The Desolate Era

by S.H.A aifu

Fate had never been kind to Ji Ning. Wracked by illnesses and infirm his entire life on Earth, Ning knew early on that he would die as a teenager. What he didn’t know was that there really was such a thing as life after death, and that the universe was a far larger place than he thought. A lucky twist of fate (one of the few in Ning’s life) meant that Ning was reborn into a world o

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 7 – Heartsword Art

"It's them." Ji Ning's face tightened slightly.

"Darknorth, this will be troublesome. Daolord Dreamlore's power is unfathomable, while Daolord Tigrone's defenses are superior to any I've ever seen. As for Daolord Skyshatter, he's a Daolord of the Dark Kingdom but was accepted by Daolord Dreamlore and Daolord Tigrone as a partner. He must be incredibly strong as well." The Ninedust Sectlord frowned.

"Don't worry about them. They were a full year behind us. It won't be that easy for them to catch up to us," Ning said. "Seize every moment and do your best to push as many of the warriors out of the dimensional walkway."

"Alright." Ninedust nodded.

The two paid no more heed to the three Daolords behind them and began to focus on attacking the warriors up ahead.

"The Voidsea Jadeseals are in the second world, while the command seals needed to harvest the fruit are in the third world." Realmsoul Polo once more gave detailed instructions to the new arrivals. These supreme Daolords were amongst the most incredibly talented figures alive in the endless Territories; it was important for him to give them good guidance. His master, Emperor Waveshift, was doing this for the sake of tempering these supreme Daolords and make them even better. The realmsoul naturally had to keep them fully informed.

"Got it."

"Let's move."

Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Skyshatter began to advance as well, and they immediately began to suffer the attacks of the armored warriors in front of them.

"Hmph. Darknorth and Ninedust are fools. Why aren't they using their secret arts or a heartworld projection? Are they trying to use this as a training exercise?" Daolord Skyshatter frowned. Instantly, he sent a tri-colored surge of energy sweeping out to surround the area, wrapping itself around the warriors around him. However, the golden light covering the entire dimensional walkway immediately swirled forwards to cover it.

In raw power alone, Daolord Skyshatter's secret arts were actually slightly stronger than even Ning's nine novessence arts!

"What? My secret arts were nullified?" Daolord Skyshatter was shocked.

Ning and Ninedust ignored the three behind them. They were very experienced in fighting against these warriors, and were able to work together perfectly. Ninedust was responsible for tying down and slowing the warriors, while Ning was responsible for delivering the final blow that knocked them off the walkway.

Time continued to flow on. Another year passed in the blink of an eye, with Ning's team slowly advancing. The further they advanced, the more warriors assaulted them. Knocking the warriors off the dimensional walkway became increasingly powerful, as there was now a total of thirty-two warriors assaulting Ning's team. This represented a force of thirty-two second-tier Daolords who were able to work together perfectly and who were invulnerable to all harm!

Just beating them wasn't enough. You had to knock them off the dimensional walkway. It was simply too difficult! By now, Ning's team needed to spend five or six days in battle before defeating a 'wave'..

Whoosh! Ninedust transformed into a massive wave, but the upper half of his body was still visible. He continued to wield his longstaff, sending it smashing through the waves and knocking one enemy aside after another, doing his best to give Ning enough space to work in. As for Ning, he was even fiercer than he had been in the past, with each of his six Northbow swords containing astonishing amounts of power.

"Haha, Darknorth, these warriors are becoming increasingly difficult to defeat, but this process has been quite beneficial to my staff-arts. I've come up with a supreme technique of my own!" The Ninedust Sectlord let out a loud laugh as he swept out his longstaff. Whoosh! The water around him instantly formed into a whirlpool that was centered around his longstaff, causing layers of spatial illusions to appear around it.

Crimsonwave Temple placed extremely tight restrictions on spacetime techniques, but Ninedust was still able to cause spatial illusions to appear. In the outside world, the power of this strike would've been inconceivable!

BOOM! The staff smashed against an armored warrior, sending it flying away as if it was nothing more than a tiny little shrimp.

"Come up with a few more 'supreme techniques' like that," Ning said with a laugh. "Later on, you can let these other Daolords get a taste of them."

"Right. I'll make sure they know that I'm not easy to deal with." Ninedust had been intoxicated by this life of battle. These fights were helping him to discover many of his flaws and allowed him to perfect them. When he was able to reach a certain level of perfection, he was naturally able to come up with a new supreme technique.

"The other supreme Daolords have either fused two Supreme Daos or three Supreme Daos…" Ning mused silently to himself, "But they still have room for improvement. They can gain new insights and thus come up with more and better supreme techniques. I, however, have already reached the apex! It'll be very hard for me to improve in the near future."

"Mm. I suppose I should focus on the [Heartsword] for now." Ning was beginning to realize how hard it would be for him to upgrade his Omega Sword Dao any further. None of his five stances had been able to reach the fourth stage, and so he immediately chose to work on the [Heartsword] sword-art instead."

"The [Heartsword]…" A complete copy of the full [Heartsword] sutra appeared within Ning's mind. The golden-furred alien had given it to Ning's avatar during his visit to Vastheaven Palace, and Ning's avatar had immediately studied it.

The [Heartsword] art was an incredibly marvelous and miraculous sword-art! In importance, it actually succeeded the legacies of Hegemons! Although it was 'merely' a sword-art, the Dao Alliance absolutely refused to transmit it to any other organizations. Even the Brightshore Kingdom was only able to procure the first ten stances after paying an utterly enormous price. If you wished to learn the full thing, you had to be a member of the Dao Alliance and pay an incredible price for it.

Ning's performance in the Waveshift Realm had been simply dazzling. He had risen to prominence by slaughtering Sectlord Timedream and the Kingfreak, and his power was second only to Winesage! The Dao Alliance was naturally going to invest its resources in him. Given that they also had a favor to ask of Ning, they chose to just go ahead and gift the entire [Heartsword] to Ning! But of course, Ning was not permitted to transmit this to any others.

"How marvelous." The more Ning learned regarding the [Heartsword] art, the more stunned he felt. The [Heartsword] art was a supreme sword-art that represented the perfect combination of Ki Refining principles, Fiendgod Refining principles, and Heartforce Cultivation principles.

Emperor Heartsword's sword-arts, on a stand-alone basis, were merely on the same level as Emperor Mirrorsnow's! However, this perfect combination of all three paths of cultivation made it so that his rather unremarkable sword-arts were able to unleash astonishing levels of power that surpassed even the likes of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, putting him incredibly close to the Hegemon level! He was known as the Emperor who was closest to the Hegemons in power! How terrifying a concept was this?

"My current sword-arts have already transcended both space and time, putting me on par with Emperor Mirrorsnow's level," Ning mused. "If I can master the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword, I'll have eclipsed the eight lords of the Sacred Cities and be very close to the Hegemons as well."

Moments later, Ning chuckled. That was nothing more than a fantasy. Ever since Emperor Heartsword had departed, there had never been a second cultivator capable of mastering the fifteenth stance of the [Heartsword]! This was because this sword-art was simply too arcane and abstruse.

The first stance was known as the 'Heartsword' stance. The second stance, the 'Killsword' stance. The third stance, the 'Great Firmament' stance. The fourth stance, the 'Horizon's Edge' stance. The fifth stance, the 'Silent World' stance. The sixth stance, the 'Unicorn's Heart' stance. The seventh stance, the 'Cosmic Heart' stance.

The first six stances were at least understandable. Starting from the seventh stance, however, the technique became increasingly abstruse. Thankfully, Ning was incredibly talented in sword-arts and thus he mastered the seventh stance in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom. It could be said that he had gained an elementary level of mastery in the [Heartsword].

However, this was still nothing more than an elementary level of mastery. The later stances were even more difficult to comprehend!

The eighth stance was named 'Ineffable'.

The ninth stance was named 'Blissheart'.

The tenth stance was named 'Killheart'.

The eleventh stance was named 'Teardrop'.

The twelfth stance was named 'Swordtide'.

The thirteenth stance was named 'Snowland Blood'.

The fourteenth stance was named 'Remorseless Unto Death'.

The fifteenth stance was named 'One Sword, One World'.

These stances were all incredibly abstruse, but they could be divided into several different tiers. The eighth stance to the tenth stance represented the first 'tier'! Most cultivators skilled in the [Heartsword] were stuck here in the first tier, unable to advance any further.

The eleventh and twelfth stances represented the second tier. Supposedly, cultivators who reached this level would see the power of the [Heartsword] technique skyrocket, but in every generation the number of cultivators who could reach this level could be counted on one hand.

The thirteenth and fourteenth stances represented the third tier. According to the records, only a single major power aside from Emperor Mirrorsnow had ever reached this level, but his name was a mystery! The records stated that at this level, one's level of power would skyrocket by such a level that using the [Heartsword] art provided an even greater boost in power than using a Universe treasure!

The fifteenth and final stance! Only Emperor Heartsword, the creator of this technique, had ever reached this level! By relying on this stance, he had been able to unleash quasi-Hegemon levels of power from his fairly mundane sword-arts.

"If I can even reach the third tier, I might be able to give Hegemons a good fight once I become a Daolord of the Fourth Step," Ning mused. This truly was an unearthly, incredible set of sword-arts, but it was also the hardest of all sword-arts to train in. The actual movements to each stance were not that important; what really mattered was the 'heart'.

"Time to begin."

Even the tallest of buildings have to start from the ground floor. Ning held all six Northbow swords as he fought, occasionally injecting some of the 'Cosmic Heart' elements into his stances. At other times, he'd attempt to replicate the eighth stance, 'Ineffable'. The [Heartsword] art focused on the heart, not on the actual stances, and so it was incredibly difficult to train in. Ning was incredibly talented in heartforce and had the largest heartworld of all the supreme Daolords in the Endless Territories, but he still found training in this technique to be extremely laborious. Despite that, he was still able to at least generate part of the 'feeling' of the eighth 'Ineffable' stance.

The 'Ineffable' stance couldn't be manufactured intentionally. One had to follow one's own heart and completely infuse it into one's sword-arts. Everything had to follow the natural flow… and when you were able to sense it, it would have been completed.

The eighth stance actually wasn't that bad. The later ones were even more abstruse and more difficult to study.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 8 – Ineffable, Blissheart

"Ineffable." When this sword-stance struck out, an invisible current of heartforce would naturally merged into it; there was no need to 'force' it or do it on purpose.

A layer of thin, invisible, mist-like heartforce appeared on the surface of the sword, causing the power of the attack to immediately increase and even speed up.

"What a strange feeling." Ji Ning's six Northbow swords howled forth, knocking down all of the warriors before him. Some were sent flying backwards, others were bowled over. "This is the first time I've felt something like this. When I use this sword-art, I feel as though I've transformed into a sword. What a wonderful, enjoyable feeling. I feel as though the power of my sword-arts has risen by 20%."

Mastering the seventh stance, 'Cosmic Heart', merely represented gaining a basic grasp of the [Heartsword]; it was of negligible benefit to him. The eighth stance, 'Ineffable', already allowed him to increase the power of his sword-arts by 20%! It must be remembered that Ning trained in the Omega Sword Dao; improving upon the power of his sword-arts was extremely difficult.

"Darknorth, you found a way to enhance the strength of your swords?" Ninedust had been working alongside Ning, and he immediately sensed Ning's transformation.

"Haha, you've found ways to improve yourself. Why can't I?" Ning was in a delightful mood. After just five years of researching the [Heartsword] art, he had become proficient in the eighth stance. This was actually much faster than he had predicted. According to the records he had reviewed, the [Heartsword] was supposed to be extremely difficult to train in.

Ning had forgotten, however, that his sword-arts were derived from the third-stage Omega Sword Dao, while his heartforce made him the strongest Heartforce Cultivator in all the Endless Territories.

"After entering Crimsonwave Temple, I've developed two consummate techniques," Ninedust said smugly. "I've grown much more than you have."

"You won't be smug for much longer." Ning began to work on the ninth stance, the 'Blissheart' stance.

"This feeling truly is absolutely marvelous." Ning actually closed his eyes as he continued to execute his sword-arts, but he maintained in complete control of himself and his surroundings. "I understand. This sword-art really can throw the wielder into a state of utter contentment and bliss."

He immersed himself in this feeling. Just six short months later…

"Blissheart." Ning's sword-light transformed once more. In the past, every strike had been covered with a mist-like layer of heartforce. Now, the mist was clearly much denser than before, and with each strike it was like a fog drifted in alongside it.

Whoooosh. No sword-shadows could be seen around Ning; the only thing visible was a series of mist-streaks.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Ning's power increased dramatically, allowing him to blow through the warriors like rotted wood. The warriors, however, gathered themselves and continued their furious attacks.

"Darknorth, y-you… you grew stronger yet again?" Ninedust was flabbergasted.

"Haha…" Ning laughed loudly. "I told you a while ago that you won't be smug for much longer. Now do you know how badass I am?" He had mastered the 'Blissheart' stance, and his sword-arts increased 50% in power!

"What's going on?"

"Impossible."

"How can they be advancing this quickly?"

Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Skyshatter were in the same dimensional walkway, and they were also fighting the endless hordes of warriors. They were stunned by what they saw. Given that the three of them working together, they technically should've held the upper hand over Ning and Ninedust! A while ago, they had been slowly but steadily narrowing the gap between them and Ning's team. Their initial calculations had indicated that they would be able to catch up in five or six years.

Ning's mastery of the 'Ineffable' stance didn't have too much of an impact on their calculations… but now that Ning had mastered the ninth stance, 'Blissheart', the difference was apparent!

"Daolord Darknorth is already incredibly strong. How could he have grown even stronger?" Daolord Skyshatter frowned.

"Daolord Darknorth has been training for less than a full chaos cycle, but he's already become a supreme Daolord." Daolord Dreamlore said coldly, "He naturally has plenty of room to improve. I imagine he's come up with a new supreme technique for himself."

The Radiant King, Palace Lord Dawnstar, and the others had all slowly developed their supreme techniques after becoming Daolords of the Fourth Step. The same was currently true of Ninedust as well. As Dreamlore saw it, Ning was most likely searching for the ultimate attack which would fit himself the most.

"Daolord Darknorth truly is difficult to deal with," Daolord Tigrone growled. "To beat the two of them and seize the Voidsea Jadeseal won't be easy."

"There's only two of them but three of us," Daolord Dreamlore said coldly. "We aren't idiots like Kingfreak and Timedream."

"Right. When we work together, only Winesage is a threat to us." Daolord Skyshatter felt quite confident as well.

Tigrone felt certain he possessed the strongest defensive abilities of all the supreme Daolords.

Dreamlore felt certain he possessed the strongest attacks of all the supreme Daolords; he had actually beaten the Radiant King in a head-on fight!

Daolord Skyshatter was equal to the other two in might.

The deceased Timedream and Kingfreak were ranked well below the top ten in close combat power, while Timedream's heartforce techniques were useless against Ning. The Tigrone-Skyshatter-Dreamlore alliance was completely different! The only one they worried about was Winesage; they didn't care about any other Daolords at all!

"Winesage has a Universe treasure, but I have to admit that Darknorth is a truly dazzling figure," Daolord Dreamlore said coldly. "We have to fight with all our power. Otherwise, we'll probably be defeated by the two of them."

"Right." Tigrone and Skyshatter both nodded. Upon seeing how quickly Ning's team was advancing, not even Dreamlore dared to underestimate them.

The dimensional walkway of the first world. Ning's group was currently battling against a final group of warriors. This time, there were thirty-nine warriors surrounding and attacking them. This meant they had to deal with thirty-nine second-tier Daolords at the same time!

If Ning was fighting by himself, he would've been beaten long ago.

Rumble… Ninedust transformed into a vast wave that swept across all thirty-nine warriors, his upper body still visible and wielding that longstaff as he furiously assaulted those around him. The warriors, however, were assembled into a war-formation and were valiant charging towards the two.

"Break!" Ning was fighting the armored warriors head-on. Streaks of mist flew out with his swords, and the warriors were knocked aside each time the mist connected with them. Even the slightest scrape would cause them to be sent flying backwards. Unfortunately, there were still thirty-nine of them; when some were pushed back, others would immediately charge forwards and take up their positions, allowing the ones who had been pushed back to regroup and then charge as well.

They had to find a chance to create an opening!

Ning and Ninedust had to battle furiously for more than a month before they were finally able to knock the thirty-nine warriors out of the dimensional walkway.

"Aaaaaaaah." Ninedust stared at the black throne, then lifted his head up and let loose a loud howl. "We finally beat'm!"

"Whew." Ning smiled as well, but he felt a bit of regret in his heart. He had spent neary ten years battling within the first world, but he still had yet to master the tenth stance of the [Heartsword, the 'Killheart' stance.

"Keep having fun back there, the three of you." Ninedust turned back to glance at Daolord Skyshatter, Daolord Dreamlore, and Daolord Tigrone. The three of them were surrounded by thirty-six armored warriors.

"Damn."

"They've made it to the second world."

"These warriors are too tough to deal with, and any Dao-seals we use are actually cancelled out." Daolord Skyshatter and the other two were starting to grow anxious. They went so far as to use Dao-seals, but the dazzling golden light radiated by the golden globe above them quickly suppressed and wiped out all the effects of the Dao-seals they used. The Sithe used this place to temper their Daolords; no cheating would be permitted here.

Ning gave the three a long, final glance. If he hadn't been able to master the ninth stance, 'Blissheart', it probably would've taken him another ten years to traverse the dimensional walkway. The three probably would've caught up to him.

"Those three cannot be underestimated," Ning mused.

"Let's go, Darknorth," Ninedust said.

"Let's go." Ning nodded.

Ning and Ninedust both walked straight towards the black throne. Instantly, the golden globe above them shot down a streak of dense light which covered the black throne and an area of thirty meters around it. Boom! Both the sword-wielding, white-robed Ning and the staff-wielding, silver-robed Ninedust disappeared without a trace.

"Faster, faster, faster! Fight harder! We need to make it to the second world as soon as we can!" Daolord Skyshatter and the other two were going crazy.

The world twisted and changed around them before reality reset itself around Ning and Ninedust.

"Eh?" Ning glanced at what was up ahead. In front of them was an enormous palace that was held up by a series of black pillars. The pillars were covered by many carvings and diagrams, including sword-arts diagrams, saber-arts diagrams, flame diagrams, wave diagrams, golden light diagrams, flaming chariot diagrams, animal diagrams… all sorts of diagrams were here, and they all emanated auras of mystery and power.

"Hmph." Six golden-armored warriors were standing in front of them, with three more crimson-armored warriors standing shoulder-to-shoulder off in the distance. Very far away, a black-armored general was seated on a distant throne. The general was playing around with a palm-sized chunk of jade.

"The Voidsea Jadeseal." Ning and Ninedust both stared at the palm-sized chunk of jade in the hands of the black-armored general who was seated on the distant throne. They had both seen a Voidsea Jadeseal before and thus recognized it right away.

"Daolord Darknorth. Daolord Ninedust." Rainbow light gathered next to them, coalescing into a white-robed figure. It was Realmsoul Polo. The realmsoul smiled and said, "Congratulations on making it to the second world… but you two need to hurry it up. Winesage was able to make it to the second world after just a single year in the first world."

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 9 – The Second World

"Just one year?" Ji Ning's heart sank. After he had mastered the ninth 'Blissheart' stance, he and Ninedust had taken nearly ten additional years.

"Thus, your opponents shall not merely consist of Daolords behind you like Dreamlore. Winesage shall be your opponent as well. Once he acquires the first Voidsea Jadeseal, he'll definitely come for yours." Realmsoul Polo pointed in front of them. "This palace holds a total of 134 pillars, with each pillar containing multiple formations left behind by the Sithe race. If you have enough time, you can go study them."

Ning and Ninedust glanced sideways at the realmsoul. Study? They were fighting for every scrap of time. Who had the time to waste on studying? In addition, the majority of supreme Daolords merely dabbled in non-core techniques.

"In this palace, you'll need to defeat the six golden-armored warriors, the three crimson-armored warriors, and then finally defeat the black-armored general. Only then shall you be able to seize the Voidsea Jadeseal." The realmsoul smiled. "Oh, right. The runic cores at the center of their chests are their weak spots. If you can stab it, they'll admit defeat."

"Move as fast as you can. If you move fast enough, you might even be able to seize the other Voidsea Jadeseals… and if you are too slow, you'll lose even yours." The realmsoul grinned, then vanished.

"Let's go." Ning and Ninedust transformed into two streaks of light that charged straight forwards.

"Just two Daolords? And you dare attack?" The six golden-armored warriors standing next to each other shared a smile, then began to move in unison. Whoosh! Each of them brandished a long golden halberd as they strode forwards.

Ninedust wielded his longstaff and charged straight towards them. As he reached them, he instantly transformed into an enormous flood of water.

Ning transformed into his three-headed, six-armed form as he shot forward with all six Northbow swords, then suddenly vanished.

Whoosh! The halberds in the hands of the six golden-armored warriors struck out simultaneously. Smash! Smash! Smash! The waters in front of them exploded as an invisible burst of power spread out in every direction, causing Ning to reveal himself after having used his 'Shadowless' evasion art.

"Fuck off!" Ning flew forwards with incomparable valor, immediately using his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker and sending six massive fog banks crashing down. Boom! Boom! Boom! The strikes landed on the halberds of the six golden-armored warriors, causing all of them to stagger backwards from the strikes.

"He's very strong."

"He's able to suppress us by himself?" The six golden-armored warriors shared a glance.

"Careful," Ning sent mentally to the Ninedust Sectlord. "All six of them are at the supreme Daolord level of power."

"Six supreme Daolords. Interesting." The Ninedust Sectlord charged once more, carrying the vast ocean with him. As for Ning, his actions were even more dominating; his sword-light transformed into streaks of dense fog and lashed out at his foes. It must be remembered that the Northbow swords enhanced all of Ning's sword-arts. Now that he also had the [Heartsword] sutra enhancing them, his combat power was truly astonishing.

Ninedust was able to tie down two of the golden-armored warriors, while Ning battled the other four by himself.

Swish! Every so often he would suddenly disappear, followed by that strange, fog-like sword-light emerging out of nowhere. This was the Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless. A sword stabbed straight into the dazzling runic core located over the golden-armored warrior's chest!

"Eh?" The golden-armored warrior's face tightened. He lowered his head to take a look, then let out a snort. "Nice sword-arts." He immediately stepped back.

When the six of them worked together, they complimented each other very well and made for a formidable team. Ning's sword-arts, however, moved more than a hundred times the speed of light and was unfathomably unpredictable, making it difficult for even their tough defenses to withstand it.

"Hahaha…" Ninedust laughed loudly. "Darknorth, let's move fast. We need to get that first Voidsea Jadeseal quickly, so that we can go for a second one."

Ning smiled as well. Now that one warrior was down, beating the others would be much easier. They quickly defeated the other five in succession. All six of the warriors retreated, moving to one side.

There were six golden-armored warriors, three crimson-armored warriors, and one black-armored general. With the golden-armored warriors defeated, it was the three crimson-armored warriors who now stood in Ning and Ninedust's path.

"You two are pretty strong. You were able to beat those six idiots fairly easily," one of the tall, crimson-armored warriors snickered.

"You are the idiot!"

"If you try to fight us six-on one, we'd beat you until you went crying to your mother." The six distant golden-armored warriors immediately began to unleash a torrent of curses, while the three crimson-armored warriors just smirked at them.

"You've already been beaten. Stop bragging."

"Looks like it'll be up to us brothers. Hah!" The three crimson-armored warriors seemed quite smug as they looked at Ning and Ninedust. "Let me tell you a little story. In the other area, that 'Daolord Winesage' was able to beat the six golden-armored warriors in one strike, but he was stymied by the three crimson-armored warriors for six full years. Right now, he's still trying to figure out how to deal with the black-armored general."

"Oh?" Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. They knew just how strong Winesage was. Given his Universe treasure, there was no question that he could crush the six golden-armored warriors effortlessly. Despite that, the three crimson-armored warriors had held him back for six years?

"Let's go," Ning ordered. Whoosh! Whoosh! Both he and Ninedust charged forwards.

Boom! With the very first strike, a crimson-armored warrior landed a cleaving blow with his warblade, causing Ninedust's body to crumble apart into a wave of water. "Darknorth, I can't block these hits. They are too strong."

Bang! Ning started fighting against a crimson-armored warrior as well. That particular warrior wielded a war club, and he delivered a furious blow downwards at Ning, almost as though he was crashing down from a mountain. The two collided head-on, and an incredibly dense wave of energy smashed into Ning, causing him to stumble three steps back. As for the crimson-armored warrior, he took a single step back.

"Eh?" Ning's face tightened. "He's just as strong as me?" He had grown significantly more powerful, but even now he was merely on par with the crimson-armored warrior. If the three joined forces… no wonder Winesage had been stymied for six full years!

"Daolord Darknorth has a few tricks up his sleeve. Big brother, third brother, let's fight together!" the crimson-armored warrior shouted, and the other two immediately charged towards him.

Rumble… all three of the three crimson-armored warriors were Ning's equal in might, and they were extremely skilled in working together. Ning was being completely suppressed in this battle. Although Ninedust was able to occasionally cause some trouble and disrupt the enemy formation, he wasn't able to have a material impact on the fight.

"Darknorth, their teamwork is flawless. There's no way for us to stab the runic cores on their chests," Ninedust said anxiously.

"They are too strong. When the three of them work together, there's nothing I can do to them." Ning frowned. "The only way we can win is through greater numbers. If more Daolords come and work with us, we might be able to find a chance to strike the runic cores."

They needed either superior numbers or overwhelming power a la Winesage.

"Perhaps I'll have a chance to master the tenth stance, the 'Killheart' stance." Ning was surrounded and attacked by all three of the three crimson-armored warriors, but his defensive sword-arts were very strong and thus he was still able to hold on. He began to take advantage of this enormous pressure to think on the tenth stance of the [Heartsword, the 'Killheart' stance.

Time continued to flow on, with a half-year passing by in the blink of an eye. Ning and Ninedust remained locked in combat against the three crimson-armored warriors, but of course they continued to be at a disadvantage in the fight. In short, they were being completely dominated.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion caused the entire Crimsonwave Temple to shake. Everyone in the temple heard and felt it, be it the Daolords battling in the second world such as Ning, Ninedust, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Shaka, and Snowjoy, or the Daolords still stuck in the first world such as Daolords Dreamlore, Tigrone, the Starking, the Radiant King, Skyaxe, Dustrain.

"Daolords." Realmsoul Polo's voice boomed out, filling every inch of the Crimsonwave Temple. "Winesage has already acquired one of the three remaining Voidsea Jadeseals. Be careful – he'll be coming for yours next!"

"What?"

"Shit!"

The faces of Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Shaka, and Snowjoy all turned pale. The path Cloudwalker's team had chosen was the path which Dawnstar had originally taken! The four of them joined forces upon entering the first world and thus moved even faster than Ning's group had. This was the advantage of raw numbers! The fact that Ninestone and Snowjoy were exceedingly strong defensive specialists made them very well-suited for dealing with the first world.

"We need to move faster."

"Not good."

"We need to speed it up."

"Everyone, let's work together." The supreme Daolords who were still within the three dimensional walkways of the first world were beginning to grow anxious. They were still in the first world while Winesage had already acquired a Voidsea Jadeseal!

Ning and Ninedust felt their hearts turn cold as well. They hadn't even beaten the three crimson-armored guards, while Winesage had already acquired a seal?

"He might be headed straight here for yours," the three crimson-armored guards teased in amusement.

"Don't be worried though. If Winesage comes we'll attack him as well, and the two of you can focus your attacks against him. The two of you plus the three of us… that should shut him down, right?" the three crimson-armored guards suggested. They had spent unfathomable lengths of time being bored and lonely here in Crimsonwave Temple. The happiest days of their lives were when supreme Daolords came to visit.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 10 – Killsword

"Darknorth, what should we do?" Ninedust was anxious as well.

"Seize every moment and try to beat these three crimson-armored warriors as soon as we can," Ji Ning said immediately. "Winesage's actions have probably driven all of the supreme Daolords into a panic. Seven, eight, or even more of them might well work together to blow through the first world as soon as possible. Once they reach the second world, we probably won't be able to deal with these three in peace."

"Alright." Ninedust agreed with this assessment.

In the Endless Territories' rankings of Daolords, there were over twenty publicly acclaimed 'supreme' first-tier Daolords! If you factored in the low-key ones that very few had heard of, there had to be at least thirty or more.

Although the warriors in the dimensional walkway of the first world were tough to deal with, they were still just equivalent to second-tier Daolords. If seven or eight supreme Daolords joined forces against them, they'd be able to burst past with ease.

"We don't have much time left," Ning said anxiously.

"Kill!" Both Ning and Ninedust fought even more frantically.

"Haha, the two of you aren't bad, but you aren't strong enough to beat us."

"It is useless! You should wait for the other Daolords to arrive, then join up with them." The three crimson-armored warriors continued to crush the Ning-Ninedust combination.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Ning only grew more and more frantic. He knew that they were running out of time; his only chance lay in mastering the tenth stance of the [Heartsword, the 'Killsword' stance. He had already spent many years studying it again and again, but hadn't been able to master it thus far.

"Haha… Winesage has gone to Palace Lord Dawnstar's dimensional walkway. However, five supreme Daolords including Dawnstar have joined forces against him. My guess is that Winesage is going to give up. He'll be coming straight for your walkway instead," the three crimson-armored warriors said.

"Palace Lord Dawnstar's tunnel has five supreme Daolords in it, but the two of you are by yourselves. It'll be quite tough for you to deal with Winesage. He might actually take the Voidsea Jadeseal away from you."

The crimson-armored warriors clearly knew exactly what was going on elsewhere as well.

"Are we out of time?" Ninedust grew increasingly anxious.

"Break!" Ning's streaks of foggy sword-light suddenly transformed. The foggy mist suddenly condensed and solidified into clear streaks of sword-light, and the power of Ning's sword-arts once more skyrocketed! They became even faster and were filled with even greater power!

"So this is the 'Killsword' stance?" Ning finally understood the essence of the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] – the Killsword stance.

It required one to not only feel intoxicated and blissful, but to also feel a sense of incomparable resolve and determination! Only when this determination and resolve reached a certain level of strength could heartforce be woven more perfectly into one's sword-arts. One's heartforce would move in a more natural way and achieve a greater level of harmony, allowing the power of one's sword-arts to increase. This was reflected in the real world by the dense fog solidifying into the shape of a sword!

Slash! Slash! Ning executed the Blood Drop stance. The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop! This was Ning's most powerful attack, as the Northbow swords increased its power fivefold! Now that even more heartforce was infused into it via the 'Killsword' stance, its power doubled yet again!

The ninth stance, 'Blissheart', increased his power by 50%.

The tenth stance, 'Killheart', increased his power by 100%!

Thanks to his [Heartsword] and the Northbow swords, Ning's Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was now ten times more powerful than it had any right to be! It was a technique that focused on obliterating everything in its path with unstoppable speed, and now it had sped up even more and reached an incomprehensible level of might.

Clang!

Slash!

The crimson-armored warrior used his warblade to execute the same stance as he had in the past to block Ning's sword-arts, but his face suddenly turned pale. He was able to just barely block two strikes from Ning, but he wasn't able to withstand the third strike. Slash! The tip of the sword stabbed straight into the runic core at the center of his chest.

"I lost?!" The crimson-armored warrior was stunned.

"Big brother!" The other two crimson-armored warriors were stunned as well. Even when the three of them were fighting together, their big brother had been stabbed in his runic core? How were the two of them supposed to hang on?

"How could this have happened?"

"Impossible."

The two remaining crimson-armored warriors continued to struggle, unwilling to give up.

"Excellent!" The Ninedust Sectlord was delighted and surprised by this. Moments ago, he had been at the brink of despair. Now, he felt as though he had been given a new lease on life. A short while later, the runic core on the chest of a second crimson-armored warrior was pierced through. A heartbeat later, the final crimson-armored warrior was defeated as well.

"Too fast. His sword is too fast!"

"Winesage is overwhelmingly strong, but at least we could take his attacks head-on. Darknorth's sword is simply too fast, so fast that we can't even defend against it." The three crimson-armored warriors were thoroughly convinced by their defeat.

Overwhelming strength or overwhelming speed… which was better?

These represented two extremes. If your power reached certain heights, you could brute-force through anything you wished and nothing could stop you. However, if your speed reached certain heights, your enemy wouldn't even be able to touch you while you would be able to launch attacks with ease.

Winesage relied on his Universe treasure to reach incredible heights of power, allowing him to actually send the crimson-armored warriors flying with each blow. However, their defensive teamwork was so tight and perfect that even when sent flying they could avoid giving Winesage the chance to stab their runic cores. This was why Winesage had been stymied for six full years by the three crimson-armored warriors.

As for Ning? When he had battled against Daolord Shaka, his attack speed had already surpassed Shaka's. Now that he had mastered the 'Killsword' stance, his speed once more broke through its previous bottleneck to reach a brand new level!

He was simply too fast, making defending against him an incredibly difficult task. As a result, the three crimson-armored warriors were all consecutively defeated in short order.

"You won." The three crimson-armored warriors all retreated.

"Impressive, Darknorth. Impressive! Your sword is simply too fast, far faster than Daolord Shaka's. My guess is that not even the Radiant King is necessarily a match for you in speed. Your attack speed might be the fastest amongst all Daolords," Ninedust said excitedly.

"To be faster than the Radiant King isn't all that impressive! Only when I'm faster than Daolord Dreamlore would I be the fastest of all Daolords," Ning said. Daolord Dreamlore's usage of the bloodblade had surpassed the Radiant King in attack speed, allowing him to gain victory.

"Let's hurry up and defeat the final black-armored general." Ning didn't have any time to waste, and he immediately charged towards the seated black-armored general.

"Right." Ninedust hefted his longstaff and charged towards the final challenge as well.

Within another hall within the temple.

Palace Lord Dawnstar, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, and Shaka were here. They had joined forces and had already fought their way to the black-armored general, but the general was simply too fearsome.

"Haha, this black-armored general is roughly on par with the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Even if the five of you work together, it'll be virtually impossible for you to stab his runic core," Winesage said with a laugh.

"Winesage, one Voidsea Jadeseal is enough; don't get too greedy!" Dawnstar and the others were working together, assisting the three crimson-armored warriors and preventing Winesage from advancing. All newcomers would be assaulted by all of the warriors upon reaching the second world.

"Winesage, you have no chance at all." The combined forces of Dawnstar, Ninestone, Shaka, Cloudwalker, and Snowjoy brought Winesage a tremendous amount of pressure. Given the situation, there was no way he could defeat the three crimson-armored warriors at all.

"Hmph." After battling for a short while, Winesage realized that he really had no chance at all. He let out a calm laugh and said, "The black-armored general is far too strong. You'll need to find more helpers to work with you. As a group, you have to exceed the level of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities in at least one area, be it speed or power or something else, if you wish to have a chance at succeeding."

In raw power, Winesage was still somewhat weaker than the eight lords of the Sacred Cities, but the Universe treasure brought him up to par. As a result, he was able to battle the black-armored general for a long period of time while seeking out a mistake or error. All he had to do was touch the runic core across the black-armored general's chest and he was able to claim victory.

There was a big difference between just touching the chest and actually winning, after all!

For example, Ning and Ninedust stood no chance of truly defeating those three crimson-armored warriors. But merely touching the runic cores? Ning, via the speed of his Blood Drop stance, was able to succeed in this mission.

