The Desolate Era

“You WHAT? You actually had Daolord Darknorth wait outside the palace gates?” Divine Sovereign Goldsun instantly cast the guard a furious glare as he hurriedly rose to his feet. Swoosh! He instantly disappeared without a trace.

Ji Ning, Su Youji, Whitethaw, the Flamewing God, Azurefiend, and Hegemon Goodsong were all waiting outside the gates to the Goldsun Palace.

Swish! A figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was the beautifully dressed Divine Sovereign Goldsun. His face was now covered with smiles. As soon as he saw Ning, he could immediately sense that this Daolord whose truesoul was slowly splintering apart had to be the legendary Daolord Darknorth! This was because Divine Sovereign Goldsun could sense that unique aura emanating from this white-robed youth, an aura that was profounder than profound.

This aura actually had a whiff of the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword itself. Ning wasn’t trying to hide his aura, but even so ordinary Hegemons would not be capable of detecting it. Divine Sovereign Goldsun was focused on becoming an Autarch and had trained for many years. He had reached an extremely high level of power and had gained tremendous insight into many different Daos. As a result, his senses were even more acute than the likes of God Emperor Helong.

“Goldsun greets you, Daolord Darknorth.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun instantly bowed respectfully, then said with a smile, “I never would’ve imagined that you’d come to visit me. I’m absolutely overwhelmed and delighted.”

“I’ve come here because there’s something I need to trouble you about, Divine Sovereign,” Ning said.

“Please come in first. We can discuss it shortly,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly. “If there’s anything I can help you out with, I’ll do everything I can. Daolord Darknorth, please come in.”

Ning followed him inside. Su Youji and Whitethaw followed from behind, with Flamewing, Azurefiend, and Hegemon Goodsong bringing up the rear. Hegemon Goodsong felt particularly delighted, while Flamewing gave Divine Sovereign Goldsun a provocative stare.

“What a savage, bloodthirsty aura! It is probably just as strong as I am. This should be that legendary Chaos Primordial.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun glanced at Flamewing as well, but continued to warmly guide Ning deeper into his estate.

He had long ago ordered for his subordinates to prepare a banquet. A feast had been laid out at the main hall of the Goldsun Palace, with many servants and maids all waiting to serve them.

Ning and Goldsun sat down in the lotus position in the highest seats. Divine Sovereign Goldsun intentionally set his table slightly lower than Ning’s.

“I’ve heard of your illustrious name long ago, Daolord Darknorth. I’ve always admired you, but I live too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse. I’ve regretted being unable to visit you, but today you’ve overwhelmed me with delight by coming to visit my Goldsun Palace instead.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun smiled. “Come, come! Let us share a few toasts first. I wish to celebrate your visit to my palace.”

The other major powers of Goldsun Palace all raised their cups in unison as well. Ning smiled and lifted his own cup, downing it on the spot.

“Mm. Fine wine,” Ning couldn’t help but speak out in praise. When he drank the wine, he felt as though a ball of fire was going all the way down his throat into his belly. The tremendous heat instantly filled his entire body to the point where he felt it was going to burst out of his skin. Moments later, a cool and refreshing feeling spread out from his stomach and encompassed his entire body. This alternating process of heat and cool resulted in him feeling as though his body had just undergone a baptism of sorts, almost as though it had been transformed and remade.

“This is a special product of the Goldsun Palace, the ‘Triflame Jewel Brew’. I have quite a bit of it stockpiled away in my palace. If you like it, Daolord, you can take some with you and enjoy it in the future as well,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh. He knew very well that he had to be extremely careful when dealing with someone like Daolord Darknorth, who now stood at the very apex of power in the cultivator civilizations... and who had failed his Daomerge! The slightest bit of discourtesy could result in irreversible repercussions.

Ning smiled and said, “Then I’ll accept some. Divine Sovereign Goldsun, I’ve come because there is something I need to bother you about.”

“Pray tell, Daolord,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly. The entire room turned silent, with Hegemon Goodsong listening the most attentively.

Ning waved his hand, causing a storage bracelet to appear. He handed it over and said, “I wish to use some of the treasures within this estate-world to trade for a Golden Emperor form from you, Divine Ruler.” Ning had quite a few treasures by now. He had looted the Jadefire Realm clean and had stripped the Lonely King of all his treasures. Ning had left behind the ones he thought would be of great use to the Three Realms, then chose some other rare materials that were of limited use to him right now. There were around ten or so which, all combined, were more or less equal in value to a Golden Emperor form.

