A dazzlingly beautiful and fragrant meadow. A barefoot, gray-robed man was seated in the lotus position here. He reached out to gently pluck a flower, then closed his eyes to sniff it. A gentle yet infectious smile appeared on his face which affected even the nearby Exalt Bowenya. This caused the latter to feel an even-greater sense of awe.
"You handled this matter very poorly," Iyerre said while continuing to enjoy the flower`s fragrance.
"I made a mistake. I was too desperate for glory," Bowenya said rather nervously.
Iyerre stared raptly at the flower before him, as though he wanted to memorize every millimeter of it. "Your hunger for glory and your unwillingness to share it resulted in you not notifying me about this until the very last moment, when the Daoguard Tower itself was about to be destroyed. In other words, you only reported it when you were out of options. You didn`t give me enough time at all."
Bowenya was silent. He didn`t dare to say a word, especially since Iyerre was correct. He had indeed waited until the situation was quite grim, with Ning ripping his way through spacetime and charging towards the heart of the tower.
Iyerre didn`t have enough time to fully prepare a counter-plan, and so his only choice had been to send in a servitor who he thought would have the highest chance for success.
"Losing a servant is a minor matter," Iyerre continued, "But I`m concerned that the local Autarchs will discover that our heartlands have not been truly sealed by them."
"Impossible. They won`t be able to discover anything. We didn`t make any mistakes at all," Bowenya said hurriedly.
"I sent over a servant and tore a dimensional tunnel for it and you to traverse. This created a dimensional ripple," Iyerre said. "It was thanks to this ripple that Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg were able to enter the dimension and slay my servitor."
"I acted to mislead Daolord Darknorth," Bowenya said. "I made sure that he thought I fled out of fear while unleashing the creature being suppressed by my Daoguard Tower. It all fits together perfectly. There were no mistakes made at all."
Iyerre nodded slightly. If certain secrets were revealed, their chances at victory during the final battle would be lessened. The most important secret, of course, was the existence of himself - Iyerre! Thankfully, this wouldn`t be a problem so long as he didn`t accidentally reveal himself. Everyone who had met him and knew of his identity had been forced to swear lifeblood oaths. They couldn`t even mention him in the most oblique of ways!
Ning had reviewed the memories of many Hegemons and Emperors, but he knew nothing at all of the supreme leaders of the Sithe invasion. He knew that the Sithe had a Lord of Chaos, but the Sithe Chaoslord was a transcendent figure that could be described as truly invincible, even in all the Infinite Void.
He wouldn`t be so foolish as to actually enter Ning`s Chaosverse, because once he did he would lose his connection to the Chaosverse he controlled. Not only would he be dramatically weakened, he would also be suppressed by this Chaosverse. If enough things went wrong, he could theoretically be killed here! However, so long as he avoided other Chaosverses he would be completely invincible. Thus, the Autarchs of Ning`s Chaosverse felt certain that the Sithe Chaoslord would never come here in person.
All that aside... the fact that the Sithelands had not truly been sealed away was another extremely important secret! The seals which the cultivator Autarchs had placed over the Sithelands were so powerful that the Autarchs felt that if the Sithe wished to escape, they would have to fight their way through. As a result, the cultivator civilizations entered an era of peace, with just Autarch Mogg and the avatars of Autarchs remaining behind to keep a watch over things here.
In reality, however, Iyerre was able to open dimensional tunnels to the outside world with ease. The tunnel he had established to send out his servant and bring Bowenya back was proof of this... which meant that the entire Sithe army was capable of slipping out without anyone being the wiser!
"There were still a few gaps in our masquerade which might be discovered." Iyerre glanced sideways at Bowenya. "We didn`t have enough time, and I really did want to kill Daolord Darknorth and swallow his truesoul."
"I was at fault," Bowenya said immediately.
"However... I don`t think the cultivators will be able to notice them," Iyerre said calmly. "Either way, the fact that this Chaosverse has given birth to someone who has mastered an Eternal Omega Dao means that we`ll need to launch the final war sooner than anticipated! If we wait for too long, this Chaosverse might give birth to an Omega Autarch, in which case we`ll truly be finished. You can make up for your mistakes once the war begins."
"Understood," Bowenya said. Iyerre then waved his hand, causing Bowenya to disappear without a trace. The meadow remained as calm and tranquil as ever. The only beings here aside from Iyerre were a few ordinary animals.
"Last time, I saw that the tide was turning against us so I feigned weakness and allowed you to "seal` us here," Iyerre murmured softly. "I`ve waited and prepared for a very long time. This time, I understand you far better than I did in the past. I`m definitely going to win.
***
Immediately after Ji Ning sent off the Paragon of Pills and the others, Autarch Mogg`s face turned grave. "Let`s go back into the hidden dimension," he said, then teleported Ning and Autarch Titanos inside once more.
The three of them stood in midair within the Sacred Realm, staring at the distant Daoguard Tower. The entire Sacred Realm looked as though it had been through hell and back. The ground was filled with craters and crevices, a testament to the earlier battle that had rocked this place.
"It`s been ruined." Autarch Mogg stared at the distant Daoguard Tower. "The dimensional control formations have been wrecked. This Daoguard Tower can no longer be used to monitor the surrounding area, nor can it be used to activate the dimensional teleport function which was used to capture cultivators."
