The Desolate Era

Book 21, Chapter 15 - To Battle

“Excellent. Using Daofather-level energy to command the Rahu Formation is indeed much easier. I’m able to control all of the natural energy which has been summoned by these 90,000 Celestial Immortals and 8 million Loose Immortals.” Ji Ning could sense the full power of the Rahu God.

The difference between his current Daofather-level energy and his former True Immortal-level energy was simply enormous. For a True Immortal to command this mighty formation was like forcing a child to lift up a large boulder. A Daofather doing the same was like letting a strongman do the same. With Ning’s fundamentals changed, the difficulty he faced in controlling formation naturally changed as well.

Given that his soul was now much more powerful as well...he was able to effortlessly command the full force of the Rahu Formation!

“Seamless Gate.” A hint of a murderous look flashed through the Rahu-Ning’s eyes.

......

Within the levitating castle.

A black-robed Ning had appeared out of nowhere within Ning’s residence. The black-robed Ning raised his head, staring into the skies. Large plumes of snow had begun to drift downwards.

“It’s snowing,” Ning murmured softly to himself.

When he had met with the Godking in the Grand Xia, it was in the heart of winter as well, but back then Ning’s heart had been blazing with eagerness. But now...it had become nothing short of an iceberg.

“It is time to meet with senior Xuan Yuan.” The black-robed Ning walked out of his own residence and towards Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s palace. While walking over, he noted that the mood was quite gloomy. The Seamless Gate had called for battle on numerous occasions, but the Nuwa Alliance had yet to respond at all. This caused all of the Immortals and Fiendgods on their side to worry...did they really have no response at all for the Envoy of All Things? Although Ning chatted a bit with the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals he met on the way, he could sense the tremendous pressure his friends were under.

This war was one in which the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals would risk their lives, after all.

A short while later, the black-robed Ning reached Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s palace.

“Empyrean God Darknorth.” The golden-armored guard in front of the palace called out to him, stopping him.

“Please send the word to his Imperial Majesty, the Yellow Emperor. Simply say that Ji Ning is now prepared,” the black-robed Ning said.

“Alright.” The golden-armored guard nodded.

Ning turned and left.

Within the palace.

The three mighty Sovereigns of Mankind were seated, as were the incarnations of the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism and the true bodies of Xuan Yuan and Subhuti.

“Ji Ning is now prepared.” Xuan Yuan smiled as he looked towards Subhuti. “And...what a powerful desire to kill he is radiating!”

“Mm. It is quite intense.” Subhuti murmured softly, “Although he is keeping it suppressed deep in his heart...that’s what makes the intensity of it so shocking. That’s why I told you to make preparations for being defeated, just in case. Although I’ve always been very confident in this disciple of mine, and although he’s never allowed his personal emotions to get in the way of the big picture...we really cannot afford to lose this fight.”

“Yes. We cannot afford to lose.” Shennong let out a sigh. “We have no other options for dealing with the Envoy of All Things. We just don’t have enough power. We have to rely on raw numbers to overwhelm it.”

“This is our best chance.” Suiren, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, and the others all nodded.

“If Ji Ning is unsuccessful, we’ll carry out the plan we originally settled upon,” Xuan Yuan said softly. That plan was a calamitous one. Xuan Yuan stilled his emotions, then said, “I’ll assemble the army now.”

“Alright.” Everyone present nodded.

Xuan Yuan immediately instructed two of his disciples, “Give the order to assemble. Prepare to enter combat.”

The order was given. The entire castle instantly exploded into motion as a veritable ocean of Empyrean Gods, True Immortals, Celestial Immortals, and Loose Immortals quickly began to gather together, assembling into great formations.

“The Seamless Gate isn’t even calling out for battle right now. For us to take the initiative to attack...can it be that the major powers have already come up with a way to deal with that ape-shaped monstrosity?”

“If we’re taking the initiative to attack...the major powers might really have a solution.”

“Right.”

“If we don’t deal with that ape-shaped aberration, it will be very hard to win. It’s utterly impenetrable to weapons. Not even fellow Daoist Jimin’s Pangu Genesis Formation was able to harm it in the slightest. If that ape-shaped monstrosity is allowed to go wild...we are going to suffer greatly for it.”

“They surely have a solution.”

The various Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who were the commanders of the formation were all chatting amongst themselves.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The Three Sovereigns, the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, Subhuti, and Xuan Yuan all appeared. They flew through the air as Xuan Yuan called out in a commanding voice, “Exit the citadel!”

Rumble...

The vast, awe-inspiring army flew into the air as well, flying out of the floating citadel and towards the distant wilderness.

Xuan Yuan and the rest of the seven major powers stood atop the city walls, watching from afar. Their disciples, Ning included, quickly assembled behind them atop the walls.

“The disciples under my command do not know that you are going to join the battle. Just now, when I ordered the army to assemble, you weren’t notified.” Xuan Yuan turned to look at the black-robed Ning. “You can go now.”

“Yes.” Ning nodded.

Boom.

An enormous, thirty thousand meter tall Rahu God suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Its face was Ji Ning’s face, and it held a pair of Darknorth swords in its hands, one of which was the one which had become a Chaos treasure.

The Rahu-Ning instantly soared into the skies, heading towards the main army.

“Rahu Formation?”

“Is Ji Ning simply going to use the Rahu Formation?” The faces of Xuan Yuan, Subhuti, the Three Sovereigns, and the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism all changed.

They knew exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of the Rahu Formation were, which made them all the more nervous.

“Ji Ning...has he really lost sight of the big picture?” The reason why Subhuti had previously advised the other major powers to prepare for defeat was simply because this battle was too important; they truly couldn’t afford to lose this war. But upon seeing that Ning’s ‘special ability’ seemingly just consisted of using the Rahu Formation, Subhuti’s heart truly turned cold.

