Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

“Big brother, there is one thing I wish to trouble you about,” Ning said.

“We’re brothers. No need to stand on ceremony. Just tell me what you need,” Daolord Solesky said.

“I wish to go to a Sacred City of the Dao Alliance,” Ning said.

The Dao Alliance was the strongest of the six major powers in the Endless Territories. 99% of the territories were controlled by the Dao Alliance. Its only weakness was that it was not tightly governed and was a very loose organization, with many of the ancient, reclusive powers within it being figures with strange dispositions. If the Dao Alliance was truly unified and stood together, there was no way the other five organizations could possibly compete against it.

The Dao Alliance was absolutely unfathomable. Treasures, divine abilities, secret arts… the Dao Alliance was supreme in every area. Over the courses of countless years, many figures like Emperor Heartsword and Daolord Allgod had left behind their legacies to the Dao Alliance.

“Makes sense. We are Palace Lords of Vastheaven Palace, which means we are members of the Dao Alliance.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “You really should go to the Dao Alliance to check things out.”





* * *





Book 29, Chapter 22 - Trailblazing


“The Dao Alliance covers too much territory. It has a total of eight Sacred Cities and is led by the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals,” Daolord Solesky said. “Daolords normally head to the nearest Sacred City. This makes travel much simpler.”

Ji Ning nodded. The distance between each of the cities was incredibly far, and the journey would be filled with many dangers. To physically travel all the way from one Sacred City to another one across so many territories was simply too taxing.

“The closest Sacred City to us… given that you fly a bit faster than me, you should be able to make it there in around a thousand years,” Daolord Solesky said. “I’ve already reported the addition of a new Daolord within Vastheaven Palace to the Dao Alliance. Once you reach the Sacred City, first go and retrieve a Dao Alliance medallion. Otherwise, there will be many places within the Sacred City which you cannot enter.”

“Understood.” Ning nodded. The Dao Alliance did have enemies, such as the Dark Kingdom. There were many places within the Dao Alliance which outsiders simply were forbidden from entering!

“You can enter all eight of the Sacred Cities. The Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals, however, is our true core. No one is permitted to enter unless they are invited by the palace itself. Only then can they enter,” Daolord Solesky said. “Generally speaking, fairly powerful Daolords of the Fourth Step stand a good chance at receiving an invitation. Given how formidable you are, Ji Ning, you should be able to get an invitation in the future as well.”

Ning nodded.

The headquarters of the six major forces were all mysterious, inscrutable places. The Palace of Immortals was the most mysterious and the most powerful of the six. Supposedly, it held the secrets behind the reason why the Dao Alliance had been able to maintain supremacy for so long without falling. However, very few knew the truth behind those secrets.

“There’s one more thing I need to warn you about.” Daolord Solesky suddenly seemed to remember something. He immediately warned solemnly, “The Dao Alliance is simply enormous, and so it is quite chaotic as well. It holds many different organizations within it, and the eight Sacred Cities are all led by different organizations. Every single Sacred City has certain ancient, powerful freaks ruling them from the shadows. No matter what, you must not let yourself get dragged into the internal battles of the Dao Alliance. My guess is, once your true power is revealed, they’ll definitely try to recruit someone as talented as you into their fold.”

“The eight Sacred Cities all belong to different organizations?” Ning was amazed. “So there are at least eight different competing ‘branches’?”

“Nine main ones, actually. There are also many smaller organizations as well. To put it succinctly, the Dao Alliance is incredibly chaotic,” Daolord Solesky said. “Supposedly, this involves some of the deepest secrets of the Palace of Immortals. Daolords of the Fourth Step like me and Battlemaster would never dare to get involved in these matters. Only those old freaks and some truly unearthly Daolords would dare to get involved. Even if you do wish to get involved, you should only do so after becoming a Daolord of the Fourth Step yourself. Otherwise, you’ll end up dying without even realizing what is happening. The civil wars that erupt within the Dao Alliance are more vicious than anywhere else.”

Ning was speechless.

The reason why the civil wars within the Dao Alliance were so frenzied was actually because the other five major forces in the Endless Territories were too weak; they might occasionally take a few provocative actions against the Dao Alliance, but they would never dare to launch any large-scale wars.

……

Whoosh.

A vessel was soaring through the space of the primordial chaos. Atop the flying vessel were Su Youji, Daolord Pillsaint, and the white-robed Ji Ning.

They had already departed from Vastheaven Palace and had embarked upon an even greater journey.

“Master, this doesn’t seem to be the way to the Sacred City, is it?” Pillsaint was puzzled.

“We’re going to take a detour first. We’re going to my homeland first.” Ning smiled. “It isn’t too far away. We’ll go to the Sacred City of the Dao Alliance after that.”

“Your homeland?” Su Youji was curious. “Where is it?”

“You’ll know when you get there.” Ning chuckled. “However, you aren’t allowed to tell others as to where my homeland is located.”

“Understood,” Su Youji and Pillsaint both said. Ning nodded.

It would take a thousand years to get to the nearest Sacred City. By comparison, heading back to the Three Realms, given his current speed, would only take a century!

“Master and Windfiend are planning to leave the Three Realms after making their breakthroughs. They wish to go explore the Endless Territories and gain a better understanding of the greater world outside.” Ning frowned. “The spatial tunnel leading from the Badlands Territory to my homeland isn’t very stable, and there are many dimensional tears within it. If they aren’t lucky, they might end up being sucked into one of the tears and be teleported to who-knows-where.”

“It has been so many years, but I’ve heard no news of Mother Nuwa at all. I’m afraid that she must have been trapped within one of those tears and was teleported away.” This was Ning’s hypothesis.

That unstable vortex passageway was extremely dangerous. Given Ning’s level of power, he could use his sword-intent to suppress and stabilize the vortex, but how could Subhuti and the others possibly be strong enough to do the same?

“It seems I’ll have to engage in a bit of trailblazing. I’ll have to establish a safe and secure route from the Badlands Territory to the Three Realms,” Ning mused.

The many ‘safe routes’ on the star maps of the Endless Territories had all been discovered by countless generations of exploring cultivators.

“My Primaltwin is in the Three Realms, while I am outside of it. I can sense its rough location,” Ning mused to himself. “If I continue to go forwards, I’ll reach it sooner or later, and the path I cleared would be safe for future travelers. Since I’m as strong as a Daolord of the Fourth Step and have the Hegemon’s armor on me, a bit of trailblazing shouldn’t be too difficult.”

……

A hundred years later, they reached the borders of the Badlands Territory.

“Forward ho!” The flying vessel ventured deep into the unknown, unexplored parts of the endless primordial chaos.