The Desolate Era

Yu Wei smiled as she looked at Ji Ning press his ear to her belly. “How wonderful it would be if we could always be together like this. Alas...”

An inescapable shadow lurked deep within Yu Wei’s heart.

Her membership in the Seamless Gate had been set in stone during her past life. Her soul had been marked by the Godking, and there was no way she could resist at all. In fact, the soul-seal caused her to view the Godking as she would a father. Although she knew this, it wasn’t possible for her to feel the slightest bit of hatred. Instead, all she felt was veneration...but in her heart, she wasn’t willing to harm Ning either.

“During the past three years of war, Azurefox came to me in my dreams just a single time, back when things first started. Afterwards, there’s been no contact at all.” Yu Wei was worried about this. “I wonder when they will give me another order.”

As the battles continued, the allotted time for her and Ji Ning to be together was drawing to a close as well.

Eventually, there would come the day when she and Ji Ning had to part their ways.

“I hope that day doesn’t come too soon.”

“I hope that our child, at least, will be safely born into the world first.” Yu Wei silently prayed to herself.

......

Noon the next day. The Golden Crow hung high in the sky, filled with blazing heat.

The Seamless City.

The main palace.

Eight Empyrean Gods/True Immortals were seated here.

“My fellow Daoists.” The black-robed, black-haired, red-eyed elder rose to his feet, his calm voice carrying a bone-chilling cold to it. “Today...is the day of Ji Ning’s death! I’ll have to trouble you all for your assistance!”

“Haha, if fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy manages to kill Ji Ning, the Grand Xia will have lost its most powerful Heaven Punisher. The impact will be as significant as the loss of an Empyrean God or a True Immortal.” True Immortal Whitepole laughed loudly, “If you are able to wipe out his true body as well, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy, then you’ll have rendered even greater merits. I’ll definitely inform the Godking of your accomplishments.”

True Immortal Crimsonjoy shook his head and said calmly, “I’m not completely confident in being able to slay his true body. If his true body remains with his Primaltwin, then I’ll be able to kill both at once! But if it is somewhere else...this time, I’ll probably only be able to kill the Primaltwin.”

No one knew where Ji Ning’s true body was hiding. Thus, Celestial Immortal Blackheaven had invited True Immortal Crimsonjoy to kill only the Primaltwin.

The death of the Primaltwin would mean the loss of a life.

Ning had a total of two lives; his true body’s life, and his Primaltwin’s life. Each was incredibly precious to him!

In truth, Ning’s true body was within the underwater estate, and his underwater estate was with his Primaltwin at all times!

“Everyone, let’s head out,” True Immortal Whitepole said, laughing as he rose to his feet. “If we manage to kill him today, we have to put on a huge banquet in celebration.”

“Today, we’ll bear witness to your prowess, fellow Daoist Crimsonjoy.”

“I’ve battled against Ji Ning countless times, but I haven’t been able to do anything to him.”

Empyrean God Venomsong and the others all rose to their feet as well. They all walked away from the main hall, summoning their respective armies.

......

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

“Engage the enemies!” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out throughout the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Instantly, each of the armies began to mobilize.

Within the Darknorth army camp.

“Senior apprentice-sister, prepare some food and wait for my return.” Upon hearing the Xia Emperor’s orders, Ning rose to his feet as well. “Today, I truly wish to eat ‘Roar of the Nine Snow Dragons’.” These were all dishes that Yu Wei had personally named. After becoming a Celestial Immortal, Ning began to prefer vegetables, and this particular dish was a vegetarian one.

After speaking, he immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away, not waiting for Yu Wei’s reply.

Yu Wei walked past the door, watching as Ning appeared with countless figures beside him. “Come back safely.” Every time Ning went out into battle, Yu Wei couldn’t help but feel worried.

......

“Assemble the formation!” As Ning gave the order, the thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals under his command all executed the formation technique. They looked towards Ning with trust in their eyes. Over the past three years, Ning’s prestige had reached a shocking height.

Soon, the thirty thousand meter Fiendgod with no head, the Heaven Punisher, took form.

The seven Heaven Punishers all exchanged glances.

