The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

Daolord Snowjoy slowly walked towards them through the skies as he made his way towards the black vessel. As for Daolord Shaka, he attacked from afar using his magic treasures, using his long-distance attacks to tie down Ji Ning and Ninedust.

“Keep moving while fighting. We can’t let ourselves get tied down by them like this,” the Ninedust Sectlord immediately said.

……

Ning remained in control of the black vessel, watching as Ninedust battled against Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka by himself. This was a two-on-one fight, and Ninedust was at a distinct disadvantage.

“Ninedust…” Ning sighed. In truth, there really was no need for Ninedust to involve himself, as he wouldn’t gain anything from it at all. The Voidsea Jadeseal wouldn’t be his, regardless of whether they succeeded or failed!

“What should we do? I can’t get involved in a fight at their level. In the end, I’m still not strong enough.” Ning felt quite resigned as well. Both Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka were able to ignore the effects of his heartforce techniques! As for his close combat abilities, Daolord Snowjoy would be able to overcome and suppress him with just a single one of his Stargod clones.

“We’ve been completely bogged down. Things are going to get worse and worse from now on.” Ning was truly worried.

……

Far off in the distance, there were two figures riding a white vessel that was advancing towards Ning’s position at high speed. The first was an alien man who wore a crown and who was dressed in beautiful golden robes. This man had dark-red eyes and emanated the stately aura of a king. Ordinary Daolords would feel an uncontrollable urge to bow down and prostrate themselves before him. He was Sectlord Timedream! The most accomplished Heartforce Cultivator in all the Endless Territories!

Next to him stood a short, squat, and ugly man who carried an enormous scimitar on his back. He was known as the Kingfreak, and was ranked eighteen amongst the Daolords of the Endless Territories! Although he was ranked fairly low amongst the supreme first-tier Daolords, he was still one of them. No supreme Daolords could be underestimated, as they all had their own specialties.

“Sectlord, we’re closing in on them. We should be able to catch up in under two days,” the Kingfreak said in his hoarse voice.

“Excellent.” Sectlord Timedream’s lips crooked upwards slightly. “Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy have tied them down, but they won’t be able to kill Ninedust or Darknorth. As for Winesage and the others, they are still quite far away. Winesage will have to spend at least ten days before making it here. Hmph. By then, I would’ve acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal long ago.”

“You are the only one who deserves it, Sectlord,” the Kingfreak said hoarsely.

“There are three more seals in the tenth layer.” Sectlord Timedream looked at the Kingfreak. “As soon as I acquire the second Voidsea Jadeseal, I’m going to immediately use it! After that, I’ll accompany you into the tenth layer and fight for one of the remaining three. No matter what, I guarantee that I’ll help you acquire one of them.”

“They will all be yours, Sectlord,” the Kingfreak said.

“No. I’ll take any other treasures, but if we can acquire a second Voidsea Jadeseal it will go to you,” Sectlord Timedream said.

Anyone else who saw this interaction would be completely shocked. Sectlord Timedream had founded an enormous sect and was the exalted leader of it, with countless living beings in his thrall! Those who obeyed him would live; those who disobeyed him would perish. He was supreme throughout his world, and was incredibly skilled in manipulating the hearts of men.

If the ‘Godking’ of the Three Realms could be described as delighting in the torment of others, Sectlord Timedream was even worse. In fact, he had become so incredibly depraved that he truly could be described as a demon amongst demons. Despite his extremeness, he had achieved incredible things in the field of heartforce.

The Dao was neither good nor bad. The good could reach high levels in it, as could the bad.

As for the Kingfreak? He was Sectlord Timedream’s right-hand man. The Sectlord couldn’t be everywhere and do everything, and so many things were left to the Kingfreak to handle. As for the Kingfreak, he was a mass murderer who was legendary for his ruthless callousness, a man of unpredictable temperament! The many disciples of the Timedream Sect were all terrified whenever they saw him, for fear of offending him and thus perishing for the offense.

When the two worked together, they wouldn’t fear even the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar or Winesage! One could imagine what an incredibly famous duo they were in the Endless Territories. Both were fiendish madmen… but they held genuine and deep affection for each other.

The Kingfreak was unswervingly loyal to Sectlord Timedream, and whenever they were out adventuring he always let the Sectlord have the pick of the treasures they encountered! Sectlord Timedream was a bit more selfish and often gave himself the best things first, but in his heart the Kingfreak truly was second only to himself in importance.

……

Two days later.

“Ninedust! Darknorth!” A booming voice rang out in the skies.

They were in a vast, snowy plains right now. A thick layer of snow had fallen over this area, and it stretched off as far as the naked eye could see.

Ning’s group had continued to fight and slowly flee. During the past two days, they had used the trap formation an additional time, but Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy had quickly caught up to them.

