Desolate Era

Nuwa instantly trembled. She stared with disbelief at the white-robed youth standing before her.

“H-he…” Waves of emotion rippled through Nuwa’s heart. She instantly understood that Daolord Darknorth knew of her past! Either he came from the Three Realms or he knew of its history; in short, Daolord Darknorth definitely knew where the Three Realms was located! Nuwa had been searching for many years to return to the Three Realms, but she still had no idea where it was located!

Which realmverse was the Three Realms in? She had no idea! She spent a great deal of time searching, but the Bluesky Domain was simply too far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse. Even a trip via realmship would take billions of years; even Otherverse Lords and other major powers would rarely drift to such a great distance. Such a journey would entail many dangers, after all, and they could easily get lost or even die. Unless there was an extremely compelling reason, few would venture to such a great distance.

“Haha, it seems as though this Nuwa before us must be the person you are searching for, Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu immediately laughed and said, “To be able to meet at last after being separated by such a great distance is a joyful thing indeed. There’s no need for us to speak here outside the city; let’s hurry on inside! I’ve already prepared a fairly humble banquet to welcome you, Daolord Darknorth. I hope you’ll show me a bit of face and sit down for a time.”

Ning nodded. “Very well.” Since he had found Nuwa, there was no need for him to rush into a conversation with her right in front of the gates.

“You…” Nuwa stared at Ning, her heart filled with both excitement and confusion.

“We can chat at length later. You have many things to say to me, and I have much to say to you,” Ning said.

“Disciple, let’s invite Daolord Darknorth into the city first. There’ll be plenty of time to chat with him later.” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow both behaved with great friendliness as well.

“Understood.” Nuwa was able to make herself be patient.

Led by Lord Houwu and surrounded by many major powers, Ning entered Houwu City and travelled to the Lord Governor’s estate. The palace had already prepared a banquet for them, with the maids quickly assembling and making themselves up in order to welcome Daolord Darknorth.

“Please come in, Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu immediately led Ning to the highest seat.

Ning didn’t decline, walking up and sitting down in the lotus position. He smiled: “Gentlemen, please be seated.”

“Nuwa, you can sit over here.” Lord Houwu spoke with great friendliness, arranging for Nuwa to in the first seat located directly to Ning’s left. As for Lord Houwu himself, he sat in the first seat to Ning’s right.

It must be remembered that multiple Otherverse Lords were present. Lord Houwu himself was an Otherverse Lord; for him as the Lord Governor to be seated second only to Ning was one thing, but for Nuwa to be seated similarly? Some of the major powers present couldn’t help but mumble to themselves, “Lord Houwu truly is going out of his way to curry favor with Daolord Darknorth.” These major powers were all treating Ning the same way they would treat an Autarch… and in truth, many of them had never even met an Autarch in all their lives!

Ning was close to an Autarch in terms of insight, and he had failed his Daomerge. It was guaranteed that his life would be a brief one, and so they wanted to seize this chance to befriend him. If they missed this chance, they would probably never get a second one. Some simple pointers from Ning would probably be more effective than countless chaos cycles of training on their own. Most of them had been trapped at the Hegemon level for many years without making any improvements at all.

“My friends, you have all come here to welcome Daolord Darknorth.” Lord Houwu’s face was all smiles as he spoke: “As a result, Houwu City has also been given a chance to host a truly rare banquet. To be able to meet with Daolord Darknorth is our good fortune. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was searching for Nuwa, we would probably never have a chance like this. Let us first offer a toast to Daolord Darknorth in honor of the karma which brought us together.”

“A toast to the Daolord!” Instantly, all of the major powers lifted up their cups.

Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow were considered ordinary powers here. Only those who were at least at the Hegemon level of power were seated, while the weaker ones weren’t even permitted to take part. But of course, Daolord Darknorth’s retainer Su Youji was able to take part. She was even seated close to the front.

Ning lifted up his own wine cup, downing the wine before replying with a smile, “No need to be so courteous. Everyone, be more relaxed and casual. This is my first visit to the Blazesun Domain, which is filled with countless dangers, many strange lifeforms, and Sourcewalkers of incredible power. It isn’t easy for cultivators to stay alive here, and I’ve long heard that the one and only city which we cultivators have here is the city of Houwu. This place is a place where we cultivators can rest and be sheltered, and now that I’m here I can tell that it truly is extraordinary.”

“It is nothing more than a resting stop,” Lord Houwu said humbly. “In the end, we’re still the weaker party here. Everyone still acknowledges that the Blazesun Ruler is still that Sourcewalker.”

