Desolate Era

by RWX

  “How did you lose?” the gentle, warm voice asked.

  “It was because of an Omega Emperor named Emperor Darknorth,” Iyerre explained immediately. “I was at the verge of victory. I could see it right in front of me! But at that critical moment between life and death… perhaps because all of his civilization rested on his shoulders… Emperor Darknorth went completely berserk and actually managed to upgrade his Omega Sword Dao to become the Oblivion Sword Dao.”

  “He probably reached the threshold long ago, but needed a little extra push. The pressure of his entire civilization about to collapse drove him across that final barrier, allowing him to take one step into Omega Autarchy.” The warm voice was rather surprised. “You can’t be blamed for your defeat. Now that he has taken this step, becoming an Omega Autarch is nothing more than a matter of time. He’ll eventually realize that ‘Oblivion’ is just one face of his Autarch Omega Sword Dao. He’ll come to understand what the other face is and then act accordingly. Haha… finally, a second Chaoslord has arisen within the nine Chaosverses.”

  “Master, am I really supposed to just give up?” Iyerre said desperately, “There are only eight Chaosverses aside from our own. Emperor Darknorth’s was the weakest of the eight, and I know more about it than any of the others. If I have to give up on it, I’ll have no chance at all.”

  There were nine Chaosverses in total. The Sithe had given birth to one Lord of Chaos, but the other eight Chaosverses had not. Iyerre had chosen Ning’s Chaosverse as his target because it was weak. The other seven were all stronger, and over the course of years they had only grown even more powerful.

  “Yes, all of them are very powerful,” that gentle voice said. “The seven remaining Chaosverses… even the weakest has at least twelve Autarchs, while the strongest has thirty-nine Autarchs and five Omega Emperors.”

  “Although Emperor Darknorth has taken one step into Omega Autarchy, it’ll take some time for him to take the final step,” Iyerre said hurriedly. “If he doesn’t realize that there’s another side to Oblivion, he’ll be stuck there for even longer! I need to seize every moment and press the counter-attack. His homeland only has two Autarchs left, aside from Emperor Darknorth. Emperor Darknorth is the only impediment. Once we destroy him, we’ll have won.” Iyerre’s gaze was filled with desperation.

  “Win?” The voice turned cold. “And how do you think you will win?”

  “That’s why I’ve come to ask you for help, Master.” Iyerre said hurriedly, “If you concur, we’ll still be able to win thanks to your many Exalts, your Omega Emperors, and your treasures.” He didn’t dare to even ask for his master to risk invading Ning’s Chaosverse in person. No Lord of Chaos could possibly be foolish enough to risk his own life in another Chaosverse.

  “Hmph!” The voice inside turned rather angry. “Iyerre, I gave you nearly 30% of my entire Chaosverse to administer, but you still failed. Now, you even wish for the children under my rule to risk their lives for you?”

  “I’ll bring them back to life after they die,” Iyerre said hurriedly.

  “Back to life? How will you make up for that enormous loss of energy? There’s no way I will permit my Chaosverse to be weakened that much. Iyerre, you need to know when to stop!” His master truly was becoming angry. Now that Ning had mastered the Oblivion Sword Dao, the truesouls of the Sithe he killed would be unable to return to the Sithe Chaosverse. As a result, the Sithe Chaosverse was being steadily weakened.

  Send more Exalts over to Ning’s Chaosverse? It was entirely possible that if their Chaosverse was weakened to a certain extent, Emperor Darknorth would lead an invasion after he became a Lord of Chaos!

  If two Chaosverses were fairly close to each other in power, neither would be able to do anything to the other. But if one side was much weaker than the other? It was possible for a Chaosverse to be defeated!

  “And that place remains Emperor Darknorth’s home. You have probably already lost the Grassland World and the Annihilation Hive. Without them, sending in more Exalts would be pointless. They would simply die,” Iyerre’s master said.

  Iyerre fell silent.

  “If you are truly determined to the point of risking death… there may be hope,” his master said suddenly.

  “Risking death?” Iyerre’s eyes lit up.

