Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

“Now that I’ve done what I need to, it’s time for me to leave.” Baiwei rose and laughed, “I know that for a genius like you, your training time is quite precious.” Ning rose to his feet as well and asked, “Leaving so soon?”


“Your Black-White College is within Stillwater City. I can come any time.” Baiwei led his servants and Cloudship, then quickly departed.

……

Ning watched as Baiwei and the others transformed into streaks of light and departed. Only now did he lower his head to stare at the six jade platters of treasures that were before him.

“My [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] just so happened to be lacking in swords, and now I’ve received two sets of them.” Ning stared at the two sets of flying swords; one a set of 72, the other a set of 18. The set of 18 swords in particular appeared to be all exceptionally fine flying swords. “Although I haven’t used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] many times, Northmont Blacktiger clearly knew long ago that I need a large number of flying swords. He really lives up to his reputation as being a potential candidate for the next Marquis of Stillwater. His information really is reliable.”

“As a Zifu Disciple, it should’t be too hard for me to cobble together seven hundred or so Mortal-ranked flying swords. But once I reach the Wanxiang Adept level, I’ll need seven hundred or so Earth-ranked flying swords. As a Primal Daoist, I’ll need Heaven-ranked flying swords.”

Ning sighed to himself. The [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was something which caused even Immortal Juhua concern. Ning also possessed the [Nuwa Painting], and walked the path of the Sword Immortal. Indeed, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was extremely well suited for him. Most likely, the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], in his hands, would be even more effective than it had been for the Thousand Swords Immortal.

Ning continued to view the treasures. “Wings?” Ning looked at the black wings atop the jade platter. “They are much better than the wings I acquired after killing the disciples of Snowdragon Mountain.” The wings weren’t that useful for Ning, as he primarily used them to cover-up the fact that he used the [Windwing Evasion].

This was a divine ability which the ancestor of the Yuchi clan had only acquired after rescuing a Celestial Immortal, who in his gratitude had bestowed it upon the clan. It was abundantly clear from the fact that even the entire Black-White College only had five divine abilities that divine abilities were incomparably precious. No wonder the Yuchi clan insisted on using wing-type magic treasures to disguise themselves.

“The flying boat!” Ning stared at the fourth present, then laughed. “A top-grade Mortal-ranked magic treasure. In the future, I’ll be able to travel much more quickly.” Ning stretched his hands out, effortlessly binding both the wings and the boat-type magic treasures.

“The miasma gas magic treasure.” Ning stared at the fifth treasure. He picked up that white jade bottle. After easily binding it, he discovered that within, there was a white pearl, surrounded by an extremely dense foggy white miasma gas.

“Step back. Go far away.” Ning swept the surrounding area with his gaze, and the nearby Cloudjade hurriedly retreated all the way out of the courtyard. “Activate.” Ning willed it.

Instantly, a large amount of white miasma gas filled the courtyard. The white miasma gas covered an area of many tens of meters, and the density of it was such that even Ning’s Fiendgod-enhanced eyes were only just barely able to view his own fingers. In fact, it even influenced the surrounding elemental ki flow, causing Ning to be unable to sense what was around him.

“According to what I hear, miasma gas magic treasures are extremely suited for fleeing, precisely because they prevent both vision with the naked eye as well as sensing one’s surroundings.” Ning nodded lightly. “So it really is the case. Even I, the person who released the miasma gas, am unable to see the surrounding area. Once I release this miasma gas…for a short period of time, my foe will be unable to find me. I can choose a direction and immediately flee.”

Miasma gases were unable to distinguish from friend or foe. What Ning bound was the jade bottle and the pearl within it; that miasma gas simply existed within the pearl itself.

“I wonder if my divine sense can see through it.” Ning willed it, and suddenly…whoosh! His divine sense spread out, instantly encompassing the entire courtyard. “Eh?” Ning revealed a hint of delight. Although the miasma gas was so powerful as to be able to disturb the flow of natural elemental energy, under Ning’s divine sense…everything still appeared.

“Excellent.” Ning was overjoyed. “To others, miasma gas magic-treasures are only for fleeing, but for me…I can release the miasma gas to befuddle my foes, then engage them and kill them in close quarters.” This combat tactic instantly flashed through Ning’s mind. Given that his own divine sense was not affected by the gas, in the future, it would be much easier for him to deal with Wanxiang Adepts.

“Yet another killer move,” Ning laughed. Ning then looked towards the sixth jade platter. Five hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! This was an astonishing fortune; ordinary Earth-ranked magic treasures were worth merely five kilograms, which was to say that this gift was the equivalent of a hundred Earth-ranked magic treasures! Even if he wanted powerful Earth-ranked magic treasures, he would still be able to trade for eight or ten of them.

Even when Baiwei and Fox had been betting frantically against each other, the stakes had only gone up to forty or fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence.

“Northmont Blacktiger really is quite generous.” Ning no longer hesitated; he collected the treasures, picked up the jade bottles, and headed for his private training room.

…….

Within the private room. The jade flask was placed in front of him, and the stopper had been pulled open. Ning sat in the lotus position atop the jade bed, calming himself down. He opened his mouth, and the liquefied elemental essence within the jade bottle instantly began to fly out and be absorbed by Ning’s body.

Rumble…

The enormous Zifu Lake within the illusory space of the Zifu Violet Palace. The watersource suddenly began to surge with large amounts of pure elemental energy. The entire Zifu Lake began to swirl about expand in an incomparably rapid pace.

The outer regions of the Zifu Lake were constantly expanding towards every direction. The lake was growing to take up a larger and larger amount of the illusory space, and began to surge towards the deepest recesses of it.

Expanding! It was still expanding! Fifty kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. A hundred. A hundred fifty…Ning didn’t hesitate at all, constantly refining and absorbing it all. His base was solid, and his comprehension of the Dao was quite high. His divine soul was very strong, and his sword-heart was lustrous…he absolutely could surge all the way to the early Wanxiang Adept stage if he so chose.

The Zifu Lake continued to expand. It now covered a truly shocking amount of space, and could even be said to have expanded from a ‘lake’ to a ‘sea’. A Zifu Sea!

Three hundred kilograms. Three hundred fifty kilograms!

“Last time, I used forty or so kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. This time, if I use another 360 kilograms, it’ll be about enough,” Ning mused to himself. According to the [Flowing Watersource], if one refined four hundred kilograms of liquefied elemental essence as a Zifu Disciple, then the foundation that one would establish would be the so-called ‘foundation for a Celestial Immortal’. The Manifestation one would later have would also be the best of Manifestations.