Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

The female attendant immediately replied, “Yes, senior. A month from now, Plumesoar Cloud will indeed hold a treasure auction. Quite a few treasures will be up for sale this time, and the reserve prices will be much lower than in the outside world. You might find something which is both cheap and useful.” The low reserve prices of the treasure auctions was a main reason why they were so attractive to cultivators.

“I’m being targeted by Daolord Kongsan, so I can’t leave for now. I have nothing better to do, so I figured I’d go check this treasure auction of yours out,” Ning laughed. “Give me a private room. I’ll wait a month for that treasure auction to begin.”

“Done.” The female attendant nodded repeatedly. “Please follow me.”

There were some very cheap seats for each treasure auction, but there were also private, secluded rooms. If you wished to purchase some extremely valuable treasures while keeping your identity private, you would generally use one of those private rooms. No one would disturb you so long as you remained inside – this was one of the rules which Plumesoar Hall had established long ago.

The attendants and guests once more began to speculate as they watched Ning leave with the female attendant.

“The white-robed Daolord looks pretty calm.”

“Agreed. He knows that Daolord Kongsan is outside waiting for him, but he’s still able to relax and take part in the treasure auction.”

“In my opinion, he’s probably going to stay inside this hall for a very long period of time.

……

Ning couldn’t be bothered to respond to the gossip going on around him. Soon, he and the attendant both reached a private room. Daolords lived for extremely long periods of time; for them to arrive a few months early for a treasure auction was quite commonplace.

“Senior, while you are in this private room, no one will disturb you unless you summon them first. Not even the members of Plumesoar Hall itself will disturb you, to say nothing of Daolord Kongsan,” the female attendant said.

“I have faith in the Skywood Sect.” Ning nodded. “Now, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Please tell me what you need, senior” the female attendant said.

Ning nodded slowly. “I need an intelligence report regarding Daolord Kongsan’s abilities, the more detailed the better. It needs information on all his techniques and secret arts, as well as information on his previous opponents. I need as much information as your Skywood Sect can provide.”

The female attendant couldn’t help but feel shocked, but she nodded. “As detailed as possible? The price will be quite high. It’ll probably cost around a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar.”

“A hundred thousand is fine.” Ning nodded. The more powerful a cultivator was, the more expensive intelligence reports about them would be. The Brightshore Kingdom’s star map held information on virtually all the Daolords of the Endless Territories, but that information was fairly cursory in nature. To procure much more detailed individual intelligence reports was extremely difficult.

“Give me a moment,” the female attendant said respectfully, then retreated.

Within the private room. Ning was originally there by himself, but moments later Pillsaint and Su Youji appeared by his side.

“Master, what happened?” Su Youji immediately asked.

“Why did you put the two of us into the estate-world?” Pillsaint was puzzled as well.

“We encountered a bit of trouble.” Ning narrated what had just happened to them. Su Youji and Pillsaint’s faces instantly turned pale.

Su Youji said worriedly, “From what you are saying, it sounds as though this Daolord Kongsan is extremely powerful. What should we do?”

“Haha, no need to worry too much. We have all the food and drink we want here. Why worry about him?” Ning picked up a nearby canteen of wine and poured himself a cup, then began to sip it in a relaxed manner as he glanced sideways at Pillsaint and Su Youji. “Don’t just stand there like idiots. Sit down and have a cup with me.”

Su Youji and Pillsaint were both feeling rather nervous, but they still sat down. After a short period of time drinking together, the sound of the door being knocked rang out. “Come in,” Ning said.

The female attendant was outside. She handed a jde slip to Ning, then said respectfully, “Senior, all the information we have regarding Daolord Kongsan is here.” Skywood Sect not only engaged in the treasure trade, it also engaged in the intelligence trade.

“Mm.” Ning put down his wine cup, then picked up the jade slip and began to read it carefully. As he read through the information, he tossed a storage treasure to the outsider woman. “You can leave now.”

The attendant looked through thestorage treasure, then left obediently. “If ther’s anything that you need, just summon me whenever you wish, senior.”

Ning nodded, and she shut the door behind her.

“Kongsan.” Ning picked up the jade slip once more, studying all of the information regarding Daolord Kongsan which was within that jade slip.





* * *





Book 29, Chapter 34 - Secret Arts Mastered


Ji Ning began to frown as he stared at the jade slip. What a formidable figure. He was so strong that he was most likely ranked amongst the second tier of Verge-level Daolords.

Based on what Ning knew, the first-tier Verge-level Daolords included the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar, Daolord Allgod, and other similar figures. Palace Lord Dawnstar had once slain an Eternal Emperor with three chops of his saber, while Daolord Allgod had sent Emperor Melobo fleeing in terror.

It must be remembered that Emperor Melobo was not only an Eternal Emperor, he was also an Awakened member of the Aeonian race who was still alive today. Ordinary Eternal Emperors simply couldn’t compare to him in power… and yet, in the face of Daolord Allgod, he was only able to flee. In a true duel, Daolord Allgod was a bit inferior to Palace Lord Dawnstar in ferocity of attacks, but he was actually superior in tenacity and endurance. The Dao of the Sword and the Dao of the Saber were offensive Daos, after all!

“Daolord Kongsan is a bit weaker than Palace Lord Dawnstar, but not even Palace Lord Dawnstar would be able to slay him.” Ning frowned. “He’s skilled in the Dao of Darkness and can transform into darkness itself. He’s virtually unkillable. His ability to transform into darkness means that he has incredible control over space! When fleeing, he’s able to move at thirty-six times the speed of light. The darkness, by nature, is inscrutable and mysterious. This Dao can be used to affect the soul, but its particularly dangerous in close combat.”

“He’s an untamable, unruly figure with no clan and no sects. He is also an extremely selfish person, and at least sixteen Daolords of the Fourth Step have died to him. He’s currently living in an estate within Skywood City.” The more Ning read, the bigger his headache became.

Daolords who were skilled in combat weren’t terrifying. Daolords who were skilled in staying alive were! Kongsan was one such person. His ability to dissolve into darkness made him virtually unkillable, and he was incredibly fast and skilled in spatial teleportation. He could flee whenever he wished, but was also dangerous in close combat. He had no obvious weaknesses!

……

“Master?” Su Youji called out softly.

“Master, is Kongsan a tough nut to crack?” Pillsaint asked.

Ning put away the jade slip, then nodded. “A very tough nut indeed. He’s one of the toughest Daolords to deal with. Not even Palace Lord Dawnstar would be able to kill him.”

“He’s that powerful?” Both Su Youji and Pillsaint were shocked. Palace Lord Dawnstar was the most powerful Daolord of the Brightshore Kingdom.

“No, he’s just very skilled in staying alive. His attacks are nowhere near Palace Lord Dawnstar’s level.” Ning had already come to a decision on what to do. “Pillsaint, Youji, I need to train for a while. Help stand guard over me, and don’t let anyone in Plumesoar Hall disturb me.”