Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

“Arise, my [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]!”


Ning tested time and time again, but he realized that even with the help of the Greater Thousand Runes, and even though the many Immortal swords would resonate together as if they were one…his true body and his Primaltwin, combined, were at most only able to unleash the second level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], controlling 182 top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords! This was a maximum limit, and if his true body needed to also spend some of its attention on close combat…at most, he would be able to unleash the first level of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

“What terrifying power.”

The hundred-plus top-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords, even without using any formations, just chopping wildly, still made for an awe-inspiring sight.

By relying on the power of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation], they could merge their power together.

In an instant, Ning’s power as a Ki Refiner once more surpassed his true body’s close combat power as a Fiendgod Refiner!

After making his breakthrough, Ning remained at Swallow Mountain for a few more times, carefully testing his close combat power and his [Greater Thousand Swords Formation]. After stabilizing at his latest level of power…Ning finally left Swallow Mountain.

……

Flamedoor Commandery. The air above Weirflow City.

It was dawn. The air above Weirflow was cold and crisp. A faint spatial ripple suddenly appeared, then a fur-clad youth emerged from within it.

This time, Ning had come alone, primarily because he was relying on the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ for his investigations; it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to bring Uncle White and the others.

“Last time, I fled a million kilometers through teleportation; I ended up arriving here, at Weirflow. My original predictions was the mountain range I was in was the Eastwoods mountain range, but I don’t know if that was a correct guess or not.” Ning smiled. “Time to go test it.”

Swoosh!

Ning flew straight towards the direction he had fled from previously. While flying, he would occasionally do a short ten-kilometer teleportation. Soon, Ning verified that his original hypothesis was indeed correct; that place was indeed the Eastwoods mountain range of the Eastwoods Sect.

“The Eastwoods Sect?”

“How should I get in?”

“Should I change into a bug? But the Eastwoods mountain range is protected by formations; if a mosquito or bug was able to break through it, others would probably notice.” Ning frowned in a pondering manner…then decided to begin the area surrounding the Eastwoods mountain range. “I refuse to believe that not a single disciple of a major school such as this would enter or leave from time to time!”

……

Ning first went to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to buy some reports regarding the experts of the Eastwoods Sect, so that he might be able to recognize their important figures. Ning then set up watch outside the Eastwoods mountain range, often using the [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] to search the surrounding area.

Ning searched for three full days.

“We are venerable Primal Daoists, but we are now in such a sorry state that all we can do is act as messenger dogs and servants. We have to buy Immortal nectar, Immortal fruit, and all sorts of other queer marvels and strange beasts to be butchered and cooked. How sad!” A large warship descended, and two Immortal practitioners walked out from within it, walking side-by-side, chatting mentally to each other. They were so cautious that they used mental messages to carry out their grumblings.

“Even the sect leader is summoned willy nilly by them; what can Primal Daoists like us do about it? Forget it. Just endure it. Didn’t that general himself say that he would definitely leave within a thousand years and give us our freedom back?”

“We’ll probably have died before then.”

The two Primal Daoists were complaining. Tens of thousands of kilometers away from them, there sat a fur-clad youth in the lotus position. His eyes were glowing with torch-light, and as he saw them from afar, a look of delight instantly appeared on his face. “Hey, aren’t those two the Primal Daoists of the Eastwoods Sect? I knew it; an enormous clan that’s taken up a hundred thousand kilometers of space definitely has people entering and leaving it. It seems I need to rely on them to get inside.”

Ning suddenly disappeared as he executed a void blink, stealthily moving closer to them.





* * *





Book 14, Chapter 30 - Within the Eastwoods Sect


The two Primal Daoists walked forward, shoulder-to-shoulder. Suddenly, a light flashed in front of them, then a fur-clad youth appeared out of nowhere.

“Who are you?” The faces of the two Primal Daoists changed as they shouted simultaneously.

Boom! An incomparably terrifying majesty swept out from Ji Ning’s body, and space within three thousand meters became completely frozen.

The wind halted. The swaying grass froze mid-sway. The hopping grasshoppers paused mid-jump. The flowing waters of the nearby creek stopped in its tracks. Even the beads of water spraying into the air from the creek just hovered there.

The faces of the two Primal Daoists were completely filled with terror and shock…but they, too, were completely unable to move. When that terrifying Dao Domain descended, they were completely unable to resist at all.

Back when he had been in the Crescent world, Ning had been able to use his Dao Domain to easily render a squad of Flamewing Guards completely helpless. By comparison, these two Primal Daoists were actually slightly weaker than the Flamewing Guards.

“In you go.” Ning waved his hand, and an irresistible force drew those two individuals into his mobile Immortal estate.

Ning swept the surrounding region with his gaze; when making his move, he had been extremely cautious. He had kept his Dao Domain to a radius of merely three thousand meters, not affecting the area beyond this region at all.

……

Within his mobile Immortal estate.

The two Primal Daoists stared at their surroundings in terror.

“What is this place?”

“Where are we?! This…can this be a mobile Immortal estate?!” The two Primal Daoists, upon viewing their surroundings, could only think of this one possibility.

“Easthill, who was that youth? How is it that he was able to render us completely helpless merely through using his Dao Domain? Can he be a Celestial Immortal?”

“He most likely is on their level.”

These two Primordial Daoists were filled with terror and worry. The enemy’s power was simply too great; they weren’t able to fight back against him at all. Not even the more powerful Loose Immortals of their Eastwoods Sect was capable of using a simple Dao Domain to render them completely helpless; clearly, this youth’s Dao Domain had surpassed that of virtually every single member of the Eastwoods Sect.

“The two of you.” The black-robed Ning appeared.

“Senior, why have you seized the two of us?” One of the two Primal Daoists, a tall, skinny man, hurriedly spoke out.

“Senior, if there’s anything you need from us, just tell us,” the other Primal Daoist, a man with triangular pupils, said quickly.

The black-robed Ning smiled. “It is simple. I want to soulscour the two of you.”

“Soulscour?!” The two instantly revealed looks of terror.

Soulscouring. If one was lucky, one might be able to maintain their ordinary faculties, at most losing a few of their memories. But if one was unlucky…they might be turned into idiots!

“The two of you should know that killing you is effortless for me,” the black-robed Ning said. “I can forcibly soulscour you, but as you should know, doing that would be quite damaging to you, possibly resulting in the two of you being turned into idiots. Thus…I hope that the two of you will accept it and won’t fight back. That way…your Primal-level souls should be able to maintain normalcy.”

The two Primal Daoists exchanged a glance.