Desolate Era

The black-robed Ji Ning stood there, more than two hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords floating around him. The amount of sword-ki filling the region inside the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation was simply astonishing and heart-shaking. Anyone could tell what terrifying power this black-robed Ning possessed. And, given that Ning’s true body had suddenly vanished, everyone present could guess…

That this black-robed Ning was a Primaltwin!

“That’s a Primaltwin. How… but… Ji Ning’s only trained for thirty years…” A look of shock and anger was in Xiao Lang’s eyes, along with disbelief. “He’s only trained for thirty years! How can he have a Primaltwin? He dared to split his soul in half? Isn’t he afraid of death?”

“What a formidable Primaltwin. All of those two hundred-plus flying swords seem to be Heaven-ranked. I heard that this Ji Ning purchased hundreds of high-grade Heaven-ranked flying swords from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain; so it was for the sake of giving them to his Primaltwin for use. This Ji Ning is exceptionally wealthy; his Primaltwin has probably trained all the way up to the peak Primal level at one go.” Kindwater Xiaolou secretly sighed in amazement. “To be able to simultaneously control more than two hundred Heaven-ranked magic treasures… he absolutely has a peak Loose Immortal’s power. His true body has vanished; it should’ve entered an estate that he carries with him. Mobile estates are exceptionally valuable. How much money does this Ji Ning have? Can it be that he gained an enormous sum from the Witchriver Immortal Estate?”

Not even Youngflame Nong had an estate that he could carry around with him… but Ji Ning did!

Xiaolou believed that Ning must have acquired it from the Witchriver Immortal Estate. He had no idea that this Immortal estate which Ning was carrying with him had been gifted to Ning by the giant yellow bear, the spirit of the underwater estate, for free.

“Formidable.” Skyfarmer Songspear stared at the formation.

“Such power… and yet, when Xiao Lang challenged him in such an insulting manner, he didn’t pay him any heed. He truly has tremendous restraint.” Fairy Wavecolor sighed in amazement as well.

They could all guess that Ning’s true body was now hidden within the estate he carried with him. Mobile estates could indeed hold people… but no matter what, either Ning’s true body or his Primaltwin had to be in the outside, real world. If both hid inside, then the mobile estate would be forced to reveal itself.

Generally speaking, mobile estates weren’t too strong in terms of resisting attacks. Enemies could forcibly take it over, then toss it into the voids of the Three Realms, at which point the person inside would be doomed.

The Witchriver Immortal Estate, for example, was immobile and couldn’t be carried away. That was why it was able to be used as a headquarters and why it had such strong defenses. Estates that one could carry, however, were generally very weak.

One had to choose between strong defenses and mobility. Generally speaking, one could only choose a single quality from the two. Except, of course, for the likes of the ‘underwater estate’. Daoist Threelives, one of the primordial Fiengods who had been born before the universe had been established, had used all of his effort to craft it for his heirs. Only at the Primal level could it be carried, and it was exceedingly strong in defense. However, the value of such a treasure far surpassed even Pure Yang magic treasures; this was why it was so special.

Normal estates, however, had to obey the normal rules. Mobility or defensive strength; the two couldn’t co-exist.

“If my true body and Primaltwin both hide within the underwater estate, then under the wild attacks of this Loose Immortal of the Youngflame clan, the secrets of my underwater estate will probably be revealed.” Ning absolutely would not permit this to happen. “What’s more, my Primaltwin has already reached the peak Primal level. Although in terms of a base of power, he’s on a much lower level… that’s not insurmountable.”

……

“It’s actually a Primaltwin. Patriarch Arcanum, you screwed me over!” Immortal Floatcloud was howling with grief in his mind… and then, a look of savagery filled his eyes. “I have no way out. Either Ji Ning dies or I die.”

“I refuse to believe that I, who have trained bitterly for more than a hundred thousand years, can’t do anything to this little fellow who trained for thirty.”