  “I have one treasure, a protective treasure which I created after countless aeons of hard work. It will allow you to ignite the majority of your truesoul and pour it inside to unleash a supremely powerful skill. With this treasure, you stand a chance at gaining victory,” his master said. “But this treasure does have a flaw. When you use it, you’ll suffer from an enormous backlash. If you win the battle, you’ll be able to slowly recover… but if you lose, you’ll probably be killed by Emperor Darknorth on the spot.”

  “Are you willing?” his master asked.

  “I am willing! I’m willing to die in my attempts to take that final step and reach the true apex of cultivation. What’s the point of living without hope?” Iyerre gritted his teeth.

  “One more thing. If you fail, remember to destroy this treasure instead of letting it fall into Darknorth’s hand,” his master said. “I imagine you lost the warbeasts I gave you?”

  “I lost them. Don’t worry, Master. If I fail, I won’t let Emperor Darknorth acquire this protective treasure,” Iyerre said calmly. If it fell into Ning’s hands, Ning would be able to learn from it.

  Suddenly, a strange medallion flew over to Iyerre, who caught it. This medallion was palm-sized and very heavy. Even Iyerre felt some pressure from its weight, as though it was actually an entire world he was holding. The medallion’s surface was covered with black and white diagrams, with the two sides being black and the center being white. It was like there were two tall black mountains parted by a white gorge or a white river. It seemed almost sentient, and Iyerre immediately bound it to him.

  “Incredible.” As soon as he bound it, he understood just how formidable and valuable this treasure was. In terms of preciousness, it was actually superior to both the Annihilation Hive and the Grassland World. It lived up to its reputation as a treasure which his master had personally kept for protection.

  His master was now truly invincible, while he himself had been driven to utter despair. This was the only reason why his master had been willing to gift him even a protective treasure of such value. It represented the crystallized essence of his master’s boundless wisdom, which was why his master had instructed him to destroy it if he failed the battle.

  “Thank you, Master,” Iyerre said excitedly. He couldn’t help but ask, “What is it called?”

  The voice inside fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, “It is called the Stele of Mountains and Rivers.”

  “The Stele of Mountains and Rivers?” Iyerre stared at the tablet in his palm, then nodded slowly.

  “Be off, then. Shoo.”

  Iyerre immediately bowed respectfully and gratefully once more, then turned to leave. He needed to seize every moment. Although he felt that it was likely that Ning wouldn’t be able to quickly understand the opposite side of Oblivion and thus would be stuck there for a long period of time, he wanted to give himself the best chance possible and launch his counter-attack quickly.

  After spending two more months in travel, he reached Ning’s Chaosverse once more. After entering it, he began to warp through spacetime to the location of the Grassland World, which is where they had fought earlier.

  “He’s going to die, and I’m going to win.” Iyerre hurried forth.

  ……

  The only thing left in the Grassland World was that black metallic tower. The white-robed Ning sat by himself next to that black tower, the flow of time around him markedly different from that of the outside world.

  Ning’s mind was filled with the secrets of the Dao of the Sword, which continued to transform and multiply. It was the opposite of what Iyerre had expected. As soon as Ning had mastered the Oblivion Sword Dao, he had immediately realized that there wa
s another face to destruction and knew what path he had to take.

  His mind was filled with the boundless power of the Oblivion Sword Dao, and the new life which it nurtured. As time flowed on, the vital energy birthed by his Oblivion Sword Dao grew more and more powerful.

  Boom! One day, the boundless vitality at the core of his Oblivion Sword Dao reached such a level where it finally exploded! The darkness of oblivion instantly vanished, leaving behind nothing save for a dazzling, pure pulse of vital energy. Boundless amounts of vital energy swept out in every direction, resulting in space and time being born, things dividing into Yin and Yang, the Five Elements arising, and finally karma emerging to link them all together. Even the boundless vital energy was affected by karma, and so karma tied it together. The Five Elements came together while Yin and Yang tangled around each other, and all of them combined with that vital energy to give birth to one new creature after another.

  The stars were born. The emptiness of space was born. Planets were born with verdant life, flowers, and bugs. With but a thought, entire worlds were created.

