The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

The Godking sat atop his throne, staring downwards towards her. “Yu Wei, how have I treated you?”

“The Godking’s benevolence towards Yu Wei has been weightier than a mountain,” Yu Wei responded respectfully from her kneeling position. These words sprang from the bottom of her heart. In her previous life, she had turned into a complete demon, had become as berserk as an Asura. It was the Godking who had guided her out from her berserk state and helped her recover from it, regaining her mind and her sanity. If it hadn’t been for the Godking, she would’ve been lost long ago.

It had also been the Godking who had patiently taught them all, one by one. They were all filled with the utmost of veneration towards the Godking, and were all willing to die for him.

Yu Wei was nothing more than one of countless such individuals. When Yu Wei had become apprenticed to Patriarch Lu, her status amongst the countless spies under the control of the Seamless Gate had instantly skyrocketed. The vast majority of the spies were merely at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level, after all. Less than one in ten thousand would be at the Celestial Immortal level, much less have a connection to an important figure like Patriarch Lu.

And now, Yu Wei was connected to not only Patriarch Lu, but also to Ji Ning. She had become the sole chance the Seamless Gate had at reversing their fortunes during this Realmwar?

“It is now time for you to sacrifice yourself,” the Godking said.

Yu Wei couldn’t help but tremble…then she pressed her forehead to the ground and said respectfully, “Please give me your command, Godking.” Every single spy was waiting for the moment where they would be used. Things weren’t so bad for the likes of Sword Immortal Evergreen; even after being exposed, he could flee back to the Seamless Gate. Yu Wei, however, was merely a Celestial Immortal. There was no way she could possibly escape at all. And, to the Seamless Gate, even though Yu Wei was a Celestial Immortal, once her status was exposed she would instantly become much less valuable to them.

“One of the Three Emperors of Mankind, Shennong, has sent True Immortal Cloudust to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity…” The Godking began to narrate things to order.

Yu Wei listened attentively.

In her heart, Ji Ning and her daughter were who mattered most to her…but the Godking was very important to her as well. This was partially because of gratitude, but was also also because the Godking had left behind his imprint upon her soul. The Godking was capable of influencing her inner heart without her even knowing about it, causing her to trust the him even more and make her feel even more indebted to him for his kindness, to the point where she was willing to give up life itself.

Within the Violetdawn Pearl’s world.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and their daughter Brightmoon were living a blissful life together.

“Kneel!” Ning had a hint of anger on his face.

“Oh.”

His daughter Brightmoon meekly fell to her knees, her little mouth trembling as though she was about to cry.

Ning said angrily, “You need to understand the consequences of your actions. Not everyone is an Immortal cultivator. Your mother and I, as well as your Uncle Mu and your Grandpa White are very powerful, and we aren’t afraid of the power of your flames. Most of the servants and attendants of Brightheart Island, however, are mortals. To you, you were just using flames to prank them, but to them, they were just a heartbeat away from death. If I hadn’t noticed in time, you would’ve burned your maid to death!”

Brightmoon didn’t dare to say a thing.

Her parents…Ji Ning had always been very gentle, whereas Yu Wei was fairly strict. This time, however…Ji Ning had been truly angered, and his anger had completely stunned and terrified Brightmoon.

Ning couldn’t be blamed for his anger. Just two days ago, he had picked a pair of female maids for his daughter. Both were of the same age, roughly eleven or twelve years old. The two had naturally been extremely attentive in taking care of their young mistress, and Brightmoon had liked them very much and had been very happy when playing with them. And then…she started to use her flames to tease and prank the maids, just as she often did with the Whitewater Hound.

That maid had instantly been burned beyond recognition. Fortunately, Ning had reacted very quickly, immediately casting spells on her and providing her with a spirit-pill, allowing her to make a complete recovery.

“I told you how important it was for you to remember that you live in a world of Immortal cultivators. I told you that you can be tremendously dangerous to ordinary commoners. Have you forgotten everything I told you?” Ning roared.

“I…I…” Brightmoon quavered.

