Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

“Brother Darknorth, you truly are formidable. You actually made it here on your very first try. This is incredibly rare! Even I had to spend tens of thousands of years on Volcano Island before I made a breakthrough that allowed me to reach this place,” Feiyou said with a laugh.

“Brother Darknorth,” Witherdragon said with a laugh, “This old friend of mine, Feiyou, can’t live without meat or wine. Thus, he always carries an estate-world treasure with him that he fills up with many wild beasts to feast upon. Wine can be distilled from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, but meat can only come from rearing livestock. Thus, the Empyrean Gods around my old friend Feiyou will always have quite the comfortable life. Just look at them. All of them are drinking wine and eating meat. I can’t even describe how content they look! By contrast, I don’t even remember when was the last time the seven of us tasted meat on Volcano Island.”

Ning laughed as well. This Feiyou truly was a remarkable figure. The Empyrean Gods had all come to Undermoon Lake to adventure, and all of them were filled with heroic aspirations. Thus, even if they were to bring some wine and meat, they would only bring a little bit, as it would all eventually spoil and rot away. There was no way to keep meat from spoiling over the course of ten million years. Thus, after spending enough time in Undermoon Lake, the only way to find meat to eat was to do what Feiyou did; prepare an entire minor world full of livestock and wild beasts to eat. Only then would there be a steady source of meat.

“Brother Darknorth, don’t laugh at me, I beg,” Feiyou said with a laugh. “My willpower is weak, and I delight in wine and meat. I can endure being unable to make any progress in my cultivation, but I simply can’t be without wine and meat. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink…what’s the point of Immortality if that’s the case?!”

“Even in the Three Realms, I’ve heard of your famous name, big brother Feiyou. In fact…you have a nickname these days: ‘Relentless Until Dead’,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Relentless Until Dead?” Feiyou stared, then began to roar with laughter.

“Right, Relentless Until Dead.” The nearby Witherdragon nodded. “This kid did indeed say that he would only stop drinking wine and eating meat when he died. This is why he was nicknamed ‘Relentless Until Dead’.”

After drinking and eating for quite some time, the Empyrean Gods ended up splitting off into two groups. One group was formed from the ten who had made it here on their own power, Ji Ning included, and the second group was formed of all the rest.

Ning looked at the nine before him. Of the nine, seven belonged to the Nuwa Alliance, while the other two most likely were of the Seamless Gate.

Everyone who entered during the Primordial Era belonged to the Nuwa Alliance. It wasn’t until later on during the era of the Three Realms, when the Lord of All Fiends came back after Mother Nuwa departed, that the Seamless Gate’s Immortals and Fiends began to enter this place as well. Thus, there were naturally far fewer Seamless Gate members in Undermoon Lake.

“They all seem to be extremely good friends with each other.” Ning mused to himself, “If they knew of the storm going on outside…there would probably be no way for them to remain as friendly as they are now. They treat each other as brothers, holding nothing back at all.”

Because of how friendly the Nuwa Alliance members and Seamless Gate members on the third island were to each other, Ning, Roughpeak, and the Seven Dragon Gods decided to temporarily withhold information regarding the war outside. None of the others knew of the war, and here in Undermoon Lake, there was no need for them to be made aware of it right away.

“Brother Darknorth.” The winged Empyrean God Autumnwing said, “The nine of us sought you out because we need to tell you something.”

“Eh?” Ning was puzzled. He immediately began to listen carefully.

“The path to the next island is incredibly dangerous, and it is filled with terrors. Myriad Mountains Island, however, is much safer, and there’s no ‘millenial invasions’ like on the first two islands.” Autumnwing looked at Ning. “But Undermoon Lake won’t let us just live here forever in peace and relaxation. Undermoon Lake isn’t meant to serve as a place for rearing useless people, after all.”

Ning nodded.

“Normally, Myriad Mountains Island is completely safe; it’s rare for a single dangerous event to happen in even a hundred million years. But…whenever a new Empyrean God enters the island…” Autumnwing looked at Ning. “Then a terrifying calamity will descend upon Undermoon Lake.”

“A calamity?” Ning was puzzled.

The nearby Empyrean God Oddwitch narrowed his eyes. He said in a gravelly voice, “Right. A calamity! Whenever a new Empyrean God arrives, the calamity will soon come as well. A short period of time from now, an army of demons will descend upon Undermoon Lake. When that happens, the only choice will be for the ten of us to meet them in battle. As for the other Empyrean Gods, they aren’t qualified to take part because we brought them here. If they take part in battle, they will enrage Undermoon Lake…and they will all die.”

Ning nodded, then asked curiously, “An army of demons?”

“Prior this this, you encountered a yaksha and Snowfiend; they are all considered ‘demons’. What we will encounter, however, is an entire army composed of such demons.” Oddwitch continued, “An army will attack, and only the ten of us are permitted to defend. It will be a truly life-threatening battle, and in the past, there have generally been deaths amongst our ranks. In fact, on one occasion four Empyrean Gods ended up dying! There’s only been a single time where none of us died.”

“Thus…if things unfold as they normally do, one or two of the ten of us will die.” Feiyou looked towards Ning. “We’re telling you this now so that you will mentally prepare yourself.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded.

“In truth, the invading army is Undermoon Lake’s way of forcing us to remain vigilant and not be too lazy and relaxed here on Myriad Mountains Island. We must often go visit the wooden bridge and temper ourselves.” Empyrean God Cloudscar sighed. “Only by constantly tempering ourselves and constantly growing stronger will we have a chance to survive once new Empyrean Gods arrive and bring calamity with them.”

Cloudscar looked at Ning. “Brother Darknorth, because all ten of us have to work together to fight against our many foes, teamwork is absolutely critical. Before we can work together, we need to understand how strong you are and what you are skilled in. Only then can we come up with a good strategy.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded.

“The most powerful of us nine is big brother Feiyou. We’ll let him spar with you first. You don’t need to hold back at all. Only by understanding what areas you are strong in and what areas you are weak in will we be able to work together,” Cloudscar said.

“Hahaha…I’m not really the strongest. Cloudscar is the most agile, while Zhenbu is the most ferocious. I simply have the most stable frontal attacks.” Feiyou let out a laugh. “Brother Darknorth, are you ready? Once you are ready, I’m going to attack.”





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Book 20, Chapter 18 - Wuji Births Taiji


Atop the vast wilderness, the white-robed Ji Ning stood facing the fur-clad Empyrean God Feiyou. Off in the distance, more than a hundred Empyrean Gods were watching them.

“Although Myriad Mountains Island doesn’t suffer from the ‘millenial invasion’, it suffers from an even more terrifying calamity whenever a new Empyrean God arrives. The Empyrean Gods who can make it to this place are all tremendously powerful…and yet, almost every single time, some will die when the calamity arrives.” Empyrean God Roughpeak shook his head and sighed.