The Desolate Era

“Don’t overstate things. This red-haired kid has just touched upon spacetime; he can be considered to have just barely gained a basic level of insight into it.” Subhuti sighed. “Still...I’ve finally found a suitable successor to the supreme skills I developed, just as the great tribulation has arrived. It seems the heavens have taken pity on me.”

Crazy Ji nodded as well.

All of Subhuti’s disciples believed that their second brother, Crazy Ji, had become the true heir and successor to their master’s skills. This wasn’t wrong; Crazy Ji had learned all of Subhuti’s Buddhist techniques and Daoist techniques, as well as even the [Dream of the Three Realms]. Naturally, Crazy Ji had long ago reached the Daofather level, and was ranked as the highest authority amongst the countless Arhats of the Buddhist Sangha.

Crazy Ji himself knew very well, however, that the true supreme technique of his master, Patriarch Subhuti...was a supreme spacetime technique.

The reason why Subhuti was able to be so mysterious was precisely because his mastery over spacetime was absolutely astonishing. Other Daofathers couldn’t even locate his ‘Crescent’ major world, thanks to his utterly amazing control over spacetime.

“Master has finally found a successor for his supreme technique. It seems as though the heavens are on our side,” Crazy Ji said.

“The heavens?”

Subhuti raised his head to glance towards the skies. “The Seamless Gate’s ‘king’ ended up merging himself into the Dao of the Heavens. My Crescent world is governed by the Dao of the Heavens as well. The other Daofathers might not be able to find it, but the Seamless Gate’s ‘king’...he might not have been able to find it before fusing with the Dao of the Heavens, but now, by relying on the Dao of the Heavens, he can. This means that the living creatures on this world will not be able to escape this storm either.”

“You are worrying too much, master. That ‘king’...in the end, he’s still just a part of the Dao of the Heavens, now. He cannot simply act as he wishes,” Crazy Ji said.

“Yes...and so we have a chance to win.” Subhuti nodded.

Empyrean God Redsnow wasn’t the only one in the Three Realms to have gained a basic level of skill in spacetime; two other Daofathers had as well. They were members of the Nuwa Alliance, but these two Daofathers had their own paths to follow; there was no way they would divide their attention to focus solely on the path of spacetime. After all, there were many paths of training in the Dao, with the most powerful one still being the path of primordial chaos.

The two who had completed that path were Pangu and Nuwa.

......

The Grand Xia. Whitepole Commandery. The battlefield of the Realmwar.

“Die!”

The Seven Planets God brandished its longspear, causing spacetime to fluctuate and change as white snow drifted down. It hammered down upon the forces of the Seamless Gate, including the group of Empyrean Gods/True Immortals and the three Diremonster Gods, to the point where they found it hard to even withstand its blows.

“Too powerful. Empyrean God Redsnow is too powerful.”

“He has no weaknesses at all. His group combat skills and his solo combat skills...all of them are perfect and flawless. No matter how well we coordinate with each other, we still have some flaws and openings. We’re going to lose for sure.”

“We simply can’t stop him.”

The three Diremonster Gods, the Immortals of the Nine Precious Godtowers Formation, and the others all felt completely despair and powerlessness.

“His Dao of combat is completely flawless. It’s as though he was born to fight this sort of war.” The eldest brother of the three, the gold-feathered eagle, let out a shocked sigh.

“Don’t forget that he was born when Heaven and Earth was first created. He experienced the very earliest wars of the universe. Large-scale battles like this...he’s been through countless numberse of them, and his battle style was honed, tempered, and perfected countless times through those countless battles. In the end, we simply didn’t have the chance to experience that era. We haven’t experienced enough of these large-scale battles. Although our third brother is comparable to Empyrean God Redsnow in terms of the Dao, in a real life-and-death battle, especially one on a battlefield like this...he’s still a bit inferior. Now that Empyrean God Redsnow is commanding the Seven Planets God...the Three-Eyed Demon which our third brother is commanding is naturally going to be weaker.”

