The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

Half a day later.

Ji Ning was seated by himself at the highest point on the mountain where the Sunrise Courtyard was located. He was staring at the vast skies, the chains of mountains, and the distant plains.

“I really made a killing this time!” Ning let out a blissful sigh.

Ning had already bound all of the treasures he had acquired in the Ruins, including the storage treasures. He had also completely finished sorting through the items in the storage treasures as well. There had indeed been a number of unexpected surprises for Ning, such as a Chaos-level estate-treasure which Ning suspected was originally owned by a World-level expert!

This was because this estate-treasure actually had a pair of Dao weapons within it! It also had a star map and a jade slip containing information regarding the Windsource Ruins, both of which seemed to be far better than what an Ancestral Immortal or Elder God should be capable of acquiring.

The star map included records of the Badlands Territory and five nearby territories, with the Badlands Territory having the most detailed markings. Every Elder God and Ancestral Immortal who had even the slightest bit of renown was recorded down within this star map, including even the newer ones like Su Youji the Flamefairy. Generally speaking, only World-level experts could acquire star maps of such detail which covered such a vast expanse.

And that jade slip! The World-level expert who originally owned it must have sought out a great deal of information regarding the Windsource Ruins, as the jade slip contained detailed records of the Ruins, describing the outermost swamp region, the outer region, the inner region, and the core region.

The outer region was the dangerous area where Ning had encountered Su Youji. It was a place where Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals often ventured through.

The inner region included the Hundred Streams of the Windsource. Many of the World-level servants of Daolord Windsource had been stationed in the inner region and had died there as well. The inner region was far more dangerous than the outer region.

The core region was the place where Daolord Windsource had lived. Not even Daolord Badlands or Waterwind had dared to venture too deeply into that place.

“If we add in these two Dao weapons I found in that estate-treasure, I now have a total of five Dao weapons.” Ning was absolutely delighted.

Elder God Skysouth had left quite a few things behind after he died. The most precious item he had left behind was his Elder God Formation, but he had also left behind over a hundred Chaos treasures. Alas, he didn’t even have a single Dao weapon.

What Ning didn’t know was that Elder God Skysouth had actually found a Dao weapon many years ago. Knowing himself to be too weak to make proper use of it, Skysouth feared that other Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would just take it from him! Thus, he instead sold the Dao weapon, using the proceeds to purchase many Elder God slaves as well as an Elder God Formation. Instantly, he became virtually invincible against anyone weaker than a World-level expert.

“Five Dao weapons, one Elder God Formation, and over three hundred Chaos treasures.” Ning nodded to himself. These were the main proceeds of this adventure.

“Five Dao weapons, with that warblade being the most valuable of the five. It should be considered a top-grade Dao weapon and is most likely worth roughly fifty cubes of chaos nectar.” Ning continued to quietly calculate mentally. “The other four all combined are probably worth fifty cubes as well! An Elder God Formation meant for a hundred Elder Gods is probably worth roughly ten cubes. As for the three hundred Chaos treasures, some are high-quality while some are low-quality. They are probably worth roughly ten bottles of chaos nectar on average, for a total of around ten cubes.”

“All combined...they should be worth more than a hundred cubes!”

Ning sighed in amazement.

A single cube of chaos nectar was equivalent to a thousand bottles! A hundred cubes...that was comparable to the total networth of an ordinary World-level expert!

This was what made adventuring in these places so alluring!

Just the tiniest part of the fortune left behind in the ruins of a deceased Daolord was comparable to the networth of an ordinary World God!

And yet, the danger level in such a place was similarly high. As soon as Ning had entered the Ruins, he had been beset by dangers. He had damn near died when the windbeasts had chased after him. The only reason why he was able to safely return to the ‘outer region’ was because he had stupid good luck, resulting in him finding and entering that private estate.

To safely leave the inner region was incredibly difficult. Only around half of the World Gods who entered the place would be able to leave alive.

But for those who did manage to leave...almost every single one of them returned with great rewards.

“So many treasures...this should be enough to repair my sword, Violetjewel,” Ning mused to himself. Even if he used up all of the treasures, Ning wouldn’t feel any heartache. This was because Violetjewel was a weapon that had a quintessence core!

“Master.” The fiery-robed Su Youji walked out. As she looked at the seated white-robed youth, she felt quite happy.

She had been pursued by Elder God Skysouth for so long. Whenever she thought of his ugly smile and his demand for her to become his pleasure-companion, she felt extremely repulsed. When she looked at the seated Ning, she could sense the distance between the two of them.

