Desolate Era (Book 41 - Book 45)

Ning nodded and smiled. “I’m going into terminal seclusion after this meeting.”


“I’ve made many friends on my path of cultivation, but I admire you above all others,” Solewind said. “You are going to succeed. You have to.” Solewind knew that if Ning was going into terminal seclusion, that meant Ning was most likely trying a last-ditch effort to save himself. If Ning was truly out of options and saw no hope at all, why would he go into seclusion?

“Stop trying to make me feel better,” Ning said with a chuckle. “I don’t need it. By the way, I actually spent a thousand years watching events occur within your Cataclysm Trials.”

“That long?” Solewind was surprised. “I use reality as the foundation, then use illusions to make up for reality’s shortcomings. Now, why would the venerable Daolord Darknorth take an interest in such a simple technique?”

Ning explained, “I was actually watching a young fellow who was training within it. That’s why I watched for a thousand years. Are you willing to let him follow me instead?”

“I might have put countless cultivators into my Cataclysm Trials, but only a few thousand have been able to survive for more than a thousand years. They are priceless treasures to me,” Solewind said in an intentionally sorrowful manner. “Buuuuut… since you’ve made the request, Daolord Darknorth, I suppose I must give you face. Which one have you taken a fancy to?”

“The one called Qin An,” Ning said.

Qin An had come from a world which was extremely similar to the world Ning had lived in during his previous life, ‘Earth’. There were quite a few under-developed worlds like ‘Earth’ in the Chaosverse, and Daolord Solewind had teleported many people from such worlds to the Cataclysm Trials.

“Qin An! That boy was born to be a cultivator.” Solewind sighed dramatically. “You know, he doesn’t view the ‘trials’ of the Cataclysm Trials as dangers to be avoided. He eagerly dives into mission after mission! I actually prepared a few difficult trials just for him, but he managed to flip the script each time.”

“I’ve taken a liking to the kid as well,” Ning said. “I’m planning to take him on as a disciple.”

“Then he is one lucky kid.” Solewind immediately waved his hand.

Whoosh! A youth suddenly appeared in the emptiness of space by Solewind’s side. The kid was dressed in black robes and had a stately gaze. He looked completely harmless… but when he scanned the area around him and saw Daolord Solewind and Ji Ning, his eyes narrowed. He could sense that his very soul itself was quaking in fear. The auras emanating from the two individuals before him were absolutely terrifying.

Even though just hints of their auras were leaking out, the two were clearly unfathomably more powerful than even the most powerful creature he had ever encountered, an Elder God-class Fiendgod.

“I am the creator of the Cataclysm Trials. You can address me as ‘Solewind’.” Daolord Solewind’s very first words caused the young Qin An to feel completely stunned. The creator of the Cataclysm Trials?!

Solewind smiled. “Next to me is my good friend, Darknorth. Qin An, today is your lucky day. My friend is far more powerful than I am, but he’s actually taken a fancy to you.”

“Qin An, are you willing to become my disciple and take me on as your master?” Ning asked.

He had always followed his own heart in choosing new disciples. His ‘fourth disciple’, for example… Ning had simply tossed a talisman into a hidden location. Whoever was lucky enough to acquire it would become his fourth personal disciple! Thus far, this person had yet to arise. His seventh disciple ‘Almonder’ and his eighth disciple ‘Stonepool’ had all been extremely weak when Ning had first noticed them, while his second disciple ‘Green Bamboo’ Yang Quding had been just an ordinary mortal.

Ning cared more about the Daohearts of his potential disciples. And of course, he also chose people whose personalities he liked! He had seen countless beings struggling within the Cataclysm Trials, but the only one he had liked was Qin An! He admired how Qin An was still brimming with confidence and excitement despite having seen so much death and lost so many friends in the Cataclysm Trials. This truly was quite rare!

“I’m willing! Willing!” Qin An had experienced much in recent years, and he was no fool. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed: “Master, your disciple Qin An greets you!”

“Good. From this day forth, you shall be the ninth disciple of myself, Darknorth. You are the last personal disciple I shall ever take,” Ning said.

Solewind glanced at Qin An. How the hell was this kid so lucky? He actually became the final disciple Daolord Darknorth chose before going into terminal seclusion! It must be remembered that even major powers like Lord Houwu of the Blazesun Domain would love for the chance to become Ning’s servant and receive a few occasional pointers from him.

Ning looked at his new disciple, Qin An, then nodded. He now had a ninth disciple, and he had visited everyone he needed to visit. It was time to return to the Three Realms and prepare to enter terminal seclusion.





Book 43, Chapter 8 - Terminal Seclusion


Before Ji Ning brought his ninth disciple, Qin An, back to the Three Realms, he first paid a brief visit to the Badlands Territory.

“Halt,” Ning instructed. The realmship came to a halt in midair. Ning turned to glance at Qin An, then reached out to tap Qin An on the middle of his forehead. An enormous amount of information began to pour into Qin An’s mind, followed by three surges of sword-intent being hidden deep within his soul. All three surges of sword-intent were of varying levels of power.

At Qin An’s current level of power, if he had to learn this enormous amount of information from jade slips it would probably take over ten thousand years. Using this method, Ning had accomplished it in the blink of an eye. Most of the information, however, would remain sealed. Qin An was currently too weak; his soul and truesoul simply couldn’t absorb that much information at once.

“Master.” Qin An regained consciousness.

“Of my nine disciples, you are the most talented at dealing with danger,” Ning said. “I’ve left you three surges of sword-intent to protect you and many techniques for you to learn. The rest shall be up to you. This place is known as the Badlands Territories, and it is very vast, far vaster than the ‘Cataclysm Trials’ you were in. You’ll have to rely on yourself in adventuring through this place. Once you reach the World level or become a Daolord, you’ll probably be able to locate your fellow disciples.”

“World level?” This was an incredibly distant concept to Qin An. He hadn’t even become a Celestial Immortal yet!

“Alright, you can leave now. Your path will be your own.” Ning waved his hand. Whoosh! Qin An was teleported through spacetime into an ordinary chaosworld within the Badlands Territory.

“Master… you remain as, uh, succinct as ever in teaching your disciples,” Su Youji said with a snicker.

“The more setbacks they encounter, the farther they’ll make it on their respective paths,” Azurefiend said.

……

When Ning returned to the Three Realms, he began to meet with some of his old friends for what was perhaps the final time.

Northmont Baiwei, Mu Northson, his master Immortal Diancai…