"Haha. I won't play around with you any longer. I'm going to go see how Darknorth is doing." Winesage let out a laugh, then gracefully retreated and moved towards the other region at high speed.

In the second world, the three major regions were all interlinked.

"Whew!" Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and the others all let out sighs of relief.

"Winesage is heading towards Darknorth," Ninestone said.

"Darknorth's going to be in trouble, but we don't have any time to spare with helping him," Dawnstar said. "We need to try to seize every moment and try to find a chance to strike the black-armored general on the chest. As long as we can touch that runic core, we'll have won."

"Agreed." They all understood that more and more supreme Daolords would begin to arrive, which meant that their chances would grow increasingly slim.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 11 – Winesage Arrives

Ji Ning and Ninedust jointly charged towards the black-armored general.

The black-armored general seated on the throne was toying with the Voidsea Jadeseal with one hand, seeming quite relaxed. He put the seal down next to him on the throne, then rose to his feet.

"Aside from Dao-seals and similar treasures, you are permitted to use any secret arts or domain-type effects," the black-armored warrior said calmly.

"Oh?" Ning and Ninedust were both stunned. Secret arts and heartworld projections were both permissible? In their previous battles, all such techniques had been suppressed! Ning had actually tried to use his heartworld projection and secret arts against the golden-armored warriors and the crimson-armored warriors, but alas the effects had been neutralized.

As for Dao-seals, of course those would always be forbidden. This place was created by the Sithe to train and temper their Daolords; using Dao-seals would completely and truly make the entire exercise pointless.

"Nine novessence arts and heartworld projection, descend!" Ning didn't hesitate at all in executing these two techniques, causing an awe-inspiring Yin-Yang Sword Domain to descend along with the manifestation of his heartworld projection. Both came crashing straight down against the black-armored general.

The black-armored general gripped the warblade by his side. "Your heartworld projection and your secret arts aren't bad." The black-armored general suddenly manifested a total of three layers of black light over his body. The black light completely covered and protected him from the might of the nine novessence arts and the heartworld projection. "Unfortunately, they aren't quite enough to do anything to me." He instantly drew his warblade.

Whoosh! A streak of dazzling black saber-light instantly sliced across the skies and chopped towards Ning. It was simply too fast; as soon as the saber was drawn, the saber-light had reached Ning! When Ning saw that terrifying saber-light appear before him, he felt his heart tremble.

"He's at the level of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities." When Ning saw the saber-light, he instantly understood how strong the black-armored general was. The streak of saber-light vastly surpassed a hundred times the speed of light, and in power it was just as strong as a strike from Winesage. It completely surpassed the level which supreme Daolords were capable of reaching.

Swish! Ning suddenly vanished without a trace. Slash! The saber-light sliced through the position Ning had previously been in, carving a deep gouge within the field of sword-intent generated by the Yin-Yang Sword domain. Moments later, the gouge quickly disappeared but Ning was nowhere to be found.

Of Ning's five Omega Sword Dao stances, two were defensive while the other three (Heavenbreaker, Shadowless, Blood Drop) had various special effects.

The Shadowless stance allowed him to turn completely invisible and evade even godsense.

The Blood Drop stance, when used with the Northbow swords, was Ning's most powerful attack.

Although his heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts were unable to harm his opponent, they at least rendered him unable to defeat Ning's Shadowless stance.

"Eh? Where's he hiding?" The black-armored general frowned as he immediately swept out with his warblade, launching an omnidirectional attack.

"Hahaha! You won't be able to find him." Ninedust laughed loudly as he transformed into an awesome wave that furiously surged out towards the black-armored general and coiled around him.

The black-armored general's saber-light was impeded by Ninedust's waves and also slowed down by Ning's heartworld and the nine novessence arts. With Ning already knowing where the saber-light would land, he was naturally able to avoid it with ease.

Slash! A mist-formed sword suddenly struck out from nowhere and stabbed against the outermost layer of black light covering the black-armored general. Slash! All three layers were pierced through, but the speed of the sword was lessened as well.

When Ning struck, his strike would appear in front of you instantaneously!

"Eh?" The black-armored general's face tightened as he immediately struck out with his own warblade to block Ning's strike. His defensive saber-arts were quite flawless, allowing him to block Ning's strike almost instantly.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

As the black-armored general's warblade clashed against Ning's Northbow sword, the other five Northbow swords suddenly appeared as well, having transformed into five streaks of sword-shaped fog that stabbed straight through the three layers of black light.

"What?!" Because his warblade had just clashed against Ning's first Northbow sword, the black-armored general's reaction wspeed was just a little too slow… and Ning's other five Northbow swords were just too fast.

Whoosh! The black-armored general's warblade sliced out a beautiful arc in the air. As the defender he always held a certain advantage, because he only had to defend a fairly small area, allowing him to deflect many attacks from the enemy with ease. However… his warblade had been weakened and slowed down by its impact against Ning's Northbow sword! This had an impact on his defensive stance.

Slash! One of the streaks of sword-shaped fog stabbed straight into the black-armored general's runic core.

"What?" The black-armored general was stunned. He just stood there blankly. "I lost? I lost that fast?" He had lost so quickly that he couldn't even believe it.

"B-but…" The six golden-armored warriors and the three crimson-armored warriors who had retreated early on all stared dumbly. The black-armored general was on par with the eight lords of the Sacred Cities! But of course, he had certain flaws compared to the actual lords… with the main flaw being that he only had a single weapon! Most true Emperors would manifest at least six arms to fight against foes, whereas the black-armored general would only use a single warblade against his foes as this was what had been designated by the Sithe.

The difference in power was too great, after all. Generally speaking, supreme Daolords would be crushed by the black-armored general. Many 'ordinary' supreme Daolords found it impossible to even penetrate the three layers of black light!

The Shadowless stance made it impossible to predict where the attack would come from. As soon as Ning attacked, his swords would have already gone through the three layers of black light, making it difficult for the general to defend.

The worst part was, Ning's sword was incredibly fast. All six of them were incredibly fast, and they were also extremely unpredictable! Given that the black-armored general only had a single warblade to deal with the six Northbow swords, and given that the Shadowless stance allowed Ning to close in on him unhindered… alas, he was defeated at the first go.

"I can send you flying with a single blow from my saber." The black-armored general shook his head in disbelief.

"But your saber-light wasn't able to touch me, not even once." Ning shook his head as well. In the end, the black-armored general wasn't a true Eternal Emperor; he didn't even have domain-type secret arts. Winedust, for example, was able to use both a heartworld projection and secret arts to prevent Ning from moving too close to him via the Shadowless stance; if Ning attempted to do so, he would be exposed by the domain.

"I'm able to silently approach you without giving you any hint as to where I am! Given how fast my six Northbow swords are… if I'm still unable to touch your runic core despite all these advantages then that would mean I'm ridiculously weaker than the eight lords of the Sacred Cities." Ning was in quite a good mood, both at how strong he had become as well as at his final success.

"The Voidsea Jadeseal…" Ninedust stared at the jade seal atop the throne, his eyes gleaming with excitement. This was a legendary treasure, the most powerful Daomerge treasure available. It had drawn the attention of virtually all of the supreme Daolords of the Endless Territories. Today, it would become his?

"What are you looking at? Go take it!" Ning barked.

"T-then I'll really go grab it…?" Ninedust felt rather embarrassed, as Ning was primarily responsible for their success. But in truth, he had played a major role as well. His invulnerable aquaform was very tough for foes to deal with, and the way in which he had transformed into waves that hindered their foes made things much easier for Ning. Otherwise, Ning by himself would've taken forever to overcome even the first world.

"We agreed early on that it'd be yours. Stop wasting time! If you delay any longer, I'm gonna fight you for it," Ning said.

Swoosh! Seemingly panicked, Ninedust reached out with his right hand, moving lightning-fast as he grabbed the jade seal atop the throne.

"Ninedust, you…" Ning stared at him. "Was it really necessary to grab it that fast? You moved more than a hundred times the speed of light!"

"Yeah, just keep laughing. I really don't care right now. Ahaha!" Ninedust was in quite a good mood. Even if Ning was to stab him with a hundred knives, he'd still continue to chortle.

Ning smiled as well. He had felt quite guilty towards Ninedust this entire time, but now he felt much better.

Whoosh. A streak of light appeared off in the distance, then flew straight towards them. It was Winesage.

"Fellow Daoists." A sonorous voice boomed out, echoing throughout every inch of the Crimsonwave Temple. "The second of the three final Voidsea Jadeseals has been acquired by Daolord Ninedust!"

Winesage trembled slightly, looking almost like a bloodlusted mortal who suddenly had a bucket of icewater poured over him. He landed on the ground, staring dazedly at Ning and Ninedust and the throne next to them.

"You…" Winesage couldn't believe it. This was simply too fast! He had just acquired his a short while. Somehow, Ning and Ninedust had successfully acquired one as well?

"Haha, it's on me. Come and take it, if you can." Ninedust was quite smug. Given his invulnerable aquaform, he really didn't fear any Daolords at all.

Ning stood by Ninedust's side, a smile on his face as he looked at Winesage. "Winesage. You arrived too late."

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 12 – The Third World

Winesage narrowed his eyes, then let out a smile. "Darknorth, I truly admire you. Without a Universe treasure and with just brother Ninedust assisting you, you were able to defeat all of these warriors… and then you gave the Voidsea Jadeseal to Ninedust!"

The way in which Winesage viewed Ning had changed. During the last competition, the jade seal had ended up in Daolord Solesky's hands. This time, Ning had been the main contributory to their victory against the black-armored general, but he had ended up giving the Voidsea Jadeseal to Ninedust! Winesage knew that if Darknorth was able to act in such a way despite the allure of the Voidsea Jadeseal, he would definitely be a friend worth making.

"You were literally just a few seconds too late. Otherwise, Ninedust and I would've been in serious trouble," Ning said.

"Palace Lord Dawnstar and the others haven't taken away their Voidsea Jadeseal yet. Why don't we join forces to take it from them? Neither of us have any chance if we go by ourselves, but our chances are significant if we join forces. The fastest one shall be the one to win the Voidsea Jadeseal," Winesage said.

Dawnstar and the other four alone were enough to tie down Winesage! Once you added the three crimson-armored warriors and the black-armored general into the mix, it would be no easy feat at all. Even if he and Ning joined forces, they only stood a chance and were not assured of victory. The main reason why Winesage wanted to try working together with Ning was because he had decided that Ning was a friend worth making.

"No need." Ning shook his head.

"You aren't going to take part?" Winesage was surprised.

"Not taking part," Ning said.

"Once someone ends up with the Voidsea Jadeseal, it'll be a hundred times more difficult to pry it out of their hands," Winesage said. Of all the Daolords present, the only one he cared about was Ji Ning.

"No need to try and persuade me. I've already made up my mind," Ning said.

"Then I won't force things." Winesage transformed into a streak of light and flew towards Dawnstar's direction at high speed. He was a supreme Daolord; a single Voidsea Jadeseal would only allow him to partially simulate the Daomerge. He naturally felt that the more seals he had, the better!

In the eyes of Daolords, although the local fruit was valuable it was of no use to the Daomerge. None of those things truly mattered. The Daomerge was what supreme Daolords like Winesage cared about the most, and so they paid much less attention to the third world.

"Let's go." Ning looked at Ninedust.

"Are we really not going to take part? Darknorth, if we go we'll at least have a chance," Ninedust said. Now that he had acquired a Voidsea Jadeseal for himself, he naturally wanted to help Ning fight for one as well.

"More and more supreme Daolords are arriving. What they can't have, they won't let others have either," Ning said. "The fight over the last Voidsea Jadeseal will be a furious one; our chances are less than one in ten."

Ninedust argued, "But even if our chances are slim, we should still give it a shot."

"We can do that later. Push comes to shove, we can take it from the person who wins it." Ning walked straight towards the throne. Ninedust nodded then followed him as well.

Boom! A surge of power spread out from the throne and encompassed both Ning and Ninedust. Swoosh! The two of them vanished without a trace.

There were a number of reasons as to why Ning had opted not to take part.

First of all, there were simply too many supreme Daolords present. Even if they weren't able to beat Ning, they'd be able to obstruct him.

Second, Ning belonged to the Brightshore Kingdom. Brightshore Kingdom members had all sworn oaths not to fight against other members of the kingdom! Ninestone, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Palace Lord Dawnstar… Ning wasn't even able to battle against them! In a wild group melee like this, it would be like him fighting with a handicap. This further lowered his chances of winning a Voidsea Jadeseal.

Third, the Voidsea Jadeseals were of very limited use to Ning. Once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the power of his Omega Sword Dao would reach an incredibly terrifying level; most likely, the Voidsea Jadeseal would only be able to simulate a tiny, tiny portion of the Daomerge for his Omega Sword Dao. Other supreme Daolords would be able to simulate half of the Daomerge, which would be of invaluable assistance, but for Ning the benefit would be fairly minimal.

Fourth, Ning cared more about reviving his wife Yu Wei. If he could reunite his family again, he'd be satisfied with merely living 108,000 chaos cycles! The Daomerge wasn't something others could help him with, but saving Yu Wei was. He needed to acquire enough treasure so that he could ask some truly mighty figures to assist him! Given that even the Hegemons and the Dao Alliance had gone crazy over the fruits of Crimsonwave Temple, he naturally had to harvest as much as he could.

Whoosh! Ning felt a cold breeze stir past him. He hurriedly inspected his surroundings.

He stood atop a cold, ancient-looking stone island, and in front of him was an unfathomably deep abyss. A long, icy set of seven-colored chains stretched off into the distance, where it connected to another distant and levitating stone island. That second stone island had a gold-black octahedral command talisman levitating above it, with some strange runes right above it. Ning immediately recognized the runes as symbolizing the word 'three'.

Behind that stone island was yet another deep abyss. A tri-colored set of chains stretched out from the stone island and across the abyss to a sacrificial altar that had another command talisman at the bottom. This one had runes symbolizing the word 'five' hovering right above it. The altar had a series of steps leading up to it, and at the very top of the altar there lay a command talisman that had strange runes symbolizing the word 'eight' above it.

"Three, five, and eight?" Ning was intrigued.

"Darknorth, the Grovekeeper said that there are nine command talismans in total. The ninth one is the most valuable, with the second most valuable being the sixth, seventh, and eighth talismans. Next in value come the third, fourth, and fifth talismans, while the first and second ones are the least valuable," Ninedust said. Ning nodded.

Whoosh! Rainbow light coalesced next to them, resolving into the form of a white-robed man. It was Realmsoul Polo, and he smiled at Ning and Ninedust. "The two of you moved quite quickly. You came straight to the third world! The battle in the second world is still proceeding quite fiercely; given your power, the two of you might stand a chance."

"We've decided to try and acquire as much fruit as we can instead," Ning said.

"Alright." Realmsoul Polo explained, "The rules in the third world are a bit different. Each Daolord can only choose a single corridor to proceed through." As he spoke, he waved his hand and caused the mist at the horizons to vanish, revealing two other places. Once again they saw floating islands, abysses, and altars.

"The third world has three passageways," Realmsoul Polo said. "Once you enter one of the passageways, you cannot enter any of the other ones. This is a mechanism to prevent any single Daolord from acquiring too many of the command talismans."

Ning and Ninedust nodded slightly.

"But can we take them from others by force?" Ning suddenly asked.

"Haha. If you are strong enough to seize command talismans from other Daolords, go for it. I won't mind even if you manage to acquire all of them," Realmsoul Polo said. "The command talismans for these three passageways are of varying values, but on the whole the difference between the three passageways isn't that great. Go ahead and choose one of the passageways. Oh! As the first to reach the third world, I'll give you one piece of advice; the ninth command talisman is extremely, extremely valuable." After speaking, the realmsoul let out a chuckle and vanished.

"Darknorth?" Ninedust looked at Ning.

"Let's go take a look at the other passageways to take a look," Ning said.

"Let's go." Ninedust and Ning immediately transformed into streaks of light that flew towards one of the other passageways. Soon, they had passed through the other two regions and reached their destination.

Ning and Ninedust possessed astounding ocularity clarity and were thus able to see the three command seals within this passageway right away. They were the first, the fourth, and the ninth.

"The ninth talisman is here." Ning said solemnly, "Then that means the final passageway holds the second, the sixth, and the seventh talismans."

The three passageways were separated thusly:

The first passageway held the first, fourth, and ninth command talismans.

The second passageway held the second, sixth, and seventh command talismans.

The third passageway held the third, fifth, and eighth command talismans.

"The total value in each of three passageways is roughly the same, but since the fruits harvested by the ninth command talisman ripen once every 100,000 chaos cycles, they are more valuable than all other fruits. The rarer a fruit is, the more irreplaceable it is," Ning said. "I choose this passageway. I have to get the ninth command talisman."

After studying the [Seven Leafpill Chapters, Ning knew a great deal regarding the Dao of Alchemy. Some alchemical materials were interchangeable with others, with just the price being changed slightly. The rarer an item was, however, the more important it generally was as a principal ingredient.

The ninth command talisman allowed the harvesting of the only fruits which ripened every 100,000 chaos cycles. Most likely, it was of the most interest to Eternal Emperors! They might be able to pay several times more than the 'market' rate for it. Ning's hopes of reviving Yu Wei rested on this fruit.

"Then I'll choose the other tunnel, the one with the second, sixth, and seventh command talismans," Ninedust said.

"If we move separately, then…" Ning was a bit hesitant.

"Don't worry." Ninedust smiled. "I have my invulnerable aquaform; no one can kill me! And every single Daolord can only choose a single passageway; if you choose this one, that means the two of us can at most acquire three of those talismans. If we move separately, we can perhaps acquire a total of six! Haha. So long as I acquire any of them, they'll all belong to you, Darknorth! You helped me acquire the Voidsea Jadeseal; now, it is my time to help you acquire the command talismans. Although these things aren't nearly as valuable as Voidsea Jadeseals to us Daolords, I really don't have anything better to offer you. There's no way I'm handing out the seal I acquired to anyone, you included."

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 13 – Speechless

"Haha, done." Ji Ning understood what his friend was trying to do; Ninedust didn't feel comfortable accepting the Voidsea Jadeseal without doing anything for Ning in return. At their level, Daolords were unwilling to do actions that went against their basic nature and caused them to feel guilty. They would strive to repay any favors that were owed.

But of course, there were some truly vile Daolords whose Dao-hearts were as vile as they were. Backstabbing, betrayal, robbery, deceit… they could do anything, because this was the nature of their Dao-heart! As a result, these evil Daolords generally had few to no truly good friends. Timedream was a good example; he had relied on applying heartforce techniques to the Kingfreak when the later was young and weak, slowly guiding the Kingfreak into being utterly devoted to him.

"We'll probably spend quite a bit of time here in the third world," Ning said. "You can spend a month using up the Voidsea Jadeseal first. That way, you can publicly swear a lifeblood oath that you've already used it and thus will no longer be pursued or attacked by the other Daolords."

"Right." Ninedust nodded. "Understood. I'll be leaving now." Whoosh. Ninedust flew towards a different passageway, with Ning watching as he left.

Ning then turned towards his own passageway. This was what mattered the most to him; he had to walk to the end of this passageway and acquire the ninth command talisman.

"That stone pillar…?" Ning stared at a rhomboid-shaped pillar at the edges of the abyss. The pillar was covered with many dense runes. These runes didn't seem nearly as profound as the Dreamdust script, the azureflower runes, or the 'Crimson Wave Temple' runes, but they were still unlike any script that Ning had ever seen before. Despite that, Ning immediately understood what they meant.

"If I wish to pass through the first abyss, I must first learn the [Vitalis] technique…" Ning was dazed by what he read.

All living creatures had their own, distinct life auras. These auras came from the distinctive characteristics of their souls and truesouls. No type of divine ability or transformation could truly disguse this. The likes of the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] and other similar techniques could mask or simulate certain aura 'leaks', but the intrinsic life aura itself could not be changed! The aura each soul and truesoul had was the best way of verifying or attesting to who a person was.

"B-b-b-but… this [Vitalis] technique can actually change a truesoul's life aura?" Ning could hardly believe this. "If even a truesoul's life aura can be changed… then they could use a casual disguise and I would be completely unable to recognize them!"

Terrifying, utterly terrifying. For example, if someone transformed into Patriarch Subhuti and appeared in front of Ning, if even the truesoul life aura was imitated then Ning would be tricked. If caught off-guard in such a manner, Ning could very well fall for a sneak attack!

"The Sithe were utterly terrifying. How could they have come up with a technique like this? I've never even heard of such techniques in the Endless Territories, but the Sithe put it within the third world. Clearly, many of their supreme Daolords must've known this technique." Ning was secretly terrified. If even their Daolords were this terrifying, how deadly had their Eternal Emperors had been?

No wonder the Sithe had once sought to conquer and enslave all other cultivators. Apparently, even the Terror Starsea was nothing more than one of many battlefields where the Dawn War had occurred.

"Whew." Ning quickly read and memorized the [Vitalis] technique. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. The [Vitalis] technique wasn't completely flawless; for example, close friends and loved ones could often tell what their counterparts were thinking from a single glance or gesture. If someone else had merely transformed and used the [Vitalis] technique, that person would be unable to duplicate that sort of tacit understanding. This was one of the most basic flaws.

However, if one wasn't aware of the [Vitalis] technique and also sensed that the truesoul life aura was that of a loved one's, one generally wouldn't think too much of it even if their counterpart was acting rather oddly. They'd think that their counterpart was probably worried or frustrated about something and thus was acting rather differently. This wasn't that big of a flaw.

The true, major flaw with the [Vitalis] technique was that of karma!

Karma was a system of cause and effect that linked all things! This was one of the highest level and yet most understated webs that tied and bound all individuals. There were some who were so skilled in karma that when they slew a foe, they would be able to use their karmic senses to trace down that enemy's Primaltwin and avatars and wipe them out as well!

Anyone you had befriended or even so much as spoken to would be connected to you by karma. Ning, for example, was very tightly bound to his friends and loved ones by karmic threads. He was even connected by karma to the Brightshore Hegemon and Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance, as he had met and spoken with both separately.

If anyone dared to imitate Ning and appear before Hegemon Brightshore… given how strong Hegemon Brightshore was, he was probably able of karmic scrying! He would be able to instantly tell that there were no pre-existing karmic ties between him and the person in front of him and thus could be certain that it definitely was not Ji Ning.

"There are almost no Daolords capable of sensing and scrying karma." Ning shook his head. "Not even the majority of Eternal Emperors are capable of this. You have to be a specialist in karma or have reached an incredible level of power."

All Daos shared certain commonalities. Ning didn't specifically study the Dao of Time or the Dao of Space, but he had reached such inconceivable heights in the Dao of the Sword that he was able to transcend both space and time. Similarly, the power within the Sword Hegemon's Dao-seal was so great that it could freeze and suppress both spacetime as well as karmic scrying.

"This [Vitalis] technique is still an incredible technique," Ning mused to himself. If he managed to learn this technique, he could for example imitate someone else and go pay a visit to Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators! Since Hegemon Netherlily had never seen him before and there were no karmic ties between them, Ning probably would be able to deceive her.

Thus, this technique was a superb and terrifying technique for disguising one's self and infiltrating other organizations.

"The Sithe probably relied on this technique to arrange for many Daolord spies to be sent into the various cultivator organizations," Ning mused. "However, the Sithe have already been destroyed. Even their techniques have fallen into the hands of us cultivators."

Each of the seven colors of the rainbow chains which stretched across the first abyss represented a type of truesoul life aura! One had to be able to transform one's life aura to match those chains in order to safely traverse them. If the truesoul aura was not imitated perfectly, then one would be swept into that endless abyss and perish!

The Sithe used very brutal methods to train their Daolords.

"[Vitalis]…" After learning this technique, Ning felt more and more certain that the Sithe had reached truly inconceivable heights in certain areas. For example, their mastery of truesoul-relaetd techniques clearly surpassed that of the Endless Territories by a significant amount. Otherwise, they would never have been able to create a technique such as this.

What Ning didn't know was that although the Sithe had been exterminated, the many treasures and techniques they had left behind were furiously fought over in countless places. Crimsonwave Temple was nothing more than one of the many relic sites left behind by the Sithe.

"Focus." Ning made use of his temporal acceleration treasure. Years passed inside although just half a month or so had gone by outside. He was now able to use a tiny amount of his truesoul and godsense to form a 'lifecloak' around him, with the lifecloak capable of simulating any truesoul aura Ning had met before.

This amount of his truesoul and godsense was of neglible impact to Ning. He was a heartforce cultivator, after all, and a very high-level one at that. Learning this technique was thus quite easy for him.

"Success." Ning put away the spacetime cabin and turned to stare at the stone pillar. He sighed silently, "Their abilities were utterly unearthly, but their ambitions were simply too vast. In the end, they were wiped out!"

Ning understood that the little he knew about the Sithe came from what Realmsoul Polo and the Grovekeeper and told him. He realized that this was nothing more than the tip of an iceberg, and that he still knew very little as to what the truth was.

The Grovekeeper had merely been an artificial construct created by the Sithe race in order to take care of the trees here in Crimsonwave Temple. He had never been able to leave this place. As for Realmsoul Polo, he was nothing more than a servant of Emperor Waveshift's.

Ning stood there atop the seven-colored chains, every single colored chain containing a different truesoul aura. The different colors all stretched out across several meters, allowing the Daolords enough time to falsify their truesoul auras.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Ning continuously transformed. First he was a terrifying demon, then he became a suave and graceful cultivator. If they closed their eyes, not even Brightmoon or Patriarch Subhuti would be able to recognize that this aura came from Ji Ning.

Soon, Ning traversed the entire set of chains reached the giant rocky island on the other side.

"The first command talisman." Ning stared at the octahedral black-gold command talisman levitating in the air, then reached out to grab it. The command talisman's surface was warm on one side but cool on the other, and the temperatures on each side continuously alternated. This first command talisman, along with the second command talisman, were amongst the least valuable of the command talismans. However, the fruit they gave access to only ripened once every 30,000 years. Given that the Sithe were willing to place such valuable trees here in Crimsonwave Palace, the fruit would definitely still be extraordinary.

"One talisman down. Keep going." Ning stared off into the distance towards the tri-colored chains leading across the second abyss. At the end of the tri-colored chains was the altar which held the fourth command talisman at the bottom! At the very top of the altar was the ninth command talisman.

"Eh?" Ning stared at the stone pillar which stood deep at the ends of the second abyss. "If I wish to pass through the second abyss, I must master the [Daoheart] technique…" This stone pillar was also covered with dense runic script that explained yet another mysterious, ancient technique of the Sithe race.

He had been stunned when he saw the [Vitalis] technique. This time, he had already mentally fortified himself, but upon seeing the [Daoheart] technique he was still completely dumbfounded.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 14 – [Daoheart]

Whoosh. A cold wind blew out from the deep abyss in front of Ji Ning. Ning however just stood there blankly, not seeming to even notice it at all.

The [Vitalis] technique allowed one to disguise one's truesoul aura. It could merely be described as a rare technique that wasn't really of much use for either the Daomerge or cultivation in general. This [Daoheart] technique, however, was of enormous benefit to cultivators!

For cultivators, the Dao-heart mattered more than anything else! Without a sufficiently strong Dao-heart, you couldn't even so much as become a Celestial Immortal. Once your Dao-heart collapsed, you might even fail to control the powerful Immortal energy coursing through your body, resulting in death via self-detonation! All Samsara Daolords, especially supreme ones, had incredibly formidable Dao-hearts.

Usually, the stronger a person was the more powerful his Dao-heart would be as well, which meant that on average Eternal Emperors had stronger Dao-hearts than Samsara Daolords did. But of course, there were a few extremely rare exceptions.

When Ninedust had been poisoned by that redscatter venom, he had been in such agony that he wanted Ning to kill him. The redscatter venom had originally been devised for usage against powerful Eternal Emperors, who had very strong Dao-hearts. It would weaken them, but it wouldn't incapacitate them to the point where they would beg for death. This alone was a testament as to the difference in Dao-hearts between Ninedust and powerful Eternal Emperors.

However, as more time passed Ninedust's Dao-heart had been tempered and strengthened by the redscatter venom. Towards the late stages of his poisoning, he had no longer screamed in pain. If someone was to apply redscatter venom to him again, he might be dramatically weakened but he wouldn't beg for death. This signified that his Dao-heart had improved!

"Redscatter venom is terrifying, but it's also a good treasure for tempering one's Dao-heart. Alas, the effect only lasts for twelve days," Ning mused. In the end, twelve days simply wasn't long enough, especially given how incredibly rare and expensive redscatter venom was. When applied at the right time in a duel between Eternal Emperors, it could allow in one being able to slay a foe outright. Hence, no one would be so wasteful as to use it to temper the Dao-heart.

"This [Daoheart] technique… once you use it, you'll suffer such tremendous agony that you'll feel as though you've been hit by redscatter venom!" Ning was truly stunned.

It sounded quite simple; it was nothing more than a pain technique, right? But it must be understood that supreme Daolords had such incredibly formidable Dao-hearts that they would calmly smile in the face of death itself! To cause them to feel such agonizing pain that they would be at the verge of suffering a mental breakdown was incredibly hard to do. That was what made the redscatter venom so valuable! This [Daoheart] technique, however, was able to cause increasingly terrifying levels of pain. This sort of technique was completely unheard of in the Endless Territories!

According to the records, the [Daoheart] technique was divided up into seven levels of heart purgatories. Even the very first level was enough to cause tremendous agony to a supreme Daolord, and the higher levels were even worse. The seventh purgatory was so agonizing that supreme Daolords could instantly see their truesouls shattered and destroyed from the pain!

Ning stared at the stone pillar before him. "This stone pillar has only recorded down the first three purgatories; only Eternal Emperors will have the chance to learn the fourth to seventh purgatories! It seems as though even the Sithe Daolords were only able to train in the first three. I have to be able to master the first three purgatories if I wish to be able to traverse the tri-colored chains."

Each of the three colored sections of the tri-colored chains in front of him would cause an agonizing amount of pain to fill his body. One had to have mastered the first three purgatories in order to safely cross the chains.

"Time to begin!"

A cold wind howled past the white-robed Ning as he waved his hand, causing the temporal acceleration cabin to appear next to him. Ning entered the log cabin, then began to train.

"Mo…ya…ta…" Ning's soul began to recite the words to this technique. This was a soul voice with a strange cadence and profound melody to it. Slowly, Ning began to feel an increasing level of pain. This pain filled every inch of his body and began to grow stronger and stronger as Ning continued the chant. The longer he chanted, the greater the pain he felt. After an hour had passed, Ning's forehead was creased in a frown and a fierce look was in his eyes.

"…kong…la…luo…Sithe." Ning finished chanting through the first purgatory and opened his eyes, his forehead matted with sweat.

"How terrifying. It has been a long, long time since I've felt as much pain as this… but it was still within the realm of what I could tolerate." Ning immediately shut his eyes and began to work on the second purgatory.

Ning was the most powerful Heartforce Cultivator of the Endless Territories and the master of the Omega Sword Dao. His Dao-heart was already incredibly strong!

Even if he wasn't a Heartforce Cultivator, his Dao-heart still would've been quite strong. Long ago, he had been stuck at the fourth stage of heartforce, 'mortal dust', because of his stubborn attachment to his parents. As a result, he had been unable to calm his mind and heart enough to reach the fifth stage of heartforce, 'truth'. However, his determination to revive his parents was so strong that his Dao-heart was still incredibly strong even then. Similarly, there were many Eternal Emperors and even Hegemons who were not Heartforce Cultivators but who had Dao-hearts of inconceivable strength.

But of course… Heartforce Cultivators would by definition have extremely strong Dao-hearts! Even then, however, there were variations amongst Heartforce Cultivators. Some were stronger, some were weaker. Ji Ning, Timedream, Cloudwalker, Winesage… their Dao-hearts naturally were ranked in this order from first to fourth.

"…tian…fu…can…Sithe." Ning's face was completely red, and his veins were bulging out of his trembling body. Despite that, he still managed to forcibly and fully recite the second purgatory.

"I've finished the second purgatory as well." Ning wasn't very happy. The fact that he was able to master the first and second purgatories so easily meant that they would be of little to no use to him.

"Time for the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique… the Jinayi purgatory."

Ning took a deep breath, allowing his protruding veins to settle back down and the color of his skin to go back to normal. "Zi…mi…shi…ya…" Ning began to recite the words to the third purgatory.

Agony!

It was like a colossal mountain of pain had just come crashing down upon his fragile body. He almost immediately felt as though he was about to suffer a mental breakdown. Although Ning had a powerful Dao-heart and things he cared immensely about, he currently had a feeling of incredible weakness, as though he wasn't able to hold on for much longer and was about to collapse."

Clack clack clack clack… Ning just sat there in the lotus position, but sweat was pouring down his face and the bones in his body were clacking and cracking. His muscles and his tendons were at the point of tearing apart, and even his gums were beginning to ooze blood that began to drip out from the corners of his lips. Ning, however, didn't notice any of this at all.

His Dao-heart was completely focused on guarding his spirit and his beliefs while his soul continued to chant the words to the technique. The pain continued to increase! Everything in front of him began to turn black as all sound disappeared from the world. There was nothing aside from the endless pain!

"Ah…" Ning suddenly felt his entire mind go blank. His soul naturally stopped chanting the words to the technique and the agony quickly receded, allowing him to regain consciousness.

He lowered his head to look at himself. His arms and his crossed legs were all matted with sweat, with a few rivulets of blood splattered in.

"I was in such pain that I couldn't even continue to chant that mantra." Ning actually smiled delightedly at this discovery. "Hahaha! Good, good! That means my Dao-heart isn't strong enough yet. I wasn't even able to master the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique on my first try. Since the Sithe used this to train supreme Daolords, that means the most powerful Sithe Daolords had even stronger Dao-hearts than me."

"Haha. At least the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique is of use to me." Ning was delighted. If he had passed on his first try, that would've meant that the third purgatory was similarly useless.

"Let's do this again. The pain I felt was less than what Ninedust went through," Ning mused. It wasn't that the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique was weaker than the effects of the redscatter venom; Ning wasn't able to judge that. All pain, however, was relative. The redscatter venom and the agony it brought had been enough to cause Ninedust to scream in agony and beg for Ning to kill him! However, if it had been Hegemon Brightshore who had been struck by the poison, he would've been able to continue smiling and laughing without seeming to feel a thing. Pain was a relative concept. The pain brought by the third purgatory of the [Daoheart] technique was at most able to prevent Ning from continuing his chanting.

However… the redscatter venom caused Ninedust endless pain without end, pain for a full twelve days.

"Continue." Ning once more began to chant the mantra. The seven stages to this [Daoheart] technique were known as the seven purgatories of the heart. Amongst the Sithe, even the most supreme of Daolords were only able to master the first three purgatories.

The first three purgatories were viewed as nightmares by even those supreme Sithe Daolords! They generally would spend countless years training before each abyss, suffering endless mental torment. If they were unable to completely master the technique within a single chaos cycle, the Sithe would forcibly remove them from this place. Only some of their supreme Daolords were able to master all three of the purgatories.

One attempt after another. Ning's soul continuously chanted the mantra to the technique, enduring the endless agonizing that descended upon him. Each time, the agony caused him to despair and drove him unconscious. The pain was simply beyond what he could endure, and so he failed again and again. Each time, his only goal was to increase his limit further and further.

While training, Ning set up fairly simple barriers and wards around him. Once anyone came, Ning would naturally be alerted by it. Thus, he was able to completely invest himself in training.

