Desolate Era

“Haha, I also believe that you’ll accomplish great things!” Azurefiend looked at Ji Ning approvingly. He knew that some cultivators with deep obsessions who suffered setbacks would be so damaged by them that their Dao-hearts could crumble. This wasn’t rare! Even Autarch Titanos had been worried that this dazzlingly talented Daolord would perish out of despair, which was why he voiced that final possibility of using an Omega Dao to become an Autarch. However, everyone knew how remote those chances were.

“I wish to remain in the Three Realms for a period of time,” Ning said. “After I have fully mastered those formations, I’ll return to the Jadefire Realm.” The Flamewing God was in a state of slumber; to such a creature, a nap lasting one or two chaos cycles was nothing special at all. In the end, Ning would have to rely on his Primaltwin in the Azureflower Estate to unlock those formations.

“As you desire,” Azurefiend smiled. “I’m going to spend some time wandering your homeland as well. It has been quite some time since I’ve experienced the mortal life.”

Ning nodded. “Remember, you are not permitted to kill.”

“Then what if someone tries to bully me?” Azurefiend stared.

“Capture them first. You can kill them if I give the nod,” Ning said. He refused to allow a Hegemon to run wild within his homeland.

“Fine. As you insist.” Azurefiend felt quite helpless. As a retainer, he had to obey orders.

Ning chuckled, then began to walk towards the ‘Three Realms Domain’ with Whitethaw behind him. The Three Realms Domain referred to the region of 3900 chaosworlds which had been established by Ning, Subhuti, Windfiend, and the other major powers.

“How beautiful.” Ning stared at the thousands of chaosworlds that were organized into that enormous triangular formation. They were like a host of flickering stars in the sky, glowing with dazzling light. Ning nodded slowly. “Later, it’ll be time to further perfect this formation.” Stabilizing the Three Realms Domain was a long-term endeavor.

……

A territory that was extremely far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. An endless black fog had spread out to cover a deep chasm, and at the bottom of the chasm was the residence of a famed Otherverse Lord known as ‘Lord Skyjade’.

Swoosh. Swoosh. An enormous tear in space appeared above the abyss, with three towering figures exiting the tear.

They were all onyx humanoids with icy expressions on their faces. Unlike ‘ordinary’ humanoids, their bodies were covered with strange silver-white diagrams. Just standing in the air above the abyss, they emanated an endless aura of cold that swept out and caused even the endless black mist below them to freeze over.

“We finally arrived.” The three onyx humanoids all smiled slightly.

“Lord Skyjade, come out and meet with us,” one of the onyx humanoids called out loudly. His voice boomed out, echoing into the abyss deep within them.

Swoosh. A man dressed in dark golden robes walked out from the abyss, emanating an aura of endless might which suppressed the freezing cold. Lord Skyjade had handsome features and an extraordinary aura. He was the master of this realmverse and a nearby otherverse, making him far superior to ordinary Otherverse Lords.

“Hmph. Why have you sought me out?” Lord Skyjade’s voice held a tinge of distaste, but he managed to suppress much of his anger as he spoke.

“What’s wrong, Lord Skyjade? Do you detest the Icepeak Army?” one of the onyx humanoids mocked.

“If you don’t wish to speak with us and wish to put on airs in front of us, we can have our general, ‘Lord Wulf’, come and speak to you instead,” another onyx humanoid said.

Lord Skyjade frowned. He did feel a great deal of trepidation when dealing with the legendary Icepeak Army. “Cut the crap. What do you want, exactly?”

“While the three of us were out adventuring, we suddenly heard word of a distance place known as the Flamedragon Realmverse. Supposedly, an incredibly talented Daolord has managed to procure a realmship. Alas… as you might know, our Icepeak Army is extremely powerful and has multiple realmships, but our general Lord Wulf doesn’t have one despite his incredible power. Now, a Daolord does. Isn’t this quite irritating? Thus, we are planning to head to the Flamedragon Realmverse and force that Daolord to hand the realmship over,” a skinny onyx humanoid said.

“I heard that the Icepeak Army has a total of five realmships, while your general Lord Wulf is incredibly strong. Why doesn’t he have a realmship to call his own?” Lord Skyjade feigned surprise.

“Hmph.” The three onyx humanoids snorted, not wanting to explain. Clearly, even the mighty Icepeak Army had its own internal squabbles.

