face was slightly plump, her gaze was gentle, and her aura was both awesome and mysterious, tinged with the ripples of time. Time itself was like an obedient child which swirled around her. She was the only female Autarch in all the Chaosverse… Autarch Skyfeeder.

  “Darknorth greets you, Autarch,” Ning said immediately.

  Autarch Skyfeeder walked barefoot into her courtyard, then smiled merrily at Ning and said, “Skyfeeder greets you, Daolord Darknorth.”

  Both spoke quite courteously. As soon as they glimpsed each other, they were able to sense the level of insight the other had reached.

  Ning could sense how tremendously powerful this Autarch’s ‘Temporal Daobirth Essence’ was, while the Autarch was able to sense how incredible Ning’s ‘Eternal Omega Sword Dao’ was. They had embarked upon different paths, but they had now reached the same heights of power.

  Autarch Skyfeeder and the other Autarchs had all first become Hegemons after fusing multiple Supreme Daos together, then broke through to become Autarchs!

  Ning had embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao, and he had eventually come to master the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. Although strictly speaking he was still just an ‘Eternal Emperor’, he truly had reached the same heights of insight as the Autarchs possessed; his only weakness was that the breadth of his understanding wasn’t quite as wide. In actual combat, however, their blows would be incredibly close to each other in might… but of course, as someone who failed the Daomerge, Ning wasn’t able to fight for too long.

  “Darknorth, let’s chat inside,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. She pushed the door to the wooden cottage open. The cottage was quite plain, with a few seams appearing between the wooden logs that allowed one to clearly see what was inside.

  Autarch Skyfeeder sat down on the ground in front of a table. Ning did the same in front of another table. Each table had a flagon of wine, and the fragrant aroma of the wine instantly caused Ning’s eyes to light up. This was, without a doubt, the finest wine he had ever seen.

  Although the two of them were merely separated from the eight Domain Rulers and Flamewing by a thin wooden door, the nine were completely unable to hear a word of the conversation within.

  * * *

  Book 40, Chapter 9 - The Autarchs

  When Ji Ning smelled the aroma of the wine, he couldn’t
help but pour himself a cup and taste it first. He then nodded and sighed happily, “What fine wine. My soul itself is uplifted by it; in fact, I can sense that even the disintegration of my truesoul slowed down for a brief instant.”

  “Unfortunately, the disintegration of the truesoul is irreversible.” Autarch Skyfeeder slowly poured herself a cup, her voice tinged with regret. “Otherwise, our civilization would have given birth to a truly incredible figure. To tell you the truth, your rise is far more more important to our civilization than the rise of a new Autarch. You are, after all, the very first who truly mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Sadly…”

  “I can only blame myself for not having trained well enough,” Ning said with a laugh. “Perhaps if I was just a bit better, I would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge.”

  “The path is always the most perilous for the first trailblazer,” Autarch Skyfeeder said. “There has never been anyone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao before you, and so there were no guideposts or experiences you could draw upon. If you did, you probably would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge.”

  Ning was startled. Indeed. He had been so very, very close. If he had just a few extra months worth of time, he probably would’ve been able to find the flaws during his Daomerge and he would’ve been able to discover the true Eternal Omega Sword Dao before it ended. Alas, he had wasted three entire years on perfecting his sword-heart.

  Ning let out a chuckle. “Well, there always has to be a trailblazer. To serve as the trailblazer for the Eternal Omega Daos isn’t a bad destiny to have.”

  Autarch Skyfeeder smiled and nodded. “I just heard about you a short while ago. When I found out you were in the Blazesun Domain, I immediately sent the eight Domain Rulers out to search for you. I have something important to discuss with you, something which involves the very existence of all cultivator civilizations in the Chaosverse. We need your help.”

  “Something involving the very existence of the cultivator civilizations?” Ning was startled. This sounded serious. “Is there something which is capable of threatening us?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.

  “There is indeed.” Autarch Skyfeeder nodded. “Just now, I informed the other Autarchs of your arrival. They are all hastening here as fast as they can. When the others arrive, we’ll discuss this matter. It is a blessing that the cultivator civilizations have finally given birth to someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao. Unfortunately, you failed the Daomerge. If you had succeeded, we would be even more overjoyed.”

  “The other Autarchs?” Ning was rather shocked.

  “The cultivator civilizations currently have a total of six surviving Autarchs. One of them is permanently stationed in front of the Sithelands and won’t be able to make it. The other four will all be coming,” Autarch Skyfeeder said.

  Ning nodded slowly. Six Autarchs in total, with five of them coming to meet him. This was indeed a weighty affair they wished to discuss.

  ……

  Autarch Titanos’ residence.

  Autarch Titanos was almost always secluded away within his private chambers, analyzing the marvelous parts and artifacts which floated in the center. “Huh?” Suddenly, Autarch Titanos’ face turned pale.

  “WHAT?!?!” The two fleshy antennae on top of Autarch Titanos’ head suddenly stood up straight, and his golden eyes bulged out. “An Eternal Omega Dao? Someone from our civilization has finally mastered an Eternal Omega Dao?!” Autarch Titanos was truly stunned. “And his name is… eh? Darknorth? Wasn’t that kid I saw a while ago also named Darknorth? Back then, he had merely improved his Omega Dao to the level of a Daolord of the Fourth Step. He actually mastered an Eternal Omega Dao?”