Time continued to flow on. As Ning continued to suffer more and more torment, he was able to recite the mantra for longer periods of time. After a total of twenty-one years…

"…qian…fu…la…jie…na…yi…Sithe." Ning finally completed his recital of the third purgatory's mantra. Although he was wracked by agony, he was at least able to maintain the presence of mind to finish the recital.

"Success." Ning opened his eyes.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, putting away the temporal acceleration cabin. He then stared at the stone pillar for a moment, then walked towards the tri-colored chains.

By now, a large group of supreme Daolords had descended upon the second world, where the furious fight over the final Voidsea Daoseal continued.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 15 – Nine Hundred Years

As Ji Ning walked across the tri-colored chains, he could sense throbs of pain reach out to him from his feet and then spread throughout his body. He continued to advance one step at a time, but his body began to quiver. He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

"For these chains to be able to cause so much pain for so many years to so many people… they must be valuable treasures." Although Ning was agonized, he maintained enough clarity of mind to murmur softly to himself.

Finally, he finished traversing the tri-colored chains.

"The fourth command talisman." Ning stared at the ancient black-gold talisman, then reached out and grabbed it. Ning raised his head to stare upwards at the steps that led to the top of the altar. At the very top levitated the extremely precious ninth command talisman.

Swoosh.

Ning strode forward towards, beginning to move up the various steps. There were a total of 8003 steps to this great altar. Rainbow light suddenly manifested at the very top of the altar, resolving into a white-robed figure. Realmsoul Polo smiled as he walked downwards towards Ning.

"Realmsoul Polo?" Ning was startled.

The realmsoul glanced at Ning, then smiled. "Darknorth, you are quite fast. You were able to master both [Vitalis] and [Daoheart] quite quickly."

"Are there any other new techniques in this altar?" Ning asked.

"None." The realmsoul shook his head. "You should celebrate the fact that you learned two such exquisite techniques. How numerous do you take them for? As for the altar… this altar has a total of 9000 wards and barriers. If you can defeat all 9000 of them, you'll be able to acquire the incredibly precious ninth command talisman."

As he spoke, he waved his sleeves. Swoosh! Triangular motes of golden light immediately appeared at the top of the altar. The light spread out to form multiple layers of barriers that repeatedly folded in on each other, forming a dazzling golden barrier. Ning could immediately tell that there were indeed thousands of layers to this formation; although he couldn't count the exact number, 9000 was a distinct possibility.

"Will the barriers automatically regenerate?" Ning asked. If they were to immediately regenerate, then he would have to break through all 9000 in a single strike.

"Hahaha, if they automatically regenerated, you could be ten times as strong as you currently are and still fail to break through." Realmsoul Polo relaxed off to one side as he watched.

"Good." Ning immediately manifested three heads and six arms. All six of the golden swords on his back came flying out and landed within his hands.

"Let's go." Ning willed it, and a barrier immediately appeared next to him which quickly expanded to cover the entire altar.

Temporal acceleration… 100x acceleration!

The altar was not alive and thus it didn't cause too much energy to be used up to accelerate time for it.

"Oh, quite clever." Realmsoul Polo smiled as he watched from the side.

"This is the final challenge in the third world, after all. I'll wager it won't be that easy to beat," Ning said. Moments later, a sharp light flashed through his eyes. "Suppress!"

Ning willed his massive heartworld projection to come crashing down. A heartbeat later, his nine novessence arts came out in the form of energy dragons, coiling together to form a Yin-Yang Chaos Domain in accordance with the principles of the Omega Sword Dao – Yin Yang which furiously pressed down against the altar. Even though the altar was now suffering the combined pressures of the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, the 9000 barriers were still able to easily endure.

"Break!" Ning immediately executed his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop while applying the [Heartsword] technique.

Sword-light flashed through the air as Ning's mist-formed sword stabbed against the barrier, moving faster than a hundred times the speed of light. The first barrier was pierced through like paper, but the power of the strike was greatly reduced. In the end, the mist-formed sword was unable to stab through the second barrier.

"Eh, just so-so. This speed indicates that it'll take me perhaps one day to break through all 9000 barriers. It seems setting up a temporal acceleration field was overkill." Ning spoke in an intentionally arrogant manner while giving Realmsoul Polo a meaningful glance.

"Don't get cocky." Realmsoul Polo watched from afar, an amused smile on his face. "The ninth command seal won't be so easily acquired."

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning struck out repeatedly against the barriers, piercing through a total of 151 barriers. The next time Ning struck out, he wasn't able to break through the barrier.

"The barriers are increasing in strength." Ning frowned, then revealed a smile. "Still, at least the barriers weaken each time I attack them. They don't regenerate even when they are weakened but not breached." For example, although the 152nd barrier was not destroyed by Ning's full-strength strike, it had dimmed and was clearly much weaker than it had been previously.

So long as the barrier didn't recover its energy, then he would eventually be able to break through the 9000 barriers given enough time.

"Break! Break! Break!" Ning quickly struck out with his six Northbow swords, applying the Blood Drop stance each time. The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop's greatest strength lay in its penetrative power!

When dealing with barriers, this sort of penetrating attack was the best type of attack to use. In addition, the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was Ning's most powerful attack! This naturally made the breaching process quite fast.

Slash! Slash! Slash! The six Northbow swords continuously struck out as fast as illusions. One mist-formed sword after another struck out against the barriers, causing the barriers to quickly disperse under the weight of the barrage of attacks.

After roughly half a day, Ning broke through the 1000th barrier.

After roughly six days, Ning broke through the 2000th barrier.

After roughly half a month, Ning broke through the 3000th barrier.

After roughly nine months, Ning broke through the 4000th barrier.

After nearly half a year, Ning broke through the 5000th barrier.

"I underestimated these 9000 barriers." Ning was furiously assaulting the 5001st barrier with his six Northbow swords. This barrier was extremely tough; when Ning first assaulted it, he felt as though he couldn't breach it at all, that the barrier wasn't even weakening in the slightest. Only after more than ten thousand strikes did the barrier slowly begin to weaken, and once it did it began to weaken at a very fast rate. In the end, it finally collapsed.

"These barriers… they are strong enough that not even a full-strength blow from the eight lords of the Sacred Cities would be able to breach them," Ning mused.

The barriers were so much more powerful than his attacks that his strikes were like drops of water sprinkled across stones, having virtually no impact at all. However, given enough time the wind and the rain could wear down even the mightiest of mountains! When the barrier finally dropped down close to Ning's level of power, Ning would naturally be able to sense it begin to weaken and break down.

"I still haven't been able to master the eleventh stance of the [Heartsword]." In recent days, Ning had been working on the eleventh stance of the [Heartsword] technique, the 'Teardrop' strike.

The eighth to tenth stances of the [Heartsword] represented a tier, while the eleventh to twelfth stances represented a different tier. Each tier represented a qualitative transformation!

Ning was so incredibly talented that in just a few short decades he was able to go from the eighth stance to the tenth stance, but these three stances belonged to the same tier. The difficulty of the eleventh stance, however, was on a completely different level from the tenth.

"I was over-confident. No wonder the records regarding the [Heartsword] stated that the number of people in each generation who could master the eleventh or twelfth stances could be counted on one hand! Even the most talented of swordsmen who have been alive for 108,000 chaos cycles find it hard to reach this level, while I've spent just ten or so years on it." Ning regained his normal calm, then smiled. "In recent years, I've been focusing on my Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. I feel as though I've gained quite a few insights into it. Perhaps I'll break through with it."

In the past five years, Ning had unleashed countless strikes with the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. By now, he had more insights into the Blood Drop stance than any of the other four stances, and so it stood the best chance of reaching the fourth stage. If he could reach the fourth stage with his Blood Drop stance, then the power of his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop would increase yet again.

"Continue." Ning continued to furiously strike out with his sword, even though he felt almost like an ant trying to move a mountain.

After nearly twenty years, Ning broke through the 6000th barrier.

After nearly a century, Ning broke through the 7000th barrier.

After nearly three centuries, Ning broke through the 8000th barrier.

Ning's [Heartsword] and his Blood Drop stance had yet to make any breakthroughs. Although he had gained some insights, especially after having used the Blood Drop stance so many times and after having spent so much time working on upgrading it, he still hadn't been able to reach the fourth stage. His improvements were rapid, but it still wasn't enough. This was a sign as to how hard it would be to reach the fourth stage with all five stances. As for fusing them together into a fourth-stage Omega Sword Dao? How difficult would that be?"

Slash! Slash! Slash! A furious barrage of mist-formed sword energy lashed out in an illusory fashion, stabbing against the final barrier. Finally, an explosion boomed out!

After more than 900 years here at the altar, Ning had finally managed to defeat the final barrier.

"I finally breached it." Ning revealed a delighted look. He had spent over 900 years furiously assaulting the barrier nonstop. Ning had never done something like this before!

"The ninth command talisman." Ning walked to the ninth command talisman, then reached out and grabbed it.

"Hahaha…" Realmsoul Polo began laughing from up high, his voice echoing throughout every inch of Crimsonwave Temple. "Daolords, the ninth command talisman for harvesting fruit has already been acquired by Daolord Darknorth! The rest of you need to hurry up!"

"You actually…" Ning raised his head to stare at Realmsoul Polo, shocked.

"The command talismans won't be won that easily." Realmsoul Polo looked down at Ning, a smile playing on his lips. "You can rob others of them, but others can rob you of them as well."

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 16 – Consecutive Deaths

"They can try." Ji Ning really wasn't afraid at all. He then raised his head to look at the realmsoul and asked, "Senior, how am I to return to the second world?"

"Simple. Every single world has a map diagram covering the ground." Realmsoul Polo pointed towards the great floating island Ning had started off on. It was true that the floating island did indeed have a inky circular diagram that was roughly nine meters in diameter, and the diagram was covered with black runes that seemed quite mysterious.

"Just step into that diagram. In ten breaths worth of time, you'll be transported straight to the throne of the second world. The second world and the first world both have similar diagrams in them," Realmsoul Polo said.

"Oh?" Ning thought back to what he had seen. Indeed, it was true. However, since Crimsonwave Temple was covered with so many sculptures, paintings, and diagrams, at the time Ning hadn't realized the inky circle had meant anything.

"To the second world, then." Ning put away the ninth command talisman, then immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew down the dais. He first walked past the tri-colored chains, enduring the pain they bought him, then continuously shifted his truesoul aura as he walked past the seven-colored chains.

"The last Voidsea Jadeseal has been seized by Daolord Feich!" Realmsoul Polo's voice reverberated throughout every inch of Crimsonwave Temple. "All three of the remaining Voidsea Jadeseals have been collected. Daolords, hurry up and do your best to acquire the command talismans. They are far more valuable than the Voidsea Jadeseals, and every single talisman is more than valuable enough to drive Eternal Emperors mad with desire. They represent enormous amounts of valuable fruits… and right now, only five of them remain!"

Ning was still walking on the seven-colored chains. When he heard Realmsoul Polo said this, he couldn't help but feel so angry that he ground his teeth until they nearly broke. The realmsoul really wanted to just see the world thrown into chaos!

However, the realmsoul had merely spoken the truth. The fruits truly were more valuable than the Voidsea Jadeseals! Even Hegemons grew excited over these fruits, while the Dao Alliance was dazzled by the prospect of acquiring them. In terms of price and value, they were indeed far more valuable than Voidsea Jadeseals! To Daolords, however, supreme Daomerge treasures were naturally more important than anything else, no matter how valuable.

"Only five of the command talismans remain? It seems Ninedust has acquired one as well." Ning had been planning to head to the second world, but after exiting the seven-colored chains he immediately flew like a streak of light towards the Ninedust Sectlord's location.

Whoosh. "Ah, good. They haven't arrived yet," Ning mused to himself as he reached Ninedust's passageway.

At present, the only person within the passageway was Ninedust and Ninedust alone! What Ning didn't realize was that when Realmsoul Polo had publicly announced that he had acquired the ninth command talisman, all of the supreme Daolords who had been fighting over the Voidsea Jadeseal in the second world began to grow anxious. "That means Darknorth is probably going to come here and fight with us over the Voidsea Jadeseal as well. His assassination arts are extremely terrifying to deal with. We need to end this faster!"

The battle had already been ferocious to begin with. Once word that Ning might be arriving spread, the battle reached a fever pitch before finally Daolord Feich ended up seizing the Voidsea Jadeseal.

Although he had managed to acquire it, he was a low-key supreme Daolord who was only on par with Fiendqueen Dustrain and the others. The other Daolords weren't willing to accept this result and so the battle continued.

"Eh?" Ning arrived at Ninedust's passageway. He immediately saw the rhomboid stone pillar and the words atop of it introducing the [Vitalis] art. When he then looked at the seven-colored chains and the tri-colored chains, he immediately understood that all of the passageways contained the same techniques with them.

Ning had been hoping that perhaps the three passageways would all contain different techniques!

"Ninedust is still inside." Ning stared at the temporal acceleration cottage in front of the tri-colored chains. Ninedust was inside that cottage. "It seems he has yet to master the [Daoheart] technique."

In terms of Dao-heart strength, Ning was indeed significantly superior to Ninedust; Ning was a Heartforce Cultivator, after all!

The third world, Ninedust's passageway. Ning sat there on the rocky ground in the lotus position by himself. Due to the barrier in front of him, there was no way for him to step onto the rainbow chains. Each supreme Daolords was only permitted to choose one passageway; there was no way to enter the other ones.

After waiting for four full hours, Ning suddenly opened his eyes.

Whoosh! A streak of light flew towards him, resolving into the form of a black-robed figure who looked at the seated Ning. The black-robed figure said, "Brother Darknorth, I must congratulate you. If I had known things would end up like this, I would've joined you in fighting over the command talismans."

"Brother Winesage, my guess is that most of the other supreme Daolords have joined forces." Ning rose to his feet. "It looks as though you are still on your own. Why don't you join forces with me and Ninedust?"

"Haha, why should I join forces with anyone?" Winesage scanned the area. "Darknorth, can you tell me which passageway still has all of its command talismans?"

"That one." Ning pointed towards the third passageway.

"Thank you." Winesage immediately flew in that direction.

Just a short while later, Ning saw a large group of individuals be teleported into the third world atop the stone island before him. There were a total of twelve supreme Daolords, with the leader being a devilish violet-robed figure whose eyes gleamed with violet light and who had long, unbound black hair. The other eleven supreme Daolords were clearly following him.

"Darknorth?" When the violet-robed devil saw Ning, he smiled a cold smile. "What a coincidence. We actually ran into Daolord Darknorth."

"King Paleos?" Ning was surprised. After entering the Waveshift Realm, he had never heard anything that indicated King Paleos was a particularly powerful Daolord. King Paleos was a member of the Aeonian race! He was very low-key, and everyone in the outside world belonged him to merely be a second-tier Daolord. The most famous Daolord of the Aeonian race had been King Gorsch… but now, it seemed, King Paleos was also quite powerful.

Boom! Rainbow light swirled around the air above them, forming into the towering figure of a white-robed man.

"All surviving Daolords have reached the third world. Let me explain… the third world has a total of three passageways! Every single Daolord is only permitted to challenge a single passageway. Originally, each passageway held three command talismans within them, with the total value in each being roughly the same! But of course, only five command talismans remain." Realmsoul Polo's voice echoed throughout the world.

As the realmsoul was speaking, Ning received certain news from the Brightshore Kingdom. "What?!" Ning was shocked. The Dao Alliance had issued a new Daolord ranking!

In recent years, the Daolord rankings had changed to a shocking degree.

"Daolord Dreamlore ranks number three?"

"King Paleos ranks number six?"

"Daolord Skyaxe died?"

"King Cliffbank died?"

Ning was completely stunned when he saw the new rankings. A total of six supreme Daolords had died in the fight over the final Voidsea Jadeseal, and the Daolord rankings had completely changed. The first was Winesage, the second was Darknorth, the third was Dreamlore, the fourth was Palace Lord Dawnstar, the fifth was the Radiant King, the sixth was King Paleos, the seventh was Daolord Owlblack, the eighth was Ninestone, the ninth was Daolord Skyshatter, and the tenth was Daolord Tigrone…

A brand new group of supreme Daolords had arisen! Many had been very low-key in the past and not very well known, but in the fight over the Voidsea Jadeseal they had revealed their fierceness.

King Paleos' violet eyes were focused on Ning. He said coldly, "Only five of the nine command talismans remain. You, Darknorth, should've acquired three of them. Your ally, the Ninedust Sectlord, seems to have acquired one as well… but the twelve of us haven't acquired so much as a single one, nor have we acquired any Voidsea Jadeseals. Daolord Darknorth, don't you think this is a bit unfair?"

"Daolord Darknorth." Fiendqueen Dustrain was behind King Paleos, and she spoke out in a similarly cold voice, "We don't ask for me. We can forget about the other two talismans, nor will we force the Ninedust Sectlord to hand over his. The ninth command talisman, however… you must hand it to us! Hand us the ninth command talisman and we won't cause you any trouble."

"Hand over the ninth command talisman."

"Hand it over, Daolord Darknorth."

"Not even Winesage is a match for us. Darknorth, you should go ahead and hand it over."

King Paleos and the other supreme Daolords all stared at Ning. They were all supreme Daolords. If they were in a smaller group of just four or five, they might be very nervous when facing Ning, but there were twelve of them right now; they wouldn't be afraid of even Winesage! In fact, they had already battled against Winesage earlier. Why would they fear Daolord Darknorth?

Thus far, the twelve of them had acquired nothing at all. If they were able to harvest the fruits of the ninth command talisman, they would be able to split the harvest and trade for some rare materials from the various Hegemons or the Dao Alliance. In that way, at least, their visit to the Waveshift Realm wouldn't have been in vain.

Ning frowned. The command talismans represented the fruits of the Crimsonwave Temple, so valuable that the Dao Alliance and the Hegemons were going crazy over them. The ninth command talisman was the most valuable and an absolutely priceless item. Ning was planning on using them to rescue Yu Wei!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ning's body blurred as he manifested three heads and six arms. Six streaks of golden light immediately shot out from his back and landed in his hands.

The three-headed, six-armed, white-robed youth stared coldly at the supreme Daolords, six Northbow swords at the ready. "Cut the crap, you pack of fools. Come and die!"

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 17 – Furious Battle

"Quite bold. Daolord Skyaxe was similarly bold when facing me… but in the end, I killed him. A pity. I haven't had the chance to battle against the Radiant King or Dawnstar yet. If I had, I wouldn't be ranked merely number six. Come and show me how strong you are, oh mighty second-ranked Darknorth." King Paleos manifested six arms as well, each arm wielding a strange sawtoothed weapon.

"Surround him and kill him," Fiendqueen Dustrain barked coldly.

"Darknorth doesn't have an invulnerable form; it'll be much easier to kill him."

"Since he's courting death, let us give it to him. Once we kill him, we'll be able to take all of his command talismans." The supreme Daolords were all boiling with the desire to kill.

Ning's face tightened as a fierce light shone from his eyes. He glared at King Paleos and said coldly, "So you were the one to kill Daolord Skyaxe?"

"Yes. Otherwise, how would I be ranked at number six?" King Paleos asked.

"Damn you." Ning was infuriated. There were very few supreme Daolords he was friends with, but Daolord Skyaxe was one of them. When he had been weak and besieged by Daolord Shaka outside Skywood City, one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance, he had begged the Brightshore Kingdom for aid. Palace Lord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe had immediately come to his aid, and as a result Ning had become friends with both of them.

Although the relationship naturally wasn't nearly as deep as the one he shared with Ninedust, who he had shared life-and-death experiences with, they were still good friends.

"Afraid?" King Paleos smirked.

"DIE!" Ning was boiling with murderous rage.

BOOM! A terrifying wave of invisible force instantly lashed out towards them from Ning, striking against the souls and truesouls of the twelve supreme Daolords.

"Ah!" "Ahhh!" Two of the supreme Daolords instantly turned pale, followed by their heads drooping downwards. The faces of many of the other Daolords also tightened slightly, but at least they were able to maintain their clarity of mind.

"What a terrifying heartforce art." King Paleos' face tightened as well.

"Kill!" Just now, Ning had used the [Heartforce Eradicator] art. It was linked to his Omega Sword Dao, and so now that Ning had reached the third stage of his Omega Sword Dao the power of his [Heartforce Eradicator] had also significantly improved. However, to directly slay a supreme Daolord was still no easy feat.

And yet, Ning's goal wasn't to actually slay any of them outright. His goal was to crush their morale and douse their bravado.

Boom! Next, his vast heartworld projection came crashing down. At the center of that massive, illusory world was that enormous sword-shaped mountain, and it came plunging straight down towards all of the supreme Daolords, causing their bodies to stiffen. As far as heartworld projections went, at present there was no Daolord who was a match for Ning!

A heartbeat later, nine energy dragons came howling out of Ning's body, forming the Yin-Yang Chaos Domain around him.

"One person wants to suppress the twelve of us by himself? He's too arrogant."

"He doesn't know his own limits."

"Break!"

King Paleos and the others used their own secret arts as well. Some were strong, some were weak, but when joined together they vastly outstripped Ning in power. The difference was, Ning's heartworld projection and his secret arts were able to merge together seamlessly! These supreme Daolords weren't able to merge their secret arts together; if they tried, they would begin to interfere with each other.

However, they had gained some experience from their previous battle against Winesage. There were some secret arts that could work together, such as Five Elements arts or Yin and Yang arts. In this way, their secret arts could be improved in power as they worked together to suppress Ning.

However, since Ning's heartworld projection was also capable of restricting and suppressing part of the secret arts. The two sides began a battle of secret arts and heartworld projections. Ning was forced to shrink the radius of his secret arts, but he was still able to hold.

"Kill!" Six Northbow swords in hand, Ning charged straight towards the strongest foe, King Paleos. King Paleos might be strong, but Ning held him in no regard at all. Ning would dare to battle even Winesage in solo combat; why would he fear King Paleos?

"He didn't pick the weakest member but instead went after me?" King Paleos' long black hair fluttered behind him as he sent his six serrated blades howling towards Ning. As he did, a thick black fog spread out from him.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Six streaks of mist-formed swords appeared before him with incredible speed, so fast that King Paleos' face instantly turned pale. "How can he be this fast? He's even faster than the Radiant King. In fact, perhaps only Daolord Dreamlore is a match for him in speed!" He had yet to truly battle against the Radiant King or Daolord Dreamlore, but during the previous fights over the Voidsea Jadeseals he had watched both of them strike with despair-inducing speed.

Darknorth's swords were just as fast… no, they was even faster than the Radiant King's strikes! Perhaps only Daolord Dreamlore and his dazzling, blood-streaked bloodblade strikes were on par with Darknorth.

Clang! Clang! Clang! King Paleos furiously defended himself against Ning's onslaught. His six serrated blades were quite strange and unpredictable. When used for defense, they were quite formidable.

"What?!" King Paleos could sense that every single one of his blades were enduring a terrifying amount of power with each strike. His fingers were turning numb and his body was trembling.

Fast and furious!

The Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop was the fastest and most penetrating attack Ning had to muster. But of course, in raw power alone it wasn't even close to the Heavenbreaker in might. Although the Northbow swords boosted the Blood Drop stance the most, this stance was still weaker than the Heavenbreaker stance. Despite that, it still contained quite a bit of power! This was especially true after Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword, as this allowed Ning to infuse every single strike with incredible weight.

King Paleos felt as though every single strike brought him incredible pressure. If it was just a matter of speed, he would have a solution. If it was just a matter of power, he would also have a solution! The problem was, Ji Ning's swords not only surpassed the Radiant King in speed, they actually surpassed King Paleos' ultimate attacks in power as well!

"How is this possible? How could he be this much stronger than me? I-impossible… I've reached a perfect level of power. I'm not a match for Winesage, but that's because Winesage has a Universe treasure. None of the other supreme Daolords could dominate me like this!" King Paleos couldn't believe it, nor did he want to believe it. He had always been very proud of himself and had been very dissatisfied with his ranking as the sixth Daolord. As he saw it, any Daolord who didn't have a Universe treasure would only be on par with him at most.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Ning's swords were simply too fast! Mist-formed swords flew everywhere, creating an almost illusory dreamscape.

For the sake of destroying the 9000 barriers as quickly as possible, Ning had grown accustomed to launching a furious barrage of attacks. Now that he was boiling with the desire to murder the man before him, he was able to strike 129 times with unmatchable speed. King Paleos' defenses were quite impressive and he used all six serrated blades to defend at the same time… but perpetual defense would result in defeat. In the end, one strike from Ning slipped past his guard.

Slash! A streak of sword-light stabbed straight into King Paleos' body, but King Paleos transformed into a blood-tinged black fog.

"An invulnerable form?" Ning frowned. Dealing with cultivators who had invulnerable forms was quite taxing. Ninedust was an example of someone who had an invulnerable aquaform.

"Attack together and kill him!" With the billowing black fog, streams of bloody light reformed to manifest into King Paleos. He bellowed loudly, "Daolords, no one can beat him in a one-on-one fight. Join forces to kill him!"

"Surround him and kill him!"

"Don't get greedy."

"Careful!"

King Paleos had been defeated in a single exchange by that furious barrage of sword-mist and had only survived thanks to his invulnerable form. This instantly frightened all of the other supreme Daolords. This Darknorth was simply too terrifying! For him to be able to fight against four supreme Daolords and kill both Timedream and Kingfreak was one thing, but King Paleos was far stronger than the Kingfreak or Timedream in close combat. Despite that, he had also been defeated in a single exchange?!

What they didn't realize was that Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] in Crimsonwave Temple. If it hadn't been for this technique, he still would've been able to beat King Paleos but he wouldn't have been able to do it just through a simple barrage of Blood Drop stance strikes.

"Careful?" Ning swept them with his gaze. "It doesn't matter how careful you are."

Whoosh. Ning vanished without a trace.

"That's his assassination arts! Careful, he can appear anywhere!"

"Be careful, everyone."

"Attack! Attack! Don't let him get close to us!"

The supreme Daolords began to blindly launch attacks in every direction. Ning's heartworld projection and nine novessence arts ensured that so long as he remained within their range, there would be no way for his enemies to find him once he used his assassination arts.

Whoosh. Ning appeared out of nowhere, then struck at the supreme Daolord closest to him.

"Block, quick!"

"Join forces!"

Some used magic treasures, others used secret arts. All of them threw attacks towards Ning as quickly as possible.

Boom! Slash! Ning's six Northbow swords executed varying sword-arts as he blocked the attacks and continued his charge. His defensive abilities were far stronger than King Paleos'.

"Dodge, quick!"

"Dodge!"

The supreme Daolords were so terrified that they frantically retreated, moving closer to their peers. Only when five of them worked in unison would they be able to resist Ning.

"He's utterly terrifying."

"Darknorth's sword-arts are completely flawless. He's able to easily defend himself against our combined attacks while continuing to charge at us!" This was the first time these Daolords experienced the terror of Ning for themselves.

Ning was already incredibly strong to begin with. Now that he had the Northbow swords and the tenth stance of the [Heartsword, Ning's advantage over the other supreme Daolords had only grown. Winesage was able to dominate the other supreme Daolords, and so too was Ji Ning. The difference was, Ning's 'Shadowless' evasion art was so unpredictable and mysterious that the other supreme Daolords were terrified of it and him.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 18 – One Man Army

"What?" King Paleos, Fiendqueen Dustrain, and the others were all shocked. Things were turning out completely contrary to what they had expected. Not even Winesage had put them in such dire straits! Although Winesage was able to crush any supreme Daolord in a head-on fight, when the twelve of them worked together they were able to dominate him. Faced with their combined attacks, even Winesage was in rather bad shape.

But Daolord Darknorth was actually beating them silly? Was Darknorth even more powerful than Winesage?

What they didn't realize was that Ji Ning was indeed better than Winesage in dealing with group attacks! Ning's sword-arts were more perfect and flawless, allowing him a truly airtight defense against mass attacks! His Shadowless sword-arts allowed him to vanish without a trace, making it so that his enemies couldn't focus their fire against him while he was able to launch counter-attacks as he pleased.

All of these factors combined to ensure that at any given moment, no more than five supreme Daolords were able to fight against Ning! This was why Ning had the advantage and held the initiative. These supreme Daolords were all so frightened that they began to cluster closer to each other, no longer daring to launch attacks.

"Darknorth, let's call it off," King Paleos roared mentally.

"Call it off?" Ning rebutted coldly, "Acceptable, but you need to get the fuck out of this passageway." Ning knew that not even Winesage would be able to kill these twelve Daolords now that they were working together, much less himself.

"By what right are you denying us entry to this passageway? You can already harvest the fruit you need; this passageway is meaningless to you. If we want to force our way in, you won't be able to stop us!" King Paleos said furiously.

"Hmph." Ning came to a halt as well. He just stood there, the area around him covered by his heartworld projection as the nine energy dragons coiled around him in accordance with his Yin-Yang sword-intent. "I cannot enter this passageway, true, but if you wish to enter it you must first master the [Vitalis] art… and so long as I am here, you can forget about quietly meditating on it and mastering it."

"King Paleos, Darknorth is telling the truth. The rhomboid stone pillar does indeed say that one has to master the [Vitalis] art and learn how to disguise one's truesoul aura before one can safely pass through those seven-colored chains."

"Darknorth isn't going to let us train in peace."

"Damn." The twelve supreme Daolords all felt resigned. Ning wasn't able to kill them, but he was entirely capable of disrupting them while they attempted to train, making it impossible for them to master this technique.

"Let's go." King Paleo gritted his teeth. He had no choice but to retreat.

"Go." Although the other supreme Daolords felt insulted and humiliated, they all ended up retreating. In truth, these Daolords were all ranked towards the bottom of the first-tier, which was why they agreed to fight under King Paleos' banner in a group of twelve. In the past, Fiendqueen Dustrain might've ranked in the top ten… but now? So many powerful, low-key supreme Daolords had emerged that she had long ago been shoved out of the top ten.

"Hmph." Ning watched as the supreme Daolords flew away, then dispelled his heartworld projection and his secret arts. He continued to silently stand guard over this region.

He had to help Ninedust… or to be precise, he had to help himself. Ninedust had said early on that he would give Ning all of the command talismans he acquired! Thus, Ning naturally had to do his best to prevent any of the other Daolords from entering this passageway.

"Darknorth has reached an incredible level of power. He and Winesage have clearly surpassed the rest of us by a tremendous amount." King Paleos' group of supreme Daolords quickly arrived at a new passageway. This was the passageway which Ning had already traversed.

"Are we going to give up, just like that?" Fiendqueen Dustrain sent mentally. She was the second-in-command of this squad.

"Hmph…" King Paleos let out a cold snort. His eyes suddenly lit up when he stared at the rhomboid stone pillar. "The [Vitalis] art."

Fiendqueen glanced at it as well, then shook her head. "The command talismans in this passageway have already been taken. It must have been Darknorth who did it."

"Doesn't matter. The [Vitalis] art can be learned here." King Paleos pointed at the rhomboid pillar. "Let's memorize the technique then begin to train! Once we master it, we'll head to the passageway the Ninedust Sectlord took. So long as we can make it past the rainbow chains, Darknorth won't be able to attack us."

"Right."

"King Paleo speaks the truth."

All of them agreed with this plan. They could learn the technique but decline to actually enter the passageway. Later on, they could choose to challenge the Ninedust Sectlord's passageway or perhaps a different on.

Three passageways. More than thirty supreme Daolords.

Because Ning's original passageway had already been cleaned out, everyone's attention turned towards the other two passageways.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Four figures came flying over.

On the stone island, Ning raised his head to look at them. His eyes narrowed. The new arrivals were Daolord Dreamlore, Daolord Tigrone, Daolord Skyshatter, and Daolord Owlblack.

"The four of them?" Ning didn't dare to feel the slightest bit of arrogance. All four of them were ranked in the top ten, and the current top ten was much stronger than the previous top ten. Many Daolords who had been previously low-key had emerged, and every single one was difficult to deal with.

Dreamlore was ranked number three and was second only to Ning himself. Both Dawnstar and the Radiant King had been defeated by him, a testament to his power.

"You wish to stop us and to assist your good friend Ninedust?" Daolord Dreamlore smirked as he glanced at Ning. "Darknorth, you've already helped him acquire a Voidsea Jadeseal; are you going to help him again? What a selfless man you are."

"I'm actually helping myself," Ning said calmly.

"What, you actually plan on stopping the four of us?" the heavily-armored and muscular Daolord Tigrone spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.

"Heh heh heh…" Daolord Owlblack laughed, his voice grating and piercing to the ear. "He really doesn't know his own limits."

"There's one of me and four of you… but you still won't be able to do anything to me," Ning said icily.

Dreamlore and the others frowned. The four of them could suppress even Winesage in a frontal attack, but they had to admit that if Ning wished to hide they wouldn't even be able to track him down. He had a heartworld projection, his nine novessence arts, and even that assassination art.

"So long as I am here, there's no way you'll be able to train in the [Vitalis] art in peace," Ning said. "Leave. Go somewhere else."

"Nice one," Daolord Owlblack smiled coldly.

"That's a nasty move." Daolord Skyshatter ground his teeth.

There really was nothing the four of them could do. Cultivation required silence and focus; if Ning was causing trouble for them, how could they possibly train?

"Darknorth, there are only three passageways in total. You've already cleaned out one of them, so there really are only two left. The other is current being challenged by Winesage, Dawnstar, Ninestone, and Cloudwalker, and the others. The other Daolords probably won't be able to catch up to them and so many of them will come here instead. They'll master the [Vitalis] art and then charge through in mass. I want to see how many of them you can stop!" Daolord Dreamlore said coldly, "We're leaving now."

The four of them smiled coldly as they flew away.

Ning knew that a 'one man army' like himself wouldn't be able to hold everyone off forever. However, every moment he held them off for was an extra moment for Ninedust. Ninedust was helping him out, after all; the more command talismans he acquired, the more fruit he would be able to harvest and the better his chances of reviving his wife were.

"Hmph." Ning radiated an eager desire to do battle.

Time continued to flow on, with Ning standing a silent guard. As for the Ninedust Sectlord, he was still stuck on the [Daoheart] technique. More than a month went by.

Whoooosh. An awe-inspiring group of figures flew over from afar.

Ning raised his head, his face tightening. The arrivals were Daolord Dreamlore's group of four and King Paleos' group of twelve.

"Kill!"

"Charge onto the seven-colored chains!"

The sixteen supreme Daolords charged forwards, executing their secret arts and sending out a flood of magic items to attack. Ning's face had turned solemn long ago, and he hurriedly used his heartworld projection and his nine novessence arts to attack while using his Shadowless evasion art to vanish without a trace. In the face of such a gathering of power, he didn't dare to fight head-on.

"Tigrone, Skyshatter, the two of you stand guard for now while the two of us charge through the chains. As agreed, the four of us will evenly split any fruit we acquire," Dalord Dreamlore sent mentally. He knew very well that he himself wouldn't be able to keep a command talisman safe by himself. The four of them would have to continue to work together.

"Agreed." Daolord Tigrone and Daolord Skyshatter both nodded as Owlblack and Dreamlore both charged towards the seven-colored chains.

"Stop right there!" Ning's heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were compressed to a smaller region, serving as a 'bottleneck' in front of the seven-colored chains. If anyone wished to cross through the chains, they would have to first cross this region.

Ning revealed himself, six Northbow swords at the ready within the 'bottleneck'.

"You wish to block all of us?" Dreamlore smiled coldly. "King Paleos!"

"Attack!"

"Let's attack!" King Paleos' led six of his supreme Daolords to press the assault as well. It had only been a month or so, after all. Even though they had temporal acceleration treasures, only some of them had mastered the [Vitalis] art.

