Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

Ning, with Little Qing and Uncle White by his side, leisurely strolled over towards the edge of the cliff. From this position, he could stare down and marvel at the vast, endless imperial city. As he stared down… there was actually not a cloud to be seen. Although he was more than three thousand kilometers in the air, when he looked downwards, he didn’t see any clouds at all, nor was there any smoke or dust; nothing hindered his vision.

From their vantage point, an enormous, awe-inspiring commandery city could be seen, a city that seemed to have no end. Far away, there was a towering, massive Immortal palace that was as large as this mountain. This was the place the Emperor of the Grand Xia normally resided; the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace, 9999 kilometers tall, was a single massive magic treasure. It emanated all sorts of brilliant, blinding light; golden light, silver light, red light, azure light, violet light…

The streams of light shone over the entire imperial capital.

At the highers point of the Skylight Palace, starting at roughly six thousand kilometers or so, fog and mist could be seen, as well as a layer of incomparably beautiful red clouds.

“It is said that the Skylight Palace of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia is 9999 kilometers high. At 6000 kilometers, there is a layer of red clouds, with multiple other layers of clouds beyond that, for a total of nine layers! In terms of power and prestige… it can absolutely compare to the Sacred Palace of the Skies [1. This is where the Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology resides in Heaven] of the Heaven Realm. That’s what is said… and today, I can see that it truly is extraordinary.” Ning sighed in amazement.

“They are so high. Everyone says that both the Skylight Palace and Raindragon Godpeak are magic treasures,” Little Qing called out in amazement. “Look at the infinite light the Skylight Palace is giving off… that power and might… if such a massive palace is actually a magic treasure, what level of magic treasure is it?!”

“Immortal-ranked at the very least, and most likely Pure Yang-ranked,” Ning said softly.

“Let’s go down.”

Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White, flying down from the mountain. Whoosh! They flew along the wind, staring down at the seemingly endless imperial capital and feeling completely stunned. This was no mortal city… this was a city which should only exist in the Heaven Realm.

“According to legend, Immortal Eastroam, ‘Dong You’, once led the Immortals and Fiendgods of a major world to assault the Heaven Realm, forcing that power of the Heaven Realm to lower their heads and allow him to reunite with his beloved.” Ning sighed, moved. “As I look at the power of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia… I now believe that an emperor of a major world does indeed have this level of power.”

Ning had realized some time ago that in the books regarding the Heaven Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom, it seemed as though the Celestial Emperor wasn’t viewed as being tremendously important. It seemed as though the emperors of major worlds were completely qualified to sit down and chat with the Celestial Emperor as equals. This was the feeling which Ning had after reading those books.

……

They flew down Raindragon Godpeak, landing on a long street that seemed to be made from clouds. They saw, atop this massive street, countless people either flying on magic treasures, riding flying carriages, or mounted on spirit-beasts. Not a single mortal could be seen.

Ning turned his head to look backwards; behind him was the seemingly infinitely tall Raindragon Godpeak. “Raindragon Godpeak is actually slightly taller than even the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace is the place where the Emperor of the Grand Xia resides, whereas Raindragon Godpeak is nothing more than the headquarters of the Raindragon Guard. Why have they been raised to such an exalted status?

Ning was secretly puzzled. The height of a building had to conform to exacting requirements; for the Skylight Palace to be 9999 kilometers tall meant that no one in any of the other commandery cities would dare to construct a building of such heights. But Raindragon Godpeak was actually slightly higher…

“The imperial capital lives up to its reputation,” Ning said. “Come, let’s go wander about the city.”

Ning no longer pondered this matter. He immediately produced a construct-carriage. It appeared, surrounded by mist, with a black dragon construct pulling it. This carriage had been left behind by Youngflame Nong! Although Immortal Juhua had left behind far more treasures than Youngflame Nong, including fine Immortal carriages as well, Ning decided it was best to be a bit low-key.

Whoosh. The black dragon carriage flew forward, with Ning seated in the carriage, an azure snake on one side and the Whitewater Hound on the other. Soon, the carriage reached the walls of the imperial city.

The imperial city was surrounded by a wall that was more than thirty thousand meters high. It had an enormous gate, and the gate was guarded by four human-shaped Fiendgods that were also thirty thousand meters tall. Of the four Fiendgods, the first had red skin and flames coming out of his nostrils, the second had azure skin and was surrounded by watery mist, the third gleamed with golden light and had a sharp golden gaze, while the fourth was completely pitch-black and had a giant snake wrapped around its body.

These four Fiendgods guarded the city gate. Regardless of entry or exit, they had to first give permission.

“My God.” Ning stared at these four titanic Fiendgods. He couldn’t help but shake in amazement.

“Master, those four Fiendgods, it, it feels as though each of them are comparable to that one from the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” Little Qing and Uncle White sighed in amazement as well.





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Book 11, Chapter 11 - A Major Business Deal


The imperial capital. Within the Youngflame clan’s estate.

“Clan leader.” An azure-robed middle-aged man flew in a rush into a study, then knelt down, unable to mask the excitement on his face. “We’ve found Ji Ning.”

The Godplume Duke, who was seated behind a table, flipping through a book, was stunned upon hearing this. And then, he called out in delight, “Found Ji Ning?”

It had been more than a year.

Per the orders from Patriarch Arcanum, the Godplume Duke had been searching for Ji Ning’s traces this entire time, but Ji Ning seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving no traces behind at all. In fact, the Godplume Duke actually believed that Ji Ning had perhaps hidden himself within another lesser world or major world. In fact, he had thought that ten or twenty years might go by without any traces of Ji Ning being discovered. For Ji Ning to kill the successor to the Youngflame clan and then leave completely unhindered was a humiliation to the entire Youngflame clan… but if they couldn’t find him, what could they do about it?

And yet, they actually found him!

“Where is he?” The Godplume Duke immediately asked.

“Ji Ning has already arrived here in the imperial capital. We followed him the entire time,” the azure-robed man said hurriedly.

“The imperial capital? He came to the imperial capital?” The Godplume Duke frowned. The imperial capital was tightly guarded, and here in the imperial capital, without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful organization was the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. For Ji Ning to come to the imperial capital actually made things more difficult.

“He actually came to the imperial capital. Fighting is forbidden in the imperial capital… what should we do about him, then?” The Godplume Duke continued to frown. In some other commandery cities, the Youngflame had quite a large amount of influence, but in the imperial capital, there were quite a few clans more powerful than the Youngflame clan… and in the end, there was the Imperial Xiamang clan, which had completely unified this major world.

In the face of the Imperial Xiamang clan, even the supremely powerful clans such as the Youngflame clan, the Kindwater clan, and the Skyfarmer clan had to tread carefully.

“Ji Ning must be followed continuously. Keep a close watch on his movements,” the Godplume Duke ordered. “Don’t do anything else for now; just await my orders.”