  “This is huge! How did it happen that the old biddy Skyfeeder actually ended up being the one to find out and notify me?!” Autarch Titanos completely ignored the Sithe artifacts floating around in his room. He immediately charged outside in a fine rage, slamming open the door with a boom.

  “Master.” The azure-robed youth immediately moved to welcome him.

  “XIAN!” Autarch Titanos said furiously, “Have you heard about the Daomerge of that kid who once asked me for help? Daolord Darknorth?”

  “Heard? Of course I heard.” The azure-robed youth nodded repeatedly. “This was major news which quickly spread everywhere! He failed his Daomerge, but he still managed to master an Eternal Omega Dao. Even the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army was killed by a single slash of his sword. He went out searching for Nuwa, and Realmslord Windgrace did everything in his power to help spread the word. He even asked us to help out! I told quite a number of my friends about this. By now, I imagine the major powers in most of the realmverses and otherverses all know about him.”

  “BUT I DIDN’T KNOW!” Autarch Titanos stared at him, eyes bulging. “Why the hell didn’t you tell MEEEE!!!”

  “B-but…” A baffled and miserable look was on the azure-robed youth’s face. “Master, didn’t you forbid me from disturbing you while you were analyzing those Sithe weapons unless something really big happened?”

  “This IS big! This is literally BIGGER THAN ANYTHING ELSE!” Autarch Titanos exploded.

  “Daolord Darknorth failed his Daomerge. He’ll probably die soon, leaving behind nothing more than a legend. Why would this be ‘big news’ to you, Master?” The azure-robed youth was completely puzzled. To him and the other Hegemons, this was a stunning piece of gossip, but in the end it was nothing more than that – gossip. He didn’t feel there was a need to bother the Autarch over it.

  “For the love of…” Autarch Titanos felt helpless.

  There were six Autarchs in total. One was permanently stationed in front of the Sithelands and thus didn’t know of Ning. The other four were almost impossible for Hegemons to find, which was why they didn’t know of Ning even though Ning’s legend had long ago spread far and wide amongst the Hegemons and Emperors.

  The only Autarch who was in fairly constant contact with the Hegemons and Emperors was Autarch Titanos, but he had been researching in seclusion and his subordinates didn’t dare to disturb him. As a result, he didn’t find out either. It wasn’t until just a short while ago that the Autarchs found out about Ning, with Autarch Skyfeeder who was located within the Quintessence being the first to find out. She had notified the other Autarchs, and only then did they realize what had happened.

  “…forget it.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “I’ve really embarrassed myself this time. I am usually the first to find out about things, but this time I was the last.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and immediately warped through spacetime and departed.

  He couldn’t help but feel angry. The Autarchs had agreed long ago to a division of labor, and Autarch Titanos had agreed to be the one responsible for maintaining contact with the Hegemons and Emperors; he was to serve as a the bridge linking the Autarchs to the rest of civilization. If anything major happened amongst the Hegemons and Emperors, news of it would quickly make its way over to him, and he would then notify the others.

  This time, the news involved the rise of someone who controlled the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. This was news of incredible importance… but he ended up being the notified party rather than the notifying party. Of course he felt humiliated by this!

  ……

  An empty, barren region. The stars and chaosworlds here seemed to have sunken into the silence of death. This entire region, which was the size of dozens of territories, was completely and utterly still. No life could rise here, nor would anyone dare to draw near here! If Hegemons did dare to draw near this place, they would sense the terrifying power of death seep into their bodies… and if they came any closer, they would die.

  And so, this region was in a perpetual state of death and silence.

  There was an enormous planet here that was roughly a hundred billion kilometers in diameter. This entire planet was a dark gray color, and an incredibly dense aura of death surrounded the entire planet. This planet was the source of the deathly energy which pervaded this entire regi
on, and even the stones here had been completely broken apart into countless grains of dark gray sand.

  Rumble… the earth began to tremble, and the endless aura of death began to change. The ground slowly began to turn fertile and full of life. Soon, countless blades of green grass began to appear on the surface of the earth as the power of life began to emanate from this planet, and the aura of death that surrounded this region slowly began to dissipate.

  Rain began to fall from the skies, resulting in rivers, lakes, and seas appearing. The earth began to change, with mountains and valleys taking shape. Vegetation began to grow rapidly, with prairies and forests appearing.

  This transformation from utter death to brimming life happened in just a single breath’s worth of time! In this single instant, time itself seemed to have somehow twisted. An incredibly long period of time seemed to have gone past, more than enough time to allow this place to become brimming with life.

  Whoosh. A figure suddenly appeared on the surface of this planet. A sorrowful look was in his eyes, and he slowly shook his head. “I trained for very long this time. Why is it so difficult to gain insight into a Daobirth Essence from the line that separates life from death? If I mastered an additional Daobirth Essence, there would probably be a new transformation. Ugh. I failed yet again. Perhaps cultivators are only capable of mastering a single Daobirth Essence? Perhaps all the efforts of myself, Bolin, are for naught?”

  “However… Skyfeeder just sent some good news. It seems our civilization has finally given birth to someone in control of an Eternal Omega Dao. His name is Daolord Darknorth, eh? A pity, truly a pity… how wonderful would it be if he had succeeded in his Daomerge? Still, no matter what, at least he has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao.” He took a single step forwards, causing space to ripple around him, then vanished without a trace.

  * * *