Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

“So this battle has finally come.” Ning sat down upon a boulder atop the mountain peak, staring at the distant horizons. A hint of fire could be seeing flickering in his eyes… a burning desire to do battle.

“I’ve now made breaks through in all five Supreme Daos that comprise my Omega Sword Dao. However, I’ve failed with each attempt I make to merge them together into an even stronger Omega Sword Dao.” Ning frowned. The Void Pathway had actually been quite helpful to him. Prior to coming to the Eastroad Sect, Ning had only made breakthroughs in two of his Supreme Daos: the Blood Drop sword-intent and the Yin-Yang sword-intent.

The breakthrough in the Yin-Yang sword-intent had come in a natural fashion as he hastened towards the Eastroad Sect after his battle against Daolord Kongsan. As for the other three Supreme Daos, he had made those breakthroughs during the ten thousand years he had spent in the Void Pathway. Alas, to use them to form an even higher-level Omega Sword Dao required that brief moment of epiphany, a eureka moment.

“In the end, one simply cannot reach the apex through cultivation alone. Perhaps this fight will give me a chance to gain the insight I need to make a breakthrough in my Omega Sword Dao. Once I master my second-stage Omega Sword Dao, I’ll be able to become a Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning eagerly awaited that moment. He was slightly more powerful than he had been when he had battled Kongsan, but he hadn’t made any truly transformative breakthroughs. He was in desperate need of something to stimulate him into making a breakthrough.

……

Rumble… the towering gray shrine finally appeared in the horizons as it flew towards the Eastroad Sect.

“There it is.”

“The Ninedust Sect has arrived.”

“They are here.” Many cultivators were hidden off in the distance, having teleported to arrive in advance of the shrine.

The towering gray shrine suddenly came to a halt in midair. The Daolords of the Ninedust Sect and its cultivators all stared off into the distance, as did the Ninedust Sectlord atop his throne. Their gazes almost instantly turned towards the mountain peak which was almost directly in front of the Eastroad Sect. There was a white-robed youth with a black sheath on his back who was on that mountain peak, and the youth rose to his feet and stared right back at them.

“A Daolord of the Second Step?” The Ninedust Sectlord murmured softly, “A puny little Daolord of the Second Step actually dares to block our advance towards the Eastroad Sect… to block my Ninedust Sect?”





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Book 30, Chapter 7 - Attack!


“Sectlord.” Daolord Clevermind looked at the Ninedust Sectlord. “This man is a mere Daolord of the Second Step. He knows that we have come, but he actually dares to stand in front of their gates. He clearly is treating us as an enemy. Hmph. Let us send one of our brothers to wipe him out.”

“Mm.” The Ninedust Sectlord calmly assented. Given his status, how could he possibly hold a mere Daolord of the Second Step in any regard?

“Brother Huzhen.” Daolord Clevermind immediately glanced downwards. “I’ll have to trouble you to get rid of this Daolord of the Second Step! You are our first attacker, and as such you need to be decisive in this victory. Shock and awe them. Make sure they know that submission and surrender is the correct decision, and that defiance leads only to death.”

“Understood,” Daolord Huzhen said respectfully. He was one of the sect’s three Daolords of the Third Step, and was quite a formidable fighter. Whoosh! Daolord Huzhen immediately flew out of the Ninedust Shrine and towards the distant mountain peak with Ji Ning on it.

……

“Who is that?”

“That white-robed youth actually dares to stand in front of the Eastroad Sect and block the Ninedust Sect’s path. He’s being a bit too brash, isn’t he?”

“If my senses are correct, he appears to merely be a Daolord of the Second Step.”

The cultivators watching from afar were all staring at Ning curiously. Now that the Ninedust Shrine had descended upon this place, it made no sense for a Daolord of the Second Step to stand in its path. It was like a cricket trying to stand in the path of a carriage.

……

“It’ll all be up to Daolord Darknorth.”

“I wonder if Daolord Darknorth really is as powerful as he claims or if he is just bragging. No matter what, I just don’t feel safe.”

“Ugh.”

“Let’s just watch and see.”

The disciples of the Eastroad Sect were all quite nervous, especially when they saw that towering shrine hang in the air right in front of them. Would Daolord Darknorth really be able to stand up to them?

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat watched silently. He was more nervous than anyone else, as it was up to him to defend and run the entire Eastroad Sect. He was the one who had chosen to trust Ning.

Ning stood there at the top of the mountain peak, watching as a Daolord flew towards him with robes fluttering in the air. The Daolord called out from afar, “I am Daolord Huzhen of the Ninedust Sect. Listen up, kid. The Ninedust Sect has come to tame and subdue the Eastroad Sect. How dare you stand in our way and cause trouble for us? Are you really tired of living? I’ll give you a chance to live; submit to us right away and join us, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise… today is the day you die.”

His voice boomed out and echoed within the skies. Clearly, he was doing this to put on a great show. As Daolord Clevermind had instructed, he was going to shock and awe the Eastroad Sect, with the ideal outcome being terrifying them into surrender.

“Haha…” Ning stood there atop the mountain, a smile of amusement on his face as his own voice echoed through the skies as well. “Daolord Huzhen, yes? If you wish to submit to me, I’ll accept you as a retainer. If you attack, you’ll die here and now.”

“What a joke. Go to your death, then!” Daolord Huzhen let out an angry laugh, then pointed from afar. Boom! A series of wooden planks appeared in the skies, culimating in over a thousand planks. Every single plank was covered with complex divine runes; clearly, this was a set of extremely powerful magic treasures. The divine runes began to tremble, causing the thousand-plus wooden planks to instantly form into a stream of azure sword-light that slashed through the heavens towards Ning.

Ning slowly shook his head. Just as the azure streak of sword-light reached his body, he waved his hand. Boom! The azure sword-light was actually blasted apart.

“What?” The distant Daolord Huzhen’s face turned pale.

“Die, then.” Ning’s gaze turned cold. Instantly, the world around them began to darken as streams of sword-intent appeared out of thin air. The terrifying sword-intent condensed into sword-light that swirled around Daolord Huzhen, and then… swish! The sword-light ground him apart like countless millstones.

“N-no…” Daolord Huzhen had a look of horror on his face. He wanted to use his magic treasures to defend, but… splat. The thousands of streaks of sword-light swirled around him and ground away at his body, splintering his divine body and distintegrating his truesoul. He died on the spot.

Ning took a single step forwards, moving through the skies to stand next to the place where Daolord Huzhen had died. With a wave of his hand, he took the treasures which Daolord Huzhen had left behind. A powerful wind was blowing through the skies, stirring his robes. Ning wanted to make use of this battle to find a way to further improve his Omega Sword Dao. How could he possibly be wary of combat?

The white-robed Ning raised his head to stare at the distant, towering gray shrine. He said in a cold voice, “Ninedust Sect, if you leave right now you’ll be able to keep your lives. Otherwise… I’ll kill as many as dare trespass on the grounds of the Eastroad Sect.”

“Kill as many as dare trespass.”