Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

Ning opened his eyes.

The Dao was vanishing from his mind, one strand at a time. No matter how hard Ning tried to recollect those memories, he was unable to do so. They had truly been lost.

“Continue.” Ning shut his eyes, continuing his meditations.

If he lost his other Daos, he lost them. For the sake of the sword…it would all be worth it.

Losing the other Daos represented that Ning was continuously progressing in his understanding of the [Five Treasures] sword-art. Ning also had the nine chaos seals to meditate over as well. As time passed and as his insights deepened, Ning began to realize that the nine chaos seals were even more profound and even more difficult to fathom. By comparison, the 3729 sword stances of the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art were simply meant to familiarize Ning with a system that was different from all other sword-arts, a system that transcended the Heavenly Daos themselves.

The [Five Treasures] sword-art was more detailed, but its power was also a bit weaker.

It made sense, truth be told. The nine chaos seals…not even Daoist Three Purities or Mother Nuwa (prior to the destruction of the Primordial Era) had been able to completely master them. The [Five Treasures] sword-art, however, had been created by Daofather Fuju.

Just by comparing them, it was clear which one was superior. However, both transcended the Dao of the Heavens, and so they could be compared to each other.

“Finally…I’ve lost the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop.” Midway through his training, Ning suddenly could sense that his Grand Dao of the Waterdrop was no longer perfect and complete. He paused for a moment…but then he once more began to calmly continue his meditations.

The Dao continued to leak away from him in tiny strands…but his understanding of the [Five Treasures] sword-art grew increasingly refined.

“Five treasures…five treasures…” Ning rose to his feet, walking out of the thatched cottage. He raised his head to stare at the distant first peak, then sighed softly to himself. “It truly is a treasure. Only when you truly begin to train in it will you understand how vast and marvelous it is. I really have no idea how Daofather Fuju could’ve developed such an unfathomably powerful sword-art in the past. How could a major power like him have perished in such a silent, noiseless manner?”

Daofather Fuju’s death was a mystery. He was so formidable…how could he have perished?

Why was it that before he went into the primordial chaos, he intentionally left behind his legacy within the fifth peak? It was as though he knew that there was a chance he would die.

“Did he encounter Outsiders in the primordial chaos who killed him? Or did he encounter a mysterious, dangerous area within the infinite primordial chaos which he had to enter despite the danger?” Ning was unable to come up with the answer, and so he stopped guessing. The primordial chaos was simply too vast and mysterious. The nine chaos seals themselves had come from the primordial chaos.

“Training in the first chapter alone has made my sword far faster than it was in the past.” Ning had already mastered the first chapter of the [Five Treasures] sword-art.

The first chapter wasn’t that difficult; the majority of those who were truly determined to train in it would succeed in their efforts. But of course, one had to have at least reached the first stage of swordforce to succeed.

“Come out.”

A Darknorth sword emerged, appearing in Ning’s hands. He began to execute the sword-art.

He didn’t use any of his Immortal energy or his divine power. He was like an ordinary mortal training with the sword.

Chopping…piercing…slashing…deflecting…these were the most basic of sword stances, but in Ning’s hands they seemed to flow together like water. As Ning continued with his swordplay, a layer of white-gold light began to appear atop his sword. The dazzling, white-gold halo caused his sword to possess inconceivable might.

It made his sword faster. Sharper. Even space itself began to crackle and tear.

This was the second stage of swordforce…the ‘Dazzling Sun’ stage.

The first stage of swordforce was known as the ‘Silver Moon’ stage, because at this stage a layer of silvery-white light would appear atop the sword.

“So, without even realizing it, I’ve already reached the second stage of swordforce.” Ning laughed.

……

Mount Innerheart.

Within the Daoist monastery.

Subhuti sat there with his eyes closed. In truth, he was watching over the entire Three Realms. The Three Realms were currently in a state of chaos; as the most accomplished expert of the Three Realms in the art of spacetime, Subhuti would naturally keep an eye on all places.

“Eh?” Subhuti opened his eyes, a trace of a smile within them. “This disciple of mine has actually reached the second stage of swordforce. Mmm…I imagine that he’s probably calmed down by now. It’s time to let him exchange blows with the Seamless Gate.”

Given Subhuti’s abilities, he had long ago found some suitable headquarters of the Seamless Gate for Ji Ning to act against.

However…if he always let Ji Ning attack so furiously, Ji Ning would probably die in his fury. Thus, Subhuti wanted to ensure that he was in control of the general tempo of things. He wouldn’t let Ji Ning get involved in an excessive slaughter, but he had to allow Ji Ning to reach his goal of forcing the Seamless Gate to bow its head. Thus…Subhuti needed to handle things with precision.





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Book 19, Chapter 17 - The Five Emperors


The towering Five Treasures Peaks.

Ji Ning was staring at the sword stances engraved upon the mountainside of the first peak, sensing the sword-intent radiating from it. Suddenly, the space around him turned blurry as an old man in Daoist robes suddenly manifested.

“Master.” Ning immediately called out respectfully upon seeing him.

“Work hard to learn the [Five Treasures] sword-art. If you master it, you’ll have a greater chance to survive this storm,” Subhuti said with a laugh. “Now…prior to this, you said you wish to act against the Seamless Gate, I believe?”

Ning’s eyes lit up. He nodded repeatedly. “Yes.”

“The Seamless Gate is spread across the Three Realms. Some worlds have more experts, some worlds have fewer.” Subhuti continued, “Realms such as the one Crimsonbright ruled over are comparatively weak. Your homeland, the Grand Xia, for example; prior to the Seamless Gate’s actions, there were almost no Empyrean Gods or True Immortals within it.”

Ning nodded repeatedly. “Master, I want to go to the major worlds of supreme powers. Killing Loose Immortals and Celestial Immortals won’t affect the Seamless Gate that much, unless I kill an absolutely enormous amount of them. I’m going to be launching sneak attacks; there’s not going to be enough time for me to kill that many of them. That’s why I want to primarily focus on Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.”

Only the deaths of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would cause heartache for the Seamless Gate.

“In the Three Realms…the strongest force on our side is that of the human race,” Subhuti said. “The human race is led by the Three Sovereigns of Mankind: Suiren, Fuxi, and Shennong. The three of them are on the same level as the leaders of the Daoist Path and Buddhist Sangha.”

“Second to them are the Five Emperors. These five Emperors were all former rulers of the human race. The final one, Xia Yu, completely unified all humans under his rule; only then did they all become true rulers. Ever since then, the Primordial Imperial Clan which rules the human race has been led by the Xia clan.” [1. Yu the Great is a quasi-historical Chinese figure who founded the historical Xia Dynasty, considered to be the very first Chinese dynasty.]