Desolate Era (Book 31 - Book 35)

“Kid, before my master went off to take part in the great war, he left four of these palaces behind scattered throughout the Terror Starsea. If you can pass the trials of all four, a truly large fortune will await you.” The lightning guardian smiled mysteriously, then dissipated into countless streaks of Eternal lightning that fled off into every direction.

Ning was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or to cry. The four palaces were scattered throughout the Terror Starsea? Perhaps during the Dawn War, the Terror Starsea wasn’t very dangerous yet, but it was now a place where even Hegemons wouldn’t dare tread. How could he possibly go out and search for the other three palaces?

“You are actually only allowed to choose one treasure? The two of us aren’t allowed to choose any?” The Ninedust Sectlord glared at Ning.

“Haha! Remember how you won some treasures in that cave, but I ended up with nothing at all?” Ning smirked. The Ancient ancestor had left nothing for him at all. “What comes around, goes around. This time, it’s your turn to leave empty-handed.”





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Book 31, Chapter 11 - The Stone Censer of Reunion


Ninedust chatted with Ji Ning as the two walked, while Daolord Laya just stared at Ning with a rather complex look on his face.

“What is it, Daolord Laya?” Ning suddenly became aware of Laya’s stares.

“Brother Darknorth, you probably do not yet understand what being given a chance to take at treasure away from Thundersouth Palace represents.” Daolord Laya hesitated a moment, a complex look on his face. “The Starflow race cares deeply about one particular treasure inside this place. If you were able to bring it out and then gift it to our race, we would be willing to pay you an enormous price for it.”

“The Starflow race would like to trade with me for it?” Ning was stunned. “Has no member of the Starflow Daolords been able to take any treasures away with them when they left?”

“There has.” Daolord Laya nodded. “Just one! Receiving the approval of the Eternal lightning is incredibly difficult. There were others in our history who were able to endure the three blows and also endure the illusions, but they still were not acknowledged.”

Only now did Ning understood that gaining the lightning giant’s approval was no simple task.

“Only a single member of our race was allowed to take a treasure away with him, and he chose a different one,” Daolord Laya said. “My race desperately desires a chance to acquire that particular treasure. If you are willing to garner it and trade it with us… don’t worry. I promise our race will pay almost any price. My avatar is in our headquarters right now, and I can complete the negotiations for you before you choose it and bring it out. You can choose where the trade will be transacted! Even if you wish to carry it out in the Endless Territories, we can make it happen.”

Ning was intrigued. It really did seem as though the Starflow race was in desperate desire of that treasure.

“What treasure is it?” Ning asked.

“The Stone Censer of Reunion,” Daolord Laya said.

“An incense burner?” Ning was rather puzzled.

“Can it be the legendary…” A stunned look was on the Ninedust Sectlord’s face.

Ning looked at the look on Ninedust’s face, then looked at the eager expression on Daolord Laya’s. He instantly started to grow curious about this Stone Censer of Reunion.

“Let me go take a look first. Before doing so… brother Laya, please do not tell your race about the fact that I have a chance to select a treasure.” Ning said calmy, “Once you do, it’s possible that one of your Eternal Emperors would suddenly charge to this place and lie in wait outside. That would be troublesome.”

“Don’t worry.” Daolord Laya nodded repeatedly.

“Mm.” Ning decided to first take a look and see just what made this Stone Censer of Reunion so special. If it was also extremely important to him, then he would probably immediately leave this place with it in tow.

It would take time for the Starflow race to travel here. There was no way to use spatial teleportation within the Starflow River; even Ning’s ability to transcend dimensions was unable to pierce through the local region, thanks to the omnipresent power of the Starflow River. It would take quite some time for any member of the Starflow race’s Eternal Emperors to get here.

……

The three of them quickly arrived at a beautiful, crystalline pavilion. The walls of the pavilion were like white jade and semi-translucent, allowing them to be able to see through to the insides.

“How beautiful.” The three of them walked shoulder-to-shoulder through the pavilion. There were five prayer mats located on the ground, with a palm-sized incense burner located at the very center of the pavilion. The incense burner was both white and black, and it faintly emanated an aura of white smoke that was visible to the naked eye. It wafted out to an area of roughly nine meters that perfectly covered the five prayer mats.

There were also a number of paintings hanging from the walls and unfurled on the tables. Other treasures were on the tables as well. There was a bracelet that was engraved with some sort of bird carving, a pair of scissors that gleamed with black light, a pearl the emanated a freezing aura, and more. In total, there were twelve treasures on the dais.

“So these paintings were made by the master of this palace?” Ning raised his head to look at the paintings. All of them were in the same style, and they naturally contained many of the mysteries of the Dao, primarily of the Dao of Lightning. And yet, they actually contained some elements of the Dao of the Sword as well. However, considering that Ning was the master of the Omega Sword Dao, he viewed this person’s Sword Dao as being rather ordinary, perhaps on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow’s.

There was also the Dao of Illusions, and the Dao of Painting infused into each artwork…

“Quite a few treasures here.” Ning’s attention had been focused on the incense burner in the center as soon as he had come in, but he was in no rush to inspect it. Instead, he first looked at the other twelve treasures on the table.

“An umbrella?” A strange golden metal umbrella lay in front of him. The tip of the umbrella was incredibly sharp. Ning reached out to touch it, filling it with his godsense to learn some of its secrets.

This magic treasure was known as the Golden Ambersky Umbrella. It could be used to attack, but when the umbrella was opened it could also serve as a defensive treasure. It also contained a world unto itself that would be unleashed once the umbrella was opened, making it a domain-type treasure as well. The Ambersky World would manifest in the surrounding area, suppressing the foe. The power of the Ambersky World alone was on par with Ning’s nine novessence arts.

It could be used for attack, defense, and suppression… and in suppression alone it was comparable to the nine novessence arts. It must be remembered that Ning was only able to master those nine arts due to a confluence of lucky factors, and in the end had succeeded only because he had learned an incredibly profound alchemy technique! And of course, given his Omega Sword Dao, once he reached the third step as a Daolord he would be able to unleash even greater power when using those nine novessence arts to execute his sword-arts. He would reach a level comparable to Daolord Allgod at that time.

Despite that… the value of the Golden Ambersky Umbrella was truly unfathomable. Ning was stunned by its worth. The twelve treasures of the Hegemon truly were extraordinary.