Desolate Era (Book 25 - Book 27)

Whoooooosh.

A blazing beast of fire was racing through the void of space. There were a few chaos stars in this vast region, which was part of the Brightshore Kingdom’s even vaster imperial palace. This was the place where the almighty Hegemon usually rested and resided.

The blazing beast was racing happily through it. Ever since it had been captured, it had been living a terrifying life of danger and adventure. Although a powerful member of his race known as ‘King Wu’ had been keeping eyes on it, it had still been worried that it might die at any moment. Thus, it had never dared to relax in the slightest. But now, it had finally survived and succeeded.

“Child.” An enormous behemoth appeared within the emptiness of space. When the behemoth stared at the blazing beast, its eyes were filled with warmth.

“Hegemon.” The blazing beast was so frightened that it immediately came to a halt and stood there obediently. It already knew that the almighty Hegemon was the most powerful member of their race.

“Ever since you were born, you have been training by yourself. You are still too young. Most of your time has been spent in slumber. Although you didn’t spend too much time in the abyss of the Astral Islands, you have still improved significantly. You are now qualified to enter the Archaeus region.” The giant behemoth’s head spoke out.

“The Archaeus region?” The blazing beast was puzzled. “Where, exactly?”





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Book 27, Chapter 8 - The Archaeus Region


As the almighty Hegemon used his true form to chat with the blazing beast, something else was happening at another part of the imperial palace, a place where there were thirteen royal thrones.

One of the thrones was as white as snow. The other twelve were golden in color.

A white-bearded, snowy-robed old man with six horns was seated atop the snowy-white throne. The other twelve golden thrones were occupied by twelve golden-armored figures, and Daolord Woodflower was one of them.

“I have summoned you all because there is something I wish to discuss with you.” The six-horned, white-bearded old man smiled. “As you all know, my race just gained a new member. This kid was born with exceptional innate gifts, and in a thousand short years he’s managed to escape the abyss below the Astral Islands. Even amongst my Imperials, he is a rare breed who stands at the very top.”

“Congratulations, Hegemon.”

“I am confident that this child shall soon reach the ‘King’ level of power in your clan.”

“The Brightshore Imperials have gained yet another expert.”

The twelve golden-armored figures belonged to the Twelve Palaces, and they all spoke some words of flattery. Still, these words were also words of truth. The dark abyss below the Astral Islands was reserved for tempering and training new members of the imperial race. Generally speaking, the new members of the race had been wandering the outside world alone and didn’t really have any good teachers. Most of them needed to spend a long period of time in the abyss before overcoming its trials. In addition, the Imperials were so few in number that every new addition to their race was a cause for celebration. A new Imperial who was exceptionally talented was even more precious.

The almighty Hegemon beamed merrily. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood. “This young fellow is so talented that I wish to send him into one of the alternate universes.”

“Alternate universe?”

“An alternate universe?”

The faces of the twelve golden-armored figures turned pale.

“Hegemon, none of us have ever been to that place before.” They all began to worry.

“Don’t worry,” the Hegemon said. “As you know, when I was meditating on the Dao of Spacetime, I once discovered traces of a completely different universe within the flows of spacetime and opened up a transversal conduit to it. Our two universes have different essences, which has an impact on my transversal conduit. Only those below the Daolord level of power are able to enter… but I was able to let my will slowly seep into that alternate universe and seduce some of its local lifeforms to come to our universe. Quite a few World-level cultivators from that universe have passed through my transversal conduit to come to our universe. I’ve gone through their memories and have learned quite a bit regarding that universe.”

The Hegemon had discovered an alternate universe, had opened a transversal conduit to it, and then had been able to force his will through the conduit, even though he himself wasn’t able to pass through it.

The almighty Hegemon’s powers truly were quite terrifying!

“But… that’s still an alternate universe.” The twelve golden-armored powers were all quite wary.

The ‘Endless Territories’…

It was a place that was so incredibly vast that it was still filled with many places which no one had ever explored. Many who broke through to become Eternal Emperors eventually left to wander the territories, only to never be heard from again. However, in the eyes of the greatest powers this infinitely vast region known as the ‘Endless Territories’ was actually merely just a single ‘universe’.

Each universe had its own prime essences. An ‘alternate universe’ referred to a region which seemed similar but which had its own set of prime essences. For example, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword in this universe would be different from that of the alternate universe. Thus, one could easily sense when one was in an alternate universe, as even the prime essences would be different.

“When I sent my will into that alternate universe, I was able to scan quite a few chaosworlds close to the exit of my conduit,” the almighty Hegemon said. “I’ve been watching this universe for many years, and now know quite a few things about it. There aren’t that many differences between our two universes. The main difference is that cultivators in the Endless Territories are spread out across many different organizations, but the alternate universe has a single unified power ruling over it.”

The Hegemon continued, “In the alternate universe, there is a place known as the Archaeus region. Countless cultivators in that universe deeply desire to enter the Archaeus region, and even many Daolords dream of having a chance to enter it. However, only a tiny number are able to enter it… but those who enter and then come out alive again are all strengthened dramatically.” The almighty Hegemon let out a sigh. “Although it might be a bit dangerous, cultivators who live in perfect safety will get soft. They won’t be able to make it far on their paths.”

“When you live on the edge between life and death, you’ll encounter many dangers but also encounter many miracles. The young fellow’s level of talent is so great that it is rare even amongst members of my race. I’ve prepared quite a few dangerous regions for him to test himself against, and the Archaeus region of the alternate universe is the first place and an extremely important place. If he can survive it, he’ll definitely have undergone utterly earthshaking transformations. In addition, once he is able to unify the mysteries of both our universe and the alternate universe, his future potential will be truly unlimited,” the almighty Hegemon said.

The twelve golden-armored experts grew increasingly interested as they listened to the Hegemon speak.

It was true that the path of cultivation had to be a path filled with danger. Only by experiencing more things and seeing more wonders would one be able to walk farther along one’s path. For example, if Ji Ning had always trained by himself without going out adventuring, how strong could he possibly become? It was due to his adventures that he had first gone to the Allgod Estate, then to the Brightshore Kingdom. This was why he had grown so strong, so quickly.