“The Rahu Formation...” Fuxi spoke out. “I created this formation. It is an extremely difficult one, and there aren’t even many Daofathers who are capable of unleashing the full power of this formation. Only a Daofather who has extremely strong heartforce and a soul heartforce technique can truly unleash its power. Ji Ning has not become a Daofather yet. If his meditations into the Dao began to resonate with the Heavenly Daos, we would’ve sensed it long ago.”

“Right.” Everyone present nodded. Mastering a Heavenly Dao would cause a resonance with the Heavenly Daos. It was something that was extremely difficult to hide.

“Ji Ning is not a Daofather, and he’s only capable of unleashing a small part of the full power of the Rahu Formation. Even if his sword-arts are extraordinary, he would at most be capable of matching an ordinary Daofather.” Fuxi shook his head. “Even one of the Seamless Infinity Formations would be able to completely suppress him. As for the Envoy of All Things...that has the power of a elite Daofather.”

“Is it possible that Ji Ning has something else planned?” Xuan Yuan couldn’t help but ask this question. He still held hope in the words which Ning had said a month ago.

“Let’s watch for now.” Suiren was frowning as well.

“Have the other Pangu Genesis Formation be prepared,” Daoist Three Purities advised.

“Yes.” Xuan Yuan nodded slowly.

Subhuti didn’t say anything else. He just watched from far away as the Rahu-Ning flew towards the great army of the Nuwa Alliance, his eyes filled with worry.

The walls of the Seamless Citadel. Daomother Devilhand and the black-robed Godking had both appeared.

“The Nuwa Alliance actually dares to call us out for battle?” The Godking laughed.

“We’ve called them out so many times, but they refused to join battle. For them to actively seek battle this time...they are simply trying to boost their own morale,” Daomother Devilhand said calmly.

The black-robed Godking nodded. “Master and I are fully aware of all their capabilities. They’ve sent yet another five hundred Empyrean Gods and are most likely prepared to form yet another Pangu Genesis Formation. Since they can’t defeat the Envoy one-on-one, they’ve decided to try a two-on-one. They should be planning to have the two Pangu Gods fight against our Envoy.”

“I guessed they would do this.” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “It is much like how we previously were using two Infinity Fiendgods to deal with the Jimin-Pangu. However, there’s a fatal flaw to this plan; simply put, they can’t fight for too long. No matter how well the two work together, as the battle progresses, they will eventually make a mistake.”

“Right.” The black-robed Godking nodded.

If the two Pangu Gods worked well together when fighting against the Envoy of All Things, they’d be able to withstand it. But if their teamwork was poor...they would be in a dangerous situation! The Envoy was utterly unbreakable; not even the leaders of Buddhism or Daoism were capable of actually destroying those terrifying golems.

“Look...” Daomother Devilhand suddenly pointed towards a distant corner. Amongst a group of many Seven Planets Gods, a six-armed Fiendgod had just appeared.

“Is that...?” The black-robed Godking was stunned for a moment...and then he began to laugh. “Ji Ning in a Fiendgod formation? Haha, that’s Ji Ning using his Rahu Formation. Haha! Years ago, he relied on the Rahu Formation to force me to bow my head and accede to his requests. He hasn’t taken part in any of the fights of the past six centuries, because he has been hoping that he would be able to rescue his senior apprentice-sister from my clutches. Now that he’s given up, he’s joining the fray. Right...the Grandmaster has instructed that if we have the chance, we are to get rid of Ji Ning.”

“Mm.” Daomother Devilhand nodded. “The big picture is what truly matters, but if we have the chance, I’ll have the army pay Ji Ning some special attention.”

Rumble...

The army of the Seamless Gate soared outwards, flying towards the distant wilderness as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One formation after another began to assemble, and one golem after another began to land, causing the earth to shake. The army of the Seamless Gate was filled with extremely high morale, and in front of them led the ape-shaped Envoy of All Things, its body wreathed with dark-red flames. Behind him were two of the white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods.

The grand armies of the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance faced each other.

The major powers on both sides watched nervously.

This was the first time the Nuwa Alliance had come out to fight after retreating into their citadel all those days ago! To both sides, this was a battle that they could not afford to lose.

“Darknorth, you have to be careful.”

“Darknorth, don’t fight against those formations head-on.”

“Darknorth, those two white-haired, red-eyed Infinity Fiendgods have close to a elite Daofather’s power. The Envoy of All Things is even more terrifying. No matter what, don’t go close to it.” The Seven Planets Gods near Ning all sent mental messages to him. Due to him rescuing the two hundred-plus Empyrean Gods, there were many who were now much more friendly towards him than before. Many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals felt gratitude towards Ning for him saving their fellow disciples and lifelong friends.

Ning just nodded. “I won’t be rash.”

If he was to tell them that he was going to deal with the Envoy of All Things, it would probably cause a major disturbance. This was a critical battle; it was best for these Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to be able to remain calm.

Rumble...

Suddenly, the entire Nuwa Alliance army began to charge forward.

Under the guidance of Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan, all of them headed towards their respective targets.

“Ji Ning, you are free to act as you see fit.” Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan’s orders came.

Boom.

The Rahu-Ning suddenly moved. He moved with extraordinary speed as he blazed through the vast wilderness, going far past all the surrounding Seven Planets Gods. The body of his Rahu God had the power of a elite Daofather, giving him terrifying speed and strength. As he bound forward, he actually became the vanguard of the entire army, charging in front of everyone else and moving far beyond his allies.

“He’s that fast?!” The seven major powers on the city walls were all surprised.

“Eh?!” The black-robed Godking stared in shock as the Rahu-Ning charged straight to the forefront.