"You won't be able to stop us." King Paleos led the six supreme Daolords, joining Daolord Dreamlore and Daolord Owlblack as they charged towards Ning.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 19 – Triage

King Paleos, Fiendqueen Dustrain, Daolord Owlblack, and Daolord Dreamlore led the group of nine supreme Daolords in charging straight towards Ji Ning.

One against nine? Not even Winesage would be able to pull that off, to say nothing of Ji Ning. Not only that, even the other supreme Daolords hanging back such as Daolord Tigrone and Daolord Skyshatter were charging towards Ning, seeking to tie him down.

"He won't be able to stop us."

"Nobody can stop this many Daolords."

"Haha, we're going to make it through." The supreme Daolords were filled with confidence.

The three-headed, six-armed Ning stood there by himself at the beginning of the seven-colored chains. His six Northbow swords were at the ready, while the nine novessence arts and the heartworld projection covered the surrounding area. He just watched calmly as the host of supreme Daolords charged towards him.

Whoosh! Ning suddenly vanished without a trace.

"Careful, don't let him ambush you. His assassination art is extremely unpredictable."

"Be careful."

They all began to wildly blast the entire area while sending their own secret arts and heartworld projections to contend with Ning's head-on. As they did so, they continued their charge.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

"We made it!"

"I made it as well." One supreme Daolord after another landed on the seven-colored chains. As soon as they did so, they were able to sense an invisible force wrap around them that protected them from the battle raging just outside. No combat was possible on the chains.

"Let's go!" King Paleos charged forwards as well. Clang! Suddenly, a black hole appeared directly in front of him. A moment later, he was blasted backwards with a huge booming sound.

Clang! Daolord Owlblack fought in a barehanded style and was extremely strong in close combat, but just like Paleos he was blasted backwards with an explosion.

"Careful! That's Darknorth!" King Paleos and Daolord Owlback were both furious.

Ning had to briefly reveal himself while attacking, and he swept the group with a cold gaze. A heartbeat later, he vanished once more. It was very difficult for Ning to kill them, but his defensive sword-arts were so superlative and the [Heartsword] technique so formidable that it was very easy for him to stop them in their tracks and knock them flying, one after the other.

"I refuse to believe it." Daolord Dreamlore's youthful face had a look of cold malice on it as he struck out with his massive two-handed bloodblade.

"Fuck off." Whoosh! An incomparably dazzling streak of bloody light suddenly appeared. It was like a scene of peerless beauty that would cause those who saw it to be intoxicated by it. Even Daolord Dreamlore himself was completely absorbed and entranced when he executed this attack. This 'bloodblade' was a very mysterious and unique weapon. He had been entranced by it, and his Dao was able to truly and fully merge with it.

"Fast! Even faster than me!" Ning was shocked. His swords were incredibly fast, but when he saw that dazzlingly beautiful streak of bloody light he knew that his attacks were still significantly slower in comparison.

Ning's six Northbow swords struck out in unison. Ning had been able to use merely a single sword to knock Daolord Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain back, but he didn't dare to be the slightest bit overconfident against Daolord Dreamlore's dazzling strike.

Six streams of mist-formed swords struck out, each of them moving faster than a hundred time's the speed of light.

Clang! Clang! Clang! In the end, he had an advantage in that he only needed to focus on defense. Although the Radiant King and Palace Lord Dawnstar had been defeated by Daolord Dreamlore, they were still able to preserve their lives. In comparison, Ning's close combat abilities could be described as truly perfect and flawless!

Although he was using the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop, in the instant that his sword-light collided it transformed into the Omega Sword Dao – Soleheart. After truly developing the Omega Sword Dao, Ning's offensive techniques could transform into defensive techniques, and vice versa. All techniques could be instantly converted into different techniques without even the slightest trace or opening.

Boom! Daolord Dreamlore only felt an enormous shockwave sweep past his body, sending him stumbling backwards. A look of shock appeared on his face. This was the first time that his attack had been crushed head-on!

Although Dawnstar and the Radiant King had been able to survive his assault, they had been left in very bad shape. Even if Winesage was to face off against this attack of his, Winesage would be forced to simply defend, given that Winesage was just too slow. Darknorth, however, was able to crush him!

"Impossible. Impossible!" A berserk look appeared within Daolord Dreamlore's eyes. "Again!" He was filled with the utmost devotion and sincerity towards his bloodblade.

Swoosh! Yet another dazzling streak of bloody light filled the skies.

"Hmph." Ning's six streaks of mist-formed sword energy once more appeared as well. They were like the spokes to a giant wheel, and when they stabbed out the quickly began to swivel together to form a massive black hole that smashed directly against bloody streak of light, destroying it and knocking Daolord Dreamlore flying backwards.

"Daolord Dreamlore, you might be faster than me… but you only have a single bloodblade. If you had six, I'd probably find it much tougher to deal with you." Ning's voice rang out.

His sword wasn't as fast as Daolord Dreamlore's, but at least he was closer to Dreamlore's speed than any other Daolord. The difference wasn't as great as it was for the likes of Winesage and Dawnstar! Given that he was able to defend with all six Northbow swords at the same time while using incredibly tough defensive sword-arts, he was naturally able to endure the blow and knock his opponent backwards.

"Damn that Darknorth." The nearby King Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain all began to grow anxious. Dreamlore was knocked flying back, an ugly look on his face. After he had defeated the Radiant King and Dawnstar, he had felt extremely confident in being able to challenge the second-ranked Daolord Darknorth… but reality had just slapped him in the face! He could sense the enormous disparity in power between the two of them.

What he didn't know was that ever since Ning had mastered the tenth stance of the [Heartsword] art, Ning had already closed the gap between himself and Winesage! This meant there was now a huge gap in power between Ning and all other supreme Daolords which was only worsened by how balanced and flawless Ning's sword-arts were!

"What should I do?"

"The other Daolords have already made it across. The only ones left here are us."

"Damn that Darknorth. He's quite crafty."

Dreamlore, King Paleos, Owlblack, and Fiendqueen Dustrain were all frantic with impatience. Nine of them had started this charge, and Ning truly wasn't able to stop all of them at once… but he was more than capable of tying down four of them.

Whoosh. Ning once more reappeared in front of the seven-colored chains. "You shall not pass." Ning looked at the four of them.

"What should we do? When we attack, Darknorth just hides and ignores us." Tigrone, Skyshatter, and the others who were holding back and not planning to cross the chains began to grow anxious as well.

Ning completely ignored them. His attention was focused on the four.

Ning knew that it was fairly hard to master the [Daoheart] technique. As for defeating the 9000 barriers? Those weaker first-tier Daolords wouldn't pose Ninedust any risk at all.

At this very moment, Ninedust was within the floating stone island in front of the second abyss. He was training in the [Daoheart] technique with his temporal acceleration cottage. He had failed time and time again, and thus he knew exactly what was going on outside thanks to those moments of clarity. "I n eed to speed up. Darknorth is buying me as much time as he can. I need to speed it up!"

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Five supreme Daolords appeared before him.

"Ninedust, hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal!"

"Hand it over, Ninedust!"

The five supreme Daolords immediately surrounded and attacked Ninedust. To them, the Voidsea Jadeseal was what truly mattered. The command talismans might technically be more valuable, but they were only of use to Eternal Emperors. No amount of treasures the Eternal Emperors might give them would make any difference if they weren't able to complete the Daomerge! To them, all nine command talismans weren't as valuable as a single one of those Voidsea Jadeseals.

Whoosh. The temporal acceleration cottage vanished, while Ninedust transformed into an endless sea of water that filled the surrounding area. Part of the sea coalesced into a humanoid figure that spoke out: "I, Ninedust, swear on my very life itself that I have already used up the Voidsea Jadeseal I acquired. If I violate or betray this oath, may my soul and truesoul be shattered and dispersed."

His booming voice filled the entire world around them.

"Uh?"

"But…"

The five supreme Daolords who had been permitted by Ning to enter this island were all stunned. Even Daolord Dreamlore and the others on the first island were all stunned.

He already used it up? One of the main reasons why they had so frantically attempted to make it onto the second island was because they wanted to take Ninedust's Voidsea Jadeseal from him! This was what truly drew their attention.

None of them wanted to believe it, but Ninedust had already sworn a lifeblood oath. That meant this was definitely true.

"Damnit."

"He actually used it."

"Just what I was afraid of…"

"He must've used it up when we were busy fighting over the final Voidsea Jadseal in the second world…"

"Sly bastard." All of them felt resentment and regret. Still, all that resentment was of no use. Since Ninedust had already used it up, they didn't want to waste any more time on him. He had an invulnerable aquaform, after all; he wouldn't be easily defeated.

"This [Daoheart] technique… it's absolutely marvelous. Absolutely inconceivable!"

"The [Daoheart] technique?" After a brief moment of disappointment, the five supreme Daolords turned their attention to the [Daoheart] technique. All of them were stunned and wildly delighted, and they quickly began to memorize and train in the technique. Techniques which could be used to strengthen the Dao-heart were truly priceless. This technique alone made their visit to Crimsonwave Temple worth it.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 20 – The Final Command Talisman

"What's a [Daoheart] technique?" King Paleos called out loudly.

"A technique that can be used to enhance the Dao-heart," one of the five supreme Daolords immediately shouted back.

King Paleos, Daolord Dreamlore, and the others instantly grew excited.

"Gentlemen, if you are willing to choose a different passageway I'd be willing to transmit the [Daoheart] technique do you," Ning said.

"No need. They've already sworn lifeblood oaths to share any and all techniques we find," Daolord Tigrone said in a gravelly voice. The reason why he was willing to forgo charging into the passageway was precisely because the others had all sworn lifeblood oaths to share any techniques they found as well as to split any fruit they acquired.

"Oh?" Ning said calmly, "It doesn't matter. The four of you can forget about making it across."

Ning's defensive prowess was such that not a single attack had landed on him yet. In truth, even if he had been hit his Hegemon armor would've been able to absorb the blow. Tying down four supreme Daolords was entirely within Ning's capabilities.

"The four of us won't be able to make it across," King Paleos sent mentally. "Tigrone, Skyshatter, the two of you need to train in the [Vitalis] art as soon as possible. Once you master it, you can join the four of us in our attempts. If all six of us work together, he probably won't be able to stop us."

"Alright." The main reason why Tigrone, Skyshatter, and the rest didn't join the attempt was because they hadn't mastered [Vitalis]. Ning could simply ignore them and thus was able to easily focus his efforts on stopping just the other four.

For a time, the battlefield grew silent. Ning continued to stand there by himself in front of the seven-colored chains, a single man who could stop even an army in its tracks.

Another five days went by.

"Hahaha…" Loud laughter rang out as the Ninedust Sectlord stepped onto the tri-colored chains and began to stride across them.

"Damn." The faces of Daolord Dreamlore, King Paleos, and the others all turned pale.

"Excellent." Ning revealed a delighted look.

Ninedust walked across the tri-colored chains. Although the level of pain increased as he continued to advance, he was still able to endure it and make it across to the altar, where he acquired the sixth command talisman at its base.

"Haha, Darknorth, it took me forever to master the 'Dao-heart' challenge. I really feel a bit embarrassed." Ninedust turned to stare at Ning, calling out to him.

"Stop wasting time and words. Hurry up and crack the altar open! Remember, use a temporal acceleration treasure! This challenge is the hardest of all," Ning called out loudly.

"Got it!" Ninedust responded.

Although King Paleos and the others were very anxious, there was nothing they could do. Ning had focused on the four of them with laser-like precision. Given that the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts were all aimed at them, there really was no way for them to get across.

Another half month went past. Finally, Tigrone and Skyshatter both mastered the [Vitalis] art as well.

"Let's go together."

"I want to see how he'll stop this many of us!"

Dreamlore, King Paleos, Owlblack, Dustrain, Tigrone, and Skyshatter joined forces to charge towards the seven-colored chains.

"Huh? What's going on?" Daolord Tigrone found out that… nothing happened at all. No one impeded him as he charged onto the seven-colored chains.

"Eh? I made it?" Fiendqueen Dustrain was stunned as well.

The two hurriedly crossed the seven-colored chains. However, Dreamlore, King Paleos, Daolord Owlblack, and Skyshatter were all stopped by Ning.

"The four of you aren't allowed to cross." Ning's voice rang out. He had specifically decided on which Daolords he could let across. In the end, he just wasn't strong enough and wouldn't be able to block everyone, and thus he had to pick and choose who he would and would not let cross.

The five he had initially let onto the seven-colored chains were all supreme Daolords who ranked at the back of the line. They posed no threat at all.

As for Fiendqueen Dustrain? When Ninedust had first arrived at the Waveshift Realm, he had already been on par with her! However, back then Ninedust had only recently become a Daolord of the Fourth Step and hadn't come up with any ultimate attacks for himself yet. Thanks to the legacy of the Ancient Hegemon as well as his experiences in Crimsonwave Temple, he had already come up with a total of three killer attacks and had definitely surpassed Fiendqueen Dustrain in power.

It must be remembered that breaking through the 9000 barriers was all about attack power! Ninedust's attack power was definitely above Fiendqueen Dustrain's, and so she wouldn't prove to be much of a threat. As a result, Ning let her across.

As for Daolord Tigrone? His defensive prowess was truly unrivalled, but his attacks were much weaker. He also wouldn't be much of a threat.

But Dreamlore, Owlblack, Skyshatter, and Paleos were the four most dangerous Daolords present. Ning naturally would have to stop them!

"You fight dirty, Darknorth."

"Daolord Tigrone and Fiendqueen Dustrain, do your best to acquire that command talisman. If you can kill Ninedust, all the better."

"It'll be up to the two of you."

Dreamlore and the others had to give up, even though they didn't wish to.

"Let's go find the Radiant King, Daolord Feich, and the others. The final Voidsea Jadeseal is on Daolord Feich," Daolord Dreamlore ordered. He immediately led Owlblack, Skyshatter, and King Patreos as well as the other Daolords in leaving. These nine supreme Daolords began to charge towards the other passageway in search of Daolord Feich.

Everything fell silent.

Dustrain, Tigrone, and the rest of the supreme Daolords were all focused on the [Daoheart] technique. As for Ninedust, he had already reached the altar. He first used the temporal acceleration treasure to cover the entire thing, then began to assault the 9000 barriers.

"No one's coming?" Ning's life was now quite relaxed. "Maybe I should go take a look and see how the other passageway is doing." Ning flew towards the direction of Winesage's passageway. When he reached the edges of the passageway, he stared at the distant islands.

"Wow!" Ning was stupefied by what he saw.

The situation in this passageway was far more chaos. Winesage, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone were at the peak of the altar, working together to assault the 9000 barriers while also assaulting each other.

As for the situation on the levitating stone island in front of the second abyss? It was even more chaotic! The Radiant King, Daolord Snowjoy, Daolord Shaka, the Starking, Daolord Feich, and a number of other supreme Daolords were battling each other, with Daolord Snowjoy and Daolord Shaka working together but surrounded and assaulted by the other five.

"Daolord Feich!" A furious shout rang out, followed by King Paleos, Daolord Dreamlore, Daolord Owlblack, and Daolord Skyshatter arriving. They easily traversed the seven-colored chains and joined the wild melee.

"Damn." The faces of the Radiant King and the others turned pale.

It really was a wild, chaotic battle. The wild battle at the top of the altar was over the third command seal in that passageway, while the wild battle in front of the second abyss was over the Voidsea Jadeseal.

The only peaceful place was at the outermost region, where the supreme Daolords were all trying to calmly train in the [Daoheart] technique and thus couldn't be bothered to fight with each other.

"This passageway really is quite chaotic." Ning stood at the intersection between the two regions, keeping a watch on both sides. He couldn't be bothered to take part in the battle, as once he did everyone would be wary of him. In fact, they might gang up on him!

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, another year went by. The wild battle continued, with two more supreme Daolords perishing. Both were fairly weak ones, and both died by Daolord Dreamlore's hands. His bloodblade was simply too vicious and cruel.

Boom! A sonorous explosion rang out as the 9000 barriers atop the altar simultaneously shattered. Ninestone howled with rage as he charged towards Winesage. Much like Tigrone, Ninestone possessed terrifying defensive abilities.

"Get it!" Cloudwalker and Dawnstar simultaneously charged forwards as well.

"Beat it." Winesage was doing the same.

BOOM!

"Hahaha… brother Winesage, you've already acquired the other two command talismans in this passageway. You are being a bit too greedy, don't you think?" Palace Lord Dawnstar was the one to seize it, delighting Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, and Shaka. The five of them were part of the same time; they had agreed long ago to split the fruits they acquired evenly!

"Damn." Winesage frowned. He had been the first to arrived and had long ago mastered the [Vitalis] art and acquired the first command talisman. He had also been able to master the [Daoheart] technique with a single try, as the tempering process the Dark Kingdom subjected its Daolords to was utterly terrifying. Given that he was also a Heartforce Cultivator who had been alive for an extremely long period of time, his Dao-heart was indeed superior to Ning's. This was why he had been the one to acquire both of those talismans.

However, the 9000 barriers were simply too difficult to deal with.

Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone had quickly arrived at the altar as well. By then, Winesage had already shattered the first 8000 barriers… but alas, in the end it was Dawnstar who picked up the trophy.

"The eighth command seal has already fallen into the hands of Palace Lord Dawnstar." The towering image of a white-robed man appeared above the chaotic battlefield, staring down at the Daolords as his voice echoed throughout the Crimsonwave Temple. "At present, only a single command talisman remains unclaimed, the seventh talisman. Daolords, this is the last one! If you miss it, you probably won't have another chance like this."

When Ning heard the realmsoul's voice, he hurriedly looked towards Ninedust's passageway. Right now, Ninedust, Daolord Tigrone, and a little-known Daolord were simultaneously attacking the 9000 barriers together. Ning truly hadn't expected that Daolord Tigrone and that fairly weak first-tier Daolord would both have such powerful Dao-hearts.

These command talismans mattered to Ning more than anything else right now. He had already done everything he could for Ninedust. The rest would be up to him.

"Ninedust…" Ning watched anxiously. These fruits would be the basis for his negotiations with the major powers. The more he could acquire, the better.

Thankfully, Winesage and the others didn't take part in the fight over the final command talisman. In truth, there was no way for them to take part even if they wished to. Every single Daolord could only choose a single passageway, after all.

In their eyes, the Voidsea Jadeseal mattered the most!

"The Voidsea Jadeseal."

"Quick."

"Go for it!"

As if by silent agreement, Winesage, Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone all hurried onto the tri-colored chains and charged back to the flying stone island in front the second abyss, taking part in the wild battle.

Of the five Voidsea Jadeseals, one had been used up by Emperor Solesky, one had been used up by the Radiant King, and one had been used up by Ninedust. Only two remained untouched. One was in Winesage's hands; everyone knew that there was no way to take it from him. The last one was in Daolord Feich's hands.

"Go for it!"

"Kill him!"

The more chaotic a battle became, the more berserk the weaker Daolords grew. They knew that their only chances would be during wild battles like this. As supreme Daolords, they all had tough life-preserving abilities, ensuring that if they acquired the seal they would stand a good chance of keeping it.

Time flowed on and the battle continued.

Daolord Feich was indeed good at staying alive. He was aided by the fact that some of the Daolords had long ago sworn oaths to join into true alliances together and help each other resist their foes, no matter who won the seal. Thus, even though another five supreme Daolords perished, Daolord Feich remained alive.

Boom!

The altar within Ninedust's passageway. By now, a total of four supreme Daolords were assaulting the 9000 barriers. Finally, with a loud explosion, the barriers came crashing down.

Whooooosh. A flood of water instantly swept towards the talisman.

"Ahahaha!" Ninedust roared with laughter, his voice echoing in the world around him. "Darknorth, I have it!"

When the distant Ning saw this, he was so excited that his aura flared mightily, causing energy waves to appear around him. He laughed loudly, "Haha, the heavens have chosen to aid me! The heavens have chosen to aid me!"

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 21 – Harvesting the Fruit

Given Ji Ning's personality, he generally wouldn't lose control of himself like this. The fact that he did was a testament to how excited he was. Ninedust had been competing against three other supreme Daolords; there was a very high chance that he would fail. Of course Ning was excited by his success!

"He was actually the one to obtain it?" Daolord Tigrone was so angry he gnashed his teeth.

"I was just about to stop him when he transformed into an endless wave." Fiendqueen Dustrain ground her teeth angrily as well. She had arrived at the altar at just the nick of time, but she still hadn't been able to intervene.

Whoosh. After acquiring the talisman, the Ninedust Sectlord transformed into a vast wave that surged out and reformed into human form atop the tri-colored chain. He endured the pain as he quickly walked across the tri-colored chains to the seven-colored chains where Ning was awaiting him.

"I didn't let you down, Darknorth. Haha! I, Ninedust, am quite capable," Ninedust said smugly. As he spoke, he handed the three command talismans he had in his position over to Ning. "Here, take'm." Ninedust was in an excellent mood right now. He had owed Ning a huge favor when the latter had let him take the Voidsea Jadeseal; given his arrogant temperament, he really felt rather uncomfortable owing Ning so much. Now that he was able to make some reparations, he immediately felt much better.

"Thank you." Ning immediately accepted all three talismans without being shy. They truly were quite important to him.

Whoosh. Rainbow light appeared in the skies above them, condensing into the towering and white-robed figure of Realmsoul Polo. The realmsoul stared down at them and boomed, "Daolords, the Voidsea Jadeseals and the command talismans needed for harvesting the fruit have all been taken. If you wish to fight each other for them, feel free. Those who wish to harvest the fruit can take the command talismans to the corresponding Grovekeepers, who have already come. If you wish to leave, you can do so upon exiting the Crimsonwave Temple. I've already set up a spatial tunnel outside Crimsonwave Temple that lets you exit from the Waveshift Realm."

"We have to be careful. Let's go trade for the fruit right away," Ning said cautiously.

"Yes, let's go." Ninedust nodded.

Ning's worry was that everyone else would fight him over his command talismans, as he had a total of six of them. However, his guess was wrong. Those weaker supreme Daolords were not capable of tying him down; they simply weren't powerful enough to take things from him. As for the stronger ones, all of them went to fight over the Voidsea Jadeseals.

"So even the final command talisman has been taken? I need to speed this up." Winesage frowned. A large number of Daolords had gathered atop the stony island before the second abyss, including the likes of Palace Lord Dawnstar, Palace Lord Cloudwalker, Ninestone, Snowjoy, Shaka, King Paleos, Daolord Skyshatter, Daolord Owlblack, Daolord Dreamlore, and even the Radiant King, who had returned to try his luck.

In short, a large group of the most elite Daolords in the Endless Territories had arrived.

Boom!

Winesage had been shoved to the sidelines. He was so powerful that no one else wanted to work with him, putting him in an awkward situation.

"This is the right moment!" Winesage suddenly produced an extremely ordinary-looking dart that was roughly half the size of his palm. The dart didn't seem unusual in any way; in fact, none of the battling Daolords sensed anything amiss at all.

Swish!

The dart suddenly shot out, bringing with it a terrifying aura of power that caused all of the many battling supreme Daolords to feel their hearts tremble.

"Not good."

"Careful."

"Dodge!" The subconscious terror they felt caused all of them to know that something bad was happening. By now, all of them saw the object which had inspired terror in them… that streak of dazzlingly fast light.

As soon as the dart had shot out, Winesage had shot out as well behind it.

"No!" Daolord Feich's face turned ashen as he stared at the terrifying dart fly towards him. He almost instantly produced a round, glowing mirror in his hands. Crack! The surface of the mirror shattered, causing a much larger mirror to appear right in front of him.

Ever since he had acquired the Voidsea Jadeseal, he had been hunted by others. Although the Radiant King and the other Daolords in his group had all sworn lifeblood oaths to defend each other regardless of who acquired the seal, there was a limit to how hard they had to fight. As a result, Daolord Feich had encountered quite a few dangerous situations. This was his very last life-saving treasure.

Swish! The streak of light shot into the mirror. The mirror instantly cracked and then completely shattered into tiny pieces. The streak of light continued to shoot forwards, stabbing straight into Daolord Feich's body.

Whoosh. Daolord Feich's immediately transformed into a mass of gray mist.

"Ahhhhhhh! W-what the hell is this?!" An agonized scream rang out from the gray mist, followed by the mist reforming into a corpse. Daolord Feich's corpse.

Winesage had been flying directly behind that streak of light. As soon as Daolord Feich's corpse appeared, Winesage waved his hand and immediately collected it.

"Hmph. You should feel proud to have died to my 'cycleseed dart'." Winesage hadn't really been willing to use this treasure, as it was the most powerful killer weapon he had at his disposal. Even people as powerful as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities would probably be heavily wounded if struck! After he acquired the Universe treasure in the Terror Starsea, the Universe treasure had guided him to another ancient battle-site of the Dawn War, where he had acquired two mighty relics. The 'cycleseed dart' was one of the two, and it was an extremely venomous and insidious treasure.

Daolord Feich hadn't been strong enough, and so he had almost instantly died once hit.

"For the sake of the Voidsea Jadeseal, everything is worth it." Winesage only felt a sense of jubilation. He had been alive for far too long, over a hundred thousand chaos cycles. He had braved many dangers over these years for the sake of his Daomerge! Now that the Voidsea Jadeseals had appeared, he would be willing to pay any price to acquire them.

"With the help of two Voidsea Jadeseals, my chances at succeeding with the Daomerge shall be greatly improved." Winesage turned to sweep his gaze across the many Daolords. All of them, including Dawnstar, the Radiant King, Dreamlore, and Paleos were all staring at him nervously.

That treasure he had displayed was far too terrifying! Although Daolord Feich only had an imperfect 'invulnerable form' which had merely been on par with that of Timedream, one must remember that Ning had spent an inordinate amount of time before he had killed Timedream! Just now, however, Daolord Feich had been slain in an instant. How could everyone not feel stunned?

"It's impressive that he had even a single treasure like that. I refuse to believe Winesage has another one," the Radiant King sent mentally.

"Right."

"And we're much stronger than Feich." Daolord Owlblack's eyes glowed with savage light.

"I would've knocked that streak of light aside with just a single strike." Daolord Dreamlore's eyes gleamed with madness as well. "Winesage has TWO of the Voidsea Jadeseals, and he hasn't had the chance to use any of them. Both of them are still on him. Attack!"

"Attack!"

"Kill him."

All the Daolords moved at the same time. They didn't care about Ji Ning at all right now. Six command talismans? Even if Ning had all nine, they would still view a single Voidsea Jadeseal as being far more valuable… and Winesage had two of them!

"They actually are attacking?" As soon as the Daolords began to attack, Winesage gritted his teeth and began to flee.

A black earth golem was chatting with Ning and Ninedust.

"Senior, here is the ninth command talisman." Ning produced the relevant talisman.

"Yes." The Grovekeeper lowered his head to look at it, then reached out to accept it. Instantly, one arm after another began to emerge from the vast black earth back in the first world and started to harvest the fruits from the many large, semi-translucent trees nearby. The black arms pulled the fruit into the earth, then caused them to reappear next to the Grovekeeper. Every single tree only had a single fruit. The fruit was semi-translucent as well, with a faint reddish tinge to them. When Ning and Ninedust looked at the red glow, they felt their hearts grow peaceful.

"A total of three hundred fruits." The Grovekeeper looked at Ning. "These are known as the coldflame cauldron fruits, and they are priceless beyond compare. Even in unique places like Crimsonwave Palace, they take 100,000 chaos cycles to ripen."

"Understood." Ning stared at the three hundred fruits flying towards him, then waved his hand and collected all of them.

"Come, let's go over there." Ning led Ninedust towards yet another one of the Grovekeepers who had appeared in the third world.

'Darknorth, look over there!" Ninedust hurriedly pointed off into the distance.

"Wow." Ning was surprised. "What's going on with Winesage? How'd he piss off all the Daolords and get them to attack him?"

Every single Daolord was pursuing and attacking Winesage! This was primarily because Winesage had never chosen to ally with any of the other Daolords. Ning had once invited Winesage to join forces with him, but Winesage had been too proud to do so.

Poor Winesage.

"Forget him. Let's go harvest that fruit," Ning said. As he spoke, he and Ninedust flew towards the seventh Grovekeeper and asked him to harvest the fruit from the seventh command talisman.

Boom! Winesage was incredibly strong, and his Universe treasure gave him the strength he needed to endure. With each clash, four or five supreme Daolords were sent flying. However, the other supreme Daolords continued their pursuit, even tossing out Dao-seals and other treasures.

"I have to stand within this diagram for ten seconds before I'll be sent back to the second world?" Winesage ground his teeth. "Why do I have to wait this long?"

"Winesage, there's no chance you'll be able to stand there for ten seconds."

"You won't be able to escape."

The many supreme Daolords were all working together to assault Winesage, giving him no chance to defeat them individually at all. Given how many people were assaulting him, it was simply impossible for Winesage to stand there without moving for ten seconds. How was he supposed to escape? If this continued, he'd eventually be defeated. But was he supposed to actually hand over the Voidsea Jadeseal? He wasn't willing to!

Winesage suddenly saw two figures off in the distance who were chatting with the Grovekeeper in a leisurely fashion. It was Ning and Ninedust.

"Darknorth, give me a hand!" Winesage sent frantically.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 22 – Ji Ning's Request

"Here are five hundred and sixty of the golden sandsifter fruit." The Grovekeeper delivered one gleaming golden fruit after another to Ji Ning, who waved his hand and accepted them.

"Darknorth, give me a hand!" Winesage's voice rang out within Ning's mind.

"Eh?" Ning frowned as he turned to look at the furious battle raging off in the distance. There were more than twenty Daolords encircling and attacking Winesage, but Winesage was so incredibly strong that he was able to ensure his enemies weren't able truly work together flawlessly. Each time, Winesage 'only' had to deal with ten of them at most.

"What's wrong, Darknorth?" Ninedust asked.

"It's Winesage. He asked me for assistance." Ning smiled. "He's just barely hanging on right now, but with so many Daolords attacking him he's unable to remain within the teleportation diagram for ten seconds. There's no way for him to leave the third world, much less Crimsonwave Temple."

Ninedust laughed. "It's his own fault for hogging two of the Voidsea Jadeseals, and not even rushing off to use them! He was too self-confident."

"Agreed." Ning nodded. In truth, using the seals in the Waveshift Realm was indeed a bit wasteful. Daolords would generally make plentiful preparations before using up the Voidsea Jadeseal, but for safety's sake Ninedust had used his up long ago. That way, he could ensure that he wouldn't be attacked by everyone else.

"Darknorth, give me a hand! Just tell me what you want!" Winesage sent frantically.

"Why should I help you?" Ning and Ninedust stood off in the distance, watching relaxedly from afar. Ning sent back placidly, "You are being assaulted by numerous Daolords, and you aren't able to escape them. You are locked into combat. Before you die, you'll probably be able to kill a few of them. I could simply go in then and mop up the rest."

"Before I die? I'm not going to commit suicide for the sake of these seals," Winesage sent back. "If the situation truly turns dire, I'd rather offer one of them up and ensure that I stay safe."

"Then go ahead and hand me one of the Voidsea Jadeseals, both of your command talismans, and some of your other treasures. If you do, I'll help out," Ning sent mentally.

"That's a bit much, isn't it?" Winesage replied mentally, "All I need to do is hand a Voidsea Jadeseal over to King Paleos! If I do that, King Paleos and his group of eight Daolords will be willing to swear lifeblood oaths not to attack me and even help me out! With the eight of them helping me instead of attacking me, I'll be able to escape with ease."

Ning couldn't help but nod when he heard this. Right. The attacking Daolords weren't all on the same page either; they were divided up into multiple 'factions'. The Daolords under King Paleos constituted one faction, the Radiant King led a second faction, Daolord Dreamlore's four-man team made up a third faction, while Palace Lord Dawnstar's five-man squad made up a fourth faction.

Any of the four factions could be bribed using a Voidsea Jadeseal! So long as one of the four joined Winesage, Winesage would be able to break this stalemate.

"It seems I won't have a shot at winning the Voidsea Jadeseal," Ning mused to himself. In truth, he didn't even really want it that much; he had intentionally started off with a very high ask. "Well, give me all the treasures you own, aside from the Voidsea Jadeseals and your weapons. Do that and I'll help you," Ning sent back.

"All my treasures? Those two talismans are enough!" Winesage was growing rather angry. "Darknorth, I've been alive for more than a hundred thousand chaos cycles and have experienced countless dangers. Am I supposed to just give you all of my treasures? Don't you feel that you are asking for a bit much?"

"Not at all. Compared to the Voidsea Jadeseals, those things are worthless." Ning shook his head.

"Two command talismans. That's it." Winesage ground his teeth. "There's no way I'll give you anything else! I need to at least be able to keep myself safe. There's no way I can just give you all of my treasures. Those treasures are enough for me to bribe a few of those Daolords into joining me."

"Hmph." A cold light flashed through Ning's eyes. "True, you need to stay alive. Fine! I can agree to let you keep two life-preserving treasures. Aside from those two treasures, the Voidsea Jadeseals, and your weapons, everything else you own now belongs to me! If you agree, I'll immediately come over and help out. If you refuse… then I'm going to join in and attack you as well!"

"You…!" Winesage's face turned gray. Ning was going to attack as well? Ning was a tremendous threat to him. When Ning had defeated the black-armored general in the second world, Winesage had immediately understood that Ning had grown much more powerful and was now close to him in might! Once Ning intervened, the situation would immediately turn even grimmer.

"You can keep the Voidsea Jadeseals, your weapons, and two life-preserving treasures. I'll wager that you only have a few valuable ones anyhow," Ning sent back. "Letting you choose and keep two of them isn't a bad offer."

Winesage ground his teeth. What a nasty piece of work this Darknorth was, kicking him when he was down! However… Winesage belonged to the Dark Kingdom, while Darknorth belonged to the Dao Alliance and the Brightshore Kingdom. They belonged to enemy organizations to begin with, and Winesage had even attacked Ning previously! Everyone was doing this for the sake of the treasures they wanted. Personal feelings had nothing to do with it.

"Fine." Winesage gritted his teeth and accepted Ning's offer, but his heart was bleeding.

He was the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories and had braved many dangerous areas, earning even a Universe treasure for himself. He had naturally accumulated an enormous number of treasures! Now, he had to hand nearly ninety percent of them over to Ning… how could he NOT feel heartache at the prospect?

Still… his lifespan was coming to an end. The Daomerge was what truly mattered!

"Good." Ning revealed a smile. "Shall we swear a lifeblood oath?"

"Of course we have to swear a lifeblood oath!" Winesage said frantically.

Ning knew that acquiring a Voidsea Jadeseal was rather unlikely. In truth, he was different from the other Daolords; he never really wanted one of the seals that much to begin with. He was perfectly happy earning two of the command talismans. For him to earn the many other treasures which Winesage had accumulated over the years made him even happier.

"Ninedust, I just negotiated a little something with Winesage." Ning quickly explained what had happened to Ninedust.

"Ah?!" Ninedust revealed a delighted look. "Hah! Savage! Too bad, though, that you weren't able to get one of those Voidsea Jadeseals. Still, if he was willing to part with one of them he wouldn't hand over all these other treasures."

"The two of us will split those treasures once we get them," Ning sent.

"Split them?" Ninedust was startled. "No way. No way! You go help him out. I won't be of much use."

