The Desolate Era

Book 24, Chapter 46 - Shield You From the Wind and the Rain

God Emperor Blacklotus showed no mercy at all as he struck out with the giant crystal scimitar. Whoosh! A streak of icy saber-light shot out through the air, carrying an aura of extreme coldness as it flew towards the Starlord. The Starlord’s body was now completely grayish-white, and he hurriedly shot out streaks of astral sword-light to defend.

Boom!!!

The Starlord was knocked flying backwards as the saber-light slashed past his chest. Fortunately, his body was as tough as a Dao weapon and so he was able to endure the blow.

“You can’t stop me. In a head-on fight, you have no chance of stopping me at all.” God Emperor Blacklotus smiled coldly.

The Starlord was beginning to panic.

He truly was a blessed child of the heavens! His father had been the previous Starlord, while World God Blackmist had supported him and guided him. Even though he hadn’t been particularly diligent in cultivating, he had still been able to easily overcome his tribulations. After his beloved Yi had perished, he had begun to work hard and improved at an even more astonishing speed, becoming a World God. He then continued until he reached his certain stage, resulting in his divine body reaching the stage of full perfection! He was now the most powerful expert of the Fogstone lineage.

His path had always been a path that led straight upwards! Thus, his most powerful sword-arts were all focused on offensive attacks, making him somewhat weaker in defensive skills. The Starlord had always believed the old maxim that the best defense was a good offense! When he used the [Fogstone Apocalypse] his body was rendered comparable to a Dao weapon. Why, then, should he waste his time and effort on mastering defensive sword-arts? Only when he focused his efforts in the right area would he be able to more quickly reach a higher level of power.

But now...

He had encountered someone who was so superior to him that his vaunted attacks were useless! At a time like this, only someone tremendously talented in defensive sword arts would be capable of dealing with such a difficult foe.

Boom! The airborne Starlord was smashed downwards towards the ground.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Quite a few Elder Gods immediately began to flee, not hesitating in the slightest. They all soared towards the skies, obeying the Starlord’s orders to flee.

However...the Starlord had misjudged one of them.

“Starchild.” World God Blackmist looked at the Starlord, a gentle look in his eyes. “You want me to flee?”

There was no way he would flee.

The previous Starlord had shown him great benevolence, which was why he had chosen to help take care of Starchild! At first, World God Blackmist had only done so in order to repay the old Starlord’s kindness, and so Starchild had called him ‘Second Uncle’. He had watched as the child slowly grew up, while the old Starlord himself had actually spent very little time with his son.

In the end...

It was World God Blackmist who spent virtually all of his time by Starchild’s side. He had watched as Starchild grew up, had shielded him from the wind and the rain, ensuring that he would live a carefree life! As for the death of Starchild’s Dao-companion, there was nothing that World God Blackmist could do about that. All he could do was silently support his young ward, hoping that this tragedy would encourage him to grow up even faster.

It had been so many years.

Although he was nominally the child’s ‘second uncle’, in reality Blackmist had spent far more time and effort on Starchild than the old Starlord ever had. He had been there when Starchild was a crying and screaming newborn, and he had watched as Starchild grew up. By now, Blackmist truly viewed Starchild as he would his own son.

At a time like this...the Starlord was going to defend them?

Was ordering him to flee?

How could he possibly flee?

However, World God Blackmist still felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Whoosh. World God Blackmist’s body suddenly began to blaze with white light, and all of his skin instantly transformed to become a rocky-gray color as well.

“Starchild, retreat!” World God Blacklist let out a loud roar as he charged forwards.

Although Starchild was the Starlord, he had always obeyed his second uncle’s instructions. Eventually, however, he had become a World God and become more powerful than his second uncle. It had been a long time since his second uncle had given him any orders.

The fact that he was doing so now caused Starchild to grow blank for a moment...and then he saw World God Blackmist charging forward, his entire body glowing with white light.

The look in Starchild’s eyes instantly changed.

“Second Uncle!” Starchild’s eyes instantly reddened. He was the current Starlord of Fogstone. He knew exactly what his second uncle had just done.

“Not even your Starlord is a match for me. You think you are?” God Emperor Blacklotus once more chopped downwards with his enormous crystal scimitar.

Ssssshrk. Whoosh!

Sword-light and saber-light clashed against each other.

World God Blackmist was different from Starchild. He had relied entirely on himself as he had grown up, with no one there to provide him with any protection. His sword-arts were unpredictable and savage, but also quite suited for defense. Still, even the most defensive of stances would be useless if the disparity in power was too great.

“Eh?” God Emperor Blacklotus was astonished to see that World God Blackmist was merely knocked a few steps back. “H-how is it that you...”

