The Desolate Era

Keeper Everwood looked towards the Godking, then chuckled. “I have two surefire methods for success.”

“Two?” The Godking’s eyes lit up. He didn’t even have one.

“Ordinary methods are useless against someone like Ji Ning, whose speed has reached the limits set by the Heavenly Daos. Not even major powers can catch up to him in speed, much less other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.” Keeper Everwood continued, “At a time like this, the only choice you have is to compensate through raw numbers. Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in sufficiently large quantities can kill even True Gods and Daofathers.”

“Since he is extremely fast, then send out large groups of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to form a truly massive formation that he cannot escape from,” Keeper Everwood said. “However...the number you will need to truly trap and lock in Ji Ning is enormous.”

“How many would be needed?” The Godking immediately asked.

“At least five thousand,” Keeper Everwood replied.

The Godking’s heart instantly clenched.

Still, it made sense.

The ‘Seamless Infinity Formation was formed using 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, but it was only able to completely lock down a region of ten thousand kilometers, preventing Ji Ning from escaping from it. The ‘Brightvoid Worldlock Formation was able to cover an entire major world, but it just made travel more difficult. Given a bit of extra time, Ji Ning would still be able to tear through the barrier and escape into the Void.

To create a formation that Ji Ning was unable to escape from that was as vast as a major world...the number of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods needed would be staggeringly large.

The Brightvoid Worldlock Formation itself required 640 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to set up. If they really wanted to set up a formation that Ji Ning was guaranteed to be unable to escape from...yes, more than five thousand would be needed.

“That many...” The Godking frowned. “It will be very difficult for our Seamless Gate to send our more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all at once. The two hundred I sent last time came from the Third World. This time I had to come and speak with you, uncle-master, before I could send out six hundred. Uncle-master, your First World has many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, so sending six hundred won’t destabilize it much. But to send out more than five thousand...even with you here, things will grow very dangerous.”

Keeper Everwood nodded. “I have more than ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals here! If we were to send out more than five thousand, it’s very possible that the Nuwa Alliance would immediately send out their own army of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to assault the First World. With all the True Gods and Daofathers both sides standing on the sidelines...there’s no way the First World would be able to survive.”

“Right.” The Godking nodded. In terms of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the Seamless Gate had far fewer than the Nuwa Alliance. In fact, their total combat power was lower as well! This was why they had to rely on their intelligence reports and their golems to match the Nuwa Alliance. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate were all hiding within the First World, Second World, Third World, and other bases. By relying on the protective formations that covered these worlds, they would be able to withstand any attacks from the Nuwa Alliance.

But if any of the ten mighty bases, even the mightiest First World, was to send out more than five thousand of their experts...they would drop so dramatically in power that they would be in danger!

“If we had all ten worlds mobilize together...” The Godking hesitated. “If they immediately mobilized, headed out, instantly killed Ji Ning, then immediately returned, it’s possible that the Nuwa Alliance wouldn’t be able to launch an attack in time.”

But he himself knew that this would only be true in the most ideal of situations. In reality...given how berserk Ji Ning was, and how the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were all paying attention to him, once the Seamless Gate began any large-scale mobilizations the Nuwa Alliance would immediately react accordingly.

“If we’re fast enough...it’s still possible.” The Godking gritted his teeth.

This solution was a gamble. He would be gambling on if his side would be able to take care of things fast enough. If they weren’t...things would become extremely dangerous. Once thousands of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were sent out, the Nuwa Alliance might waylay and ambush them...or they might launch a massive attack on the ten Seamless Alliance worlds!

“The choice is yours.” Keeper Everwood looked at the Godking.

“What’s the second method?” The Godking immediately asked.

“Just have a True God or Daofather kill him,” Keeper Everwood said calmly.

“A Daofather?!” The Godking was boggled. “B-but...”

Although Ji Ning had trained in an extremely powerful evasion technique, an extremely powerful True God or Daofather would still be able to kill him. Even though the Daofather would be inferior in raw speed, he would still be able to use spells and other abilities such as restrictive formations to slow down and bind Ji Ning, making it impossible for him to even move.

For example, if Lord Tathagata the Buddha was to attack, he would be able to lock Heaven and Earth with a wave of his hands, placing a Five Elements seal that would render Ning completely immobile.

They might not be able to match up to that young fellow in speed, but they could suppress him so that he wouldn’t be able to use that speed!

The reason why the ten Golden Crows were so powerful was primarily because of their leader, the Emperor of Monsters. He himself had the power of a True God and Daofather, as well as the [Golden Sunstreak] technique; this was why the other major powers were unable to catch him. In the end, it had been Houyi’s specially-manufactured arrows which had slain the Emperor of Monsters. As for those other nine...they instantly became much less dangerous.

Still...

Right now, both alliances had a tacit understanding; neither side wanted to prematurely spark off the Endwar of major powers. Both sides understood that given the current balance of power, the Endwar would most likely result in devastating casualties for both sides, with the Seamless Gate having a higher chance of being wiped out. However, even if the Nuwa Alliance was to win, the survivors would be very few in number.

