Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

The Celestial Emperor and the Yama-Kings of Hell were jointly decided upon and appointed by them.

“However… I wonder what Daoist Threelives encountered in the past, which caused even him to feel that he had no confidence in being able to survive,” Ning pondered to himself. When Daoist Threelives had left behind the underwater estate, he had gone to deal with a so-called ‘tremendous calamity’. Afterwards, all word of him had been lost, and he had never returned to the underwater estate.

Daoist Threelives was a major power. Something that could cause even him to feel uncertain regarding his chances of survival… what sort of calamity was that?!

“The Three Realms…”

“I imagine that senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei doesn’t know the true face of the Three Realms either.” Ning continued to feel as though a layer of gauze was preventing him from understanding the truth of things. For example, in the Netherworld Kingdom, he had encountered a terrifyingly strong power which had assaulted the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Fortunately, Ning had leapt into the Six Paths and been reincarnated; otherwise, he would’ve died permanently on the spot.

“Who attacked the Six Paths of Reincarnation?” The more Ning’s horizons were broadened, the more he was amazed… because the Six Paths of Reincarnation were the most important, central region for the functioning of the Three Realms. Most likely, even major powers wouldn’t dare to act rashly there. Otherwise, the other major powers would be enraged and join forces to deal with them.

“I’m nothing but an ant; this matter isn’t for me to worry about. If the heavens fall, the tall fellows will hold it up.” Ning quickly discarded these thoughts for now.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. It was already the twelfth month within the trial of the Diagram. This was the final month!

A dirty-looking maiden and a violet-robed youth were walking forward, shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Where the hell did this Adept Ninedeaths come from?” The violet-robed youth glanced sideways at the maiden, secretly muttering to himself. He, Xiamang Qi, was one of the most outstanding young members of the imperial Xiamang clan, second only to Xiamang Zishan! In addition, he had never been convinced of his inferiority; he always wanted to be able to overcome Zishan with his power.

During this Conclave, Xiamang Qi had revealed his magnificence as well. His strength was formidable… but upon encounter this girl, this so-called ‘Adept Ninedeaths’, he had felt deflated.

“This girl is too powerful. No matter how I hit her, I couldn’t injure her. Her body is just like a magic treasure.” The violet-robed youth was very resigned. “Adept Ninedeaths? More like Adept Nodeath!”

The dirty maiden had said to him back then, “I have enough talismans already. The more time passes in the Diagram, the more powerful the survivors are. Many of them have already formed into small teams. Kid, you seem pretty powerful; shall we join into a team of our own? That will make the final two months easier.”

“If we encounter any enemies and kill them, can I have the talismans?” Xiamang Qi listed his requirement.

“Fine.” The dirty maiden nodded, and so Xiamang Qi and Adept Ninedeaths joined forces.

“Eh?” The two suddenly came to a halt. They stared into the distance, where four figures had appeared, some male and some female.

There was a wild, black-haired youth who was very skinny, a silver-haired maiden, a woman who was so beautiful she looked like a fairy from the legendary Moon Palace, and a bald, black-skinned youth. The black-skinned youth was actually barefoot, and he wielded a gnarled black staff in his hands.

“Kindwater Qi? Second brother, why is it that you are travelling alongside Adept Danzhu?” Xiamang Qi laughed.

“Big brother?!” the skinny, black-haired youth called out in surprise.

These two were known as the ‘Two Qis’ of the imperial capital. This was because both of them had strange, rather wicked personalities. However, the two just so happened to take a liking to each other, and they had become sworn brothers. Xiamang Qi was the elder brother, while Kindwater Qi was the younger brother. [1. Qi can mean bizarre/strange/wondrous.]

“The more time passes, the more dangerous it gets; I no longer dare to travel alone.” Kindwater Qi said with resignation, “I feel confident in my power, but even Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu have formed an alliance long ago. We have to do the same! The four of us even fought against those two. Fortunately, thanks to Blackstone’s presence, the two were frightened into immediately fleeing.”

“Oh?” Xiamang Qi was surprised, and the dirty maiden by his side, Adept Ninedeaths, revealed a look of surprise as well.

Someone had caused Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu to flee?

“Introduce us,” Xiamang Qi said with a laugh.

“You already know Adept Danzhu of the East Seas.” The black-haired Kindwater Qi pointed at the beautiful maiden who looked like a fairy from the Moon Palace. Adept Danzhu smiled and nodded at them.

Kindwater Qi then pointed at the silver-haired maiden. “This is Adept Snowfly; her magic arts are extremely powerful.”

He then pointed at the barefoot, black-skinned youth with a gnarled black staff. “This is Adept Blackstone. Adept Blackstone is exceptionally skilled in the Fuxi Formation Staffs, and a true grandmaster of the art of formations… with him present, we can flee when we wish and attack when we wish. Adept Blackstone is also extremely powerful in close combat. With a single blow, he was able to block an attack from Xiamang Zishan… as I see it, Adept Blackstone absolutely has a chance to become number one in this Conclave.”

Xiamang Qi and Adept Nindeaths both looked towards the bald, staff-wielding, black-skinned youth.

It was quite curious. When they faced this bald, black-skinned youth, they felt as though they were facing the vast heavens themselves…

“A grandmaster of formations? Capable of withstanding Xiamang Zishan in close combat?” Xiamang Qi was secretly shocked.

“Hm…” The dirty maiden looked towards the bald, black-skinned youth with curiosity as well. He, in turn, was looking back at her. The two of them both had an indescribable feeling… that the other was quite terrifying!

“How about it? Shall we travel together?” Xiamang Qi asked.

Kindwater Qi looked towards the black-skinned youth.

The black-skinned youth gave the dirty maiden a glance, then revealed an extremely thin smile. “Fine.”

“Fine,” the dirty maiden spoke out as well.

And so…

The six of them joined into a squad.

In this squad, Adepts Blackstone, Ninedeaths, and Danzhu had already acquired more than 1400 talismans. As for the other three, Xiamang Qi, Kindwater Qi, and Adept Snowfly still needed a bit more.

……

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were wandering the mountains as well. They moved as fast as the wind, instantly moving across the peaks. As they walked, they released their divine sense to scan up to a thousand kilometers away.

Although it was the twelfth month already, nothing had changed between the two. Ji Ning and Yu Wei acted like a pair of normal fellow disciples.

“Senior apprentice-sister, how many talismans do you have? How many more do you need?” Ning asked.

“Do you have enough?” Yu Wei asked.

“I have 1200 or so,” Ning said. “Actually, since everyone is going to have different amounts of talismans, I should have a 99% chance of ranking in the top eighty.”