“Third brother, let’s retreat. We can’t stop him.”

“Right. Let’s retreat. Let’s reflect on what we’ve learned, then fight him again in the future.”

“Fine.” The nine-headed lion nodded.

“Let’s go!”

The Three-Eyed Demon sent a mental message that echoed in the minds of all allies present.

Whoosh!

Instantly, the many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that had been battling the Seven Planets God immediately began to retreat!

“Attack! Don’t let them escape!”

“Attack!”

Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor, and the other Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, Heaven Punishers, Raindragons, and Pangu War-Formations instantly began a frenzied pursuit upon seeing this.

The most dazzling figure of all was that of the Seven Planets God!

His longspear...it was a life-taking instrument of death. Even the Three-Eyed Demons had fled rather than face it; naturally, there was now nothing and no one capable of stopping it at all. Within this battle region, the Seamless Gate’s forces quickly began to collapse.

......

The walls of the Seamless City. Daofather Ink Bamboo was watching over the entire battlefield here. Upon seeing that the eighteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he had sent out were still unable to stop the Seven Planets God, he knew that this battle was over! As he expected...just a short while later, the three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater began to lead the others in a frantic retreat.

“Withdraw!” Daofather Ink Bamboo had a dark look on his face. He said just that single word, his voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield.

The forces of the Seamless Gate in every single region on the battlefield were in difficult situations. Upon hearing the order be given, they all let out sighs of relief and began to flee.

“This Empyrean God Redsnow...” Daofather Ink Bamboo stared at the Seven Planets God, an ugly look on his face. He knew that there was a limit to the amount of energy it could unleash; the reason why it had been so incredibly powerful was because of the person commanding it. The reason why the Three-Eyed Demon was so powerful as to have reached the Daofather level was because its commander, the nine-headed lion, had an extremely high level of insight into the Dao. The Seven Planets God was even more powerful, precisely because its commander, Empyrean God Redsnow, was simply far too formidable.

Redsnow...

In terms of his insights into the Dao, he was actually roughly on par with the nine-headed lion. He had far too many combat techniques, however, resulting in the nine-headed lion feeling complete despair.

“Press the attack!”

“Don’t let them run off!”

“Kill them!”

The forces of the Crimsonbright Realm immediately began to chase after and slaughter their foes.

The Seamless Gate’s entire battle line began to collapse as they began to flee. The three Diremonster Gods of Mount Dragoneater, the six Diremonster Gods of Mount Tonglian, and the other powerful Empyrean Gods were now all fleeing as well. When faced with such an awe-inspiring enemy army...if they let themselves be trapped, they would be doomed.

This sort of large-scale disorderly retreat actually resulted in incredibly heavy casualties. The forces of the Seamless Gate had lost all their desire to fight; the only thing they wanted to do was flee.

The battle right now was a slaughter!

Daofather Ink Bamboo watched silently, not saying a single thing as he saw it all unfold. He had been forced to give the order to withdraw; if he had tried to insist on continuing this battle, even more of his forces would be wiped out. If he didn’t order a retreat right away, he might lose the majority of his forces. The difference in power between the two sides wasn’t that great right now; the losses they were sustaining were acceptable, if painful.

Daofather Ink Bamboo looked towards the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, where Daofather Crimsonbright was.

Daofather Crimsonbright had a smile on his face. A wide smile.

“Hmph.” Daofather Ink Bamboo turned and left the city walls.

......

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Everyone was cheering in celebration. The countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals were incomparably jubilant right now. This had been a simply wonderful battle! That final pursuit in particular...the enemies they managed to catch and trap had all been utterly massacred. The sensation of being able to massacre their foes...it was glorious!

“Redsnow.”

The countless Immortals all looked towards a group of Empyrean Gods who were standing in midair. The most dazzling figure was a red-haired Empyrean God...Redsnow!

