The Desolate Era

Book 38, Daomerge, Chapter 20 – Regret

Ji Ning nodded as well. If an Otherverse Lord managed to merge all of his types of energy together, he would truly become a force to reckoned with.

Ning had received legacies from over three hundred Hegemons, with God Emperor Helong being one of them. God Emperor Helong had been an Otherverse Lord who had created the [God Emperor’s Apocalypse] technique, a technique akin to the [Heartsword] art. As a result, he had been far more powerful than most Otherverse Lords, and was strong enough to fight Chaos Primordials head-on with his own power.

“However… on the other hand, Sithe war machines come in varying levels of power as well. The Lonely King has multiple war machines and is capable of slaying ordinary Otherverse Lords and destroy entire otherverses.” Emperor Waveshift nodded. “Although he is rather short-sighted, he’s still not someone to trifle with. Sithe war machines are simply terrifying to behold. You need to be wary of him.”

“I understand.” Ning nodded.

“Train hard and succeed in the Daomerge.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “The Chaosverse holds far too many marvels which you have yet to see. For example, the most stunning sight I’ve ever seen is a Sithe Exalt who is kept in perpetual imprisonment. That terrifying presence he had… even though I only saw his blurred outlines from afar, I still felt completely shaken. Well, that’s enough of that. Here’s a treasure for you.”

Emperor Waveshift suddenly waved his hand, causing a cube-shaped treasure to appear within it. He gently flicked this crystalline cube over towards Ning. “All you have to do is shatter it, and I’ll be able to sense it.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “I’ll then head back to the Flamedragon Realmverse at top speed.”

“Thank you.” Ning felt rather moved.

“I feel like we are old friends, even though we have just met.” Emperor Waveshift let out a sigh. He scanned the area with his gaze, then used his Immortal energy to block the sound of their voices from the outside world. “Before I leave, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

When Ning saw how cautious Emperor Waveshift was, to the point of not even wanting Flamewing or Azurefiend to overheard the conversation, Ning couldn’t help but feel rather surprised.

“In recent days, I secretly used all the power and skill I had to engage in Numerancy divination on your behalf,” Emperor Waveshift said.

Ning’s heart lurched.

“Your Daomerge… it will have a tremendous impact on the world. Even though I did everything I could, I was still only able to see a tiny amount.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. He elected not to mention the fact that he had used up an incredibly important treasure to carry out this divination; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to see anything at all.

“You saw a tiny amount?” Ning listened carefully.

“A tiny, blurry amount.” Emperor Waveshift nodded. “All I can say is… I saw nothing but darkness!”

“What do you mean?” Ning’s face paled slightly.

“It means that there was no life at all!” Emperor Waveshift shook his head. “Based on what I saw just now… you will definitely fail your Daomerge!”

“Are you absolutely certain?” Ning found it hard to accept this.

“Don’t be hasty or disheartened. Remember… the Dao of Numerancy involves divination and probability, not ironclad prophecy; nothing is fixed! The future is always filled with infinite possibilities,” Emperor Waveshift said. “Thus… you need to seize every single possibility, every single bit of karmic luck. You have to fight for every scrap of every chance, for every treasure and every legacy you can find. Do everything you can to improve your chances… because if you do not, you will fail.”

“If you do your utmost, perhaps you may stand a chance.” Emperor Waveshift looked at Ning. “That’s all I have to say. I’m going to leave now.” After speaking, Emperor Waveshift turned and departed into the skies.

Waves of emotion were rocking through Ning’s heart. He had felt certain that he had reached a sufficiently high level of insight into the Dao. He never would’ve imagined that Emperor Waveshift’s divinations would suggest that he had no chance whatsoever at succeeding.

“He’s right. If I want to succeed in the Daomerge for an Omega Dao, I truly do have to do everything I can. I can’t let myself relax in the slightest.” Ning nodded slowly.

“Master, has Waveshift departed?” Flamewing sauntered over lazily.

“He left.” Ning nodded. “Life shall become rather peaceful and uneventful for a time. No one will come to disturb us.”

Ning was planning to continue his training. He had multiple other Daos he needed to train to the Archon level, so as to fulfill the requirements Autarch Awakener had laid down. That would allow him to gain a treasure which the Autarch had left behind, a treasure which the Autarch had believed to be supremely useful for the Daomerge. He absolutely had to acquire that treasure.

“So there’s nothing else to do for now?” Azurefiend asked. “Darknorth, are you planning to remain in secluded meditation here at Vastheaven Palace?”

“Yes.” Ning nodded. “However, before I go into secluded meditation, I’m planning to pay a visit to the Jadefire Realm. There’s still a Hegemon imprisoned there.”

