Desolate Era

by RWX

  Later on, the Dawn War began! Hawkfang’s father, as an Exalt, was required to lead the Sithe forces into battle! Hawkfang insisted on accompanying his father into battle. As one of the most favored Sithe descendants, he had a somewhat special status, and so the highest level Sithe reluctantly agreed to his request. However, they only agreed to let him send his avatar, as they knew the war would be so fierce that Hawkfang could very well die in it.

  The entire Sithe race was eagerly awaiting an Autarch arising from within the ranks of their children!

  During the war, Hawkfang’s avatar accompanied his father in battling against the cultivators. He saw many things… and slowly, he began to realize the truth!

  “You imbeciles! Can’t you feel it? Can’t you sense the difference between you and the Sithe? It was this vast Chaosverse which gave birth to you, nurtured you, supported you! The primordial chaos of this universe accepts you but rejects the Sithe, because the Sithe are foreign invaders and enemies. You are helping your own enemies!

  “You are cultivators! Why do you willingly serve the Sithe?!”

  Autarch Bolin had charged towards them, roaring with accusation and fury. Hawkfang had long ago suspected the truth… and on that day, he became certain of it.

  “Fang, my son.” His father had sought him out that day. “We’re quite unlucky to have run into one of the cultivator Autarchs so soon. We’re going to die today. I’ll destroy your avatar to ensure that this Autarch won’t be able to kill you. Every single one of his strikes is filled with the binding power of karma. If he kills you, he’ll use karma to destroy your true body as well.”

  “Father… I am a cultivator, not a Sithe. Right?” Hawkfang asked.

  Ning was looking through Hawkfang’s memories and could see through Hawkfang’s eyes. He saw the look on the face of Hawkfang’s father… and that look shook even Ning’s own heart.

  Hawkfang’s father had fallen silent for a moment. He then looked at his son, his eyes filled with mixed emotions. Heartache, love, worry, hope…

  These were the pure emotions a dying father would feel when gazing at his son.

  Hawkfang’s father had then said softly, “I might as well tell you. I was bound by oaths not to reveal this to you, but now you already know the truth. I… I didn’t have a choice. I had to take part in this war and just hope for the best. You don’t have a choice either. The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.”

  When Hawkfang’s father had said these words, his eyes had become filled with resentment. He had then let out a sigh: “If you can become an Autarch, the Sithe wouldn’t dare to mistreat you. You’d be considered one of their important thugs… but if you fail to make that breakthrough and remain a mere Hegemon, you wouldn’t even be considered a thug, just a disposable pawn. I was able to protect you, but I’m going to die soon. I won’t be able to protect you any longer. If you ever have the chance… flee. Escape and go to the cultivator civilizations.”

  Hawkfang had been stunned. He never would have imagined that his father would tell him to go flee to the cultivators.

  “Alright. We’re out of time.” Hawkfang’s father had then reached out and pressed his hand against Hawkfang’s chest, destroying Hawkfang’s avatar with one blow… and that was the last memory Hawkfang had of his father.

  The end result of that battle… was Autarch Bolin exterminating the entire squad led by Hawkfang’s father.

  ……

  Eventually, the Dawn War came to an end. Hawkfang continued to live within the Sacred Realm inside the hidden dimension. At first, the Sithe continued to pay close attention to him… but the shadow that had been cast over his heart made it so that he would be unable to cleanse his Dao-heart of all flaws.

  He was a cultivator, but he was also a descendant of the Sithe. If the Sithe had treated him with sincerity, he wouldn’t feel so torn… but in reality, he now knew that they were nothing more than cannon fodder and pawns. Even if he worked extremely hard and became an Autarch, he’d be viewed as nothing more than a useful thug.

  What was the point of cultivating?

  And… he was forever unable to forget his father’s final words: “I didn’t have a choice. I had to take part in this war and just hope for the best. You don’t have a choice either. The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.”