"The dimensional formation has been destroyed?" Ning was startled. The grand formation which had captured him was formed by a combination of nine mighty dimensional formation-bases. When it had activated, Ning had been teleported straight to this hidden dimension.
"The Sithe definitely arranged for guards to watch over those nine formation-bases," Autarch Mogg said. "Once we took over this hidden dimension, they moved to destroy the formation-bases to avoid us making use of them."
"If they`ve been destroyed, they`ve been destroyed. This hidden dimension is useless to us cultivators," Autarch Titanos said with a smile. His gaze suddenly turned towards the devastated landscape. He frowned: "Mogg, did you have the feeling that the creature we fought against was much more troublesome than usual?"
Autarch Mogg blinked, then nodded. "It really was a handful."
"Exalt-class Daoguard Towers generally don`t suppress creatures of such strength," Autarch Titanos said. "As I recall, the previous ones we dealt with I could kill within just four or five palm strikes. This time, the two of us had to work together to fight for quite some time before it died. During the Dawn War, it wasn`t until the very end that the Sithe released creatures of such power."
"This secret dimension was used to spy on the outside world. It was probably quite special to the Sithe, which was why they stationed a particularly powerful creature here," Autarch Mogg said.
"Possible, I suppose." Autarch Titanos nodded. "We`ve always felt certain that the Sithe were completely sealed away, especially since we`ve taken full control over the outer perimeter of the Sithelands. I never would`ve imagined that such an enormous dimension could`ve been hidden from us for so long! If they weren`t so desperate to get rid of Darknorth, we probably would`ve never discovered it."
Autarch Mogg frowned. "I`ve been standing guard over this place for countless aeons, but I never noticed it."
"That`s why I`m worried. How many other secrets are the Sithe hiding?" Autarch Titanos frowned as well.
"Hahaha... we`ve completely locked away the Sithe heartlands. If they made it out, I`d definitely notice," Autarch Mogg said with a chuckle. "It doesn`t really matter if a few Sithe are hiding in the outside world. How many of them could there be?"
Autarch Titanos nodded as well. All of the Autarchs had worked together to forge those seals over the Sithe heartlands. They felt quite confident in its efficacy.
Ning simply gazed at the world around him. This was very important, but with his truesoul crumbling away the most important thing for him to do was to use his remaining years to create the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique. There was no way he could take part in any battle against the Sithe.
"Gentlemen," Ning said, "As you know, I acquired the [Five Truncheon Chapters]. This is something which would be tremendously beneficial to the entire cultivator civilization. I acquired it from Hawkfang after I entered the Sacred Realm! I promised him that I would guarantee a peaceful life for the countless Sithe descendants who lived here."
"That`s easy. I have to admit, Hawkfang did something incredible for us. I`ll give them an otherverse of their own," Autarch Mogg said with a smile. "An otherverse will be more than enough for all of them to reside within."
"I feel sorry for them. The Sithe clearly don`t care about them at all; they treat them as pawns to be sacrificed." Ning shook his head and sighed. Suddenly, he frowned and his face turned pale. "Wait a second!"
Book 43, Chapter 2 - Mistake
The avatars of Autarch Titanos and Autarch Mogg turned to stare at Ji Ning, puzzled.
"That great tree was clearly capable of exhausting me to death... so why did Bowenya immediately flee upon releasing it?" Ning added, "And when you fought against it, it showed that it was sentient and capable of rational thought. It wasn`t like those other insane prisoners. It followed Bowenya`s orders to continue assaulting me even though the two of you were destroying it. I doubt it would`ve accidentally injured Bowenya... so why did he flee?"
Autarch Mogg hesitated momentarily. "Perhaps... since this was his final trump card, he felt rather nervous because you defeated all his previous ones? As a result, he fled immediately after using it, to avoid you exceeding his expectations once more and making it impossible for him to flee."
"Darknorth, what are you suggesting?" Autarch Titanos asked.
"There`s some sense to Autarch Mogg`s explanation," Ning said, "But Autarchs... what you don`t realize is that after I entered the Sacred Realm, I had to first deal with a combined attack from 2,800 Hegemons and Emperors, then had to deal with two Daoguard Towers which broke free from their foundations to assault me. The Sithe were clearly willing to pay an enormous price to try and kill me. If you were Bowenya and had access to such a powerful tree-creature, how would you employed it against me?"
Ning shook his head, then continued in a low voice, "If I was Bowenya, I would`ve sent the tree to attack before the 2,800 Hegemons did. The giant tree could`ve completely surrounded the dimensional trap, giving me nowhere to run. They could`ve surrounded and killed me with ease."
"That tree was clearly sentient and clear-minded. There was no reason to wait that long before employing it. Why sacrifice a pair of Daoguard Towers and thousands of Hegemons and Emperors before releasing it?" Ning said. "Losing that many Hegemons and Emperors... even if he would still be rewarded, the rewards would`ve been reduced."
"Most importantly of all... in the Sacred Realm, I meditated and trained on multiple occasions for extended periods of time. In fact, I even pretended that I would rather wait for death than actually enter the Daoguard Tower. Bowenya`s response? He said that he would rather watch me die outside than take the risk of fighting me." Ning frowned. "If he had that tree at his disposal, why would he have chosen to just watch as I died of natural causes?"
