Desolate Era

Deep within the subterranean underground of this world. The three silver men were once again standing by the bubbling lake of lava, but they were no longer as calm as they were before this.

“This Daolord Darknorth not only managed to defeat six Emperor-class golems by himself, he actually captured three of them.” The muscular silver man said seriously, “This level of power has completely surpassed that of any ‘supreme Daolord’ we have ever heard of. Something like this has never happened since our three great clans have started our joint rule over this planet.”

“Yes. Even though a few supreme Daolords arise from time to time, all of them were completely crushed when facing six Emperor-class golems.” The silver-haired man’s eyes were filled with murder. “This Daolord Darknorth is definitely the most powerful Daolord our three clans have ever encountered.”

“One on six, he managed to capture three Emperor-class golems…” The skinny silver man shook his head as well.

This man was powerful, more powerful than any ‘Daolord’ should be. Still… this was what they believed because their horizons were limited. In the Endless Territories, a vast horde of Daolords would arise every era of 108,000 chaos cycles, and there were occasionally one or two who were able to completely eclipse all other Daolords. In this era, those two were Winesage and Ji Ning.action

“It seems we have to personally intervene if we wish to defeat Daolord Darknorth.” The skinny silver man’s eyes were filled with the desire to do battle. “How about this? I’ll spar against this Daolord Darknorth first. If I’m able to kill him by myself, I will. If I’m not, you two can join in.”

“We can’t be the slightest bit overconfident against a foe like this. Let’s use our full power immediately,” the silver-haired man said.

“Agreed. We need to go to maximum power immediately. This Daolord Darknorth was actually able to defeat six Emperor-class golems… that means he is already on our level,” the muscular silver man said. “We have to completely overwhelm and crush him in order to kill him. Not only should all three of us work together, all of the Emperor-class golems in our three clans which possess invulnerable forms should be activated as well.”

“What?”

“We’re going to activate all our golems with invulnerable forms?” The other two silver men were shocked by this. Any of the three were capable of fighting Darknorth; for all three to work together was already an incredible show of power. Were they really going to send an group of Emperor-class golems as well?”

“If we’re going to go at him full-force, then let’s make sure he has no chance at all,” the muscular silver man said. “Daolord Darknorth is the most powerful enemy our three great clans have ever encountered in our history. Thus… let’s give him the respect he deserves. All three clan leaders and all invulnerable Emperor-class golems are going to attack simultaneously. Hmph. He should be proud, even in death.”

“Agreed.”

“To die to such a force is indeed prideworthy.” The other two both laughed.

……

“On my orders, activate all 156 clan-guarding formations and activate the Sithe disc. Be on maximum alert.”

“On my orders, activate all 180 formations and activate the Sithe disc.”

“Everyone is to be on maximum alert. Activate all formations and activate the Sithe disc.” The three clan leaders send orders to their clans. Their first goal was to protect and ensure the safety of their clans. If their clans were doomed, their own survival wouldn’t matter. After having undergone the Ritual Sacrificium they were no longer real ‘cultivators’ and were unable to have any progeny of their own. Thus, if the other members of the clan all perished it would represent the true and final destruction of their lineage… and once they reached their lifespan limits they would die as well.

Thus, the protection of the clan superseded everything.

“What’s going on?”

“All clan-protecting formations have been activated? Even the Sithe disc is being activated? I’ve never heard of the clan entering such a state of readiness.”

“Is the Daolord Darknorth who just challenged our three great clans truly that powerful?”

All three clans were thrown into a state of confusion, with the elites and high-level members of the clans feeling rather stunned. This was definitely the highest possible level of vigilance the three clans had ever activated!

……

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!! A total of eleven figures shot through the skies, with the three silver men at the head. Behind them were a series of Emperor-class golems that all looked different, including the mist golem, fire golem, and lightning golem which had attacked Ning earlier. These eight Emperor-class golems were all of the invulnerable golems which the three great clans possessed.

“Daolord Darknorth’s sword-arts are inscrutable and mysterious, and he’s skilled at capturing golems. However, this time we’ve only brought golems with invulnerable forms with us; he won’t have a chance to capture them at all,” the skinny silver man said with a cold smile. “Eight Emperor-class golems and the three of us… hmph!”

“He’s going to be absolutely demolished.”

