Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

The Godking of the Seamless Gate was capable of forcibly carrying off the souls of those he had imprinted…but Yu Wei had instead chosen to shatter her own soul than to let that happen.

“The reason why she decided to shatter that black jade bottle was probably to repay the Godking for his ‘benevolence’.”

“I heard long ago that the Seamless Gate has many spies, all of whom are extremely devoted to their Godking and willing to die for him if needed. He truly lives up to his reputation as the disciple of the Lord of the Demonheart…his ability to manipulate the hearts of men is indeed impressive. That foolish child shattered the jade black bottle to repay the Godking. As for suicide…she didn’t want to cause Ji Ning any more problems in the future?”

Lu Dongbin loved to roam the mortal worlds, and had seen many scenes of grief, joy, parting, and gathering. He naturally understood what Yu Wei was thinking.

She…was simply a silly girl.

She had truly believed that the Godking had been extremely kind and benevolent towards her.

“To the Godking, she was nothing more than a slave, a weapon.” Lu Dongbin shook his head. “But Ji Ning…alas…”

Lu Dongbin felt helpless as well.

Ji Ning was indeed a peerless talent. The storm had just barely begun, but he had already started shine and dazzle…but now, the person he cared about the most had died and left him. This blow…there was nothing Lu Dongbin could do to soften it. The only person who could help Ji Ning right now was Ji Ning himself.

……

Outside the Three Realms. At the end of the vast Void, there was the even-vaster primordial chaos.

Within the primordial chaos, all things were possible.

It was the primordial chaos that had given birth to many powerful Fiendgods, to Pangu, to Nuwa, to the Ancestor Dragon, to the Phoenix, to the Torch Dragon, to Daoist Threelives, to Subhuti, to Crimsonbright…to all of them. The most powerful Fiendgod, Pangu, had established Heaven and Earth, creating the utterly massive Pangu’s Primordial World and perishing after his labors.

If yet another Pangu-like presence was born, he would absolutely be capable of establishing yet another world within the primordial chaos.

The primordial chaos was truly infinite and limitless, after all…after Mother Nuwa had entered the primordial chaos, she had never returned from it.

Within an area in the primordial chaos that was very close to the Three Realms.

There was a medicine field within the primordial chaos, and next to it was a thatched cottage. Two people were seated by the side of the cottage. One was the white-bearded Patriarch Subhuti, while the other was dressed in plain clothes and had unkempt hair and a tousled beard. He looked like an old farmer…but his eyes contained eternity within them, an ancientness that brought peace to the hearts of those who saw him.

He…was one of the Three Sovereigns of Mankind. Shennong!

Of the Three Sovereigns, Suiren was the most ancient, while Fuxi was always dressed in his Eight Trigram robes. Both had extraordinary appearances. Only Shennong dressed very simply, as though he was naught but an old farmer toiling away in his fields.

“This event is most likely going to cast a shadow over your disciple’s heart.” Shennong personally poured Subhuti a cup of tea. The tea bubbled and hissed, but it emanated a soothing, intoxicating fragrance.

“The Seamless Gate’s subterfuge abilities are indeed unparalleled. There’s no way to investigate them at all.” Subhuti shook his head. “I’ve been thinking carefully about Yu Wei’s past life and present life. I think it must be due to the fact that she suffered too much in her past life. She transformed into a demon and massacred countless people. In the midst of her massacres, she was probably influenced by Demonheart. She was naturally guided towards their side, and in the end became a chess piece for their ‘Godking’.”

“Yes.” Shennong nodded.

Now that they knew for a fact that Yu Wei was a spy, it wasn’t too hard for them to spot the reason as to why she had joined the Seamless Gate.

However, if they didn’t already know this, there was no way to find out. There were far, far too many Immortal cultivators who descended into madness and slaughter, after all. Some might have become truly filled with bloodlust and the desire to kill, while others had been driven crazy by the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. There was no way to tell on the surface, no way at all.

“This time…Crimsonbright is going to lose.” Shennong shook his head. “I just finished creating those two portions of Immortal medicine. Both were created using some unique herbs that I located in the primordial chaos that are incredibly rare. I can grow more of those herbs in my farm…but even if I change the flow of time to make them grow faster, I’ll still need at least another century before I can finish another batch.”

“If Crimsonbright loses, he’ll naturally lead his army away from the Grand Xia. This disciple of yours…what are you planning to do about him?” Shennong asked.

Neither side had reached the point of entering a truly life-and-death struggle against the other yet. Both sides could easily retreat if they chose to. They could simply tear a hole through space and easily leave.

“Ji Ning has the [Starseizing Hand] of Threelives, and he’s quite talented in heartforce as well. I feel, however, that his talent with the sword is even higher.” Subhuti sighed. “He absolutely has the potential to become yet another ‘Houyi’.”

“Houyi?” Shennong gently nodded.

Houyi was someone who, as an Empyrean God, had slain a Daofather! He was an absolute legend.

“But this truly was a heavy blow for him. Still…fortune and disaster ride together. Perhaps this will serve to help him temper his heart.” Patriarch Subhuti shook his head. “Emotional matters like this…he’ll have to rely on himself to overcome it. There’s nothing I can do.”

……

The Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Ji Ning’s residence.

Ning was finally on his feet. He began to collect the table, the Immortal wine, and the drinking utensils in an extremely careful manner. He even picked up all the shattered pieces of black jade.

“Ji Ning.”

“Eighth brother.”

Celestial Immortals Unity, Allbeasts, Whacko, and the others had all arrived.

“Don’t let yourself hurt too much.” Celestial Immortal Allbeasts patted Ning on the shoulder and said, “Something like this is completely unpredictable. Since Yu Wei was a spy…then you should just forget about her, eighth brother. Don’t let this misery and unhappiness fester away in your heart.”

“Forget her,” Celestial Immortal Whacko exhorted softly as well. “When Thousand Needles died, I felt so much pain that I wanted to die…but what can you do? We have to look forward, move forward. Forget her. It’ll make things easier for you.”

Ning raised his head to look at Whacko. His voice was slightly hoarse. “Seventh brother…have you been able to forget her?”





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Book 18, Chapter 48 - Ji Ning and the Godking


Whacko was stunned. For a moment, he couldn’t say a word.

“All of you can go back now. Let me be by myself for a while,” Ning said, then began to walk towards a nearby private room. This was the private room which Yu Wei had designed for him back when they had first arrived here.

Celestial Immortals Allbeasts, Rainsoar, Unity, and the others all watched as Ning walked away, then exchanged glances with each other. There was nothing they could do. They left the house.

……

The private room was very simple, as were the prayer mats and the incense burners…but Yu Wei had personally laid out this room.

Ning swept the room with his gaze. He felt as though he could see Yu Wei decorating the room.

“Senior apprentice-sister,” Ning murmured softly.

He then sat down in the lotus position by himself, closing his eyes.

His thoughts were a complete mess. The countless scenes of him being together with Yu Wei flooded his mind, and he couldn’t help but repeatedly grimace.