Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 1 - Border Territory 'Eastroad'
A black flying vessel was soaring rapidly through the Endless Territories. Using spacetime transfer arrays might allow you to skip 99% of the journey, but there were still some areas you had no choice but to slowly fly through. The distance would be comparatively short, but you would still need to fly for decades or even centuries.
Aboard the black flying vessel. Ji Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji were sipping wine and relaxing here.
"Daolord Eastroad died? He was such an incredible Daolord, and yet he died, just like that." Pillsaint shook his head and sighed.
"It is probable that after another 108,000 chaos cycles, every single Daolord of our generation in the Endless territories will be dead! If even two or three can survive, I would be amazed," Su Youji said. To live past 108,000 required you to become an Eternal Emperor, but generally speaking only the weakest, most unremarkable Daolords of the Fourth Step would have a shot at it!
They had very weak Daos, and so the had the best chance at the Daomerge. However… after becoming Eternal Emperors, they would become the punching bags of the Endless Territories! Daolords of great power would furiously chase after them, hoping to kill them in order to make a name for themselves. Thus, all of the weaker Eternal Emperors would soon die. Only the slightly stronger ones or the ones who had special protective abilities would be able to remain alive.
"108,000 chaos cycles is a very, very long period of time. Haha. Ordinary mortals are only able to live a hundred years, while many plants and crops only survive for one harvest." Ning chuckled. "I've been training for far less than even a single chaos cycle; in fact, I'm not even close to 0.01% of a chaos cycle yet. If I can be a dazzling figure for 108,000 chaos cycles, I'll be satisfied. But of course, if I can succeed in my Daomerge and gain eternity, that would be even better."
"Haha, Master, if you succeeded and became an Eternal Emperor, you would probably become a Hegemon," Pillsaint said.
"He would definitely be a Hegemon." Su Youji's eyes were shining. "I'm excited just imagining him as a Hegemon."
"Alright, alright. Don't get too crazy now." Ning shook his head. Most likely, more than a few of the most talented cultivators all dreamed of becoming Hegemons, but that really was nothing more than a dream. How many would actually be able to succeed?
"Eh?" Ning suddenly nodded slowly. "Time to deal with that Daolord of the Fourth Step."
……
Within Ning's estate-world. There was a grassy area here with a green-robed alien woman seated within it. She had long, graceful green hair and a pair of silken blue eyes which were filled with worry.
"Master actually died. How could this have happened?" Although Daolord Kongsan had died quite a few days ago, the green-robed woman still felt stunned. She had her own direct connection to Kongsan, and so as soon as he died she immediately knew.
"Master had incredible powers aimed at keeping himself alive. Normal Eternal Emperors would be able to do nothing to him." The green-robed woman was rather restless and nervous. "Then what should I do? Will that white-robed Daolord kill me?"
"No… I can't just die like this…" The green-robed woman's heart was filled with fear. Previously, she had been happy to be captured rather than killed, as that meant the enemy might negotiate with Daolord Kongsan and ransom her. But now that Kongsan was dead… there was no one who would come to save her. Her destiny was completely within Ning's hands.
Whoosh. A white-robed figure suddenly manifested off in the distance. The green-robed woman couldn't help but turn her head to look at him, only to see him walk towards her. He said calmly, "From that look on your face, I imagine you already know that Daolord Kongsan is dead. You now have two options. One, I kill you. Two, you submit to me and follow me."
The green-robed woman's heart unclenched. Her greatest fear was that Ning would kill her without even bothering to speak with her. She hurriedly rose to her feet, then respectfully knelt down in front of Ning. "Naia is willing to submit and forever serve you, Master. All of Naia's magic treasures are yours to take."
"Your magic treasures remain your own." Ning wouldn't go so far as to take the possessions of this new retainer. He smiled. "From this day forth, you shall be my second Daolord retainer. Also - my Daoist monicker is Darknorth. It'd be rather embarrassing if you didn't even know the name of the person you were serving."
"Understood," Daolord Naia said respectfully. In her heart, she repeated the name 'Darknorth' over and over.
From this day forth, Daolord Naia became Ning's retainer as well.
……
Daolord Naia swore a lifeblood oath and was then summoned out of the estate-world by Ning to the black flying vessel.
