Ninedust said helplessly, “Senior, you might not know this, but the place you just pointed out is within an inconceivably powerful treasure known as the ‘Aeonian Kingdom’! The Aeonian Kingdom is an extremely dangerous place; not even Hegemons dare to charge into that place.”
The Dao Alliance and the Aeonians were mortal enemies; Aeonians relied on devouring countless Daolords to awaken the Aeonian blood within their veins! The more they devoured, the more powerful they would become! If it wasn’t for the fact that they could take shelter within the Aeonian Kingdom, the Aeonians would’ve been completely genocided by the Dao Alliance long ago!
“Haha…” the black-robed elder laughed. “It doesn’t matter how dangerous it is; you don’t need to worry at all. This medallion will tear straight through spacetime and teleport you directly inside. If the situation turns grim, you can use it to immediately tear through spacetime and leave again. This medallion was personally forged by my master, Autarch Bolin. Not even Hegemons would be able to trap you.”
Ninedust let out a sigh of relief, then immediately asked, “Would I be able to bring Darknorth with me?”
“The medallion can only be used by one person,” the black-robed man said. “It can also only be used to bring one person in escaping from that place.”
“Ah?!” Ninedust was startled.
“Buuut, you can pull Darknorth into your estate-world before using the medallion. That solves, it yes?” The black-robed man laughed.
Ninedust immediately looked at Ning. “Darknorth, things are going to be quite dangerous inside the Aeonian Kingdom. Accompany me?”
“For sure.” Ning knew that in truth, Ninedust was actually helping him out rather than vice versa. With that medallion in hand, Ninedust wouldn’t need to even fear an entire host of Hegemons. What sort of ‘danger’ would he be afraid of?
“Right. You must remember this.” The black-robed man said sseriously, “The power contained within this medallion is only enough to activate it twice in a row; after that, the power will be used up and it’ll shatter. Thus, the medallion is only good for a single entry and exit. Treasure this opportunity and do not waste it.”
“It’ll be exhausted after just two uses?” Ninedust was started, but he then let out an uncaring smile. “A single such opportunity and blessing is already more than enough.”
The black-robed man nodded slightly. He was quite approving of Ninedust’s attitude. He then turned to look at Ning. “I didn’t expect for you to be able to improve so dramatically, given how powerful you already were. Even I am now eager to see what you will be like if you succeed in your Daomerge. Given your power, once you suceeed in the Daomerge you will definitely surpass any ‘ordinary’ Hegemon. You’ll probably be on par with Otherverse Lords.”
“Are Otherverse Lords very powerful?” Ning asked curiously.
“Yes. They are in control of alternate universes and are assisted by the prime essences of those universes. How can they NOT be strong?” The black-robed man continued, “And you helped me out as well. Given how much you improved… let me think about what I should give you…”
“Helped you out?” Ninedust glanced at Ning, puzzled. Ning was puzzled as well; since when did he help this estate-spirit out?
“You didn’t know this,” the black-robed man explained, “But when my master Autarch Bolin entered this place, he used an evasion art to directly bypass the deepfire blackstone and enter the vessel. He furiously massacred all of the Sithe, wrecking all of their defenses and destroying everyone and everything here. Afterwards, he tossed me here and then immediately tore through spacetime to depart. He was hurrying off to other regions to take part in the battles there.”
“But… Master forgot that the entire vessel was encased in a shell of deepfire blackstone. There was no way for me to leave!” The black-robed man said helplessly, “Ugh… master created so many beastworlds and he scattered them casually throughout the Chaosverse. He probably didn’t think too much of it when he tossed me here, and he had to seize every moment because war had spread throughout the realms. He didn’t take the time needed to actually break through the deepfire blackstone, as it would take some time even for someone as strong as him to tear through it by force.”
Ning and Ninedust now both understood. Deepfire blackstone was almost indestructible; even Hegemons like Hegemon Welkin were completely unable to do anything to it. It would take even an Autarch some time to forcibly break through the outer ‘wall’ protecting this Sithe warship. Autarch Bolin wasn’t willing to waste any time and so had used an evasion art to teleport straight inside.
“Darknorth, when you used your lifeblood weapon to drain away the deepfire blackstone, you also gave me the chance to leave.” The black-robed man smiled. “That naturally means you helped me out. I’ll now be able to move through spacetime to visit other places and search for other lucky people to bestow good fortune upon.”
“Mm…” The black-robed man was silent for a moment. “And you really have improved dramatically. I suppose giving you that treasure would be a decent choice.”
Whoosh. A round, fist-sized object suddenly appeared out of nowhere within the black-robed man’s hands. It looked like a giant egg, and it emanated strange ripples that caused both Ning and Ninedust to feel entranced by it. Their Dao-hearts were both influenced by this effect, causing them to feel the urge to devour the thing.