  These words tore at his heart. Ever since his mother had died due to her lifespan coming to an end, his father had become the person who he cared about above all others. His father, in turn, had cherished him and loved him.

  Only when he heard those words did he realize how miserably unhappy his father had been. His father had the exalted title of ‘Exalt’, but he had been given no choices either. He had only come to take part in this war because he had to, and his fate had been left up to luck.

  “Sithe…”

  “SITHE!!!!” Hawkfang began to feel hatred towards the Sithe race, which treated both himself and his father as disposable pawns. This hatred cast a shadow over his heart, preventing him from perfecting his Dao-heart. He knew that he had to become more powerful and become an Autarch, as it would give him a better chance of escaping and taking revenge upon the Sithe… but he could no longer perfect his Dao-heart. In fact, he couldn’t improve at all.

  ……

  After no longer being able to progress on the path of cultivation, Hawkfang eventually began to give up on his hopes of Autarchy. However, he then came up with another idea for taking revenge upon the Sithe!

  He knew that the Sithe had long ago transmitted nine special techniques to their descendants, wanting to make cultivation easier for them. These techniques allowed divine power and Immortal energy to be merged together, theoretically ensuring that even Daolords would no longer face mortal danger as they took their various steps. Even if you failed in the Daomerge, you would be able to quickly recover and then attempt it again! This was the reason why the Sithe were able to produce so many Hegemons, Emperors, and Exalts.

  “The Sithe continuously improved as they created these nine techniques, with the ninth being much better than the first. But in the end? Even the ninth and ultimate technique remained flawed. It only allowed for one to become a Daolord of the First Step, at which point the body would crumble and the truesoul would vanish.

  “I can sense that these techniques are somewhat rejected by the natural ‘Dao’ of this Chaosverse. If I can retrofit them, I should be able to produce something better.”

  True Sithe were unable to sense or make use of the Dao of this Chaosverse… but Hawkfang could!

  It was absolutely incredible that the Sithe Lord of Chaos was able to create a technique which would allow a local cultivator to safely become a Daolord, even though the Lord of Chaos himself was unable to sense the Dao here. Hawkfang had personally viewed all nine of the techniques in the past, and he had watched as the almighty Sithe Lord of Chaos had slowly improved and perfected them. Hawkfang had gained many new insights as he had watched… and so, he had chosen to make use of those insights into creating his own techniques.

  He had felt certain that all nine Sithe techniques contained fundamental, foundational errors. The only reason why those errors weren’t apparent early on was because when one was weak, there was a great deal of margin for error.

  For example, consider mortal cultivators. ‘Foundation level’, ‘Golden Core level’, ‘Nascent Soul level’… ‘Mortal-ranked’, ‘Earth-ranked’, ‘Heaven-ranked’… ‘Wanxiang Adept’, ‘Primal Daoist’, ‘Void level’… all sorts of techniques and styles could be used, because the weaker you were the less of an impact the Chaosverse’s Dao would have upon you. But the closer to the peak you were, the more demanding the Dao would become.

  Hawkfang himself was able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse. He borrowed some of the technical tricks and ideas used by the nine special techniques, then began to recreate them in his own image, devising the [Mortal Chapter], [Fiendgod Chapter], [World Chapter], [Daolord Chapter], and
[Deathless Chapter].

  This became the technique which he named the [Five Truncheon Chapters]. The reason why he called it the [Five Truncheon Chapters] was because his father’s favorite magic treasure had been a wooden truncheon. As a child, Hawkfang had loved to play around with that truncheon, and so his father had given it to him. Hawkfang had always carried it by his side, and it became a symbol of the love he bore for his father.

  * * *

  Book 42, Chapter 13 - Deathless

  Hawkfang had created this technique in order to take revenge upon the Sithe. He wanted to take revenge for both his father’s sake and his own sake, and for the sake of the countless deceived Sithe descendants! They were viewed as disposable cannon fodder by the true Sithe, while even his father had been forced to take part in the war.

