Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

He sounded almost like a toddler who had just learned how to speak.

“Aha…ahaha…ahahaha….” Ning began to laugh wildly. He finally began to laugh, and his tears finally began to fall as well.

Upon seeing this, the black-robed Godking finally let out a satisfied smile. This was more like it. This was the reaction he had expected. For a brief moment, just now, the man hadn’t been reacting at all.

“Ahahaha…I knew all along that you weren’t worthy of my trust…” Ning’s eyes were completely bloodshot now. He laughed wildly, “I knew it all along. You, ‘Godking’, you toy with the hearts of men, causing chaos throughout the Three Realms. How could your promises be worth believing? But I still chose to believe, and I even entered Undermoon Lake, doing everything I could to return as soon as possible.”

“I even impatiently ran over here to hand those three treasures over to you. I knew that your promises were as worthless as dogshit…but I still came. I held onto hope. A tiny shred of hope…hope…hope that she would be able to come back.”

“I hoped that she would be able to come back.”

“Brightmoon and I…we miss her. I want our family to be together again. That’s all I want. My family to be together.”

“But you…finally…you have finally destroyed my last bit of hope. You destroyed it.” Ning laughed so madly, he was shaking. “Ahaha…it was all just wishful thinking…I was just dreaming. I was lying to myself this entire time. Lying to myself. Telling myself that we could still be together. What a joke. I am such a joke. A joke!”

The black-robed Godking could sense how the heart of the youth before him had shattered. Could sense his agony. His despair. The destruction of that last shred of hope.

The Godking…was satisfied.

Was pleased.

This was more like it. This was true agony. This was true heartbreak.

The Godking looked at Ning. “It is time for you to wake up. You need to understand that at this current stage of the war, a single Empyrean God like you cannot have any impact at all. By now, only a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals joined together will have any effect. Still…I’m a man who appreciates talent.”

“I’ll once more invite you to join the Seamless Gate. So long as you are willing to join us, you’ll immediately be able to reunite with your wife. Don’t you wish to be with her? Don’t you wish for your daughter to reunite with her mother? If you join the Seamless Gate, it will all happen. As a member of the Seamless Gate, you’ll be one of us…and I’ll naturally stop plotting against you. In fact, I’ll be quite good to you. You are a true expert amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, after all. Although you won’t be able to change the course of the entire war for karmic luck, you’ll still be of some use.”

“If you join the Seamless Gate now, you’ll be able to reunite with your wife. But if you refuse…well. She’ll be of no further use to me. I’ll kill her. I’ll shatter her soul. Ahahaha…”

“You have no other choices.” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning.

Ning…was still bent over with laughter. “Joke. I’m a joke.”

“Thank you.” Ning straightened his back, raising his head to stare unblinkingly at the black-robed Godking.

The black-robed Godking’s heart skipped a beat.

What sort of a look was that? Such powerful heartforce…such a terrible gaze. If this was the gaze of an ordinary mortal, the Godking wouldn’t care at all, but this was Ji Ning, who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce. The black-robed Godking could sense that behind that gaze, there was an endless, blazing, burning hatred that not all the waters of the Three Realms would suffice to quench.

A desire to kill that had seeped into his spirit…his very truesoul itself.

“Thank you for destroying my hopes. Thank you for bringing my wishful thoughts to an end. Thank you…for freeing me from all my doubts.”

“Let’s take it slow, you and I. The day is still young. Soon…I will make sure to properly thank you for all you have done.”

After speaking, Ning turned and left, transforming into a streak of light.

“If you refuse, your wife will be useless to me. I will kill her,” the black-robed Godking immediately howled after him.

“My wife is already dead. I killed her!” Ning’s voice echoed in the air, but he himself had already departed from the Grand Xia.





* * *





Book 21, Chapter 13 - A Month From Now


The black-robed Godking stood there at the island, staring into the skies. Ji Ning had already departed from this place.

“Hmph.” The black-robed Godking laughed coldly. “He cares deeply about love, and yet is able to sever it. Quite an impressive figure. During ordinary times, I might need to be concerned about you…but now? The war is in full swing. Soon, even the major powers shall begin to die in large swathes. A single Empyrean God…nothing more than a minor character.”

Whoosh. The black-robed Godking left behind as well. The only thing left behind was that beautiful island, where countless flowers continued to bloom.

……

The Deerchaser world.

Atop the walls of the Seamless Citadel. Daomother Devilhand and the black-robed Godking continued to stare at their army, spread throughout the vast wilderness. Their army was calling out for battle, but the Nuwa Alliance refused to come out and fight.

“That little kid.” The black-robed Godking suddenly let out a low, cold chuckle.

“Eh?” Daomother Devilhand looked towards him.

“Ji Ning.” The black-robed Godking laughed, “Just now, I sent one of my incarnations to go meet with him. I toyed with him for a bit.”

Daomother Devilhand said calmly, “Given how far the war for karmic luck has advanced, a single Empyrean God like him is no longer a threat to us.”

“I know. That’s why there’s no way I would possibly give Yu Wei’s soul back to him. Even if it’s useless to me, Ji Ning can forget about getting it,” the black-robed Godking said with a calm laugh. “Don’t worry, aunt-master. I won’t spend too much of my time on that kid. The big picture is what really matters, and the issue before us is the war for karmic luck. As for that Ji Ning? If an opportunity arises, I’ll use it to dispose of him. If no opportunity comes, then I won’t bother with him. Spending time and effort on him is a waste of my energy.”

“Mm. It’s good that you know what matters.” Daomother Devilhand nodded calmly.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Their army flew through the air in an awe-inspiring horde that covered the skies as they returned to the Seamless Citadel.

“Eh?” The black-robed Godking raised his head. He saw a distant black bolt of lightning flash in the skies, followed by a streak of light flying into the distant, hovering citadel of the Nuwa Alliance. The Godking cracked his lips into a grin. “It’s Ji Ning.”

……

The Deerchaser world. The hanging citadel of the Nuwa Alliance.

Ji Ning’s residence.

Whoosh. The white-robed Ning waved his hand, and the black-robed Ning in front of him was drawn into the portable estate-world.

The world inside the treasure was an entire world of its own, with mountain peaks soaring into the skies. There were a total of 319 mountain peaks, which served as the ‘foundational pillars’ of this world, ensuring its stability.

A number of white-robed youths were all seated on their respective mountain peaks, training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique.

Whoosh.

Seventeen black-robed Ning’s appeared as well. As with his true bodies, Ning had only brought seventeen of his Primaltwin clones here. He had left one behind to accompany his daughter, Brightmoon.

Whoooooooosh. Ninefire Lava and Iceheart Pith began to fly out.