Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

Northson, Yu Wei, and Adept Vastriver all understood. Dao-companions, Dao-companions… what were Dao-companions? Only those who would never abandon each other, even at their most critical moments, could be considered Dao-companions. Ninelotus’ departure, and the words she had just spoken… they caused the three to understand that in the future, most likely Ji Ning and Ninelotus would truly embark on completely separate Immortal paths.

“Be careful,” Northson said.

“Stay alive.” Yu Wei looked at Ning.

“You have to stay alive,” Adept Vastriver instructed as well.

And then, the three flew through the corridor, arriving within the Skyrove Mountains. The corridor then shut.

……

The Skyrove Mountains.

They had returned to the world of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Ninelotus, Yu Wei, Northson, and Adept Vastriver all turned their heads to stare at the corridor. Through it, they could vaguely make out that solitary, lonely figure within the main hall on the other side.

From today on… Ning was going to have to fight by himself.

Ninelotus stared through the tunnel. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her tears from continuing to fall.

The choice she had made today was an incomparably agonizing choice for her.

She wasn’t able to abandon her tribe. She had her own dreams. She simply couldn’t make herself discard everything for Ning’s sake.

Yu Wei, Northson, and Adept Vastriver didn’t say anything. This was because they, too, understood how rare it was for there to be a pair of Dao-companions who would truly share life and death together, who would never leave each other, and whose lives would become as one. In fact, many so-called Dao-companions would actually end up hating each other and becoming enemies; it wasn’t uncommon for them to end up fighting over treasures and killing each other.

To truly be together until death parted them… this was far too rare. Ninelotus had too many other things she cared about. She couldn’t throw them all away.

Whoosh. The corridor swung shut, and they could no longer see to the other side.

“Let’s go.” Northson gritted his teeth.

“Let’s go.”

“I’m going back to my clan.”

Ninelotus returned by herself to the Dongyan clan, while Northson, Adept Vastriver, and Yu Wei returned to the Black-White College.

……

Within the palace.

“From today onwards, I shall traverse my Immortal path alone. It’s for the best, actually. By myself, I’ll be much more carefree,” Ning said with a laugh.

“Master, you still have us.” Little Qing raised her serpentine head and called out to him.

Ning looked towards the Azure Skysnake, then towards Uncle White, who had followed him silently this entire time. He felt a warm feeling in his heart. “Right. I still have you two. Little Qing, Uncle White, let’s go. Let’s go and meet the monsters of this Immortal estate.”





* * *





Book 10, Chapter 28 - The Thousand Year Pact


Within the Immortal estate.

The clan commanded by Immortal Witchsui, along with the many Seawave Dao-soldiers commanded by Immortal Duohe, continued to wait on the outside of the fifth palace. Although they were enraged and despairing, they still hoped… hoped that a miracle might occur.

“Monster clans.” Suddenly, a voice rang out, and along with it, waves of divine will rolled out, instantly encompassing all of the monstrous Dao-soldiers.

“Eh?” All of the monsters looked over. Even Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe were shocked.

A few hundred kilometers away, there was a fur-clad youth, with a little azure serpent coiled around his arm and a large, snowy white dog by his side. In the air around them hovered ancient, plain, unadorned wooden sticks. It was the Fuxi Staff Formation; space within a hundred kilometers of that human was completely locked, and there would be no way to teleport inside.

“You?” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe immediately recognized him. Amongst the group of humans, there was indeed a fur-clad human who had a giant snowy white dog.

“The key to the Immortal estate is now in my hands.” Ning’s voice rang out by the ears of every single monster. His divine sense had spread to a thousand kilometers; naturally, he was able to send his voice to each and every one of them.

“Open.”

Ning held the key to the Immortal estate in his hands. He sent his will forth, and next to him a corridor appeared; it was the corridor to the Skyrove Mountains in the outside world. Actually, just now, Ning had already used the key to leave and go to the Skyrove Mountains, then re-entered, having Little Qing lead him and Uncle White in a teleportation. Little Qing was actually far more powerful now than she had been in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains; for near-distance blinks, she could bring others along with her. The main thing was that Ning had yet to bind the various branches; if he emerged directly from within the Witchriver Palace, he would have been surrounded by the monsters.

“The key to the Immortal estate.”

“He is holding the key to the Immortal estate in his hands.”

“That’s the outside world, the smell of the outside world.” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe swept forward with their divine senses, and were even able to extend them into the corridor leading to the outside world. “That’s another world!”

Immortal Witchsui, Immortal Duohe, and the many monsters all stared towards Ning with even more blazingly desirous gazes. Although they were suspicious as to why the other human was no longer holding the key, the truth remained that this man before them was holding it now. They couldn’t be bothered to over-analyze it; they knew that the appearance of this youth represented a desire by this youth to negotiate with them.

Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe were actually considering whether or not they should try to seize the key to the Immortal estate. However, their earlier, repeated failures caused them to no longer dare to act rashly.

“Don’t try anything. I’ve already set up a formation around me, and the corridor is already open; I can leave at any time. In addition, even if you truly were to attack, you wouldn’t be able to kill me,” Ning said. He had that other protective magic treasure, and also the magic treasures which Youngflame Nong had left behind. His words were completely true.

Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe, as well as the other monsters, all calmed down. They no longer dared to make any more gambles.

“What do you want?” Immotal Witchsui asked.

“I offended a powerful tribe, the Youngflame clan, and the clan is going to come act against me. They might even act against my tribe.” Ning’s divine sense was sending a message to every single monster. “My tribe is located in a commandery city of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the City of Ten Thousand Swords. I wish for you, the monsters of this Immortal estate world, to go to the City of Ten Thousand Swords and protect my tribe. Protect them for a thousand years; after that period of time, I’ll release you and give you your freedom. As for the key to the Immortal estate? I can just give it to you.”

The key to the Immortal estate wasn’t of much use to Ning. There was no way he could carry the Witchriver Immortal Estate with him; what was he supposed to do with it? In addition, he had the underwater estate, an even finer estate left behind by Daoist Threelives. As for the treasures within the Witchriver Immortal Estate? The Dao Repository and the Treasure Vault had already been looted clean.

“Protect them for a thousand years?” Immortal Witchsui and Immortal Duohe, along with the tens of thousands of monsters, were both amazed and delighted.

Although a thousand years was a fairly long period of time, monsters had extremely long lifespans to begin with. To simply protect a tribe for a thousand years… they would then be able to go to the wider, vast world. They would even receive the key to the Immortal estate. They didn’t even dare to imagine something like this previously. They had been preparing to be fleeced, and had even been willing to hand over part of their Dao-armors as their offer for peace.