  “The two of us, father and son… we certainly share a sorry fate.” These words continued to stab against Hawkfang’s heart like knives. He would never be able to forget that look on his father’s face. This was why he needed revenge.

  He wanted to create this technique, then find a way to deliver it to the cultivators! He felt certain that the cultivators would be able to use it to dramatically increase in power, producing many new Hegemons and even new Autarchs. That way, the Sithe would be defeated.

  But of course, if the Sithe found out that he was creating this technique, he would be doomed! Thus, he had carried out all of his experiments upon the beings who resided within his own estate-treasure. As a Hegemon, he had many estate-treasures which were filled with countless living beings. He had these beings test out his cultivation techniques, and many ended up dying due to errors in the technique. He had tested them time and time again, then remade them repeatedly.

  His talent was put to full effect here. He quickly mastered the [Mortal Chapter] and the [Fiendgod Chapter]. The first was comparable to pre-Celestial Tribulation levels of the Three Realms, while the second included everything post-tribulation to the Elder God/Ancestral Immortal level.

  Although it was different from the way in which the nine techniques operated, it was successful and had a similar effect to Ning’s own azureflower seal technique.

  The [World Chapter] covered World Gods and Chaos Immortals. It was clearly far more difficult, and it took him a great deal of time… but in the end, he succeeded once more.

  The [Daolord Chapter], however, was even more difficult. It must be remembered that even the finest of the nine special techniques only allowed for cultivators to safely train to the World level. Once one became a Daolord of the First Step, the body would crumble apart and the truesoul would be destroyed.

  Hawkfang spent untold aeons working on the [Daolord Chapter], and to this very day he was still working on it. Alas, he had only been able to successfully complete the parts for Daolords of the First Step and Daolords of the Second Step. He hadn’t been able to succeed for the third or fourth steps!

  Due to being stymied by the [Daolord Chapter], he had turned his attention to the [Deathless Chapter] instead. The [Deathless Chapter] was meant to allow Daolords who had failed in the Daomerge to halt and reverse the crumbling of the truesoul, allowing them to then attempt the Daomerge once more.

  All nine of the Sithe techniques were also focused on recovering from a failed Daomerge.

  “Mortal cultivators who reach a certain level can be reborn from a single drop of blood. Upon reaching the ‘Fiendgod’ level, they will not die so long as their truesoul remains unharmed. However… if there was a way which would allow a shattered truesoul, the very core of a person’s being, to be repaired after already breaking apart? That would represent true deathlessness. The only thing which could end one’s life would be when the invisible laws that govern everyone’s maximum lifespan in a Chaosverse took effect.” And so, Hawkfang had focused his efforts on the [Deathless Chapter].

  He allowed the Daolords residing in his estate-treasures who had failed the Daomerge to test out this technique. He had gone so far as to recruit many disciples in the Sacred Realm. After those Daolord disciples failed the Daomerge, he would have them go into his estate-treasure and test out the [Deathless Chapter]… but of course, he would have them swear oaths not to divulge this to anyone else.

  He had refined the [Deathless Chapter] over and over again, but to this very day, it remained a failure! Clearly, it was almost completely impossible to allow a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge to repair his crumbling truesoul.

  Thus, only the first three chapters of the [Five Truncheon Chapters] were complete. The [Daolord Chapter] and the [Deathless Chapter] were both flawed and imperfect… but in truth, both were significantly superior to the nine unique techniques the Sithe had developed. It wasn’t that Hawkfang was more talented than the Sithe Lord of Chaos; rather, it was that he was able to use those nine techniques as a reference, and was also able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse.

  If the Sithe Lord of Chaos was also able to sense the Dao of this Chaosverse, he probably would’ve been able to easily create a perfect technique which would allow someone to train all the way to the Autarch level.

  ……

  Ning was extremely excited, especially after reviewing the [Deathless Chapter]. As Ning reviewed the technique, he couldn’t help but get the feeling that there were certain similarities to the mysteries of the Nine Chaos Seals which Autarch Awakener had created.