  “In the end, all Daos come together to form the singularity known as Omega, which I express through my Omega Sword Dao.” Now that he fully understood the other face of Oblivion, Ning’s second foot stepped past the threshold of Omega Autarchy as well.

  Whoosh. The dazzling Flower of Eternity at the very peak of the towering Dao-tree within Ning’s Jindan chaos region gradually began to wither… but as it did so, a fruit was growing from within it. As the fruit grew, it began to assume a humanoid shape. It was filled with boundless sword-intent that only grew denser and denser… until finally, the fruit took full form.

  This fruit was humanoid in shape and looked exactly like Ning himself. It was seated in the lotus position, a smile on its face.

  ……

  The entire Grassland World began to stir and shudder as a boundless amount of energy began to converge upon it. Ning’s body was beginning to transform, while his consciousness expanded dramatically. It now filled every single inch of the entire Chaosverse, resonating with the prime essences of the Chaosverse. He could sense that the prime essences were crying out in joy and celebration. His will naturally became one with every part of the Quintessence, not facing any resistance at all. He was now able to bind it whenever he chose.

  “So this is the true nature and appearance of the prime essences?” Ning was intoxicated by it all.

  Book 45, Chapter 16 - The End (1)

  Ji Ning was now able to clearly see the true appearance of the entire Quintessence for the first time. The Quintessence was formed of countless Eternal Omega Daos, with the Eternal Omega Sword Dao merely being one of them. The other Eternal Omega Daos included the Eternal Omega Karma Dao, the Eternal Omega Time Dao, the Eternal Omega Space Dao, the Eternal Omega Spacetime Dao, the Eternal Omega Metal Dao, the Eternal Omega Water Dao, the Eternal Omega Samsara Dao, the Eternal Omega Five Elements Dao…

  All of them were Eternal Omega Daos. They were all the same level, but some were stronger than the others. All of them were linked together and influenced each other, coming together to form an instinctive reaction which would cause the Chaosverse to function in accordance with certain rules!

  “All things are linked, as are all Daos.” After understanding the Autarch Omega Sword Dao, Ning had reached the stage of the so-called ‘Daobirth’! Ning was now in control of the Eternal Omega Daos for all other Daos, including spacetime, life and death, and more. This was what had made Iyerre so very powerful. His expertise lay in the Dao of Light, but he had reached the Eternal Omega Dao level in all other Daos as well. This was why he had surpassed all of them in employing spacetime!

  However, there was fairness in all things. If you wished to become a Lord of Chaos, you generally had to be the very first Omega Autarch within a Chaosverse. The first one would have no guidance from anyone else and have to fight through a thorn-laden path in order to succeed. His path would be harder than anyone else’s, and he was worthier than any others.

  As for the second Omega Autarch? Now that a precursor had shown the way, the difficulty of becoming an Omega Autarch would drop tenfold or even more. If the second Omega Autarch wished to become a Chaoslord, he would have to invade another Chaosverse… but in doing so, he would be suppressed and rejected, unable to use even a sliver of the Dao’s power. This was an incredibly difficult task.

  “The prime essences aren’t truly sentient, nor are the various Daos truly merged together.” Ning let out a sigh. The Quintessence was formed from multiple independent Eternal Omega Daos.

  As for Ning? Not only did he control multiple Eternal Omega Daos, he was also in control of a truly complete and perfect Autarch Omega Sword Dao. In terms of insight, he surpassed the entire Quintessence. This was why he was qualified to bind it! The prime essences themselves were celebrating his rise. They didn’t reject him at all. In fact, they were looking forward to Ning binding them!

  ……

  “What a huge disturbance.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Autarch Bolin and Autarch Ekong were off in the distance, training silently. Both turned to stare at the Grassland World, then traded glances. They quickly warped through spacetime towards the Grassland World.

  Rumble… a boundless amount of energy was gathering around the Grassland World. The energy was transforming Ning’s body, causing his heartworld to expand.

  Bolin and Ekong were unable to even see Ning, who was at the center of that absolute maelstrom of energy.

