Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples stared at them in astonishment. A Daolord of the Fourth Step was respectfully calling a Daolord of the Second Step ‘master’?

Ning glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, I didn’t realize how grim the situation was. However, since I’ve promised senior apprentice-brother Soleman to handle this, I will! If the Ninedust Sect dares to attack, I’ll kill as many as they come!”





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Book 30, Chapter 4 - The Void Pathway


Daolord Thunderheat and his two yellow-robed disciples were all rather stunned. These words were a bit too dominating. Kill as many as they come?

“F-Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat felt both eagerness and nervousness. “Are you saying that this lady Daolord will be able to resist the Ninedust Sect?” As he spoke, he glanced at Daolord Naia.

“Her name is Naia,” Ning said. When Daolord Thunderheat heard her name, he felt a cold feeling crawl past his heart. This was a name he had never heard before! Although he rarely went out adventuring, he knew almost all of the truly famous figures. This meant Daolord Naia wasn’t all that famous.

“Greetings, Daolord Naia. May I ask, if you are supported by the formations which protect my Eastroad Sect, will you be able to defeat the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderneat asked.

“Even with the formations helping me, I would probably be defeated and slain by him in a single strike,” Daolord Naia said.

“Ah.” Daolord Thunderheat was flabbergasted. Daolord Naia was telling the truth; the Ninedust Sectlord was on the same level as Daolord Kongsan. Naia couldn’t even withstand a single strike from Ning, who in turn didn’t dare to fight Daolord Kongsan in close combat. There was an enormous and obvious difference in power between ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step and the truly freakishly powerful ones. The Ninedust Sectlord was one of the latter.

“Senior Darknorth, didn’t you just say that you would kill as many as come?” The white-haired disciple couldn’t help but ask this question.

“I did say just that.” Ning nodded. “But I meant, I would kill them personally.”

“Uh?”

“Personally?”

Daolord Thunderheat and the others all stared at Ning. “It isn’t that I look down upon you, fellow Daoist… but if my judgement is correct, you should be a Daolord of the Second Step,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

“Yes. A Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning nodded.

“A Daolord of the Second Step, fight against the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderheat couldn’t help but shake his head. Daolords trod a line between life and death with each step, and the difference in power between each step was very apparent. Someone at the second step, challenge someone who was at the fourth step? The Ninedust Sectlord himself was a freakishly powerful Daolord, even amongst his peers at the fourth step. Ning, defeat him? The prospects were remote.

But Daolord Naia said coldly, “My master defeated me in a single blow.”

Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples were badly shocked by this.

“In the outside world, I probably wouldn’t be a match for the Ninedust Sectlord. But if I was in the Eastroad Sect’s base? I trust that Daolord Eastroad personally established the formations protecting this place, and that they possess extraordinary power. With it reinforcing me, I won’t fear him at all.” Ning chuckled.

“Yes, yes! The old Patriarch personally established all of the formations around the Eastroad Sect, and they truly are incredible.” Daolord Thunderheat felt both excited and ashamed. “Please pardon me, fellow Daoist. I previously didn’t dare imagine that you would be as powerful as this.”

“Generally speaking, even the most freakishly talented of Daolords of the Second Step wouldn’t be at this level of power. I only am due to certain special secret arts,” Ning said casually.

“Secret arts are part of your power as well.” Daolord Thunderheat was extremely excited. Hope! He finally saw hope. He certainly didn’t believe that Ning was nothing more than issuing empty boasts. No one who was capable of making a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be so foolish, because the consequences would arrive alongside the Ninedust Sectlord… and the consequences would be fatal. Thus, it seemed likely that this ‘Darknorth’ fellow really was capable of handling things.

……

A short while later, Daolord Thunderheat prepared a sumptuous banquet for Ning and the others. After the banquet concluded, Daolord Thunderheat personally escorted Ning away.

“Fellow Daoist,” Daolord Thunderheat said softly, “If you were to break through to the third step, would your chances of defeating the Ninedust Sectlord improve?”

“A Daolord of the Third Step?” Ning chuckled as he glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “If I can reach the third step, my chances will greatly improve. In that situation, even without the assistance of the Eastroad Sect’s formations I still wouldn’t need to fear him. In fact, I might even be able to kill him.”

Ning wasn’t just bragging. If he truly did break through from the first step and become a Daolord of the Second Step… given the power of his Omega Sword Dao, he really would become on par with the likes of Daolord Kongsan and the Ninedust Sectlord. In addition, his Omega Sword Dao was flawlessly perfect in every aspect, making it absolutely perfect for actual combat. So long as the opponent did not flee and chose to continue the fight, the end result would definitely be the opponent getting the worst of it! But of course, no one would be so foolish as to stand there and get beaten down like that. Clever Daolords like Kongsan would retreat as soon as the situation turned south for them.

The reason why he hadn’t been able to flee was because the Hegemon’s Dao-seal was simply too powerful, causing even spacetime to be bound and suppressed. Daolord Kongsan had used two life-saving treasures in a row without being able to escape. It wasn’t that his fleeing abilities were weak, it was simply that the Dao-seal was far too powerful. It would have been easy for him to flee from most Daolords he battled.

“Then how long would it take you to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step, fellow Daoist?” Thunderheat asked.

“I’m not too far off,” Ning said. To go from the first step to the second step was quite quick, and to go from the second step to the third step didn’t take that long either. Reaching the fourth step, however, was a very long process. As for succeeding in the Daomerge and gaining Eternity? Chances were slim, no matter how much time you took.

“Alright.” Daolord Thunderheat clenched his teeth. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the Eastroad Sect has a sect-guarding treasure which the old Patriarch brought back from the Terror Starsea.”

Ning’s eyes lit up. Something from the Terror Starsea?

“Technically speaking, I shouldn’t divulge its existence to outsiders. However, I am now the sole master of the Eastroad Sect, which is now facing an existential crisis. I’m going to ignore those rules.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at Ning. “This supreme treasure is known as the Void Pathway, and it is extremely beneficial to cultivators. Perhaps, fellow Daoist, you will be able to seize this opportunity to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step.”

Daolord Thunderheat was simply too worried. He hoped that Darknorth would be able to grow even more powerful, as this matter would have an impact on the life and death of the Eastroad Sect.

“Void Pathway?” Ning couldn’t help but begin to feel curious.

“Follow me,” Daolord Thunderheat said solemnly.

……

Daolord Thunderheat led the way, while Ning followed from behind. Thunderheat dispelled one formation after another as he guided Ning to a seemingly ordinary courtyard.