"The three of you should get acquainted with each other." Ning smiled as he pointed at the green-robed woman. "She is Daolord Naia, formerly the eldest disciple of Kongsan. From this day forth, she shall be one of my retainers as well."
"A Daolord of the Fourth Step?"
"A retainer?" Both Pillsaint and Su Youji were rather excited, and they began to engage Daolord Naia in a casual conversation.
Daolord Naia was a taciturn person, but she wasn't a bad person by nature. Ning had purchased the most detailed intelligence report the Skywood Sect had regarding Daolord Kongsan, and so he had naturally learned some information regarding his disciples as well. Kongsan's eldest disciple, Daolord Naia, had been introduced in detail. She had loyally followed and served Kongsan, not causing any trouble or going out of her way to commit sinful deeds. She was a very obedient and loyal subordinate.
"It seems as though she is not a villain by nature. I suppose I can accept it." This was the reason why Ning had been willing to take her own as a retainer. If she was a very vile person, Ning probably would've slain her without a second glance.
And so, Ning led Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia on their journey. They first visited the Brightshore Kingdom, making use of its spacetime tunnels to travel to a very remote part of the Endless Territories which was closer to the Eastroad Territory. This was an extremely long journey. Fortunately, Ning had a vessel which flew at a hundred times the speed of light, and had also saved a great deal of travel time by using the Brightshore Kingdom's spacetime tunnels. And so, after five hundred or so years they finally reached the distant Eastroad Territory.
"The Eastroad Territory. This puts us at the outermost borderlands of the Endless Territories." The black flying vessel flew out of a chaos star and into the primordial chaos. Ning and the others were aboard the vessel, and they stared at the vast territory before them. This was the Eastroad Territory!
"Master." Daolord Naia said respectfully, "The Eastroad Territory, as one of the outermost border territories, is a place of great danger. There are also sinister forces hidden here! When Daolord Eastroad was alive, his fame and reputation sufficed to stun and overawe the entire territory, ensuring that those sinister forces wouldn't dare to cause any trouble. But now that he is dead… I'm afraid his homeland will never be so stable again."
"This is the reason why his greatest concern was for what would happen to his homeland after he died," Ning said.
"The borderlands of the Endless Territories…" Ning glanced off into the distance. "Outside the borderlands is the Great Dark, right?"
"Right. The Great Dark." Daolord Naia nodded.
"An endless sea of darkness… darkness without end…" Pillsaint let out a sigh as well, and Su Youji had a complex look on her face.
The Endless Territories was the region where countless cultivators, Aberrants, Aeonians, and others all lived. But what was outside of it? Aside from some incredibly dangerous places like the Terror Starsea, outside the Endless Territories lay the endless darkness of the Great Dark. There were no chaos stars there, nor chaosworlds, nor light, nor spacetime transfer arrays. There was nothing more than silent, deathly still darkness. Darkness without end! How long did the darkness stretch? No one knew, because it was simply too vast. Daolords would not dare to traverse it… but Eternal Emperors, who had endless longevity, would.
Emperor Mirrorsnow, Emperor Waveshift, and other mighty figures were all filled with curiosity about the Great Dark, and so they had entered it and began a drifting journey through it. They had unlimited lifespans, which was why they dared do such a thing… but despite that, they had still yet to return.
"More than one Daolord has given it a try," Ning said softly. "Those Daolords sent their avatars to explore the Great Dark, but to the day they died their avatars were still mired in the endless darkness."
"How terrifying," Pillsaint murmured.
"It's not that terrifying. In the end, the Great Dark is just a dead region," Daolord Naia said. "By contrast, the Terror Starsea is truly frightening. The Terror Starsea is similarly endless, but it is filled with countless dangers and unlimited possibilities. Not even the three Hegemons dare to barge into it rashly."
"The Terror Starsea is the number one deathtrap that we know of." Ning smiled. "But enough of that. When we're all tired of living, we can go pay the Terror Starsea a little visit. For now, let's stay away from places we aren't supposed to visit. Come. Our mission this time is to help Daolord Eastroad pacify his homeland."
Pacifying this territory would not be an easy feat. This was a borderlands territory, which meant that the Dao Alliance's influence here was virtually negligible! Some of the surrounding territories being controlled by the Aberrants, the Aeonians, and even some other sinister forces. Some even suspected that outside invaders, such as the Dark Kingdom, were present.
In short, the borderlands were amongst the most chaotic places in all the Endless Territories.
Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 2 - Danger Lurking Everywhere
The Eastroad Territory. The Eastroad Everworld. A black flying vessel was soaring through the air above the Eastroad Everworld.
"The territories controlled by the Dao Alliance will generally have spacetime transfer arrays within the everworlds." Pillsaint stood at the prow of the ship, staring at the vast everworld before him. He sighed, "But the Eastroad Everworld doesn't have a single one. We had to fly for years to get to this place."
Ji Ning chuckled. It was true that all ordinary everworlds had spacetime transfer arrays. The Badlands Everworld, the Vastheaven Everworld… they all had one. But the Eastroad Everworld did not! It had taken them three years of hard flying after entering the Eastroad Territory before they reached this everworld.
"Let's go to Eastroad City first," Ning said. Swoosh! The flying vessel tore through space, blinking through it as it advanced rapidly.
A short while later, the most bustling city within the entire Eastroad Everworld, 'Eastroad City', appeared within their field of vision. This was an extremely large city with many cultivators in it.
"Restrain your auras, the three of you," Ning instructed. "Especially you, Naia. You are a Daolord of the Fourth Step; your aura is going to scare these ordinary cultivators silly."
"Yes, Master," Daolord Naia said respectfully. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, her aura was as vast and boundless as the heavens themselves. With each step Daolords took, they trod the line between life and death. With each breakthrough, their auras would undergo fundamental transformations! Daolords of the First Step and Second Step were fairly weak, and so even if their auras emanated outwards they would at most caused World-level cultivators to feel a sense of pressure. But a Daolord of the Fourth Step would cause them to absolutely quiver in fear!
Whoosh. The flying vessel soared downwards. A short while later Ning put it away, leading Naia, Pillsaint, and Su Youji towards the gates of the city. There were twelve World-level cultivators at the gates who were standing in two groups to each side, watching the cultivators enter Eastroad City.
"They seem very cautious." Ning was a bit surprised.
"It might be because this is a borderlands territory, which is why their cities are so strictly guarded," Su Youji sent mentally.
Ning and the others chatted casually as they entered the city gates. When the twelve World-level cultivators noticed Ning's group of four, their leader's face tightened. The leader gestured to a subordinate and said, "Report immediately that four suspicious Daolords have appeared in Eastroad City."
"Understood." This subordinate had a clone and so was able to immediately report this to the main sect.
……
Ning began to frown as he walked through Eastroad City. "Something is wrong." Ning could sense that the mood in this city was off. Many of the cultivators were clearly speaking privately to each other through mental messages. Although Ning couldn't tell what they were saying, he was able to tell that they were doing this.
Ning swept the area with his gaze, only to see several distant Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who seemed to be sending stealthy mental messages to each other. Ning immediately sent out his godsense, covering them with it. Although he was now a Daolord with powerful godsense, if he tried to use it to scan World-level cultivators they would probably notice something was off. Once they did, they would definitely stop talking.
"The Eastroad Sect is finished."
"Right. The mighty Eastroad Sect is about to be annihilated, just like that. What a shame."
"I heard from Master that the founding Patriarch of the Eastroad Sect, 'Daolord Eastroad', is already dead. He was someone who stunned and awed the surrounding territories and ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years… but he died, just like that."
"Logically speaking, the Eastroad Sect should've hidden the news that Daolord Eastrod had died. How could word have spread so quickly?"
"Who knows? There has to be some sort of plot behind it. However, the news of him being dead is probably true. Otherwise, the Eastroad Sect wouldn't act in such a craven fashion."
This was what the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quietly whispering to each other.
When Ning heard this, his face tightened. What? The information had already leaked out? Factoring in the time they had taken to travel tot his place, Daolord Eastroad had died roughly two thousand years ago. To cultivators, two thousand years was an extremely short period of time. Logically speaking, there was no way the Eastroad Sect would've so foolishly spread word of this. They would've done their best to hide it for as long as they could… but now, even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals knew of it. It seemed as though word had spread long ago.
"The two of you." Ning suddenly intercepted two nearby World-level cultivators. With but a thought, he completely sealed off the surrounding area while covering them with a flicker of his murderous sword-intent. However, none of the nearby cultivators were able to even see this happening.
"S-senior."
The two World-level cultivators were so frightened, their legs went soft. One could imagine how terrifying Ning's sword-intent was. Their hearts quivered just having that sword-light flicker around them.
