The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

Ji Ning felt rather moved and inspired. He could sense how Hegemon Thousand Rhinos had been completely determined to battle the Sithe to the death, and could also sense how much hope the Hegemon had placed towards the cultivator civilizations as a whole.

“I wonder if this senior was able to survive the Dawn War or not.” Ning knew just how brutal the Dawn War had been, because all of the Hegemons of the Endless Territories during that era had perished in the Dawn War. “No matter what… in the end, our side won. The sacrifices of all those slain cultivators were not in vain.”

Boom! A wave of power shot out as a large amount of information flooded into Ning’s mind. This was the legacy of Hegemon Thousand Rhinos.

Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao and had received guidance from the Autarch’s Daos; by now, he had a far broader vision than many. These Hegemon-level legacies were of use to him in comparing to his own Dao, but the secret arts were of more help to him.

……

Some time later, Ning and Ninedust woke up from their reverie atop the small planet. They exchanged a glance.

“Incredible.” Ninedust’s voice was rather hoarse.

“Yes, quite incredible.” Ning nodded. “For the sake of ensuring that the cultivator civilizations will continue, he held nothing back at all. He didn’t even require us to swear any lifeblood oaths when learning these legacies.”

“Yes.” Ninedust nodded. It was true; neither had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths! It must be understood that the more valuable a legacy was, the more likely it was that the successor would have to swear a lifeblood oath in order to learn it.

The Sword Hegemon in the alternate universe, the Paragon of Pills, the Brightshore Hegemon… they had all required lifeblood oaths that their teachings would not be taught to outsiders. Even fairly ordinary sects like Vastheaven Palace required these oaths. Ning had been forced to pay a significant price just to transmit those fairly ordinary techniques and divine abilities of Vastheaven Palace back to the Three Realms.

But… Thousand Rhinos had been an exalted Hegemon! And yet, he had unstintingly passed down all of the legacies he had developed over the course of countless aeons to Ning and Ninedust without even requiring them to swear lifeblood oaths.

“Let’s go to that other planet,” Ning said.

“Let’s go.” Ninedust nodded.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two flew next to each other like streaks of light as they moved to the planet closest to them. This planet was also fairly small, just ten thousand kilometers in size. When their feet landed atop the planet, they once more sensed that ripple of power be transmitted into their minds. This time, Ning felt as though he could see a snowy-winged man who emanated a halo of white light.

“I am God Emperor Helong, a retainer of Autarch Bolin and a master of an otherverse. I established my own church, and over the course of countless years I spread my organization across three entire realmverses. I had thought that I would be able to continue my campaign of conquest… but the appearance of the Sithe brought me back to my senses. Only then did I understand that to the Sithe, I was nothing more than an easily crushed ant.

“The Sithe seek to enslave all cultivators. Those like us who refuse to submit are all subject to death. Although I have been alive for countless years and have conquered for countless years, when I think of how all cultivator civilizations might one day be enslaved by the Sithe, I have only one thought in my mind… to exterminate them!

“I, God Emperor Helong, shall do everything in my power to slay all Sithe. Future cultivators, if we fail in our task, you must take it up in our stead. Kill, kill, kill! You must exterminate every single Sithe!”

The lofty, noble voice of the snowy-winged man was filled with murderous malice that was so strong it shook even Ning’s Dao-heart. Moments later, a large amount of information began to flood into his mind. This was all the legacies which God Emperor Helong had to offer.

A long time later, Ning and Ninedust opened their eyes and exchanged a glance.

“Such power.” Ninedust was stunned.

“I thought that the [Heartsword] art was quite unique, but who would’ve thought that God Emperor Helong would’ve come up with a similar technique, the [God Emperor’s Apocalypse] art?” Ning nodded. This was another technique that allowed for the perfect fusion of heartforce with divine power; thanks to this technique, God Emperor Helong had reached a level of power that surpassed that of ordinary Hegemons! This was what gave him the strength needed to take control of an otherverse and then spread his organization across three separate realmverses. His church had a total of eight Hegemons within it!

“I wonder if this mighty figure was able to survive,” Ninedust said.

“Given how strong he was? It is entirely possible that he did.” Still, Ning didn’t feel confident in this guess. The information they had learned regarding the Sithe from the Emperor-class golems they had bound had completely shocked them… and that was probably just the tip of the iceberg!

God Emperor Helong had been very strong, yes. But compared to the Sithe? Just as the God Emperor had said; he was nothing more than an ant.

