The Desolate Era

Chapter 3 – Fire And Water Descend, Giving Birth to Xiantian

Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger drew near at high speed, quickly arriving by the side of the pool.

“It really is beautiful.” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as he stared at the reflecting light of the setting sun, which shone down upon those two blooming, enormous lotus petals. But the more he looked at them, the more nervous he became. He was, after all, a late stage Xiantian expert. Although he hadn’t reached the ‘one with the world’ level, he could already dimly sense how extraordinary those two layers of petals were.

“Master.” The Bi’an Tiger looked at Zhan as well. “What should we do now?”

“Don’t be impatient. He is in front of us and won’t be able to escape. Let’s give him a test, first!” Zhan instructed mentally. With a wave of his hand, he released his Xiantian force, which directly dragged a rock into his hand. And then, with a powerful throw, he infused this rock with his Xiantian energy, transforming it into a ray of light which shot straight towards Ji Ning, still seated in the lotus-position.

Although he just threw a rock, a Ninefang Warrior would definitely be killed.

“Hua!”

When the stone reached the area of ten meters of Ning and intersected with those two layers of lotus petals, it instantly became frozen! That invisible killing energy, with a hiss, transformed the rock into dust.

The Bi’An Tiger and Ironwood Zhan both felt their hearts tighten. They exchanged glances. Clearly, they were somewhat puzzled by those two mysterious lotus layers.

“I refuse to believe it.” Zhan sneered coldly, and the Blackwood Vinewhip appeared in his hands out of nowhere.

“Hu!”

Ironwood Zhan lashed out with his long whip. The Blackwood Vinewhip elongated, coiling around a thick nearby tree. With a massive pull! Honglong…the entire tree was ripped out by the roots, carrying with it a large amount of dirt, swinging about along with Zhan’s whip.

Boom…this tens of thousands of pounds heavy tree smashed directly towards Ning, seated in the lotus position. When the massive tree trunk slammed against those two layers of translucent, enormous lotus leaves, it instantly shattered apart. However, the terrifying power of the collision contained within the massive tree caused the two layers of lotus leaves to tremble.

Ning, who had been meditating in the lotus position, shook slightly. His eyes opened up.

As his eyes opened, he saw that the two enormous lotus leaves surrounding his body were dissipating as an enormous tree trunk smashed down upon him. In the distance, Ironwood Zhan and that black-clothed man were sneering coldly at him.

“You ruined my good fortune!” Watching the two layers of enormous lotus petals dissipate, Ning instantly realized what he had gained this night, and also realized how priceless these insights had been. If nobody had disturbed him, he probably would have been able to gain insights for even longer. But unexpectedly, Zhan had ruined it for him. It must be understood that these moments of enlightenment were something which could only be hoped for and not asked for. It might be decades, if not centuries, until the next time something like this would occur.

“Damn you!”

Ning swept out with a palm, and with a booming sound, smashed that massive tree trunk into two halves. One half landed into the middle of the pond, crushing many of the lotus flowers. The other half fell down against several other nearby trees, sending dust everywhere.

“Little child of the Ji clan!” Ironwood Zhan laughed ferociously. “You fled a thousand kilometers into the forest, but I still caught you in the end! Today is the day you die!”

Ning glanced at him coldly, and then immediately summoned forth the Lunar energy and the Solar energy in his body. Over the course of the previous night’s meditation, he had gained just a hint of insight into the true nature of the Dao, but that hint of insight was enough to allow him to understand, without question, what the method was for breaking through to the next level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Nothing in the world was truly opposite of anything else! It was much like how night and day were seemingly opposites, but in reality, were just two different aspects of the sky.

It was much like the two layers of fire and water lotus petals that had surrounded him. Not only did they not cancel each other out, they had even increased each other’s power. Why?

A lotus flower had a stalk, which was what allowed the lotus petals to swivel!

The ‘stalk’ of the two layers of fire and water lotus petals was Ning himself!

Solar energy, Lunar energy…how to fuse them?

By finding that ‘stalk’ which connected the Solar energy and the Lunar energy!

“Come!”

Ning’s eyes were filled with absolutely certainty.

His body had already completely brought forth all of his Solar and Lunar energy, which instantly filled every part of his body. Be it his hair or his skin or his organs or his very cells…it filled every part of him! Every single thread of Lunar energy and Solar energy began to swirl around each other, but their natures caused them to be unwilling to fuse.

“Huahuahua…” All of the Lunar energy and Solar energy were swiveling, like the lotus flowers that had been blown upon by the wind.

They were also like the two ‘fish’ of the yin-yang Taiji diagram, forever chasing each other.

The Sun. The Moon.

They constantly chased after each other…and as they did, they contained that hint of the Dao which Ning had understood.

Slowly, in the center of the circling Solar energy and Lunar energy, a new force arose!

Instantly…

In that deep, boundless void, separated from this place by incomprehensibly many worlds, there lay the two Supreme Stars; the Solar Star [Sun] and the Lunar Star [Moon]. Each of them emitted a hint of their power; the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater appeared on each side around Ning, and also activated the power of fire and water of the surrounding world.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

The surrounding world instantly became filled with a sea of flame as well as an abyss of water.

Though this took time to describe, in truth, as soon as Ning had shattered that tree, he had immediately activated the energy in his body and began to break through. Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger saw with their own eyes the boundless flames and water appear out of nowhere, causing even them to feel fear. Wherever the water passed through, everything was frozen into ice sculptures, while wherever the fire passed through, everything was consumed by the flames.

At the same time, within the surging water, the faint outline of the Jade Rabbit could be seen.

Deep within the boundless flames, there was also the shadow of a three-legged Golden Crow.

Between the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Crow, there was Ning!

