Desolate Era (Book 22 - Book 24)

In addition, Ning focused on shops and stores that were operated by True Immortals.

Within half a day, he visited over 180 different shops, buying around five hundred to eight hundred bottles worth of treasure fragments. Soon, he had completely spent all 108 cubes of chaos nectar.

……

The Badlands Everworld. The spacetime transfer array.

“Is this one going to Brightcave Star?” When Ning arrived at the array, he asked this question of a nearby Elder God.

“Yes. It’s about to activate immediately.”

“Right.” Ning paid the fee of a bottle of chaos nectar, then stepped into the array.

A short while later, the spacetime transfer array was activated, sending its occupants to Brightcave Star.

Upon reaching Brightcave Star, Ning immediately teleported away. He found a distant, unoccupied planet, then went into seclusion for three years. Three years later, he rode Brightcave Star’s spacetime transfer array and went straight to Sevenwater Star.

After arriving, Ning went straight towards the territory controlled by Fogstone. He returned to the nameless star where he had secreted the prisonworld, then entered it.

Within the prisonworld.

“I’m back.” Ning smiled.

He had spent five days in Waveshift City. Only on the sixth day had he gone out shopping for treasure fragments, precisely because he wanted to make immediate use of the spacetime transfer array. Ning had completely memorized the array’s schedule, and in this way ensured that no one would have a chance to follow him or chase him!

To be honest, Ning was being excessively cautious. He had changed his appearance and his aura across the hundred-plus shops. As a result, he didn’t cause even the slightest stir in Waveshift City, nor had any of the countless cultivators there paid him any special attention.

Still, Ning was right to be careful. One had to be careful as a cultivator; a single act of negligence could very well result in death. It didn’t really matter if his true body was killed, but if he lost 108 cubes worth of treasure fragments due to it? Ning would probably want to kill himself out of regret.

This time, he had been quite lucky when journeying through the Ruins. Next time, he might not acquire any treasures at all. Who knew how long it would be before the next time he acquired such a fortune?

Whoosh.

Ning appeared atop a mountain peak. He stared off into the distance, watching as a black-robed Ning flew towards him. This was his true body’s backup clone.

“Here we go.” Ning revealed a look of anticipation on his face.

As the black-robed Ning landed before him, it produced a blood-colored sword which it tossed to Ning’s true body. It was Violetjewel. When Ning had entered the Windsource Ruins, he had stashed Violetjewel away in the prisonworld. He hadn’t taken it to the Badlands Everworld either. This was the most important treasure he had, and he had to keep it safe.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing an enormous Five Elements Cauldron to appear in the air and land on the ground next to him, causing the mountain to tremble.

The white-robed Ning glanced at Violetjewel. It looked fine from the outside, but its insides were so completely mangled that only its quintessence core remained intact. Ning said softly, “Violetjewel…the Five Elements essence from this many treasure fragments should be enough, right?”

He was filled with anticipation. He wanted to see exactly how powerful one of these legendary quintessence weapons were.





* * *





Book 24, Chapter 32 - The Quintessence Core of the Sword


As the Five Elements Cauldron descended upon the mountain peak, it shone with a blindingly bright burst of light that illuminated the entire area.

The white-robed Ji Ning sat down in the lotus position, placing Violetjewel before him.

“Begin!” Ning waved his hand, causing an enormous pile of treasure fragments that was more than thirty meters tall to suddenly appear a short distance away from him. The treasure fragments consisted of broken bits of sabers, swords, beads, ropes, banners, staffs, greataxes, cauldrons, flying boats, Immortal palaces, and other things that were all at least at the Protocosmic spirit-treasure level. After being badly damaged and broken into pieces, they were now much less valuable than they were before, but it was actually even easier to extract energy from them than it was from undamaged treasures. After all, there was now no need to actually grind them apart!

“Go.” Ning sent out a surge of Immortal energy to scoop up the treasure fragments.

Whoooosh! The treasure fragments surged out in a stream, beginning to flood into the Five Elements Cauldron. This was a Chaos-level Five Elements Cauldron, and it quickly reduced the treasure fragments to tiny bits of dust and debris, completely absorbing the Five Elements essence from those treasures and storing it into the cauldron’s storage region. Just ten breaths worth of time later, the entire pile of treasure fragments had been completely used up.

Rumble…a large amount of debris came flying out from the Five Elements Cauldron.

“Again.” Ning once more waved his hand, causing another thirty meter pile of treasure fragments to appear next to him.

The treasure fragments were once more broken apart and transformed into debris, the Five Elements essence having been sucked out of them.

Ning had purchased 108 cubes worth of treasure fragments. 108 cubes of chaos nectar was a sum that was comparable to the entire networth of many ordinary World-level experts, and he had used it all to purchase treasure fragments. The amount of treasure fragments he now had was absolutely extraordinary!

It took six full hours to go through it all! Finally, six hours later, the treasure fragments had been completely consumed.

“Come.” Ning picked up a jade gourd, causing streams of golden yellow energy, watery blue energy, green wood energy, fiery red energy, and dark earthen energy to soar out of the cauldron and into the mouth of the jade gourd. Only after a long period of time was the Five Elements Cauldron completely emptied of Five Elements essence.

Ning waved his hand, putting away the cauldron as well.

“This gourd has 108 cubes worth of Five Elements essence.” Ning hefted the jade gourd in his hands. He had been very lucky, but had still nearly died in the Ruins in order to acquire such a fortune.

“Violetjewel…show me your true power!”

Ning willed it, and Violetjewel suddenly appeared in the air before him. Ning took hold of Violetjewel, then placed it next to the jade gourd. Five Elements essence immediately began to fly out of the jade gourd, flooding straight towards Violetjewel. The essence swirled around Violetjewel before slowly seeping inside of it.

On the surface, Violetjewel looked as though it was in perfect shape. Its internal structure, however, was unbearably mangled. It was like a building that looked pristine from the outside but was filled with shattered support beams; although it looked nice, it was actually quite weak.

By the same principle, Violetjewel looked as though it was in perfect shape from the outside, but it was actually very weak! The only reason why it was still so powerful was because it was simply such a fantastically good weapon that even in its present state, it could still unleash the power of a Dao weapon.

Crackle…

The damaged internal structures of Violetjewel furiously devoured the Five Elements essence pouring into it. The healing began to occur at a very slow pace, as every single bit of it was very difficult to repair.