The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

“Ji Ning killed Violetgrass. I, too, want him dead.” The azure-robed woman said calmly from atop her throne, “I’ll arrange for you to have the chance you need to move against him. By relying on your mastery of Qiankun, I’m sure you’ll be able to kill Ji Ning.”

“Did you really think I’m as stupid as you seem to believe?” True Immortal Gaudy gave the azure-robed woman cold look. “The Xia Emperor moved to protect this brat; in fact, he even chose to ignore my threats. He clearly has made up his mind to protect the brat. This time, you sent many teams to attack many places throughout the entire world of the Grand Xia. Although the Xia Emperor has True Immortals and Celestial Immortals under his command, he had many places to worry about, and so he wasn’t able to summon too much of his power to deal with me. But if I were to make another move…his forces wouldn’t have to worry about defending his various commanderies. They’d probably join forces to trap me, then kill me!”

The Seamless Gate knew all along that the Xia Emperor had other Empyrean Gods or True Immortals by his side!

The Primordial Imperial Clan alone had sent three of them to follow the Xia Emperor. This was one of the reasons why the Xia Emperor’s word was absolute law in the Grand Xia! The likes of Kindwater clan had Empyrean Gods in their ranks, and as a major clan that existed back in the Primordial Era, they too had True Gods or Daofathers backing them! And yet, they still did not dare to struggle with the Xia Emperor for supremacy. This was why!

Even the Youngflame clan had one of the major clans of the Primordial Era behind them. However, the Ancestor of the Youngflame clan, ‘Youngflame Freak’, had fled from his own clab and refused to recognize the connection between his clan and that primordial clan.

The supreme clans of the world of the Grand Xia truly were not easy to deal with. If those countless clans joined together, not even the Xia Emperor would dare to try and suppress them all by force. He had to provide order for and benefits to everybody, sharing the world with them.

As for the Xiamang clan of the Xia Emperor…technically speaking, it was the most powerful clan in the entire world of the Grand Xia! They would be more than capable of annihilating a single True Immortal Gaudy.

“How can you possibly take revenge without taking on some risk?” The azure-robed woman said, “Can it be that you are giving up on vengeance for Violetgrass?”

A cold light flashed through True Immortal Gaudy’s eyes. Of course he wanted to kill Ji Ning!

However…everyone capable of becoming a Pure Yang True Immortal was an extraordinary figure. None of them were fools.

“Violetgrass followed you this entire time. You are in control of the full power of the Seamless Gate. It would be much easier for you to kill Ji Ning than it would be for me,” True Immortal Gaudy said coldly. “If you really do provide a good opportunity for me to act, I won’t mind taking it. But I absolutely have no intentions of trading my life for that brat’s.”

After speaking, True Immortal Gaudy turned and left.

The only figures left within the towering hall were the azure-robed woman and the two other leaders. They all raised their heads, continuing to look at the battle images being transmitted in.

“The Xia Emperor really has begun to send out his forces,” the azure-robed woman laughed.

“He naturally isn’t going to just watch as you kill his people,” the skinny elder said.

Time continued to pass.

The probing attacks of the two thousand teams were carried out lightning-fast. They began this night, and they quickly concluded as well.

The next day. The Golden Crow once more rose into the sky. It was as though nothing had happened.

However, in reality, the previous night the Seamless Gate had lost a total of sixty-nine Celestial Immortals and hundreds of Loose Immortals. The world of the Grand Xia had lost a total of seventy-three Celestial Immortals and dozens of Loose Immortals.

On a superficial level, the losses were equal. And in truth, this type of initial probing attack would always result in the attacker sustaining some casualties.

However, the biggest mistake the Seamless Gate made this time…occurred with Ji Ning! They had completely underestimated Ning’s strength, causing them to lose eighteen supreme Celestial Immortals. This loss alone, in all honesty, was worse than all their other losses combined. After all, there was quite a large difference between an ordinary Celestial Immortal and a supreme Celestial Immortal.

But of course…neither the Xia Emperor nor the Seamless Gate were too concerned about their losses from this exchange.

This was just a probe, after all, an initial clash. Both sides suffered only some superficial losses; neither had sustained an actual injury. Their most powerful forces hadn’t even moved! Only when the real war began would they began to battle against each other. When that happened…Celestial Immortals would be put through a meat grinder, and even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods would fall if they were not cautious. This was, after all, the most powerful world under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright!