“My master, Autarch Bolin, has left behind some treasures in each beastworld… and this is the most valuable of the treasures I have.” The black-robed man looked at Ning. “This is known as a ‘verdant azuresoul’! Any and every Hegemon would go absolutely crazy over this.”
Ning and Ninedust were both startled.
“Later, both of you must swear oaths not to divulge any information about what has happened here,” the black-robed man said solemnly.
“Understood.”
“Don’t worry, senior.” Ning and Ninedust both hurriedly assented, while Ning stared at the egg-shaped object with an eager look in his eyes.
“The various realmverses of the vast Chaosverse are not truly eternal. There are certain destructive forces of nature within the Chaoseverse,” the black-robed man said. “There are certain terrifying celestial bodies, such as the ‘Ship of Mirrors’, the ‘Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels’, the ‘Apocalypse Star’, and more. Even Hegemons are helpless in the face of these naturally occurring celestial bodies, and they can easily annihilate entire realmverses. Even Autarchs need to pay enormous prices if they wish to be able to deal with them.”
Ning and Ninedust were both surprised. They knew that the Flamedragon Realmverse was facing a grave danger from the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, but who would’ve thought there were multiple celestial bodies in the Chaosverse akin to the Wheels?
“The Ship of Mirrors, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, the Apocalypse Star… they are not living entities,” the black-robed man said. “However, the Chaosverse can also give birth to supremely terrifying creatures known as ‘Chaos Primordials’ that are just as deadly. Supposedly, these great beasts are born from the prime essences of the Chaosverse. Once they leave the prime essences, they’ll voyage through the Chaosverse… and they love to eat the realmverses they encounter.”
“Chaos Primordials are born with nigh-indestructible bodies and are incredibly few in number. They are also fairly unintelligent, perhaps on par with mortal children. However, they are so incredibly strong that only Autarchs are capable of killing them. Even Otherverse Lords are only able to just barely fend them off.”
“This ‘verdant azuresoul’ is what Chaos Primordials love to eat beyond all other types of food.” The black-robed man looked at Ning and Ninedust. “My master, Autarch Bolin, has made some special modifications to this one, converting it into a magic treasure. Darknorth, you’ll be able to bind it with ease just by dripping your blood onto it. After doing so, if you ever manage to encounter a Chaos Primordial, you can toss the verdant azuresoul over to it and let the beast eat it… and once it does so, the modified verdant azuresoul will take control over the Chaos Primordial and make it a servant that obeys your commands.”
Ning and Ninedust were both speechless upon hearing this. “Can I use the ‘verdant azuresoul’ as payment to have an Autarch reverse the flows of spacetime to revive a Celestial Immortal?” Ning couldn’t help but ask.
“You cannot. A single verdant azuresoul isn’t valuable enough,” the black-robed man explained. “However, if you can find a Chaos Primordial and have it eat the verdant azuresoul, then give that Chaos Primordial to an Autarch? That would be enough to convince the Autarch to intervene.”
“Chaos Primordials are simply too rare, while the endless Chaosverse is far too vast. Finding one is a matter of luck,” the black-robed man said. “Alright. I’ve already given you each what you deserve. Remember – you are not permitted to tell others of what you encountered here,” the black-robed man instructed.
“Understood.”
Ning and Ninedust both immediately swore lifeblood oaths. Ning and Ninedust then felt space twist around them, followed by them reappearing within the Sithe ruins.
“I’m leaving now,” the statue said. Suddenly, it transformed into an actual three-headed leonine beast that transformed into a streak of light that flew out of the mountains. “If you can succeed in your Daomerges, perhaps we might meet again.”
Ning and Ninedust both watched as the statue flew away.
……
A short while later, Ning and Ninedust left the Sithe ruins as well, returning to the surface of the planet.
Hundreds of millions of years had gone by. By now, Darknorth Palace had reached an utterly towering level of strength, while the three great clans remained hidden within their headquarters and not daring to come out.
The three great clans were simply terrified. They had always relied on their clan leaders, who had been completely wiped out. They naturally didn’t dare to take any further risks, and thus they had come to a decision: “After 108,000 chaos cycles, our three great clans will once more make our presence known within the world. By then, Daolord Darknorth would’ve definitely died. I refuse to believe that such a freakishly strong Daolord can succeed in the Daomerge.”
Ning and Ninedust secretly inspected the world for a period of time, then quietly slipped away without causing any damage to the barriers or wards surrounding the three great clans.
“Time to leave.”
“Let’s go back to the Endless Territories.” With the treasures they had acquired from the Sithe lands in tow, Ning and Ninedust embarked upon their return journey.
By now, Ning had reached an even more profound level in his Omega Sword Dao – Blood Drop. It was now much more powerful, and thus as the two tore through spacetime in the Great Dark they only had to spend a total of a bit over three hundred years before they reached the Endless Territories again.