Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

Ning could sense himself being surrounded by an enormous surge of power. Moments later, the world around him changed.

“Where am I?” Ning stared up ahead. He was in an area of endless darkness. The only thing within this region was a strange, five-colored space bridge. Aside from this five-colored space bridge, there was nothing but darkness. As for Ning himself, he was standing atop the bridge. Next to him was that slender, black-garbed figure.

“We’ve already left the Archaeus region. Soon, we’ll reach the Trileaf Realm.” The black-garbed figure spoke out, and the five-colored space bridge beneath their feet was advancing through the darkness at incredible speeds.

They were travelling countless trillions of kilometers with every moment. They were moving far faster than Prince Greatjoy’s teleporting abilities could handle.

“Left the Archaeus region?” Ning was flabbergasted. Weren’t they in the Genesis Lands just now? He spent nearly ten thousand freaking years travelling through the Archaeus region and into the Genesis Lands. How the hell did the suddenly leave it in an instant? He felt as though it hadn’t even been enough time to boil a kettle of tea. This level of speed was ridiculous.

“Senior, dare I ask… what exactly is this Trileaf Realm?” Ning asked.

“My place.” The Paragon of Pills gave a calm response.





* * *





Book 28, Chapter 39 - A Half-Month Loan


The five-colored space bridge continued to stretch off into the distance, easily traversing the boundaries of both space and time. Just a short while later, a world that looked like an Immortal’s abode appeared before them, vast and beautiful.

“This place is the Trileaf Realm. Long ago, I chose a location within the Sea of Bitter Darkness and established a world within it. Ever since then, I have been living here.” The Paragon of Pills said in a cold voice, “The Trileaf Realm is a fairly well-hidden place. You probably have never heard of it before today. In the future, you may visit whenever you so desire.”

Ji Ning relaxed slightly. It seemed as though this mysterious major power was treating him quite well. “Senior, are you planning to let me leave this place?”

“Of course. Do you think you’ll be able to succeed in your Daomerge and gain eternity just by sitting here instead of going out adventuring?” The Paragon glanced sideways at Ning. “Don’t worry. I’ve brought you here for certain reasons. Once I’m finished, I’ll naturally let you go on your way. In the future, you can enter and exit this place freely! Although it’s quite difficult for outsiders to enter my Trileaf Realm, things are different for you. You are the disciple of my old friend, and you can thus be considered one of the juniors in my lineage.”

Ji Ning said, “Thank you, senior.” Only then was Ning in the mood to spend some time inspecting this Trileaf Realm. From the outside, it looked like an enormous world that was being held up by a trio of blooming leaves. This world was so vast that it was countless times greater than most of the land masses Ning had encountered thus far.

“Do you know why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” The Paragon of Pills suddenly asked.

“Is it because of those three enormous leaves that are holding up the world? Is that why it is named the Trileaf Realm?” Ning guessed.

The Paragon slowly shook her head, but she didn’t explain.

Swoosh!

The Paragon led Ning to fly downwards into the beautiful fairyland world below them.

……

The Archaeus region. The Genesis Lands. The outer reaches.

A streak of fire suddenly flew out of a secret region. Su Youji was dressed in her usual fiery red robes, and her entire body was bathed in flames that were shaped like a bird of some sort.

“I can’t sense Master’s aura any longer. Why can’t I sense his aura? I could sense that he was in the inner reaches just a short while ago.” Su Youji stared towards the inner reaches, a look of restless unease in her eyes. In the moment that the Paragon pulled Ning away, Su Youji had lost her ability to sense Ning’s location.

Ning had given her a message-talisman, and she had given him one of hers. Theoretically speaking, the two would be able to constantly sense where the other was located and could meet up whenever they chose.

“Why have I suddenly lost all contact with him? What should I do. What should I do?” Su Youji felt extremely uneasy. This uneasy feeling had actually caused her to give up adventuring through the secret region she had been in, and give up on her chances to acquire the treasures within that region.

Su Youji transformed into a streak of light, repeatedly teleporting forwards as she moved towards the inner reaches at high speeds.

A short while later.

“Firesurge!” A group of cultivators was clustered together at the outer reaches end of the primessence chains, and Waterlord Firesurge was with them.

“Fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately landed, then called out to him respectfully.

“Flamefairy?” Seeing her, Firesurge immediately rose to his feet and asked curiously, “Flamefairy, why have you come here? Judging from the worried look on your face… what exactly has happened?”

“It’s my master.” Su Youji said worriedly, “I can sense that Master vanished. I feel very uneasy, which is why I immediately came over here. Have you seen my master, fellow Daoist Firesurge?”

Firesurge shook his head. “I haven’t seen Darknorth since he entered the inner reaches. Did you just say that you lost contact with him, all of a sudden?”

“Right.” Su Youji nodded hurriedly. “But his message-talisman is still with me, and it’s completely undamaged.”

If Ning had died, then the message-talisman should’ve sensed it and then shattered apart.

“So the talisman isn’t damaged, right?” Firesurge asked.

“It did not.” Su Youji nodded.

“The world of the inner reaches is filled with many different dangers,” Firesurge said. “This is, after all, the place where this entire universe was birthed. It is highly possible that Darknorth might have found himself trapped in some location which prevents anyone outside of it from contacting him. It is highly likely that your master is still alive. But of course, for it to be able to sever all contact means it is definitely an extraordinary location. It’s also possible that your master…”

Su Youji’s heart trembled. This was exactly what she was afraid of. Ji Ning had been in the inner reaches for many years now, and she had been able to sense his presence this entire time! The same was true for Heartlord Solewind and his own retainer, Chaos Immortal Swallowback. Now, even Prince Greatjoy had gone into the inner reaches, with his retainer World Goddess Skywolf able to sense his presence.

But now… all of a sudden, she could no longer sense where Ji Ning was! Something must’ve gone wrong!

“Wait a bit longer. From what I’ve heard, World-level cultivators generally won’t spend too much time in the inner reaches,” Firesurge said. “Let’s just wait a few thousand more years and see if he ends up coming out.”

“Alright.” Su Youji nodded slowly. There was nothing else she could do. “Thank you, fellow Daoist Firesurge.” Su Youji immediately chose a quiet corner and then sat down in the lotus position. Her mind was now restless, and she was in no mood to continue adventuring. Still… she had already made shockingly great gains during her previous adventures in the outer reaches.

“Master, you have to live.” Su Youji’s feelings towards Ning were very complex. Ning was extremely powerful, and he had also saved her on numerous occasions. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of love and admiration for him, but she could also sense that he had someone else in his heart. As a result, Su Youji had always been hesitant and unable to voice her feelings for him.

……

Deep within the Sea of Bitter Darkness, there lay the Trileaf Realm.