“Come, let’s teach those little bastards of the Seamless Gate a lesson.” The seven Heaven Punishers all laughed, then walked out of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity together.

Moments after the seven Heaven Punishers vanished, the five Empyrean God golems headed out as well.

......

A vast, desolate, region that had been ravaged by war. The great lake here had vanished long ago, and even the majority of the lakewater had been annihilated by the terrifying battles. The only thing left behind was a few rivers and small creeks.

Three White-Faced Flood Dragons and eight Empyrean God golems were here, calling for battle.

Whoosh.

Seven Heaven Punishers appeared out of nowhere.

“Let’s fight.”

“Kill them.”

Led by Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, the forces of the Seamless Gate immediately charged forward.

“Let’s go,” Ning said. Under Ning’s leadership, the seven Heaven Punishers went forward into battle as well, and as they did the five Empyrean God golems of the Grand Xia also emerged.

Boom!

Boom!

Ning’s Heaven Punisher was the first to engage, fighting one-on-one against Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

They had battled far too many times by now and were far too familiar with each other. Both sides knew exactly what abilities the other had, but Ning’s side still didn’t dare to be overconfident. The main purpose of this long, drawn-out war was to whittle away and lock down the enemy forces. At the same time...although the battles were seemingly pointless and drawn-out, with no one perishing, in reality both sides were like vipers that were silently waiting for an opportunity.

Once that opportunity came...they would reveal their venomous fangs and go for the kill! The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that both sides were hiding would reveal themselves as well, seeking to annihilate part of the enemy forces at one blow.

“A chance.”

“I need a chance.”

As Ning and Unity joined forces to battle against Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, Ning’s mentally watched the entire battlefield with incomparable calmness.

Over the past three years, he had grown much more powerful as well.

He had been dancing for so long at the line separating life and death that it had been of tremendous benefit to him mastering the Dao of the Sword. His Dao of the Sword had already reached the bottleneck, and based on his new insights, Ning had come up with an eleventh stance to the [Three-Foot Sword].

He had made some progress in researching heartforce as well. Although he hadn’t reached the ‘expertise’ level which Old Man Yuan had mentioned in his [Heart Sutra], if Ning was to utilize this technique, he would instantly be able to unleash three times as much power from his Heaven Punisher! Given his much greater power and his improved sword-arts, he was fully capable of reaching a higher level of power.

However...

Ning understood that even if he increased his power by a full level, he still wouldn’t be a match for Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.

“Even if I did unleash my full power, the Seamless Gate would immediately adjust and compensate for it. It wouldn’t affect the overall scheme of things at all,” Ning mused to himself. “I have to find a good opportunity, a perfect opportunity to suddenly unleash my full power and wipe out yet another White-Faced Flood Dragon.”

The death of Thousand Needles had made Ning long for that day even more.

When she had died, Ning had wanted save her...but alas, he had been too far away. Even the Xia Emperor and the others had appeared, but to no avail.

On the field of battle, things happened far too quickly. Life and death could be determined in an instant!

“I have to find a chance.”

......

Within the underwater estate.

The giant yellow bear and the seven Empyrean Gods were seated within the main hall, eating Immortal fruit and drinking Immortal wine.

“Ji Ning is quite the madman. While his Primaltwin does battle outside, his true body trains nonstop within the Stellar Hall.” The kind-looking Empyrean God Dovesnake was holding a cup of wine, smiling merrily as he watched an image of the outside world. This image had been created by the giant yellow bear, who was capable of seeing the world outside. Since the underwater estate was being carried by Ning’s Primaltwin, it was naturally able to see the battle outside.

“The storm has descended upon us. Ji Ning feels pressured, and his child is about to be born into the storm. Of course he wants to protect Yu Wei and his child. It makes sense that he is training so frantically,” Empyrean God Redsnow said with a calm laugh.

The true body and the Primaltwin shared memories with each other, but didn’t disturb or interfere with each other.

Even if the Primaltwin was to completely focus its mind on battle, the true body could still be completely immersed in training.

