Desolate Era

“Seven died.” Although Ji Ning had seized control over the jade green globe as fast as he could, more than seven of the bugbeasts had died during those brief moments of fratricide. Now, only fifty-one remained.

“Stop!” After binding the globe, Ning immediately exerted his control over the bugbeasts and ordered, “Surround those golems!”

“Yes.” “Yes.” …

The bugbeasts immediately acknowledged the order obediently and began to swarm around the Hellwind Golems, giving them no place to run.

……

Within the golden gourd.

Arroyo’s divine power was being depleted at an incredibly fast rate as the power of those two streams of energy continued to grind down at his body. His soul was linked to the Hellwind Golems outside and so he ‘saw’ everything that had happened.

“Those who kill others and take their treasures are destined to be killed in turn, one day.”

Arroyo emanated a bloody aura because his Dao was a Dao of slaughter. He had always been the winner in his battles, and so he had advanced step by step and left a trail of corpses behind his wake. However, this battle for the Eternal blood was the most important battle in his life. If he won, he would’ve become a true member of the Aeonians and skyrocketed in status in power. However… he had failed.

“Ahahaha… today, Fukai and I have fallen to your hands. However, how many cultivators shall truly gain eternity? One day, you will fall as well. You will die as well! Ahahaha…” Arroyo laughed wildly, and as he did so the last drops of his divine power were used up. His body was shattered apart, then ground into dust.

……

Ning could sense the crazed death throes of Arroyo within the gourd, but he remained quite calm.

It was true. The path of cultivation was a very difficult one to tread, and only a few Samsara Daolords existed in the Endless Territories to begin with. Samsara Daolords treaded the line between life and death with each step they took. How few of them would be able to take the final step, achieving the Daomerge and gaining true eternity for themselves?

However, Ning was determined to continue moving forward on his path, motivated by a faint, dim hope that he would never release. He hoped that one day, he would gain the power to reverse the flows of spacetime and bring his wife back to his side. This was the only way he would ever be able to see her again.

“One thing at a time.”

The eighteen Hellwind Golems had lost their master. Ning had overwhelmingly superior power and thus was quickly able to forcibly bind them.

“Time to leave.” Ning’s own godsense was spread out to cover this entire chaosworld. The disturbance caused by his battle against Fukai and Arroyo was quite enormous. Although both sides had kept control over themselves and their power, the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals stationed in this chaosworld were still so terrified that all of them had gone into hiding and were unwilling to come out.

Ning stepped forward and through the world-membrane, returning to the primordial chaos outside the world.

……

Outside the Three Realms. Within the primordial chaos.

A black-robed Ji Ning was standing here within the primordial chaos, staring towards the Three Realms. Although his Primaltwin had stood guard over the Three Realms this entire time, his lifeblood oath made it so that he was completely unable to actually re-join the Three Realms. Only upon reaching Vastheaven Palace and completing the lifeblood oath would Ning be able to return to the Three Realms.action

Rumble…

After mastering the ‘Sword World’, Ning was now capable of seeing through the primordial chaos and into the Three Realms.

The many ‘secrets’ of the Three Realms were no longer secrets to Ning. Everything was laid bare before his eyes, including its structural underpinnings as well as its core. He could even see an illusory, formless river that flowed through everything within it. This was the River of Destiny.

In truth, all creatures within the Endless Territories had their own destinies, and these destinies were all joined together into a great Sea of Destiny. The Three Realms was just a single chaosworld and thus it had just a single River of Destiny. The countless Rivers of Destiny of the endless chaosworlds within the territories were like countless tiny streams that would join together to form the enormous Sea of Destiny.

“The River of Destiny…” Ning’s gaze pierced through the Void and the primordial chaos alike as he stared at the River of Destiny. He could see the countless truesouls that had been submerged within it as well as the destinies of cultivators and mortals alike.

“Father! Mother!”

Ning’s heart trembled.

He saw them. Deep within the River of Destiny, there was a pair of truesouls who clung tightly to each other. Those were the truesouls of his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow. Even though they were dead and their truesouls had been swept into the River of Destiny, they remained by each other’s sides.

“Father. Mother. Wait for me just a bit longer. Your son has already become a World God. Soon, I’ll head out to Vastheaven Palace. Once I reach Vastheaven Palace and complete my lifeblood oath, I’ll be able to re-enter the Three Realms and draw your truesouls out from the River of Destiny.” Ning’s heart was shaking.

It was clearly something that he could do with ease, with but the wave of a hand. Alas, he knew that if he truly stretched so much as a finger into the Three Realms, his true body and his Primaltwin would both be attacked and destroyed by the lifeblood oath he had sworn.

“I’ll wait a bit longer,” Ning murmured softly.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared off in the distance. It was a white-haired, white-bearded old man dressed in Daoist robes.

“Master.” Ning looked at him.

“Ji Ning.” Subhuti smiled. Just now, he had gone to Ning’s estate within the primordial chaos but had been unable to find Ning. He knew that his disciple had to have come to this place, as this was where his disciple would often go to stare at the Three Realms. Alas, he could see everything happening within it but couldn’t take so much as a single step within it.