Keeper Everwood said calmly, “If you do that, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that once the Daofather slays Ji Ning and violates our unspoken accords, the Nuwa Alliance will be so enraged that they will immediately launch the Endwar. The second possible outcome is that after Ji Ning is slain, the Nuwa Alliance will be extremely angry but still be unwilling to launch the Endwar right away. If we make some sacrifices and concessions, we’ll be able to turn the page on the matter. I judge the second possible outcome as being more likely.”

The Godking nodded slowly.

This was a war between two alliances. Their enemies had to consider the bigger picture as well. It was indeed unlikely that they would actually launch the Endwar just because of Ji Ning.

“But this is still a gamble.” Keeper Everwood looked towards the Godking. “All you can do is first kill Ji Ning, then wait to see what the Nuwa Alliance’s reaction is.”

“This...” The Godking’s head hurt.

Two options lay before him.

The first was to send out more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. This was virtually equivalent to the army that would be sent out for a Realmwar in one of the top-tier realms. Even ordinary True Gods and Daofathers would be surrounded and killed by such an army.

The second was to have a elite True God or Daofather attack and instantly kill Ji Ning.

Two gambles.

As the nominal leader of the Seamless Alliance...the Godking’s head hurt.

“Are there really no other options available?” The Godking asked worriedly.

“The two options I mentioned just now are all sure-fire ways of killing Ji Ning. There are other methods, but there is no guarantee of success,” Keeper Everwood said.

“Uncle-master, pray tell,” the Godking said hurriedly. Even methods that weren’t guaranteed to succeed would at least have a chance of killing Ji Ning. He wasn’t willing to use either of those two methods; both methods would be throwing the entire Seamless Gate into a bet.

Keeper Everwood said, “Have you noticed? When Ji Ning uses that [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, he first enters the Voidboat, then executes the technique.”

“Right.” The Godking nodded.

“The reason for that is because the mysteries of this technique primarily lay within the serpent itself,” Keeper Deadwood said. “If he simply was going to use it on himself, he naturally wouldn’t need to rely on the Voidboat; he’d be able to instantly flee. But he is currently carrying a large number of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals with him, in a formation that is shaped like an enormous Rahu God. He isn’t in perfect control of the Rahu God’s power. Thus, if he was to use the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent to cover up the entire Rahu God, it would place an enormous burden on the serpent, preventing it from flying too far.”

The Godking nodded, his eyes lighting up. “Right. The same was true for Goldcrow; he’s ridiculously fast when he flies by himself, but when he carries other experts along with him, he’ll become slower. The only option is for Goldcrow to put those people inside a magic treasure first.”

“Exactly.” Keeper Everwood nodded. “Thus, if the Rahu-Ning first enters the Voidboat, he can allow the Voidboat to complete cover and envelope his own energy, ensuring that the leakage doesn’t disturb the lightning serpent. Only then does he use the serpent to envelop the Voidboat, which is why he is able to move with such speed.”

“Whenever he attacks a region, he’ll immediately enter his Voidboat and then flee after he encounters any danger. Entering the Voidboat is a prerequisite...which gives us a very short window of time,” Keeper Everwood said. “Your only chance to defeat him lies in this short window.”

The more powerful one was, the more important the minor details would be in an important battle. In that tiny window of time, it was entirely possible that they might be able to take Ji Ning’s life.

“I understand.” The Godking nodded.

Still...no wonder Keeper Everwood had said that this wasn’t a surefire method. A True God or Daofather would naturally be able to seize that window to launch an attack, but if the attacks were merely Empyrean Gods and True Immortals...it would be far more difficult to exploit that window of opportunity. Ji Ning himself was quite powerful, after all.

......

“Run! Run! RUN!”

“Let’s go.”

“We poured our blood and sweat into this place and paid an enormous price to build it up. Are we really going to give it up just like that?”

“Forget about it! If we don’t go, we’re going to die.”

The Seamless Gate’s bases all began to evacuate. The major powers of the Seamless Alliance all had their coresenses locked onto Ning, and as soon as he drew near a major world the local Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate would instantly flee.

“Running?” The Rahu-Ning used his six swords to execute the Heavenbreaker stance. With heaven-destroying power, he blasted the formations around the base into pulp. Mountains collapsed, palaces imploded, and everything was destroyed.

“If I can’t kill you, then I’ll wipe out all of your bases throughout the entire Three Realms. I’ll destroy all the bases of the Seamless Gate!”

“Building them up was hard, but destroying them will be simple. I refuse to believe that you won’t bow your heads!”

The Rahu-Ning completely changed plans. Given that he was being watched, it was unlikely that he would be able to kill many more Empyrean Gods or True Immortals. Then...he would simply cause destruction. He would constantly destroy the bases they had worked so hard to build up. It was thanks to these bases that the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate were able to infiltrate the major worlds; it was these bases that allowed them to withstand the attacks of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who owned those worlds.

But now...Ning began to wreck them all!

