Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

Ning nodded, his eyes filled with unprecedented self-confidence and determination. “Elders, please give me just a month. A month from now, I, Ji Ning…shall go and deal with the Envoy of All Things.”


“War is not a joking matter. This will have implications for the lives of countless Immortals and Fiendgods.” The commander of their army, Xuan Yuan, spoke out in a solemn voice.

“This junior wouldn’t dare to make such a joke.” Ning spoke out in an equally solemn manner.

“Fine.” Xuan Yuan nodded. “I trust that you know that in war, one cannot make idle promises. Since you’ve promised it, a month from now I will order our army to once more battle the Seamless Gate.”





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Book 21, Chapter 14 - True Body


Ji Ning departed respectfully.

The supreme figures of the Nuwa Alliance within the hall watched as Ning departed. They then exchanged glances. Clearly, they all had their doubts and concerns.

“Everyone…do you believe that Darknorth truly has a solution?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod couldn’t but say, “It’s not that I look down on him; rather, we all know exactly how powerful the Envoy is. When the Lord of All Things led his army of Envoys, he nearly wiped out both the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld. Fortunately, Mother Nuwa made her breakthrough and swept through all challengers. Although this Envoy before us is merely under the command of an Empyrean God, it still definitely has the power of a elite Daofather. Ji Ning…I really can’t imagine how he can come up with any solution.”

“Mm.”

“I can’t imagine it either. What could he possibly do?”

“Can it be that his swordforce or his heartforce has reached the fifth stage?” Emperor Zhuanxu frowned.

“The fifth stage isn’t that easy to reach. Swordforce and heartforce increase exponentially in difficulty with each stage. The fifth stage is harder to reach than becoming a True God or Daofather.” Xuan Yuan slowly shook his head. “He’s just returned from Undermoon Lake. My best guess is that he must’ve acquired some sort of treasure in Undermoon Lake. Something which allows him, an Empyrean God and True Immortal, to be able to unleash the power of a elite Daofather.”

“Can such a treasure truly exist?” Exalted Celestial Thundergod was puzzled.

“They do. For example…” Xuan Yuan said softly, “The Envoy of All Things! If Ji Ning also had an Envoy, given the power he displayed in overcoming Undermoon Lake, he could probably defeat the enemy.”

Everyone present blinked.

“Everyone, we’ve been guessing all along that Undermoon Lake was created by an ancient major power, yes?” Xuan Yuan chuckled. “That major power must have been shockingly powerful; it’s not impossible that he might’ve left behind a golem comparable to an Envoy of All Things. But of course, that’s just a guess. The other possibility is that Ji Ning is so infuriated that he’s completely overestimated himself.”

“Ji Ning is an Empyrean God and True Immortal; there’s no way he would be that unreliable.” Shennong frowned as he spoke in a calm voice.

“The person who knows Ji Ning best is his master.” Fuxi looked towards Subhuti.

Everyone present looked towards Subhuti. Quite a few people had spoken, but thus far Subhuti had yet to say a thing.

Subhuti frowned, then said slowly, “Xuan Yuan…it’s best if you still make preparations in the event of defeat.”

“Oh?” Xuan Yuan was startled.

The hearts of everyone present sunk.

Subhuti said nothing else. He didn’t want to reveal all of Ning’s secrets to everyone! Still, in Subhuti’s heart, he was indeed a bit nervous. He knew that throughout the course of history, from the Primordial Era to the present day, the word ‘love’ had caused quite a few major powers to be driven mad. Even Houyi, whose heartforce had reached the fifth stage, was unable to escape from this word, ‘love’.

Subhuti himself wasn’t sure as to how heavy a mental blow Ning had been delivered by what had just happened.

“Fine. I’ll make complete preparations.” Xuan Yuan nodded.

……

News of the return of more than two hundred Empyrean Gods quickly spread throughout the Three Realms. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms all heard that the return of all these people was thanks to Ji Ning.

Far away, in the Celestial Realm. Mount Ling, in the eastern lands.

Buddha Jueming’s palace was a simple, plain, unadorned one. There were only two novice monks here, guarding the entrance. He only became truly famous in the Three Realms after returning from Undermoon Lake, then training to become a True God and Daofather. Ever since then, he had never caused much of a stir, as he had lived here in seclusion by himself.

“Mm?” Buddha Jueming was seated in the lotus position. Slowly, he opened his eyes. “Undermoon Lake? Empyrean God Darknorth overcame Undermoon Lake?”

“Has Darknorth also acquired [Forlorn World God] and [Nine Elements Annihilation]?” Buddha Jueming mused to himself. The [Forlorn World God]…it was indeed the best Fiendgod Body Refiner technique that World God Northrest had access to which could be taught to others. Right now, Ning was indeed training in the [Forlorn World God].

The key to this technique lay in the word ‘Forlorn’.

One would have to search through endless solitude and dullness in order to find the secrets regarding the divine body, then make the breakthrough.

Thus, in order to train in this technique, what one truly needed was silence and calm. Sometimes, a single ‘forlorn’ meditation session could span ten thousand years or a million years. Buddha Jueming himself was perpetually seated in the meditative posture, and thus he naturally understood the profound secrets to this art. Long ago, it was this art which he used to break through to become a True God.

“So, there is now yet another cultivator of the [Nine Elements Annihilation] and the [Forlorn World God],” Buddha Jueming mused to himself. “The power of this divine ability is truly endless; the only thing one really needs is a long period of time to meditate on it. Unfortunately, Darknorth hasn’t spent enough time cultivating. Otherwise, he would be of tremendous benefit in this war.”

The longer one cultivated, the more powerful he realized the [Forlorn World God] and the [Nine Elements Annihilation] to be. These two techniques alone were enough to allow one to become an unparalleled expert amongst Elder Gods, and perhaps even break through to the World God stage.

News that Ji Ning was about to enter the fray was kept completely secret. Even the other major powers of the Nuwa Alliance such as Buddha Jueming were not informed.

The only ones who knew were the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism, the Three Emperors, and around ten-plus other major powers. Although they were worried that Ning would fail, they still felt a hint of hope. Naturally, they would keep this a tight secret.

Time passed, one day at a time. In the blink of an eye, a month had gone by.

Within the world of the estate-world.

This was a world of towering mountain peaks. Ning’s seventeen true body clones and seventeen Primaltwin clones had all gathered here, at the very top of one of the mountain peaks.

“The Jindan smelting process is complete.”

“Time to train in the [One True Body] technique.”

The seventeen white-robed youths all sat down in the lotus position together. Slowly, the bodies of two of them began to emit a hazy white light. Their bodies, their Jindans, and their souls were all emanating this hazy white light which was filled with arcane, abstruse divine runes. Ning was completely, slavishly imitating the technique and runes as it had been written down. This technique had been created by a major power of the primordial chaos, and its runes were incredibly profound and mysterious. There was no way Ning could understand these runes at all; all he had to do was memorize them and then replicate them.

Rumble…