Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

“The Northmont clan, of the Marquis of Stillwater.” Ninefire raised his head, staring at the enormous ship which flew through the airs towards them. Upon seeing the great flag atop the warship, he couldn’t help but murmur to himself.

“The Marquis of Stillwater!” Ning was shocked as well. The Sillwater Commandery was a vast, vast land, and it had all been enfeoffed to the Marquis of Stillwater! One could imagine how vast the power of the Marquis of Stillwater was. Only the Raindragon Guards could be considered to be on par with him, but with regards to some of the matters within the territory of the Marquis, not even the Raindragon Guard would dare to casually interfere in and disrupt the Marquis of Stillwater’s management of his lands.

“That is…General Dong.” Truekeep said. “The person standing next to the youngster is General Dong.”

The warship continued to fly towards them. General Dong, who stood atop the warship, by the side of the youngster in the beautiful black uniform, hurriedly barked downwards, “Members of the Ji clan and Snowdragon Mountain, hurry and pay your respects to the exalted envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater!”

His voice echoed and rumbled, reverberating throughout the lands.





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Book 6, Chapter 36 - The Exalted Envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater


The exalted envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater?

Ji Ning, Ji Ninefire, Ji Yichuan, and the others all felt puzzlement in their hearts. Upon seeing the two massive flags aboard the giant warship, they all understood that this warship belonged to to the Northpeak clan of the Marquis of Stillwater, the clan with the most exalted power and authority in the entirety of Stillwater Commandery.

However, they had clearly made the report to the Grand Xia Dynasty, and had hoped to transfer the rights to the elemental ore mine to the Grand Xia Dynasty. It was the Celestial Envoy of the Grand Xia Dynasty which they had been awaiting this entire time. Why, then, had the envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater Commandery come?

“Come, let’s go up.” Ninefire said softly. “Right.” All of them acknowledged. Although the arrival of the envoy of the Marquisate of Stillwater was quite strange, even General Dong, the general in chage of the forces of the Grand Xia Dynasty stationed in Swallow Mountain, was standing next to the envoy like a fawning sycophant. How could the Ji clan possibly dare offend them?

“Let’s go.” A flying boat appeared out of nowhere. Ning and the others boarded the boat, then flew upwards into the sky. There, high in the sky, the heroic warriors aboard the warship stood proudly, clearly all at the Zifu Disciple level. This made the hearts of Ning and the others clench. This really was the Northmont clan of the Marquis of Stillwater, one of the eight hundred marquisdoms that had been enfeoffed after the Grand Xia Dynasty had unified the world. An ancient marquisate which had existed for countless years…any squad of warriors it casually sent out would all be at least at the Zifu Disciple level.

“Ji Ninefire, your Ji clan has had a stroke of great fortune.” General Dong snorted coldly. “The young master is right up ahead, awaiting you all. Hurry and enter.”

“Thank you, General Dong.” Ninefire said with a smile while leading Ning and the others within. The Ji clan’s forces moved across the deck of the warship, under the guidance of the armored warriors.

“How impressive.” Ning swept the area around himself slightly with his gaze, and discovered that this warship was covered with complicated runes. A powerful aura lay hidden within this warship. “This shouldn’t be a magic treasure; it should be some sort of mechanical golem-ship!”

The warship was divided into three floors. Ascending the stairs, Ning and the others moved into the main hall of the second floor. This main hall was extremely broad, and within there was a youngster in a luxurious black uniform. This black-uniformed youngster was staring through the window, hands clasped, towards the boundless mist outside. By his side, there were two maids, and an old man who was nervously standing in a corner.

“Dong Fanyu!” Ning instantly recognized this person. This was one of the Zifu Disciples of the Swallow Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain. Although he had never seen this man in person before, he had seen his image in intelligence reports.

“Where is Adept Xu?” Dong Fanyu, upon seeing the Ji clan enter, couldn’t help but say in astonishment, “Where are senior apprentice-brother Zidao and the others?” But no members of the Ji clan paid him any heed.

“We pay our respects to the exalted envoy,” Ninefire said, immediately bowing low, almost to the ground. Behind him, Ning and the others all bowed in respect as well.

Only now did the black-uniformed youth who had been looking through the window with clasped hands turn to them. His face was smooth and pale. A faint smile was on his face, and he looked quite amiable. Sweeping them with a glance, he said, “Arise.” Only now did the members of the Ji clan rise from their bow.

“Eh?” The black-uniformed youth frowned, then laughed, “Just your group? General Dong, didn’t you say that Snowdragon Mountain and the Ji clan were engaging in a battle here at Oxhorn Mountain?”

General Dong hurriedly said to him, “Reporting to the young master: Snowdragon Mountain did indeed have quite a few Immortal practitioners who were battling the Ji clan at Oxhorn Mountain. Didn’t Dong Fanyu also stated that even the Wanxiang Adept, Xu Li, had gone to participate? Ji Ninefire! I ask you this: Where are the forces of Snowdragon Mountain? The exalted envoy of the Marquis of Stillwater has come; how dare they not come to pay their respects?”

Ji Ninefire hurriedly said, “Reporting to the exalted envoy: The forces of Snowdragon Mountain wished to destroy my Ji clan. My Ji clan strove to battle against them, and in the end, annihilated all of the invading forces of Snowdragon Mountain.”

“Impossible!” Dong Fanyu, who had been listening nearby, bellowed out, “Adept Xu Li was a Wanxiang Adept. How could the Zifu Disciples of your Ji clan have killed Adept Xu Li? As I see it, by relying on your grand formation, you’ve separated everything within from the outside world. You knew that the young master has arrived, but Adept Xu Li and the others remain trapped within the formation and do not know of his arrival.”

The black-uniformed youngster stood there, not speaking, just watching.

Ninefire said, “Adept Xu Li truly has perished. Ji Ning.” Ninefire turned and spoke to Ning. “Take out Adept Xu Li’s magic treasure, that giant seal; let this Dong Fanyu take a look.” Ning waved his hand, and that grand seal appeared within it. It was the ‘Earth Garrison Seal’. The appearance of it alone indicated that it possessed extraordinary power.

Dong Fanyu said, astonished, “I, I’ve never seen Adept Xu Li use his grand seal, but I’ve flown atop the Adept’s flying magic treasures.”

“This should be an Earth-ranked magic treasure.” The black-uniformed youngster suddenly said. Ning waved his hand again, and a small ship appeared within his palm. Although it was within his palm, it was enough to instantly turn Dong Fanyu’s face ashen. “How can this be!”

The nearby General Dong’s pupils contracted, and then he laughed, “It seems as though this Ji clan has rather extraordinary abilities. Previously, according to Dong Fanyu’s report, Dong Ziqi, Jadechild, and nearly twenty other Zifu Disciples perished here at Oxhorn Mountain. I didn’t expect that even Adept Xu Li and the others who hastened here would all perish here as well.”