Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

In truth, as soon as he had entered Undermoon Lake, Ning had the feeling that this was a place that was artificially created by a major power of the ancient days. The floating wooden bridge spanned countless kilometers, and neither coresense nor heartforce could be used to scan this place. It all suggested that this was part of a deliberate design by a major power; it didn’t seem like something that would naturally emerge from the primordial chaos.

“If you want the treasures…use your life to trade for them!” The golden yaksha laughed strangely, and then, steel warfork in his hands…suddenly vanished. He left behind just a golden streak of light in the air as he suddenly appeared before Ning. He was simply too fast; Ning only had barely enough time to use his sword to block.

Boom!

Ning transformed into a shooting star as he was knocked flying backwards. From this initial clash, Ning understood that the foe’s power was very close to that of a True God’s. “No wonder more than three thousand Empyrean Gods died to by hands.”





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Book 20, Chapter 8 - A Surviving Empyrean God


“You are too weak. Too weak!” The golden yaksha’s frenzied voice echoed throughout the heavens as he once more transformed into a streak of golden light, chasing after Ji Ning and assaulting him repeatedly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ning was knocked flying backwards repeatedly, sometimes being driven into the sea, sometimes somersaulting backwards in rather pathetic fashion. He was at a definite, absolute disadvantage.

“You are really weak…but your body’s pretty tough. My [Seagod Yaksha] is incredibly strong, but you are able to easily absorb this type of punishment.” The golden yaksha continued to attack as he spoke, laughing wildly.

His words were correct; any ordinary Empyrean God body that wasn’t protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] would’ve long ago been destroyed by now.

But if he didn’t have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning wouldn’t have dared to choose this style of fighting either!

“He’s very strong and incredibly fast, but his agility is average. His combat techniques are all quite ordinary.” Over the course of this battle, Ning quickly deduced his foe’s strengths and weaknesses. “When fighting against him, I can’t just take him head on. I have to use the intricacies of my sword-arts to deal with him.”

Whoosh.

Ning suddenly burst forth from the surface of the sea, as did the golden yaksha which was in hot pursuit of him.

“Come.” Two swords in his hands, a fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. It was time to counterattack.

Instantly, a total of 729 swords appeared out of nowhere. These swords all undulated in different manners as they levitated in the air. In front of Ning’s chest, a jade sword began to take form. The power of this jade sword was terrifyingly great. The only reason why Ning was able to use the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was entirely because he had fourth-level heartforce and a soul heartforce technique.

This jade sword that was manifested by merging the power of 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords. It’s power was definitely not weaker than Ning’s when using the [Starseizing Hand]!

“Go.” Ning pointed towards the distant Yaksha.

“Ahahaha, he’s actually using an Immortal technique.” The golden yaksha laughed wildly, continuing to crush forward. He didn’t care if Ning was going to use close combat or long-range attacks; with his absolute advantage in power, he was crush Ning with overwhelming force.

Swish.

The jade sword struck out towards the golden yaksha, seeking to avoid the yakshas defenses, but the yaksha was simply too strong. A brandishing block with the steel warfork was able to block in time. With a ‘bang’ sound, the jade sword was instantly destroyed, while the golden yaksha merely paused for a moment in midair.

“Even the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] is only able to cause him to pause slightly? It seems I’ll have to use heartforce.” A second jade sword materialized in front of Ji Ning’s body, and his invisible heartforce surged into it. The power of the second jade sword instantly rose, transforming it on a qualitative level.

Fourth stage heartforce, in and of itself, was far more powerful than the ninth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

When using fourth stage heartforce, Ning would be able to reach the apex of power possible for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals for a short period of time. The only difference was that the likes of Redsnow would be able to fight at that level for a sustained period of time, whereas Ning would only be able to do so briefly.

“It’s useless. That tiny bit of power you have is usel-…” The golden yaksha was roaring with savage laughter as he pounced towards Ning.

The jade sword transformed into a blur. It seemed identical to the first sword, but once the golden yaksha actually reached jade sword, the speed of the jade sword suddenly increased dramatically. The heartforce within it exploded forth with full power!

The upgraded jade sword became nothing more than a vague blur in front of the golden yaksha. The golden yaksha tried to block it, but his combat techniques were simply too weak.

SLASH!

[Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance!

The jade sword sliced through the golden yaksha’s body in a bizarre, unpredictable manner. Although this body was very close to that of a True God, it actually wasn’t enhanced by any body-protecting divine ability at all. Assaulted by the incredibly sharp jade sword…it was instantly chopped in half.

Ning, however, remained wary and vigilant. He knew very well that the golden yaksha was able to easily dissolve and coalesce his body, or even to completely transform it into liquid. He probably wouldn’t die that easily. In addition, Ning could sense that his foe’s aura remained incredibly powerful.

The two halves of the bisected golden yaksha’s body suddenly transformed into a flood of water. The enormous flood of water spun in midair, then completely detonated, blasting apart into countless smaller streams of water that flew everywhere. Once they touched the surface of the sea, the streams once more transformed into many jade yakshas, a total of 519 of them.

“You were actually able to injure my true body. You are qualified to pass through this section that I guard.” The 519 jade yakshas stood atop the sea, staring towards Ning and speaking together in a strange voice. “However, I am merely the weakest of the guardians which Master left behind. Those ancient fellows are all more powerful than me. If you want to survive them and acquire the treasures which Master left behind…I judge that you are lacking in power. Hahaha…”

Laughing in a shrill, ear-piercing manner, the 519 jade yakshas all flew in different directions, quickly disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

Ning just silently stood there in midair for a moment.

“Come back.” The 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords all returned to his body.

“Just the weakest guardian, with more to come?” Ning frowned, murmuring softly to himself. He was slowly beginning to understand things here.

“Even the sole person to leave this place, Buddha Jueming, entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to emerge during the era of the Three Realms. It took him countless years,” Ning mused to himself. “Clearly, Undermoon Lake isn’t so easily traversed. The very first opponent I encountered was able to force me to use heartforce to beat him. The rest will be even harder.”

Swoosh!

Ning once more boarded the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle and continued to advance along the path of the floating wooden bridge.

After flying for more than half a day, Ning was vaguely able to make out an extremely beautiful island far off in the distance. The wooden bridge was leading towards this island as well.

“What a lovely island.” Ning quickly arrived at the island and took a close look at it. The natural energy surrounding the island had all been manipulated and controlled, causing this island to be perpetually blanketed in falling snow. The island itself was very beautiful as well, and at the center of it was a beautiful palace that was at least three thousand meters high.