"Both of the command talismans are mine, but we'll split all the other treasures. I've already taken the lion's share," Ning said with a calm smile. Winesage certainly had many treasures, but all of them combined probably weren't worth as much as the fruits! Even Hegemons and the Dao Alliance had gone crazy over those fruits! Winesage had 'only' been alive for a hundred thousand chaos cycles; compared to the mighty Hegemons, that was nothing. The Hegemons certainly had far more treasures by far! Thus, his treasures were probably worth just a fraction of what the fruits were worth.

Ninedust had already given Ning three command talismans. How could Ning not give him some treasure in compensation?

In addition, it was likely that they would acquire a number of life-preserving treasures from Winesage. As good friends, splitting them was nothing. Even Sectlord Timedream had given quite a few treasures to the Kingfreak! In addition, at Ning's level these treasures were generally of very little use to him. What he needed was truly stunning treasures such as the Crimsonwave Temple fruits, treasures which would drive even Hegemons wild with lust.

"Let's go. Follow me." Ning transformed into a streak of light.

"Time to attack?" Ninedust immediately grew excited. Thanks to his invulnerable aquaform, he was even better at staying alive than Ning was. He naturally felt eager to take part in this fight!

"I don't think that'll even be necessary," Ning said.

Boom! Ning transformed into a streak of light that charged over from afar. His heartworld projection came crashing down, as did his nine novessence arts. Ning was like an enormous comet blazing through the skies towards the battlefield, while the Ninedust Sectlord roared with laughter by his side. "Daoloooooords! I'm coming for you all!" He transformed into a vast wave of water that swept through the world like a tidal wave towards the enemy Daolords.

"Is that Darknorth?"

"That's Daolord Darknorth!"

The faces of the many Daolords assaulting Winesage all tightened, with Dawnstar, Cloudwalker, and Ninestone in particular frowning unhappily. These three were of the Brightshore Kingdom and thus weren't worried about Ning attacking them, but they wouldn't be able to attack Ning either.

"Daolord Darknorth, we didn't go to cause you any trouble. Why are you getting involved?!" King Paleos roared angrily.

"Darknorth, we don't want your command talismans. Don't interfere!" Daolord Dreamlore snapped.

All of them were furious. Darknorth had already acquired quite a few command talismans, attracting their envy. They all knew just how valuable those things were! However, for the sake of the Voidsea Jadeseal, they didn't want to get into a lengthy altercation with him.

"So what if I DO interfere?" A thunderous voice rang out from the heavens as the vast comet of heartforce and energy came crashing down into the battlefield. The Yin-Yang Chaos Domain began to merge together with Winesage's secret arts as the two joined forces, striking out at their foes.

Swish! Ning disappeared into thin air. He had just used his Shadowless evasion art to move within range of Winesage's secret arts! Winesage and him were in the same region now. Although Winesage knew that Ning had entered that region, he didn't force Ning to reveal himself; instead, he aided Ning as best he could.

"He vanished."

"Darknorth just vanished. Be careful!"

The other Daolords all had ugly looks on their faces.

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Book 33, Crimsonwave Temple, Chapter 23 – Adventure's End

They would rather surround and attack Winesage than have to deal with Darknorth. Although Winesage was slightly stronger than Darknorth, he fought in a direct and aboveboard manner. The Daolords all knew where he was, at least! This made surrounding him and attacking him much easier. If Winesage wanted to attack one of them, the others would see it coming and be able to prepare for him accordingly. Daolord Darknorth, however, was another story.

He had assassination arts that allowed him to vanish without a trace, keeping all of the Daolords on their toes. This sort of feeling was quite uncomfortable!

Whoosh. Ning appeared out of nowhere close to two of the Daolords.

"He's over there!"

"Retreat, quick!"

"Don't take him head-on!"

The two Daolords were so terrified that they turned pale. By now, everyone knew that Winesage and Darknorth stood at the very apex of power amongst the supreme Daolords. Even the third-ranked Daolord Dreamlore had been blasted back by a single strike from Darknorth! The difference in power was quite apparent.

Swoosh. Ning charged straight forwards, easily deflecting the secret arts and treasures that were assaulting him.

Swish! Swish! Two streaks of mist-formed sword energy tore through the air. Although those two supreme Daolords strove to defend, they were still both knocked flying back from this single clash. One had been struck on the body while the other had been able to block with a shield-type treasure, but even then he was sent flying from the tremendous power of Ning's sword.

"Everyone, let's pause for a moment." Ning's voice rang out.

The twenty-plus attacking Daolords all had ugly looks on their faces, but they did indeed pause as they all stared at Ning.

Whoosh. Only now did the vast waveformed Ninedust reach Ning's side, where he quickly returned to his human shape once more.

Winesage, Ning, and Ninedust stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

Ning smiled as he looked at the Daolords before him. "Daolords, you should know quite well that with Winesage, myself, and Ninedust working together, we would be able to defeat even ten supreme Daolords… and given my assassination arts, I imagine that it wouldn't be too hard to actually kill a few of you."

"Hmph." These supreme Daolords were extremely unhappy to hear this, but they all knew that Ning was telling the truth. Just now, he had merely struck out with two swords against those two supreme Daolords. If he had focused all six swords on one of them, he probably would've been able to smash that supreme Daolord to death! By himself, he might not be that grave a danger, but with Winesage and Ninedust assisting him, Ning would be an utter terror to deal with. This was only worsened by the fact that Dawnstar, Ninestone, and Cloudwalker couldn't even attack Ning.

"Darknorth," Palace Lord Dawnstar called out.

"Brother Dawnstar, treasures go to the strong and the deserving," Ning said. "All of us have come here to compete over the treasures, and we do that based on how strong we are as well as how lucky we are. Winesage has promised me enough treasures to agree to help him out. If this battle continues… you won't be able to harm us, but some of you will probably die."

"Hmph." Daolord Dreamlore and the others all had ugly looks on their faces.

"Darknorth ended up taking advantage of the situation."

"Winesage won two of the Voidsea Jadeseals, while Darknorth acquired almost all of the command talismans. These two bastards." The supreme Daolords felt rather resentful at this outcome.

"What, do you really want to keep fighting instead of bringing this to a close?" Ning said calmly, "I really don't care one way or the other."

"Gentlemen, shall we keep fighting?" Winesaid said coldly

All of the Daolords were prepared to act without remorse for the sake of these treasures… but alas, they had encountered the even more remorseless Ji Ning and Winesage.

The supreme Daolords exchanged glances. Although they didn't want to accept this, they could read the writing on the wall. Winesage himself was far stronger than all other Daolords. As for Darknorth, he had already been strong prior to entering Crimsonwave Temple, and he had now grown to become even more terrifying. Once these two terrifying Daolords joined together, they truly would be a deadly force to reckon with.

"You two really are nasty pieces of work." Daolord Dreamlore turned and started to walk away. "Let's go."

"Let's go."

"Let's leave." One supreme Daolord after another began to step into the teleportation diagram.

Ninestone looked at Ning. "Darknorth, I imagine you ended up making a killing off of Winesage. Impressive."

"King Nine." Ning nodded. "It was all luck."

"I want to have your luck," Palace Lord Dawnstar muttered.

"Let's go. We have some fruit to harvest as well," Palace Lord Cloudwalker said.

There were a total of nine command talismans. Ning had eight of them, while Dawnstar's group had acquired one as well… the eighth command talisman!

The Daolords were all quite intelligent. They'd only fight if they felt that had a chance at victory. If their chances were nil, who would be so foolish as to get into a fight and possibly die? Thus, once Ning and Ninedust showed themselves, Ning only had to display a bit of his power in order to let them know that it was time to leave.

"You utter savage." Winesage turned to look at Ning, a mixed look on his face. "You didn't have to do a damn thing, but now I have to give you all my treasures."

"Cut the crap. Hurry up and hand'm over," Ning said with a grin on his face.

There was nothing Winesage could do. Still, although he looked quite helpless and unhappy, he was actually in an excellent mood. His lifespan was coming to its end, after all! If he failed his Daomerge, what would be the point of keeping all those treasures? If he succeeded, he would become a Hegemon, making the treasures of even less use to him! This was why the Voidsea Jadeseal and the Universe weapon truly were the only things that really mattered to him right now.

"Take it. I've killed quite a few supreme Daolords and collected all of their treasures. Now, all of it will belong to you." Winesage handed over a round disc.

Ning accepted the disc. Once he scanned it, he immediately revealed a look of delight. Due to the lifeblood oath binding them, Ning didn't worry about Winesage holding anything back at all; if Winesage had, he would've already seen his truesoul shattered by the lifeblood oath.

"Come, come, come! Ninedust, this portion is yours." Ning swept through the disc with his godsense, then quickly split the treasure up into two portions. One portion, Ning put into a storage gourd which he then handed to Ninedust.

"Fine." Ninedust didn't decline, electing to accept the gourd. Once he scanned it: "My goodness, that's a lot of treasure! That's far more than I had originally." Ninedust was delighted.

"This is Winesage we're talking about! How could you and I compare to him when it comes to wealth?" Ning smirked.

The nearby Winesage couldn't help but let out a cold snort when he heard this. Still, he chose to stay next to Ning and Ninedust. Only by travelling alongside them would his safety be guaranteed.

Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage travelled together to each of the Grovekeepers, using up the various command talismans to acquire the fruit they needed. Crimsonwave Temple had a total of nine types of fruit, and Ning managed to acquire eight of them.

In truth, this was primarily because he had chosen from the beginning to give up on the Voidsea Jadeseals and instead focus his time and attention on the third world. That was why he had acquired so many command talismans… especially seeing as how it was his decision to let Ninedust take a jade seal that resulted in Ninedust giving him all three command talismans! But of course, the other reason was that Ning was indeed strong enough. He and Winesage completely eclipsed all other Daolords in power.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three streaks of light flew out of Crimsonwave Temple. They included a white-robed youth with a golden scabbard on his back, a black-robed man, and a silver-robed man bearing a staff.

"We finally made it out." Winesage smiled.

"Let's go. Let's leave this place." Ning stared forwards towards the giant spatial tunnel in front of them that traversed the skies. Clearly, the realmsoul had established this tunnel as a way out of the Waveshift Realm.

"Time to leave." Ninedust revealed a delighted look as well.

All three of them had won many things here.

Winesage had acquired two of the Voidsea Jadeseals.

Ninedust had won a Voidsea Jadeseal and had also acquired many treasures.

Ji Ning hadn't acquired any of the seals, but he had harvested the priceless fruits of eight command talismans.

"Time to go." The three transformed into streaks of light that soared into the skies, quickly departing from the Waveshift Realm.

A large host of figures were waiting outside the spatial tunnel that exited the Waveshift Realm. These were all ancient Eternal Emperors. They normally were secluded in different parts of the Endless Territories, but they had all gathered here today.

At the very front of the vast host, there were six groups of tremendous power. These were the leaders of the Dao Alliance, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aeonians, the Aberrant special lifeforms, and the Ancient cultivators. All of them stared towards the tunnel with anticipation.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. One Daolord after another flew out.

"They're coming out."

"Here they come." Quite a few of the ancient Emperors had been waiting anxiously.

"Owlblack," a white-ahired elder called out.

"Ah? Patriarch!" Daolord Owlblack immediately called out respectfully upon seeing this man.

"Do you know who ended up with the coldflame cauldron fruits?" the white-haired elder immediately asked.

"The coldflame cauldron fruits. Who took them?"

"Where are they?"

"Who acquired the coldflame cauldron fruits?"

Quite a few ancient Eternal Emperors echoed this question. However, the truly high-status figures like the Hegemons were quite calm, because they had received word long ago that Ning was the one to acquire the ninth command talisman.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. More Daolords continued to arrive. Finally, three more streaks of light flew out. They were Winesage, Ninedust, and Ji Ning.

This entire time, the three awesome Hegemons known as Netherlily, Windrain, and Brightshore had been quite calm and quiet, as had the leaders of the other three major powers. Upon seeing the white-robed youth who had a golden scabbard on his back appear, they immediately flew in unison towards him.

"Darknorth."

"Daolord Darknorth."

"Darknorth, my young friend." One call after another rang out. The most supreme Emperors of the Endless Territories were all staring at Ning, smiles on their faces and looks of incomparable friendliness in their eyes. Even the leaders of the Dark Kingdom and the Aeonians were beaming towards him.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 1 – Reviving Yu Wei

Ji Ning, Winesage, and Ninedust were all rather dazed as they watched the three Hegemons and numerous supreme Eternal Emperors fly towards them. Ning immediately recognized the white-bearded old man with six curved horns on his head as Hegemon Brightshore.

As for the other two Hegemons, one was a dazzlingly beautiful scepter-bearing woman; when Ning saw her, he felt as though he had seen the most beautiful creature in all of existence and felt the uncontrollable desire to venerate her. It was impossible for anyone to feel any untoward thoughts regarding her at all! The second Hegemon was a man with long green hair and a big green beard. His hair, his eyebrows, and his beard were all extremely long.

"Darknorth." Brightshore Hegemon smiled. "Let me make the introductions. This gentleman here is Hegemon Windrain of the Aberrants."

Ning looked at the green-haired, green-bearded man. Hegemon Windrain had a very unusual aura. When Ning looked at him, he felt as though he was staring at a vast forest of trees. "Greetings, Hegemon Windrain," Ning said respectfully.

This person stood at the very apex of power within the Endless Territories. How could Ning dare to be disrespectful in the slightest?

"Darknorth, my young friend, you really are quite impressive. There are only nine command talismans in there, but you acquired eight of them. Impressive, impressive!" Hegemon Windrain praised.

"What?" Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all stunned. They looked at each other. None of them had publicized the fact that Ninedust had given Ning three talismans while Winesage had given Ning two.

"Don't feel so surprised," Hegemon Brightshore said. "Realmsoul Polo informed us."

"Oh." Now Ning and the others understood.

"Let me continue with the introductions." Hegemon Brightshore's voice turned a bit cool as he glanced at the woman: "This is Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators."

"My young friend Darknorth." Hegemon Netherlily was surpassingly beautiful and her voice was extremely soft; one couldn't help but feel friendly towards her. She smiled as she looked at Ning. "You are such an impressive talent, but you ended up joining the Brightshore Kingdom. What a pity! It's all because this old fellow Brightshore is so completely shameless as to randomly abduct cultivators throughout the Endless Territories and bring them to the Brightshore Kingdom. If it wasn't for that, given the relationship between you and Ninedust, I feel confident that you might choose to end up joining us."

The Ancient cultivators, much like the Brightshore Kingdom, did allow certain cultivators to join them.

"Jealousy. That's just jealousy talking," Hegemon Brightshore said coolly.

Although Ning had been abducted by the Brightshore Kingdom, he didn't feel any resentment towards Hegemon Brightshore. If it hadn't been for the guidance provided by the Brightshore Kingdom, the many sword-arts he had given access to within the Sword Palace, and the chance to visit the Genesis Lands of the alternate universe he visited, he might not have been able to develop his Omega Sword Dao!

"This gentleman right here is Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance." Hegemon Brightshore was slightly nervous, as the Dao Alliance would definitely be his greatest competitor in bidding for the fruits which Ning had acquired. "Emperor Goldisle is one of the two leaders of the Dao Alliance."

"Darknorth and I have met." The gold-furred alien smiled as he looked at Ning.

"Mm. And this gentleman is Emperor Islehide of the Aeonians." Hegemon Brightshore didn't want to give Emperor Goldisle the chance to chat too much with Ning, and so he immediately began to introduce the others. Emperor Islehide was a peerlessly handsome man who was even more attractive than Hegemon Netherlily was beautiful. He had long red hair and dim red eyes that were filled with a strange charisma.

"Darknorth." Emperor Islehide smiled slightly as he glanced at Ning.

Ning immediately replied, "Emperor Islehide."

"The last one is Emperor Severfive of the Dark Kingdom." Hegemon Brightshore glanced sideways at the rather bizarre-looking alien elder, whose long blue hair flowed up from his head like a pair of wings.

"Daolord Darknorth." Emperor Severfive looked at Ning with a very sincere and modest gaze. Those who actually interacted with the Emperors of the Dark Kingdom all knew that the Dark Kingdom was actually quite low-key and modest. They were outsiders and foreigners who were despised and ostracized by the native organizations of the Endless Territories and thus couldn't afford to be too brash.

"The people I've just introduced you to are more than capable of representing the six organizations in the Endless Territories," Hegemon Brightshore said.

Aside from the six, there were also a number of retainers and servants present. For example, Hegemon Brightshore had a single-horned youth who had a very ordinary aura standing by his side, while Emperor Islehide of the Aeonians had an ordinary looking white-robed woman standing next to him.

"Come over here, Winesage," Emperor Severfive instructed.

"Coming." Winesage obediently walked over to Emperor Severfive's side.

"Redwater." Hegemon Netherlily looked at Ninedust, who immediately and obediently flew over to her side as well.

Faced with the supreme leaders of the six greatest powers in the Endless Territories, Ning couldn't help but feel a sense of pressure… but he also felt excitement! These were the people who might have the answers as to how he could revive his wife. Even if they couldn't do it, they would definitely know much more about it than he did.

"Darknorth, we need some of the coldflame cauldron fruits," Emperor Severfive of the Dark Kingdom said hurriedly. "Just tell me what you need."

"Don't be so hasty." Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance said calmly, "Why don't we let Darknorth list what he needs first. The side which can assist him the most shall be the side Darknorth chooses." The Dao Alliance was able to speak so confidently due to their great wealth.

"Agreed." Hegemon Brightshore nodded.

"Yes, let our young friend Darknorth tell us what he needs," Hegemon Netherlily agreed.

"My young friend?" Hegemon Windrain looked at Ning.

The three Hegemons were the strongest experts in the Endless Territories and had been alive for extremely long periods of time. As a result, they were also quite wealthy, which was why they dared to compete against the Dao Alliance in this manner.

"Seniors…" Ning said respectfully, "There is indeed something I would like to request."

"Speak," Emperor Goldisle said confidently. The three Hegemons as well as Emperor Severfive and Emperor Islehide all looked at Ning.

"I once had a beloved Dao-companion," Ning said slowly. "Long ago, she perished. The main reason why I've trained so hard is primarily because I wish to bring her back to life."

When Winesage and Ninedust heard this, they stared at Ning in shock. Revive a Dao-companion? None of them had ever imagined that Ning held a secret like this in his heart.

"Revive?" Hegemon Windrain's green brows furrowed in a frown. "I imagine her soul and truesoul were shattered?" If her truesoul was still around, reviving her would be extremely easy.

"Correct." Ning nodded.

All three of the Hegemons exchanged glances, as did the three Eternal Emperors.

"I'll ask the questions," Hegemon Netherlily said. The others all nodded towards her.

"Darknorth, when your Dao-companion died, had she reached the World level of power?" Hegemon Netherlily's gaze was very gentle, as was her voice.

"She had not." Ning immediately explained, "She was merely a Celestial Immortal."

Hegemon Netherlily nodded slightly. "Mm. Fairly weak. There's still a chance at reviving her."

Ning was wildly overjoyed upon hearing this.

"My next question is, where did she die?" Hegemon Netherlily asked, "Did she die in an everworld? A chaosworld? In the emptiness of space? Or in an alternate universe?"

"She died in my homeland, in a chaosworld," Ning explained.

"In a chaosworld?" Hegemon Netherlily frowned. "That makes things difficult."

"Difficult?" Ning's heart clenched.

"Reviving those who died in everworlds is the simplest; any Hegemon is capable of doing this," Hegemon Netherlily explained. "Reviving those who died in alternate universes, also known as otherverses, is a bit more difficult. Reviving those who died in chaosworlds or in the emptiness of space is the most difficult of all. Although she was merely a Celestial Immortal, this still isn't something the likes of us are capable of."

Ning's face turned pale.

"Darknorth." The nearby Hegemon Brightshore explained, "Everworlds contain the rules and laws established by the Eternal Emperors who created them. You can view them as basic, rudimentary versions of the prime essences. For example, if the founding Emperor established a law that 'the skies are dark', the skies in that everworld shall forever be dark. If he says that 'flying is impossible', then no one will be able to fly in that everworld. The only way to get around this is through possessing so much brute force that one can resist the binding effects of those laws."

"Everworlds have elementary prime essences within them, and those who die in an everworld shall return to those everworld prime essences. If you wish to twist spacetime and revive a Celestial Immortal, you would only need to resist the backlash from the everworld. Everworld's are fairly weak; most Hegemons are capable of doing such a thing."

"Otherverses are generally the same size as a realmverse. You've visited one of them in the past," Hegemon Brightshore explained. "I think you understand that these otherverses have their own prime essences, and their prime essences are far more perfect than the ones within the everworlds!"

Ning nodded.

"The various otherverses all have their own prime essences. If a cultivator dies in one of those otherverses, his or her truesoul shall return to the prime essences of that otherverse. If you wish to revive someone, you must be able to endure the backlash generated by that entire alternate universe," Hegemon Brightshore explained.

"As for chaosworlds or the void of space? They don't have any prime essences they belong to, and so whenever a truesoul in a chaosworld is extinguished, its energy shall revert back to the Chaosverse itself. If you wish to revive such a person, you'll need to be able to endure the backlash generated by the entire Chaosverse! This is a terrifying concept," Hegemon Brightshore explained.

Reviving someone in an everworld was easy?

Reviving someone in an otherverse was hard?

Reviving someone from the Chaosverse was nearly impossible?

Ning's face grew uglier and uglier as he absorbed this information. "What exactly is a 'realmverse'? And what is the 'Chaosverse'?"

He remembered that the Starflow race which lived in the Terror Starsea had once lived in a place named the Peacock Lotus Realmverse. A grand war had destroyed that realmverse, resulting in the Starflow race fleeing and moving to the Endless Territories.

"Our home, the Endless Territories, is a realmverse," Hegemon Brightshore explained. "Its true name is the Flamedragon Realmverse."

"As for the Chaosverse, it is the source of all things and is truly infinite beyond measure…" Hegemon Brightshore explained, "It is like a vast, endless sea. Realmverses are like small reefs within that vast sea! Otherverses are another type of reef, a fairly special type. All reefs are located extremely far from each other, and so the Great Dark is the vast emptiness between reefs. All realmverses are very, very far away from each other."

The sea? Reefs? Ning was rather dazed by all this. The alternate universes and the 'Endless Territories' were nothing more than 'reefs', while the Chaosverse was an ocean?

"Then who is strong enough to resist the backlash from the Chaosverse and revive my Dao-companion?" Ning grew increasingly anxious.

"Your Dao-companion was only a Celestial Immortal. Although reviving her will be difficult, at least there is hope," Hegemon Netherlily said.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 2 – Autarch

"Hope?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

Hegemon Netherlily, Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Emperor Severfive, Emperor Goldisle, and Emperor Islehide all secretly shook their heads. Hegemon Netherlily continued, "There is no way for an Eternal Emperor to resist the backlash from the Chaosverse. Only those legendary figures who are even more powerful than Eternal Emperors can accomplish it… only they can reverse spacetime and revive your Dao-companion."

"Even more powerful than Eternal Emperors?" Ning was stunned, as were Ninedust and Winesage. There was a level of power beyond that of the Eternal Emperors?

"The Chaosverse is vast and without end, filled with realmverses and otherverses." Hegemon Netherlily's voice was soft and drifting. "The most powerful figures who stand at the apex of each realmverse or otherverse are almost always the Hegemons! However… the vast Chaosverse has figures of even greater power. We respectfully address them as 'Autarch'."

"Autarch?" Ning immediately engraved this title into his heart.

Hegemon Brightshore nodded, a look of eagerness in his eyes. "Yes. Autarchs! Everworlds are created by Eternal Emperors… and otherverses are created by Autarchs."

"They created the otherverses?" Ning was stunned. He had been to one of those alternate universes before. It had contained a complete set of prime essences, such as the Dao of the Sword and many other Daos. All of those things could be sensed! How could such a universe have been artificially created?

"Autarchs are the true and absolute rulers of the Chaosverse who stand above all other living beings," Hegemon Netherlily said. "We Eternal Emperors have developed our own eternal Daos… but that isn't the true apex of cultivation. Only by making repeated breakthroughs and raising your Dao to a level where it can become one of the prime essences of the universe can a cultivator be capable of creating an otherverse."

"Autarchs are incredibly rare. I've never met any of them in my entire life." Hegemon Brightshore shook his head, while the other two Hegemons revealed looks of envy and admiration. They hadn't met any Autarchs either; they had only heard of them.

"When the Sithe launched that war, it encompassed a great many places. The main reason why we cultivators were able to gain victory over them was because we had our Autarchs," Hegemon Brightshore said. "Although the Sithe were extremely strong and incredibly advanced in many areas, the Autarchs led us to completely wipe the Sithe out in the end. If it wasn't for the Autarchs, we probably would've been annihilated or enslaved long ago."

Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all speechless. Autarchs? So the highest level of cultivation in the Chaosverse was the Autarch level?

"They are capable of reversing spacetime and roam through the Chaosverse with ease! They are even capable of creating those alternate universes…" Hegemon Brightshore continued, "If an Autarch was willing to spend the time, he would be able to destroy even the likes of the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels that threaten and will eventually annihilate our Flamedragon Realmverse."

"Autarchs are capable of destroying the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels?" The nearby Winesage couldn't help but ask, "Then why don't we invite them to help out? Are they really going to just watch as such a vast realmverse is annihilated?"

"You are mistaken," Hegemon Windrain replied. "Autarchs view things through a completely different lens than the rest of us. An Autarch once said that all things and all creatures in the universe must follow the natural cycle of life and death. The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were born from the primordial chaos for the express purpose of wiping out the Flamedragon Realmverse. In other words, it is part of the laws and functioning of the Chaosverse. If they were forcibly destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, they would suffer a backlash from the Chaosverse itself, and an incredibly strong one at that. The Autarchs are not willing to do such a thing."

"Autarchs have truly transcended beyond all things. They are absolutely invincible, and neither spacetime nor karma nor anything else have any impact on them at all."

"To them, the birth and destruction of entire realmverses is nothing more than the blooming and withering of a flower. I have never even seen an Autarch in my entire life." Hegemon Windrain looked at Ning. "Darknorth, my young friend… only an Autarch is capable of rescuing your Dao-companion."

Ning's heart sank. He had to ask an Autarch to intervene? The three Hegemons had been around for countless years, but none of them had even seen an Autarch. One could only imagine how difficult it would be to actually get an Autarch to help out!

"Are these fruits enough?" Ning asked.

"Haha…" Emperor Goldisle laughed. "Not even close. Not even close! A hundred times this amount of fruit still wouldn't be enough."

"If you want an Autarch to revive your Dao-companion… if you actually owned the Crimsonwave Temple and offered it to an Autarch as a gift, you might succeed." Hegemon Brightshore shook his head and laughed. "The fruits you have ripen every few thousand chaos cycles. Crimsonwave Temple can produce more and more fruit unto perpetuity." Crimsonwave Temple itself was worth far more than a hundred times as much as all of the fruits Ning had acquired.

"Ah!" Ning instantly understood.

"So there's nothing I can do right now, right?" Ning asked.

"Right. None of us can do what you ask. Only an Autarch can." Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. "But at least there is hope. If your Dao-companion was at the World level or was a Samsara Daolord, the backlash generated by reviving them would be exponentially greater. By then, you would have no chance at all."

"Right." Ning quickly calmed down again. Prior to speaking to these major powers for the first time regarding the revival of Yu Wei, Ning had already mentally prepared himself for failure. Others might feel despair at this response… but Ning was actually filled with vigor! This was because he was still just a Daolord of the Third Step. Once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step and further improved his [Heartsword] arts, he might indeed be able to acquire treasures that were as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple.

"What if I was really able to acquire something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple?" Ning couldn't help but ask this follow-up question. "How would I go find out an Autarch then?"

"You wouldn't need to," Emperor Goldisle said. "The Dao Alliance would help you send the word to the Autarch."

"Oh?" Ning glanced at Emperor Goldisle in surprise. The Dao Alliance's resources truly were unfathomable. It was actually capable of sending information to an Autarch?

"But remember, given that Crimsonwave Temple is capable of giving birth to a new crop of fruits every few thousand chaos cycles or so, its value is far greater than that of the fruits you have acquired thus far. In fact, it's worth much more than all of the treasures I've accumulated over the course of countless years." Hegemon Brightshore smiled as he looked at Ning. "Darknorth, it won't be easy for you to acquire something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple. You need to mentally prepare yourself for this task."

"If you wish to reap great rewards, you'll need to be prepared for taking on great dangers," Hegemon Windrain said. "For example, the Terror Starsea. The Terror Starsea was part of the Dawn War's battlefield and is filled with many leftover relics and treasures, but it's also filled with countless dangers. If you are willing and able to take on the necessary risk, you might be able to find Hegemon-level relics or even powerful treasures left behind by the Sithe race. It's entirely possible that you'll find something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple."

"Right." Ning nodded.

The three mighty Hegemons didn't dare to take on too much risk without a good reason, as they were the pillars of their respective organizations. The Terror Starsea was simply too dangerous; even Hegemons might die in there if they were unlucky. The negative repercussions were simply too grave, which was why it was generally only the Daolords who dared to risk it. Daolords only stood an ephemeral chance of succeeding at the Daomerge anyhow!

"Autarchs, eh?" Ning silently reflected on this term. Autarchs, the most supreme existences of the cultivation world, the leaders who led the cultivators to victory over the Sithe…

"We are unable to reverse spacetime and revive your Dao-companion. Darknorth, what else do you plan to trade your fruits for?" Hegemon Brightshore asked.

"Speak, Darknorth. What do you need?"

"Just state your requests."

Emperor Goldisle, Hegemon Windrain, and the others all looked at Ning as they spoke.

Since reviving Yu Wei was impossible for now, he would have to focus on further strengthening himself. Only then would he stand a chance at acquiring a treasure equivalent to Crimsonwave Temple in value.

"Seniors." Ning waved his finger, causing a series of runes to fly out. The many runes listed the various materials needed for Ning to train in the second and third levels of the [Sword Dao Body, the protective divine ability Ning had acquired from the deceased Sword Hegemon. There were four levels to this divine ability, and once reached it would allow Ning's body to become comparable to the best Eternal treasures.

"Seniors, take a look at these materials. How much fruit do I need to give up for them?" Ning asked.

"Eh?" The three Hegemons and three leading Emperors all stared at the list, as did some of the other Eternal Emperors behind them who had yet to even speak.

"Hm. I'll only need sixty of the coldflame cauldron fruits for this," Hegemon Netherlily said.

"I'll only need forty-five of the same." Emperor Goldisle of the Dao Alliance smiled. The three mighty Hegemons and the other Emperors instantly looked at him in irritation. The items which Ning had requested were all extraordinary; as they saw it, at least fifty coldflame cauldron fruits would be necessary.

"Emperor Goldisle, you are going a bit too far. Yes, your Dao Alliance has many treasures, but how can you give such a low offer?" Emperor Islehide frowned.

"How are we even supposed to compete if you are going to act like this?" Hegemon Windrain complained in a rumbling voice as well.

"Haha…" Emperor Goldisle laughed loudly. "We agreed early on that we'd compete fairly with each other. I'm doing just that."

Ning gawked at the sight. He also noticed that although Crimsonwave Temple had produced nine types of fruit, all of the Emperors were focused on the ninth fruit, the coldflame cauldron fruits. This made Ning realize just how especially attractive these particular fruits were.

"Seniors, I've harvested eight types of fruit on this trip," Ning said. "I'm willing to use the 'purepeace fruit' to trade for the materials I just requested. Might I ask how many are necessary?"

The purepeace fruit ripened every 30,000 chaos cycles. Ning had 108,000 of them!

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 3 – Entering the Dao Alliance's Palace of Immortals

"Purepeace fruit?" The three Hegemons and three Eternal Emperors exchanged glances. Although all nine of the types of fruit in Crimsonwave Temple were valuable, there were still differences between them.

The purepeace fruits, for example, ripened every 30,000 chaos cycles. There were 108,000 of them in each harvest. They were fairly numerous, and so the Flamedragon Realmverse's six major powers were still able to acquire it through other channels. As a result, they weren't all that desperate to acquire it. The coldflame cauldron fruits, however, only ripened once every 100,000 chaos cycles… and each time, only 300 were available during each harvest. As a result, people who acquired them would usually keep and use them for themselves! Very few were willing to trade them away, making them quite a hot commodity.

"For the materials you need? 80,000 of the purepeace fruits will do," Emperor Goldisle said with a chuckle. "These things are still quite rare. They have their uses."

The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide were silent. Seeing this, Ji Ning understood that Emperor Goldisle had offered him quite a decent price.

"Alright." Ning revealed a smile. "Then I'll give 80,000 of the purepeace fruits to Emperor Goldisle. Seniors, there are other treasures I need as well."

Another block of text appeared in midair. This list included the materials needed to train in the first two stages of the secret art which the Sword Hegemon had provided to Ning, the [Grand Diffraction Sword] technique. To Ning, although a protective divine ability was very important, a strong secret art was even more important. Ning had already pretty much squeezed as much power as he could out of the nine novessence arts; by the time he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, they simply wouldn't be able to keep up.

The [Grand Diffraction Sword] consisted of three stages. The cost to fully master it would place a heavy burden upon even Hegemons; Ning felt that he probably didn't have enough fruit.

In addition, to master all three stage one had to have reached an extremely high level of skill in the Dao of the Sword. Most likely, one would have to reach a level comparable to that of the deceased Sword Hegemon first. Thus, the first two stages were more than enough for Ning for now.

"Oh?"

"These materials…"

The three Hegemons and three Emperors all hesitated.

"Give me all 300 of the coldflame cauldron fruits and I'll help you collect them," Emperor Islehide said in a low voice.

"Emperor Islehide is able to acquire all these items? Impressive!" Hegemon Netherlily laughed softly. "298 coldflame cauldron fruits, my young friend Darknorth, and I'll help you collect them."

"Seniors, I'm willing to use these types of fruit to trade for them instead." As Ning spoke, he caused seven different types of fruit to appear before him. These were the fruits corresponding to the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh command talismans.

"Clever."

"What a clever boy." The three Hegemons and the three Emperors all laughed. They could tell that Ning realized how enticing the coldflame cauldron fruits were to them and thus wasn't in a rush to sell them off.

After extensive negotiations the Dao Alliance, the Brightshore Kingdom, the Aberrants, and the Aeonians jointly produced the materials necessary, taking away more than half of Ning's fruits in recompense.

Now, all Ning had were:

300 of the coldflame cauldron fruits from the ninth talisman;

28,000 of the purepeace fruits from the first talisman;

230 of the golden sandsifter fruits from the seventh talisman;

310 of the darkheaven yin-fruits from the sixth talisman.

"Seniors, I've pretty much listed all the treasures I need," Ning said. "I plan on paying a visit to the Palace of Immortals to see what they have in their treasury."

"Haha, our treasury in the Palace of Immortals has everything within it. The Dao Alliance definitely has more treasures than anyone else," Emperor Goldisle said with a smile.

"You aren't going to trade anything else?"

"Darknorth, my young friend…"

The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide were all startled. Ning was going to stop trading and instead go straight to the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance? It must be remembered that thus far, he hadn't produced a single one of the coldflame cauldron fruits, the most valuable of the nine fruits!

"Darknorth." Hegemon Brightshore looked towards Ning.

Ning hurriedly explained, "Hegemon… seniors… my lifeblood weapons need to grow and to consume more materials, but I don't know exactly what they need. That's why I wish to go to the Palace of Immortals, so that I can test out the various materials! Once I've selected the materials I need, I'll naturally notify all of you and allow the auction to proceed fairly."

"Lifeblood weapons?" All of them now understood, as they had lifeblood weapons as well.

