Desolate Era (Book 31 - Book 35)

If those nine great Daos were like vast oceans, then that great hand was like the countless stars of the cosmos themselves. It truly was incomprehensibly more powerful.

“Do you understand now?” The black-robed man spoke out when he saw Ning raise his head upwards.

“I do not.” Ning suppressed the excitement he felt and halted his viewings. These Dao manifestations were of tremendous benefit to him. “However, this junior can tell that Autarch Bolin’s claw-arts were so powerful as to be completely unfathomable.”

“Ehehe.” The black-robed man laughed, “Long ago, my master Autarch Bolin relied on his claw-arts to become a Hegemon! However, he remained trapped at the Hegemon level for many years, unable to make a breakthrough, and so he began to meditate on other Daos as well. The Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of the Saber, the Dao of Darkness… he mastered nine Daos in total on his own, reaching the Hegemon level in all of them.”

Ning was awestruck upon hearing this. To be able to reach the Hegemon level in a single Dao was already terrifyingly impressive. Autarch Bolin had done that for nine other Daos as well?!

“All Daos are linked; the more Daos he mastered, the deeper Master’s insights into the Dao of the Claw grew. Finally, all of those insights burst forth like water crashing through a shattered dam, and my master reached the Daobirth level, the level where ‘one Dao births many Daos’. He became an Autarch,” the black-robed man explained.

“One Dao births many Daos?” Ning was puzzled.

“Eternal Emperors must gain eternal Daos for themselves. As for Autarchs, they must reach the level where ‘one Dao births many Daos’, what we call the ‘Daobirth’ level,” the black-robed man explained. “At the apex, all Daos are linked together, which is why once you reach the Autarch level you will naturally gain insight into many Daos you had never even trained in before.”

“My master, for example, managed to reach the ‘Daobirth’ level through his Dao of the Claw. He established an alternate universe with the Dao of the Claw as its original prime essence, which then unfolded through the form of countless other Daos,” the black-robed man explained.

Ning now understood. How incredible. Did this mean that once he reached the apex of his Omega Sword Dao, it would be able to give birth to many other Daos, such as the Daos of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, spacetime, darkness, and light? The mere thought of it stunned him. How strong would his Omega Sword Dao have to become, for it to naturally give birth to countless other Daos?

“To go from the Hegemon level to the Autarch level is far, far too difficult,” the black-robed figure said. “Enough. I’ve already told you everything you need to know. Calm your mind and go back to your viewings. Memorize all of this as quickly as you can. That way, even after you leave this place you can still meditate on what you have seen.”

“Alright.” Ning nodded. He did indeed have to memorize all of this, but doing so would be extremely difficult. The Dao of an Autarch was truly inconceivable; just memorizing its appearance was as difficult as asking an ordinary mortal to memorize a language with hundreds of millions of characters. Still, Ning understood that he had to memorize it despite its difficulty, because he couldn’t stay here for the rest of his life. Only by memorizing it would he be able to train in it whenever he wished.

“Senior,” Ning couldn’t help but add, “This junior does have a request.”

“A request?” The black-robed man was puzzled. “Go ahead.”

“This junior has an extremely good friend who is also a supreme Daolord. Can he come out and view this Dao and be guided by it as well?” Ning asked.

This Dao might not be of tremendous use to him in meditating on the Dao, but there was another aspect to it. The path of a cultivation was an extremely long one, and there were many hidden pitfalls and problems which cultivators could fall into. This Dao would serve as a lamp post which would illuminate the path to Autarchy, resolving the questions cultivators would have. Ning and Ninedust were lifelong friends; he naturally wanted to help Ninedust out.

“A supreme Daolord?” The black-robed man chuckled. “Listen, kid… I already told you that I really don’t have any interest in Daolords at all. I’m generally only interested in particularly powerful Eternal Emperors! You, however, are far stronger than other supreme Daolords despite not even having a Universe treasure. This is why I’ve given you a special chance. As for ‘ordinary’ supreme Daolords, they can forget about it.”

“Forget about it?” Ning was rather anxious but he didn’t know what to say to persuade the man.

“It’s not that I’m stingy.” The black-robed man shook his head. “The greatest barrier any and all cultivators shall face is the Daomerge!”

“To advance from Hegemony to Autarchy is perhaps just as difficult as the Daomerge, but at least there isn’t a danger of dying,” the black-robed man said. “But the Daomerge is not only difficult, it is also fatal when failed. If you fail, you are destined to die and your Dao shall vanish.”

“Thus… the cultivator civilization as a whole doesn’t care that much about Daolords. New crops of Daolords arise in every generation, with the previous crop of Daolords having perished. Far, far too few supreme Daolords are able to skyrocket to the Hegemon level of power,” the black-robed man said. “Thus, it really isn’t worth us wasting too much time or energy on supreme Daolords.”

Ning was speechless. He had to admit that the man made sense. To this very day, the Endless Territories only had three Hegemons! One could already imagine how this current crop of supreme Daolords, including Winesage, Dawnstar, the Radiant King, and even Ning himself would eventually perish. For even one Hegemon to emerge from their ranks would be a stroke of incredible luck. The most likely outcome was that all of them would fail and all of them would die.”

“You, however, are a bit special. If you really do succeed in the Daomerge, you will definitely be more powerful than most Hegemons,” the black-robed man said. “That’s the only reason why I’m giving you a chance. There’s no need for me to waste my time on other ‘supreme’ Daolords.”





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Book 34, Chapter 27 - 120 Million Years


“All things and all beings are given a chance,” Ji Ning couldn’t help but rebut.

The black-robed man paused slightly. These words had indeed moved him, as they were a bedrock of faith which all cultivators believed in. There were no absolutes in the world; there was always a chance, no matter how slim.

“Hah! What you say makes sense.” Intrigued, the black-robed man turned to grin at Ning. “Then I’ll give that friend of yours a chance.”

“Truly?” Ning was delighted.

“All he has to do is capture an Emperor-class golem without relying on any outside sources of help or a Universe treasure If he can do that, I’ll let him meditate here,” the black-robed man said.

Ning was stunned upon hearing this. Capture an Emperor-class golem? All of the golems within these Sithe ruins were at least at the supreme Daolord level. It would be incredibly hard for the Ninedust Sectlord to capture one of them.

“There lies his chance and his opportunity,” the black-robed man said. “I’ve given him the chance. If he can seize it, I’ll give him the opportunity to train here. If he cannot… then there’s nothing for it. I really have no interest in ordinary, unremarkable Daolords at all.”

“Understood. Thank you, senior.” Ning didn’t dare to press his luck. He immediately said, “My friend is within my personal estate-treasure. Should I…?”

“I’ll send you out. Make some arrangements for your friend, then re-enter,” the black-robed man said.

“Acknowledged,” Ning assented.

The black-robed man waved his sleeves. Whoosh. Ning was immediately sent flying backwards as space twisted around him.