"Master?" Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather puzzled.
"You'll know shortly," Ning said, then cast his gaze towards the two World-level cultivators before him. "Tell me, what has happened recently in the Eastroad Territory?"
"Senior, did you just arrive here?" The shorter cultivator said hurriedly, "Something major truly has happened. Roughly one or two thousand years ago, it was suddenly reported that Daolord Eastroad, who ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years, has already perished."
"Who made the report?" Ning asked. One or two thousand years ago? So roughly eight hundred years after his death, the word had been leaked already?
"I don't know the answer to that," the short cultivator said.
"You don't know?" Ning frowned, sending a strand of his baleful intent towards the two. The nearby tall and skinny cultivator hurriedly said, "Maybe the Ninedust Sect!"
"Right!" The shorter cultivator hurriedly agreed, "It is very likely that this information was leaked by the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect has been applying a great deal of pressure in recent years. It seems as though they intend to take over the Eastroad Territory."
"The Ninedust Sect?" Ning was startled.
Daolord Eastroad had established the Eastroad Sect and then unified this territory, but the surrounding area was still quite chaotic. There were a number of powerful organizations here, wit hthe most dominating one being the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect already had nine Daolords when it was first established! By now, its sectlord and three of its vice sectlords were all Daolords of the Fourth Step. However, Daolord Eastroad himself was so overwhelming powerful that the Ninedust Sect was unwilling to offend him, even though they didn't fear him.
"The Ninedust Sect has been causing a great deal of trouble during the past thousand years, and the Eastroad Sect actually lost one of its Daolords during this period of time. It now only has a single Daolord left," the short cultivator said.
"Another Daolord of the Eastroad Sect died?" Ning's face tightened. "Which one?" The Eastroad Sect originally had three Daolords; Daolord Eastroad, Daolord Overgold, and Daolord Thunderheat. Daolord Overgold and Daolord Thunderheat were Daolords of the Third Step, with Overgold being a bit stronger.
"It was Daolord Overgold who died," the shorter cultivator said. "I heard that he died while adventuring, but for him to die just a few centuries after word spread of Daolord Eastroad's death… how could there be such a coincidence? It is very likely that the Ninedust Sect sent out major powers to kill him outside."
"So that means the Eastroad Sect only has one Daolord left?" Pillsaint was rather flabbergasted, while Ning, Su Youji, and Naia were all rather surprised as well.
This had originally been a fairly simple mission, because Daolord Overgold was quite strong; with the formation around their headquarters helping them and some treasures Ning's group was bringing, he should've been able to keep himself alive. Now it seemed the situation was much worse than they had imagined.
"The two of you can leave now," Ning said. He didn't really care if these two World-level cultivators told others of this conversation."
"A-a-alright," they stuttered.
Ning, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather irritated and frustrated now. "This is going to be a bit more tricky than we expected." Ning frowned. "Word of Daolord Eastroad's death spread less than eight centuries after he died. There's no way the Eastroad Sect itself would've been so foolish as to leak this information. An enemy must have done it, after they acquired this information through Numerancy divination or other intelligence-gathering methods. A short while later, Overgold died while adventuring as well. It might've been an actual coincidence, but it's also possible that he was murdered. If he was murdered… then the real goal was to further weaken the Eastroad Sect."
"Right." Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Naia all felt irritated as well.
"Let's gather some more information first." Ning continued to advance through Eastroad City, and the more he investigated the more he learned. The Ninedust Sect really was about to take voer the Eastroad Territory, and the Eastroad Sect really did only have Daolord Thunderheat protecting it.
……
Half a day later.
"For now, go into my estate-world. Otherwise… if multiple Daolords pay a visit, with one being a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the Eastroad Sect will probably be frightened. They are no doubt quite nervous right now," Ning said to Su Youji and the others.
"Yes, Master." Su Youji and the other two acknowledged the order. After they entered the estate-world, Ning flew by himself through the air towards the Eastroad Sect.
Just a short while later, the skies around him turned dark as multiple layers of formations around the Eastroad Sect were activated in a dazzling, awesome display of multicolored light.
Ning soon flew to the main gates of the Eastroad Sect, where he was forced to come to a halt.
Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 1 - Border Territory 'Eastroad'
A black flying vessel was soaring rapidly through the Endless Territories. Using spacetime transfer arrays might allow you to skip 99% of the journey, but there were still some areas you had no choice but to slowly fly through. The distance would be comparatively short, but you would still need to fly for decades or even centuries.
Aboard the black flying vessel. Ji Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji were sipping wine and relaxing here.
"Daolord Eastroad died? He was such an incredible Daolord, and yet he died, just like that." Pillsaint shook his head and sighed.
"It is probable that after another 108,000 chaos cycles, every single Daolord of our generation in the Endless territories will be dead! If even two or three can survive, I would be amazed," Su Youji said. To live past 108,000 required you to become an Eternal Emperor, but generally speaking only the weakest, most unremarkable Daolords of the Fourth Step would have a shot at it!
They had very weak Daos, and so the had the best chance at the Daomerge. However… after becoming Eternal Emperors, they would become the punching bags of the Endless Territories! Daolords of great power would furiously chase after them, hoping to kill them in order to make a name for themselves. Thus, all of the weaker Eternal Emperors would soon die. Only the slightly stronger ones or the ones who had special protective abilities would be able to remain alive.
"108,000 chaos cycles is a very, very long period of time. Haha. Ordinary mortals are only able to live a hundred years, while many plants and crops only survive for one harvest." Ning chuckled. "I've been training for far less than even a single chaos cycle; in fact, I'm not even close to 0.01% of a chaos cycle yet. If I can be a dazzling figure for 108,000 chaos cycles, I'll be satisfied. But of course, if I can succeed in my Daomerge and gain eternity, that would be even better."
"Haha, Master, if you succeeded and became an Eternal Emperor, you would probably become a Hegemon," Pillsaint said.
"He would definitely be a Hegemon." Su Youji's eyes were shining. "I'm excited just imagining him as a Hegemon."
"Alright, alright. Don't get too crazy now." Ning shook his head. Most likely, more than a few of the most talented cultivators all dreamed of becoming Hegemons, but that really was nothing more than a dream. How many would actually be able to succeed?
"Eh?" Ning suddenly nodded slowly. "Time to deal with that Daolord of the Fourth Step."
……
Within Ning's estate-world. There was a grassy area here with a green-robed alien woman seated within it. She had long, graceful green hair and a pair of silken blue eyes which were filled with worry.
"Master actually died. How could this have happened?" Although Daolord Kongsan had died quite a few days ago, the green-robed woman still felt stunned. She had her own direct connection to Kongsan, and so as soon as he died she immediately knew.
"Master had incredible powers aimed at keeping himself alive. Normal Eternal Emperors would be able to do nothing to him." The green-robed woman was rather restless and nervous. "Then what should I do? Will that white-robed Daolord kill me?"
"No… I can't just die like this…" The green-robed woman's heart was filled with fear. Previously, she had been happy to be captured rather than killed, as that meant the enemy might negotiate with Daolord Kongsan and ransom her. But now that Kongsan was dead… there was no one who would come to save her. Her destiny was completely within Ning's hands.
Whoosh. A white-robed figure suddenly manifested off in the distance. The green-robed woman couldn't help but turn her head to look at him, only to see him walk towards her. He said calmly, "From that look on your face, I imagine you already know that Daolord Kongsan is dead. You now have two options. One, I kill you. Two, you submit to me and follow me."
The green-robed woman's heart unclenched. Her greatest fear was that Ning would kill her without even bothering to speak with her. She hurriedly rose to her feet, then respectfully knelt down in front of Ning. "Naia is willing to submit and forever serve you, Master. All of Naia's magic treasures are yours to take."
"Your magic treasures remain your own." Ning wouldn't go so far as to take the possessions of this new retainer. He smiled. "From this day forth, you shall be my second Daolord retainer. Also - my Daoist monicker is Darknorth. It'd be rather embarrassing if you didn't even know the name of the person you were serving."
"Understood," Daolord Naia said respectfully. In her heart, she repeated the name 'Darknorth' over and over.
From this day forth, Daolord Naia became Ning's retainer as well.
……
Daolord Naia swore a lifeblood oath and was then summoned out of the estate-world by Ning to the black flying vessel.
"The three of you should get acquainted with each other." Ning smiled as he pointed at the green-robed woman. "She is Daolord Naia, formerly the eldest disciple of Kongsan. From this day forth, she shall be one of my retainers as well."