"No point wasting time. Come, let's go to my Palace of Immortals right away," Emperor Goldisle said with a smile. He then glanced at the others. "Hegemons, Emperors, you can come along with us… the Palace of Immortals will treat you with the utmost of courtesy."

"We wouldn't dare enter the Palace of Immortals."

"We'll wait outside of it."

"Let's go."

The various figures immediately began to depart.

"Darknorth, follow me." Emperor Goldisle smiled as he sent a spatial bubble out to cover Ning, then tore through space and departed with Ning in tow.

The Palace of Immortals was an incomparably mysterious place. Ning had heard of it long ago, but he had never seen it.

"Here we are, Darknorth." Emperor Goldisle's voice rang out. Ning stared towards the front, stunned. In front of him was an absolutely enormous group of palaces that hung in the middle of space, radiating blinding light and a mighty aura. The radiance was so dazzling that Ning was truly dazed by it, while the power contained within the aura caused Ning's heart to tremble.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. One figure after another appeared next to Ning. They were Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide, as well as the subordinates they had brought with them. Ninedust and Winesage had been brought over as well.

"Darknorth." Ninedust's voice rang out within Ning's ears.

"Ninedust." Ning glanced at Ninedust.

"I'm embarrassed to say this, but…" Ninedust revealed an awkward look. "The Hegemon instructed me to ask you to at least sell some of the coldflame cauldron fruit to us Ancient cultivators."

Ning revealed a smile as he sent mentally, "Got it. Don't worry." Ninedust was his brother; since he had made the request, Ning knew what to do.

"Darknorth." Winesage sent a mental message as well, a similarly awkward look on his face. "Darknorth, our Dark Kingdom is constantly beset by dangers. Just staying alive is difficult. I'd like to ask you to sell some of those coldflame cauldron fruits to the Dark Kingdom."

"So long as the Dark Kingdom has the items I need, that won't be a problem," Ning replied.

Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning as well. "Darknorth."

"Don't worry, Hegemon. I know what to do," Ning replied.

Favors and friendships were important, but being fair and even-handed as possible was just as important, as was growing more powerful.

"Let me lead you inside, Darknorth." Emperor Goldisle guided Ning in, with Ning staring everywhere in curiosity as they flew into the Palace of Immortals.

None of the Hegemons or Emperors present were worried that the Dao Alliance would play a dirty trick like killing Ning to steal his treasures.

First of all, although these fruits were rare they weren't so important as to cause Hegemons or the Dao Alliance to not care about face. Only something as valuable as Crimsonwave Temple itself could possibly do that.

Secondly, only Daolords could harvest the fruits that ripened every few tens of thousands of chaos cycles from Crimsonwave Temple! If the Hegemons or the Dao Alliance dared to murder Ning, which Daolords in the future would be willing to take on the risk of helping them go harvest fruit?

Lastly, these things were a gift from Emperor Waveshift to his homeland. It was also a way to help his homeland temper its Daolords! If the Hegemons or the Dao Alliance dared to act rashly and angered Emperor Waveshift through their actions, Emperor Waveshift could very well take the entire temple back and ensure they would gain nothing at all in the future.

For all of these reasons, everyone knew that everyone else would play by the rules.

The insides of the Palace of Immortals were absolutely lovely. The light of formations glimmered everywhere, while their aura was so mighty as to ensure that even Hegemons wouldn't dare to trespass within.

"Treasures of the Flamedragon Realmverse aside, the treasury of the Palace of Immortals has collected many treasures from other realmverses as well," Emperor Goldisle said with a smile. "It's hard to even count how many treasures we have. Choose whatever you like, Darknorth. We'll give you what you need for those fruits."

"Understood." Ning nodded.

"So this is Daolord Darknorth?" A deep voice boomed out from afar as a black-robed, black-haired old man walked towards them across the celestial pathways.

Emperor Goldisle made the introductions: "Darknorth, this is Emperor Blackcloud! The two of us jointly administer the Palace of Immortals for the Dao Alliance."

Ning was secretly speechless. So it was these two Emperors who were in control of the Palace of Immortals? Perhaps they were a bit weaker than the Hegemons, but they were actually even more influential.

"Daolord Darknorth, you've only trained for such a short period of time but have reached such incredible heights in power. Impressive." Emperor Blackcloud smiled. "Goldisle and I shall open the treasury for you to peruse as you please."

"Sorry for the trouble, seniors," Ning said modestly.

While chatting, these two leaders of the Dao Alliance led Ning to the location of the treasury.

"Open." Emperor Blackcloud waved a finger.

Rumble…

The white stone door in front of him began to split apart, revealing a dark passageway inside.

"The treasury is an important place, and so this passageway is filled with many barriers and wards. Not even Hegemons would dare to trespass here," Emperor Blackcloud said smugly.

"Come, Darknorth." Emperor Goldisle led the way, with Ning following from behind. In truth, the reason why they dared to open up the treasury like this for Ning was because Ning was weak; if a Hegemon had actually come here, there was no way they would've dared to let the Hegemon actually enter the treasury.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 4 – Treasures the Northbow Swords Need

Ji Ning followed Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud through the dark passageway. After walking for a short while, he finally saw yet another stone door.

"Open," Emperor Blackcloud command. The stone door instantly sank downwards, revealing the vast treasury behind it.

"Wow." Ning felt dizzy when he saw what was behind the stone door. He was able to sense many varied auras, some brutal, some cold, some stately… countless treasures were hanging there, so numerous that at a glance Ning was able to see tens of millions of treasures just with the naked eye alone.

"All treasures stored within our treasury are quite extraordinary." Emperor Goldisle smiled. "Many treasures here are one-of-a-kind! But of course, there are also some that are quite numerous, in which case we'll just put a single sample item here."

"Seniors," Ning said hurriedly, "My lifeblood weapons need to personally touch the treasures in order to sense if they can make use of them or not."

"Just touching is fine," Emperor Goldisle said solemnly, "But don't damage anything. Some of the treasures here are incredibly valuable."

"Please don't worry. My lifeblood weapons wouldn't dare," Ning said.

The nearby Emperor Blackcloud laughed. "Go, then. Inspect them to your heart's content."

Ning nodded. "Come out," Ning willed mentally. Swish! Swish! Swish! All six Northbow swords flew out from their scabbards, and as they did so an adorable child appeared from each of them.

"Master! Master!" All six children began to call out repeatedly.

"Listen up. This treasury is filled with countless treasures. You can touch them to sense which are of use to you," Ning said, "But remember, you absolutely must not damage any of them, nor are you allowed to absorb any of them. After the inspection is complete, with any luck, I'll be able to give you some treasures to absorb."

"Alright."

"Haha, don't worry."

"Leave it to us!" All six Northbow sword-spirits were quite excited.

"Go." Ning immediately sent them flying into the skies towards the various treasures, which they began to sscan.

This vast treasury was filled with long stone tables that were covered with countless treasures. There were also incredibly long twelve-layered treasure shelves, with each layer filled with many treasures. The ones placed on the shelves were clearly less valuable! There were also individual stone daises that held only a single treasure each.

This place had all sorts of weapons, even Universe weapons! There were all sorts of marvelous treasures here, including many strange curios that had been collected from the Terror Starsea…

Time slowly passed on, one minute at a time. Ning continued to furiously send his six Northbow swords flying everywhere, touching the various treasures. After roughly the time needed to boil a kettle of tea…

"Master! Master! I can sense that if I ate this flower, it would be of big use to me," Northbow Five called out spiritually to Ning.

Ning's eyes lit up as he immediately looked towards the sword. This was a semi-ethereal flower that was surrounded by a faint gray aura. There was a jade slip next to it that introduced it as the 'shadowless six-thief flower'. It was capable of hiding itself amongst other objects, making it extremely difficult to find. It was an incomparably marvelous item.

"How many of those can you eat?" Ning asked spiritually.

"I'm not sure. At least ten thousand," Northbow Five replied.

"Got it." Ning nodded, silently memorizing this flower. He then continued to search for other treasures. This treasury most likely had copies of almost all of the decent treasures located within the Flamedragon Realmverse! When would he ever have another chance like this to just scan them as he pleased? Even if he wasn't able to acquire what he needed due to not having enough fruit, he could at least memorize them for future collection.

Outside the Palace of Immortals. Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Emperor Severfive, and Emperor Islehide continued to wait patiently alongside their retainers.

"Brightshore," Hegemon Windrain said hurriedly, "The Dao Alliance wouldn't be playing a trick on our young friend Darknorth, would they? If he ends up trading with them without giving us a chance…"

"Agreed. Brightshore…" Emperor Islehide said hurriedly, "Darknorth belongs to your Brightshore Kingdom."

"Don't worry." Hegemon Brightshore smiled. "I can reach out to Darknorth at any time! He's currently within the treasury of the Palace of Immortals, scanning the countless treasures there. This process will take some time, so don't be impatient. Once he knows which treasures he needs, he'll publicly announce it."

"Good. At least we can compete fairly," Emperor Severfive said. All of them were truly the most elite figures of the Endless Territories, but this competition over the coldflame cauldron fruits still made them nervous.

There was a rough, accepted 'value' to these fruits, but they were simply never available for sale. Very, very few were willing to sell these fruits, which was why in normal times the Hegemons were willing to pay multiples of the 'accepted' value for the few coldflame cauldron fruits which appeared from time to time! Now that Crimsonwave Temple was going to be located within the Endless Territories indefinitely, they'd be able to harvest 300 of the fruits every 100,000 chaos cycles. This was why they hadn't offered excessively high prices in their negotiations with Ning.

However… they also understood that the future couldn't be predicted. Who knew when Emperor Waveshift would end up taking the temple away again?

Within the treasury of the Palace of Immortals of the Dao Alliance.

Ning continued to control his six Northbow swords, sending them flying about like streaks of light towards various treasures, then gently brushing against them.

"Master! Master! I can sense that this stone is going to help me out a lot!" Northbow Three called out as well. Ning immediately memorized the stone in question.

By the time he had nearly finished a complete scan of all the treasures within the treasury, he had already discovered a total of twelve treasures that would be of use to his Northbow swords! However, the Northbow swords would devour absolutely enormous amounts of material as they grew. Ning worried as to whether or not this would even be enough.

Finally, after roughly ten hours of scanning, Ning had finished his first review of all the treasures.

"How'd it go?" Emperor Goldisle and Emperor Blackcloud both looked at Ning.

"There really are quite a few treasures that are useful to my lifeblood weapons," Ning said.

"Which treasures do you need? Go ahead and tell us and we'll try to help you collect them as best we can," Emperor Goldisle said.

"I should probably say it outside," Ning replied hurriedly. "The Hegemon reminded me long ago that we have to keep things fair."

"Oh. Right, right. Fair." Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle exchanged a glance, rather resigned. In the end, Ning belonged to the Brightshore Kingdom, making Hegemon Brightshore's instructions quite effective.

Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle didn't really worry too much. Given how filthy rich the Dao Alliance was, they were quite confident in their chances.

"Let's go." Emperor Blackcloud and Emperor Goldisle led Ning in departing from the treasury.

Outside the Palace of Immortals. Ji Ning, Emperor Blackcloud, and Emperor Goldisle flew out at the same time.

"There they are." The three Hegemons, Emperor Severfive, Emperor Islehide, and the various retainers all looked towards Ning, their eyes lighting up.

The time for the final negotiations over the coldflame cauldron fruits had come.

"Darknorth, did you find any suitable treasures?" Hegemon Brightshore asked.

"I found twelve," Ning said. The Hegemons and Emperors were all rather startled by this answer. Twelve? It seemed likely that everyone would be able to provide Ning with something he needed.

"The first is known as the 'shadowless six-thief flowers'," Ning said. "I need at least ten thousand of them."

"The shadowless six-thief flowers?"

"Over ten thousand?"

"But…"

The three Hegemons and the various Emperors exchanged glances, all feeling rather resigned.

"What is it?" Ning was puzzled.

"Darknorth, even if we scraped up all of the shadowless six-thief flowers that the Flamedragon Realmverse has accumulated over the countless years of its existence, we would probably only be able to find a few hundred of them," Hegemon Brightshore said.

Emperor Goldisle nodded as well. "The shadowless six-thief flowers are invisible, hidden throughout the cosmos. They are extremely hard to find. Although they aren't that useful, they really are quite rare."

Ning felt quite helpless upon hearing this. If the Northbow swords were to grow, they needed materials in sufficiently large quantities. For example, they had absorbed a terrifying amount of that golden sand! Based on what the Northbow sword-spirit had predicted, he would need at least ten thousand of those flowers, but it seemed as though Ning wouldn't even be able to acquire a tenth of that. Such a small amount would be of limited benefit.

"The second type of treasure is known as the flamebearer tathata-metal," Ning said. "I'll need a mountain of it, a mountain which is roughly thirty thousand meters tall."

"Thirty thousand meters tall?" The Hegemons and Emperors sighed again.

"You are asking for too much. Flamebearer tathata-metal is used in palm-sized chunks for forging treasures. You want a mountain of it?" Emperor Goldisle shook his head. "There's no way to get that much in the Flamedragon Realmverse. If the Dao Alliance was willing to pay incredible prices to have other realmverses help out and deliver them, we might be able to do it… but the coldflame cauldron fruits in your possession aren't nearly enough to trade for a mountain of the tathata-metal."

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 5 – Stone Hellephant Wall

Ji Ning was speechless. It was clear that everyone wanted his coldflame cauldron fruits, but the first two items he had requested, the 'Six Bandits Shadowless Flowers' and the 'flamebearer tathata-metal', weren't available in the quantities he needed in the Endless Territories.

What Ning didn't fully understand was that the Northbow swords needed balance in order to grow to their maximum potential. They had absorbed such an enormous amount of that golden sand that they would need similarly prodigious amounts of other materials to gain that balance and reach their apex.

"You have twelve types of treasures you can use, right?" Emperor Islehide said, "Keep talking. We might be able to provide you with the other treasures."

"Alright." Ning had no choice but to continue with his requests. "The third type of treasure is known as astral forgestones. I need a three thousand meter mountain of it."

"Don't have it."

"Don't have enough."

"Where would you even find that many astral forgestones?"

The Hegemons and Emperors, along with their retainers, all shook their heads. Most of the retainers were also Eternal Emperors and as such had seen many things.

Helpless, Ning had no choice but to continue listing the things he needed. The fourth type, the fifth type, the sixth type… nothing, nothing, nothing!

Ning simply needed too much; there was no way to acquire that much at all. The more valuable an item, the rarer it was, after all. When Ning had visited that alternate universe and had discovered that vast mountain of darkspace flamestone, it had been a momentous find, not because of how valuable the stone itself was, but because of how utterly enormous that mountain had been.

The same principle applied here. The various treasures Ning sought were far more valuable than darkspace flamestone, and he needed an enormous amount of them; there was just no way to acquire that much!

"The eighth type is known as the frozen ninesong pith," Ning said. "I'll need a lake of it that's three hundred meters long, wide, and deep." The numbers he listed out were still quite shocking.

"Three hundred coldflame cauldron fruits," Emperor Severfive immediately called out.

"Two hundred and ninety," Emperor Goldisle said.

"Two hundred!" Emperor Islehide growled.

"A hundred and ninety," Hegemon Brightshore said.

Ning had been feeling increasingly despondent. Now, he stared blankly as the Eternal Emperors furiously bid down the price. Was this frozen ninesong pith a very common item?

Emperor Goldisle interjected, "Gentlemen, I think we should stop fighting against each other as there will be no 'winner'. Since he's asking for frozen ninesong pith, I'm sure that all of us will be able to provide it in enormous amounts. How about we split it evenly? Darknorth, give us a hundred and fifty coldflame cauldron fruits, a hundred and fifty golden sandsifter fruits, and a hundred and fifty darkheaven yin-fruits. All six of us will jointly procure the necessary frozen ninesong pith you need! We'll give you double what you ask for; a lake of it that's six hundred meters wide, long, and deep!"

"Agreed." The others all nodded after a brief pause. They understood and agreed that no one would really 'win' this auction.

"What's going on?" Ning asked.

"Long ago, our Flamedragon Realmverse discovered a river that swirled around a strange star," Emperor Goldisle explained. "This river is roughly a hundred thousand kilometers long and hundreds of kilometers wide… and it was filled with frozen ninesong pith. As a result, all six of us have large stocks of it."

Ning was stunned. A river that was a hundred thousand kilometers long and hundreds of kilometers wide? The tiny 'lake' he needed was in comparison just a tiny fraction!

"We can give you six hundred meters of it. If you need more, we can easily give you a bit more," Emperor Goldisle said. They really didn't care about the frozen ninesong pith that much.

"Go ahead and continue listing what you need," Emperor Islehide said. "We might have it."

"Alright." Ning smiled as he continued to list the items he needed. The ninth, the tenth, the eleventh… the twelfth.

"The twelfth is known as deepfire blackstone. I need a mountain-sized pile roughly three hundred thousand meters tall." Ning looked eagerly at the three Hegemons and the various Hegemons. Thus far, the only treasure they were able to provide had been was still just the frozen ninesong pith. The other treasures simply weren't available.

"Three hundred thousand meters?"

"He's pretty crazy."

"Are you sure your lifeblood weapons can swallow that much?" The various Emperors present couldn't help but mutter amongst themselves.

They knew that the deepfire blackstone was the last of the twelve types of treasures Ning needed, but the amount was just staggering.

"Can't do it. Deepfire blackstone isn't all that useful; it's mainly used for smelting a few treasures. However, the Endless Territories only has perhaps a three thousand meter mountain of it." Emperor Goldisle shook his head. "You want a three hundred thousand meter mountain. The difference is just too great."

Three thousand. Three hundred thousand. This was a hundredfold difference in height, and a millionfold difference in total mass!

"Ugh." Ning shook his head. Three thousand meters? Even if he gained all of it, it probably wouldn't be all that beneficial to his Northbow swords.

After all was said and done, he had acquired all of the materials he needed for the second and third stages of his [Swordbody] divine ability as well as the first two stages of the Sword Hegemon's secret art, [Grand Diffraction Sword]. Alas, he had only acquired the frozen ninesong pith for his Northbow swords.

"I guess that's that." Ning was out of options. He had already negotiated with the six most powerful organizations in all the Endless Territories, but had only been able to acquire one of the treasures he needed. One could imagine how difficult it would be for his Northbow swords to grow!

"Darknorth, my young friend," a voice suddenly called out.

"Eh?" Ning glanced over, as did the three Hegemons and the Eternal Emperors. The speaker was an ordinary-looking horned youth who stood behind Hegemon Brightshore. When the horned youth spoke his aura immediately changed, exploding in might and reaching an utterly astonishing level. The terrifying, awe-inspiring aura around him was definitely that of a Hegemon.

"A Hegemon?" Ning, Ninedust, and Winesage were all stunned.

"Eh?" The other Eternal Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse were all astonished as well. Everyone knew that the Flamedragon Realmverse only had three almighty Hegemons within it. Where did this one come from?

The horned youth glanced at the assembled Emperors of the Flamedragon Realmverse, then explained, "My name is Welkin. I've wandered through the Great Dark and visited many realmverses, and I ended up slumbering within the Flamedragon Realmverse for a period of time due to having sustained a few injuries. The only reason I woke up was because of Crimsonwave Temple's emergence."

"Brother Welkin was planning to leave secretly," Hegemon Brightshore said. "It was Crimsonwave Temple that drew him out of hiding."

"Hegemon Welkin? So you are Welkin?" Hegemon Netherlily smiled. "I've heard of your illustrious name long ago, but I never had the chance to meet you."

"Ah, Welkin!" Hegemon Windrain revealed a smile as well.

All Hegemons naturally felt respect for their peers. They all stood at the very peak of power amongst Eternal Emperors! But of course, those who were lucky enough to take control over an alternate universe and become known as Otherverse Lords were somewhat more powerful than even Hegemons in power.

A good example was the alternate universe Ning had visited. The lord of the Church of Annihilation hadn't been at the Hegemon level; he had merely been comparable to the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. After a stroke of tremendous fortune, he had ended up in control of that otherverse and as a result become an Otherverse Lord, resulting in his status and his power skyrocketing.

"I didn't want to get involved in this," Hegemon Welkin said with a smile, "But since our young friend Darknorth spoke of deepfire blackstone… I'm actually able to help you out here."

"Ah!" Ning revealed a look of delight.

"Give me a hundred coldflame cauldron fruits, and I'll give you plenty of deepfire blackstone ore," Hegemon Welkin said. "I'm not asking for much."

The other three Hegemons and other Eternal Emperors all felt rather resigned. They simply weren't able to provide enough of the deepfire blackstone! Hegemon Welkin, however, was different; he was a wanderer who had visited many places and who knew much more than them. They weren't surprised by the fact that he was able to provide this much deepfire blackstone.

"Agreed." Ning nodded. "A hundred coldflame cauldron fruits it is." Hegemon Welkin was the only person who could provide the ore in question. Even if he had requested all of the remaining fruits, Ning would've been in a difficult position to bargain from. The Hegemon was being quite courteous by only requesting a hundred.

"Mm. The deepspace blackstone can be found in a place known as the Stone Hellephant Wall. This is a strange, curious place that I stumbled upon while I was travelling to your Flamedragon Realmverse, and it's quite close by it. But of course, if I didn't guide the way you'd never be able to find it." Hegemon Welkin smiled. "I'll personally escort you there. It'll take roughly nine years."

"You aren't playing a trick on Darknorth, are you?" Emperor Goldisle frowned.

"I'll naturally swear a lifeblood oath," Hegemon Welkin said. Upon hearing this, the other Eternal Emperors fell silent.

Ning began to feel a sense of eagerness in his heart. The 'Stone Hellephant Wall', eh?

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 6 – Arrangements

A full two years went by as the six major powers of the Endless Territories gathered the various treasures which Ji Ning needed, at which point in time Ning gave them the agreed-upon fruits. This was actually quite fast, given how vast the Endless Territories were. There were quite a few treasures which the three Hegemons and the various Eternal Emperors didn't actually have on hand, with the collection process naturally taking some time.

After acquiring all of the materials needed, Ning and Ninedust accompanied Hegemon Welkin on the journey.

Whoosh. Ning, Ninedust, and Hegemon Welkin were seated within a dazzling deep-blue vessel that was flying through the darkness of space at high speeds.

"Senior Welkin." Ning glanced outside. They were now quite close to the Badlands Territory. "Can we halt for now?"

"Hm?" Hegemon Welkin immediately brought the vessel to a halt.

"I have a few things to take care of," Ning said. "After going to this Stone Hellephant Wall and acquiring enough of the deepfire blackstone, Ninedust and I will continue our adventures. I need to make some arrangements for my retainers and take care of some things."

Ninedust had only recently become a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Although he had used a Voidsea Jadeseal, he still wasn't confident in his Daomerge chances and thus had to continue his adventures.

As for Ning himself, he wanted to acquire a treasure that was comparable to Crimsonwave Temple in value, so that he would be able to request an Autarch to revive Yu Wei. It must be remembered that Crimsonwave Temple was worth more than the total networth of an average Hegemon. If he wanted to acquire something like that… where else but through adventure would this be possible?

"Alright." Hegemon Welkin nodded.

Ning took a single step out of the flying vessel and appeared in the empty space outside. He waved his hand. Whoosh. Four figures immediately appeared next to him. These were Su Youji, Pillsaint, Daolord Naia, and Daolord Bruteflame. The four retainers looked at Ning, then called out respectfully, "Master."

Ning looked at them, a rather complex look on his face. He said with a sigh, "You have all accompanied for many years now. Youji, you started following me when I was an Elder God. Pillsaint, we met when we were World Gods in the Brightshore Kingdom…"

"Master." Su Youji couldn't help but interject, "Why are you saying…"

"Mm. I can sense that the places I am going to go visit are far too dangerous for you," Ning said. "That last trip to the Terror Starsea was a good example, as was our visit to the Waveshift Realm. Both places were incredibly dangerous. If I survived them, you would be fine, but if I didn't then you probably would've all died there."

Su Youji and Pillsaint seemed to want to say something. Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame exchanged glances.

"Pillsaint, for example, has chosen the path of the Dao of Alchemy. There's absolutely no need for him to go out adventuring," Ning said with a smile. "He should find a good place to peacefully train in alchemy. And you, Youji… by following me like this you yourself aren't adventuring at all."

"As a result…" Ning looked at the four of them. "The four of you should all go out adventuring. If you wish to speak to me, go to Vastheaven Palace. My avatar will be there permanently."

"Oh, right. Take these treasures. You can consider them lifesavers." Ning waved his hand, causing four gourds to fly out towards Su Youji and the others. Ning had won quite a bit from this trip to the Waveshift Realm. He had killed the Kingfreak, Sectlord Timedream, and quite a few second-tier Daolords… and had also gained many treasures from Winesage. As a result, he had a prodigious number of treasures on hand!

Ning gave Su Youji the best treasures and Pillsaint the second-best treasures, with Daolord Bruteflame and Daolord Naia gaining the least. There was a difference in how much he cared about them, after all.

"Master." Su Youji and Pillsaint were rather unwilling to part from him, while Daolord Naia and Daolord Bruteflame were rather calm. The latter two had been alive for extremely long and had experienced many things.

"Go," Ning instructed.

Su Youji, Pillsaint, Naia, and Bruteflame traded glances. In the end, they had no choice but to leave. They too understood that this was the best choice for them.

"Pillsaint, where shall you go?" Su Youji asked.

"I'm going to Vastheaven Palace," Pillsaint said. "All I need is a place to concoct pills. Since our master's avatar will be in Vastheaven Palace, that's the best place for me."

"Mm. I'll go there as well." Su Youji nodded. Avatars shared the same thoughts and memories as true bodies, after all. Su Youji wanted to stay a bit closer to Ning if possible.

Ning watched as Su Youji, Pillsaint, and the others left. With them gone, he relaxed slightly. Bidding them farewell was the most responsible thing he could do for them.

Whoosh. Ning waved his finger, causing a blurry, rainbow spacetime tunnel to instantly appear in front of him. Ning took a single step into the tunnel, immediately vanishing.

"Eh?" Ninedust, still seated within the vessel, glanced outside in surprise. Just a few moments ago, he had seen Ning bidding his four retainers farewell. Now, Ning had suddenly entered a spacetime tunnel and vanished. "Where'd he go?" Ninedust said with some surprise.

"Off to take care of some random tasks, no doubt." Hegemon Welkin was quite calm. "My guess is that Darknorth's home is within the Badlands Territory, as we're fairly close to it. Given his ability to transcend spacetime, he should be able to reach that territory in just a few seconds."

"Right." Ninedust nodded. A few moments later, a rather mixed look appeared on his face as he murmured softly, "At least Darknorth has random tasks he needs to take care of and a beloved Dao-companion he has to revive. I… don't seem to have any family, nor do I have a Dao-companion."

Ancient cultivators did not have parents, as they were born from the primordial chaos itself.

A short while later… whoosh. A spacetime tunnel appeared, with a white-robed youth bearing a golden sheath on his back stepping out of it.

"There you are." Ninedust cast away his pensive thoughts and called out towards Ning.

"Mm." Ning nodded. Just now, he had paid a quick visit to his Primaltwin in the Badlands Territory. He had handed many of the treasures he had acquired within the Waveshift Realm over to his Primaltwin, as many of them were now of no use to Ning but of tremendous use to the Three Realms. There were many valuable pills, including the 'Soleheart World Pill' that could allow someone to forcibly break through to the World level. There were even Pseudo Samsara Pills that could allow someone to break through to become to Samsara Daolords! To truly powerful Daolords like him, these pills truly were nothing.

Given Ning's current status, for him to forcibly uplift a number of World-level cultivators was quite an easy task. However, he wouldn't do so without cause. Only those who broke through on their own with hard work would be able to walk farther along their chosen paths. Those who made their breakthroughs via relying on Pseudo Samsara Pills to become Samsara Daolords were virtually guaranteed to remain Daolords of the First Step.

"Sorry to have troubled you." Ning looked at Hegemon Welkin. "I've finished everything I need to do. I can now go out with some peace of mind."

"I really envy youngsters like you." Hegemon Welkin sighed. "Long, long ago, when I was still very weak, I had some friends who accompanied me as well. However… all of them died. None of them were able to succeed in their Daomerge. They died far, far too long ago… and I'm the only one left. That's why I've gone out wandering through various realmverse and otherverses. Only by seeing many new places do I feel that life has any meaning."

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. Indeed… in life, one needed to have goals. Otherwise, eternal loneliness would be a form of torment.

Hegemon Brightshore, for example, was completely focused on his imperial clan and his descendants. Although it was tiring work, it gave him something to do. As for Samsara Daolords… they focused on adventuring and the Daomerge.

To Eternal Emperors, their endless lifespans were a source of frustration. This was why many of them, such as Emperor Mirrorsnow and Emperor Heartsword, had ended up leaving and going off wandering. Their curiosity towards what else lay within the Chaosverse was what sustained them and gave them energy.

"Actually… we Daolords envy you as well," Ning said.

"Right. Even in my dreams I fantasize about succeeding in my Daomerge and becoming a Hegemon," Ninedust said.

"Hahaha…" Hegemon Welkin laughed loudly. "Every single stage of cultivation has its own sights to enjoy. Life as a Samsara Daolord is one of the most glorious, exciting stages of them all. Work hard, youngsters. If you can break through to become Hegemons, we might meet again in the future."

"Might meet again in the future?" Ning was puzzled.

"After I send you off to the Stone Hellephant Wall, I'll leave and continue my wanderings," Hegemon Welkins aid. "Wandering through the Chaosverse and seeing everything there is to see… to me, that's the most interesting thing there is. It'll be long, long time before I come back to the Flamedragon Realmverse. If you don't become Hegemons, it's unlikely that we'll meet again."

"Right." Ning and Ninedust both nodded. To someone who was as infinitely long-lived as Hegemon Welkin, 108,000 chaos cycles really was a short period of time.

Hegemon Welkin once more took control over the flying vessel, sending it tearing through spacetime. As for Ning, he secluded himself within his own estate-world and began to train once more. It would take nine years to reach the Stone Hellephant Wall, after all. This would be more than enough time for him to grow significantly more powerful yet again!

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 7 – The Stone Wall in the Darkness

Within the estate-world.

"Open." Ji Ning was standing at the peak of a mountain, staring down at the vast wilderness before him. He waved his finger, and with a boom an invisible surge of pressure slammed down upon the wilderness, causing an enormous indentation to appear on the ground. The indentation was nine hundred meters deep! Ning then reached out with his right hand, causing a small little black gourd to appear. He pulled out the stopper, causing a stream of deep blue water to flow out from the gourd. The stream of water grew in size as it flew out until it became many meters thick, almost like a watery dragon as it soared out to fill the indentation.

Whoooosh. The liquid continuously poured out, quickly filling nearly half of the indentation. This was the frozen ninesong pith Ning had just recently acquired.

"Go ahead, children." Ning smiled as the six Northbow swords on his back instantly flew out of the sheath, each one of them manifesting a child.

"Haha, frozen ninesong pith!"

"That's the frozen ninesong pith."

"There's so much of it! We can eat as much as we want." The six Northbow swords were all extremely excited. Each of them transformed to become nine hundred meters long, plunging themselves into the pool like sword-shaped mountains that then began to furiously devour the frozen ninesong pith.

Ning waved his hand, causing his temporal acceleration cabin to appear next to him. He entered the cabin, then begain to train in the [Swordbody] divine ability. He now had all the materials he needed, but the actual training process was very slow because this sort of cultivation technique placed enormous burdens on his body. He had to take it slowly and allow the power to slowly seep through. However, at least these protective divine abilities didn't require him to focus too much of his attention on it.

Thus, he was able to devote most of his time to meditating on his Omega Sword Dao and the [Heartsword] art.

Nearly three months went past. Ning could sense that his lifeblood weapons had already finished evolving, and so he walked out of his temporal cabin.

"Northbow swords." Ning looked at the six enormous mountain-sized Northbow swords, still stuck into that giant indentation. Their appearances had changed as well. They previously were a dazzling pure golden color, but now they had the color of blue gold. The surfaces of the swords were now very glossy, with the light of the sword being rather reserved. They looked almost like pure spring water.

"Come out." Ning willed the six Northbow swords to fly out, and they quickly flew towards him while shrinking to their normal size. Five of the Northbow swords flew into his sheath, while the sixth landed in his hands.

"Let's see just how they've changed after absorbing the frozen ninesong pith." Ning immediately began to execute his sword-arts, causing sword-light to shine everywhere and transform the empty area around him into a realm of the sword. The aura of the Dao of the Sword pervaded every inch of the area as he began to execute the five stances of the Omega Sword Dao.

"Mm." Ning revealed a look of delight. "The Northbow swords are now both fierce and flexible, making them of great use to my defensive sword-arts. Both the Yin-Yang stance and the Soleheart stance have improved significantly; I imagine that both of them are five times as powerful as previously."

The Yin-Yang stance could be used to execute the Yin-Yang Sword Domain with all six swords, making it an excellent area defense.

The Soleheart stance was focused on single-target defense.

"If I was to fight against Winesage again, I could fight him head-on. My defensive sword-arts would be able to easily ablate and deflect his power. At least I wouldn't be sent flying this time!" Ning revealed a look of delight. In a deadly situation, defensive sword-arts were even more important than offensive attacks. The power of your attacks would determine the fate of others, but the power of your defenses would determine the fate of yourself.

"We'll be reaching the Stone Hellephant Wall soon. By then we'll be able to absorb plenty of the deepfire blackstone, and my Northbow swords should only grow even more powerful." Ning grew increasingly eager to see what would happened.

The growth of any lifeblood weapon would be tied to the treasures they devoured. The majority of supreme Daolords all used lifeblood weapons, but very few of them would be able to acquire as many treasures as this!

Ning wasn't a good example; neither the sea of golden sand nor the lake of frozen ninesong pith were things which ordinary supreme Daolords were capable of acquiring. However, Eternal Emperors had very long lives, with Hegemons possessing tremendous power; as a result, their lifeblood weapons were usually very powerful. Daolord Dreamlore's bloodblade, for example, had once been a lifeblood weapon that had reached an incredible level of power. From a material level, it absolutely had the potential to become a Universe treasure… but alas, the Dao inside it was slightly lacking and thus it wasn't able to reach this level.

Hegemon Welkin's flying vessel had long ago departed from the Flamedragon Realmverse and entered the endless Great Dark.

The Great Dark… there were no stars here, no light… nothing at all. There was nothing but darkness! Darkness, enough of it to cause even Eternal Emperors to feel despair.

In truth, the Great Dark did have some foreign objects floating about within it. Daolord Clevermind of the Ninedust Sect, for example, had seen those six great warhammers floating about within the Great Dark as he had travelled around its borders. This was why he had been lucky enough to acquire them. Thus, the Great Dark wasn't truly devoid of all things.

"Here we are." Hegemon Welkin finally brought the flying vessel to a halt. It had indeed taken nine years.

"The two of you can come out now." Hegemon Welkin glanced at the two estate-treasures next to him. Ning and Ninedust had both secreted themselves into their estate-worlds. With a giant booming sound, an invisible spatial wave slammed straight into the two estate-treasures, causing the estate-worlds to tremble. Soon, Ning and Ninedust both emerged.

"The two of you really do seize every moment," Hegemon Welkin said with a laugh. "You've been furiously training for every day of the past nine years."

"I gained quite a bit from my visit to Crimsonwave Temple. I naturally had to seize this chance to train," Ninedust said hurriedly. He then looked at Ning. "Darknorth, you traded for quite a few treasures from the Hegemons and Eternal Emperors. You've probably grown quite a bit stronger as well."