Mogg and Titanos both blinked. They didn`t know all the details of what Ning had experienced in this hidden dimension, but upon hearing this they too began to feel that something was off.
That great tree had been an intelligent, sentient being which was under orders to kill Ning no matter what. Given how powerful and obedient it was, why not use it earlier? Why flee immediately after using it, instead of continuing to watch over things from within the Daoguard Tower?
The giant tree was extremely powerful and possessed tremendous amounts of vital energy. It was perfect for dealing against a failed Daolord like Ning! Unless Bowenya was a complete fool, he should`ve known early on that the tree would be a perfect counter for "Daolord Darknorth`... but he refused to use it. He waited until all of his other resources were used up and until his Daoguard Tower was at the brink of collapse before using it.
Why?
He would`ve rather watched Ning train from his position within the Daoguard Tower, waiting for Ning`s truesoul to naturally collapse instead of releasing that creature. Why?
"Unless..." Ning`s eyes flashed with a cold, hard light: "Unless that tree originally wasn`t here."
"Wasn`t here?" Autarch Mogg and Autarch Titanos both narrowed their eyes.
"It wasn`t here... which was why Bowenya was unable to do anything to me. I trained for multiple chaos cycles, and all he could do was watch! If the tree had been here this entire time, there would`ve been no reason for him not to use it," Ning said. "He waited until I was at the verge of conquering his Daoguard Tower. He probably grew desperate, at which point he begged the Sithe commanders for help, and they sent over that tree-creature in response."
"So where did the great tree come from?" Autarch Titanos said heavily.
"One of the formation-bases? Another hidden dimension, perhaps? Or..." An ugly look appeared on Autarch Mogg`s face: "Did it perhaps come from the Sithe heartlands?"
Mogg and Titanos shared a worried glance. The two of them had learned much of the Sithe's capabilities during the Dawn War. Creatures like the giant tree would`ve definitely been classified among the most powerful of Sithe war assets. They were even more important than Sithe Exalts!
They didn`t really want to believe it, but... it now seemed that the likeliest explanation was that it really did come from the heartland regions of the Sithelands!
"But we`ve already locked the Sithe heartlands away," Autarch Mogg muttered irresolutely. "Even if they came out, I should`ve been able to sense something."
"Too much time has gone past. The Sithe were probably able to devise a way to avoid the seals without us noticing," Autarch Titanos said heavily. "They are superior to us in so many areas."
"Darknorth, thank you for informing us." Autarch Titanos turned to look at Ning. "We didn`t suspect a thing at all. Once the next war begins, the Sithe would`ve been able to slip out with us none the wiser. We would`ve continued to stand guard over this place while they assaulted the rest of the Chaosverse. We would`ve been caught completely flat-footed."
"Autarchs, you only arrived at the very end to rescue me and so you didn`t know the details of what happened here. It was only when I reflected on all the things that occurred since my arrival into that hidden dimension that I realized that the way Exalt Bowenya employed the great tree made no sense at all," Ning said. "It was my pity for the Sithe descendants that led me to realize something was wrong."
"Mm." Titanos and Mogg both had extremely serious looks on their faces.
"Although other explanations are possible and we can`t be completely sure that the tree-creature came from the Sithe heartlands," Autarch Mogg said, "I`d say there is a better than 50% chance of it being the case."
"It`s possible that our seal has been rendered useless, if it was even effective to begin with," Autarch Titanos agreed. "It seems we need to start preparing."
Iyerre didn`t make any "mistakes` in sending the great tree to kill Ning per se, but it clashed with Bowenya`s previous words and actions. If Bowenya had access to the great tree all along, why would he have needed to turtle up for so long? Why would he rather wait and watch as Ning`s truesoul naturally broke apart, rather than use it? It didn`t add up... and that was the mistake.
***
Ning, Autarch Titanos, and Autarch Mogg continued to stand in midair. By now, the area in front of them was filled with an enormous amount of Emperors. There had to be over three thousand of them, and all of them were Sithe descendants! Around thirty or so were at the Hegemon level of power... Clearly, the Sithe were far superior in rearing and teaching their Emperors.
Ning looked at the group before him. "Although you are descendants of the Sithe, you are still part of our Chaosverse. The true Sithe were invaders who came here from another place. They don`t care about you at all. We won`t demand that you take part in our war against the Sithe, but you are not to assist them either. We`ll arrange for you to stay in an otherverse of your own, and you can live quiet lives there. Don`t take part in this clash of civilizations."
"Thank you, Daolord Darknorth." Hawkfang led the group in expressing reverent thanks.
"Thank you, Daolord." A few others quickly followed his lead.
"Thank you, Daolord." Finally, all of them bowed towards Ning, with many of them tearing up as they did so. They had long ago sensed that the Sithe treated them differently, and they had been discriminated against for many, many years.
"You can go now. Evacuate all the mortals from the six mortal realms," Ning instructed. "This place isn`t safe."
"Understood."
"We`ll go right now."
"Let`s go." The awesome army of over three thousand Hegemons and Emperors quickly flew away, beginning a large-scale evacuation of this realm. Although the six mortal realms in this dimension held many living beings, over three thousand Emperors were working together to evacuate them. They gave the mortals some time to prepare for their departure, but it still only took them just half a day before completing the evacuation process.