“Lord Skyjade, we’ve come here to ask you to help send us to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” a muscular onyx humanoid said. “The Flamedragon Realmverse is too far away. It would take us far longer than tens of millions of chaos cycles to reach it if we were to fly towards it. Daolords have short lives; we don’t have the time to waste.”

“The Flamedragon Realmverse? I don’t have a realmship.” Lord Skyjade shook his head. “Are you actually expecting me to use up the energy of my otherverse to send you there?”

“We’ll compensate you appropriately, Lord Skyjade,” the cyclopean onyx humanoid said. Although they were extraordinary figures of great power, they still had to show a basic level of courtesy to an Otherverse Lord.

“You wish for me to take you all the way to the distant Flamedragon Realmverse? That’s far too exhausting.” Lord Skyjade shook his head. “How about this? I’ll ask one of my friends who has a realmship to help you out and take you to the Flamedragon Realmverse, but of course you’ll have to compensate him as well.”

“Naturally.”

“Understood,” the three onyx humanoids said.

Lord Skyjade remained quite displeased. He was an exalted Otherverse Lord; normal Hegemons had to treat him with great respect. These three were nothing more than minor soldiers in the Icepeak Army, yet they dared to behave so insolently towards him!

Alas, when he thought of the supreme leader of the Icepeak Army, that towering figure seated upon that mighty throne, Lord Skyjade couldn’t help but shudder. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh for Daolord Darknorth, who he had never met. “A minor Daolord was able to convince a Hegemon to become his retainer. News has spread throughout the Chaosverse. Even the Icepeak Army has heard of him.”

“Remember, that place is under the sway of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. That is Realmslord Windgrace’s territory,” Lord Skyjade said. “Realmslord Windgrace’s ‘Blacksun’ is not easy to deal with.”

There were differences in status amongst Otherverse Lords as well. Realmslord Windgrace, as the master of the Blacksun, was definitely a terrifying figure even amongst Otherverse Lords.

“We know. We’re only there for Daolord Darknorth, not to cause a war. I don’t think Realmslord Windgrace would choose to make an enemy out of the Icepeak Army for such a matter,” the three onyx humanoids said.

“Fine. Wait a while. Roughly a hundred thousand years from now, my friend shall arrive and take you towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.” Lord Skyjade turned and flew back into the deep abyss.

The three watched him leave. “Hmph. Lord Skyjade is quite a prideful figure.”

“The three of us are Black Emperors. If we worked together, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to us even though he is an Otherverse Lord. The only reason he dares to behave so arrogantly before the Icepeak Army is because he can hide within his otherverse whenever he pleases.” All three of them were rather disdainful towards him.

“Oh, right. Realmslord Windgrace of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance is not a man to be trifled with. This won’t be a problem, will it?” the muscular onyx humanoid frowned as he spoke.

“Don’t worry! Old man Windgrace is a clever fellow. He wouldn’t dare launch an actual war against the Icepeak Army. He’s all by himself, while we have an entire host of Hegemons on our side, as well as his Majesty! Hmph. So long as we don’t go too far and merely act against that Daolord, this won’t cause too much of a stir. Realmslord Windgrace knows his limits.”

“Agreed.”

……

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, ten million years had gone by, and a realmship finally reached the Flamedragon Realmverse.

“Thank you, Hegemon Thunderstar. Wait for us here, just in case… but we don’t think a mere Daolord would dare to go against our will. He’ll probably hand the realmship over to us, and so we’ll probably just fly back in the realmship without needing to trouble you again.” The three onyx humanoids flew towards the Flamedragon Realmverse.

Hegemon Thunderstar had become a Hegemon via the Dao of Lightning. He was terrifyingly fast and an extremely famous figure.

“Emperors will bide their time, but Daolords are different. They have such short lives that they are usually quite temperamental,” Hegemon Thunderstar said with a laugh. “Given that he has Hegemon Azurefiend as a retainer… if he really does fight back and chooses to hide within Hegemon Azurefiend’s estate-world, you won’t necessarily be able to win the realmship from him.”

“We trust he wouldn’t dare to make enemies out of us.” The three onyx humanoids were quite confident in their chances. As for Hegemon Thunderstar, he secretly smirked.

The vast majority of the supreme powers of the Chaosverse all disliked the Icepeak Army! It was, however, an extremely formidable force, and so even Otherverse Lords were forced to give way before them.

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