Desolate Era (Book 41 - Book 45)

After they destroyed the quintessence core of the Grassland World, they then headed off to do the same to the sphere of annihilation within the Annihilation Hive.

Bolin and Ekong were both worried that Ning might not be able to accomplish it, but Ning proved them wrong. A single sword infused with the Oblivion Sword Dao was all it took to tear the sphere of annihilation open, destroying all of the mysteries of Oblivion contained within it. In the end, the entire sphere of annihilation collapsed. When it broke apart, it no longer looked like a shadowy orb. It revealed its true appearance, transforming into a tiny, solid-looking ball of light. The ball of light completely exploded, sending a limitless amount of energy blasting in every direction.

When the shockwave spread out, it seemed to cause the Five Elements, spacetime, and more to transform… but in the end, it disappeared without a trace.

“Eh?” Ning murmured softly, “Everything in the sphere of annihilation actually collapsed into a singularity, then exploded… and then it gave birth to one, which gave birth to two, which gave birth to three, which gave birth to all things?”

“The next step to my Sword Dao should be ‘Creation’.”

The Omega Sword Dao. At first, Ning had fused multiple other Daos into his Sword Dao, creating the many other so-called Sword Daos such as the Spacetime Sword Dao, the Cycle Sword Dao, the Karma Sword Dao, etc. Later on, after he meditated on ‘Oblivion’, Ning finally managed to bring the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, the Cycle of Light and Dark, Karma, and Spacetime together, using his will of obliteration to fuse them into a single Dao known as the Oblivion Sword Dao! This was why the Oblivion Sword Dao was so incredibly powerful.

When Ning had used the Oblivion Sword Dao to slay those Sithe, he discovered that after killing them they would transform into pure energy which nourished the Chaosverse. This had instantly intrigued Ning – could it be that the purpose of destruction was actually to provide nourishment and create new life? However, during the battle Ning didn’t have time to really ruminate over this.

Upon seeing the sphere of annihilation collapse, Ning began to gain an even deeper understanding.

“The Dao is split into Yin and Yang. There are two sides to all things. In order for the Omega Sword Dao to reach Autarchy, simply fusing all the other Sword Daos together to create ‘Oblivion’ isn’t enough; that will only display a single facet of the true Autarch Omega Sword Dao. The other face of destruction is the creation of new life. One begats two, two begats three, and three begats all things.” [1. The one/two/three thing is deeply embedded in actual Daoism and is far too complicated to explain here.]

Ning exited the Annihilation Hive, then came to the Grassland World once more. The Grassland World had returned to its normal appearance and no longer had a threatening aura.

The nine layers of clouds atop the Grassland World had vanished. Even the grass had vanished, leaving behind a slick, black metal construct. Ning first fashioned a new avatar, then sat down in the lotus position atop the Grassland World and began to meditate.

He was going to wait here. If Iyerre came once more, he would probably head to the Grassland World first. “Bolin. Ekong. I need to meditate silently,” Ning said. “As for Iyerre… if he comes, leave him to me.”

“Alright.” Bolin andn Ekong didn’t disturb him.

Ning closed his eyes, beginning to ruminate upon the profound mysteries of the Dao of the Sword. All his other Sword Daos had come together to form a single whole, the Oblivion Sword Dao… but now, the Oblivion Sword Dao was changing and transforming to reveal its other ‘face’. The diametric opposite of the Oblivion Sword Dao appeared as the power of destruction slowly began to nurture life. It was as though a ‘shell’ of utter destruction pervaded this entire Dao, but at its very heart life was slowly being nurtured…

……

The Infinite Void. Here, spacetime was far more twisted and distorted than any Chaosverse could ever be. It was filled with enormous celestial objects and countless marvelous species.

Iyerre was hastening through this great void. The first time he had travelled to Ning’s Chaosverse he had moved slowly and with great care, but now that he had made multiple round trips he had become quite familiar with the (still-dangerous) path.

Every so often, Iyerre would turn to stare backwards. Although he had travelled a very great distance, the vast Chaosverse behind him still looked endless beyond measure. Only by taking control over it could one truly stand at the very pinnacle of existence within the Infinite Void.

He had spent nine days after exiting the Grassland World before managing to escape that Chaosverse, then two full months before he finally reached the estate where his master’s avatar resided.





Book 45, Chapter 15 - Lord of Chaos


Whoosh! Iyerre warped through spacetime, arriving at a giant floating boulder which was many kilometers long. His facial expressions grew markedly more respectful. A small wooden courtyard had been built atop the stone boulder, and in the center was a log cabin. Through the seams in the log cabin, he was able to vaguely make out a skinny, azure-robed form seated in the lotus position within.

The wood cabin and courtyard looked fragile, as though it could be destroyed with the flick of a finger. Iyerre, however, would never dare to offend. Instead he stood outside the courtyard and said respectfully, “Master.”

Inside was his master, a truly legendary figure. He was amongst the first Sithe who rose to power, and he quickly outstripped all others by a wide margin. Countless Sithe venerated his very existence, and he eventually came to control his entire Chaosverse.

Iyerre had been the very second Omega Autarch in his homeland, but he still felt that his master far surpassed him in many regards.

“You failed?” The voice was gentle and warm.

“I failed. Completely failed.” Iyerre’s mood was rather downcast. “The subordinates I brought with me were either killed or captured. It was a complete and total defeat. I’m the only one who managed to escape.”

“A pity about those three Sourcewalkers. It wasn’t easy for them to reach their level,” the person instead sighed. “Each of them was formed from the concentrated essence of my Chaosverse. Reviving them won’t be easy.”

Iyerre didn’t dare to say a word. Long ago, he and his master had come to an agreement. His master had carved out a large chunk of their entire Chaosverse and gave it to Iyerre to rule as he saw fit! All of the Sithe who rose to power within that part of the Chaosverse would be under his control, and he would be permitted to use them to invade other Chaosverses! However, there were two exceptions to this – Sourcewalker Autarchs and Omega Emperors.

An Omega Emperor had the potential to become an Omega Autarch. His master would take all such figures away! Thus, not a single Omega Emperor had joined the war against Ji Ning’s Chaosverse.

Sourcewalkers were the treasured darlings of the Chaosverses. The amount of energy they contained in their bodies vastly surpassed all their peers, and after reaching Autarchy they grew to be far more powerful! They completely surpassed all the other Exalts. The silver-robed woman and the other two had been Sourcewalker Autarchs. Iyerre felt that he needed to strengthen his forces, and so he had summoned his courage and asked for his master to transfer them to his command.

Even though Sourcewalker Autarchs were unable to summon the power of the Dao in Ning’s Chaosverse, they were still on par with Titanos and Mogg in power! This was why they were able to truly make use of the power of the black warbeasts.