“You-…” Subhuti’s face suddenly changed as he stared at Ning. He took a careful look, then a second, then a third.

“The World level?” Subhuti’s voice was quavering slightly.

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “I broke through.”

An excited look was now on Subhuti’s face. “That’s wonderful. I’ve been worrying about you ever since you started your journeys into the Endless Territories. Now that you have at least reached the World level, things will be much easier for you.”

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

“However, as the saying goes there’s always a taller mountain. Even though you have reached the World level, disciple, you must not be overconfident and brash. You don’t have many supporters or helpers in the Endless Territories. You’ll have to rely on yourself for everything. Those of us in the Three Realms won’t be of much aid either. You have to be careful,” Subhuti said. Although he didn’t know what Ning had experienced thus far, the Three Realms did know a bit about the Badlands Territory and knew that it was a place of constant struggles and battles between cultivators.

For Ning to emerge unscathed and at an even higher level of power meant that he absolutely had to have experienced and survived many of those life-and-death battles.

“Don’t worry. Your disciple isn’t so foolish as to think himself invincible.” Ning laughed. “I’m still dreaming of one day meeting with Mother Nuwa, you know.”

“Have you heard any news of Mother Nuwa in the territories outside?” Subhuti immediately asked. All of the first-generation Fiendgods who were born from the primordial chaos were filled with tremendous respect and veneration towards Mother Nuwa. She had reached the World level back when she was in the Three Realms!

“I have not. I don’t have any news about her at all. In fact, there have been no new World Gods in the Badlands Territory who seem even remotely similar to her.” Ning shook his head.

“Ugh…” Subhuti shook his head as well.

“Oh, right. Master, I’d like to trouble you to help me with something. Please send word to the Three Realms right away that I am intending to transmit certain techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts to our fellow Daoists of the Three Realms.”

“Transmit?” Subhuti was surprised.

“Right. In the past, I wasn’t able to do so. Now that I’ve become a World God myself, things have changed,” Ning said. In recent years, he had killed quite a few enemies and seized their treasures, but it was rare for cultivators at this level to carry cultivation manuals on them. Everything was firmly imprinted into their minds. The only reason World God Northrest had left behind so many manuals was because he was planning to bring up a successor in the future.

Ning was now far more powerful than World God Northrest had been, but he simply hadn’t spent enough time cultivating and adventuring. The number of transmittable techniques he had acquired during his adventures could be counted on one hand. Although he could purchase certain techniques from the Badlands Everworld, he still wouldn’t be able to bring them back to the Three Realms right away. He’d have to first memorize and master them, then write them down again. This would take an extremely long period of time.

Ning had correctly predicted that by the time he finished, he would probably already have reached the World level. World God Northrest had already given Ning many techniques which he could transmit to others upon him becoming a World God himself. Now, Ning had full and free control over them.

“Good, good, good!” Subhuti said excitedly, “This is wonderful. With these powerful techniques by our side, the Three Realms might give birth to new World Gods and Chaos Immortals in the future.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

Ning had the feeling that the Three Realms was not an ordinary place.

It was in the Three Realms that Daoist Three Purities found the incredibly valuable Nine Chaos Seals.

The Three Realms had also given birth to absolutely dazzling figures such as Nuwa and Houyi, all of whom had created their own techniques since there was no one present to teach and guide them.

“After I transmit these techniques to them, I need to go exploring the primordial chaos around the Three Realms and see if I can find the original Nine Chaos Seals,” Ning mused. Many of his fellow disciples were actually incredibly talented; they simply had never gotten access to techniques that could guide them to becoming World-level cultivators.

The Three Realms was about to undergo a true golden age of cultivation and explode in power. Ning was very eager to see this happen. If he was the only person capable of protecting the Three Realms, what would happen to it if something happened to him? If the Three Realms had numerous experts on Ning’s level within it, it would become a truly safe place for its denizens.

……

A flying ship was sailing through the primordial chaos. Ning and the Flamefairy were both seated within the ship, staring out towards the primordial chaos.

“Master, were you waylaid by Fukai and Arroyo?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“I was.” Ning nodded.

“How did it go?” Su Youji asked. She didn’t know if Ning had fled on his own or if he had won that battle.

“I’m sitting right here before you. How do you think it went?” Ning smiled. “They lost. Both died on the battlefield.”

Su Youji wasn’t able to take part in that battle but had been quite worried. She knew that Fukai and Arroyo were both very powerful figures, especially Arroyo. He not only was a transcendent World God, he was also surrounded by a bloodthirsty aura that testified to his prowess in battle. Given the many treasures that they had… she couldn’t help but worry. Her life was bound to Ji Ning’s, after all. If Ji Ning died, she would be at the mercy of his killer.

“Where shall we go next?” Su Youji asked.

“Let us return to the Badlands Court first. Later, we’ll leave.” Ning stared at the outside world. His first priority was to return to the Badlands Court and get rid of the Eternal blood.