Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

“Although there are many people who are unwilling to accept this, the difference in power is too great.” The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The Seamless Gate has a Daofather golem on their side, while we were going to rely on Shennong’s medicine to win the battle, but…well, now we shall simply wait for the Daofather to give us our final orders.”

Ji Ning nodded gently.

“It’s my fault,” Ning said calmly.

“This isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have imagined that Yu Wei belongs to the Seamless Gate. There’s no need for you to overthink things. I’ve been outside and have prevented quite a few from coming in to bother you; this was on the Daofather’s personal instructions. The Daofather still views you as being extremely important.” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ji Ning.

The Xia Emperor suddenly remembered something. He immediately said, “Right, you should be unable to use your Immortal energy right now, right? I’ll give you ten drops of the antidote.”

“Give me a hundred,” Ning said.

“A hundred?” The Xia Emperor looked towards Ning with surprise. “You…”

Ning didn’t explain. What would be the point of explaining that he had become a Pure Yang True Immortal? His Heaven Punisher was still at the same level of power that it always was; it wouldn’t be able to change the outcome of the battle at all. It was best not to give them any false hopes.

“Fine. Take it.” The Xia Emperor took out a jade bottle and a large gourd. Drops of liquid flew out from the gourd and into the jade bottle. After a hundred drops were absorbed, he handed it to Ning.

Ning accepted it, then began to go towards the outside.

“Isn’t that Commander Ji Ning?”

“That’s Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning!”

“I heard that his Dao-companion was a spy for the Seamless Gate!”

“Yes, I heard the same. We were at the cusp of victory, but this Ji Ning guy placed too must faith in his Dao-companion, giving her the chance to destroy Shennong’s medicine, and our hopes for victory along with it. We’ve fought for so long…so many of us have died…and it was all for nothing. Immortal Darknorth was far too careless…and he was far too trusting of his Dao-companion!”

“Fellow Daoist Wangxiu, you go too far! A Dao-companion is the most important companion anyone will have on their Immortal path. Both Dao-companions will support each other and assist each other. How many would be suspicious of their Dao-companions? If they were, they wouldn’t have become Dao-companions to begin with!”

“Poor Immortal Darknorth, to be betrayed by his Dao-companion like that.”

“Yeah, poor bastard.”

As Ning walked through the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and passed by the various military camps, the various Immortals within those camps all looked at Ning and whispered amongst themselves. With the story being told and retold, the truth had long since become rather blurred…but the countless Immortals and Fiendgods continued to discuss it, as this was what had caused them to lose this entire Realmwar.”

“I heard that Yu Wei took advantage of Immortal Darknorth’s trust to destroy Shennong’s medicine. Immortal Darknorth was so enraged and hearbroken that he personally wiped out Yu Wei, shattering her very soul.”

“Right, I heard the same, that Immortal Darknorth personally killed that traitor.”

“It’s all that damned traitor’s fault.”

As Ning continued to walk through the city, his ears began to twitch and a hint of grief appeared in his eyes. He knew that once the story began to spread, this would become a popular version. He hadn’t killed his senior apprentice-sister; she had shattered her own soul, because she no longer wanted to be under the control of the Seamless Gate. But now, she was suffering endless torment and torture within the Infinity Hells. Although it was the Godking who was doing this…it was true that Ning had decided to leave her there.

After walking for a long time…

Ning arrived at the city walls of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity. He sat down atop the city walls, all by his lonesome as he quietly stared at the utterly devastated battlefield beyond the walls. He also saw the vast, dark citadel of the Seamless City, hovering in the sky in the distance.

The Seamless City. The Eight Dragons Cloudcity. They continued to face each other. Clearly…this great war hadn’t truly ended yet.

“Ji Ning?” As soon as True Immortal Dongyan walked out from his palace, he could see that that solitary figure seated atop the city walls. He could sense how withered, how haggard Ji Ning was right now. He didn’t have the boundless vitality that he had in the past. In the past, Ji Ning always had a smile on his face, and his eyes were always bright. Right now, however…Ji Ning was like a mountain glacier that had been built up over thousands of years, filled with an infinitely cold and desolate aura.

“Ji Ning is man of deep emotions, and he cares deeply about love.” Someone else walked to Dongyan’s side; it was True Immortal Cloudust, who let out a sigh. “This word, ‘love’…it is absolutely ravaging.”

“Yes.” True Immortal Dongyan nodded. “To be betrayed by his most beloved Dao-companion…a blow like this…ugh, there’s nothing we can do to help him. Right, fellow Daoist Cloudust…is there any chance left for our Crimsonbright Realm to win?”

True Immortal Cloudust was the follower of Human Sovereign Shennong; he should have access to detailed intelligence.

True Immortal Cloudust shook his head. “There’s almost no hope. Given the current state of the battle…the only chance we have is if we summon some of the most famous and powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms. But these figures are needed everywhere, either to cow certain enemies or to deal with major threats. If we send them here, it’ll have an impact on our force disposition across the entire Three Realms. In the end, the Crimsonbright Realm is just one of the weaker Realms, after all.”

“It is a bit weak…but we’ve been fighting for years and have suffered countless casualties.” True Immortal Dongyan didn’t want to accept this.

All of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Crimsonbright Realm naturally felt strong ties towards their homeland. Nobody wanted for their homeland to be occupied by the Seamless Gate.

“For now, just wait. The Daofather has already gone to speak with the Human Sovereign.” True Immortal Cloudust continued, “Let’s see if the Human Sovereign has any ideas…but my feeling is that if the Human Sovereign had any ideas, he would’ve reached out long ago.”

True Immortal Dongyan nodded.

“Alas…if Shennong’s medicine hadn’t been destroyed…if Ji Ning hadn’t given it to Yu Wei…” True Immortal Cloudust sighed.

True Immortal Dongyan sighed and shook his head. “Ji Ning trusted his Dao-companion too much.”

Given the current state of the war, almost all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals of the Grand Xia had lost their hope. Quite a few of them had been so furious with Ji Ning as to curse him aloud, but slowly they all began to calm down. They no longer blamed Ji Ning…because they knew that Ji Ning himself certainly hadn’t hoped for this to happen!

“Where’s Ji Ning?”

“He’s still there atop the walls.”

“It’s been days. He hasn’t even moved from the walls at all. I wonder what he’s looking at?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were chatting amongst themselves.

“The Human Sovereign has already sent word. There’s nothing he can do. That medicine is too difficult to create; even the Human Sovereign was only able to send some more of the antidote over to allow our Immortals to recover.”

“The Human Sovereign has given up?”

“He’s actually given up…”