All of the Immortals and Fiendgods present knew that the person who had changed the entire outcome of this battle was Empyrean God Redsnow. As a result, they all looked towards him with scorching, excited gazes. He was too strong. He was the most powerful Empyrean God they had ever seen, and the way he had used his spear...it was simply unbelievable.

“Fellow Daoist Redsnow, long time no see.”

“Fellow Daoist Redsnow, you saved the day.”

“Redsnow, why have you come?”

Some of those who had met Empyrean God Redsnow before, such as the Xia Emperor and a few other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, were chatting with him.

“Primelight.” The Xia Emperor was particularly animated when chatting with the foster son of Daoist Threelives, Empyrean God Primelight. They two actually had quite a good relationship in the past.

A short time later, the entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity began a massive celebratory banquet, with the countless Immortals and Fiendgods celebrating together. In the main palace, Daofather Crimsonbright personally feted the Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, and Celestial Immortal commanders who had risked their lives in battle.

Halfway through the banquet...

“Redsnow.” Daofather Crimsonbright sent a mental message over.

“Daofather.” Empyrean God Redsnow replied mentally as well.

“Your sudden appearance...why is it that I haven’t heard of any Daofathers arranging you to come here?” Daofather Crimsonbright asked.

“We promised Ji Ning to help him once,” Empyrean God Redsnow replied. “After having helped him this time, we’ve finished our assignment.”

“Ah?”

Daofather Crimsonbright was surprised that it was Ji Ning who had caused them to come. Immediately afterward, he grew rather worried. He immediately sent over, “You are only helping out once? You won’t be helping out after this?”

Empyrean God Redsnow nodded gently.

Daofather Crimsonbright sent urgently, “The Seamless Gate has suffered heavy casualties during this Realmwar. It is very possible that they might retreat, which means the Realmwar will be over. But if they aren’t willing to accept this outcome and attack again...without the seven of you standing against the Three-Eyed Demon, we might not be able to win.” He knew exactly how important the Seven Planets God was, and how much of an impact it had on the battlefield.

“Last time, you helped Ji Ning. This time, help me,” Daofather Crimsonbright sent mentally. “I’m not insisting that you join me in battle, but if the Seamless Gate refuses to give up and assaults us once again, I’d like you to assist our Crimsonbright Realm.”

Empyrean God Redsnow hesitated momentarily, then began to confer mentally with the nearby Primelight, Dovesnake, Snow Scorpion, and the others.

A Daofather was asking them to help out...

In addition, Daofather Crimsonbright had indeed been on very good terms with Daoist Threelives. Ji Ning was participating in this war as well. Soon, they came to an accord.

“Since you have made the request, Daofather, the seven of us shall do as you ask. If the Seamless Gate once more comes in force, we shall continue battle, only stopping once this Realmwar is completed,” Empyrean God Redsnow sent mentally.

Daofather Crimsonbright instantly let out a sigh of relief.

Wonderful.

These seven Empyrean Gods had been the most elite of generals under Threelives. It was true that Threelives’ death had resulted in the disbanding of his forces, with quite a few of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Starseizing Manor leaving for other pastures. Only Redsnow and the rest of the seven had been unwilling to leave due to the loyalty and devotion they felt towards Threelives. They had continued to hide within the Starseizing Manor and waited...waited for their new leader to arise. Each of the seven were incredibly powerful, and when they joined forces...twenty or thirty ordinary Empyrean Gods or True Immortals wouldn’t necessarily be a match for them.

......

“We lost.” Daofather Ink Bamboo knew that there was a limit to how much strength the Seamless Gate could employ. They had reached that limit for the sake of this Realmwar; it was unlikely that further reinforcements would be made available. Even if there were further reinforcements...it’d be hard to make up for difference in power that now existed. The Seven Planets God was simply too powerful.

......

The Three Realms. A mysterious major world.

This major world was known as the Allfiends world. This was the true headquarters of the many Myriad Demons Caves.