“Starchild, leave right now!” World God Blackmist sent mentally to the Starlord, who was standing there blankly.

The Starlord gritted his teeth, his eyes glistening with tears.

Second Uncle...

Thanks to his second uncle, he had never worried about anything as a child. His second uncle had always been by his side, and the Starlord had grown used to his presence. Upon seeing his second uncle’s body be wreathed in white light, he immediately understood that his second uncle had just used the forbidden fourth stage of the [Fogstone Apocalypse]!

Right. The [Fogstone Apocalypse] actually had a fourth stage!

However, their [Fogstone Apocalypse] was a fragmented technique. Only the first three stages were complete, which was why using the first three stages posed no risks. Even when one used the third stage, so long as that person stopped before completely using up his divine power, he wouldn’t turn into fogstone and die. However, their records of the fourth stage were incomplete. Although it was still usable...once it was used, the body would begin an uncontrollable transformation into fogstone!

In other words...once a cultivator used the fourth stage, he was doomed to die! This was why the Starlord had been so agonized and grief-struck upon seeing the white light wreathing World God Blackmist’s body. There was no way to reverse this process at all.

“This is my choice, and there is no turning back. If you don’t wish for my death to have been for nothing, leave. Leave right now!” World God Blackmist roared furiously, “If you don’t run, I’ll have died for nothing! NOTHING!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!” The Starlord let out an agonized howl, but he still turned and fled at high speed, charging into the skies.

He felt hatred and regret.

Why. Why!

Only now did he truly understand how important his second uncle was to him. His second uncle was his most beloved family member and just as important to him as Yi had been! Why? Why did it have to end up this way?

“Stay alive and forget about revenge. Only when you become a Daolord should you come and seek your revenge. Otherwise, I’ll never forgive you. Never!” World God Blackmist’s voice echoed in the Starlord’s mind.

The Starlord lowered his head to stare downwards, tears cascading down his face.

“Second Uncle...”

Boom!

Whoosh!

World God Blackmist continued to battle against God Emperor Blacklotus.

“What type of divine ability did you use just now?” God Emperor Blacklotus was now quite intrigued. He sent mentally, “You clearly are quite weak, but this divine ability actually allows you to be on par with your Starlord. For a divine ability to be capable of strengthening you this much...Fogstone really does have quite a few nice things.”

God Emperor Blacklotus did know that in the Endless Territories, there were a number of monstrously powerful forbidden divine abilities.

“Hand this divine ability over to me and I’ll spare your life,” God Emperor Blacklotus sent mentally.

“Don’t even think about it!” World God Blackmist roared back.

To be honest, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to hand it over. People like Ji Ning were only capable of acquiring the first and second stage, while the third stage came with many strict requirements. As for the fourth stage...only the most core members of the Fogstone lineage would have access to it. Although the fourth stage was fragmentary and incomplete, every generation of Starlords had done their best to repair it.

The fourth stage was simply too powerful. If they were capable of restoring it to the point where they could use it safely, it would be wonderful!

“You are now as strong as the Starlord, and your sword-arts are quite strange, but...do you think that’s enough to stop me?” God Emperor Blacklotus let out a furious roar as the giant scimitar in his hands suddenly unleashed hundreds of streaks of crescent saber-light, sending them swirling around World God Blackmist. Every single strike contained the power of his scimitar’s quintessence core.

“I have to be able to block them all. For the sake of Starchild, I have to block them all.” World God Blackmist was wielding six swords in his hands.

He had long ago stopped caring about whether or not he would survive.

In this moment, he felt a greater desire than he had ever felt in his entire life.

His six swords transformed into six streaks of utterly dazzling sword-light, criss-crossing in the area around him and forming an enormous sphere of black mist.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The hundreds of streaks of saber-light struck down upon the sphere of black mist. Although they carried tremendous power, World God Blackmist was completely capable of withstanding them.

“Y-you...” God Emperor Blacklotus stared in astonishment at World God Blackmist. “You actually made a breakthrough?” Before this, World God Blackmist’s sword-arts were very unpredictable, but they weren’t as resilient and tenacious as they were now. His sword-arts had clearly improved to a brand new level, capable of enduring offensive blows as though they truly were made of mist.

This was a terrifyingly strong defensive sword-art. Although God Emperor Blacklotus was stronger than his opponent, he remained unable to break through his defenses.

“Yes. My sword-arts reached a bottleneck a long, long time ago...but fortunately, I was able to make a breakthrough today.” World God Blackmist revealed a relaxed, carefree smile. He was able to stop God Emperor Blacklotus’ attack. Starchild would be able to stay alive. It was enough.