Desolate Era (Book 31 - Book 35)

As for Ninedust, he would be able to come up with even more powerful techniques. Daolord Shaka, the Radiant King… these ‘supreme Daolords’ all had reached the same level of enlightenment into the Dao, so why was it that they varied so much in power? It was because they all had developed different attacks!

Ning’s Dao was that of the Omega, and thus it represented the true apex of what was possible. This was why, whenever he wanted to truly upgrade his technique, he would have to first reach a higher level of enlightenment. This wasn’t true for the others.

“I believe the Sithe had many similar locations which they used to train Daolords,” the black earth golem said. “Their Daolords were all extremely powerful, with many reaching the ‘supreme’ level of power. Unfortunately, their ambitions were too vast. They sought to enslave all cultivators and take control over the destinies of all living things.”

“And so, in the end they had to be wiped out.” The black earth golem shook his head. “Let me give you another word of advice. It’ll be virtually impossible for the two of you to fight through to the third world by yourselves. I urge you to work together with a few more supreme Daolords.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Both Ning and Ninedust nodded. At present, what they really cared about was the Voidsea Jadeseal in the second world. The command seals in the third world were of secondary concern.

“The various fruit trees within the nine major regions all ripen at different intervals, going from every 30,000 chaos cycles to every 100,000 chaos cycles,” the black earth golem said. “This is why Crimsonwave Temple will only be opened up once every 30,000 chaos cycles at most! However, this is the first time Crimsonwave Temple has been opened up in a very long time, and so all of the fruits in all nine regions are ripe for the harvesting. Seize the opportunity! If you miss it, you’ll have to wait another 30,000 chaos cycles… and by then, you’ll only have access to the fruits in two of the regions.”





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Book 33, Chapter 6 - Command Seals


Anywhere from 30,000 chaos cycles to 100,000 chaos cycles? Ji Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance, the same thought running through both their minds: when the competition over the Voidsea Jadeseals concluded, the two of them would definitely have to do their best to acquire some of the fruit.

Ji Ning felt particularly eager. Although the Voidsea Jadeseal was perhaps more valuable, Ning also knew that it would be of limited use to him. The Daomerge for his Omega Sword Dao was simply going to be so incredibly difficult that he felt zero confidence in his abilities to succeed in it. As a result, he viewed the fruits with great importance as well.

Given how badly the various Hegemons and the Dao Alliance wanted the fruits, they might be of use to him in reviving his wife. As for the Daomerge? If he failed, he’d die. By now, Ning had seen past both life and death. If he could revive his wife and then happily live together alongside her and their daughter Brightmoon for over 100,000 chaos cycles, he really wouldn’t mind failing his Daomerge. His greatest wish was to bring his wife back. Ordinary mortals were only able to live for a hundred years; to be able to spend over 100,000 chaos cycles alongside his loved ones was a true blessing. What did he have to complain about?

“Dare I ask, senior,” Ning said, “How many of those fruit-picking command seals are there?”

“A total of nine in total, and they are each attuned to one of the nine regions,” the black earth golem said. “Each of the nine regions holds a different types of tree within them. Once you earn a command seal, you’ll be able to see all of the divine trees and fruits located within a certain region.”

“How much fruit is within each region?” Ning and Ninedust were surprised.

“Well… let’s use this current region, the third region, as an example. If you can acquired the third command seal, then I’ll harvest all 108,000 fruits on your behalf and give them to you,” the black earth golem said.

Ning immediately decided that he had to do his absolute utmost to acquire the command seals! Every single command seal represented an enormous number of fruits.

“Senior,” Ninedust immediately asked, “What good are these fruits? What can they be used for?”

“Pill-making!” The black earth golem explained, “They can be used to forge certain legendary pills that will drive any Eternal Emperors mad with desire.”

Ning asked, “Senior, which of the fruits in the nine regions are the most valuable?” Since there were nine command seals in total, he’d definitely have to try and find the most valuable one.

“Hey, this kid’s pretty smart.” The black earth golem chortled. “Then I’ll go ahead and tell you – the ninth command seal is the most valuable one. The fruits in the ninth region ripen once every 100,000 chaos cycles! The sixth, seventh, and eighth command seals are equivalent in value; those fruits ripen once every 90,000 chaos cycles! The third, fourth, and fifth command seals correspond to fruits that ripen once every 60,000 chaos cycles, while the fruits for the first and second command seals are the least valuable, ripening once every 30,000 chaos cycles.”

Ning’s eyes lit up as he memorized this. “Thank you, senior.”

“Darknorth, if we join forces we should be able to seize at least a few of those command seals,” Ninedust said.

“Haha…. quite a few supreme Daolords will be taking part in this. Count your blessings if you can even seize one of them,” the black earth golem laughed merrily. He then quickly dissipated, his body reverting to chunks of dirt that fell down to the ground.

“That little chat with the Grovekeeper really brought my spirits up,” Ninedust chortled. “Let’s keep charging.”

“Right.” Ning was filled with eagerness as well. “Attack!” The two charged forwards, side-by-side.

After chatting with the Grovekeeper, Ning now understood more about this place. This was a place which the Sithe had used to train their Daolords and give them more combat experience, helping them discover flaws in their techniques. Naturally, there was no way they would allow heartworld projections or secret arts to be used, as that would defeat the entire purpose.

From this alone, it seemed clear that the many varied techniques these warriors used would indeed give Ning many new insights into his Omega Sword Dao.

……

At the entrance to the Crimsonwave Temple.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! One figure after another charged through the entrance, not even wanting to waste time admiring the characters ‘Crimson’ ‘Wave’ ‘Temple’ above them.

“Eh?” There were seven figures in total, and they all stared in shock at the two hideous, towering, black-skinned, green-furred, golden-eyed figures in front of them. The aura in particular caused all seven of these supreme Daolords to shudder.

“Hegemons?” All seven of them were stunned.

Streams of rainbow light manifested next to them, resolving into a white-robed man who smiled at them. “Do not be alarmed. These two are not Hegemons, but they did have power comparable to a Hegemon’s. They are the most powerful guardians which were produced by the Sithe race, who created them at enormous expense to watch over Crimsonwave Temple. However, the two of them were killed and Crimsonwave Temple ended up in my master’s hands.”

The seven supreme Daolords were just as stunned as Ning had been when he had heard this information. Realmsoul Polo couldn’t help but feel smug; he was extremely proud of his master.