Desolate Era (Book 41 - Book 45)

“Take care, elder brother Svastika.”


“Best of luck.” Many friends bade each other farewell.

“Let’s go!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Countless dimensional tunnels appeared around them. Each warship flew into a dimensional tunnel, warping away at high speed. They were able to warp through spacetime much more quickly than realmships could; each of them was comparable to the Blacksun in this regard! These ancient warships had been created for the express purpose of battle and transportation, and they were incredible in both aspects.

On this day, a total of eighteen different hidden dimensions located in different regions simultaneously released countless warships unto an unsuspecting Chaosverse. The Sithe had spent countless aeons filling these hidden dimensions with many mighty experts! Many of them had been sent over from the Sithe Chaosverse after they had lost the first war.

The native cultivators had produced many new experts over the aeons, but the Sithe Chaosverse had produced even more. Many of them had been sent over to this Chaosverse, where they had hidden themselves and awaited Iyerre’s orders. Now that the orders had arrived, they all mobilized and began to spread throughout the Chaosverse.

……

The Flamedragon Realmverse. The Three Realms.

Ji Ning was in secluded meditation on Brightheart Island. He was under the effects of 100x temporal acceleration and was diligently focusing on the mysteries behind the sphere of annihilation at all times. He had the feeling that if he used it as a guidepost to create a matching Sword Dao, that Sword Dao would possess absolutely incredible power.

“Eh?” Ning suddenly opened his eyes, breaking his meditations. This was the exact moment those eighteen hidden dimensions had suddenly revealed themselves, blooming into existence and releasing an enormous number of warships which had quickly spread themselves throughout the Chaosverse.

In that instant, Ning could sense a deep, forboding aura of danger come crashing down upon him. It was as though dark stormclouds had suddenly blotted out the sun above him. This invisible pressure made it impossible for Ning to remain calm and collected! Not even the appearance of the Annihilation Hive had generated a sense of danger as great as the one Ning felt right now. The premonition of danger was so great that Ning could feel his heart shuddering.

“What’s going on? What the hell just happened?” Ning had an inkling, but he wasn’t certain of it. He didn’t dare believe it.

Last time, Ning could distinctly sense where the sense of danger was originating from. This time was different! The danger was completely omnipresent, as though every single part of the Chaosverse was in grave danger. There was no way to find the ‘source’ of it, and as a result Ning didn’t know what to do.

“Mogg. Titanos. What’s going on? Do you know what just happened?” Ning immediately sent a message through the Autarch message-talisman.

……

Within the ancient temple that levitated in the skies above that island in the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. Autarch Mogg and the others were all gathered here.

“What the hell? What the hell just happened? I-I…” Autarch Ekong had a frantic, fearful look on his face. This sense of danger caused him to feel extremely uneasy. It was as though the entire Chaosverse had just been plunged into darkness.

However, Autarch Mogg, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Stonerule, and Autarch Titanos were all quite calm. They simply exchanged a glance.

“It has finally begun,” Autarch Titanos said softly.

“This nightmarish feeling of doom… I never wanted to feel it again, but here it is.” Autarch Skyfeeder shook her head. She would never be able to forget what a calamitous war the Dawn War had been. Far, far too many of their Hegemons and Emperors had died in that war.

“Our greatest fear has been realized.” Autarch Mogg shook his head. “Our seals really were useless against them.”

Autarch Mogg could sense that Ning had just sent them a message. He took out his message-talisman, then sent a single message out:

“Darknorth, the war has begun!”





Book 44, Chapter 2 - Ji Nings First Massacre


Boom! The door to a private room swung open, followed by the white-robed Ji Ning striding out.

“Father.”

“Young master.” Brightmoon and Autumn Leaf were the nearest, and they immediately came over to greet him.

Ning looked at his daughter and his ‘elder sister’, then turned to gaze at the world around him. His gaze saw past the walls of reality, allowing him to see all of the chaosworlds of the Three Realms at a glance.

“I hope that the flames of war will not scorch the Three Realms,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

“Nuwa,” Ning sent mentally. Whoosh! A figure warped through space and immediately appeared before him. It was Mother Nuwa.

“Darknorth, why have you summoned me?” Nuwa smiled.

“The war against the Sithe has already begun,” Ning said. Nuwa and Brightmoon both turned pale. Autumn Leaf, however, simply had a puzzled look on her face. She was at a very low level of power, and so there were many secrets which she simply didn’t need to know. Brightmoon was both a Daolord of the Fourth Step and Ning’s daughter. She was more or less considered a member of the Three Realms’ highest echelon, and so she was naturally informed of many secrets as well.

“Father, the war has begun?” Brightmoon looked very anxious. “Th-then…”

“The war has begun. The Sithe are targeting the various Hegemons of our realmverses,” Ning said. “As for the countless mortals, World-level cultivators, and Daolords? They don’t really care. They won’t even waste too much energy on hunting down the weaker Emperors. It’ll be safer for you to stay in the Three Realms.”

As one of the paramount leaders of the cultivators, Ning naturally had to lead the charge! He would go wherever there was the most danger. The Sithe had failed during their last attempt. Given that they dared to come again, they had most assuredly made ample preparations and adjustments based on their past experiences. The Annihilation Hive alone proved to Ning that the Sithe were to be dreaded! Most likely, even their Autarchs would be at risk of dying.

This meant it would be very dangerous for his friends and family members in the Three Realms to accompany him. It was actually far safer for them to remain behind in the Three Realms instead.

“Take good care of the Three Realms.” Ning looked at Brightmoon then instructed solemnly, “Do everything you can to keep it safe.”

“Yes, Father,” Brightmoon said hurriedly.

Ning nodded slowly. He had long ago fashioned many formations and other treasures which would ensure that the Three Realms was almost completely impregnable! Even Sithe Exalts would have a difficult time breaking into it.

“Nuwa, I’ll send you to the front lines,” Ning said. Mother Nuwa nodded. As a Hegemon, she had to take part in this war!

Before leaving, Ning gave a lingering final glance to the world behind him. This was the world he had loved and had roamed for so many years. He had spent many years here in secluded meditation, teaching his disciples, and even gardening…

“Let’s go.” Ning said nothing else, immediately leading Mother Nuwa in warping away from the Three Realms.

……

A vast, empty region outside the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. This place had long ago been designated as a major battlefront, much like the Terror Starsea of the past.

“Here we are.” Ning only needed to warp through spacetime three times before arriving at the battlefront, Nuwa in tow. The dimensional ripples generated by their arrival meant that the two of them were almost instantly discovered, and the disheveled-looking ‘Realmslord Windgrace’ personally came to greet them.

“Emperor Darknorth,” Realmslord Windgrace said with incredible respect.