There were a hundred Seamless Gates; in turn, there were also a hundred Myriad Demon Caves. They were spread out throughout the Three Realms, frantically collecting precious materials and building golems. The reason why the Seamless Gate was so terrifyingly strong was in large part because their skill in the Dao of Constructs was truly unrivalled in the Three Realms. They were able to produce some truly top-tier golems that the Nuwa Alliance was completely unable to manufacture.

As for how secretive and mysterious the Allfiends world was? Not even the commander of the Seamless Gate, the ‘Godking’, was qualified to interfere with it.

The Allfiends world was under the protection of an even more powerful leader of the Seamless Alliance. The entire Nuwa Alliance had been frantically attempting to find a core formation-diagram for the golems, but alas...they weren’t able to find diagrams for even the Empyrean God golems, to say nothing of the truly top-class golems.

Rumble...

Within a massive, levitating fortress.

This fortress had been completedly sealed off. Inside the sealed fortress, there was an enormous palace that was a hundred thousand kilometers in size. Inside the palace, there was a veritable horde of Celestial Immortals, at least a million of them or more. They were as numerous as ants, scattered throughout the palace as they focused on manufacturing various parts.

At the highest part of the palace, a massive throne was levitating in the air, with two Pure Yang True Immortals standing respectfully before it.

Atop the throne sat a wanton, dissolute-looking man. He slouched against the throne, resting his jaw on his right hand while holding a gourd of wine with his left hand. He stared downwards. “1,800,000 Celestial Immortals. It’s been three full years...but they still haven’t finished this Daofather golem?”

“It’ll be done soon, Grandmaster Blackheaven,” the two True Immortals said hurriedly.

The man seated atop the throne was, amazingly, ‘Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’.

The two True Immortals knew that Grandmaster Blackheaven usually lived a relaxed, carefree life; all he did these days was order his disciples and grand-disciples around in creating various golems. It was now quite rare for him to personally take control over golem production. He was, after all, the most skilled expert in the Allfiends world in the Dao of Constructs. In fact, even this ‘Celestial Immortal body’ of his was actually manufactured through the art of constructs!

Not even True Gods or Daofathers could tell that this body of Blackheaven’s was merely a golem-body. Even if the Nuwa Alliance slew it, they would have merely killed a golem-body.

Grandmaster Blackheaven...supposedly, he himself wasn’t particularly powerful in combat. His skill in golems, however, was unrivaled in the Three Realms. Even the toys he casually created possessed enormous power, and by relying on these little toys Blackheaven was able to roam the Three Realms with ease. It was hard for even Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to deal with him, which was why almost everyone in the Three Realms treated Blackheaven as they would a True Immmortal. But none of them knew the truth.

Not even Azurefox or True Immortal Whitepole knew the truth, that Blackheaven was in reality the Seamless Gate’s most skilled expert in the art of constructs. His status in this regard was a tightly held secret. Although quite a few Celestial Immortals and True Immortals in the Allfiends world knew, they weren’t permitted to leave this place at all.

“Eh?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven’s face sank. Crack! The wine gourd in his hand was crushed into tiny pieces.

“Despite all that, they still weren’t able to kill Ji Ning. Empyrean God Redsnow? Empyrean God Redsnow actually appeared out of nowhere and ruined everything. Fortunately...I didn’t place all of my hopes on those three Diremonster Gods. In the end, it’ll be up to my golems.” Blackheaven had an ugly look on his face as he coldly issued an order: “Issue a decree in my name. The Daofather golem must be completedly within one month. The 1,800,000 Celestial Immortals are merely focusing on these parts, whereas I am managing the manufacturing of the Daofather golem as a whole, but it still isn’t finished...if it isn’t finished within one month, then all Celestial Immortals shall be punished by the seven flames...as will you two!”

Upon hearing the words ‘punished by the seven flames’, the two True Immortals were horrified. They immediately said respectfully, “Yes, Grandmaster. It will definitely be completed within a month.”

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