  “I’ve never seen such an enormous flood of energy before. I feel as though the prime essences are pouring all of their power into this place.” Bolin let out a sigh of joy. “Darknorth seems to have broken through into Autarchy.”

  “Haha, he must have become an Omega Autarch! Otherwise, why would there be such a huge disturbance?” Ekong was excited as well. “This is wonderful. Our civilization has finally given birth to our own Lord of Chaos! It seems as though we’ll never have to worry about being invaded again.” They had been under the constant threat of invasion for countless aeons. It had weighed upon them very, very heavily. Even though they had beaten back the Sithe twice, if they didn’t gain their own Lord of Chaos they would probably suffer more invasions in the future.

  Only a Lord of Chaos would grant them true freedom.

  “Finally, someone has succeeded. Brother Titanos, brother Mogg… Stonerule and Skyfeeder… can you see this?” Bolin murmured.

  ……

  Ning’s mind gazed upon the entire Quintessence. He had become one with it, and he could sense every single thing within the entire vast Chaosverse. Thus, Ning was able to sense Iyerre as soon as he entered the Chaosverse and began to warp towards the Grassland World.

  “Iyerre actually came back already? Judging from that look in his eyes and his posture, he looks like he’s ready to battle to the death. He must have something which he thinks gives him a shot at it.” Ning continued to watch carefully.

  Given his current power as an Omega Autarch, even if he didn’t bind the Chaosverse he was still able to summon enough power from the Dao to kill Iyerre with ease!

  “I’ll bind it first.” Since Iyerre had entered the Chaosverse, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

  Whoosh. Ning’s mind entered the Quintessence and began to bind it to himself. He didn’t suffer any pushback at all. Everything happened smoothly.

  Rumble… the various Daos that had been functioning automatically within the Quintessence suddenly began to transform. Previously, they had functioned in accordance with how the other Daos influenced them. Now that Ning had bound them, they changed in accordance with Ning’s will. All of the other Eternal Omega Daos began to swirl around the newly-emerged and towering ‘Autarch Omega Sword Dao’ that had appeared within their midst.

  Rumble… the Autarch Omega Sword Dao became the new foundation of this entire Chaosverse, with all other Daos serving to support and reinforce it. In this instance, the Chaosverse gaine
d a new ‘soul’.

  The white-robed Ning arose from his position within the Grassland World. He took a single step forwards, appearing within the center of the Quintessence.

  ……

  Far away, atop an enormous boulder that hovered within the Infinite Void. A skinny figure suddenly pushed open the door to the wooden room atop the boulder, emerging from it. His skin was dark, he had a pair of horns on his head, and he was dressed in azure robes. His unfathomably deep eyes gazed towards the direction of Ning’s Chaosverse, a stunned look on his face.

  “This…” He could clearly sense what had just happened. The vast aura of that incomparably massive Chaosverse had suddenly changed. Its previously expansive aura had suddenly condensed and stabilized, in the end transforming into a terrifying sword-intent. This was the aura of an Autarch Omega Sword Dao! It was supremely venerable and peerlessly offensive. That Chaosverse was like an honest, amiable person who had turned into a terrifying killer swordsman.

  “Autarch Omega Sword Dao. The Dao of the Sword is a Dao meant for attacking.” The azure-robed horned man frowned. “I never would’ve thought that the second Lord of Chaos would be such a troublesome figure. Iyerre truly is a fool.”

  There were differences amongst Eternal Omega Daos. The same was true for Autarch Omega Daos.

  Ning’s Dao of the Sword was meant for combat. It was not a Dao to be taken lightly! This was why the azure-robed man had immediately bestowed his own protective treasure, the ‘Stele of Mountains and Rivers’, to Iyerre upon learning that Ning had already mastered the power of Oblivion. He himself knew that he had been the one who had aided Iyerre in forging the Annihilation Hive and the Grassland World. Given that so many Exalts had perished, with even the Sourcewalker Autarchs dying, he knew that sending in more forces would be useless!

  “In the end, we weren’t able to forestall his rise.” The horned, azure-robed figure shook his head. “And Darknorth truly is crafty. He only began the binding process after Iyerre entered his Chaosverse.”