“After undergoing the Ritual Sacrificium, the three of us have become true members of the Sithe race and gained incredible power. Even though we are the lowliest, most ordinary members of the Sithe race, we’re still far beyond these Emperor-class golems in power. Any of us three can fight Daolord Darknorth on equal footing and perhaps even kill him.”

The three silver men were extremely confident in their chances. They had no equals in this world and so they only sparred against each other and the Emperor-class golems. As a result, they knew that any of them would be capable of easily defeating six Emperor-class golems.

They represented the true apex of combat power in this world.

……

The Cranesoar Mountains had long ago been reduced to rubble. The battle between Ning, Ninedust, and the six original Emperor-class golems had completely annihilated the area.

Atop the rubble was a temporal acceleration cabin. Within the cabin, Ning and Ninedust were busy binding the golems while accelerating the flow of time. Binding Emperor-class golems was no easy task, and they had no time to waste. Ning and Ninedust both knew that the next attack from the three great clans would come quite soon, and so they had to immediately work to learn more about the three great clans and thus prepare accordingly.

The three Emperor-class golems were all comparable to supreme Daolords. Fortunately, Ning and Ninedust were both strong enough to bind them by force.

“Success.” Ning was the first to take command over an Emperor-class golem. A look of respect instantly appeared in the green eyes of the six-armed stone golem. “Master.”

“You successfully bound one?” Ninedust turned to glance at Ning. He himself was still busy using all his power to try and bind his.

“Hah! I was faster than you,” Ning grinned, then began to work on the swordsman golem. “I have some questions for you.” Although Ning’s full energy was focused on binding the swordsman golem, this wasn’t too mentally taxing and so he began to question the stone golem. “How strong are the three great clans, exactly? How much hidden power do they have?”

“Master,” the stone golem said respectfully, “All Emperor-class golems had their memories of life prior to joining the three great clans completely wiped! Or to be precise… the previous golem-spirits were eradicated while our souls were slowly nurtured and strengthened by the three great clans. Thus, we don’t know much about their most important secrets. Over the course of countless years, however, we have learned a few things based on our observations.”

“Speak,” Ning urged. These Emperor-class golems had simply been living with the three great clans for far too long; no one in the clans themselves had been alive for as long as they had! Although some of the most important clan secrets would never be divulged, a few traces would inevitably spill out over the course of many years.

“Long, long ago, this world was in a state of chaos before the three great clans had risen,” the stone golem began, “But then three people who referred to themselves as ‘Sithe’ established three mighty clans. They managed to capture one or two Emperor-class golems from a secret place, then wiped out the original golem-spirits…”

“In each generation, the strongest members of the three great clans have always been those three clan leaders. Each time, they start off as normal cultivators, but once they become clan leaders they will be transformed into silver men who will gain inconceivable power,” the stone golem said. “And every so often, the three great clans are able to capture another Emperor-class golem or two from that secret place.”

“Thus… over the course of countless years, every single one of the three great clans has gained a total of at least five Emperor-class golems. Emperor-class golems are what the three great clans usually use to tame their foes! But their greatest power lies in the clan leaders themselves. The clan leaders are all incredibly powerful, and each one of them is on par with you, Master,” the stone golem said.

Ning turned pale when he heard this. “All three of the clan leaders are able to defeat six Emperor-class golems by themselves?”

“Yes!” The stone golem replied, “They often spar against us and so we know how powerful the clan leaders are.”

Ning felt a sense of shock upon hearing this. Judging from the sound of things, the three clan leaders were what truly gave the three clans power! The successive generations of clan leaders would occasionally enter that mysterious place to capture a few Emperor-class golems, allowing them to build up quite a stockpile over the course of many years.

Since this mysterious place held Emperor-class golems within it, Ning suspected that it probably held the secrets of the Sithe within it.

“And where is this secret place?” Ning asked.

“I don’t know. Although we were all captured from that place, our original golem-spirits were all wiped out,” the stone golem said.

Ning nodded slowly. They really were being quite careful, wanting to ensure that no information leaked out.

Time continued to pass, one minute at a time. Ninedust managed to bind the eight-armed golem as well, while Ning completed the binding of the swordsman golem. The information they gained from these two golems was essentially the same.

Whoosh. Ning put away the temporal acceleration cabin. He stood next to Ninedust, the three Emperor-class golems behind them.

“Here they come.” Ning stared towards the distant skies, where eleven streaks of light were flying towards them. Leading the group was indeed a trio of silver men.