“Is that it? A Golden Emperor form? Daolord, for you to visit me in person and show such courtesy shows that you hold me in esteem. How could I possibly be so stingy as to hold back a Golden Emperor form from you?” Divine Sovereign Goldsun waved his hand as he spoke, causing a head-sized ball of golden liquid to immediately fly out. This golden liquid was shaped like a perfect globe, and it was covered by a layer of continuously flowing light. It seemed quite mysterious.

“As for your treasures, Daolord, I don’t need them.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said hurriedly, “This Golden Emperor form is my gift to you, Daolord.”

He was able to bestow these things to even his subordinates. To him, a Golden Emperor form actually wasn’t all that valuable. He cared far more about the Sithe weapons he used to keep himself safe. He actually felt relieved that Daolord Darknorth had merely asked for a Golden Emperor form; the loss wouldn’t have any impact on his own personal power.

Ning waved his hand to accept the golden globe of liquid, then smiled: “Go ahead and take it.” The storage bracelet continued to hover in front of Divine Sovereign Goldsun.

“Umm...” Divine Sovereign Goldsun hesitated for a moment, then said, “Daolord Darknorth, there really isn’t any need for you to give me the treasures inside this bracelet. I have cultivated for many years and have many treasures; a few more really won’t make any difference to me. But... Daolord Darknorth, would you be willing to perhaps give me some guidance?”

The Dao was not to be casually transmitted to others. Divine Sovereign Goldsun didn’t dare to ask Ning to actually transmit the Eternal Omega Sword Dao to him; all he asked for was some guidance.

Ning nodded. “Very well. I’ll give you three days worth of guidance in order to repay you.”

......

Within a vast hallway, Divine Sovereign Goldsun manifested a pair of wings and wielded a semi-translucent saber in each of his two hands. The sabers were as thin as the wings of a cicada.

Ning stood off in the distance, facing him. A single streak of sword-light manifested in the air between them. This sword-light was generated from the external manifestation of the aura of the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. Unless absolutely necessary, Ning wouldn’t use any of his own divine power or Immortal energy.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword-light danced in a ghostly, dream-like manner, almost like moonlight playing across the darkness. Divine Sovereign Goldsun fought with tremendous savagery and in an extraordinarily dominating style, but faced with Ning’s sword-arts his stances became filled with countless flaws. Each time, Ning was able to break apart his attacks with ease.

Whoosh. The sword-light came to a halt right in front of Divine Sovereign Goldsun’s forehead, causing him to awkwardly halt his attacks.

“I lost again.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun shook his head and sighed. “I always thought that my saber-arts were impressive. I’ve never suffered such catastrophic losses after becoming a Hegemon.” action

He had been completely outclassed in a battle of technique! Autarchs could do this as well, but Autarchs couldn’t be bothered to guide him. Generally speaking, they would only provide a bit of guidance to figures who they liked AND who had rendered great merits.

By now, there were countless Hegemons who deeply desired to be given a bit of guidance by the peerless Daolord who had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, but this required luck and karma. Divine Sovereign Goldsun had decisively rejected any treasures and instead asked for guidance from Ning.

“These past three days have been more helpful to me than the past ten million chaos cycles of solitary training. I now realize that my saber-arts are actually flawed in many ways.” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said gratefully, “Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.”

“Since the three days have come to an end, it is time for me to leave,” Ning said.

After spending three days with Ning, Divine Sovereign Goldsun no longer felt as much fear as he had in the past. He now had the feeling that Ning was quite easy-going. He said warmly, “Daolord Darknorth... dare I ask, have you come here from the distant Flamedragon Realmverse because you are searching for Nuwa?”

“Yes.” Ning didn’t deny it. Word of his search for Nuwa had long ago spread to countless places.

“If you wish to find Nuwa, I should be able to help out a bit,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh.

“You can help out?” Ning was surprised.

“Daolord Darknorth, you are probably aware that Nuwa is currently accompanying her master, Patriarch Treewind, and other major powers in a journey through the Blazesun Domain,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said. “But... you probably don’t know that Nuwa, Patriarch Treewind, and the others are currently within the city of Houwu in the Blazesun Domain.”

Ning’s eyes lit up when he heard this. The city of Houwu? The Blazesun Domain was enormous; it would actually be quite tricky to locate Nuwa within it. He had been planning to first locate Nuwa and Patriarch Treewind’s avatars, then find them in person.

“Haha, I have a bit of a reputation in the area around the Blazesun Domain,” Divine Sovereign Goldsun said with a laugh. “I’m kept quite up to date with news in this area, and I’m good friends with Lord Houwu. All I need to do is send word to Lord Houwu and ask him to inform Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa and have them wait for you in Houwu City! That way, you can just meet them there and save yourself some trouble.”