“Winterflame!” Azurefiend’s eyes lit up.

……

By now, the only person remaining in the flaming passageways of the Jadefire Realm was Hegemon Winterflame.

The silver-robed and devilishly handsome Hegemon Winterflame was seated in the lotus position within a flaming passageway. He was quite patient, and ever since he had ended negotiations with Daolord Darknorth he had begun to wait. He was waiting for Daolord Darknorth to fail his Daomerge, at which time he would stand a chance at surviving and escaping.

“What?! A Chaos Primordial?!” Hegemon Winterflame’s face turned completely pale. “Impossible! That’s absolutely impossible.” A look of terror was in his eyes. He finally began to panic, and it was impossible for him to remain calm any further.

By now, the entire Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was frothing after receive word that Daolord Darknorth had tamed a Chaos Primordial. Hegemon Winterflame’s avatar was in the outside world and he thus received word of it as well. To the other Hegemons and Daolords, this was nothing more than a bit of entertaining news… but to Hegemon Winterflame, it was a sudden pronouncement of doom!

He had always been a vicious and unscrupulous man, which was why he had planned on kidnapping everyone in Vastheaven Palace to threaten Ning. He had even battled against Ning’s avatar, and Hegemon Brightshore had to intervene to stop him.

In the end, he had been unwilling to completely accede to Ning’s demands within the flaming passageway. He wanted to await for the day that Daolord Darknorth failed his Daomerge and perished, and so he had been waiting… but who would’ve imagined that this terrifying news of a Chaos Primordial would suddenly descend upon him?

“Is this real? The Chaos Primordial is named the ‘Flamewing God’, and he easily butchered five Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army? Lord Wulf of the Icepeak Army was beaten so badly he had to flee in terror?” The more Hegemon Winterflame heard, the more terrified he became. If even Black Emperors had been slain, how could he, Winterflame, pose any threat to the creature at all?

“How could this have happened? He’s just a Daolord! H-how is this possible? I-I… I’ve always been so careful.” Hegemon Winterflame was rather dazed. He had never been so foolish as to make an enemy out of any truly formidable figures. Although he was unscrupulous and capable of anything, causing many to hate him, he had still been able to remain alive.

Alas… if one always walks by the riverside, sooner or later one’s shoes would get wet! Daolords were usually nothing more than bugs to be crushed… but this time, one of them had just given him a huge ‘surprise’.

“N-no… I can’t accept this…” Hegemon Winterflame’s face turned completely red as countless thoughts flitted through his mind. He asked for more and more information from those in the outside world before, finally, he gave up.

“Flee!” Hegemon Winterflame’s eyes were bloodshot. “I have to flee! Since Daolord Darknorth is now fighting against the Icepeak Army, his true body isn’t present. Perhaps the Jadefire Realm is unguarded for now.” Hegemon Winterflame felt a thin tendril of hope.

Swoosh! He immediately transformed into a streak of white fire and began to flee.

“It really is safe now.” Hegemon Winterflame flew for several seconds without activating any traps. He immediately felt a sense of delight. “Daolord Darknorth must have left. There’s no one in control of the Jadefire Realm.”

BOOM! Right at this moment, a wave of terrifying power swept towards him with terrifying destructive power. Hegemon Winterflame immediately retreated in a blind panic, but the flame still split his body in half.

Slash! After putting up a struggle, half of his flaming body was completely destroyed by that wave of power. The other half quickly reformed into Hegemon Winterflame’s appearance. His face was ashen, and a look of horror was in his eyes. He had very nearly died just now.

“Hegemon Winterflame. On Master’s commands, I’ve been watching over you.” A voice boomed out, echoing within every part of the surrounding area.

Hegemon Winterflame lifted up his head to scan the surrounding area, a feeling of dread in his heart.

“You were pretty lucky this time, but next time you are dead meat. The flaming passageways are quite long. You’ll have to fly for very, very long before you can escape them. You survived the first time, but I refuse to believe you’ll survive a second and third time,” the cold voice said. This was the Emperor-class golem which Ning had ordered to remain here and watch over this place.

“Y-you…” Hegemon Winterflame was panicking. He called out loudly, “Is your master Daolord Darknorth? Hurry up and help me send word to him. Let him know that I’ll accept his terms. I’ll give him all of my treasures, including my armor and my Universe weapon. I’m willing to offer all of them to Daolord Darknorth, so long as he is willing to let me go and spare my life.”

“Hmph. So NOW you choose to beg for your life?” the cold voice boomed out.

“Just hurry up and tell your master!” Hegemon Winterflame said frantically. “I don’t want to be enemies with him!”

“Just wait. He will be arriving soon,” the cold voice replied.