Ning then led the Sithe descendants in departing from the Sithelands. He brought them to an extremely distant, out-of-the-way location within the Great Dark.
Rumble... a massive otherverse suddenly appeared within the darkness.
"Go ahead and bind it, Hawkfang," Ning said, glancing at the three thousand-plus Emperors before him. All of the Emperors were filled with excitement. If given a chance to live in peace, who would choose to serve as cannon fodder instead? This was doubly true when they would only be repaid for their sacrifices with contempt and belittlement.
"Alright." Hawkfang`s eyes were shining brightly. He could sense that the life he had been longing for was finally at hand.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. After Hawkfang bound the otherverse to himself, the thousands of Emperors all began to fly inside it. Ning, Mogg, and Titanos all smiled at the sight.
"This is a secluded place where I once trained. If any Sithe come here, I will be alerted instantly," Autarch Mogg said.
"Let these Sithe descendants live a peaceful life here," Ning said.
"Once we defeat the Sithe, the entire Chaosverse will be at peace as well," Titanos said with a smile.
All three of them were looking forward to that day.
"Gentlemen, now that everything has been taken care of, it`s time for me to depart," Ning said.
"I`ll send you back," Autarch Mogg volunteered.
"Haha, no need." Ning shook his head and smiled. "I`m not exactly busy. The only thing I`m concerned with is creating a "Truesoul Everlasting` technique. Although the journey back to my homeland is a long one, I`ll take this opportunity to do some sightseeing. Who knows, I might even find something which inspires me."
"Very well." Mogg and Titanos didn`t try to press the issue.
Ning re-entered his realmship. Azurefiend`s avatar once more began to pilot it, sending it disappearing into the Great Dark under the watchful gazes of Mogg and Titanos.
Book 43, Chapter 3 - Meeting Autarch Stonerule
Within the realmship. Ji Ning sat in the lotus position, staring at the dazzling prismatic spacetime tunnel as marvelous realmverses flickered past them, but his mind was occupied on the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique.
"A Truesoul Everlasting... if I can create a technique like this, it would allow even the damage caused by a failed Daomerge to be reversed, with the truesoul being healed." Ning was keenly attuned to the sensations of his truesoul crumbling away.
His Immortal energy, his godsense, his azureflower mist energy... all of it was filled with his truesoul. But now, every speck of his soul was beginning to crack apart, with tiny flakes of it slowly drifting off and disappearing...
"This crumbling is taking part in every part of my truesoul. Not a single inch of it remains intact," Ning mused. "How should I reverse it?"
When Ning had been a Daolord of the Third Step, he had "died` once but been revived thanks to the Lifeblood Dao-seal. The Lifeblood Dao-seal was filled with a portion of Ning`s undamaged truesoul, making revival a simple process. But now that Ning`s truesoul had already begun to crumble... there was no known technique which could be used to stop it.
"How to reverse it? How do you reverse that which has already crumbled apart?" Ning mentally reviewed the mysteries of the [Deathless Chapter] while comparing it to his own crumbling process, and as he did so he would occasionally make a few changes and improvements to the chapter.
After five million years of non-stop meditation, Ning finally woke up. "Azurefiend, where are we?" Ning asked.
"We`re halfway there. Give us another six million years and we`ll reach the Flamedragon Realmverse," Azurefiend`s avatar said.
"No need for us to rush. Let`s explore the surrounding realms while we are here," Ning said.
"Yes, Master," Azurefiend`s avatar said hurriedly. The time he had spent following Ning had shown him far more stunning sights than everything he had experienced in the past. They had captured over two thousand Hegemons and Emperors, fought against a Sithe Daoguard Tower, seen strange creatures which came from beyond the Chaosverse, and more. He had never seen such incredible things in the past! Ning also treated him very well, and he in turn would silently pray: "I hope Master can remain alive forever. That would be wonderful."
So long as Ning remained alive, he would have a powerful backer supporting him.
They continued to wander through the cosmos, visiting the marvelous sights the Chasoverse had to offer as well as the many unique lifeforms it had birthed. Every so often, Ning would enter periods of silent meditation to reflect on what he saw.
***
A vast planet which was teeming with life.
Ning was seated at the peak of a mountain, silently meditating with Azurefiend`s avatar standing guard next to him. Ning had been training here for billions of years now, and ever since he started there had been no creatures who could move near this peak. A maze formation had been established halfway up the mountain, and those who escaped the maze would find themselves back at the base of the mountain.
"Young fellow, the destiny that brought us together must come to an end today. Your future accomplishments will be up to your own efforts. I accepted a total of six disciples before you. If you ever meet them, you`ll know it right away. Remember - you must not battle amongst yourselves." Azurefiend`s avatar remained by Ning`s side, while he had created an incarnation to chat with a youth at the base of the mountain.
"Your disciple understands, Master." The youth`s eyes were brimming with tears. The past year he had spent with his master had been a truly transformative one for him.
"Go," Azurefiend`s avatar said, then vanished without a trace. The youth repeatedly kowtowed before departing as well.
At the peak of the mountain.
"Azurefiend, you actually took on seven disciples during the years I was training?" Ning`s voice rang out.