……

The major powers all chatted in high spirits during this banquet, telling Daolord Darknorth of all the marvels they had encountered within the Blazesun Domain. Ning was quite curious as well; although he had heard of some of the Blazesun Domain’s secrets from Hegemon Goodsong and Realmslord Windgrace, he still knew very little. As he listened to one secret after another, he began to gain a clear understanding of just how marvelous the Blazesun Domain was. As the major powers continued to converse, they all gradually began to grow more familiar with each other as well.

“What?! A Sithe Exalt is trapped here?” Ning said in shock.

“Just so.” Lord Houwu laughed, “The Blazesun Domain does indeed have a Sithe Exalt imprisoned within it. An Autarch captured him during the Dawn War and sent him into the Blazesun Domain, where he has suffered all sorts of torment ever since.”

“Not just the Blazesun Domain; five of the other seven domains all have a Sithe Exalt within them!” Next to Lord Houwu was a silver-browed old man who held a fan in his hands, and he said with a smile, “A total of six Sithe Exalts have been trapped in the Eight Domains. All of them were captured during the war and have been tormented ever since.”

“Oh?” Ning truly was surprised by this. He had heard long ago from Emperor Waveshift that there were Sithe Exalts trapped somewhere, but he never would’ve imagined that six of the Eight Domains each had a Sithe Exalt imprisoned within them!

“Do you know why the Autarchs captured them instead of killing them?” Ning asked, puzzled.

“No idea.”

“The Autarchs must have their own plans.”

“However, the Sithe Exalts truly are being constantly tortured. They suffer a fate worse than death and constantly let out miserable bellows,” the major powers reported.

Ning nodded slowly when he heard this.

“Daolord, if you wish to pay a visit, when you are free I’ll lead you there myself,” Hegemon Goodsong said. “Although I’ve never visited myself, I know where it is.”

“Very well.” Ning did indeed wish to pay a visit. He had the feeling that there had to be a profound reason behind the Autarchs imprisoning the Sithe Exalts here. In fact… why didn’t the Autarchs imprison them within their own estates rather than in the Eight Domains?

“Perhaps I’ll know once I visit them,” Ning mused. The other major powers weren’t able to see through the secrets behind the Sithe Exalts, but Ning was at a much higher level of insight than them. Perhaps he would be able to see through to the truth that they could not.

Ning glanced at the nearby Nuwa. This entire time, Nuwa didn’t seem to really care for the food she was eating. This entire time, she was trying to guess just who Ning was. Ning laughed, then said in a loud voice, “I think we should call it a day.”

Lord Houwu was caught offguard. He hurriedly rose to his feet and said, “Daolord, there’s one thing I would like to ask of you.”

“Pray tell, Lord Governor,” Ning said.

“I’ve heard long ago that your Dao of the Sword is unfathomably profound and abstruse, Daolord,” Lord Houwu said. “I, Houwu, am focused on cultivation. I go out adventuring and brave many dangers, all for the sake of finding new insights. I wasn’t able to become much more powerful, but I did find this city! To me, however… what I truly desire is to be able to walk farther along the path of the Dao. I’ve always wished to become apprenticed to an Autarch, but never had the chance. Now that you are before me, Daolord, how could I give up a chance like this?”

As Lord Houwu spoke, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed towards Ning, then said respectfully, “Houwu is willing to follow you, Daolord, and obey your orders. I only beg that you are willing to transmit the Dao unto me and let me see a vaster, more profound Dao.”

“Transmit the Dao?” Everyone in the hall fell silent. All of the major powers turned to stare at Lord Houwu in a rather unhappy manner.

If Lord Houwu had merely asked for Ning to provide him with some guidance, that would be fine. It was a bit much for him to curry favor with Ning in order to gain from it, but Ning would’ve been alright with that. The problem was, Lord Houwu had actually requested that Ning ‘transmit the Dao’ to him!

What did ‘transmit the Dao’ mean? It meant for Ning to actually transmit his full Dao to Lord Houwu in its entirety!

Divine Sovereign Goldsun had given Ning a Golden Emperor body, and even then Ning had only given him three days of guidance without actually transmitting his Eternal Omega Sword Dao to him. This was the only Eternal Omega Dao which had ever existed in the entire Chaosverse; its value was truly incalculable! Daoist Bluestone had paid an enormous price just to view the Daolord-level Omega Sword Dao… and now, Ning had upgraded it to become an Eternal Omega Sword Dao! How was it that Lord Houwu even dared to make a request like this?

Ning sat there on his seat, staring down at the kowtowing Lord Houwu. His gaze grew cold. “And why the hell should I transmit my Dao to you?”