  It was like a brand new door had appeared in front of Ning, one which allowed limitless possibilities in a brand new world.

  The Sithe Lord of Chaos was at such an extremely high level of insight that he was able to create these nine techniques just based on guesswork and prediction. He had overhauled them and repeatedly perfected them, but they remained flawed. This, however, was because his understanding of the nature of this Chaosverse’s Dao was limited. If the Dao had operated in the manner he had believed it to operate, the nine techniques would’ve been perfect. Alas, the Dao was different and so the nine techniques were unusable. Hawkfang, however, had managed to use them to create his own [Deathless Chapter].

  “I can see hope. There are many ways we can continue to improve the [Deathless Chapter].” Ning was different form Hawkfang. He was the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, on par with Autarchs in terms of insight. He had reached an incredibly high level of understanding into the Dao, which was why he was able to reach Hegemony in so many Daos with such ease.

  “But the path to perfecting it will be a long one. If I let Hawkfang do it, he probably wouldn’t succeed even if he was given ten times as much time as he already had.” Autarch Awakener had attempted to complete this path, but he had approached it from a different angle. He had been able to reach an extremely deep level of mastery in his approach, which was why Ning was certain that the [Deathless Chapter] held many flaws.

  However… it was a different approach that would provide many new inspirations. In addition, he was able to see a complete ‘structure’ to the [Deathless Chapter].

  “The experiences of Autarch Awakener, combined with the mysteries of the [Deathless Chapter]… if I fused them together and then worked hard on improving them, I might be able to create a perfect technique in my remaining years which would allow my crumbling truesoul to recover.” Ning instantly grew excited. If he could heal his truesoul… then if he attempted the Daomerge again, he would instantly become an Eternal Emperor because he was already the master of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao!

  But of course… he would first have to create a new technique which would allow the truesoul to become deathless and everlasting.

  “I can definitely succeed. I will definitely succeed!” Ning was filled with anticipation.

  Prior to acquiring the [Deathless Chapter], Ning had felt that his chances of creating such a ‘Truesoul Everlasting’ technique to be virtually negligible. Now, however? Hope blazed in front of him like a radiant sun. It was still a distant goal, but it was bright enough to illuminate the path in front of it.

  Autarch Titanos and the others had felt
that there was no hope because they didn’t even know what path to begin embarking on! The [Deathless Chapter], however, was based off the nine special techniques and so it provided an overall framework and ‘path’, even though this path was filled with many pitfalls and dead ends. This was why the Sithe had forced anyone who ever learned the nine techniques to swear lifeblood oaths not to divulge it to anyone else.

  They were afraid that the nine techniques would be disseminated to the cultivators, accelerating their research efforts into this same field.

  “Hawkfang, I truly have to thank you.” Ning stared at Hawkfang, who was still in a dazed and illusion-bound state in front of him, then smiled. After completely reviewing Hawkfang’s memories, Ning felt that this trip to this hidden dimension had been completely worth it!

  “Awaken,” Ning murmured softly.

  Hawkfang trembled slightly. Moments later, his eyes regained their usual clarity. He looked at Ning, blinked, and then smiled slightly. “Daolord Darknorth, was I in an illusion just now?”

  “Yes.” Ning nodded.

  “You’ve already reviewed my memories?” Hawkfang asked.

  Ning nodded.

  Hawkfang continued, “I’ve always felt quite torn between the Sithe and the cultivators. The blood in my veins belongs to the Sithe and comes from my father! And yet, I am indeed a local cultivator myself. Life has been quite agonizing… but one thing is certain. I hate the Sithe! I hate them for forcing my father into war, and hate them for sending all of us, their children, to our deaths. Now you have my [Five Truncheon Chapters], a technique I poured my heart and soul into. In the end, I still wasn’t able to truly complete them. However… after you cultivators acquire them, I’m certain that you’ll be able to create a perfect technique.”