Azurefiend was badly startled. He turned to glance at Ning, who had already risen to his feet, then let out a deep chortle: "Don`t tease me, Master. I was bored and had nothing to do. I spent my time just watching the countless people who lived in this world, and every so often I would find one I liked and take him or her on as a disciple."
"Hahaha! Well, it is time for us to return to the Flamedragon Realmverse," Ning said. "We`ll be leaving soon, so go ahead and finish making any arrangements necessary for your disciples."
"No need. I`ve made those arrangements long ago and have given them everything they should be given. The rest will be up to them. The path of cultivation is a path of self-reliance, after all," Azurefiend said.
"Very well. Let`s head off."
Whoosh. The realmship flew away from the snowy peak, and the maze formation which had surrounded it for so many years finally vanished as well, becoming nothing more than a mystery and a legend to this planet.
Ning ended up spending nearly half a chaos cycle on the return trip back to the Three Realms. He had gained quite a few insights into the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique, but he also gained a better understanding of how difficult it would be.
The crumbling of the truesoul involved countless tiny little flakes disappearing and returning to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse. To reverse this process by seizing those truesoul fragments back from the Quintessence was impossible! Not even Autarchs could succeed in this.
The only other possibility was to use the remaining fragments to somehow remake a complete, undamaged truesoul anew! This was very similar to the concept of "Blood-Drop Rebirth`, wherein Fiendgods who had reached the Zifu Disciple stage of cultivation would be able completely remake their entire bodies from a single drop of blood, if they had enough divine power to do so. This was because that single drop of blood contained the essence and foundation for the entire body! Now, however, Ning was trying to accomplish this with something that was even more fundamental... the truesoul.
His goal was to allow a powerful cultivator whose soul had shattered and whose truesoul was breaking apart to be able to remake the truesoul anew. So long as just one scrap of truesoul was remaining, the cultivator would be able to use the "Truesoul Everlasting` to recreate the entire truesoul, then reconstitute the spirit and the body.
A very familiar realmverse appeared before them. "We reached the Flamedragon Realmverse." Ning revealed a delighted look from within the realmship. Finally, they had returned. Home was home, and the feeling of being home was unlike any other.
"Eh?" Ning turned to look in a different direction. He could sense through karma that another powerful figure, Autarch Stonerule, was located within the Flamedragon Realmverse.
Just one second later... whoosh! Space rippled around Ning, followed by the dazzlingly handsome Autarch Stonerule appearing.
"Autarch Stonerule." Ning flew out of the realmship to greet him, with Azurefiend`s avatar following obediently from behind.
"Darknorth." Autarch Stonerule smiled.
"Why have you come here, Autarch?" Ning asked curiously.
"Because of you, obviously!" Autarch Stonerule said with a laugh. "I`ve been waiting for quite some time."
"Sorry, sorry. I wasn`t in a rush so I took the scenic route while taking the occasional cultivation break," Ning explained. "That`s why it took me a while to come back. If I had known you were here, I would`ve immediately returned."
"I`m just teasing you. I`m not in a rush either," Autarch Stonerule said. "I came here because there are a few things I need to tell you."
"Hm?" Ning looked at Autarch Stonerule.
"All of us have been analyzing the [Five Truncheon Chapters] you gave us. We`re in the process of completing the [Daolord Chapter], but as for the most important [Deathless Chapter]... I`m sorry to say we probably won`t be able to help you much," Autarch Stonerule said helplessly.
"There`s nothing you can do?" Ning felt rather anxious. Although he had made some improvements in recent years, he knew just how difficult it would be to create a "Truesoul Everlasting` technique. He had been counting on the Autarchs being able to help him out with it.
"We want to help you, but the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique revolves around reversing the process of a truesoul`s decay," Autarch Stonerlue said. "The problem was... all of us Autarchs have perfectly intact truesouls. We`ve never experienced the crumbling process ourselves! We`ve seen the truesouls of quite a few failed Daolords break apart, yes, but just watching it as an outsider doesn`t really mean much. We don`t know what it is like to have the truesoul break apart, so we have no idea where we should even begin to fix it."
"What?" Ning was stunned. The Autarchs had never experienced their truesouls breaking apart, which meant that they were unable to make any headway with regards to the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique?
"But the Sithe`s Lord of Chaos...?" Ning said.
"He`s at a much higher level of insight than us, which was why he was able to come up with a "Truesoul Everlasting` technique," Autarch Stonerule explained. "The six of us are merely on par with you, and we`ve never truly experienced our truesouls breaking apart. Our chances of being able to reverse the truesoul process via a "Truesoul Everlasting` technique are extremely slim. I came to tell you this in person because I don`t want you to place too much hope on us being able to help you."
Ning nodded. "I understand." This had always been a path which would likely result in failure. Autarch Stonerule`s words were a bit discouraging, but Ning was able to accept them calmly.
"But of course, we`re still going to keep working at it," Autarch Stonerule said. "There`s something else I wanted to discuss with you."
"Something else?" Ning was puzzled.
"The Sithe are desperate to kill you. We believe that the Sithe are paying close attention to whether you are dead or not," Autarch Stonerule said. "That`s why I came in person to take a look at the Flamedragon Realmverse. I followed up on quite a few clues, and in the end I managed to find a few Sithe spies."
