Desolate Era (Book 22 - Book 24)

In war, one of the most terrifying possibilities was fighting in an arena of your enemy’s choosing.

Their enemies had already made complete preparations in the Primordial Ruinworld. The Nuwa Alliance knew that…but no matter what, they wouldn’t be willing to give the Primordial Ruinworld the chance to ambush the victors of the Endwar. If for no other reason than to uproot an ally of the Seamless Gate, they had to wipe out the Primordial Ruinworld! However, they were indeed worried about the deadly environment and illusions located within the Primordial Ruinworld, which was why they had only sent two of their overlord-class figures in this campaign. The other major powers would all remain on guard in the Three Realms. If something unexpected happened, they would be able to handle it.

“I’ve already unleashed all of my dharma-bodies. I’ll be able to break the formation soon,” Tathagata said with a solemn look on his face.

……

Lord Buddha’s squad truly had gone all out.

The other three Buddhas who had come with him had assembled into a formation. Their holy light spread out in every direction as they launched all sorts of attacks against the land, each strike filled with the power to shatter the heavens and wreck the earth.

As for Lord Buddha, he had switched into a different form, unleashing all three of his bodies.

These three bodies were his Sakyamuni body, his Great Sun Buddha body [1. The Sanskrit name is ‘Vairocana’], and his Medicine Buddha body [2. The Sanskrit name is Bhaisajyaguru]. The three of them sent their mighty Buddha-palms smashing down from the skies, shattering apart one mountain range after another with each blow. However, each time some of the mountain ranges would once more be reborn from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. This was clearly the power of the formation at work.

Tathagata had been born a True God of Primordial Chaos.

During the Primordial Era, he had shattered his own soul, leaving behind just a tendril of his truesoul to be reincarnated into the human race. He had become Sakyamuni, and as a result had been truly reborn. He finally was able to reach the pinnacle of power, fully mastering the five Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. This allowed him to manifest five mighty dharma-bodies! However, actually using these five dharma-bodies consumed a terrifying amount of energy. He would only activate them all when he was truly going all-out.

He had brought three of his five dharma-bodies in this campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, leaving behind two of them to guard the Three Realms.

Daoist Three Purities had his ‘Three Pure Ones’ technique. Tathagata, in term, had five dharma-bodies, with the most powerful naturally being his true Sakyamuni body.

……

“Tathagata’s quite powerful.” Godfiend Witherspike let out a sigh as he saw the scene playing out of Tathagata breaking apart the formation with utterly ruinous power. “These aboriginals only have inferior Ki Refining techniques; they are clearly Ancestral Immortals, but only third-tier ones! And yet, despite that, the most monstrously talented amongst them have gained incredible insights into the Dao.”

“Fuxi’s been tied down for now as well.”

“Keeper Everwood’s formations are quite formidable. Even if other major powers were to make their way over, they would still need to spend a considerable amount of time to break through the formation. After doing so, they would then need to actually enter Earthmoan Mountain! Earthmoan Mountain is filled with countless illusions; to actually locate Kuafu’s squad will require time as well. I estimate that Kuafu’s squad should already be at the verge of breaking down,” Godfiend Witherspike mused softly to himself.

“Given how furious and frantic Tathagata is in trying to break through the formation as quickly as possible, Kuafu’s squad should be close to being done for,” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said with a laugh.

All of them were just guessing, of course. Earthmoan Mountain was one of the most hazardous of regions that had been naturally created from the Primordial Ruinworld. Even the alien Outsiders were unable to scry inside of it to see what was happening.

……

The situation inside Earthmoan Mountain truly had turned grim. True God Luwu and Daofather Windfate had ashen looks on their faces, and their bodies were covered with bloody wounds. They no longer had enough divine power to repair and heal their bodies.

Swish! Yet another ruthless, cruel attack by an invisible object.

Ning’s eyes had been lidded this entire time, but now they suddenly opened. His eyes sparkled like the stars as he murmured softly to himself, “I finally found it.”





* * *





Book 22, Chapter 16 - Wokejade Realm


“Luwu, Windfate, give up for now. I’ll take you into my estate-treasure,” Kuafu shouted.

“No!” Although True God Luwu was usually an amiable and honest fellow, he was currently quite resolute and unyielding. “Kuafu, you know very well how dangerous Earthmoan Mountain is. The only reason we are still alive is because of the formation. Once we enter the estate-treasure, the two of us will be able to live for a bit longer, true. But the rest of you will no longer have the formation protecting you. You won’t be able to hold on for much longer.”

“Every single cell of my body is formed from divine power. Although I’m out of actual power, I can still convert my body into divine power. I can still hold,” True God Luwu growled.

“We’ll keep holding.” Daofather Windfate nodded, his eyes filled with cold resolve. “Kuafu, don’t go soft on us. There’s no way out for the six of us. This campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld is actually the final precursor to the Endwar. There will always be casualties in war. It is now my time to die, and I won’t shirk back.”

Kuafu, Empress Xi, Xingtian, and Graceful Peacock all felt quite torn. However, they understood that this was indeed the best decision when keeping the big picture in perspective. The bodies of True God Luwu and True God Windfate were indeed manifested from large amounts of divine power. They absolutely were capable of continuing to hold on, but only at a price…the price being that they could die at any moment from an attack!

“Keep holding,” Kuafu growled.

“Protect Luwu and Windfate!” Xingtian let out a howl, then turned to look towards Ji Ning. “Ji Ning, do your best to help Windfate and Luwu.”

Xingtian had always felt very well-disposed towards Ji Ning. It was one thing for Ji Ning not to help out when they were travelling around, but things were now different; they were trapped here in the deadly environs of Earthmoan Mountain. Ji Ning was quite safe at the center of the formation, but he hadn’t even helped out a single time! This caused Xingtian to feel quite displeased.

Swish!

Ning suddenly made his move.

In a single instant, he stepped out of the center of the formation. He actually stabbed out with his sword, and a dazzling rainbow aura of swordforce sparkled around the tip of the sword.

Kuafu, Xingtian, and the rest of the six True Gods were instantly dumbfounded.

Ji Ning had actually left the formation? Kuafu and the others were about to immediately rebuke him for doing so.

But he had then struck out with his sword? Why did he do that?

Rainbow-colored sword-light? T-that was…

Ning’s sudden actions had caused the six True Gods to be instantly and completely stupefied.

Clang! A clanking sound rang out.

Ning’s sword-tip seemed to have stabbed onto something. An incredibly loud collision could be heard as space around the sword-tip began to ripple violently.