There were many cultivators who tried to befriend her and move closer to her, hoping that they would have the chance to enjoy ‘the joy of fish when entering the sea’. But Ning, however, only gave her a feeling of distance. Clearly, he didn’t wish to be too intimate with her.

“Oh?” Ning turned his head to look at her. “Right. If you aren’t busy, accompany me on a trip to Fogstone.”

“Fogstone?” Su Youji was startled for a moment, then smiled beautifully. “Alright. When?”

“Right now,” Ning said.

Ning deeply desired to completely repair Violetjewel and restore it to its full level of power. According to the books he had read as well as the notes left behind by World God Northrest, weapons that had quintessence cores were incredibly marvelous. They surpassed all ordinary weapons and stood at a completely different level of existence.

Immortal cultivators of Ning’s level focused on attuning to certain essences, such as how Ning was attuning to the prime essence of the sword in the hopes of reaching a higher level of skill with it.

However, Violetjewel had such an essence within it! This quintessence core was the most valuable part of Violetjewel. The stories regarding weapons like Violetjewel were simply too obscure and mystical; Ning wanted to see it for himself!

Ning and Su Youji flew together within his ship, departing from the Windsource Chaosworld and heading towards Fogstone.

Fogstone.

Last time Ning had come to this place, he had been an outsider. This time, he was a general of the Fogstone Army. He was considered one of them and there was no need for someone to guide him around.

“Greetings, seniors. What sort of treasures might you need?”

They were within an enormous hall inside an island. This hall was filled with many beautiful maids, with one being on the True Immortal level. When she sensed Ji Ning and Su Youji’s auras, she immediately became extremely hospitable. This place was extremely important. It was the central location for people to sell treasures to Fogstone. Because it was located in the heart of Fogstone, the forces of Fogstone didn’t really worry about anyone causing trouble here.

Ning waved his hand, producing his general’s insignia.

“General?” The violet-robed female True Immortal’s attitude became even more respectful.

“How many treasure fragments do you have here?” Ning asked.

To repair Violetjewel, he would need Five Elements essence.

The cheapest way to acquire Five Elements essence was to purchase treasure fragments from already-destroyed treasures. A more expensive solution would be to purchase undamaged ingredients, while the most extravagant way was to purchase undamaged artifacts and treasures.

“Treasure fragments?” The violet-robed female wouldn’t dare to lie to one of Fogstone’s generals. She immediately said, “There aren’t many cultivators who need treasure fragments. Most who purchase them do so to extract Five Elements essence from them to repair other treasures. As a result, our entire stockpile is worth less than a cube of chaos nectar. However, this should be more than enough to repair a Dao weapon.”

The violet-robed woman was privately guessing that this general was intent on repairing a Dao weapon.

“Less than a cube?” Ning was no longer the ignorant child he had been when he was in the Three Realms. A treasure with a quintessence core that had been almost completely wrecked internally would require an enormous amount of Five Elements essence if one wanted to repair it. If he was to purchase raw ingredients rather than treasure fragments, even a hundred cubes of chaos nectar might not be enough.

Purchasing treasure fragments was a better path to success.

“That’s it...?” Ning frowned, but this was as he had expected. Fogstone only had nine World-level experts. Why would it see the need to store so many treasure fragments here?

“Let’s go.” Ning led Su Youji away.

He wasn’t worried about openly asking for treasure fragments here on Fogstone. Everyone on their side was bound by a lifeblood oath preventing fratricide. This was one of the reasons why Ning had chosen to come to Fogstone.

“It seems I’ll have to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld if I wish to acquire enough treasure fragments to repair Violetjewel,” Ning mused silently to himself. “I can be a bit more relaxed here on Fogstone, but I’ll have to be careful when I’m in the Badlands Everworld. If I’m too arrogant and end up catching the wrong person’s attention, I can very well die.”

Although Ning was going to be vigilant, he wasn’t scared.

“Youji.”

The two were within a flying warship that soared through the space outside Fogstone. Ning said to the nearby Su Youji, “I’m preparing to pay a visit to the Badlands Everworld.”

“I’ll go wherever you go, Master.” Su Youji laughed. “And I’ve visited the Badlands Everworld before. I’m quite familiar with the place. Although I was just there once, I have to admit that it truly is a remarkable and marvelous place. Many cultivators reside there, and even the most powerful organization of the Badlands Territory, Badlands Court , is located there.

“Mm.” Ning nodded.

The flying warship continued to advance through space towards the distant Sevenwater Star. From there, they would be able to make use of a spacetime transfer array that would send them directly to the Badlands Everworld!

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