Autarch Stonerule waved his hand, causing a total of six individuals to appear before him. All of them simply stood there, their gazes vacant. One was a Hegemon, while five were Emperors.
"Spies?" Ning frowned.
"They`ve infiltrated the Brightshore Kingdom and Vastheaven Palace, hoping to be able to keep track of your status via your heartlamp and similar items," Autarch Stonerule said.
Book 43, Chapter 4 - Solving the Heart of Eternity
Ji Ning stared at the six captured Sithe spies, then chuckled: "I`m a failed Daolord. Why would the Sithe be willing to expend this much effort on me?"
"It`s best if we keep your status a secret," Autarch Stonerule said seriously. "The Sithe have never given up on their efforts to keep our entire Chaosverse under surveillance. In the past, we didn`t really care as we were sure their army remained permanently sealed within the Sithe heartlands, but it now appears highly probable that they long ago found out a way to slip out undetected. They`ve been biding their time, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to us. We`re quietly making arrangements for our forces throughout the Chaosverse to prepare for war, but this will take time. So long as you are still alive, the Sithe will be hesitant to start the war."
"Right." Ning nodded. The Sithe would naturally be unwilling to start the war while Ning was alive. Not because they feared him; rather, because they worried that the high-pressure life-and-death environment created by the war would result in Ning suddenly making a breakthrough and mastering an Autarch-level Dao! If that happened, Ning would be able to easily take control over the entire Chaosverse, and the problem with his crumbling truesoul would disappear.
Although chances of this happening were remote, the Sithe were unwilling to take this risk. Anyone who was able to master an Eternal Omega Dao on his own, without any guidance at all, was without question an incredibly talented figure who would have the blessing of the entire Chaosverse itself. It was entirely possible that a "miracle` would happen, resulting in him gaining Autarchy.
Thus, it was best for the Sithe to play it safe. They would wait for Ning`s truesoul to completely break apart before launching the war! By then, the cultivators wouldn`t have even a single Eternal Omega Dao wielder at all, much less an Omega Autarch. The greatest fear of the Sithe would`ve been avoided.
"With your Eternal Omega Sword Dao serving as the guide, we`ve already begun to lead some of the most talented geniuses of the entire Chaosverse onto the path of the Omega Dao. However, the birth of a new Omega Emperor will take time! We might need millions of chaos cycles or even longer. I`m afraid the Sithe won`t give us the time we need," Autarch Stonerule said. "But so long as you remain alive? They`ll have something to fear, something which holds them back."
"I understand. I know what to do." Ning smiled.
"Then I`ll be leaving now. Let me know right away if there`s anything you need." Autarch Stonerule waved his hand, collecting the six spies and then disappearing without a trace.
Ning watched as he vanished, already beginning to consider what his next steps should be.
***
That very day, Ning went to meet with Hegemon Brightshore and Emperor Solesky.
"Brother Brightshore. Big brother Solesky." Ning said, "My truesoul has been crumbling away ever since I failed the Daomerge. I`m worried that the remaining Sithe are trying to keep tabs on my status! Thus, we must destroy the heartlamp in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom and the other life-monitoring artifacts pertaining to me in the Dao Alliance and in Vastheaven Palace."
"Destroy?" Brightshore and Solesky were both puzzled.
"Then, we`ll replace them with fake ones," Ning said. "The fake ones we create will always show that I am "alive`, even if ten million chaos cycles go by. I want the Sithe to always believe that I might be alive."
Solesky couldn`t help but argue, "Creating a fake one will be easy, but your truesoul is breaking apart! Even if the fake soul lamps are lit for a million chaos cycles, do you really think the Sithe would believe that you are still alive?"
"Solesky, that could be explained away by temporal deceleration, yes? A million chaos cycles could go by in the outside world, but for Darknorth only ten thousand chaos cycles would have gone past." Hegemon Brightshore looked at Ning. "Darknorth, what are you planning to do next?"
"Go into secluded meditation," Ning said. "After this, we probably won`t be meeting again."
"Do you have a way to reverse the crumbling of your truesoul?" Hegemon Brightshore said rather anxiously.
"A way?" Ning smiled. "Maybe. Alright, enough of that. I`m going to leave with Youji and Pillsaint."
That very day, Ning departed from Vastheaven Palace with Su Youji, Pillsaint, and his other retainers in tow. They went back to the Three Realms.
Everything which was able to detect Ning`s status, such as his heartlamps or his life towers, were all destroyed and then replaced with fake versions. In all the Chaosverse, the only ones who would know for sure if Ning was alive or not were the Autarchs, Nuwa, and Subhuti! Not even his daughter Brightmoon or his parents would have a way to know for sure.
***
After finishing all of his arrangements, Ning entered the Azureflower Estate by himself. He needed the help of the Autarch`s stone dais for this project.
"Daolord Darknorth." The estate-spirit was clearly much more respectful towards him than it had been in the past.
"I`ll be spending almost all of my remaining time on researching the "Truesoul Everlasting` technique." Ning smiled. "Sorry to disturb you."
"Daolord, if you really were able to create such a technique, you would`ve brought boundless blessings upon the entire Chaosverse. Not only would you yourself survive, you will have saved countless future generations of cultivators to come. Our entire Chaosverse shall thrive and grow strong." The estate-spirit was filled with anticipation.
