Desolate Era (Book 22 - Book 24)

“Eh?!” Kuafu stared at him, then took a close look as well. He then nodded repeatedly. “Right. We just went past this place.”


“Not good.” Daofather Windfate concentrated for a moment, then the look on his face completely changed. “This is a formation that uses mountain ranges as the base. This is an extremely large formation, and it is extremely hard to detect. They must’ve switched just a few of the nearby mountains. Even I didn’t notice anything at all earlier.”

“We are already trapped inside a formation?” Xingtian was surprised.

“We are already inside.” Daofather Windfate nodded.

“What should we do?” Kuafu hurriedly asked.

“Two options,” Daofather Windfate said. “One, we forcibly destroy the formation by wrecking all those mountain peaks. If we do that, we’ll be able to leave. But this should be a formation that was set up by Keeper Everwood, and he’s extremely skilled in the usage of plants and rocks. If he was the one to make this formation…judging from how large it is, we probably won’t be able to break it apart. The second option is to solve and break the formation itself, but we can’t do that either. Perhaps only Fuxi would be able to do that.”

As soon as his words came out…

Thump. It was like a heartbeat that rang out from deep within the ground.

Thump. Thump. Thump. One deep heartbeat after another rang out, echoing throughout the area. The ‘mountain ranges’ around them suddenly disappeared, transforming into endless amounts of foul water that flowed out in rivers and creeks.

The cloud which Ning’s group was on had actually been completely surrounded by the reeking water.

“T-this…this is Earthmoan Mountain.” Daofather Windfate’s face instantly turned completely ashen. “Too late. It’s all too late.”

“We actually ended up being drawn into Earthmoan Mountain without even knowing it.” Luwu’s face had changed as well.

All of them felt their heartrates quicken.

“What a profound formation.” Ning said softly, “We didn’t notice anything at all earlier…and by the time we did, we had already been lured into Earthmoan Mountain.”

“Lord Buddha has already been notified. He’s on his way right now,” Graceful Peacock said hurriedly.

“Be careful, everyone. No matter what, don’t let yourself get separated.” Kuafu growled savagely, “This is the most dangerous place we have encountered since entering the Primordial Ruinworld. Even if Lord Buddha comes, he’ll still need time to break apart Earthmoan Mountain! We need to hang on and endure until he manages to break us free. If we cannot…then we will die in here.”

“Right.” Ning and the rest of the six all nodded. They now all had solemn looks on their faces. At a time like this, no one dared to be overconfident.

“The cries of the earth have already begun,” Graceful Peacock said. “When the cries of the earth reach a crescendo, deadly danger shall descend upon us.”

Thump! Yet another earthen heartbeat rang out, this one even louder than the previous ones. Even the endless flows of foul water around them seemed to shudder.





* * *





Book 22, Chapter 14 - Earthmoan Mountain


Lord Tathagata the Buddha and his three companions were flying through the air like an enormous streak of golden light as they rapidly advanced towards Earthmoan Mountain.

“Graceful Peacock, can they keep holding?” Tathagata sent mentally.

There were countless beings living in Tathagata’s [Buddha-Realm Within the Palm], with one of Graceful Peacock’s clones being there as well.

“The heartbeat sounds are rapidly becoming stronger and louder. When the sounds reach a crescendo, the attacks will begin. Right now all of us are waiting carefully, but we have yet to be attacked,” Graceful Peacock replied from within the Buddha-realm.

“You have to be careful.” Tathagata said a few more words, then turned to the three Buddhas by his side. “You should also enter my Buddha-realm for now as well. I’ll be able to travel more quickly that way.”

“Yes, Lord Buddha,” the other three Buddhas replied. Tathagata was the undisputed leader of the Buddist community.

Tathagata waved his hand and collected those three Buddhas. Immediately after doing so, the midair golden streak of light surrounding him became even quicker as it flew towards Earthmoan Mountain.

……

Within the castle located deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

“Master, success! Kuafu’s squad has already been lured into Earthmoan Mountain,” the skinny elder said jubilantly.

Godfiend Witherspike, seated atop his throne, let out a soft chuckle. “When we make a move, we have to make a big one! We let these bumpkins from the Three Realms have too easy a time of it earlier. Now, it’s time to give them a hard hit.”

“The Thousand Mountains world is a world which both we and the Seamless Gate have spent enormous time, effort, and resources building up. The entire world is a huge trap. The Nuwa Alliance obviously knows that, but they still have to charge straight inside.” The red-bearded elder let out a laugh. “They can’t locate us. All they can do is wreck the entire Primordial Ruinworld in their hunt. They have to assault and destroy every single world. It’s very possible that we’ll be able to wipe out two or three of their squads here at Thousand Mountains world.”

“Kuafu’s squad should be done for, at least.” Godfiend Witherspike nodded slowly. “As for the other three…let’s see how talented they are.”

“Ji Ning.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven remained standing on his feet, staring at the scene being played out in midair. It was a scene showing Earthmoan Mountain, with Kuafu’s squad having already been trapped inside of it. Celestial Immortal Blackheaven let out a cold laugh. “Now that you’ve entered Earthmoan Mountain, I want to see just how you’ll survive this one!”

“Master, Buddha Tathagata is advancing rapidly towards Earthmoan Mountain,” the towering, muscular, golden-armored figure suddenly said.

“Hmph. Keeper Everwood personally set up the formations around Earthmoan Mountain, and the formations are already activated and constantly transforming. Once Tathagata charges into the formation, he’ll virtually have no chance of locating Earthmoan Mountain unless he actually destroys the formation itself. Given his power, he might actually be able to do that…but he’ll need time. By the time he succeeds, Kuafu’s squad would’ve died long ago.” Godfiend Witherspike smiled, licking his lower lips with his bright red tongue.

He, the exalted Godfiend, had been biding his time for far too long. This title, ‘Godfiend’…it was a title that had been won through countless seas of blood and mountains of severed flesh!

……

Within Earthmoan Mountain.

THUMP!

An extremely loud heartbeat rang out from under the ground, and the sound seemed to smash against the hearts of Ji Ning and the others. The entire team floated in midair, carefully watching their surroundings.

“Ji Ning, the six of us have set up a formation; we can work together to defend against any sneak attacks. You, however, don’t have anything protecting you. I think you should enter an estate-treasure for now. After we escape from Earthmoan Mountain, you can come out once more.” Kuafu’s group of six had already joined together into an enormous formation, and they were sharing their divine power with each other. All of them were surrounded by rings of golden light.

“No need.” Ning shook his head.

Kuafu frowned slightly upon seeing this. “This is a critical situation. You can’t be headstrong, Ji Ning.”