Within that towering palace in the Fifth World.

The leaders of the Seamless Gate, the Myriad Demons Cave, and Bloodcloud Hall had gathered here once more. After finalizing orders to their subordinates, they turned to the main topic of this meeting…Ji Ning.

“As I see it, Ji Ning has to die.” The man in the fiery red robes spoke in a booming voice. “He’s already a source of trouble for us. Once he overcomes his tribulation and becomes an Empyrean God…he won’t just be a source of trouble. He might cause our entire campaign against the Grand Xia to fail.”

The skinny elder sighed. “This person truly is too monstrous a genius, so monstrous that even I’m a bit frightened by him.”

“I agree that we need to kill him,” the azure-robed woman said. “This Ji Ning is protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; killing him won’t be that easy. Our only choice is to first suppress and capture him, then come up with a way to kill him. But while we move to suppress him…I’m worried that his Daofather master will act.”

“Daofather?”

The faces of the other two leaders changed.

True Gods, Daofathers…the true rulers of the Three Realms. In addition, someone who could teach the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] was definitely one of the most supreme of Daofathers. The mere thought of such a figure caused them to shudder.

“If we send Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to kill him, but they end up being killed by the Daofather when he saves Ji Ning…we’d end up having ‘lost both the wife and the soldiers’ 1, the worst of both worlds.” The azure-robed woman sighed. “This is the most critical moment in our campaign against the Grand Xia. It’s not wise for us to act on too large a scale.”

“Azurefox, what do you think we should do?”

The other two both looked at her.

In terms of status, the three were equal. However, generally speaking the ones in charge of the Seamless Gate were more intelligent, which is why the Gatemaster was the one chosen for the subjugation of the major worlds, with the other two acting in a supporting role. If there were any internal squabbles, a report would be made to the higher-ups!

“I think…we should report to this to the Godking!” The azure-robed woman said solemnly.

“The Godking?” The other two hesitated.

The red-robed man said with hesitating, “To bother the Godking for something like this…? To ask the Godking for help?”

“Although we can kill Ji Ning if we are willing to pay a high price…the paying of that price would have an impact on our ability to conduct the war against the Grand Xia.” The azure-robed woman said, “Our only choice is to report this to the Godking.”

“Mm.”

“Fine.”

The other two didn’t oppose this proposal. In truth, Azurefox could’ve made the report on her own; she was just letting them know as a form of respect. That way, the three would work together in greater harmony; the Myriad Demons Cave and the Bloodcloud Hall were extremely powerful as well, after all.

……

Within a silent room.

The azure-robed woman let a stick of incense. Instantly, the fragrance of the incense filled the entire room. The azure-robed woman slowly closed her eyes, sinking into a deep slumber.

Within a dream.

Azurefox appeared within a vast, dark region. At the center of this region, a massive throne that was more than thirty thousand meters long hovered in the air.

“Godking,” Azurefox called out reverently.

Instantly, a towering figure suddenly appeared atop the massive, levitating throne. This figure was dressed in black robes, but his eyes were like a mist that was able to commune with one’s very soul. He stared downwards at Azurefox, and she couldn’t help but shudder.

“What is it?” The figure atop the massive throne lightly tapped the armrest with a finger. A booming sound instantly rang out, reverberating throughout the dark region.

“Godking, your subordinate is on the verge of launching the attack against the Grand Xia. However, a new variable has appeared within the Grand Xia world…” Azurefox explained respectfully, “This variable will have a major impact. If your subordinate was to use the power of the Seamless Gate against it…it might negatively impact our mission of subjugating the Grand Xia. Thus, I’ve come to ask you, Godking, to decide for us.”

“Variable?” The titanic figure once more tapped the armrest.

“It’s Ji Ning,” Azurefox said respectfully.

“Him?” The towering figure hesitated momentarily. “He just killed eighteen of your Celestial Immortals. Mmm…from what happened in that battle, it can be said that this Ji Ning truly is quite a monster. He’s actually become so powerful despite being at the Void-level. There’s no way he could’ve accomplished this just through divine abilities. His sword-fingers…he hasn’t even mastered the Grand Dao of the Sword…which means he must have mastered some sort of supremely powerful energy. Swordforce? From the looks of that battle, he’s only reached the first stage of swordforce. It must be some other type of invisible power…heartforce? Taiji-force? Infiniforce? Spaceforce?”