“Right. Ji Ning’s strength is increasing stably. His Dao of the Sword has reached a bottleneck; once he masters it, the time for him to meet his Empyrean Tribulation will arrive shortly afterwards.” The child-like Empyrean God Primelight said eagerly, “After he becomes an Empyrean God, our Starseizing Manor shall once more appear in the world.”

“It has been a long, long time since the name of the Starseizing Manor has been said in the Three Realms.”

All of the Empyrean Gods were filled with eagerness.

After the war in the Grand Xia had begun, all seven of them had decided to move out from their world into the underwater estate itself. After all, Ji Ning might encounter a dangerous situation during the war. If he did meet with danger and tried to summon them, and they had to first go from the Starseizer major world to the underwater estate, and then go to the outside world, valuable time would be wasted, possibly resulting in Ning’s death.

They weren’t willing to take that risk, and so they permanently relocated to the underwater estate.

“Look, True Immortals have appeared.”

“The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on both sides have appeared. It seems as though today’s battle will be interesting to watch.”

“Agreed. It’s so boring. They just fight, fight, fight. Only when a large number of Celestial Immortals or Loose Immortals die do things grow a bit more interesting,” Empyrean God Sunblaze’s sonorous voice boomed out.

......

The outside world.

The battle had reached a fever pitch. On the Xia Emperor’s side, True Immortal Dongyan and Empyrean God Firecloud had both appeared. As for the Seamless Gate, True Immortal Crimsonjoy and Empyrean God Threesuns had mobilized.

The True Immortals used their magic treasures and spells to control the field of battle, while the Empyrean Gods would alternate between using spells and engaging in close combat.

Once they were added into the mix...the entire field of battle grew very chaotic. In chaos, opportunity could be found.

“A chance. An opportunity...” As Ning battled carefully, he continued to search for a chance to kill an enemy with even greater vigilance.

“Go.” The red-eyed elder, True Immortal Crimsonjoy, pointed a finger from afar. Instantly, countless black flowers and plants began to emerge from the earth. These flowers and plants quickly began to wrap themselves around the feet of the seven Heaven Punishers and the Empyrean God golems. However, both the Heaven Punishers and the Empyrean God golems possessed tremendous power, allowing them to break free from the grip of the plants. Still, their speed was negatively impacted.

“Damnit.” Ning hated this type of restrictive spell the most. True Immortal Crimsonjoy would usually only appear once every ten days or so, and Ning had long since grown accustomed to this sort of plant-based restrictive spell. Despite that, he couldn’t help but be impacted by it.

As for the distant True Immortal Crimsonjoy, he was silently murmuring the words to an incantation in his heart.

A speck of golden light appeared with his palm.

This was a tiny bit of the golden liquid from the golden pellet Jindan that was within his body. It was incredibly precious, and it contained an unbelievably dense amount of Pure Yang energy.

“Birth.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy calmly said this word aloud.

The vast array of black flowers and plants that covered the area suddenly began to wither...but the black flowers and plants that were directly below Ning’s feet began to suddenly grow at a frantic pace. They rose higher and higher into the air as well. Previously, they were only a few thousand meters tall and were only capable of covering the feet of the Heaven Punishers, but now they increased to more than six thousand meters as they climbed their way up Ning’s feet.

In addition, black chains suddenly appeared within the black flowers and plants.

These black chains were very similar to the black chains which anchored the Seamless City here. A total of nine of them were present, and they surged into the skies, many tens of thousand meters long. They wildly twisted out in circles, wrapping themselves around Ning, carrying a sort of power that was somehow related to space. Ning used his sword-arts, but was completely unable to break apart the black chains as they ravenously wrapped themselves around him.

“Ji Ning.”

“Darknorth.”

“Darknorth!”

The other six Heaven Punishers were shocked and frantic. They could sense the terrifying amount of power held within those black chains.

“This spell which Blackheaven taught me really is formidable.” True Immortal Crimsonjoy didn’t hesitate at all, immediately producing a red jade bottle within his hands. He aimed it towards the distant Ji Ning, then roared loudly, “Get in here, now!”

A heaven-shaking attractive power was suddenly applied to the distant Heaven Punisher, currently entangled and bound by those nine black chains.

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