"A Daolord of the Fourth Step?"
"A retainer?" Both Pillsaint and Su Youji were rather excited, and they began to engage Daolord Naia in a casual conversation.
Daolord Naia was a taciturn person, but she wasn't a bad person by nature. Ning had purchased the most detailed intelligence report the Skywood Sect had regarding Daolord Kongsan, and so he had naturally learned some information regarding his disciples as well. Kongsan's eldest disciple, Daolord Naia, had been introduced in detail. She had loyally followed and served Kongsan, not causing any trouble or going out of her way to commit sinful deeds. She was a very obedient and loyal subordinate.
"It seems as though she is not a villain by nature. I suppose I can accept it." This was the reason why Ning had been willing to take her own as a retainer. If she was a very vile person, Ning probably would've slain her without a second glance.
And so, Ning led Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia on their journey. They first visited the Brightshore Kingdom, making use of its spacetime tunnels to travel to a very remote part of the Endless Territories which was closer to the Eastroad Territory. This was an extremely long journey. Fortunately, Ning had a vessel which flew at a hundred times the speed of light, and had also saved a great deal of travel time by using the Brightshore Kingdom's spacetime tunnels. And so, after five hundred or so years they finally reached the distant Eastroad Territory.
"The Eastroad Territory. This puts us at the outermost borderlands of the Endless Territories." The black flying vessel flew out of a chaos star and into the primordial chaos. Ning and the others were aboard the vessel, and they stared at the vast territory before them. This was the Eastroad Territory!
"Master." Daolord Naia said respectfully, "The Eastroad Territory, as one of the outermost border territories, is a place of great danger. There are also sinister forces hidden here! When Daolord Eastroad was alive, his fame and reputation sufficed to stun and overawe the entire territory, ensuring that those sinister forces wouldn't dare to cause any trouble. But now that he is dead… I'm afraid his homeland will never be so stable again."
"This is the reason why his greatest concern was for what would happen to his homeland after he died," Ning said.
"The borderlands of the Endless Territories…" Ning glanced off into the distance. "Outside the borderlands is the Great Dark, right?"
"Right. The Great Dark." Daolord Naia nodded.
"An endless sea of darkness… darkness without end…" Pillsaint let out a sigh as well, and Su Youji had a complex look on her face.
The Endless Territories was the region where countless cultivators, Aberrants, Aeonians, and others all lived. But what was outside of it? Aside from some incredibly dangerous places like the Terror Starsea, outside the Endless Territories lay the endless darkness of the Great Dark. There were no chaos stars there, nor chaosworlds, nor light, nor spacetime transfer arrays. There was nothing more than silent, deathly still darkness. Darkness without end! How long did the darkness stretch? No one knew, because it was simply too vast. Daolords would not dare to traverse it… but Eternal Emperors, who had endless longevity, would.
Emperor Mirrorsnow, Emperor Waveshift, and other mighty figures were all filled with curiosity about the Great Dark, and so they had entered it and began a drifting journey through it. They had unlimited lifespans, which was why they dared do such a thing… but despite that, they had still yet to return.
"More than one Daolord has given it a try," Ning said softly. "Those Daolords sent their avatars to explore the Great Dark, but to the day they died their avatars were still mired in the endless darkness."
"How terrifying," Pillsaint murmured.
"It's not that terrifying. In the end, the Great Dark is just a dead region," Daolord Naia said. "By contrast, the Terror Starsea is truly frightening. The Terror Starsea is similarly endless, but it is filled with countless dangers and unlimited possibilities. Not even the three Hegemons dare to barge into it rashly."
"The Terror Starsea is the number one deathtrap that we know of." Ning smiled. "But enough of that. When we're all tired of living, we can go pay the Terror Starsea a little visit. For now, let's stay away from places we aren't supposed to visit. Come. Our mission this time is to help Daolord Eastroad pacify his homeland."
Pacifying this territory would not be an easy feat. This was a borderlands territory, which meant that the Dao Alliance's influence here was virtually negligible! Some of the surrounding territories being controlled by the Aberrants, the Aeonians, and even some other sinister forces. Some even suspected that outside invaders, such as the Dark Kingdom, were present.
In short, the borderlands were amongst the most chaotic places in all the Endless Territories.