This sight caused the major powers of the Seamless Gate to all feel heartache and worry. In fact, they all began to send mental messages to the Godking. “Godking, you have to stop Ji Ning.”

“Godking, hurry up and come up with some ideas.”

These major powers truly wanted to personally intervene and kill Ji Ning. However, all of them understood that many of the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance had to be watching Ji Ning as well. If one of them truly was to strike out against him, the Nuwa Alliance would instantly counterattack. In fact, the ensuing fight might result in True Gods and Daofathers dying.

Their guesses were correct. Human Sovereign Suiren, who had just incurred an enormous debt to Ning thanks to the gift of six bottles of chaos nectar and the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique, was paying extremely close attention right now. He absolutely would not permit any enemy True Gods or Daofathers to intervene.

Any fights had to be between Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. This was the rule!

......

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The massive, towering Rahu-Ning swept out with his swords, causing everything in their path to blow apart. The mountains collapsed and the rivers and seas were overturned. No one could stop him!

“Eh?” The Rahu-Ning suddenly frowned. His heartforce had been active this entire time, and it now discovered that the space next to him had suddenly been torn apart. He couldn’t help but turn to look, only to see a golden-armored man standing next to the tear in space. The tall, muscular, golden-armored man was wielding an enormous greatbow in his hands, and he had already shot out an arrow. The tearing in the planetary membrane was caused by that arrow.

Swish!

The arrow carried a terrifying amount of power within it. It was like a shooting star, leaving behind a dull red scar in the skies as it shot towards Ning. As for the Rahu-Ning, he hadn’t returned to the Voidboat yet; he really wasn’t going to be able to escape in time.

“What a powerful arrow. He must’ve eaten a Daofruit of primordial chaos first!” The Rahu-Ning didn’t panic at all. The sword in his hand transformed into a black hole as it swept forward to greet the arrow.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The most perfected stance of Ning’s Brightmoon sword-art was the defensive stance, the ‘Soleheart’ stance.

This was the very first of the five stances Ning had come up with. It must be understood that when Ning had created this sword-art, he had suppressed his power to make it weaker than his foes; this stance was perfect for constantly whittling away at an enemy’s power.

BOOM! The arrow that fell into the black hole did indeed contain the power of primordial chaos within it. It just barely managed to escape the pull of the black hole, but the arrow itself became warped and crooked. The warped arrow landed against the arm of the Rahu-Ning. Although Ning was only able to use a tiny portion of the full power of the Rahu God, its body was still incredibly powerful, far more so than that of an ordinary True God.

Even the full-strength arrow probably would’ve only been able to injure Ning, much less this weakened, warped arrow which had struck Ning on the arm. The powerful collision did cause the Rahu-Ning’s arm to go momentarily numb, but it quickly recovered.

“This divine archer, Empyrean God Swansong, fled quite quickly.” The Rahu-Ning stared into the Void outside the planetary membrane. The tear in space had already begun to heal, while the golden-armored man that had stood outside the world had fled long ago.

Empyrean God Swansong knew very well that if his arrow failed, it was entirely possible that Ji Ning would be able to kill him, given how fast the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent was. Thus, as soon as he unleashed his arrow, he had immediately fled without even waiting to see what the result was.

“SEAMLESS GATE!” The Rahu-Ning raised his head, bellowing with rage. “You’ve condemned my wife to the torment of the Infinity Hells, and so I’m going to destroy ALL of your bases! I will kill...kill...KILL! Kill until there is nothing left!”

“KILL!”

His powerful killing intent meshed perfectly with the nature of the Rahu Formation. In fact, Ning even felt as though he was able to control slightly more power now.

Whoosh.

He entered the Voidboat, then roamed forward, beginning a wild spree of destruction through the Three Realms.

......

“Failure.”

The First World.

The black-robed Godking had an ugly look on his face. “Given the strength of Ji Ning’s heartforce, the only option we have is to attack from far away. There’s no way to get close to him at all. But the only suitable attack method we can use from that distance is archery. But he’s actually able to take head-on an attack from a supreme divine archer like Empyrean God Swansong, even when a Daofruit of chaos has been used. What should I do? What exactly should I do?” The black-robed Godking was truly becoming frazzled.

Did he really have no other options aside from watching Ning destroy everything like this?

“Godking, what’s this all about? Ji Ning was raving about his wife having been sent into the Infinity Hells?”

“Godking, is Ji Ning acting so wildly because his wife is trapped in the Infinity Hells?”

The major powers of the Seamless Gate all began to query the Godking with their coresense.

Although some of the major powers of the Seamless Gate knew that it was their spy, Yu Wei, who had destroyed Shennong’s medicine during the Crimsonbright Realmwar, very few knew that Yu Wei had ended up imprisoned within the Infinity Hells.

As for Keeper Everwood, who still stood next to the Godking, he was even more puzzled. “Ji Ning’s wife? Who? And what’s this about her being imprisoned inside the Infinity Hells?” Given his exalted status, he naturally hadn’t paid any attention to the Crimsonbright Realmwar.

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