Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

“Don’t worry. At most, he’ll just rant and rave from outside. There’s no way he would dare enter Vastheaven Palace.” Daolord Solesky snickered, “Although I merely have an avatar here and do not have the full power of my true self, the formations that we’ve established here over the course of countless years will ensure that I have nothing to fear. Given that Battlemaster is also here to help out… there’s no way he would dare enter.”


The nearby Daolord Battlemaster nodded. “In the outside world, I might not be a match for Patriarch Clearwind, but there’s nothing to fear here in Vastheaven Palace.”

Rumble…

That gray mass continued to expand and reach out from the distant horizon. The other brothers of Vastheaven Palace were beginning to notice it as well, and they all made haste to the main hall.

“What’s going on?”

“W-what’s that?”

“Big brother Solesky, who is invading Vastheaven Palace?” All of them were shocked.

“None of our brothers in Vastheaven Palace are permitted to leave this place. Wait here for my orders,” Daolord Solesky said calmly, his voice echoing within the ears of every single member of Vastheaven Palace.

“Yes.” They all assented, knowing that this wasn’t the time to be careless in their actions.

Soon, a wild gray wind with earth-shaking savagery completely covered the skies above Vastheaven Palace, blotting out the sun and making it so that there was almost no light left in the world. Vastheaven Palace became shadowed in darkness, but some of the formations covering it began to activate. Areas of light began to emerge within various parts of Vastheaven Palace, giving it a rather beautiful glow to it.

“Old man Solesky.” A shrine suddenly emerged within the endless gray wind in the skies, and an old man dressed in gaudy black robes stood in front of the main entrance to it. His voice echoed within this entire world. “You really are quite bold. You actually dared to permit those young subordinates of yours to abduct Daolord Blesswind of my Clearwind Temple. If you know what’s good for you, you shall hand him over along with those five World-level cultivators of his! If you do that, I’ll just let this matter come to an end. Otherwise… hmph!”

His cold snort echoed throughout the skies.

In Vastheaven palace.

“The rest of you should wait here,” Daolord Solesky instructed. “Battlemaster, let’s go chat with that madman.”

“Agreed.” Daolord Battlemaster nodded.

Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster instantly soared high into the skies. Thanks to the barriers formations protecting Vastheaven Palace, someone outside wouldn’t be able to see what was going on behind the formations, but those inside Vastheaven Palace were able to clearly make out what was happening outside.

Only when Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster flew into the skies were the members of Clearwind Temple able to see them.

“Clearwind.” Daolord Solesky let out a little snicker. “Daolord Blesswind of your temple ended up being defeated by one of my World-level brothers. Neither Battlemaster nor I had anything to do with it! I’m actually quite amazed that you have the gall to come here, after one of your Daolords lost in such a pitiful fashion.”

“He did lose, but that was only because that puny little World-level cultivator relied on rare treasures and golems.” Patriarch Clearwind said angrily, “Solesky, hand over Daolord Blesswind and the others or-”

“Or what?” Daolord Solesky interrupted him, then said angrily, “Daolord Blesswind’s life is in the hands of Vastheaven Palace. I can kill him whenever I want.”

“If you want to kill him, kill him.” Patriarch Clearwind said coldly, “I’ll make sure that Vastheaven Palace pays the price for it.”

If he wasn’t able to bring Daolord Blesswind back, then it didn’t matter whether Blesswind stayed alive or not.

“What a nasty, vicious man.” Daolord Solesky snickered. “You know my true body isn’t here, which is the only reason why you had the courage to run here and show off. Hmph! If you are feeling bold, try entering Vastheaven Palace! I’ve already opened up the sealing formation; you are free to come in whenever you wish. Battlemaster, let’s go back and keep drinking our wine. Forget about this madman.”

“Agreed, big brother. Let’s go back and have some wine.” Battlemaster laughed as well.

Swoosh! Both flew back downwards.

Daolord Clearwind had an even uglier look on his face now. Vastheaven Palace had just completely ignored him… but he truly wouldn’t dare to actually barge into Vastheaven Palace! In the outside world, he would hold an advantage over Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Solesky’s clone. In Vastheaven Palace, however, he would be completely dominated.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace.

“Big brother Solesky, are we just going to let him wait there?” Ning asked.

“Forget about that madman. Let all of our brothers just drink here. Come, come! Let’s drink our wine and just wait to see what that madman will do,” Daolord Solesky said loudly.

Everyone present let out shouts of approval. The brothers of Vastheaven Palace were all quite bold figures, but they also kept a close eye on the outside. They had heard of Patriarch Clearwind’s mighty reputation for countless years, after all.

“Excellent. Excellent!” The skies echoed with Patriarch Clearwind’s enraged voice. “From this day forth, all of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace can just forget about leaving it! I’ll kill anyone and everyone who exits it! None of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace shall be able to re-enter this place either. I shall execute anyone who tries to enter Vastheaven Palace! If you refuse to hand over Daolord Blesswind, I’ll stay here and keep everyone trapped within Vastheaven Palace. One chaos cycle… ten chaos cycles… we’ll take it slowly!”

“Let’s wait for my true body to return. I want to see if you would dare try and surround Vastheaven Palace once that happens.” Daolord Solesky’s cold voice rang out in reply as well.





* * *





Book 29, Chapter 15 - The Clones Return


The Vastheaven Everworld.

A fur-clad youth was flying through the skies of this place. He stared at the distant gray storm that was blotting out the sun in the distance. That was the direction of Vastheaven Palace.

“I’ve finally made it,” Ji Ning mused to himself.

The fur-clad youth was Ning’s clone, which had travelled all the way here from the Badlands Territory. Now that he knew that Patriarch Clearwind was besieging Vastheaven Palace, he changed his appearance.

“Even though Patriarch Clearwind has never seen me, he probably knows what I look like,” Ning mused.

Swoosh! The fur-clad Ning flew towards Vastheaven Palace at high speeds.

“Fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist!” A black-robed figure suddenly appeared in the distant skies, and he used his Immortal energy to transmit his voice to Ning from afar. “The Daolords of Clearwind Temple have already surrounded Vastheaven Palace for thirty years. From the looks of things, they’ll probably be here for a very long period of time. You must not travel any further, fellow Daoist. Ugh… I personally witnessed a weak little Elder God who was instantly slain once he moved in that direction.”

“Even Elder Gods are slain?” Ning frowned.

“Anyone who dares to travel there will be slain. Not even animals or birds are permitted to enter that region.” The Chaos Immortal shook his head. “Be careful, fellow Daoist.” After speaking, he flew away.

The fur-clad Ji Ning considered this matter, then immediately began to charge downwards. As soon as he touched the ground, he instantly disappeared into thin air.

Using the Shadowless evasion skill, he began to move towards Vastheaven Palace at high speeds. For the sake of hiding his true abilities, Ning merely moved stealthily at just two times the normal speed of light.

……

Within Vastheaven Palace.

Ji Ning, Daolord Solesky, and Daolord Battlemaster were standing before their barrier formations, staring off into the distance.