“Who is it?” Ning and Ninedust both turned to stare off into the distance, as did Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka.

Two distant figures were walking towards them side-by-side. The first was a red-eyed man dressed in beautiful golden robes who emanated an aura of ineffable majesty. The other was an ugly-looking man who carried an enormous scimitar on his back.

“Sectlord Timedream? The Kingfreak?” Ning and Ninedust both felt their hearts sink.

Of the current top five Daolords, Winesage and Palace Lord Dawnstar had fairly good reputations. Daolord Dreamlore had been fairly low-key before this trip, only becoming famous after defeating the Radiant King. Clearly, he wasn’t the vile sort either.

Sectlord Timedream, however, was a truly demonic figure… and the Kingfreak was his most dangerous of lackeys!

“Ah, Timedream and the Kingfreak have arrived.” Daolord Shaka sent mentally, “Brother Snowjoy, now that they’ve arrived I expect that Ninedust’s group won’t be able to hold out against us. However, we need to work together to acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal. Otherwise, it’ll probably end up in Timedream’s hands.”

“Agreed.” Daolord Snowjoy turned somber as well. “Let us work together. Once we seize the seal, we’ll work together to escape, no matter who the seal ends up with!”

“Agreed.” Daolord Shaka nodded. The two immediately swore lifeblood oaths and entered into an alliance.

Even if Daolord Snowjoy did acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal, he would need Daolord Shaka’s speed in order to escape! Right now, fleeing as quickly as possible once the seal was in hand was what mattered the most. The Radiant King had been able to escape precisely because of how fast he was.

As for Daolord Shaka, he needed Daolord Snowjoy’s strength! Shaka himself was fairly weak compared to other supreme Daolords, after all. He wouldn’t be able to resist any of the truly formidable ones.

When the two worked together, they made up for each other’s weaknesses.

“Be good boys and hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal.” Sectlord Timedream slowly walked over, his voice cold. “My calculations indicate that you should only be able to use that trap formation once every two or three days. You won’t be able to activate it again for some time. There’s nowhere for you to run. Hand it over.”

“Haha! Four supreme Daolords. What luck!” The Ninedust Sectlord hefted his longstaff, roaring with laughter from his position atop the flying vessel. “Fighting against four supreme Daolords, all by my lonesome… just thinking about it gets my blood pumping! Come, come! All four you of you can attack at the same time! I want to see just how tough all of you are, and I want to see if you can do anything to me!”

“If that’s the case… let’s attack!” Sectlord Timedream said coldly.

“Kill!” Daolord Shaka and Daolord Snowjoy were the first to charge. Everyone was entering into close combat, as they were all fairly close to each other and the first to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal would gain an enormous advantage.

“Kill.” The Kingfreak drew his enormous scimitar from his back-sheath and charged towards the Ninedust Sectlord as well.

“Come on!” The Ninedust Sectlord awaited them, longstaff at the ready.

BOOM! As they fought, ripples of power began to blast out in every direction, annihilating the snow in the surrounding area and spreading out until they were blocked by some barriers off in the distance. Ninedust began to fight Daolord Shaka, Daolord Snowjoy, and the Kingfreak all by himself in a one-on-three fight.

Bang! Daolord Snowjoy landed a palm-strike on Ninedust’s chest.

Slash! The Kingfreak landed a slashing blow with his scimitar on Ninedust’s thigh.

Stab! Daolord Shaka plunged his longspear into Ninedust’s right arm.

Ninedust was sent stumbling backwards by this barrage of attacks, with the injured parts of his body dissolving into water and then reforming anew, completely unharmed.

The distant Sectlord Timedream frowned when he saw this. “This damn Ancient cultivator really is quite valiant, and he’s mastered an invulnerable aquaform. Other supreme Daolords on his overall level of power won’t be able to injure him at all; they won’t even be able to make him use up much of his divine power! Even Winesage would find it difficult to kill him, despite possessing a Universe treasure.”

This invulnerable aquaform allowed Ninedust to transform his divine body into an endless stream of water. You could cut through it, but it would just continue to flow unabated. There was just no way to kill him.

In truth, Daolord Solesky had also mastered a similar aquaform, albeit one based on fragmentary records. However, his Dao was a bit too extreme in being defense-oriented. In attack power, he was weaker than even Patriarch Clearwind! Despite that, his defensive prowess was such that even Fiendqueen Dustrain had only been able to heavily injure him in her pursuit of him.

Ninedust’s invulnerable aquaform was far superior to Solesky’s, allowing him to ignore the attacks of the Kingfreak, Snowjoy, and Shaka. The attacks of the three supreme Daolords were having no effect on him.

“The Voidsea Jadeseal is in my hands. You can forget about taking it from me!” The Ninedust Sectlord roared wildly with laughter. “Stop dreaming! You won’t be able to break my invulnerable aquaform no matter how hard you try.”