Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

In the midst of a great tribulation like this, the more powerful one was, the higher one’s status would be. Even the Daofathers were not immune to this.

“It’s all due to that damnable Ji Ning. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve slaughtered that Seven Planets God, then led the army of the Seamless Gate in eradicating the army of the Crimsonbright Realm.” Sword Immortal Evergreen’s heart was filled with endless hatred. “Just wait. I, Evergreen, will definitely train to become even more powerful, until the day comes when I kill you. And you three of Mount Dragoneater…I’ll make you all kneel down to lick at my feet. Daofather Ink Bamboo? Hmph…you are nothing more than an extremely ordinary Daofather. Once I become a Daofather, even you shall have to bow your head before me!”

Evergreen had extremely great ambitions. He was completely different from Yu Wei.

Yu Wei and many others had become loyal followers of the Godking long ago, then had been seeded across the various major worlds of the Three Realms in an unorganized manner. They were allowed to develop without interference, and so the Nuwa Alliance had naturally found it very hard to identify them.

Evergreen, however, had long ago become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright. He truly did belong to the Nuwa Alliance. However, despite his painstaking efforts at training, he found it difficult to advance any further. Daofather Crimsonbright’s abilities as a teacher were comparatively limited, but Evergreen truly desired to grow more powerful…and this desire caused him to become seduced by the seamless Gate. The Godking was the sole disciple of the most powerful member of the Seamless Gate, their ‘king’. The ‘king’, even after having become merged into the Heavenly Daos, had continued to teach the Godking; naturally, his tutelage was extraordinary.

The Godking had used the exact same method to teach his own disciples as well, and so he was quite formidable in this regard.

Evergreen had been seduced by him. The Godking had transmitted some formidable techniques to him in the dreamworld, and had even personally expounded on the Dao to him. But of course, Evergreen had to pay a price as well. The price was…to leave the Nuwa Alliance and join the Seamless Gate!

“Nuwa Alliance? Who gives a damn about alliances? My personal power is what really matters!” Evergreen hadn’t even hesitated before immediately joining the Godking.

His focus on the Dao truly was quite frenzied.

Even Daofather Crimsonbright had noticed how single-minded he was in pursuing the Dao. Daofather Crimsonbright had even believed that Evergreen was his subordinate with the highest chance of becoming a Daofather! But what Crimsonbright didn’t understand…was that Evergreen’s ambitions were simply too wild and untamed. He had an almost fanatical, demon-like obsession towards advancing in the Dao, and it was this obsession which led to him joining the Seamless Gate.

As far as Evergreen was concerned, neither the Nuwa Alliance nor the Seamless Gate mattered.

He himself was the only person that mattered. His heart was filled with an extremely strong desire…that one day, he would become like Mother Nuwa, the most powerful figure of the Three Realms.

“By then…the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate will be like nothing more than dogshit before me. I, and I alone, shall reign supreme.” However, Sword Immortal Evergreen kept his great ambitions hidden within his heart because they were simply too wild. Still…he continue to pursue them, never questioning or abandoning them.

……

An enormous rift appeared within the skies, and the now-miniaturized Seamless City flew straight into the giant rift, disappearing from the world.

“They left.”

Ning was alone atop the walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. Turning his head, he looked towards the lively Crimsonbright camps. Because of their great victory, the tens of millions of Immortals and Fiendgods within the city were all celebrating.

“Ji Ning.” A figure walked towards him from afar. It was the black-robed Xia Emperor.

“Imperial Majesty,” Ning replied.

“You can just call me Xiamang,” the Xia Emperor said with a smile. “In terms of status and influence, you aren’t much lower than me. I might be thick-skinned enough to accept you addressing me as ‘Imperial Majesty’, but the other Empyrean Gods and True Immortals will undoubtedly curse me as being shameless.”

Ning nodded gently.

“Everyone is very happy. The war is over. They’ve survived…and they’ve killed countless Immortals and Fiendgods of the Seamless Gate. You should go celebrate with them,” the Xia Emperor said.

“No need.” Ning gently shook his head.

The Xia Emperor didn’t try to persuade him. He could sense that ever since Yu Wei’s betrayal, Ji Ning’s temperament and personality had changed. The Xia Emperor understood that her betrayal truly had been a huge blow to Ji Ning.

“Right. With the Realmwar over, the soldiers shall begin to return to their respective major worlds. The Immortals of our Grand Xia shall return with me to the imperial capital,” the Xia Emperor said. “All of our Immortals and Fiendgods shall remain in the imperial capital. That way, they can easily join together to fight against the Seamless Gate as needed. I imagine that after Azurefox’s Seamless Gate suffered such heavy losses, they probably won’t be able to infiltrate us that easily again.”

“What about you? Come to the imperial capital with us,” the Xia Emperor said.

Of course he wanted Ji Ning to be in the imperial capital. The Seven Planets God moved in lockstep with Ji Ning, which meant that Ji Ning represented a combat force consisting of a perfect Heaven Punisher and the Seven Planets God. This was equivalent to nearly half the total combat power of the entire Crimsonbright Realm!

“No, I need to undergo my Empyrean Tribulation.” Ning shook his head. “Other places are not going to be safe. The Seamless Gate will undoubtedly attempt to disrupt my tribulation, no matter where I go. The only place for me is my master’s place.”

“Undergo the Empyrean Tribulation?” The Xia Emperor laughed and said, “Haha, yes, it is indeed time for it.”

The Xia Emperor was in quite the celebratory mood.

He felt quite fortunate that he had chosen to treat Ji Ning so kindly all this time, especially in the dispute between him and the Youngflame clan. He had stood by Ji Ning’s side the entire time, and had even personally intervened to rescue Ji Ning. These were all debts of gratitude that Ji Ning owed him! They were in the midst of a deadly storm. If he was to ask Ji Ning to help at a critical moment, how could Ji Ning possibly just watch with hands folded behind his back?

……

“Ji Ning, in this war, you, Redsnow, and the rest of the seven have rendered tremendous military merits, and we killed countless members of the Seamless Gate at the end when they fled.” Daofather Crimsonbright was giving a personal audience to Ji Ning, Redsnow, and the rest of the seven Empyrean Gods. He urged them, “We’ve acquired so many treasures, and you deserve them. Why don’t you want them?”

Ning shook his head. “I don’t need them.”

He truly didn’t need them. He had already acquired enough from this war…and after he became the true master of the Starseizing Manor, he really wouldn’t care about such a petty amount of treasures.

“Haha…I know that you are going to undergo your Empyrean Tribulation soon.” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a laugh, “After you become an Empyrean God, you’ll be able to train the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] to the Ninth Cycle. I imagine you’ll need quite a few Daofather-level Immortal pills! Forget about the treasures, then; I guarantee that I’ll cover all of the pills you’ll need to train to the Ninth Cycle of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]. However, I’ll need a bit of time to prepare it all. After you complete your Empyrean Tribulation, I’ll send them over.”