Desolate Era (Book 16 - Book 18)

Old Demon Windraiser’s voice was still very low. “Ancestor, I’ve incurred far, far too many sins. A storm is coming to the Three Realms. Me being alive will only result in a hugely negative influence upon the Youngflame clan. I’m preparing to kill myself, then head to the Netherworld.”


“Yes.” The Ancestor nodded. “It is for the best. Given how many sins you have incurred…after you die and go to the Netherworld, you will be punished in the deepest depths of hell and tormented in countless unspeakable ways. After you are finally allowed to be reborn…I will definitely bring you back into the Youngflame clan. In the past, dealing with matters in the Netherworld Kingdom might be a bit troublesome, but now that Daofather Crimsonbright has re-established a minor cycle of reincarnation, all ten of his Yama-Kings of Hell will assuredly give me some face. I will arrange everything necessary for you.”

“Yes.” Old Demon Windraiser said respectfully, “Then…I’ll leave now.”

Old Demon Windraiser didn’t hesitate at all.

Whoosh!

His golden lotus spirit voluntarily dissipated, and a human-shaped soul, wreathed by karmic sinflames, flew straight towards the minor cycle of reincarnation.

Swoosh! The Youngflame Ancestor immediately headed towards the minor cycle of reincarnation as well.





* * *





Book 16, Chapter 2 - Red Dust Tribulations


[Note – Red dust is an allegorical Buddhist term that refers to worldly affairs, attachments, and desires. It is often said that in order to achieve Buddhahood, one has to be able to ‘see past the red dust’. ‘Women of the red dust’ is also a phrase that is specifically used to refer to courtesans.]

Stillwater Commandery. Swallow Mountain. Serpentwing Lake. Brightheart Island.

Uncle White, in human form, was seated within a pavilion, moodily drinking wine by himself. Mu Northson was seated as well, leaning against the pavilion railings with his eyes shut. As for Little Qing, she was hugging her knees, seated quietly within a corner of the pavilion.

They were all completely silent.

A long time later…

“Should we tell Autumn Leaf?” Little Qing suddenly said.

“We should not.” Uncle White sighed. “In Autumn Leaf’s heart, my son Ning is…ugh. She wouldn’t be to take the blow. Let’s wait for now. We can tell her that Ning is in secluded meditation.”

“Are we supposed to just keep hiding this from them?” Little Qing asked.

“We can sense that my son Ning is still alive,” Uncle White said. “As long as he is still alive…let’s keep things hidden from Autumn Leaf, as well as all of the Ji clansmen.”

Little Qing nodded gently as well, then said, “Then about about Ji Ning’s master, Immortal Diancai?”

“Diancai…”

Uncle White hesitated a moment, then said, “Let’s wait. The most terrifying punishment brought by karmic sinflames will arrive on the seventh day. As long as he survives the seventh day, he will have survived the karmic sinflames. If he doesn’t come back after seven days…that means he truly is trapped in some mysterious danger zone located outside the world of the Grand Xia…at which point, we will notify Immortal Diancai.”

“Alright.” Little Qing nodded.

They fell silent once more.

None of them had anything to say. They just waited, quietly.

Seven days…

These seven days posed a huge tribulation for Ning. If he didn’t die within these seven days and withstood the karmic sinflames…he would have overcome this tribulation. However, they didn’t have any idea as to where the Youngflame clan had teleported him to…but given the amount of hatred they felt towards him, they must have sent him to a truly terrifying place.

……

The banks of a vast, roaring river. There was an azure-robed man seated in the lotus position here. He wielded an Immortal sword in his hands, but the Immortal sword actually had a fishing line hanging down from it; clearly, he was using it to fish.

Whoosh.

From high up in the skies, a handsome-looking youth came flying over atop a cloud. He landed on the ground, then bowed respectfully. “My respects to you, Patriarch Lu. Per the Xia Emperor’s orders, this junior has come to send you a message.” A scroll appeared before him, which he respectfully offered with both hands.

“A letter? The Xia Emperor?” Lu Dongbin turned his head to look. He waved his hand, and the scroll flew straight to him. He tapped on it gently, and the scroll unfurled on its own.

Lu Dongbin read through it carefully. His face changed slightly.

“Understood. You can leave now,” Lu Dongbin said calmly.

“Yes.” The handsome youth departed gracefully.

Lu Dongbin, however, began to frown. “Karmic sinflames descended? The Youngflame clan actually used a method like this? Although Ji Ning is indeed talented, he’s trained for less than a century. Will he be able to survive?” Lu Dongbin turned his head to look towards the distance. A golden rune suddenly appeared in his pupils, and instantly his gaze was able to pierce through space, seeing an island that was ten million kilometers away.

At the quiet, secluded island, there was a black-robed maiden seated in the lotus position on a beach.

“This disciple of mine…she keeps her thoughts and secrets guarded quite tightly,” Lu Dongbin mused softly to himself. “That killing intent within her heart…it is even more terrifying than I had predicted it to be. In addition, at the Grand Xia Dynasty, she was hiding her true power the entire time. But…when I went to find Judge Cui to inspect her past lives, everything seemed normal. Although in her previous life, she was a powerful, fiendish figure, a demon whose power was comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for a million years…for a person to be powerful in a previous life is a good thing. There’s no need to hide it. When she awakened her memories during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny, given how powerful she was in her previous life…she absolutely could’ve made it to the top three, and perhaps she could’ve even become champion.”

Originally, Lu Dongbin had deeply desired to take on Ji Ning as his disciple, because Ji Ning truly was born to be a Sword Immortal. In addition, he had vaguely sensed some of Ning’s other extraordinary attributes.

As for Yu Wei…

Lu Dongbin had originally felt that Yu Wei was hiding even more secrets. However, he wasn’t certain at first; after taking her on as his disciple and interacting with her for a long period of time, he had naturally been able to discover many flaws in Yu Wei’s fa?ade. In the end, Yu Wei had been forced to admit it: “Master, I was indeed hiding my true strength. This was because I don’t wish for others to know about my past life. I don’t want others to know that in my past life, I was such a vile, demonic figure. I’m tired…so tired. I want this life to be a bit more relaxed.”

Yu Wei clearly knew very well that Lu Dongbin, given his status, could easily investigate her past lives. She no longer maintained her fa?ade before him.

“Was it really just because she wishes for this life to be a bit more ordinary and relaxed?” Lu Dongbin was at such a high level of enlightenment that he was extremely close to the level of the Daofathers! He could vaguely make out the tides and portents of destiny…and he always felt that Yu Wei wasn’t as simple a figure as she made herself to be.

However, he had investigated the Book of Life and Death.

Yu Wei hadn’t lied to him.

Could it be that he was wrong?

“Right now, Yu Wei needs to keep her heart steady and calm. When the time is right, the Celestial Tribulation shall come,” Lu Dongbin mused to himself. “The Celestial Tribulation is incomparably dangerous; in her past life, she failed to overcome it. In this life, it shall be extremely dangerous as well! I can sense that her feelings towards Ji Ning are genuine. If he truly is trapped in a danger zone…if I tell her, her demonheart tribulation will probably become even more terrifying.”

“For now, I won’t tell her. After she overcomes her tribulation, I’ll tell her.”

Lu Dongbin continued to ponder pensively.