Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

Still, it made sense.

The ‘Seamless Infinity Formation was formed using 289 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, but it was only able to completely lock down a region of ten thousand kilometers, preventing Ji Ning from escaping from it. The ‘Brightvoid Worldlock Formation was able to cover an entire major world, but it just made travel more difficult. Given a bit of extra time, Ji Ning would still be able to tear through the barrier and escape into the Void.

To create a formation that Ji Ning was unable to escape from that was as vast as a major world…the number of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods needed would be staggeringly large.

The Brightvoid Worldlock Formation itself required 640 Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to set up. If they really wanted to set up a formation that Ji Ning was guaranteed to be unable to escape from…yes, more than five thousand would be needed.

“That many…” The Godking frowned. “It will be very difficult for our Seamless Gate to send our more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals all at once. The two hundred I sent last time came from the Third World. This time I had to come and speak with you, uncle-master, before I could send out six hundred. Uncle-master, your First World has many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, so sending six hundred won’t destabilize it much. But to send out more than five thousand…even with you here, things will grow very dangerous.”

Keeper Everwood nodded. “I have more than ten thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals here! If we were to send out more than five thousand, it’s very possible that the Nuwa Alliance would immediately send out their own army of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to assault the First World. With all the True Gods and Daofathers both sides standing on the sidelines…there’s no way the First World would be able to survive.”

“Right.” The Godking nodded. In terms of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, the Seamless Gate had far fewer than the Nuwa Alliance. In fact, their total combat power was lower as well! This was why they had to rely on their intelligence reports and their golems to match the Nuwa Alliance. The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Seamless Gate were all hiding within the First World, Second World, Third World, and other bases. By relying on the protective formations that covered these worlds, they would be able to withstand any attacks from the Nuwa Alliance.

But if any of the ten mighty bases, even the mightiest First World, was to send out more than five thousand of their experts…they would drop so dramatically in power that they would be in danger!

“If we had all ten worlds mobilize together…” The Godking hesitated. “If they immediately mobilized, headed out, instantly killed Ji Ning, then immediately returned, it’s possible that the Nuwa Alliance wouldn’t be able to launch an attack in time.”

But he himself knew that this would only be true in the most ideal of situations. In reality…given how berserk Ji Ning was, and how the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance were all paying attention to him, once the Seamless Gate began any large-scale mobilizations the Nuwa Alliance would immediately react accordingly.

“If we’re fast enough…it’s still possible.” The Godking gritted his teeth.

This solution was a gamble. He would be gambling on if his side would be able to take care of things fast enough. If they weren’t…things would become extremely dangerous. Once thousands of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were sent out, the Nuwa Alliance might waylay and ambush them…or they might launch a massive attack on the ten Seamless Alliance worlds!

“The choice is yours.” Keeper Everwood looked at the Godking.

“What’s the second method?” The Godking immediately asked.

“Just have a True God or Daofather kill him,” Keeper Everwood said calmly.

“A Daofather?!” The Godking was boggled. “B-but…”

Although Ji Ning had trained in an extremely powerful evasion technique, an extremely powerful True God or Daofather would still be able to kill him. Even though the Daofather would be inferior in raw speed, he would still be able to use spells and other abilities such as restrictive formations to slow down and bind Ji Ning, making it impossible for him to even move.

For example, if Lord Tathagata the Buddha was to attack, he would be able to lock Heaven and Earth with a wave of his hands, placing a Five Elements seal that would render Ning completely immobile.

They might not be able to match up to that young fellow in speed, but they could suppress him so that he wouldn’t be able to use that speed!

The reason why the ten Golden Crows were so powerful was primarily because of their leader, the Emperor of Monsters. He himself had the power of a True God and Daofather, as well as the [Golden Sunstreak] technique; this was why the other major powers were unable to catch him. In the end, it had been Houyi’s specially-manufactured arrows which had slain the Emperor of Monsters. As for those other nine…they instantly became much less dangerous.

Still…

Right now, both alliances had a tacit understanding; neither side wanted to prematurely spark off the Endwar of major powers. Both sides understood that given the current balance of power, the Endwar would most likely result in devastating casualties for both sides, with the Seamless Gate having a higher chance of being wiped out. However, even if the Nuwa Alliance was to win, the survivors would be very few in number.

Keeper Everwood said calmly, “If you do that, there are two possible outcomes. The first is that once the Daofather slays Ji Ning and violates our unspoken accords, the Nuwa Alliance will be so enraged that they will immediately launch the Endwar. The second possible outcome is that after Ji Ning is slain, the Nuwa Alliance will be extremely angry but still be unwilling to launch the Endwar right away. If we make some sacrifices and concessions, we’ll be able to turn the page on the matter. I judge the second possible outcome as being more likely.”

The Godking nodded slowly.

This was a war between two alliances. Their enemies had to consider the bigger picture as well. It was indeed unlikely that they would actually launch the Endwar just because of Ji Ning.

“But this is still a gamble.” Keeper Everwood looked towards the Godking. “All you can do is first kill Ji Ning, then wait to see what the Nuwa Alliance’s reaction is.”

“This…” The Godking’s head hurt.

Two options lay before him.

The first was to send out more than five thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. This was virtually equivalent to the army that would be sent out for a Realmwar in one of the top-tier realms. Even ordinary True Gods and Daofathers would be surrounded and killed by such an army.

The second was to have a elite True God or Daofather attack and instantly kill Ji Ning.

Two gambles.

As the nominal leader of the Seamless Alliance…the Godking’s head hurt.

“Are there really no other options available?” The Godking asked worriedly.

“The two options I mentioned just now are all surefire ways of killing Ji Ning. There are other methods, but there is no guarantee of success,” Keeper Everwood said.

“Uncle-master, pray tell,” the Godking said hurriedly. Even methods that weren’t guaranteed to succeed would at least have a chance of killing Ji Ning. He wasn’t willing to use either of those two methods; both methods would be throwing the entire Seamless Gate into a bet.

Keeper Everwood said, “Have you noticed? When Ji Ning uses that [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, he first enters the Voidboat, then executes the technique.”