“This…this…” Zhan was so shocked, his face changed dramatically. “Can this be the legendary…the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?”

The Golden Crow and the Jade Rabbit had both appeared!

Without question, this was the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. In the entire Swallow Mountain area, in at least the past thousand years, there hadn’t been a single person who was known to have relied on this technique to become a Xiantian lifeform. Although Zhan had read this technique and knew what the breakthrough looked like, this was his first time personally witnessing the amazing spectacle of a breakthrough.

“Hrmph.” Ironwood Zhan’s hands summoned a formation flag out of nowhere. He immediately flew backwards, then began running around Ning, surrounded by boundless water and fire, in a circular pattern, while constantly throwing out one flag after another, all of which stabbed deep into the mud.

In but a few seconds, eight formation flags had all been planted, covering an area of a square kilometer.

Ironwood Zhan now simply stood from afar and watched.

“Master, kill him.” The Bi’an Tiger said hurriedly. “Right now, he is breaking through. This is his weakest moment.”

“No!” Zhan hurriedly shouted. “He trains in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, and is currently surrounded by the power of the Supreme Stars, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star! When breaking through to the Xiantian lifeform level, these two Supreme Stars will send down a hint of their Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater, breaking through countless barriers to allow him to evolve and be reborn into the body of a true Xiantian-level Fiendgod.”

“Then it becomes all the more important for us to stop him.” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically.

“Don’t you understand?” Ironwood Zhan’s face was ashen as he stared at the distant Ning, wrapped by the endless flames and water. “Right now, he is surrounded by boundless icy water and cocooned in flames. At the heart of the boundless icy water is a hint of the Lunar Truewater! At the heart of the endless flames is a hint of the Solar Truefire! Even if a Zifu Disciple were to touch it, he would instantly be frozen and shatter or be burnt to ashes, much less you and me! Not even his soul would be left. He wouldn’t even have the chance to go to the Netherworld Kingdom to be reborn!”

“As fearsome as that?” The Bi’an Tiger was shocked.

“Of course it is!” Ironwood Zhan’s face was solemn. “This is power which comes from the two Supreme Stars! Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater. Who dares to touch them?”

“Then, then are we just going to watch?” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically. “Just watch as this child of the Ji clan becomes even more powerful?”

“Don’t worry!” Zhan growled. “Right now, the two Supreme Stars have bequeathed their power to him, and he is beginning to transcend his mortal coil and be reborn into a true Xiantian Fiendgod. After he breaks through, that hint of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater will disappear. After all, the power of the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater doesn’t belong to this little child of the Ji clan himself.

Ironwood Zhan sneered coldly, “I’ve already set down the Yin Yang Twin Energy Formation. After this little child of the Ji clan breaks through, he’ll no longer have the protective power of the Supreme Stars. I will immediately activate the formation! No matter what, he’ll only be an early Xiantian lifeform without a single magic treasure. I, on the other hand, am a late Xiantian lifeform with the assistance of the formation!”

“Right.” The Bi’an Tiger nodded as well.

“But this child of the Ji clan really is amazing!” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but sigh in praise. “[Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. This is the legendary, most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Virtually all tribes of a certain size are in possession of it! But in a thousand years, in the entire Swallow Mountain area, there hasn’t been a single person who has reached Xiantian through it. If he is permitted to grow, he will definitely become the number one person of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan, and perhaps even the entire Swallow Mountain! But no matter how powerful he will be, right now, he will only have reached the Xiantian level. Haha…I feel wonderful when I think about how I’m about to kill such a monstrous genius.”

———————-

What did Xiantian mean?

It meant to be born from the heavens and from nature. Only that was a true Xiantian lifeform.

Generally speaking, most Ki Refiners only had the inner ki energy in their bodies transform into Xiantian Afterwards, the energy would wash through their entire body, allowing them to reach a quick and agile state! But actually, this was the weakest type of Xiantian body. A casual sword thrust through the heart would cause them to die.

But for Fiendgod Body Refiners…their entire body would be reborn into the body like a Fiendgod’s. Fiendgods could have their bodies chopped into eighteen parts, but as long as their head wasn’t destroyed, they would not die! Generally speaking, most Fiendgod Body Refining techniques were low-grade, to the point of even relying on tattooing the divine patterns onto their bodies.

But the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] relied on the power of the two Supreme Stars to naturally generate those two major divine tattoos.

When breaking through to the Xiantian level, the Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater of the two Supreme Stars would descend…fire and water would coincide, giving birth to a Fiendgod’s body! This sort of Fiendgod body wasn’t one bit inferior to those trueborn Fiendgods of the ancient Fiendgod Era. Thus, this was reputed to be the number one technique in the world!

“Pipa!” Ning could sense every single cell in his body explode. And then, the divine power of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] caused the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater to begin to reforge every single cell anew. The hint of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater which the two Supreme Stars had sent down, in turn, were being utterly consumed in the process of forging this new Xiantian Fiendgod.

The mortal vessel fell away!

The Fiendgod body formed!

Hua…The Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater were consumed, and the countless amounts of fire and water which surrounded them dispersed as well, revealing the fur-clad Ji Ning. Although he had leapt into the Xiantian level, the furs hadn’t been damaged by the fire and water at all. Only, Ning’s skin was now emitting an enchanting radiance, as though he were a gem formed by the heavens.

Ning opened his eyes and stared at the distant Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger. He said only two words. “Now, die!”

The Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo on his back instantly activated.

Boom! Boom!

An enormous flaming dragon and an enormous water dragon appeared out of nowhere, formed from the fire and water summoned by the Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo. Containing terrifying destructive power, it charged straight towards the distant Ironwood Zhan and Bi’an Tiger! This was the proof of the Xiantian level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; the ability to control fire and water!