Desolate Era (Book 41 - Book 45)

“Look.” Ning pointed forwards. In front of the Dao Debate Palace, a plum blossom suddenly emerged from the fallen snow, releasing its sweet fragrance as it bloomed.

“In my past life on Earth, there was a saying in my homeland: ‘Only after enduring the bone-chilling cold shall you smell the fragrance of the plum blossom.’” Ning laughed loudly. “I’ve endured the bone-chilling cold. Now, I finally can smell the fragrance of the plum blossom.” As he spoke, he pressed his nose against Yu Wei’s face and gave her a sniff, then said in an absolutely shameless manner, “Mm, plum blossom. It smells so good.”

The plum blossoms continued to emerge from the snow before the Dao Debate Palace. As for Ning and Yu Wei, they continued to sit there atop the dais. They had so many stories to share with each other, including stories of their daughter. Ning had many things he wanted to tell her, and Yu Wei wanted to hear them all.

……

The Three Realms. A great banquet, the likes of which had never been seen before, was being hosted here on this day. Lord of Chaos Ji Ning, also known as Autarch Darknorth, was personally hosting this banquet. The eight Autarchs and countless Hegemons and Emperors who had fought in the war had all been teleported here by Ning to take part in this feast. This was also a victory feast for them, after having won the war.

Ning was seated at the highest position, while his wife Yu Wei was next to him. To each side of them were the eight Autarchs.

Below them, there was no further division of rank. It was a veritable sea of Hegemons and Emperors! As for Subhuti, Nuwa, Brightmoon, and the other leaders of the Three Realms, they had a section all their own.

Many major powers used this banquet to discuss the Dao with each other, and there was much merry-making and rejoicing. Many of the cultivators brought painters, musicians, and other talented entertainers to spread joy amongst each other!

“I never imagined that this day would come,” Buddha Ksitigarbha said with a smile.

“And I never would’ve thought that I’d have a disciple like Autarch Darknorth! I never even taught him!” Daoist Threelives roared happily while drinking some wine.

“Okay, now you are just blatantly showing off,” Crimsonbright remarked.

“So what if I am?” Daoist Threelives mock-glared at him.

……

Houyi and Chang’e were seated together. Houyi no longer looked like the quiet, forlorn woodcutter of old. His spirit and bravado had been aroused once more.

On the other side were ‘Azure Bamboo’ Yang Quding and Hegemon Dawnclear, who were together again.

The first pair belonged to the ‘Three Realms Allliance’, while the second pair included Ning’s personal disciple. They were all seated close to each other, and both duos smiled and nodded at each other.

……

“So you are Brightshore? I heard you actually abducted Autarch Darknorth long ago?”

By now, Hegemon Brightshore was a famous man. There were many Hegemons and Emperors who wished to befriend him. He chortled, “Haha, yes. I have to say, I was lucky. Who would’ve thought that when I swallowed that batch of cultivators, I would end up abducting the man who would become Autarch Darknorth? Haha. It was luck! Luck!”

……

“I’m telling you guys, me and Darknorth are like brothers! I could tell from the very first moment I saw him that he was something special.” Ninedust was busy bragging to the other Hegemons and Emperors.

……

The Paragon of Pills and her ‘big brother’ were together, beaming happily as they took part in the feast. When their gazes met with Ning’s, both sides raised their goblets in toasts.

……

It was a truly grand celebration with oceans of food and drink. The Immortals and Fiendgods all made merry in this truly unprecedented gathering, while the major powers who put on performances did their utmost to please.

Ning and Yu Wei sat up high, staring down at the many cultivators below them. Ning saw his father Ji Yichuan, his mother Yuchi Snow, his daughter Ji Brightmoon, and her Dao-companion Stonepool. He saw Uncle White, Autumn Leaf, Little Qing, and many other friends from his earliest days. He saw all the Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms, and the countless major powers he had encountered on his path.

“Alphan… Sithe…” Ning silently shook his head. “What’s the point of fighting? Being strong enough to protect those we care about is enough.”

Ning turned, his gaze intersecting with Yu Wei’s. “I want to kiss you,” Ning said.

“There’s too many people here!” Yu Wei was shocked. “No way. No way! Wait for the feast to be over.”

“Don’t be afraid. Your husband is the Lord of Chaos. So long as I will it, they won’t see a thing.” Ning lowered his head, burying himself in Yu Wei’s lips.





Desolate Era - Afterword


Author’s Afterword:

Whew. It’s over. Nearly two and a half years have passed, starting from Dec 16, 2012 until today, April 10, 2015. Our journey through the [Desolate Era] is finally over. The enormous [Desolate Era] started with our Ji Ning stumbling through the Netherworld Kingdom into his next reincarnated life, and now we can finally put a final period on this story.

This is the seventh novel which Tomatoes has written. [Legend of the Astral Peaks], [Inch of Radiance], [Stellar Transformations], [Coiling Dragon], [The Nine Cauldrons], [Swallowed Star] came before it. This has been the seventh.

[Desolate Era] has had games and anime made based off of it, with the first episode of the anime already released. It was a bit slow at first due to a lack of familiarity, but starting from the third episode it should speed up quickly. It should stabilize at roughly an episode a week and will continue to be broadcast. A TV series is about to start shooting as well, and it’ll go on satellite television. We’re also preparing for a movie, but [Desolate Era] will require a large amount of investment and so it will be a while in the coming.

Whew. Two and a half years. Haha, two and a half years is a very long period of time! My son was born, and now he can actually recite poetry. I’m speechless.

As for this novel I spent two and a half years writing? At first, everything was so smooth and easy. I was fired up and filled with energy, and the letters just kept flowing. However, towards the middle/late parts of the novel, I was just too tired, especially after I went past 2 million characters. I felt as though I was a marathon runner who had reached his limit and at the verge of collapse. I worked until very late at night, every night, burning the midnight oil and tearing my hair out to think about what to write. Sometimes I couldn’t even be bothered to shower. I was a man possessed.

I was most tired during the latter half of last year. The pressure was tremendous, and the need to write two chapters a day resulted in the plot being imperfect. I tried to force myself to think and to post new chapters, and I nearly went mad from it all. There were several times, late at night last year, where I felt my heartrate speeding up so rapidly that I thought that I might die at any moment. I managed to force myself to last until January, at which point I gritted my teeth and said ‘Screw it’, slowing down to one chapter a day.

This made things much easier for me. My mental energies quickly began to recover, and I feel as though my physical conditioning has improved by 50%, haha.

I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into [Desolate Era]. It feels like part of my life itself. Now that I’m done writing it, I feel relaxed. Finally, I can take a long break… but at the same time, I feel a bit reluctant to part with it. My emotions are quite complicated.

No matter what, [Desolate Era] is over! This book is done, and I had a smile on my face as I wrote the grand finale.