These thoughts flashed through his mind lightning-fast. After Immortal Floatcloud had laid down his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation and saw Ning’s Primaltwin, he spent just a brief moment in shock before executing his most powerful attack.

“HEAVEN!”

“EARTH!”

“MORTAL!”

Immortal Floatcloud bellowed, his entire face instantly turning completely red. Ignoring all consequences, he immediately used a forbidden technique. Within the core of his body, a golden lotus Primal exploded forth with even more elemental ki. The auras of those three flying swords in front of him which vaguely formed into a sword-diagram formation suddenly increased dramatically, and the formation-diagram seemed to truly materialize. The enormous formation-diagram seemed capable of swallowing the universe. It was incomparably vast, and clouds and fog appeared within the formation.

“KILL!!!” Immortal Floatcloud immediately used his most powerful killing technique.

He had no time to waste. The thirty-six Loose Immortals of the Kindwater clan who were outside were joining forces to wildly assault his Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. Once the formation was broken through, then in the face of those thirty-six Loose Immortals who were dressed in Immortal-ranked Dao-armors, he probably would be finished in a single exchange. Naturally, he had to seize the moment.

Rumble…

Heaven, Earth, Mortal. The three top-grade flying swords, surrounded by the spinning formation-diagram, seemed to carry the majesty of the world itself as it came crashing downwards towards Ning. This was using raw force to suppress the foe!

“Hmph.” The distant black-robed Ning, faced with this attack, didn’t move slower than Immortal Floatcloud at all. He also immediately executed the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. Under the guidance of those nine Waterbreaker Godshark Swords, the power of the two hundred-plus Heaven-ranked flying swords was joined together by the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], forming in front of Ning a flying sword that was surrounded by an aura of golden light.

“In terms of elemental ki, I’m a major level below him.”

“But in terms of the Dao… I’ve comprehended the Grand Dao Domain of the Dao of the Sword, and I’ve mastered the Dao-Path of Rainwater. The two have been fused into one, and Sword Immortals specialize in attacks.”

“In terms of treasures and formations, I have the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]; that Heaven-Earth-Mortal formation clearly isn’t all that exquisite. This technique of mine belonged to the Thousand Swords Immortal, a major foe of Immortal Juhua who Immortal Juhua had never been able to forget. Even the spirit of the underwater estate praised this technique. And, for the Youngflame clan to send you as a Deathsworn means that your status amongst the Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan probably wasn’t that high either. You are vastly inferior to the Thousand Swords Immortal and Immortal Juhua.”

“In terms of flying swords… the Waterbreaker Godshark Swords come from the underwater estate, and are vastly superior to your three flying swords. In addition, I have nine of them. In terms of raw numbers, I have more than two hundred flying swords.”

“I refuse to believe I can’t win!” A cold light flashed through the eyes of the black-robed Ning, and his savage aura filled the skies.

One was dressed in black robes, the other in white. They stared at each other from afar.

BOOM! BOOM!

The three flying swords, carrying the enormous formation-diagram with them, came crashing downwards. As for that flying sword wreathed in golden light in front of Ning, it instantly pierced through the skies, carrying a sharp sheen that caused one’s heart to tremble. It clashed directly against the enormous formation-diagram ahead of it.

Rumble….

An enormous rumbling sound of a collision. Elemental ki exploded, causing space to distort.

The three flying swords were actually forced backwards by several meters, and many cracks had appeared atop the foggy formation-diagram. As for Ning’s flying sword, it dispersed into nothingness.

“Again.” The black-robed Ning laughed coldly, and the two hundred-plus flying swords around him undulated once more. A large amount of sword-ki coalesced in front of his chest, forming yet another flying sword that was covered with a golden glow.

“How can this be? He blocked… blocked it!?” Immortal Floatcloud felt his heart grow cold. It was as though he was beneath the moon in a freezing winter night, and someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over his head. Even his soul felt cold. He had a feeling… that he was going to lose. He had executed a forbidden technique to unleash his most powerful killing attack, but his attack had actually been met head-on and blocked.