“And you are still crying?!” Ning growled, “I want you to stay here on your knees today. You are not allowed to rise until I tell you to.”

“Let’s go.” Ning led Yu Wei away, leaving behind Brightmoon by herself kneeling there pitiably on the ground inside the room.

A while later…

A giant, snowy-white hound padded past.

“Grandpa White!” Brightmoon hurriedly called out.

The snowy-white hound gave her a glance, then continued to pad forward.

After another period of time, an azure-robed woman walked past as well.

“Aunt Qing!” Brightmoon immediately called out.

The azure-robed woman revealed a resigned look on her face as she continued to walk forward.

“Are we being too severe to her?” Yu Wei said worriedly.

“If I don’t give her some punishment this time…in the future, she’ll cause utter chaos,” Ning said angrily. He then looked towards Yu Wei with surprise. Laughing, he said, “Senior apprentice-sister, usually you are even stricter with her than I am. Why are you so soft-hearted today?”

“When I see that sad little look on the kid’s face…” Yu Wei shook her head.

Ning said, “She’s just acting. She knows very well that whenever she puts that look on her face, we’ll feel sorry for her and ease up on her. That’s why she’s acting this way right now. This time, we really do need to teach her a lesson. She’s clearly very talented and innately clever, but she was still born just a short while ago. She’s like a blank sheet of paper. She doesn’t know the consequences of her actions, doesn’t know right from wrong. We have to teach her well.”

“Yes, we do. It seems as though you are even better suited to teaching her than me,” Yu Wei said.

“No, senior apprentice-sister, you are a better teacher.” Ning shook his head. “Mothers are usually more careful and attentive when teaching children.”

Yu Wei nodded blankly, not responding.

“What is it?” Ning could sense that something seemed a bit off. This was his Dao-companion, who had been by his side for many years, after all. He could naturally sense that her mood was off.

“Oh.” Yu Wei seemed to come back to her senses. Shaking her head, she said, “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking about the Realmwar going on outside. Now that my child is born…I’ll probably have to take part in the war soon.”

Ning was startled for a moment, but then he nodded slowly. “Right. All Celestial Immortals must take part in the war. Prior to this, you were pregnant and temporarily exempted…but now, you’ll probably have to participate as well. Still…there’s no rush. As long as the Daofather or the Xia Emperor don’t say anything, for you to delay a while is a minor matter.”

“It’s best not to make things difficult for the Xia Emperor,” Yu Wei said. “I’ll leave behind an incarnation to accompany our daughter. I had best return to the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and prepare to join the war.”

“Alright. That works as well. You can stay in my Darknorth army.” Ning smiled. “Go to war by my side.” Ning would only have peace of mind if she was within his own army.

Yu Wei nodded as well.

Within the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Yu Wei returned to the residence they previously stayed in.

“Don’t be hasty. Right now, both sides are watching and waiting. The Seamless Gate has a Daofather golem, while we should be receiving assistance from Human Emperor Shennong. They should be planning things out now…it isn’t time for anotehr battle just yet,” Ning said.

“This next battle will most likely be the final, decisive battle that will decide this Realmwar,” Yu Wei said with a sigh.

“Yes. Thus, it’s very dangerous. Later on, we’ll work together in the Heaven Punisher Formation. You’ll be right by my side,” Ning said. “If anything unexpected happens, I’ll still be able to protect you.”

Yu Wei looked towards Ning. She could see from Ning’s eyes how much he cared about her. This made her emotions only become even more complicated; she felt both warm and miserable.

“Alright.” Yu Wei nodded gently.

“Ji Ning, come to my place.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice rang out by Ning’s ears.

Ning was startled.

“I’m going to go meet with the Daofather.” Ning rose to his feet, then immediately flew outwards. As he left, Yu Wei quietly gazed at his departing figure, as though she didn’t want to miss any glimpse of him.

Within the main palace.

Upon entering, Ning realized to his amazement that the only figures within the entire main palace were Daofather Crimsonbright and True Immortal Cloudust.

