Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

Desolate Era (Book 28 - Book 30)

I Eat Tomatoes



Book 28, Chapter 1 - The World Within the Archaeus Region


The Archaeus region was the core of this entire alternate universe. According to legend, it was the place where this universe itself had originated from, and it was filled with both danger and opportunity. Every single World-level cultivator would be berserk for the chance to enter it, and even Daolords would vie for the chance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five streaks of light flew into the cloudy mists at the borders of the Archaeus region, delving deeper and deeper inside.

“Can you sense it?” Skyfire Brightshore sent a rather excited mental message.

“Yes.” Firesurge nodded.

“What a unique sensation.” Heartlord Solewind nodded as well.

“It truly is quite marvelous.” Prince Greatjoy sighed in amazement.

Ning was amazed as well as he carefully attuned himself to these sensations. Ever since he had flown into the Archaeus region, he had been able to sense an invisible aura of power which completely covered the entire region. This power was the power of the Archaeus region itself. If the five of them didn’t have access to an Archaeus medallion, they probably would’ve been instantaneously crushed into dust. They could sense that this mighty power originated from some place at the very heart of the vast Archaeus region.

“That direction, there.” Skyfire Brightshore pointed towards the distance. “That’s the place we need to go to.”

“The heart of the Archaeus region.” Ning and the others all nodded.

The star maps had included a detailed path from the transversal conduit to the Archaeus region. However, after they actually entered the Archaeus region they would have to depend on their own senses to advance towards the heart of the region! The center of the Archaeus region was a place which every cultivator dreamed of entering. Perhaps the journey would result in some adventures that would test them and allow them to grow more powerful and evolve, but the center… that was the place where the true transformation would occur.

“Gentlemen, same rules as always. I’ll be the one to teleport us,” Prince Greatjoy sent mentally.

“Alright.”

“Sorry to trouble you, brother Greatjoy.”

Ning and the others did not decline. It must be understood that the Archaeus region was most likely as large as the entire Endless Territories. To go from the border regions to its heart would probably take trillions of years if one wished to physically fly through it.

It must be remembered that Ning had long ago sworn a lifeblood oath to reach Vastheaven Palace within a single chaos cycle. Chaos cycles, however, were extremely long and were calculated in the trillions of years! Thus, Ning still had plenty of time.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Prince Greatjoy produced a flying vessel which Ning and the others then entered. Prince Greatjoy took personal control over the vessel, sending it hurtling through the Archaeus region at high speeds as he teleported again and again. Every single spatial teleportation allowed them to cover an extremely great distance. Given Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime, roughly a hundred teleportations would be enough to allow them to traverse a single territory.

In the ‘normal’ universe, territories were located extremely far away from each other. The distance between two territories could be a hundred times greater than the size of each territory.

“Based on what my senses are telling me… the heart of the Archaeus region is quite far away from us. If we keep teleporting like this, it’ll take us at least ten thousand years to reach it,” Prince Greatjoy said. “That is assuming, of course, that we don’t encounter any dangers. In reality, this place will be full of danger.”

“Let’s just keep advancing step by step,” Solewind said.

“We’ll fight fire with fire,” Ning laughed.

Whoosh.

The second day after they entered the Archaeus region. They had just performed yet another spatial teleportation. When the shuttle came to a halt…

“Quick, look.” Prince Greatjoy’s face tightened.

“Eh?” Ning and the others looked over. Ning stared past a faint layer of mist and was able to see an utterly enormous continent floating in space. Although there was a barrier of mist between them, Ning was still able to see out to a distance of a billion kilometers. He instantly saw that this continent had a few figures residing within it. He was able to make out a few dozen figures in total.

“Cultivators?” Ning frowned.

“Dozens of them? Why are there so many?” Prince Greatjoy was surprised as well.

Based on what they knew, one had to have an Archaeus medallion in order to enter the Archaeus region. This was true even for weaker cultivators like Elder Gods, Ancestral Immortals, True Gods, or True Immortals. Anyone who didn’t have a medallion would be crushed by the power of the Archaeus region.

There were very, very few Archaeus medallions. They had spent a thousand years travelling through many different territories, and as a result they had come to understand just how rare these items were! Logically speaking, it should’ve been almost impossible for them to encounter large numbers of cultivators bearing Archaeus medallions because of how rare those things were and how vast the Archaeus region was. They had only expected to encounter other cultivators after they actually entered the heart of the Archaeus region.

“Something doesn’t make sense. They… they give me an odd feeling.” Heartlord Solewind shook his head slowly. “It feels as though the invisible power of the Archaeus region is protecting them, rather than oppressing them.”

“Right. That really does seem to be the case.” The others quickly noticed this as well.

They had entered bearing Archaeus medallions, and so the Archaeus region did not harm them. However… those dozens of distant figures were actually being supported and protected by the power of the Archaeus region.

“They are moving very slowly,” Ning sent mentally. “In fact, they are flying at ridiculously slow speeds. Most likely, even average Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals would fly much faster than them.”

Whoosh.

The vessel slowly advanced towards the borders of that vast, levitating continent. Ning and the others all flew out of the vessel.

“Let me take a look.” Heartlord Solewind stared hard at a nearby figure who was merely three hundred million kilometers away. He sent an invisible wave of heartforce out to completely cover that figure.

“He is very weak. He’s an ordinary mortal who hasn’t even undergone the Celestial Tribulation. Strictly speaking, he would be considered at the Wanxiang level,” Heartlord Solewind said.

“A mortal?” Ning and the others were all surprised.

In the Three Realms, it was said that after surviving the Celestial Tribulation, one would be ‘no longer subject to the rules of the Three Realms and the fetters of the Five Elements’. Prior to overcoming the tribulation, one would be constrained by the rules of that world. These people were referred to as ‘mortals’ by powerful cultivators!

“Are there actually mortals who live here in the Archaeus region?” Ning and the others were all puzzled.

“Let’s take a look and see,” Heartlord Solewind said. He took a single step forwards, causing the space around him to shimmer as he teleported three hundred million kilometers and moved close to that distant mortal lifeform.

“Let’s take a look as well.” The others all teleported forwards as well.

……