Desolate Era (Book 1 - Book 5)

The Bi’an Tiger was in the middle. Despite how it tried to struggle and flee, it was useless. The two lotus petals followed it wherever it went.

“Waterflame Lotus, smelt!” With a thought from Ning, instantly the two lotus petals began to slowly revolve. It was like two terrifying millstones slowly crushing down while revolving. Earlier, Ning had just been unconsciously activated the energy of the world to form those two protective lotus petals through his slight understanding of the Dao, and yet the power had already been so tremendous. But now, Ning was himself a Xiantian lifeform, capable of controlling both fire and water. Adding onto that basic power the hint of the Dao he had understood…the power became hundreds of times greater than before.

The petals of the Waterflame Lotus revolved. The Bi’an Tiger caught between them only felt a surge of heat and cold, and it felt far more miserable than before! Its entire body seemed to have lost all feeling! At the same time, as the water and fire intersected, a wind arose out of nowhere, and that wind filled with a powerful killing force descended directly upon the Bi’an Tiger.

“Ka…” The Bi’an Tiger’s charred body was like a porcelain doll. It shattered into many little pieces, its eyes filled with incomprehension as they grew dim.

The Bi’an Tiger had died!

“It is actually this powerful.” Ning’s heart was filled with surprise and delight as well. “With the water and fire I control as the base, and then formed into the protective Waterflame Lotus which I developed, I was able to execute a middle Xiantian level Diremonster, without even giving it a chance to fight back.”

Although the above took time to describe, a battle between experts was incredibly fast.

From the moment when Ning created the Waterflame Lotus to the moment when the Bi’an Tiger died, only a heartbeat’s worth of time had occurred.

“Boom…” The Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation which had surrounded this square kilometer fully released its power as well, and lines of black energy and white energy criss-crossed towards Ning.

Ironwood Zhan was shocked by how easily his Bi’an Tiger had been executed as well. And then, with a savage expression, he howled, “Within my Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation, even if you are a monstrous talent which Swallow Mountain sees once in a millennium, you will still surely die! Die!”

Lines of viper-like black and white energy instantly pounced towards Ning.

“Hrmph.”

With but a thought, instantly fire and water appeared out of nowhere next to his body. The fire and water transformed into lotus petals, with two layers of enormous petals of the Waterflame Lotus hovering about him, waiting for those black and white energy streams to attack. When they did…with a thought from Ning, the Waterflame Lotus suddenly fused!

Like a budding flower, those upward-pointing lotus petals formed into a massive lotus flower bud that was over ten meters high, instantly ensconcing Ning within them.

“Pengpengpeng…” The black and white energy waves came crashing down.

The Waterflame Lotus, although having fused into a flower bud, was still slowly swiveling. The inner layer was made of fire lotus petals, while the outer layer was made from water lotus petals. They continued to slowly swivel in opposite directions. No matter how the black and white energy struck against it time and time again, sometimes just barely breaking through the outer layer of the water lotus petals, the water lotus petals would once more reform into their normal appearance.

After all, fire and water could always part and reform; they weren’t solid substances to begin with. Even if they were occasionally broken through, with but a thought, Ning could reform them!

“What?” Ironwood Zhan was shocked. “How is this possible? My Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation…this is an extremely powerful formation. Given my power when using it, even if I were to meet with an opponent who was a peak Xiantian lifeform, I wouldn’t be afraid. How could it be that it can’t even break through the protective lotus of this child of the Ji clan? What is that protective lotus? How is it that I’ve never even heard of it?”

But how could Ironwood Zhan know that Ning had previously already reached the ‘one with the world’ level. The greatest benefit of his previous night’s worth of enlightenment was…this protective lotus, which already had a hint of the true meaning of the Dao within it.

A Xiantian lifeform created by the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was incomparably powerful to begin with, and the fire and water it controlled was far stronger than that of the fire and water which most Diremonsters could create. When infusing that with the hint of the true Dao through the Waterflame Lotus, blocking a mere formation naturally was nothing at all.

“Ironwood Zhan, you’ve chased for such a long time. Let me repay you now, and send you on the next leg of your journey!”

Within the lotus bud, Ning stared through the flowing water lotus petals and the blazing fire lotus petals, seeing the distant, unclear figure. In addition, his mind had reached the ‘one with the world’ level…naturally, he could sense the auras of all nearby creatures, and could clearly sense the location of Zhan.

“Die.”

With but a thought from Ning.

In the area where Ironwood Zhan was standing, yet another fiery lotus petal and watery lotus petal appeared. One above him, one below him, crushing down upon Zhan like millstones.

“Formation, aid me!” Ironwood Zhan, seeing the situation, was terrified. This was how his servant, the Bi’an Tiger, had died just now. He hurriedly controlled the black and white energy streams, wildly wrapping them around himself to block the grinding, crushing force of this Waterflame Lotus. By doing so, he was just barely able to block it. Although occasionally, some fire and water would break through, his Xiantian ki was able to block it.

“How can he simultaneously create two lotus flowers?” Zhan was filled with shock and dread. “Such a powerful attack should take up almost all of his concentration.”

But how could he know…

When he was four years old, Ning’s soul was already almost on par with a Zifu Disciple. Right now, his soul was already far above that of a Zifu Disciple. Dividing his mind to execute two separate Waterflame Lotus techniques was simplicity itself.

“You actually haven’t died!” Protected within the lotus bud, Ning quickly charged towards Ironwood Zhan.

“Retreat.” Ironwood was so frightened that his face changed. He ground his teeth.

Flee!

This decision was made quite decisively. He was, after all, born into the Ironwood clan. He knew very well that once someone trained to the Xiantian lifeform level in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the power of the practitioner would be hundreds of times that of ordinary Fiendgod Body Refiners. Although right now, Ning was only an early Xiantian lifeform, he was capable of matching other late-stage Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiners!

He, Ironwood Zhan, was nothing more than a late-stage Xiantian Ki Refiner. Engage in close combat with a Fiendgod Body Refiner of this level? That was just suicide!

Before this, he had been relying on the fact that Ning didn’t have any magic treasures, but if even the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation couldn’t do anything to Ning, if he were to continue to fight with Ning, would that be suicide?

“An early Xiantian whose battle power is equivalent to a peak Xiantian. What a monster. The Ji clan actually produced such a monster. I definitely have to inform the Ancestor and have him be exterminated as soon as possible. Otherwise, in the future, he will be a calamity to the Ironwood clan!” Ironwood Zhan was utterly terrified, especially by those Waterflame Lotuses. They were simply too powerful.

Formations had to be prepared in advance, but Ning’s Fire Water Lotus could be created with but a thought, and it was even more powerful than his formation. This was too…