“Respectful greetings to you, Daofather. Respectful greetings to you, True Immortal,” Ning said.

“Sit.” Daofather Crimsonbright smiled towards Ning, as did True Immortal Cloudust.

Ning sat down.

Daofather Crimsonbright said, “I’ve invited you here because I have an important mission to give you.”

“Oh?” Ning immediately began to listen attentively.

“This time, Cloudust has come on Human Emperor Shennong’s orders to bring me two treasures.” Daofather Crimsonbright waved his hand, producing two jade bottles, one completely black and the other completely white. Both immediately caught Ning’s eye; could it be that the treasures within these two bottles were capable of deciding the fate of this Realmwar?

It must be understood that their foes had a Daofather golem. Were these things even more powerful than Daofather golems?

“Within the black jade bottle is a type of Immortal medicine which Shennong just finished creating, having spent enormous amounts of work on it.” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the black bottle. “If you shatter this black bottle, then the medicine within it will quickly spread out and take effect within a field of ten thousand kilometers. All Immortals within the region, including Pure Yang True Immortals, will find their Immortal energy to be completely locked and unusable.” 1

“What?!” Ning called out in shock, “Even True Immortals are affected by this? If they can’t use their Immortal energy, won’t they be like ordinary mortals?”

“Yes.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded. “This Immortal medicine is newly manufactured. Since the Seamless Gate has never even seen this sort of medicine, they naturally can’t manufacture an antidote for it. This concoction does, however, have a major flaw; it doesn’t different between friends or foes! Within ten thousand kilometers, all Immortals, friendly or enemy, will be affected by it.”

Ning nodded.

This was normal and common for most poisons. Poison wasn’t sentient, after all; it couldn’t differentiate between friend or foe.

“Thus, the white jade bottle has the antidote within it.” Daofather Crimsonbright pointed towards the white jade bottle.

“When you go back, pour out the medicine into this wine gourd.” Daofather Crimsonbright next produced a calabash gourd. “Every single Loose Immortal only needs a single drop. Celestial Immortals need ten, while Pure Yang True Immortals need a hundred. The Darknorth army under your command has three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals. All of them need to drink the medicine.”

“When battle begins, the Seamless Gate will definitely continue to try to kill you; they’ll send their armies to surround and assault you. When the time comes, just shatter the black jade tablet…and instantly, all Immortals within ten thousand meters will collapse. Since your army will have consumed the medicine in advance, you won’t be affected at all…and the only thing you’ll have to do is massacre them,” Daofather Crimsonbright said with a smile.

Ning was overjoyed upon hearing this. How wonderful! The Seamless Gate currently had an absolute advantage in terms of Immortal power, as their many Empyrean God golems were all controlled by Celestial Immortals.

“Is it useless against Empyrean Gods?” Ning asked.

“The influence on the divine power of Empyrean Gods is negligible.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded.

“Given the Seamless Gate’s intelligence capabilities…I imagine that they will soon know that this thing is in my hands.”

“This concoction of Shennong’s is incredibly valuable. The Emperor of Mankind just recently finished manufacturing it at an extremely high cost. Although we only have a small amount, we have given it to another person as well, in addition to you..” Daofather Crimsonbright laughed, “When the time comes, both of your armies are to simultaneously use the medicine. Even though the Seamless Gate knows about it, there’s nothing they can do.”

“You are very powerful, and the Seamless Gate has a deep urge to kill you. If they surround and assault you, you’ll use Shennong’s concoction. If they don’t surround and assault you, break them down and destroy them one-by-one,” Daofather Crimsonbright said. “This is an obvious ploy, but there’s nothing they can do about it.”

Ning’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

They were definitely going to win!

“Don’t disappoint me.” Daofather Crimsonbright looked towards Ning.

“Don’t worry at all, Daofather.” Ning was filled with confidence.

1. Remember, as noted previously in footnotes, in Chinese mythology, Shennong the Divine Farmer is the demigod who taught agriculture and medicine to the Chinese people.