The towering figure pondered for a moment. “Your warning is a good one. I hadn’t noticed that such a monster had appeared within the Grand Xia. By the looks of it…he has at least a 50% chance of overcoming his tribulation and becoming an Empyrean God! If he becomes an Empyrean God, he’ll immediately become one of the most supreme of Empyrean Gods. In fact, if he’s given a little time, he’ll be able to reach Lu Dongbin’s level. He is indeed a potential source of trouble.”

The supreme powers of the Three Realms had a tacit understanding; if you didn’t intervene, then I won’t either.

This was an unspoken agreement.

Both sides were preparing…preparing to unleash everything at the critical moment of the war, to fully suppress and crush their foes! Prior to this, at most the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would battle against each other. The True Gods and the Daofathers would not casually intervene. Thus…a supremely powerful Empyrean God could have an enormous impact. In addition, such an Empyrean God would have a good chance of making yet another breakthrough to become a True God!

“However…this Ji Ning’s master is that old bastard, Subhuti. He’s not easy to deal with,” the towering figure said.

“Patriarch Subhuti?” Azurefox cried out in shock. Good heavens…

Patriarch Subhuti?!

Although she knew that Ji Ning had to have a very powerful Daofather behind him, given that he had been taught the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]…she had never imagined that it would be that old freak Subhuti.

“Not even I can tell exactly how powerful that old fellow is. During that war that shattered Pangu’s World, he intervened to save some people, but he didn’t truly participate. Still…he definitely is one of the absolute most powerful Daofathers of the Three Realms. And…he has multiple Daofathers amongst his disciples!” The towering figure once more gently tapped at the armrest. Dong! Dong! Dong! Slow, deep thudding sounds echoed throughout the dark region.

Azurefox couldn’t breathe.

Multiple Daofathers?

She knew some secrets, such as the fact that the mysterious ‘senior disciple’ under Patriarch Subhuti’s command was definitely on the level of a True God or Daofather. As for the others, she didn’t know about them. But from what the Godking was saying…Patriarch Subhuti actually had more than one Daofather under him! Still…even though she had learned this, she wouldn’t dare to let this information slip. She was completely devoted to the Godking, while the Godking was all-knowing…

If she dared to betray him in any way at all, the Godking would know right away! For example, that battle against Ji Ning; with but a thought, the Godking immediately had become aware of what had happened during it.

“Still…that old fellow stands on the side of Nuwa!” The towering figure’s misty gaze seemed to be as deep and vast as the infinite Void. “So we might as well take this chance to kill one of his disciples and test his reaction.”

Azurefox listened attentively.

“Activate chess piece…Yu Wei.” The towering figure said, “Have Yu Wei lead Ji Ning in a Greater Teleport to come straight to the Fifth World. The Fifth World is one of our major bases, and I’ll personally station myself within it. In the Fifth World…even if Subhuti comes in person, there will be nothing he can do.”

“Yu Wei?” Azurefox was startled.

They had quite a few chess pieces positioned within the world of the Grand Xia. Prior to this, Yu Wei hadn’t been an important one, but after taking Patriarch Lu as her master and becoming a Celestial Immortal, she had immediately become their most important piece. Logically speaking, she could’ve been used to great effect in the future…but they were now going to use her against Ji Ning. Clearly, in the eyes of the Godking…trading Yu Wei for Ji Ning’s life was worth it!

“Yes,” Azurefox said respectfully. She then vanished into thin air.

Within the darkness, only the massive levitating throne and the towering figure atop it were left. His left hand continued to gently tap against the armrest of the throne. “Subhuti…I haven’t actually fought you yet…I’m really rather looking forward to it…”

1. This idiom comes from a famous story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. A general tried to honeytrap his enemy by offering his sister in marriage…but his sister actually fell in love with the enemy and ran off with him. Furious, the general sent soldiers to chase them back, but the soldiers ended up being ambushed and slaughtered. Thus the phrase, ‘losing both the wife and the soldiers’, became immortalized for describing a situation where you pay enormous, multiple costs without getting what you want.