Ning smiled and nodded, then closed his eyes and emptied out his mind of all extraneous thoughts. With the Autarch`s stone dais and the Stonefire Pearl aiding him, Ning began to meditate on the task at hand. Countless insights flashed through his mind as he continuously analyzed, hypothesized, and restructured the technique he needed. With the [Deathless Chapter] serving as his framework, Ning knew what he needed to do. Every so often, he would finish completing a [Truesoul Everlasting] technique, but each time he tested it out he would discover that it didn`t work.
Time continued to flow on. Every so often, Ning would take a break from researching the "Truesoul Everlasting` to work on solving Autarch Awakener`s "Heart of Eternity`.
More than 1600 years after he had entered secluded meditation
Crack! Crack! Crack! Ning finally solved the seals covering the ninety-ninth level of the Heart of Eternity hovering before him. The final layer of incredibly complicated runes vanished from the sphere, and it was as though some mechanism had been activated within it. Moments later, the insides of the sphere were revealed.
Rumble... a streak of light shot out, resolving into a scholarly youth who was dressed in white robes with blue fringes. Ning immediately recognized this person as being Autarch Awakener! Autarch Awakener had been the most scholarly Autarch, the one with the biggest dreams. He had spent countless aeons working on the tenth chaos seal.
"Young friend," the white-robed scholar said. Ning immediately understood that this was a projection which Autarch Awakener had left behind before his death.
"Since you were able to solve the ninety-ninth seal covering the Heart of Eternity, you must be at or near my own level with regards to the chaos seals I devised," the white-robed scholar said with a smile. "Thus, you are probably strong and wise enough to know of the great danger our entire civilization is facing, and of the foes threatening our entire Chaosverse... the Sithe. The Sithe are still there, and they are still as dangerous as ever."
"The Sithe are able to repair even shattered truesouls, allowing them to attempt the Daomerge repeatedly. They also have a more perfect energy system, allowing them to generate far more Autarchs than us.
"I have always hoped to create a similar technique which would allow us to birth more Hegemons, and perhaps as many as ten or twenty Autarchs! If I succeeded, we would easily win the battle which is yet to come.
"I have left behind my Nine Chaos Seals to this Chaosverse. Although their flaws mean that one can only successfully start to train in them prior to reaching the World level, I actually fixed those flaws long ago in my own version. I imagine that you, my young friend, can easily do the same as well. The reason why I intentionally published a flawed version of the Nine Chaos Seals is because those who cannot master it prior to the World level cannot be considered true geniuses. There is no chance that they can succeed in helping me to perfect the tenth stage of the technique.
"Within the Heart of Eternity lies the true, perfected version of the Nine Chaos Seals, as well as two lines of thought I have pondered while researching the tenth seal. I wasn`t able to succeed through either of these two paths, but I feel that both can theoretically lead to success. They represent my greatest accomplishments, and I entrust them to you along with my hopes and dreams.
"This is all the Heart of Eternity holds. In terms of value, this probably is not that valuable to someone who is incapable of solving the Heart of Eternity... but to one who was able to solve it, they may perhaps be of some use.
"My young friend... after spending countless aeons in painstaking research, I discovered that I was unable to advance any further. This is why I gave up. I hope you can complete the Ten Chaos Seals and give our civilization a chance to defeat the looming threat. If you can... then I, Awakener, will be grateful even in death." Autarch Awakener smiled, then his projection vanished.
The white-haired elder who was the estate-spirit had been watching this entire time. Tears streamed down his face.
Ning could sense the powerful will which had driven Autarch Awakener to do so much. He felt a deep sense of admiration for Awakener, who truly had been a leader for the cultivator civilizations.
Ning turned to inspect the contents of the Heart of Eternity, which indeed held many techniques and records left behind by Autarch Awakener. One of those techniques was the perfected Nine Chaos Seals.
The perfect Nine Chaos Seals could be trained in by World-level cultivators, Daolords, and even Emperors. After doing so, it could be used like "divine power` inside the body and "Immortal energy` outside the body. This was a truly flawless type of energy... but it was limited to the first nine stages.
"Perfecting it was simple." Ning was at such a high level of enlightenment that he immediately grasped the principles behind it. Given enough time, he too would be able to duplicate the work which Awakener had done.
"So Autarch Awakener actually had two different lines of theory, both of which he thought could be successful in creating the Tenth Chaos Seal?" Ning nodded slowly. He had the assistance of the [Deathless Chapter], and he was using it and his own insights to pursue multiple avenues of research as well. Two of them were the ones which Autarch Awakener believed to be workable. The first was the path of the "Infinity Everlasting`, while the second was the path of the "Void Everlasting`.
Ning began to greedily read through Autarch Awakener`s notes. Over the course of aeons of research, Autarch Awakener had clearly gained many more insights than Ning with regards to these two paths. He also had many different ideas of his own, which quickly gave Ning new insights and ideas.
Ning became completely focused on reviewing Autarch Awakener`s work and adding it to his own. A thousand chaos cycles... two thousand chaos cycles... five thousand chaos cycles... ten thousand chaos cycles...
Time continued to flow onwards, as cold and uncaring as ever.
Book 43, Chapter 5 - Out of Seclusion
The white-robed Ji Ning was as still as a statue, his eyes closed. He had been seated there for countless years now.
