Desolate Era (Book 22 - Book 24)

They had acquired quite a bit of information from alien Outsiders they had slain. They knew a bit about what Heartforce Cultivators were and knew exactly how terrifying they were.

“Yes.” Old Man Yuan smiled and nodded, continuing to look at the distant Houyi. “Houyi, I actually wanted to take control over you a long time ago. I knew it would be easy, because your spirit has an obvious weakness…her.” Old Man Yuan waved his hand, causing an absolutely peerless beauty to appear by his side. The woman looked towards Old Man Yuan with absolute adoration on her face.

“Chang’e.” Houyi’s face changed. [1. Chang’e is an important part of the Houyi legend in Chinese mythology. She was his wife, and in many versions of the story she betrayed him, be it intentionally or accidentally.]

“As I said, your flaw is obvious. Although your heartforce is powerful, I’m completely convinced that I could take control over you. Alas…after the war that ended the Primordial Era, I was never able to find you. I had no chance to seize your soul.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “So you were hiding by Subhuti’s side all this time. You hid yourself quite well.”

“What did you do to Chang’e…” Houyi was enraged.

“Ahaha…” Old Man Yuan glanced at Chang’e, who stood by his side.

Chang’e called out in a soft voice, “Master.”

This sight caused Houyi to feel even more miserable. Still, he quickly regained his calm…but his eyes remained as cold as the edge of a blade as he stared at Old Man Yuan.

“Stop trying to scare me. You can’t actually kill me with your eyes, you know.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “If you were at full power, I’d need to use a bit of effort to deal with you, but now, after killing the Lord of the Demonheart? Hmph. Although I look down upon you local bumpkins, I have to admit that he had the power of a supreme Elder God. In killing him, you most assuredly did considerable damage to your own vital essence as well. I could just stand here and let you attack me as you please, but even if you used up all of your divine power you still wouldn’t be able to kill me. And…I won’t actually let you hit me, of course. Your techniques might be useful against other major powers, but against me? You are still just a kid.”

Daoist Three Purities said in a cold voice, “From what you are saying, I assume you already started to take part in our wars during the Primordial Era?”

“Correct.”

Old Man Yuan said, “I arrived in this place during the Primordial Era. Back then, it was still the Pangu Chaosworld. I was heavily injured when I arrived, so I possessed Old Man Yuan and took his body for my own. Back then, he wasn’t that powerful, and he was a very solitary figure. After I took his body, I slowly began to grow more powerful and took control over other major powers. I’ve been here all along, partially because I wanted to take the Worldheart, and partially because I wish to acquire Subhuti’s spacetime techniques.”

“You honor me too much.” A white-haired old man in Daoist robes appeared next to Ji Ning. It was Subhuti’s incarnation. “So all those years ago, when you risked your life to save this old Daoist, it was all part of your plan?”

“Ahaha…who in the puny little Pangu Chaosworld could possibly do anything to me? Everything was part of my plan.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “The Dao of Spacetime…it truly is quite incredible. Once you reach a truly high level in this Dao, you can effortlessly travel through both space and time, making it impossible for your foes to find and kill you. I really did want to acquire those abilities of yours and learn them from you…but you refused to teach them to me.”

“You have no talent in that regard.” Subhuti shook his head.

“You simply refused to give me the techniques you came up with.” Old Man Yuan’s gaze was icy cold. In the primordial chaos, spacetime techniques were considered incredibly valuable techniques, far more valuable than most divine abilities.

Subhuti was a prime example of why this was the case. At his level of mastery, he could leave a place whenever he wished. He was different from the Lord of All Fiends; the Lord of All Fiends had managed to merge the Dao of Wind and the Dao of Space to an unfathomable degree, resulting in him being able to move at incredible speeds. Subhuti, however, had completely surpassed speed itself. He operated in the realm of spacetime and was able to transport himself to a completely different time continuum, making it impossible for any enemies to catch up to him.

This was quite a terrifying ability, especially when used for subterfuge, assassination, or escaping. The value of this technique was actually greater than that of the Worldheart!

“Still, I’m a patient man.” Old Man Yuan smiled. “I’m never hasty. I always wait for the end before making any move. I was quite patient during the war that ended the Primordial Era as well…and it was a good thing I did. I watched as Nuwa, Lord Demonheart, and the Lord of All Things fought against each other. I saw Nuwa make her sudden breakthrough and dominate all her foes…and because I waited and watched, I managed to avoid bringing disaster upon myself.”

“This time, however, the two sides decided to stop fighting, forcing me to make my move.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “A true pity. As a result, I won’t be able to acquire Subhuti’s spacetime technique. This disappoints me greatly.”

Ning let out a secret sigh of relief.

His master had only transmitted his spacetime technique to Redsnow, teaching it to no others at all. The only people who even knew that Redsnow had learned this technique were Ji Ning, Crazy Ji, and Subhuti himself.

If it wasn’t for that, Old Man Yuan would probably have gone after Redsnow.

“Spacetime techniques are actually this valuable?” True God Redsnow, protected behind the Nuwa Alliance’s formations, was shocked upon hearing this. He had lost one of his clones during the chaotic battle just now, but fortunately he had a total of eighteen clones. Prior to this, he had simply believed spacetime techniques to be powerful…but he had no idea that they were this powerful! Now, it seemed as though the ‘Worldheart’, an item which countless alien Outsiders would go mad for, was not necessarily as valuable as his spacetime techniques.

“Forget it. Can’t win’m all. If I can’t get it, I can’t get it.” Old Man Yuan turned his head to glance at the distant dark-golden castle. “Witherspike, do you still remember that black lotus? If you do, give me a hand. I’ll definitely reward you heavily.”

Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were located deep within that dark-golden castle. Upon hearing these words, both their faces changed, with Witherspike’s face turning completely ashen. He had always believed Old Man Yuan to be a local, but upon listening Old Man Yuan’s soliloquy he started to have a feeling that something was off. Now…he finally understood everything.

“It’s him.” Godfiend Witherspike was stunned. “Him. He’s one of the Nine Divine Generals under the command of God Emperor Blacklotus…the Mindlord. Why has he appeared in this backwater?! Let’s leave! Let’s leave right now! We need to get the hell out of here!”

“One of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus?” Saber’s face turned pale as well.

Each of the nine were supremely powerful Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who were utterly, terrifyingly powerful. Compared to them, lone wanderers like Witherspike and Saber were nothing.

“Let’s go!”

Swoosh.

The dark-golden castle instantly fled, disappearing like a streak of light.

“How useless.” Old Man Yuan watched as the dark-golden castle fled at high speed, then shook his head. “Kids like them are as slippery as eels. As soon as they sense a bit of danger, they’ll immediately slip away.”





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Book 23, Chapter 28 - I Have a Solution