Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

Ning nodded.

The effect was indeed quite strong. Still, Ning knew that he had one particular advantage over all three of the others! Greatjoy, Solewind, and Firesurge were fairly ‘normal’ World-level cultivators. In battle, they could instantly unleash a level of power comparable to that of Daolords of the Second Step, but it was all thanks to their secret arts, divine abilities, and insights into the Dao.

In the end, their power was built off of World-level divine power and Immortal energy.

Ning, however, was different!

He had the power of the azureflower mist energy, which was equivalent to Daolord-level energy. It had nourished his soul, making it comparable to the soul of a Daolord of the First Step! As a result, it was incredibliy difficult to shake Ning’s soul and cause him to be trapped within an illusion. Ning’s mental fortitude was actually merely on par with Prince Greatjoy’s, but his soul was far stronger. As a result, he was naturally able to do what Greatjoy could not.

Skyfire Brightshore was a prince of the Brightshore Kingdom, a living being on the same level of power as the Ancient cultivators, Bertulu, or Waterwalker. They were amongst the most elite races of living creatures, giving them souls that were incredibly strong and essentially on par with Ning’s azureflower-reinforced soul.

Kilostar was another example. He had trained in the [Thousand Bodies Sutra], and so his divine body was comparable to a Daolord’s, as was his soul.

It was incredibly rare for a World-level cultivator to have a Daolord-level soul. Solewind was a Heartforce Cultivator, and so he had certain special techniques which could be used to strengthen the soul, but in the end he was still not nearly as strong in this regard as Ning and Bertulu were. As for Greatjoy and Firesurge, they were somewhat weaker in this regard as well.

“The only reason I made it through was because I have the azureflower mist energy sustaining and strengthening my soul. Heartlord Solewind, however, made it through with ease. He really lives up to his reputation as the one and only Heartlord of the Heartforce Palace,” Ning mused to himself in praise.

Ning’s gaze shifted towards the inner reaches. Previously, when he had been in the outer reaches, he could see that there was an enormous world here but was unable to make out any details at all. Now, however…

“Eh?” Ning frowned.

It was as scene of chaos and decay.

The ground was littered with enormous gouges, holes, and craters. Clearly, they had been left behind ancient powers who had battled against each other! These were marks that had been left behind by swords and sabers.

Far off in the distance, he saw a series of badly damaged mountain ranges… as well as a series of towering, massive corpses that emanated ripples of terrifying power.

“These corpses…?” Ning stared at them. Every single corpse emanated ripples of incredible power that were just as strong as the aura which Lord Woodflower had emanated.

“Are these all Eternal Emperors?” Ning mused. “It seems this place, the birthplace of the universe, is actually a battlefield. But why the hell are there so many Eternal Emperors here?”

Eternal Emperors were incredibly rare and few in number. Based on what Ning and the others had learned, this was true even here in this alternate universe. In the Endless Territories, the Brightshore Kingdom only had a few Eternal Emperors total! But here in the Prime Reaches, Ning was able to see at least twelve of this corpses which emanated auras of terrifying power. All of them had to be Eternal Emperor level corpses.

And these were only the ones he could see right now. Most likely, the Prime Reaches held far more corpses within it. No wonder so many Eternal Emperors of the Church of Annihilation had come here. No wonder the master of the Church of Annihilation had been able to skyrocket in power after entering this place.

“I, Ji Ning, am blessed to be able to be able to enter a place like this.” Ning felt a great surge of joy swell in his heart. Those ten thousand years of arduous travel and those multiple scrapes with death… right now, Ning felt as though everything was worth it.

“Skyfire is starting as well,” Solewind said.

Ning calmed himself down, turning to stare at the other end of the primessence chains.

Skyfire Brightshore had moved onto the primessence chains as well. Although his soul was comparable to Ning’s in strength, his mental fortitude was incredibly weak. In the end, he simply hadn’t experienced enough. Most likely, even an average World-level cultivator who had risen to power in the mortal world and experienced all of its trials and tribulations would have a far stronger mind and heart than he did.

In the end, Skyfire Brightshore was brought to a quick halt. He managed to move close to the five hundred kilometer mark, but in the end was forced to retreat. A look of disappointment was on his face. He hadn’t even been able to make it to the five hundred kilometer mark! Even if he was able to somehow become much mentally tougher, he probably still would have very little chance of traversing these primessence chains.





* * *





Book 28, Chapter 24 - Thirty-Five Corpses


“I have zero chance. I’m not even close to meeting the mark.” Skyfire Brightshore left the primessence chains, then shook his head ruefully.

“Don’t let yourself feel too depressed about this. At least the two of us will keep you company, right?” Prince Greatjoy laughed.

“Solewind is a Heartforce Cultivator, remember?” Firesurge sent him a mental message of consolation. “As for Darknorth, he joined the Twelve Palaces just a short while ago but quickly rose to become the second-ranked expert in our trials. His rate of improvement is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not surprising that the two of them were able to make it into the inner reaches.”

Skyfire nodded. Moments later, Prince Greatjoy nodded as well. Although he was an incredibly proud man, he had to admit that Ji Ning’s rate of improvement really was fast.

“If I fall one step behind, I’ll always be behind.” Firesurge frowned.

“Haha, let’s not get depressed.” Prince Greatjoy was in a fine mood. “In the end, lucky encounters and karmic blessings might be useful, but cultivation is ultimately up to yourself and your own efforts! They are in the inner reaches while we are in the outer reaches, but we won’t necessarily fall behind them!”

“Right. In fact, we might actually overtake them.” Firesurge nodded as well.

However, they all knew that they were just pumping themselves up and encouraging themselves. They all understood that the inner reaches had far more opportunities hidden within them than the outer reaches did, and both Solewind and Darknorth were just as talented as the three of them. There was no way they wouldn’t improve even further!

……

Prince Greatjoy’s retainer, ‘World Goddess Skywolf’, also gave the primessence chains a try. In the end, she was forced to come to a halt at around five hundred kilometers.

Flamefairy Su Youji actually managed to make it close to the six hundred kilometer mark. Clearly, she was quite skilled at defending against illusions, as that was her own path as well. Alas, in the end she simply hadn’t reached a high enough level of skill in this Dao.

Solewind’s retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback, actually managed to make it all the way to the nine hundred and ten kilometer mark! This badly shocked Ning and all the other spectators. Who would’ve thought that he would be able to make it this far?! This was almost as far as Prince Greatjoy himself had made it, and was a far stronger performance than Waterlord Firesurge’s!