Finally, Ning opened his eyes. His gaze was filled with the boundless power of space and time, containing all the cosmos within them.
"Truesoul Everlasting..." Ning murmured softly. He had the insights of Autarch Awakener and the [Deathless Chapter], as well as 15,000 chaos cycles worth of meditation. By now, he had reached a level of understanding with regards to the "Truesoul Everlasting` that vastly surpassed Autarch Awakener`s.
"It has been over 15,000 chaos cycles. I only have 1000 chaos cycles left. Time for me to resolve my various affairs." Ning rose to his feet.
His original body`s lifespan had been rapidly depleted due to the battles which it had fought, but this body had never fought a single time since failing the Daomerge. The Water Sword Dao, Space Sword Dao, Illusion Sword Dao, and other Daos had all strengthened his truesoul considerably, dramatically slowing down the crumbling rate and extending his lifespan considerably.
However, he had spent over 15,000 chaos cycles in training. He didn`t have much time left, and he had some things he wanted to resolve before he could finally, fully devote himself while holding nothing back at all.
"Daolord Darknorth." The elderly white-haired estate-spirit immediately came over to him.
"I`m going to make a short trip. The next time I come back, I`ll be entering terminal seclusion."
"Terminal seclusion?" The white-haired elder was shocked. He could sense the firm resolve within Ning`s words.
Terminal seclusion... it represented abandoning everything else and entering seclusion for the final time. Either one would succeed in one`s goal, or one would die in seclusion, never to return!
Ning departed from the Azureflower Estate and made his way over to the Three Realms.
***
Ning arrived at Brightheart Island in Serpentwing Lake. This was where Ning`s family resided, and Ning`s three major retainers Azurefiend, Su Youji, and Pillsaint lived here as well, as did Ning`s eighth disciple "Stonepool`.
Everyone was seated, happily enjoying a meal together.
"Ji Ning, each time you go into seclusion you disappear for a few thousand chaos cycles. We hardly see you these days," Ji Yichuan said with a smile. He was in a wonderful mood today. Whenever Ning reached a bottleneck, he would leave seclusion and spend some time with his family. During the past 15,000 chaos cycles, he had exited seclusion a total of six times.
"Our son is busy with something that`s very important to him. He needs to stay in seclusion to do his best, rather than stay with us and let you bother him all the time." Yuchi Snow immediately leapt to Ning`s defense, then turned and smiled at him: "Ning, son... let me make the introductions. Dawnjade, come over here."
The adorable child who had been waiting nearby for quite some time immediately ran over. Yuchi Snow happily took the child`s hand, then said towards Ning, "Dawnjade is the most intelligent child our Ji clan has produced in aeons. He`s an absolutely unparalleled genius who has embarked upon the path of the Omega Dao. He is currently a Daolord of the Second Step."
"Oh?" Ning glanced at the "child` in astonishment.
"Greetings, Patriarch Darknorth," Ji Dawnjade said respectfully.
"Father, I have to admit that Dawnjade is very talented. He`s much more talented than me," the nearby Brightmoon said happily. "He`s only been cultivating for a very brief amount of time, and we didn`t dare to disturb you when you were in seclusion. That`s why we didn`t inform you when he became a Daolord."
Ning had long ago instructed that he was only to be disturbed if someone was in mortal danger. Otherwise, his seclusion was not to be interrupted.
Ning looked the child over, his eyes lighting up.
He had long ago instructed his daughter, Brightmoon, to take his place in teaching his eighth disciple, "Stonepool`. After spending many years training together, the two of them had actually ended up becoming Dao-companions! Both of them had actually been emotionally hurt when they were young. Brightmoon had been single her entire life, while Stonepool had poured all of his efforts on cultivation. Still... after spending many years together, they began to grow extremely fond of each other.
The two had ended up having a child... and Stonepool had voluntarily suggested that the child have the surname "Ji` in order to show respect to his master and father-in-law, Ji Ning! If they had a second child, that child would take his family name. And so, Ning`s lineage began to grow.
Time had passed on, and Ji Ning`s line had flourished. All of them were born with tremendous blessings of karmic luck, but none of them were comparable to the most impressive geniuses of this realmverse... until, that is, Dawnjade was born. He was incredibly intelligent and sailed through his path of cultivation, rapidly advancing to the World level with her clan`s aid. He had then gone out adventuring... and the end result was that he had also embarked upon the path of the Omega Sword Dao!
In truth, the Autarchs had already begun to ensure that quite a number of geniuses scattered throughout the vast Chaosverse had begun to train in the path of the Omega Dao. There was now one or two in virtually every single realmverse who trained in an Omega Dao... and after over ten thousand chaos cycles, the Ji clan had finally given birth to a second such genius. Yichuan and Snow naturally doted on him heavily.
"Mm." Ning stared at Dawnjade, scanning his past as he did so. Ning could even get a vague sense of what the future held in store for the child, and what he saw was a truly extraordinary destiny. The boy would probably surpass even Ning`s eight disciples... but in the end, the Daomerge would remain a huge obstacle.
"Good. Good!" Ning actually praised the boy twice. "Dawnjade, from this day forth, you shall stay by my side. If you have any questions at all, don`t hesitate to ask me."