"I'm doing alright." Ning nodded. He had only been able to train his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, primarily because the protective divine ability placed incredible demands and burdens on the body. He had to take it slow; if he did it too fast and tried to force things, his divine body would crumble and his truesoul would crumble with it. Thus, he had to train slowly even though he already had all the materials needed.

"We're not too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse," Hegemon Welkin said. "The two of you should still be able to sense it."

"We can." Ning and Ninedust both nodded. Ning could sense exactly where his Primaltwin was.

"Darknorth, my young friend, your sword-arts have transcended spacetime. I brought you here to the Stone Hellephant Wall, but I think you should be able to slowly return under your own abilities. Given your power, you should be able to return within a thousand years," Hegemon Welkin said.

"A minor matter." Ning nodded. A thousand years was a very short period of time for supreme Daolords; he wouldn't force Hegemon Welkin to wait by his side for a trifling matter like sending him home.

Whoosh. The flying vessel disappeared, causing the three of them to appear within the empty space of the Great Dark.

"There really is nothing but darkness here." Ning scanned the area, only to see absolute darkness all around him. There was no light at all; only by using godsense was he able to 'see' the surrounding area, and there really was nothing whatsoever around him.

"Senior." Ning couldn't help but ask, "Factoring in my ability to transcend spacetime… if I were to go drifting through the Great Dark, would 100,000 chaos cycles be enough for me to reach the closest realmverse?"

"The realmverse closest to the Flamedragon Realmverse is known as the Multilight Realmverse. Although your ability to transcend spacetime is impressive, it will still take roughly a million chaos cycles before you get there," Hegemon Welkin said.

Ning and Ninedust shared a glance. Yeah, forget that. Samsara Daolords could spend their entire lives travelling without making it to the Multilight Realmverse.

"Let's go to the Stone Hellephant Wall," Ninedust said immediately.

"The Stone Hellephant Wall is just up ahead. Follow me." Hegemon Welkin emanated a bubble that encompassed both Ning and Ninedust, 'carrying' them with him as he flew forwards at high speed.

Whoosh. Hegemon Welkin was simply too fast, so fast that Ning and Ninedust both felt their hearts trembled. They were starting to truly understand how terrifyingly strong Hegemons were. Their speed alone ensured that supreme Daolords wouldn't even have a chance to react before dying.

A few moments later, they had flown tens of billions of kilometers. "See that?" Hegemon Welkin pointed up ahead. "That right there is the Stone Hellephant Wall."

Ning looked towards the front. A colossal object was up ahead, hanging within the endless darkness. It emanated a natural but dim aura of light that was enough for supreme Daolords like Nine and Ninedust to make it out clearly.

The thing up ahead was roughly a million kilometers long and shaped like a giant elephant. Only, it had what looked like an incredibly sharp horn coming from its 'head'. The entire thing was black… or perhaps an incredibly deep red!

"At first glance, it rather looks like a demonic elephant, doesn't it?" Hegemon Welkin said, "But if you move closer, you'll see that it is actually very, very thin."

"Oh?" Ning and Ninedust hurriedly moved closer. Indeed, although this enormous thing was over a million kilometers long, it was merely a thousand kilometers thick. The thickness was very even.

"It… looks almost like a wall carving someone did," Ninedust said.

"Right. It looks like a detached wall carving of an enormous, hellish elephant," Hegemon Welkin said. "That's why I named it the Stone Hellephant Wall. This thing has been floating in the Great Dark for an extremely long period of time, and the entire thing is composed of deepfire blackstone. I was overjoyed when I saw it and wanted to take it with me, but it was just too big. Some sort of invisible power made it so that I just couldn't take it away by force. Your lifeblood weapons wish to absorb deepfire blackstone, right? Go ahead and let them absorb as much as they want from this enormous wall of deepfire blackstone. Now… we agreed on a hundred coldfire cauldron fruits. Go ahead and give them to me."

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 8 – Mining

Ji Ning glanced at the enormous Stone Hellephant Wall. "Senior, please let me first see if I can even absorb it."

"Go ahead."

One of the Northbow swords flew out from the sheath on Ning's back and stabbed straight towards the Stone Hellephant Wall. Crack! The Northbow sword didn't damage the wall in the slightest, but as it hung there with the sword tip touching the wall, everyone present could see that a small 'crater' was slowly beginning to appear and expand at the point of contact.

"Master, this is deepfire blackstone. We can absorb it!" a child appeared on the surface of the Northbow sword and called out excitedly towards Ning.

Ning couldn't help but reveal a smile. He turned his head to look at Hegemon Welkin. "Thank you, senior. Here are your hundred coldflame cauldron fruits." Ning sent out a jade bottle with a hundred fruits within it.

Hegemon Welkin accepted it, scanned it with his godsense, then accepted it.

"You can just take your time absorbing the deepfire blackstone. I'm off." Hegemon Welkin's gaze turned towards the Northbow sword that had slowly plunged deep into the Stone Hellephant Wall; by now, quite a bit of the deepfire blackstone had disappeared from around it. "Even I am not able to take away this enormous chunk of deepfire blackstone, but your swords are able to absorb it… haha. Still, upgrading lifeblood weapons is an incredibly difficult process. Even if you can let them absorb an enormous amount of materials and upgrade them to their material limit, if you wish to transform them into Universe treasures then they will need quintessence cores that are at a similarly incredible level. I've reared lifeblood weapons of my own, but alas I haven't been able to create any Universe treasures."

Ning nodded upon hearing this. Creating a Universe treasure was no easy feat.

"To me, searching for an ownerless Universe treasure is a better use of my time," Hegemon Welkin said. "There are still some who would be willing to acknowledge me as master."

"That, senior, is because you are a Hegemon!" The nearby Ninedust interjected, "It is normall for Universe treasures to be willing to submit themselves to Hegemons. Daolords like us though? Unless we stumble into some truly incredible luck, it's almost impossible for us to be able to make Universe treasures submit to us."

Ninedust was a good example. He was an exalted member of the Ancients and was a master in staff-arts who had studied the legacy of that ancestor Hegemon of the Ancient race, but the ancestor's Universe longstaff had refused to follow him.

"Universe treasures possess infinite lifespans, while Daolords only live for 108,000 chaos cycles." Hegemon Welkin sighed. "If they follow a Daolord and that Daolord fails the Daomerge, they would have to bear the pain of eventually parting with him. This is why Universe treasures generally only choose Eternal Emperors, unless a particular Daolord is extremely intriguing to them."

"Right." Ning and Ninedust both nodded. Final farewells were indeed painful to make. The relationships between lifeblood weapons and their masters were almost familial in nature, and the same was true for the relationship between Universe treasures and their masters. This was why so many Universe treasures longed for their original deceased masters despite the passage of many, many chaos cycles. In fact, they would often choose to follow new masters based on similarities between their new master and the old one. They had to have similar personalities, characteristics, and even Daos!

"Alright. You two youngers should train hard. I hope that in the distant future I'll be able to meet the two of you again," Hegemon Welkin said with a laugh. He then waved his hand, causing that flying vessel to appear once more. He entered his vessel, then tore through spacetime and immediately disappeared.

Ning and Ninedust watched as Hegemon Welkin left with mixed feelings. They understood that the chances of them meeting him again were very, very low.

"Hegemon… I absolute must succeed in my Daomerge and become a Hegemon." Ninedust ground his teeth.

"Succeed in the Daomerge!" Ning's eyes were filled with resolution and desire as well.

Neither Ning nor Ninedust were confident in their chances at the Daomerge. Anyone who had mastered a fused Supreme Dao would become a Hegemon upon completing the Daomerge… but alas, this was simply too difficult. As for Ning? His Omega Sword Dao was far more difficult than even that!

Although they didn't feel confident, they still felt desire and eagerness. The Daomerge was the ultimate goal for any and every Daolord. But of course, in Ning's heart what mattered the most was still reviving his wife Yu Wei. His cultivation goals and the Daomerge were second to that.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Ning stood there within the empty darkness. He waved a finger, causing the other five Northbow swords to fly out from the sheath on his back towards the great Stone Hellephant Wall in front of him. They joined with the first Northbow sword to form a circular pattern that was roughly a thousand kilometers in diameter.

"Children, do your best to 'eat' your way around this area and dig out thousand-kilometer spheres of deepfire blackstone," Ning called out with a smile.

"Yes, Master."

"Haha, our master is so clever! He wants us to help him dig out the deepfire blackstone ore!"

"Leave it to us."

The children atop the six Northbow swords immediately let out excited calls.

Ninedust was standing next to Ning within the darkness. He said in amazement, "D-Darknorth, are you planning on…?"

"Since the Northbow swords are able to devour the deepfire blackstone, I'm going to use them to harvest as much of the Stone Hellephant Wall as I can," Ning said. "Not even the Hegemon was able to move this massive thing in its entirety, but if I can segment them into smaller pieces I might be able to do so. If I can, it'll be worth a quite a pretty sum."

"True." Ninedust revealed a look of delight. "All that deepfire blackstone… wow. That really would be a fortune! Haha, I think Hegemon Welkin never would've imagined that you could use the Northbow swords to segment the Stone Hellephant Wall. If he did, he wouldn't have walked away like that."

"It's not as much as you think." Ning shook his head. "Deepfire blackstone doesn't have that many usages. The reason why it is sold for a fairly high price in the Dao Alliance is because it is fairly rare; the Endless Territories only have three thousand meters of it. Even if I do successfully harvest the entire million-kilometer Stone Hellephant Wall, who am I supposed to sell so much deepfire blackstone to?"

When supply was limited, prices would remain high. When the supply suddenly skyrocketed, the price would drastically crater. This was even more the case given how deepfire blackstone wasn't very useful. If it was more useful, this wall would've been a true fortune! Hegemon Welkin probably would've paid any price necessary to invite other major powers to help him out and somehow take away the Stone Hellephant Wall.

"To Hegemons, it isn't all that valuable. To us, though, this is still a nice sum," Ning said with a laugh.

Crack, crack, crack. The six Northbow swords continuously devoured the deepfire blackstone ore, doing their best to carve out a sphere of ore from the Stone Hellephant Wall.

It must be remembered that the six Northbow swords needed to absorb roughly a three hundred thousand meter mountain of ore, an astonishing amount. For them to merely carve out a thousand-kilometer globe of deepfire blackstone meant that they were basically just 'eating' a surface portion. It actually wasn't much at all.

A mere hour later.

"Master."

"Master, we can't harvest any more."

"There's no way to dig any deeper." The children atop the six Northbow swords all started to call out towards Ning.

"No way to dig any deeper?" Ning was startled.

"Why can't they dig any deeper?" The nearby Ninedust also said, "Is there something inside that isn't deepfire blackstone?"

"Right."

"It isn't deepfire blackstone."

"It's something else. We can't absorb it," the six children called out in unison.

Ning and Ninedust traded a glance. They both had the feeling that the Stone Hellephant Wall perhaps held more secrets than they had expected. It must be remembered that it was over a million kilometers long but just a thousand kilometers wide, making it very 'flat'. They had thought that it was completely composed of deepfire blackstone, but it seemed as though it held a core of something else.

"Then carve out as much as you can within the thousand-kilometer radius," Nin ginstructed.

"Got it."

"Alright." All six children called out in unison, working together to slowly move closer and closer to each other. A short while later, the children called out, "We're finished!" "Master, we're done carving!"

"Oh?" Ning sent out his will, using his six Northbow swords to apply a bit of power. Boom! The large round chunk of deepfire blackstone was actually knocked free from the rest of the Stone Hellephant Wall. This chunk of ore was spheroid in shape. It was a thousand kilometers long but only two hundred kilometers 'deep'.

"Get in here." Ning walked forwards and grabbed the large chunk of ore, trying to pull it into his estate-world. He immediately sensed how incredibly heavy it was, but he still gave it a try. Boom! The thousand-kilometer chunk of deepfire blackstone was pulled by Ning into his estate-world in its entirety.

"Deepfire blackstone is a valuable natural material. At my current level of power, I'm only able to draw in thousand-kilometer chunks," Ning said with a laugh. Experts like him were able to gauge their own abilities with a certain type of foresight. The reason he had instructed the Northbow swords to carve out thousand-kilometer chunks was precisely because he could sense that this was a size that would suit him. The entire Stone Hellephant Wall was a thousand times longer than the chunk he had just carved out and much thicker, making it easily a million times more massive. It also had other materials in its core. This was why not even Hegemons could draw it in through force.

"Darknorth, look!" Ninedust had already flown over, and he immediately called out to Ning. Ning flew over as well. When he did, he was able to see that underneath the carved-out pit of deepfire blackstone was some sort of silvery-white material that was covered with many runes. These complicated runes seemed to be part of a single, utterly massive character.

"This script… it seems quite similar in style to the azureflower seal, the Dreamdust script, and those three characters I saw at Crimsonwave Temple." Ning narrowed his eyes.

"Darknorth, this Stone Hellephant Wall seems to contain a great secret within it." Ninedust was excited as well.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 9 – Heavenbreaker Stance

With the deepfire blackstone carved away, a strange silvery-white material of unknown origins was revealed beneath it. The silvery-white material was completely sealed and seamless, and the countless runes covering it caused Ji Ning and Ninedust to feel a sense of alarm.

"No openings at all." Ning frowned, sending out his will. Swish! A fog-formed sword sliced out using the Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop and struck against the silvery-white material. Clank! The power of this stsrike caused the entire vast Stone Hellephant Wall to tremble, but it wasn't able to leave the slightest mark behind on the silvery-white material. The Northbow sword launched consecutive attacks against other parts of the silvery-white material, only to fail each time.

"There's no way to break it at all, and there's no way for the Northbow sword to absorb it." Ning shook his head.

"The Stone Hellephant Wall has an outer layer of deepfire blackstone and an inner core of silvery-white material… can it be that the core is completely solid? What in the world was this thing meant for?" Ninedust was puzzled.

"Let's keep digging!" Ning grinned. "I want to see if the silvery-white object inside the Stone Hellephant Wall really has no openings whatsoever. Even if we end up being unable to discover its secrets, the deepfire blackstone ore alone is still worth quite a sum."

Ning was quite calm, mentally. He embraced good fortune and misfortune alike! When encountering strange, unknown secrets while adventuring, one could easily fall into danger if one lost mental balance. Death would soon follow.

Ning and Ninedust continued to watch from within the endless darkness as the six Northbow swords continuously devoured more and more of the outer layer of deepfire blackstone, chopping the Stone Hellephant Wall up into multiple cubes and spheres that were roughly a thousand kilometers in length. Each time, they only 'ate' a thin superficial layer of the ore. Only by doing so would they be able to completely 'eat' their way through the entire wall and carve it up.

Time passed, one day after the other. Ning collected every single chunk of deepfire blackstone his swords harvested, causing the outer layer of the Stone Hellephant Wall to continuously shrink in size and reveal more and more of the silvery-white core within. As time passed, the Northbow swords only began to increase the speed at which they 'ate'.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. By now, half of the Stone Hellephant Wall had been carved up.

Clank! Yet another giant chunk of deepfire blackstone was revealed.

"Quick, look over there! There's an entranceway!" Ninedust pointed while exclaiming in surprise.

"An entrance?" Ning's gaze instantly fell upon the silvery-white core as well. Previously, the giant silvery-white object had been completely seamless. Now, however, they saw a wide passageway that was nearly thirty meters long and sixty meters high! It was completely dark and rather windy, preventing Ning and Ninedust from seeing what lay within.

"There's actually an entrance?" Ning immediately looked at the opposite end of the chunk of deepfire blackstone that he had just carved out. The ore actually had a passageway within it as well, ending in a door. From the outside, however, there would've been no way to see anything at all.

"It seems this is the way inside," Ning said.

"What should we do, Darknorth? Should we enter?" Ninedust asked. Even a fool could tell that the Stone Hellephant Wall had been artificially created; otherwise, how could it have such a neat and symmetrical entrance?

However, not even Hegemons could produce the vast quantity of deepfire blackstone which made up the outermost layer of the Stone Hellephant Wall. Both of them could sense that the mysteries hidden within had to be absolutely terrifying.

"This was a massive feat in engineering. No ordinary Hegemon could've created this wall." Ning frowned. "Let's not rush into things. It's not going anywhere, and it seems unlikely that anyone else in the Great Dark will just so happen to stumble upon this place. Let me finish fully harvesting the deepfire blackstone, then we'll decide."

"Alright." Ninedust nodded as well.

The Northbow swords were devouring the ore faster and faster. After merely another month, the entire outer layer of deepfire blackstone ore covering the Stone Hellephant Wall had been completely chopped up into thousand-kilometer pieces and put away.

"Mining complete." Ning revealed a smile. "Children, have you absorbed enough?"

The six Northbow swords flew towards Ning, six children seated open them. "Almost full." "Master, I need just a bit more." "A little more and I'll be full." By now, the Northbow swords had changed yet again in appearance. They now looked almost black in color, with just a faint sheen of golden light and blue light covering them.

"Alright. Eat your fill first. After eating, accompany me inside to take a look." Ning looked curiously at the completely harvested Stone Hellephant Wall. It was now completely silvery-white and covered with countless runes which formed a single character. Although he had never seen this character before, he understood that it represented the term 'Tigerhill'.

The Stone Hellephant Wall only had a single entrance, and it had been so well-hidden that not even Hegemon Welkin had been able to discover it. Ning had only been able to find it thanks to his swords being able to carve the deepfire blackstone apart.

The six Northbow swords plunged deep into the final chunk of deepfire blackstone ore, furiously eating away at it. Just half a day later, they had reached their utmost limit.

"Master, I'm completely full. I can't eat another bite."

"I'm not able to eat any more of the deepfire blackstone." The six Northbow swords were happily satiated and flew straight towards Ning.

Ning grabbed one of the Northbow swords to inspect it. They were now noticeably heavier than they had been in the past, and even the pommel was a bit thicker. The blade, however, was as sharp as ever.

"Let me give them a try." Ning immediately began to execute the five stances of his Omega Sword Dao while Ninedust watched enviously off to one side. He had a lifeblood weapon as well, but it clearly wasn't developing as nicely as Ning's was.

BOOM! Ning delivered a chop with a double-handed grip, causing the dark space around him to completely shatter apart. Even time itself broke apart, rendering spacetime a completely meaningless concept in the region around him! This terrifying strike carried a dense mist with it as it struck, crushing through all things that opposed it. It almost instantly vaporized everything within ten billion kilometers, including spacetime itself. This strike was so terrifying that even ten thousand Daolords facing Ning would perish to it.

"How terrifying!" The Ninedust Sectlord was shocked upon seeing this. "T-t-this strike… even Winesage and his Universe treasure are merely on par."

"Good!" Ning revealed a look of delight as he clenched his sword. This strike was the most powerful attack Ning currently had… the Heavenbreaker stance!

It must be remembered that previously, the Northbow swords had only enhanced the Blood Drop stance to a significant degree, but even then the raw power of the Blood Drop stance was inferior to that of the Heavenbreaker stance! The Blood Drop stance specialized in speed and penetrative power, while the Heavenbreaker stance truly relied on overwhelming might. Ning had relied on successive strikes from the Heavenbreaker stance to overwhelm and completely destroy the Kingfreak, literally beating him to death.

Now that he had infused his Heavenbreaker stance with the power of the [Heartsword] art and absorbed a prodigious amount of deepfire blackstone with his Northbow swords, his Heavenbreaker stance was comparable to his Blood Drop stance. In raw power, this strike was on the same level as the strikes of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. This was Ning's most dominating, devastating strike to date!

"This feeling of overwhelming, crushing power is absolutely wonderful." Ning felt quite delighted. It wouldn't matter if his foes used intricate techniques; he would be able to smash through them with dominating force! This was what Winesage had done and how he had been able to force all the other Daolords to bow their heads before him. Even Ning had been beaten to the point where he didn't dare fight the man head-on.

"Darknorth, your lifeblood swords have improved quite a bit after devouring all that deepfire blackstone," Ninedust said enviously.

"Yes." Ning gently stroked the flat of the sword. "This was of great help to my Northbow swords… but the [Heartsword] art helped quite a bit as well."

"The [Heartsword] art? The sword-art which Emperor Heartsword created?" Ninedust was shocked.

"Yes." Ning nodded.

"You actually succeeded in training in the [Heartsword] art? I had no idea. Is that why your strikes seem to be filled with sword-shaped mist now? I've heard of it long ago, but I've never seen it in action myself." The Ninedust Sectlord was instantly intrigued by this, as the [Heartsword] art was incredibly famous. Unfortunately there were very, very few were able to gain any level of skill in it; thus far, Ning hadn't encountered a single Daolord capable of using the [Heartsword] art.

"No wonder you are so strong, Darknorth! Ugh, I need to work harder. I can't let you get too far ahead of me." Ninedust was filled with a strong competitive desire.

Ning walked over, reaching out to grab what remained of the final piece of deepfire blackstone and putting it into his estate-world. "Let's go. Time to go inside the Stone Hellephant Wall and see what lies within it."

"Yes, let's go inside." Ninedust looked at the distant passageway as well, his eyes blazing with eagerness. "It definitely holds some incredible secrets within it. Maybe I'll find a Universe treasure that will acknowledge me as its master! Haha… I would have my invulnerable aquaform for defense and a Universe treasure for offense. I'd probably be even more powerful than you, Darknorth!"

"If there really are Universe treasures, make sure I get one as well," Ning said as he flew forwards alongside Ninedust. Laughing and smiling, the two moved closer and closer to the entranceway.

After going inside, their faces slowly turned solemn. Ning manifested three heads and six arms and held all six Northbow swords at the ready, while the Ninedust Sectlord advanced carefully with his longstaff in hand.

"I'll scout the path ahead," Ninedust said.

"Alright." Ning nodded. Ninedust's invulnerable aquaform was indeed far better at keeping him alive than what Ning had at present.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 10 – Tigerhill

The two flew forwards together into the entrance passage. The silvery-white passageway's walls were lined with mysterious runes. Ninedust glanced at them and said, "Those should be barrier formation runes."

"An invisible field of energy is protecting the core of the Stone Hellephant Wall," Ji Ning said solemnly. "I can sense an invisible, omnipresent form of pressure. Even my godsense is affected by it and rendered inoperable."

"Same." Ninedust grew even more cautious as well. Both moved forward with great care, ready to unleash their power at a moment's notice.

After following this passageway for roughly three kilometers, they reached a fork in the road.

"Let's choose this one," Ninedust said.

"Alright. No matter what, the two of us need to stick together. Don't give them any chance to pick us off separately." Ning's expression grew increasingly solemn. When he saw those runes on the walls, he understood that these barriers definitely possessed incredible power.

"Look over there!" A short while later, Ninedust called out excitedly from a corner up ahead as he pointed towards something in front of him. Ning hurriedly charged over, only to see a gaping 'wound' in the silvery-white walls that emanated an aura of terrifying power.

"What in the world?" Ning and Ninedust both moved closer to inspect it carefully.

"Wow." Ninedust stared.

"How is this possible? The entire passageway is formed from this silvery-white substance. I can't even scratch it with a full-force blow. Could it have been completely torn open like this?" Ning stared at the jagged, gaping wounds in the walls of the passageway up ahead. There were five of the tears in total, and all of the runes within the passageway had been completely wrecked.

Every single tear was over three hundred meters long and more than thirty meters deep, thoroughly destroying the formations and script which had covered the passageway walls. In fact, there was some silvery-white debris littering the walls as well.

"Those five tears… they look like they were made by someone using his hand." Ninedust had a look of disbelief on his face.

"His hand?" Ning couldn't help but say, "Let me try again. Perhaps the silvery-white substance here is weaker than elsewhere." As Ning spoke, he set up a barrier to block out any trembles generated in this area, then put away five of his Northbow swords. He gripped the single remaining Northbow sword with all six hands, then struck out with his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker, sending it directly against a palm-sized silvery-white fragment on the ground.

BOOM! A boundlessly savage blast of power smashed out along with his sword against the silvery-white debris, sending it flying off the ground and smashing directly into the nearby walls.

"Hm." Ning waved his hand, catching the ricocheting piece of rubble. "Completely undamaged?" Ning stared at the slick piece of debris. The only damage visible was the damage at the very edges, which had been generated when it had been originally torn off the walls by that unknown major power.

"The eight lords of the Sacred Cities might be a bit stronger than me, but this is on a completely different level." Ning carefully scrutinized the piece of rubble. "It seems someone who was at least as strong as a Hegemon caused the damage here."

"Right." Ninedust agreed with this assessment.

Hegemons were far more powerful than them. Their Eternal divine power and their Daos were all far superior… and they generally had Universe treasures at their disposal!

"The runes and barriers in this tunnel have all been wrecked. Come, let's keep searching," Ning said.

"Can't let the rubble go to waste. They might be useful." Ninedust waved his hand, collecting the bits of silvery-white rubble laying on the ground.

They continued to advance through the passageway. Ning and Ninedust soon saw another hall that had a strange sacrificial altar within it, but the terrifying claw-marks appeared atop the altar as well. The entire altar had been torn asunder.

They also saw a round, fiery-red pillar that was also covered with countless runes. Clearly, these had been part of a powerful and mysterious formation… but alas, the pillar had also been clawed open as well.

"There clearly was a battle here," Ninedust said while walking. "An unknown major power caused all of this destruction, wrecking many of the formations here. The person in charge of the Stone Hellephant Wall was completely unable to fight back… but why is it that we don't see any corpses at all?"

"Look up ahead." Ning pointed towards the path up in front of them. A completely empty void was there.

"Have we reached the end?" Ning and Ninedust quickly reached the opening, then stared into the void. The vast void was filled with a faint, light blue mist that covered an area of over a hundred billion kilometers. At the very center of this vast void was a dazzling planet that was billions of kilometers in diameter.

"Ninedust, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ning asked.

"Ah, so you are thinking about that as well?" Ninedust laughed.

"Right." Ning nodded. "This style… it should be the Sithe race's style." When they had been in that giant humanoid's body, they had seen that it was filled with countless stone passageways as well as vast planets. Ning had acquired his third disciple in one of those planets, the young man named 'Skywind'. That giant humanoid had been Sithe, and it had slain one Hegemon outright while injuring a second one so gravely that the second Hegemon, a member of the Ancient race, had passed away from his wounds.

"The creator of the Stone Hellephant Wall was able to manipulate both deepfire blackstone as well as this unknown silvery-white material in its creation. This really does seem like something the Sithe might do," Ning said.

"Yes, the Sithe greatly surpassed us cultivators in many areas," Ninedust agreed. Although the Sithe had been wiped out, their power was undisputable. It was precisely of how powerful they were that the Autarchs had been forced to lead all cultivator civilizations to war against them. The flames of war had filled countless places, causing the Flamedragon Realmverse to lose all of the Hegemons it had at that time. One could only imagine how miserable that war had been!

"Given how it was floating through the Great Dark, my guess is that the Stone Hellephant Wall was left behind from the Dawn War," Ninedust said. "It shouldn't hold too much danger."

"But it's completely filled with that invisible aura of power… and I have the feeling that it is even more dangerous than that humanoid creature we were in," Ning said. "Although it logically shouldn't be dangerous, even the slightest bit of remaining power might be enough to wipe us both out."

"Right." Ninedust narrowed his eyes. "Screw it. Let's give it a try. We might just find a huge treasure trove inside."

"Alright, let's fly over." Ning was the first to fly towards the planet.

The treasures the Sithe left behind often represented a vast fortune. Crimsonwave Temple was but a single relic, but it was more valuable than the combined networths of all three Hegemons of the Flamedragon Realmverse! Perhaps the Stone Hellephant Wall had something inside that was comparable to Crimsonwave Temple in value. How could Ning possibly shrink back from it?

"There might be living beings inside this planet," Ninedust said while flying next to Ning. "Last time we entered the homeland of your disciple, Skywind, we were almost immediately discovered by those locals. Should we perhaps mask our auras this time?"

"Yes, yes we should. Let us pretend to be Daolords of the Second Step," Ning said.

"Agreed." Ninedust agreed with this idea.

"Change." "Change." Ninedust and Ning immediately changed their auras through the [Vitalis] art. This was the most formidable masking technique they knew, capable of changing even their truesoul's aura. Ning was simulating the aura which Daolord Pillsaint had back when he was a Daolord of the Second Step, while Ninedust did the same for a different Daolord he knew. The simulation was only effective when used to emulate you actually knew. After masking their auras, the two quickly reached the region outside the planet.

"That invisible aura of power is growing stronger." Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance. Swoosh. Swoosh. The two carefully flew towards the planet.

The planet was surrounded by a thick layer of clouds and mist. They flew through the multiple layers of clouds, slowly beginning to see the world beneath them.

This was a vast world filled with many mountains, and it was teeming with countless living creatures.

"There's life here. They look humanoid." Ning's vision was frighteningly sharp, allowing him to see them with clarity. "Judging from their auras, the living beings here are all quite strong. There are many Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, and I can even see Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals."

Boom! They could sense faint, violent ripples of power emanating from off in the distance. "There's a fight over there." Ninedust stared towards the direction of the battle. "Let's go take a look."

The two immediately flew over. From their midair position, they were quickly able to see the great battle which was occurring off in the distance. The forces of both sides were fighting furiously against each other.

"All World-level cultivators," Ninedust said casually. To them, World-level cultivators truly were nothing more than ants. "Nearly sixty of them battling, divided up into two sides."

"Someone capable of commanding so many World-level cultivators should be fairly strong," Ninedust said. "We should be able to learn quite a bit regarding this planet from them, and thus more quickly divine the mysteries of this Stone Hellephant Wall."

"Right." Ninedust nodded. Both of them remained extremely cautious; just a fraction of the power originally held within the relic sites left behind by the Sithe was enough to claim their lives. How could they NOT be careful?

Ning and Ninedust immediately flew towards the group of battling World-level cultivators.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 11 – Tianello

Ji Ning and Ninedust flew quickly towards the mist to the battlefield. Meanwhile, the battle between the World-level cultivators was reaching a fever pitch.

Slash! Saber-light chopped through a World God's body, slicing him in half. A heartbeat later, his body was ground into dust. The white-robed machete-wielding man then charged towards another World-level cultivator, a hate-filled look on his face. He was clearly the most powerful person on the battlefield. He was extremely fast and his saber-arts were exceptionally brutal.

"Maji!" The other World-level cultivator was clearly in dire straits.

"Maji, stop this!"

"Maji, you despicable lowlife. How dare you assault us members of the Tianello clan!" the other World-level cultivators bellowed furiously.

"You refused to give my clan a way out, so I'm not giving you a way out either! Kill them, my clansmen! Wipe them all out! If a single one of them escapes, we'll be in big trouble. If we can wipe them out, we can relocate our tribe and join one of the Tianello clan's enemies!" Maji had a savage look on his face as he bellowed.

"Kill!"

"Kill these Tianello clansmen!"

"Wipe'm out!"

Although the total combat power of the Tianello clansmen was higher overall, the one named Maji was simply too powerful as an individual. Thus far, he had already killed a total of twelve World-level cultivators by himself in this clash! He had been able to force the warriors of the Tianello clan to the brink of withdrawal, with only their fear of the strict laws of the clan holding them back from a complete retreat.

They had come on the orders of the Tianello clan to take away a treasure this minor clan had acquired, a certain bugbeast core component. They were so accustomed to behaving in a domineering fashion that they had been planning to massacre the minor clan and then offer the treasure to the high-level members of the clan. As for the other treasures the minor clan had owned? They were going to split them internally.

They had first set up a formation, planning to trap and massacre everyone. They never would've imagined that this weak clan's leader, Maji, was so incredibly powerful that he had been able to burst the formation apart, then lead his clan's World-level cultivators to fight their way out.

"Damnit."

"They actually dare to kill the members of the Tianello clan! Let's leave and report this to the clan immediately! We'll have the clan send out the entire army to wipe them out and leave none of them behind." By now, the Tianello clansmen had been shaken by Maji's assaults. In the end, they chose to retreat. Although they would be punished upon their return for failing in their mission, at least they wouldn't lose their lives.

"Let's go."

"Flee."

Instantly, the World-level cultivators all began to flee frantically. But just as they began to do so, a calm voice rang out. "Don't be in a such to run." The fleeing World-level cultivators all felt their bodies turn soft. Their movements began to dramatically slow down before coming to a complete halt… and then they began to slowly fly backwards.

Right at this moment, two figures descended from the skies. One was a silver-robed man, the other was a white-robed youth who bore a sword sheath on his back.

"Daolord!" The World-level cultivators led by Maji all turned pale. The difference in power between World-level cultivators and Daolords was insurmountable.

"The Tianello clan, eh? They seem to be pretty powerful." Ning grinned.

"Then let's start with them," Ninedust offered.

"Agreed." Ning's heartforce had already completely pervaded the souls and truesouls of the Tianello clan's World-level cultivators, allowing him to easily rifle through their souls. Ning's heartforce was now so powerful that he was ranked number one amongst Daolords in the Endless Territories; manipulating World-level cultivators was simplicity itself for him. Soon, Ning had completely reviewed the memories of these cultivators.

"What did you find?" Ninedust asked.

"This planet is quite interesting." Ning smirked. As he chatted with Ninedust he made sure to block out the sound of their voices, ensuring that no one aside from the two of them could hear anything.

"Interesting?" Ninedust was puzzled.

Ning said, "This planet is quite extraordinary. It's far more powerful than that other planet we visited, Skywind's homeland! The cultivators here are all divided up into clans, with blood lineages determining their statuses."

"These clans are divided into the great clans, standard clans, and lesser clans. Lesser clans are the weakest, with standard clans generally having a Daolord and several golems standing guard. As for the great clans, they each have at least one 'royal golem' protecting them."

"Supposedly, this planet has nine great clans, twenty-one standard clans, and countless lesser clans," Ning explained. This was what he had learned through rifling the memories of the World-level cultivators. "Different clans can vary immensely in power. A great clan can easily wipe out one of the standard clans with a fraction of their full power, while standard clans can do the same to lesser clans. The lesser clans are viewed as of a lower caste, almost subhuman."

Ninedust was startled. "So just how many Daolords live on this planet?"

"More than thirty at the very least," Ning said. "Possibly sixty, possibly eighty… these World-level cultivators have no clue."

"Wow." Ninedust was surprised. A single planet was capable of giving birth to dozens of Daolords in each given generation? This was a frightening concept.

"The Tianello clan is a standard clan and it has a single Daolord protecting it," Ning said. "So let us start from them."

"Alright." Ninedust nodded.

"You can die now." Ning swept his gaze towards the dull-eyed World-level cultivators. Instantly, their eyes turned completely lifeless as they fell to the ground. He left just a single World-level cultivator alive, allowing the man 'Tonkee' to regain his clarity of mind as well.

"What just happened? What's going on?" Tonkee stared at the surrounding area in panic. How did all of the others all suddenly die?

"Go back and tell Tianello," Ning barked, "That I, Darknorth, killed these World Gods! Now beat it!" When Ning had rifled through their memories, he had learned that they were all Tianello's lackeys and were so evil as to wipe out lesser clans for greed alone. Tonkee was slightly better, morally speaking, than the rest. Still, the only reason why Ning spared him was because he needed someone to send a message for him; otherwise, he would've killed Tonkee as well.

"Y-you killed them?" Tonkee stared at Ning in terror.

"I said… beat it." Ning released a hint of his killing intent.

Swoosh! The terrified Tonkee immediately fled far away.

