Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

Bottlenecks were terrifying things for cultivators to face. There were many who would be stuck at a bottleneck for countless years without being able to advance! Time alone wouldn’t necessarily suffice for a cultivator to break through a bottleneck; if one could constantly improve, then logically speaking all Celestial Immortals should eventually become True Immortals. Clearly, however, this wasn’t the case. The reason why Ning had been able to break through the final bottleneck and master the complete Dao of the Sword was because he had battled in the Nihilum Zone for eighteen years, and had mastered first level swordforce. This was why things proceeded so smoothly for him.

“This next breakthrough won’t be so easy. What should I do?” Ning frowned. At this point, not even his many clones could help him.

“Standing here like an idiot won’t be of any use. Breakthroughs require luck and destiny.” Ning immediately sent a mental message. “Ninefangs.”

Swoosh! A streak of light flew over, landing atop the cloud. It was the bald old man, Ninefangs. Empyrean God Ninefangs immediately said respectfully, “Manorlord.”

“I wish to travel through the Three Realms,” Ning said.

“Travel through the Three Realms?” Ninefangs was startled. He gave Ning a close look. He had thought that Ning wanted to once more ambush the Seamless Gate…but now, it seemed, that wasn’t the case.

“Let’s go.” Ning immediately led Ninefangs away from Sword Immortal world.

……

Within a vast world of darkness. The Godking, seated upon his great, levitating throne, immediately received word of Ning’s departure.

“Ji Ning has left Sword Immortal world.” The Godking immediately released his powerful coresense to investigate Ning’s whereabouts. “He’s already gone to…Tigerfang major world.”

After having suffered such severe losses last time, the Seamless Gate would naturally be prepared for a reoccurrence. They wouldn’t succumb to the same trick twice.

……

The Tigerfang world.

A wooden ship was drifting through a wide river. Atop the wooden ship was a white-robed youth who was drinking wine by himself. Next to him stood an old, respectful, bald-headed servant.

“This Tigerfang world belongs to the mighty Immortal Tigerfang. He rose to sudden prominence during the Primordial Era, and even took part in the war that ended that era. However, he likes to travel alone and does as he pleases, and so he dislikes taking apprentices. There are still two Empyrean Gods who are willing to follow him, and he is quite a powerful figure of the Three Realms.

The Xia Emperor had relied on his experts and his background to unify the Grand Xia. Mighty Immortal Tigerfang, however, had completely relied on his own personal power.

“if I didn’t rely on the Heaven Punisher Formation, I probably wouldn’t be a match for him either,” Ning chuckled. The Three Realms had many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the most supreme of which all had formations of their own that were comparable to the Heaven Punisher Formation. In this regard, none of them were able to overcome Ning. But in a purely one-on-one fight…there indeed quite a few who were stronger than Ning. In fact, in his very own school, Mount Innerheart, there were a number of fellow disciples who were superior to him.

Redsnow, Patriarch Lu, Immortal Tigerfang…they were at the very precipice of becoming True Gods or Daofathers. In terms of the Dao or in terms of techniques, they were significantly superior to Ning. Ning had to admit to their superiority in these areas. He simply hadn’t spent enough time cultivating, and his mind had been focused on cultivating his swordforce and heartforce. After all, he simply didn’t have enough time slowly meditate on many Daos in the midst of this great storm.

“Manorlord, be wary of the Seamless Gate,” Ninefangs cautioned mentally.

“Don’t worry,” Ning said. Once they entered the Tigerfang, Ning had immediately sent his heartforce out to cover the entire world.

“The Seamless Gate is currently quite cautious. When I was in Sword Immortal world, there was someone using his coresense to watch over me at all times. They probably knew the moment I left the world. Although Tigerfang world has quite a few bases of the Seamless Gate, only one of them has Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. That base has a total of nineteen. They should’ve just hurried over there a short while ago. If nineteen Empyrean Gods and True Immortals hide behind protective formations…there’s no way for me to breach their defenses at all.” Ning shook his head.

In his heart, however, Ning sighed. He had succeeded in his first ambush, but it would now be far more difficult for him to give the Seamless Gate a few more vicious cuts.

“Come, try again.”

“Tired already? Is this all you have?”

“Come on!”

Voices could be heard from far away.

Ning turned to sweep towards that area with his gaze. Far away, there was a village located next to the side of the river. The villagers relied on the river to make their living. Within the village, there was a tall, muscular, fur-clad man who was training a youth in using the sword. The muscular man was calling out repeatedly, “Come on! Hit harder! Hit smarter! Your sword-arts need to be more direct and forceful. All those fancy flourishes are useless!”

Boom! The youth’s sword came chopping down, but he instantly was knocked flying. He landed on the ground, then quickly and grimly clambered to his feet and charged forward again.

Each time they collided, he was knocked flying. Each time he was knocked flying, he rose to his feet. And each time, the tall man continued to berate him.

Ning watched this scene from afar, aboard his boat. He could tell that the man and the youth looked similar; most likely, they were father and son. This scene caused Ning to think of how his own father, Ji Yichuan, had taught him how to use the sword all those years ago. Compared to the tall man, however, Ning’s father’s sword-arts were slightly superior.

Still…in terms of actual power, this man wasn’t any weaker than Ning’s father had been. This was because this man had already reached the Zifu level. His only weakness was that his sword-arts were a bit weaker than Yichuan’s had been.

“This is quite an ordinary little village, but this man is a Zifu Disciple. It seems he’s brought his son here to live in seclusion,” Ning mused.

“If…”

“If Father was still alive…if I could still train in the sword alongside Father…how wonderful it would be.”

Suddenly, Ning rose to his feet.

“Manorlord!” Ninefangs immediately called out.

Ning took a single step forward.

Whoosh.

He instantly appeared next to the tall man and the youth.

……

Bu Feng stared in astonishment at the white-robed youth who had suddenly appeared. Although he had been training with his son, as a Zifu Disciple he had kept a continuous watch on the surrounding area. He had seen long ago that a wooden boat had appeared a few kilometers away, drifting about on the river, and he had also noticed the white-robed youth who was seated on the boat, drinking wine, but…that youth had suddenly appeared before him in the blink of an eye.

“No spatial ripples. It wasn’t teleportation.” Although Bu Feng was merely a Zifu Disciple, he had come from a major school. “He relied simply on pure speed to instantly arrive here…and the wind around us is still very calm and gentle. Skill like this…not even Primal Daoists can accomplish it.”

“Who are you?” The mud-splattered youth looked towards Ning.

“Yun’er!” Bu Feng barked. The youth was instantly terrified, no longer daring to make a sound.

Ning, however, simply smiled towards the tall man. “Don’t panic. I’ve just come to compete with you in sword-arts.”

“Compete?” Bu Feng was completely flabbergasted. Was this a joke?

“Just come on,” Ning said.

Bu Feng didn’t dare to disobey. This person could probably wipe him out with a single finger! He immediately suppressed all of his other thoughts, focusing entirely on the sword.

“Be careful, then!” A heavy sword suddenly appeared in front of Bu Feng.