Book 30, Ancient Cultivator, Chapter 2 - Danger Lurking Everywhere
The Eastroad Territory. The Eastroad Everworld. A black flying vessel was soaring through the air above the Eastroad Everworld.
"The territories controlled by the Dao Alliance will generally have spacetime transfer arrays within the everworlds." Pillsaint stood at the prow of the ship, staring at the vast everworld before him. He sighed, "But the Eastroad Everworld doesn't have a single one. We had to fly for years to get to this place."
Ji Ning chuckled. It was true that all ordinary everworlds had spacetime transfer arrays. The Badlands Everworld, the Vastheaven Everworld… they all had one. But the Eastroad Everworld did not! It had taken them three years of hard flying after entering the Eastroad Territory before they reached this everworld.
"Let's go to Eastroad City first," Ning said. Swoosh! The flying vessel tore through space, blinking through it as it advanced rapidly.
A short while later, the most bustling city within the entire Eastroad Everworld, 'Eastroad City', appeared within their field of vision. This was an extremely large city with many cultivators in it.
"Restrain your auras, the three of you," Ning instructed. "Especially you, Naia. You are a Daolord of the Fourth Step; your aura is going to scare these ordinary cultivators silly."
"Yes, Master," Daolord Naia said respectfully. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, her aura was as vast and boundless as the heavens themselves. With each step Daolords took, they trod the line between life and death. With each breakthrough, their auras would undergo fundamental transformations! Daolords of the First Step and Second Step were fairly weak, and so even if their auras emanated outwards they would at most caused World-level cultivators to feel a sense of pressure. But a Daolord of the Fourth Step would cause them to absolutely quiver in fear!
Whoosh. The flying vessel soared downwards. A short while later Ning put it away, leading Naia, Pillsaint, and Su Youji towards the gates of the city. There were twelve World-level cultivators at the gates who were standing in two groups to each side, watching the cultivators enter Eastroad City.
"They seem very cautious." Ning was a bit surprised.
"It might be because this is a borderlands territory, which is why their cities are so strictly guarded," Su Youji sent mentally.
Ning and the others chatted casually as they entered the city gates. When the twelve World-level cultivators noticed Ning's group of four, their leader's face tightened. The leader gestured to a subordinate and said, "Report immediately that four suspicious Daolords have appeared in Eastroad City."
"Understood." This subordinate had a clone and so was able to immediately report this to the main sect.
……
Ning began to frown as he walked through Eastroad City. "Something is wrong." Ning could sense that the mood in this city was off. Many of the cultivators were clearly speaking privately to each other through mental messages. Although Ning couldn't tell what they were saying, he was able to tell that they were doing this.
Ning swept the area with his gaze, only to see several distant Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who seemed to be sending stealthy mental messages to each other. Ning immediately sent out his godsense, covering them with it. Although he was now a Daolord with powerful godsense, if he tried to use it to scan World-level cultivators they would probably notice something was off. Once they did, they would definitely stop talking.
"The Eastroad Sect is finished."
"Right. The mighty Eastroad Sect is about to be annihilated, just like that. What a shame."
"I heard from Master that the founding Patriarch of the Eastroad Sect, 'Daolord Eastroad', is already dead. He was someone who stunned and awed the surrounding territories and ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years… but he died, just like that."
"Logically speaking, the Eastroad Sect should've hidden the news that Daolord Eastrod had died. How could word have spread so quickly?"
"Who knows? There has to be some sort of plot behind it. However, the news of him being dead is probably true. Otherwise, the Eastroad Sect wouldn't act in such a craven fashion."
This was what the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals were quietly whispering to each other.
When Ning heard this, his face tightened. What? The information had already leaked out? Factoring in the time they had taken to travel tot his place, Daolord Eastroad had died roughly two thousand years ago. To cultivators, two thousand years was an extremely short period of time. Logically speaking, there was no way the Eastroad Sect would've so foolishly spread word of this. They would've done their best to hide it for as long as they could… but now, even Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals knew of it. It seemed as though word had spread long ago.
"The two of you." Ning suddenly intercepted two nearby World-level cultivators. With but a thought, he completely sealed off the surrounding area while covering them with a flicker of his murderous sword-intent. However, none of the nearby cultivators were able to even see this happening.
"S-senior."
The two World-level cultivators were so frightened, their legs went soft. One could imagine how terrifying Ning's sword-intent was. Their hearts quivered just having that sword-light flicker around them.