Maji and his clansmen stared in shock as they watched this happened, completely stunned by Ning and Ninedust's power. What stunned them even more was what Ning had just said: "Go back and tell Tianello that I, Darknorth, killed these World Gods! Now beat it!" This clearly was a direct challenge to Tianello!

Tianello was the name of the Tianello clan's leader, and he was on extremely good terms with the nine great clans. He was one of the high-level members of this world. He wasn't an easy person to deal with!

"Senior" Maji said, forcing down his fear and nervousness. Looks of panic were on the faces of all the World-level cultivators behind him.

"What, are you scared now?" A hint of a smile was on Ning's face.

Maji hurriedly said, "For us to fight back against them when they tried to kill us was a minor matter; the exalted Tianello would never deign to act against minor figures like us, giving us a chance to survive if we joined an enemy of the Tianello clan. But by doing this, seniors… you've just completely insulted him! He's not going to rest until he resolves this matter, and his rage will be directed towards us as well."

People lived for their reputations. There were only a few dozen Daolords on this planet, making them exalted figures. How could Tianello possibly just accept Ning brazenly slapping him in the face like this?

"Are you trying to say that we caused trouble for you?" Ninedust glared at them.

"N-no…" Maji began to sweat heavily.

"Ahahaha!" Ning started to laugh. "Ninedust, stop scaring these kids." Indeed, Maji and the other World-level cultivators all felt rather uneasy now. "Just keep watching," Ning instructed. "I'll guarantee your safety."

Maji and the others felt resigned. "I guess that's that." If they followed these two powerful Daolords, they might stand a chance at staying alive… but once they were on their own, it would be far too easy for Tianello to eradicate them.

Just one hour later, a giant vessel appeared in the skies. A white-haired old man stood at the prow of the vessel, staring towards their direction. He had a group of subordinates behind him.

"Tianello has arrived."

"It's Tianello." Maji and the others felt nervous and cold.

Ning and Ninedust raised their heads to glance at the vessel. Ninedust grinned at Ning: "He's a mere Daolord of the Third Step, but he seems pretty full of himself."

The grand vessel slowly flew through the skies towards them. The white-robed elder stood at the prow of the ship, staring down at them. When he saw that Ning and Ninedust merely had auras of Daolords of the Second Step, he relaxed slightly. He barked out coldly, "You dared to wipe out Tianello clansmen and then insulted me? It seems that it has been far too long since I, Tianello, have displayed my pow-."

"So shut up and do it already," Ninedust said from below.

"Eh?" Tianello was further incensed by this interruption, and cold light flickered in his eyes. "If that is what you wish… then I will send you off to die!"

Whoosh. A giant bird that was at least three thousand meters long suddenly appeared in front of Tianello. This bird was covered in azure feathers and had a fiery red tail, as well as an awe-inspiring aura. It was actually just as powerful as Tianello, and it immediately swooped downwards.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 12 – Sithe?

Maji and the other World-level cultivators behind Ji Ning and Ninedust had started to panic long ago. If you have to hit someone, you aren't supposed to slap them in the face! Not even Daolords would brazenly provoke other Daolords for no good reason. Ning's provocative actions were designed to force Tianello out. If he hid back despite all of this, he would probably become the laughingstock of this world.

"Now that's rather interesting." Ninedust waved his right hand, causing it to dramatically expand in size. It blocked out the skies and the sun as it clawed out towards the avian. The avian let out a furious screech as it tore at Ninedust's hand with its clans.

Whoosh! As an Ancient cultivator, Ninedust had an incredibly powerful divine body. Given that he was now a supreme Daolord, even a casual swipe from him was far beyond the likes of a golem which was merely equivalent to a Daolord of the Third Step. His giant fingers closed in around the avian, which sought to struggle but was completely unable to break free.

"What?!" Tianello was shocked when he saw this from his position aboard his ship. His golem was equivalent to him in power, but it had been captured by a casual swipe?

"He's absolutely terrifying. They're definitely not people that I can fight back against. I need to run." Tianello immediately fled, not worrying about anything else at all.

Ning was standing on the ground, head raised and watching this with a smile. "Come on down." An invisible surge of power instantly swept out to cover the entire vessel.

All of the cultivators on the vessel, Tianello included, were instantly trapped within an illusory world. The entire vessel began to descend from the skies and landed on the ground. One figure after another began to walk out of the vessel, their eyes blank. The leader of the group was the white-haired elder Tianello, whose gaze was equally vacant. He wasn't able to fight back at all.

"T-this…" Maji and the other World-level cultivators stared at this in astonishment. The mighty Tianello had been mentally dominated before even having a chance to fight in close combat? This was inconceivable!

"Tianello," Ning called out. "I ask you this: who are the most powerful people within this world?"

"The top three clans of the nine great clans are the Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan. These three great clans are far more powerful than the other six great clans." Tianello's gaze was vacant as he continued, "The Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan are incredibly powerful. Any of them could wipe out the other six great clans with ease."

"They call themselves members of the 'Sithe' race. All other clans have to submit to them, and they are the true rulers of this world," Tianello said numbly.

Ning and Ninedust turned pale when they heard this. What?! The three most powerful clans in this planet actually referred to themselves as 'Sithe'?

"They call themselves 'Sithe'? Why?" Ning asked.

"Don't know. They are the most ancient and most powerful clans on this planet. No one can resist them," Tianello said. "Those who try to do so all died."

Ning and Ninedust exchanged a glance.

"Darknorth… is it possible that a few scattered members of the Sithe actually survived?" Ninedust said. Both he and Darknorth suspected that the Stone Hellephant Wall had been created by the Sithe! It wasn't impossible that some Sithe survived to live on this planet.

"Entirely possible." Ning was much more somber now as well. "If it really is the Sithe… we're in a great deal of danger."

"Do the three great clans have any Eternal Emperors? Does this world hold any Eternal Emperors?" Ning asked.

"None." Tianello replied robotically, "It has been a long, long time since any Emperors have appeared within this world. The annals of history do contain records of an Eternal Emperor who launched a grand war against the three great clans, but they joined forces and managed to kill him."

"They killed an Eternal Emperor?" Ning frowned. "Was that Emperor an ordinary Daolord who broke through, or was he an incredibly powerful one?"

"He was an ordinary Daolord who broke through," Tianello replied.

Both Ning and Ninedust let out sighs of relief.

"Should we hit'm?" Ninedust looked at Ning.

"Of course." Ning nodded. "If they title themselves 'Sithe', then they are actual Sithe survivors or inheritors of the Sithe legacy. No matter what, they definitely know some of the secrets of the Sithe! If all three great clans had to work together to deal with an ordinary Daolord who broke through to become an Eternal Emperor, they shouldn't be all that powerful."

"At least they don't have any Eternal Emperors at present." Ninedust nodded as well. If they didn't have any Eternal Emperors, it didn't mater if they had access to Sithe technology and techniques. Ning and Ninedust were both supreme Daolords! They were both capable of slaying ordinary Eternal Emperors, especially Ning; Ning was now close to being on the same level as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Perhaps he was still rather lacking when compared to them, but he would be able to utterly dominate any Daolords.

As Ning and Ninedust discussed this secretive matters, they didn't let Maji or the others overheard them. Maji and his World-level companions only watched as Tianello stared blankly as he spoke words they couldn't hear.

"Awaken," Ning commanded softly. Tianello immediately came back to his senses, as did the subordinates behind him. When he did so, he instantly felt terrified. He could clearly remember what he had just told Ning.

"Y-y-you…" Tianello couldn't believe it. There was actually a person in this world capable of controlling him and forcing him to reveal some of his secrets.

"Self-claimed Sithe… interesting." Ning looked at Ninedust. "Let's do it."

"You first," Ninedust grinned.

There was a limit to how strong the three great clans were. They didn't even have a single Emperor! They did, however, claim themselves to be the 'Sithe', which meant they definitely were in command of certain Sithe mysteries. Given that it shouldn't be all that dangerous, how could Ning and Ninedust just leave?

"Heartworld, descend!" Ning immediately unleashed his heartworld projection.

The vast heartworld projection came crashing down, filling every single inch of this entire planet. The powerful sense of pressure brought terror to all of the countless living beings in the planet… but of course, Ning didn't use it to attack any of those weaklings.

"What's going on?"

"Why do I feel as though an illusory world just fell upon us?"

The countless living creatures all raised their heads to stare upwards.

"This must be a Heartforce Cultivator's heartworld projection."

"It has been a long time since a Heartworld Cultivator has appeared in our planet. Has a new one arisen?"

"This heartworld projection is far too powerful. Even I feel a sense of fear! If it releases just a bit of its power, it could kill the two of us with ease." A male and female pair of Daolords raised their heads to stare into the skies, a look of shock on their faces.

"Who is it?"

"Who dares to act with such arrogance, using a heartworld projection to suppress my Nonti clan!" A furious roar rang out from a beautiful golden palace.

Everyone on this entire planet, from the three great clans to the countless ordinary living creatures, all raised their heads to watch as the awesome heartworld projection descended. A short while later, the image of a white-robed youth who had a sword on his back appeared within the heartworld projection. He was absolutely towering in size, and he stared down upon the great earth, his gaze seeming to fill every inch of it.

"I hear that the Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan are the three most powerful great clans of this world and have unified it under their rule! But… no matter how hard I try, I can't discern anything particularly impressive about these three great clans. I was planning to wipe them out, but their Daolords are so weak that I can't even be bothered to do so."

"Listen closely. I can't be bothered to wipe your three clans out, but from this day forth you should obediently listen to my commands. If you do so, I'll let you live. Otherwise… hmph!"

"Impudence!"

"He's courting death."

"Where did this fool even come from?" Three enraged roars rang out from the three great clans, shaking the entire planet. The leaders of the Fumo, Juwah, and Nonti clans had been thoroughly enraged. They had ruled this planet for countless years. No one dared to challenge them… but this mysterious Heartforce Cultivator was being far too arrogant.

"Haha, you seem rather bold. I, Darknorth, shall be waiting for you at the Cranesoar Mountains. If you insist on coming to your deaths, feel free to come find me here." The illusory white-robed youth within the heartworld projection peered downwards at the three great clans. "But I really suggest that you not come. You'd simply be throwing your lives away if you did… because all of you really are quite weak. Aha, ahaha, ahahahahaha!" Ning's laughter echoed throughout every inch of this planet.

The wilderness at the base of the Cranesoar Mountains.

Maji and the other World-level cultivators stared at Ning and Ninedust, completedly dazed. Tianello and the World-level cultivators behind him were dazed as well. All of them had seen that heartworld projection and had heard Ning's provocations.

"He's… actually challenging the three great clans?" Tianello's voice was trembling.

"W-who in the world are they?" Maji and the others were petrified as well.

Ning and Ninedust, however, remained quite calm. "All done." Ning nodded at Ninedust. "Given the status these three great clans hold, there's no way they'd just take that lying down. They'll definitely attack."

"Agreed." Ninedust concurred. "That way, this battle is at a time and place of our choosing. That's of benefit to us."

Given that these three great clans called themselves the Sithe, Ning and Ninedust were concerned that their headquarters probably wouldn't be easily destroyed. Thus, they would choose a different place for the battle! Ning's deliberate provocations were aimed at forcing his enemies to come to the Cranesoar Mountains, as there were no dangerous formations here to worry about.

Although Ning was talking tough, he wasn't so foolish as to actually charge straight into the headquarters of the three great clans.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 13 – Emperor Golems

The challenge having been issued, Ji Ning and Ninedust entered the Cranesoar Mountains and awaited the arrival of the three great clans. In truth, Ning was right to be cautious. This planet held many mysteries within it.

Deep within the planet's core. There was a bubbling lake of lava here, and there were three figures seated next to it. These three figures all had silver skin, and the auras they emanated were different from the auras of normal cultivators. They were quite bizarre and inscrutable.

One of them, a particularly muscular silver man, let out a growl: "He actually dares to challenge all three of our clans simultaneously. My fellow clan leaders of the Juwah clan and Nonti clan, have either of you heard of this 'Darknorth' before?"

"Never heard of him." "I have no idea where he came from." the two other silver men responded.

"This 'Darknorth' is extremely arrogant, and his heartworld projection is incredibly powerful. In heartforce, at least, he's reached the utter apex." The muscular silver man said, "I find it very likely that he's a supreme Daolord."

"A supreme Daolord? Haha, after so many years, this planet of ours has finally given birth to yet another supreme Daolord," the skinnier silver man said.

"The birth of every supreme Daolord is rather diverting to our three clans," the long silver-haired man said. "To our three clans, there is nothing in this planet that can pose a threat to us. That makes life rather boring. The other six clans are only 'great clans' because they have some small portion of our bloodlines and lineage, and so we've bestowed the title of 'great clan' upon them. If it wasn't for that… hmph."

"How can those other lowly clans compare with us, the exalted Sithe?" The muscular silver man said coldly, "Since this supreme Daolord has chosen to challenge us and is an extremely strong Heartforce Cultivator… how do the two of you think we should response?"

"I'll go personally kill him," the skinny silver man said.

"Both of us have undergone the 'Ritual Sacrificium', making us the only true Sithe in this entire planet." The silver-haired, silver-skinned man shook his head. "For noble Sithe like us to lower ourselves to fight against these lowly races is demeaning. Sending golems is enough."

"I also feel that sending golems should suffice. My recommendation is that each of our three clans should send out two Emperor-class golems. What do you think?" the muscular silver man asked.

"Fine."

"Sending two Emperor-class golems is more than enough." The other two silver men agreed with this proposal. Their clans possessed exalted power. Even a tiny fraction of their full might was enough to completely dominate this entire world.

Over the course of countless years, their world had actually given birth to an Eternal Emperor. However, that Eternal Emperor had been extremely weak. In comparison, there had been far more supreme Daolords in the history of this world. There was usually at least one in every generation! Some of them dared to try and challenge the status of the three great clans… and all of them died!

Nobody could resist them! They were the true, indisputable, unshakeable rulers of this planet. They always had been and they always would be! In truth, the power they had revealed to wipe out those upstart challengers had always been nothing more than a fraction of their full power.

Within a dark room in the Fumo clan. There were six pitch-black figures seated with their eyes shut, completely unmoving. Suddenly, two of the pitch-black figures opened their eyes. Their eyes gleamed with green, crystalline light.

"Master." both golems called out respectfully.

"There's a Heartforce Cultivator known as Darknorth. He seems to be a supreme Daolord, and he's chosen to challenge the Sithe. The two of you shall head to the Cranesoar Mountains and kill him." The muscular silver man's voice boomed out, echoing throughout the room.

"Understood," both figures said respectfully. The other four pitch-black figures opened their eyes as well.

"The two of us are going to go out and have some first, brothers. Hahaha…" The two golems laughed quite smugly.

"Hurry up and kill this Daolord Darknorth, then come back and tell us all about it."

"Yeah, I'm bored senseless."

"A pity that Master has only sent the two of you." The other four golems spoke out as well. As golems, they possessed eternal lifespans. This world wasn't all that large; they knew every inch of it by now! This was why they normally preferred to spend their time in slumber. Only when the clan encountered some fairly troublesome opponents like 'supreme Daolords' would they be sent out.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two Emperor-class golems immediately left the room and soared into the skies.

The Cranesoar Mountains. Tianello, Maji, and the others all watched nervously. Ning and Ninedust, however, simply waited patiently.

"Eh?" Ning's face tightened slightly as he stared off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" Ninedust was puzzled.

"The three clans have sent their troops out towards the Cranesoar Mountains." Puzzled, Ning continued, "But… they each only sent a pair of golems. All combined, there are six of them."

"Six golems against the two of us?" Ninedust was puzzled as well. "Darknorth, the heartworld projection you revealed should've alerted them that you are probably at the supreme Daolord level. Why have they only sent six golems? Based on what I know, most golems are merely comparable to fourth-step Daolords at best."

"There ARE some golems that are stronger than the Daolord level," Ning said.

"True." Ninedust nodded. The major powers of the Endless Territories were only able to create golems comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step at best. However… some particularly dangerous regions sometimes held golems that had been left behind since the Dawn War which surpassed this level. Ning had personally seen those two mighty golems which stood guard over the palace of the Brightshore Imperials. One looked like a humanoid statue while the other was a bestial statue, but both were actually golems which held the power of Eternal Emperors. No one knew where the Brightshore Hegemon had found them.

"You are talking about Emperor-class golems," Ninedust said. "We Ancient cultivators have some, but they were passed down to us from many, many years ago. The Endless Territories have very few Emperor-class golems, and the number we Ancient cultivators have can be counted on one hand. Are you telling me that all six golems attacking us are Emperor-class? Since when did they become as common as the grass?"

"I find it hard to believe as well," Ning said with a sigh. Emperor-class golems… they could only be found in truly dangerous zones such as the battlefield of the Dawn War. They were incredibly rare… but now, six had appeared at the same time?

"But if they aren't Emperor-class, how would the three great clans dare to send just six of them against us?" Ning shook his head. "They should know that I have the power of a supreme Daolord; sending Daolord-class golems against me is tantamount to just gifting me with treasures. Thus… although I still find it hard to believe, it does seem as though these should be Emperor-class golems."

"Six Emperor-class golems." Ninedust revealed a wary look. "Can we handle them?"

"There should be differences in power amongst Emperor-class golems; some are strong, some are weak. We should be able to handle them," Ning said.

The creation of every Emperor-class golem was extremely difficult. The Endless Territories weren't even able to make them, with only fourth-step Daolord golems being forgeable! Thus, every single Emperor-class golem had their own unique traits. They all had invulnerable bodies, and in accordance with the wishes of their makers they often knew certain ultimate attacks as well! Even Ning felt nervous at the thought of fighting six at once.

If he was still 'merely' at the supreme Daolord level, he would probably be even more nervous. However, the Northbow swords and the [Heartsword] art put Ning close to the level of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities. Thus, he still felt fairly good in his chances.

"What's going on with them?"

"Those two… something seems off with them." Tianello, Maji, and the others all noticed the somber looks appear on the faces of Ning and Ninedust, who had appeared quite relaxed just a short while ago.

Tianello shook his head and sighed, "None of the three great clans are easy to deal with. Ever since the earliest annals of recorded history, the three great clans have always jointly ruled over our planet together. No one has ever been able to threaten them. Ugh. These two Daolords might be very powerful, but they were too over-confident. They are courting death."

Ning and Ninedust couldn't even be bothered to talk to the cultivators behind them. They simply stared into the skies, somber looks on their faces.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The six distant golems soared through the skies, emanating auras of incredible power as they flew towards Ning and Ninedust.

"This level of power…" Ninedust murmured softly, "The aura emanating from them as they are flying is already far beyond what Daolords of the Fourth Step are capable of. They are definitely Emperor-class. Darknorth, this is going to be seriously troublesome. I didn't expect the three great clans to be this strong."

Emperor-class golems were far more difficult to deal with than ordinary Eternal Emperors. They were virtually indestructible! Ning had only trained his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, but Emperor-class golems were all top-grade Eternal treasures. The techniques they used were based on the designs of their makers.

"Since the three great clans are connected to the Sithe and even call themselves the Sithe, it's not that surprising that they have a few tricks up their sleeves." Ning's eyes radiated an eagerness to do battle.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 14 – Surrounded And Attacked

"Move a bit farther away," Ji Ning suddenly said, his voice ringing out by the ears of Tinello, Maji, and the other cultivators.

"Huh?" The cultivators were all stunned.

"He's telling you to run the hell away." Ninedust turned to stare at them. "Once the battle starts, even the smallest of shockwaves will be enough to claim your lives. We certainly won't be able to pay attention to you and keep you safe."

"Let's go."

"Quickly." Tianello, Maji, and the others immediately reacted, transforming into streaks of light that flew far away.

Ning raised his head, watching as the six figures flew towards them at high speeds. He manifested three heads and six arms, then drew all six Northbow swords. "Here they come. Good."

"I'm also curious as to just how tough Emperor-class golems are." Ninedust had his longstaff at the ready and was also watching.

The six golems in midair all came to a halt. They hung in the air, staring downwards as if they were looking at ants. As Emperor-class golems who had been working for the three great clans since the clans had been established, they had killed many supreme Daolords over the course of countless years. Thus, they were completely confident in their chances.

"Which one of you is Daolord Darknorth?" The swordsman golem stared downwards. Of the six golems, this one was the only one wielding a sword.

"Me," Ning said.

"You actually dared to challenge the three great clans. Poor kid… do you have any clue as to how powerful they truly are? You really didn't know your own limits." The swordsman golem stared at Ning in a rather sympathetic way, then glanced at Ninedust. "And this Daolord next to you. Is he with you? If he leaves immediately, we can spare him. Otherwise, we'll have to wipe him out as well."

Back on the ground, Ninedust and Ning exchanged a glance, then smiled. Ninedust said with a cold laugh, "You want to kill me? Give me your best shot and show me what you have."

"I wanted to give you a way out of this. Oh well. If this is what you choose…" The swordsman golem sighed and shook his head, then said in a cold voice, "Let's kill them, brothers!"

"Attack!"

"Let me go first!" The six golems moved in unison.

Ning, however, let out a cold snort. Boom! The heartworld projection that had been covering this entire planet instantly shrank down to merely cover an area of a million kilometers, causing its power to skyrocket! It pressed down upon the six golems, causing all of them to feel their bodies stiffen. At the same time, Ning allowed nine energy dragons to fly out of his body, forming into the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and sending the pressure of the domain out towards the golems as well.

"What a powerful binding spell."

"Why do I feel this heavy?" Upon being suppressed by the heartworld projection and the Yin-Yang Sword Domain at the same time, the six golems were just barely able to stay afloat. They felt as though trillions of mountains had just come crashing down upon them, weighing them down immensely.

These Emperor-class golems had been around for an extremely long period of time and had encountered both supreme Daolords and Heartforce Cultivators. However, the local 'supreme Daolords' had always been limited to this fairly small region; there was simply no way for them to find the materials necessary to create truly powerful secret arts! Thus, Ning's combination of his nine novessence arts and his heartworld projection constituted the most powerful bindings which the Emperor-class golems had ever encountered.

"Heavy." The six golems exchanged glances.

"Kill him!" one of the golems bellowed, leading the way with a charge.

Crack! A streak of golden lightning lashed out through the skies, instantly appearing before Ning. Ning was quite surprised as well; this attack was incredibly fast! The speed of this golden lightning had completely surpassed the 'normal' limit of a hundred times the speed of light, almost instantly appearing right in front of Ning. Within the streak of golden lightning, a sharp saber could be seen chopping straight towards Ning with incomparable speed and savagery.

"Beat it." Ning didn't back off in the slightest. A streak of mist-formed sword energy clashed against the saber. Boom! The golden lightning was knocked flying backwards, reforming into a humanoid shape off in the distance. The creature was dressed in golden armor and had jade green eyes; it was the 'lightning golem' of the six golems.

Ning glanced sideways at the lightning golden. Judging from the clash, the lightning golem was roughly on par with ordinary supreme Daolords; its main strength came from its speed. Ning's own sword-arts were also incredibly fast, allowing him to crush this golem.

"Move!"

"Attack!"

"Join forces to kill him!" The other golems began to strike as well.

Boom! An awesome flood of flames manifested, then condensed into a flaming serpent that slithered towards Ning. It suddenly opened its mouth as if about to hiss, sending a black whip coiling straight towards Ning.

"A flame golem?" Ning used his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop yet again. His sword was fast enough that defeating enemy techniques was fairly easy, unless the attacks contained a ridiculous amount of power. It was clear that the whip-strike from the flame golem was merely on par with that of a supreme Daolord, and so Ning's mist-formed sword energy was able to easily disperse it.

Aside from the lightning golem and the flame golem, there was also a strange mist golem that was able to block detection via heartforce or godsense. Fortunately, Ning's heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were not affected. The supreme Daolords of this world rarely had powerful secret arts or heartworld projections, and so once the mist surrounded them they wouldn't be able to see what was happening around them. As a result, they would be easily defeated and slain.

There was also an extremely deadly eight-armed knife golem. The knife golem had eight arms, and each of its arms was like a deadly knife. It was fast and furious in battle, and each knife-arm struck in an extremely unpredictable manner. When all eight knives struck together, even Ninedust wasn't able to overcome the attacks in a head-on fight. However, Ning was a sword cultivator who was incredibly skilled in close combat, allowing him to easily defeat the eight-armed knife golem.

There was also a barbarous and dominating golem whose skin was like stone. This stone golem was massive in size and had six arms, with each arm sculpted like a statue. It possessed incredible strength and powerful defenses and was able to take on Ning's Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop without being forced back. Its six arms smashed out like giant maces, and it was the physically strongest golem.

Still, Ning was able to use the Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. Now that his Northbow swords had absorbed so much of that deepfire blackstone, the power of this stance had skyrocketed to a shocking new level, allowing him to defeat the stone golem head-on as well.

The final golem was the leader of the group, the swordsman golem. The swordsman golem transformed into part of an enormous sword when using its sword-arts. The sword pierced through the skies with absolutely terrifying power, and it was the most dangerous attack Ning had to face. Despite all that, it was still staved off by Ning's Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop.

The difference in power between the two sides was quite apparent. The six golems each had their own special abilities and were all comparable to supreme Daolords; if they were to work together against the likes of the Radiant King or Daolord Dreamlore, they would've won with ease. But against Ning? Clearly, they weren't enough.

Although the above battle took time to describe, the attacks from the six golems and Ning's counters all happened almost instantaneously. Ning matched each of them blow for blow and defeated them all.

"Daolord Darknorth is much stronger than any other supreme Daolord we have ever encountered. Brothers, attack simultaneously to defeat him!" the swordsman golem shouted mentally to the others.

"Join forces."

"Same as always." These Emperor-class golems were quite familiar with each other, and they had a joint attack they used. They almost instantly began to move in unison.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. A dazzling streak of golden light, a flaming serpent, and a ribbon of mist coiled around each other, forming a tri-colored rope that then swirled towards Ning. As for Ninedust, he transformed into a vast sea of water which the golems were completely unable to do anything to.

The three great clans did have some techniques they were able to use against supreme Daolords who had invulnerable forms, but these six Emperor-class golems didn't view Ninedust as being that much of a threat. The real threat was Darknorth, and he was their principal opponent in this fight.

"Damn." Ning immediately could sense how troublesome this tri-colored rope was. He used his sword-arts to cut through the rope, but the flames, lightning, and mist joined together once more to reform the rope. Ning's strikes didn't have any effect on the terrifying binding power of the tri-colored ropes at all. Ning had no choice but to amplify the effects of his novessence arts and his heartworld projection upon the tri-colored ropes, but he was still only able to partially weaken their power.

"This thing really is quite difficult to deal with." Ning had been completely surrounded by the lightning, mist, and flame-forged rope. Because these things were noncorporeal, Ning was still able to move about and fight, but his combat power had clearly been affected.

If the ropes had been corporeal, this would've been much easier. Ning's sword-arts would've sent the ropes flying long ago.

"Catch him, Stone!"

"Give'm a big hug."

"Make it so that he can't fight back!" the other golems called out as the six-armed stone golem came bounding straight towards Ning. Its six arms grew incredibly thick and long as it reached out, seeking to grab Ning! Ning knew just how strong this stone golem was; it had been able to endure Ning's Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop without even having to stagger backwards at all. If it really did manage to grapple Ning, Ning wouldn't be able to break free at all.

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Book 34, The Stone Hellephant Wall, Chapter 15 – Captured

The tri-colored ropes coiled around Ji Ning, affecting and encumbering all of his movements.

"I did this in the past to others. Now, the same is happening to me. I can at most unleash 70% of my full power." Ning was secretly stunned. This was despite the fact that the fire, lightning, and mist were being weakened by his heartworld projection and nine novessence arts. If it hadn't been for the latter two, he would probably be weakened even more.

"Beat it!" When Ning saw the stone golem bound towards him and seek to grapple him, he immediately used his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker. BOOM! The stone golem was sent flying backwards.

"What? Even when we bind him, he's still able to send Stone flying?"

"How can he be this powerful?" The other Emperor-class golems were all stunned.

"Stone, try again. You have to be able to grab him. We'll help you!"

"If you can grapple him, he'll be dead for sure."

"Alright. I will try again." The stone golem once more bounded forwards. This time, the swordsman golem also transformed into a single sword that hovered above the eight-armed knife golem. The eight-armed knife golem charged towards Ning as well, with the sword ready to strike at any moment. As for the stone golem, it also charged forwards at the same time.

"Need my help, Darknorth?" The Ninedust Sectlord was still in his oceanic form, but he wasn't in a hurry to intervene just yet.

"No need," Ning sent back. "I'll feign weakness for now. Wait for a critical moment before intervening."

"Alright," Ninedust replied.

The tri-colored rope coiled towards Ning as the swordsman golem, the eight-armed golem, and the stone golem attacked simultaneously.

A fierce light flashed through Ning's eyes. "This is the right moment." Swoosh! Ning flew straight towards the eight-armed knife golem and the swordsman golem. The two golems naturally struck out at him, sending streaks of mysterious knife-light and sharp sword-light slicing towards him.

Boom! Boom! Ning responded with just two streaks of mist-formed sword energy; this was his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker.

This stance seemed clumsy and straightforward, but it contained the profundity of his Omega Sword Dao and his other stances, allowing him to easily strike his foes head-on.

These two strikes from his two Northbow swords contained power that was comparable to that of the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. The eight-armed golem and the swordsmen golem were both sent flying backwards. It must be remembered that even the strongest golem, the stone golem, was unable to withstand this stance. How could these two possibly do so?

"Now come here." Ning's lips split open into a grin as he faced the stone golem that was charging towards him, arms spread wide. The swordsman golem and the eight-armed golem had already been knocked flying backwards; for the next few moments, they wouldn't be able to assist the stone golem.

Whoooosh. Ning's sword-light drifted out in an ephemeral, mysterious fashion. This was his Shadowless stance!

Although the tri-colored ropes were slowing him down, preventing his sword-light from being truly traceless and shadow less, it was still incredibly unpredictable. Although the stone golem was extremely strong and ferocious, it had major flaws as well; namely, its speed and agility! When Ning executed this Shadowless stance and infused the [Heartsword] arts into it, the stone golem was only able to block a single one of Ning's swords with its six arms. It was unable to withstand the others.

Swish! The Northbow swords furiously and rapidly began to coil around the stone golem like a soft rope, tying dozens of knots around it.

"No!" the stone golem let out a furious bellow. It had wanted to grapple Ning, but instead it had been captured.

"Get in here." Completely bound, the stone golem was unable to fight back at all as Ning sent out his will, forcefully drawing the golem into his estate-world.

"Ninedust, move to block the swordsman golem." Ning turned, focusing his gaze on the nearby eight-armed golem which was once more seeking to charge at him.

"Alright." Ninedust was excited as well. The other five Emperor-class golems, however, began to panic!

Ning's initial clashes against them had been nothing more than probes designed to help him understand what the golems were skilled in, so as to prepare a proper battle plan! The initial clashes had let him understand that the flame golem, lightning golem, and mist golem all had abilities that were similar to 'invulnerable forms'; there was nothing he could do to them at all. Thus, Ning turned his attention to the other three golems.

The stone golem had seemed to be the strongest and most ferocious, but its flaws were also the most obvious. In the end, it was the easiest one to deal with.

"Not good."

"Stone's been captured."

"This Daolord is too powerful."

"Master commands us to retreat immediately!"

"Master has commanded a retreat."

"Withdraw!"

The three clan leaders had immediately received word that even though their six Emperor-class golems had assaulted Daolord Darknorth in unison, one of them had ended up being captured. They immediately issued an order to withdraw! The loss of every single Emperor-class golem, to the three great clans, was quite painful.

Swoosh! Swoosh! The eight-armed golem and the swordsman golem immediately began to flee.

"You aren't going anywhere." Ning's heartworld projection and nine novessence arts were completely focused on suppressing the eight-armed golem and swordsman golem.

Ning's first target was the eight-armed golem, and he charged towards it by himself. Both sides were being slowed and restricted, but Ning was faster than the eight-armed golem to begin with! The difference between them in power was apparent.

"Run! Run!" The eight-armed golem was panicking.

"You aren't running anywhere." Ning caught up, then used his Omega Sword Dao – Shadowless to once more launch an unpredictable sword-art attack against the golem.

The eight-armed golem was clearly quite agile, and its eight arms set up a mysterious defensive pattern to defend. As for Ning, he alternated between the Shadowless stance and the Heavenbreaker stance, sometimes also switching to the incredibly fast Blood Drop stance! Just three breaths of time later, the eight-armed golem's defenses had been penetrated. One of Ning's swords wrapped directly around the eight-armed golem's waist, the Northbow sword having transformed to become long and soft as it wrapped itself around the golem like a ball.

"Come here." Ning drew the eight-armed golem into his estate-world as well.

"How can this be happening?"

"How can this Daolord be so powerful?"

"Daolord Darknorth, you really are courting death!" The three golems which made up the tri-colored ropes were howling furiously, but they were even weaker than the eight-armed golem in close combat. When used to bind and slow Ning, they were quite effective, but once they stopped doing so and Ning was able to unleash his full power… their defeat would be swift and sure.

"Ahahaha! None of you are escaping!" Ninedust transformed into a sea of water as he furiously battled against the swordsman golem. The water coiled around the golem, with Ninedust's upper body visible as he used his longstaff to batter the swordsman golem at will. Given that the swordsman golem was being affected by both the heartworld projection and the nine novessence arts, Ninedust was able to completely dominate it. It had no chance to flee at all.

"No, no, NO! Get the hell away from me!" The swordsman golem was furiously struggling but unable to shake off Ninedust. Finally, Ning arrived. With Ning and Ninedust fighting together the swordsman golem was caught in literally a single second, then drawn into the estate-world.

The three elemental golems realized that there was nothing they could do. They had no choice but to quickly flee and retreat.

Tianello, Maji, and the others hadn't moved too far away. They were able to watch this fight from afar. Truth be told, their situation was quite grim; they were terrified that the three great clans would view them as being a party to this and blame them, and thus they didn't dare to move too far away.

"How terrifying." They stared at the battlefield, the Cranesoar Mountains having been reduced to rubble long ago. The few mountains that remained were covered with the vicious scars of battle. All of this had been caused by the shockwaves generated from the earlier clashes. It must be remembered that this was a planet the Sithe had created and placed within the Stone Hellephant Wall. This planet was extremely stable and sturdy, but the shockwaves from this battle alone had been enough to annihilate most of the nearby mountains. This was more than enough to terrify Tianello and the others.

"Those two Daolords actually won. They actually won. They beat the three great clans." Tianello, Maji, and the others could hardly believe it.

"Ahaha, we actually acquired three Emperor-class golems." Ninedust said delightedly, "How absolutely wonderful. I hope they send a few more over for us to capture."

"Don't get cocky." Ning had a serious look on his face. "Even though I had my heartworld projection and my nine novessence arts active, the restrictive effected generated by just three of those golems was enough to drop me to 70% of my maximum power. I doubt the three great clans sent their full forces against us. If they were able to drop me to 40% of my full power, things will get dangerous."

"Agreed." Startled, Ninedust immediately nodded. "How strong are these three great clans, exactly?"

"I'm not sure." Ning shook his head, then grinned. "But those three golems should know."

"The three golems?" Ninedust's eyes lit up.

"We need to bind them immediately and have them spill the secrets they know regarding the three great clans," Ning said. "Only when you understand both yourself and your enemy shall you be the victor in all your battles! Based on what I can see thus far, the three great clans are much more powerful than we had predicted."

"Agreed." And so, Ning and Ninedust immediately began to bind the three captured golems to themselves.

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