……

They visited one planet after another, flying from legacy to legacy and collecting them all. This vast astral river contained trillions of planets and stars, but only the 318 planets closest to the flying vessel had legacies.

A grand total of 318 Hegemonic legacies!

They listened to the exhortations these Hegemons had left behind for posterity. They could sense the boundless wisdom and indescribable hard work which permeated each and every legacy… and in every case, neither Ning nor Ninedust were forced to swear lifeblood oaths.

“Whew.” Ning let out a long sigh. He felt as though he was releasing a pent-up sense of pressure which had been weighing on his heart.

“None of them required lifeblood oaths. In other words, we are allowed to transmit all 318 Hegemonic legacies as we please.” Ninedust sighed in amazement. “We’re actually given free reign.”

Ning was excited as well. So many techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts… and they were allowed to transmit them as they pleased! His homeland, the Three Realms, would now have a true foundation for it to grow to incredible heights!

“These seniors probably WANTED us to transmit them,” Ning said. “If the cultivator civilizations were truly defeated in that great war, there would naturally be a need to produce more cultivators of great power. For the sake of this war, they had already cast off even their fear of death; they naturally wouldn’t mind others transmitting their legacies.”

“But in the end, our side won the war.” Ninedust sighed with emotion. “Thus, every single modern-day organization is extremely protective of its precious legacies and absolutely refuse to transmit them casually to others.”

“In the past, the cultivator civilizations were facing a total war against the Sithe. The Sithe have been destroyed long ago, and so the cultivator civilizations naturally turned against each other instead.” Ning shook his head. An outside threat would prompt internal unity, but once the threat was dealt with? The internal strife would appear once more.

Even a place as small as the Three Realms had fierce civil wars. Hell, even tiny clans had internal strife, to say nothing of a place as vast as the Endless Territories! The various realmverses most likely battled against each other as well. For example, the Dark Kingdom consisted of refugees who had fled from another realmverse. As a result, they were ostracized and oppressed by the locals of the Endless Territories.

“Darknorth,” Ninedust said solemnly.

“Eh?” Ninedust looked at him.

“We absolutely cannot just hand out these legacies willy-nilly,” Ninedust said. “Once a major power realizes what we have, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“Agreed. Every single organization’s foundation rests upon its powerful experts and its precious legacies.” Ning nodded solemnly.

“After we leave, I’m planning to take a trip back home,” Ninedust said seriously. “I’m going to write down and transcribe all of the legacies we’ve acquired. I’ll let my avatar hold onto them, and I won’t make them public. Only if I die or after I complete my Daomerge attempt will I transmit these things to the rest of the Ancients.”

Ninedust let out a sigh. “These legacies will have an absolutely enormous impact. If I make them public too soon, it’ll probably have certain repercussions for me. After I complete my Daomerge, I’ll have nothing else to worry about… and if I die, I also won’t have anything to worry about.”

“I won’t be in a hurry to transmit them either.” Ning nodded. “My homeland is still far too weak.” In the end, he was going to give these legacies to the Three Realms, but it couldn’t be rushed. Ning was preparing to first slowly introduce to the Three Realms the more shallow techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts that were suitable for Daolords of the First Step! As for the more profound ones? He would take it slow. If he died, then he would naturally arrange for the full transmission.

Legacies from over three hundred Hegemons… this brought an enormous sense of pressure to both Ning and Ninedust. Neither dared to transmit them casually. In the end, they were still too weak; only if they reached Hegemony themselves would they have nothing to fear.

……

Atop a planet. Ning and Ninedust were in secluded meditation within a temporal thatched cottage and a temporal log cabin. Both needed time to properly ‘digest’ these legacies.

The towering battle-intent which the Hegemons had infused into their messages was actually a form of tempering for them as well, causing both of their Dao-hearts to change slightly.

“With these things, my chances of succeeding in the Daomerge have increased once again.” Ninedust walked out of the temporal log cabin, a smile on his face.

A Voidsea Jadeseal, an Autarch’s Dao-guidance, and over three hundred Hegemonic legacies. Ninedust was starting to feel more and more confident.

“Eh? Darknorth is still meditating? He’s quite a bit slower than me.” Ninedust chuckled, then turned to glance at the flying tower. “Time to test out those Silver Daolords again.”

Swoosh. Ninedust soared into the skies. Although he was still far weaker than a Silver Daolord, he would at least be able to keep himself safe. This was a good opportunity for him to temper himself.