Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

Ning looked at the Xia Emperor.

“This Realmwar…the twenty-six Empyrean Gods and True Immortals that arrived earlier are all people who don’t have things tying them down, which was why they were in the first wave. There are others who will be coming as well. Most importantly of all, there are many Immortals coming; the number of summoned Celestial Immortals is in excess of three hundred thousand,” the Xia Emperor said.

“Three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals?” Ning called out in shock.

Good heavens!

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. The Grand Xia alone has ten thousand Celestial Immortals,” the Xia Emperor said. “Master is in control over dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds. With so many major worlds embroiled in war, many new Celestial Immortals have been birthed through their experiences. The Crimsonbright world which Master himself created has a particularly high number of Celestial Immortals. The total number of Celestial Immortals under Master’s command has to be over a million.”

“A million Celestial Immortals?” Ning couldn’t breathe.

“However…that’s in the past. Even our Grand Xia has seen three thousand Celestial Immortals turn traitor, thanks to the blandishments of the Seamless Gate. I imagine that in the entire Crimsonbright Realm, at least a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals have been induced to join the Seamless Gate. The total number of Celestial Immortals currently under Master’s command is now probably less than a million,” the Xia Emperor said.

Ning agreed.

Before the Seamless Gate appeared, the likes of the Youngflame clan and True Immortal Whitepole were, on the surface at least, subordinate to Daofather Crimsonbright.

Once the storm arrived…many lines were drawn. Daofather Crimsonbright’s forces had indeed been weakened.

“Because many other major worlds need to be stabilized as well, it was quite hard for three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals to be gathered here,” the Xia Emperor said. “If we squeezed our resources a bit more, we might be able to summon another two hundred thousand Celestial Immortals…but the amount of pressure that would place on the other major worlds of the Crimsonbright Realm is too great.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“More than three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and tens of millions of Loose Immortals.” The Xia Emperor continued, “In addition, my elder brother, Daofather Raindragon, has sent some reinforcements as well. Based on what our Daofathers have learned, the Seamless Gate has sent Daofather Ink Bamboo to personally command their forces in this Realmwar…and so Master will accompany his grand army of three hundred thousand Celestial Immortals. He will descend upon the Grand Xia and take personal command of this war.”

Ning’s heart clenched.

How terrifying.

So this was how a war between Immortals was?

Both sides would have Daofather commanders and dozens of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, hundreds of thousands of Celestial Immortals, and tens of millions of Loose Immortals.

“This is a Realmwar!” The Xia Emperor stared at Ning. “Both sides are frantically summoning as many soldiers and generals as they can in an attempt to build up as much power as possible before launching the war. Once the war stars…I truly can’t even imagine how many Immortals are going to die. During this preparatory time period, you need to focus on your training. Ideally, you would become a Pure Yang True Immortal. That way, the Immortals under your command will pose a greater threat to the Seamless Gate.”

Ning nodded slowly.

He did indeed have to start training harder.

Although he had already become a Pure Yang True Immortal, he hadn’t even reached the expert level in his soul heartforce technique. Every day, he had some new insights into the soul heartforce technique; given enough time, his power would continue to increase until the day came for him to reach the level of mastery in it. Upon reaching that level…Ning couldn’t even imagine how powerful his Heaven Punisher would be. One thing was certain; by then, the amount of natural energy absorbed by a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals would definitely be insufficient. He would need more Immortals.

“Calm your mind and enjoy this final period of peace before the great war erupts anew,” the Xia Emperor said, looking at Ning. “Once both sides have finished their preparations…I’m not even sure if I will survive that war. If half of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals survive, that would be an excellent result.”

“Right.” Ning nodded.

……

Ning spent the following days with his wife while diligently training in his soul heartforce technique. The full attention of both his true body and his Primaltwin were focused on the soul heartforce technique, because it was this technique that would allow him to reach a high level of power as fast as possible.

All the Immortals within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity knew that these were the final days of peace they would see. The Realmwar was coming. The mood within the city became noticeably heavier.

New Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were constantly descending upon the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, until finally…one day…

BOOM!

The entire world of the Grand Xia seemed to shudder.

Ning had been seated in the lotus position with his eyes closed, focusing on the soul heartforce technique. He immediately charged out and flew into the skies, and right away he saw that in the air above the black Seamless City, an utterly enormous spatial corridor had appeared. A tall, skinny man whose unbound hair seemed to gleam with infinite darkness stepped out from the spatial corridor, entering the Grand Xia.

He looked rather ordinary, but he radiated a halo of infinite darkness. Behind him appeared an enormous, swaying bamboo stalk that was thirty thousand meters tall, causing Ning and the others to feel a sense of oppression.

Ning, a Pure Yang True Immortal, still felt a sense of oppression. One could only imagine the nameless dread which Celestial Immortal Unity and the others felt!

“Daofather!” Ning immediately recognized what this individual had to be.





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Book 18, Chapter 31 - Military Strength


“Daofather Ink Bamboo?”

Upon seeing the titanic, swaying bamboo stalk, Ji Ning instantly guessed at who this was. There were only so many major powers within the Three Realms. If the man hadn’t shown off his trademark, Ning wouldn’t have been able to tell, but since he did, it became an easy guess.

From what he had heard…Daofather Ink Bamboo was famous for being ‘unkillable’. His true body was that of a stalk of inky-green bamboo that was filled with boundless vitality. By relying on his special life techniques, he had managed to survive even the great tribulation that had destroyed the Primordial Era.

“That must be Daofather Ink Bamboo. Just looking at him from afar makes my heart quiver. That halo of darkness around him…I can sense that if I touch it, I’ll definitely die.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Daofather.”

“A Daofather who controls a Heavenly Dao…I truly wonder how powerful Daofathers really are…”

The entire Eight Dragons Cloudcity was filled with discussions.

Loose Immortals made up the vast majority of the population within the city, after all; when Daofather Crimsonbright had summoned his million Celestial Immortals, the Celestial Immortals of the Crimsonbright Realm had seen him in person, broadening their horizons. The countless Loose Immortals, however…they truly didn’t have a chance to see Daofathers in person. This time, however…they saw Daofather Ink Bamboo.

“I heard that Daofather Crimsonbright will descend as well, for the sake of this Realmwar.”

“I wonder what Daofather Crimsonbright looks like.”

Everyone was filled with eagerness.

……