"Master?" Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather puzzled.
"You'll know shortly," Ning said, then cast his gaze towards the two World-level cultivators before him. "Tell me, what has happened recently in the Eastroad Territory?"
"Senior, did you just arrive here?" The shorter cultivator said hurriedly, "Something major truly has happened. Roughly one or two thousand years ago, it was suddenly reported that Daolord Eastroad, who ruled over the Eastroad Territory for countless years, has already perished."
"Who made the report?" Ning asked. One or two thousand years ago? So roughly eight hundred years after his death, the word had been leaked already?
"I don't know the answer to that," the short cultivator said.
"You don't know?" Ning frowned, sending a strand of his baleful intent towards the two. The nearby tall and skinny cultivator hurriedly said, "Maybe the Ninedust Sect!"
"Right!" The shorter cultivator hurriedly agreed, "It is very likely that this information was leaked by the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect has been applying a great deal of pressure in recent years. It seems as though they intend to take over the Eastroad Territory."
"The Ninedust Sect?" Ning was startled.
Daolord Eastroad had established the Eastroad Sect and then unified this territory, but the surrounding area was still quite chaotic. There were a number of powerful organizations here, wit hthe most dominating one being the Ninedust Sect. The Ninedust Sect already had nine Daolords when it was first established! By now, its sectlord and three of its vice sectlords were all Daolords of the Fourth Step. However, Daolord Eastroad himself was so overwhelming powerful that the Ninedust Sect was unwilling to offend him, even though they didn't fear him.
"The Ninedust Sect has been causing a great deal of trouble during the past thousand years, and the Eastroad Sect actually lost one of its Daolords during this period of time. It now only has a single Daolord left," the short cultivator said.
"Another Daolord of the Eastroad Sect died?" Ning's face tightened. "Which one?" The Eastroad Sect originally had three Daolords; Daolord Eastroad, Daolord Overgold, and Daolord Thunderheat. Daolord Overgold and Daolord Thunderheat were Daolords of the Third Step, with Overgold being a bit stronger.
"It was Daolord Overgold who died," the shorter cultivator said. "I heard that he died while adventuring, but for him to die just a few centuries after word spread of Daolord Eastroad's death… how could there be such a coincidence? It is very likely that the Ninedust Sect sent out major powers to kill him outside."
"So that means the Eastroad Sect only has one Daolord left?" Pillsaint was rather flabbergasted, while Ning, Su Youji, and Naia were all rather surprised as well.
This had originally been a fairly simple mission, because Daolord Overgold was quite strong; with the formation around their headquarters helping them and some treasures Ning's group was bringing, he should've been able to keep himself alive. Now it seemed the situation was much worse than they had imagined.
"The two of you can leave now," Ning said. He didn't really care if these two World-level cultivators told others of this conversation."
"A-a-alright," they stuttered.
Ning, Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia were all rather irritated and frustrated now. "This is going to be a bit more tricky than we expected." Ning frowned. "Word of Daolord Eastroad's death spread less than eight centuries after he died. There's no way the Eastroad Sect itself would've been so foolish as to leak this information. An enemy must have done it, after they acquired this information through Numerancy divination or other intelligence-gathering methods. A short while later, Overgold died while adventuring as well. It might've been an actual coincidence, but it's also possible that he was murdered. If he was murdered… then the real goal was to further weaken the Eastroad Sect."
"Right." Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Naia all felt irritated as well.
"Let's gather some more information first." Ning continued to advance through Eastroad City, and the more he investigated the more he learned. The Ninedust Sect really was about to take voer the Eastroad Territory, and the Eastroad Sect really did only have Daolord Thunderheat protecting it.
……
Half a day later.
"For now, go into my estate-world. Otherwise… if multiple Daolords pay a visit, with one being a Daolord of the Fourth Step, the Eastroad Sect will probably be frightened. They are no doubt quite nervous right now," Ning said to Su Youji and the others.
"Yes, Master." Su Youji and the other two acknowledged the order. After they entered the estate-world, Ning flew by himself through the air towards the Eastroad Sect.
Just a short while later, the skies around him turned dark as multiple layers of formations around the Eastroad Sect were activated in a dazzling, awesome display of multicolored light.
Ning soon flew to the main gates of the Eastroad Sect, where he was forced to come to a halt.