A head-on collision was the most effective way to judge the opponent’s strength.

“His Primaltwin has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal in combat.” Immortal Floatcloud now understood. “This… this is a true genius. His Primaltwin is probably only at the peak Primal level, and he has only trained for thirty years… but he’s comprehended a Grand Dao Domain. His insights are not inferior to mine, and the power of that grand flying sword formation is simply marvelous and unfathomable. His power is no lower than mine either.”

“Can it be that I, Floatcloud, am going to die here?” Immortal Floatcloud felt despair for just a brief moment; he wouldn’t so easily discard more than a hundred thousand years of cultivation.

“I failed to crush him with raw force… then I’ll try techniques, speed, and other secret arts.” Immortal Floatcloud had gone completely mad. He was using all of his power to struggle to kill Ning!

Whoosh!

The entire region within the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation became filled with white fog. The fog was incomparably thick, so thick that not even divine sense could penetrate it. This was Immortal Floatcloud’s most powerful supportive art, the ‘Heaven-Covering Fog’. However, executing this secret art consumed an enormous amount of his mental energy, and he was no longer able to keep his flying swords at peak power.

“I can’t see anything.” Xiao Lang, who had been staring so hard and fixedly that his eyes had gone bloodshot, instantly grew frantic. “Why is there so much fog there? I can’t see anything.”

“Fog? This fog is definitely capable of blocking out divine sense; otherwise, that Deathsworn wouldn’t use it.” Kindwater Xiaolou was pondering. “Of the many Loose Immortals of the Youngflame clan, there should be a few dozen that are close to the point of being unable to resist the Three Calamities or Nine Tribulations. Those amongst them that are capable of unleashing this sort of mist… it seems the only one is Loose Immortal Floatcloud?”

Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were truly ageless; they would only ever die in combat. Thus, they generally would live extremely long lives and experience countless things. It was thus quite hard for anyone to know for certain how many of the Celestial Immortals of a particular clan remained alive.

Loose Immortals, however, were different.

It was incredible for a Loose Immortal to live even a few million years, such as Immortal Juhua. This was why the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of every tribe could generally be located and verified. The Kindwater clan, at least, was quite familiar regarding the statuses of the vast majority of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of their mortal enemy, the Youngflame clan.

“This Ji Ning is so formidable. His Primaltwin definitely has the power of a supreme Loose Immortal… and he’s also a Sword Immortal. In a head-on clash, he was no weaker than that Loose Immortal Deathsworn.” Songspear mused to himself, “But with this bewildering fog unleashed, Ji Ning can’t see anything at all… he’s now in a bit of danger.”

……

“Strike.”

The thirty-six Loose Immortals, in the shape of that giant black serpent, were absolutely as powerful as a Celestial Immortal. They once more charged towards the Bloodcoil Heavenlock Formation. They had smashed against it eight times now, and they had shattered countless blood vessels of the formation. However, that golden heart continued to frantically spew out even more blood, forming more arteries and veins as it strove to support and maintain this formation. Still, one could tell that scars were beginning to appear on the surface of the golden heart. Clearly, the attack of the thirty-six Loose Immortals was simply too strong.

Within the grand formation. Fog was everywhere.

“Grand Dao Domain!”

“Waterflame Lotus!”

“My Own World!”

The black-robed Ning stood there. Faced with this divine sense smothering technique, he finally unleashed the protective technique which he had developed during this past year within the underwater estate. It must be understood that Ki Refiners had very weak bodies; thus, they usually researched protective techniques that would prevent the opponent from easily reaching their flesh. Ji Ning naturally had to consider the best way to protect his Primaltwin.

Under the guidance of the spirit of the underwater estate, Ning had used his Grand Dao Domain, his Waterflame Lotus, and the ‘My Own World’ technique [1. This was the technique of merging the Grand Dao Domain and the Dao-Path of Rainwater, which I realized I accidentally missed in B11C3] to serve as the foundation for the development of a powerful protective technique.

The ‘Lotusflower Swordland!’