Desolate era, p.363
Desolate Era, page 363
“This is the day,” King Yan said.
There had been an order to the procession of souls judged that had been recorded within the bamboo scroll. It included information on which judge did the adjudication, when the record was made, and in what order the decision was made. Thus, King Yan knew exactly which court and roughly which day the judgement was made.
The reversed flow of time began to slow down, and the ghosts could be seen clearly once more.
Ning looked carefully at the ghosts; one of them should’ve been his mother.
Suddenly…
King Yan controlled the temporal version, making it come to a sudden halt, because a white-robed woman had just been escorted in by the demonic soldiers…and it was Ning’s mother, Yuchi Snow!
“Mother.” Ning’s eyes stung. He actually wanted to throw himself forward to hug her.
It had been far, far too long…
But Ning knew that these were merely the illusions rendered by a temporal inversion; these were events that had already happened in the past. These were nothing more than illusions; there was no way he could possibly touch his mother.
“Faster, faster!” The two demonic soldiers that brought Yuchi Snow in actually gave her a shove.
Yuchi Snow looked at her surroundings. Not panicking at all, she immediately knelt down. “My respects to you, judge.”
* * *
Book 17, Chapter 4 - Eastflow Snow, Willowriver Chuan
An aura of light suddenly appeared within the court, and within the light appeared many images. There were images of a little girl playing with her elders, of a young maiden fleeing in terror, of the fully grown Yuchi Snow staring into Ji Yichuan’s eyes, of her adventures in the Darknorth Sea, of her birth of Ji Ning, of her teaching Ji Ning footwork techniques…
One image after another.
“Her past life.” Ning stared at the images.
Although a Protocosmic spirit-treasure had been left behind within this miniature cycle of reincarnation that allowed one to view the past lives of countless ghosts, there was no Book of Life and Death. The judge merely gave the images a glance, then wrote with his pen, “Yuchi Snow, of the world of the Grand Xia, Eastisle Commandery, Yuchi clan. Slightly positive karma. Adjudicated to be…” Some thoughts suddenly appeared in the judge’s mind.
Adjudicated to be reborn as a human and be reincarnated to the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Eastflow clan. Her name shall be Eastflow Snow, and she shall live for 200 years.
These thoughts had been naturally generated by the Dao of the Heavens.
Once one took on the position of judge and moved to support the normal functioning of the Six Paths, it could be said that one had become a part of the Dao of the Heavens. However, the judges were fully capable of changing these written decisions…but in doing so, their own karma would be affected. The more ridiculous the changes were, the more major the impact would be on their karmic standing. In fact, there were some judgements that simply couldn’t be written. For example, if this minor judge was to try to forcibly write that Yuchi Snow’s sentence was to suffer a thousand years of punishment in the eighteenth level of Hell, so much sin would accumulate around the judge that he would probably be immediately deposed from his position, even before he finished writing the sentence!
“…To be reborn as a human and be reincarnated to the Wusky world, Flowermont Commandery, Eastflow clan. Her name shall be Eastflow Snow, and she shall live for 200 years!” This judge naturally followed the will of the Dao of the Heavens. He wouldn’t make any changes at all for an ordinary ghost like this.
……
Watching as his mother was sent off, Ning murmured to himself, “It really was the Eastflow clan of the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world. I wasn’t lied to.”
“Do you wish to also see Ji Yichuan?” The nearby King Yan asked.
“Yes. Of course, yes.” Ning nodded, then said, “King Yan, sorry for the trouble.”
“No trouble at all. If I ran into something like this, I’d probably be frantic as well. Still…unless one becomes a Celestial Immortal, one shall forever struggle within the cycle of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. If one is lucky, one might eventually escape, but less than one in a trillion actually do so. The vast majority shall continue to drown within the cycle until the day comes when their soul is destroyed.” King Yan looked at Ning. “You need to accept this.”
Ning nodded gently.
“Come. Let’s go to another court,” King Yan said, leading the way.
……
Yet another court. The court had been a ceaseless bustle of activity, but it all came to a sudden halt. The judge and the demonic soldiers were terrified into hurriedly departing, leaving behind only Ning and King Yan. King Yan once more used a temporal inversion technique, allowing them to view the scenes of the past. They watched as Ji Yichuan was sentenced by the judge.
“Father.” Ning looked at the white-robed Ji Yichuan while listening to the words of the judge. “So he really was sent to the Flowermont Commandery of the Wusky world.”
“I wish to make a trip to the Wusky world,” Ning said.
“Alright. I’ll accompany you on this trip. I imagine that you will want the temporal inversion technique to be used again; I’ll have to do it for you.” King Yan nodded, then advised, “But Ji Ning, you have to be careful. The Wusky world is not like the Grand Xia; its foundations are not as stable or deep as ours. Thus, the Seamless Gate has been even more brazen in that world. We can go investigate matters pertaining to your parents’ reincarnation, but it’s best for you not to intervene in those struggles.”
Ning said softly, “I understand. King Yan, don’t worry; I’m no longer that stupid, hot-headed little kid.”
“Mm.” King Yan nodded.
The two immediately left this courtyard, then used a spatial teleport to head straight to the Wusky world.
The Wusky world was one of the dozens of major worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright’s control. In truth, of the worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright, the Grand Xia was actually in fairly good shape; there were many that were in far worse shape than the Grand Xia! For example, the Mount Stele major world was now almost completely controlled by the Seamless Gate.
The Wusky world had descended into the fires of war, filled with battles by Immortals and Fiends.
“This is where the Eastflow clan of the Flowermont Commandery is located.” King Yan looked down from the night sky towards a city, filled with countless Diremonsters.
“The Eastflow clan is gone?” Ning frowned.
“Perhaps a few remnants of them remain somewhere.” King Yan looked downwards. “Right now, the entire Wusky world is in a state of chaos. Major clans and sects might be able to fight back, but many smaller, backwater areas have been utterly massacred. The Seamless Gate doesn’t care too much about discipline; in fact, they delight in causing chaos, the more the merrier.”
Ning nodded.
He had noticed this as well.
When humans took control over a territory, they emphasized order.
But the Seamless Gate, however, encouraged battle and war. It instigated countless problems, hoping for more chaos!
“This city of the Eastflow clan was broken into by monsters. It is now occupied by monsters, while the remnants of the Eastflow clan have fled long ago,” King Yan said. “Let me use the temporal inversion now.”
“Alright.” Ning nodded.
Ning gave the city below a single glance. Instantly, invisible ripples of power swept out from his soul.
All of the many monsters within the commandery city, as well as a few humans who were still resisting and fight back against the monsters, all felt their bodies go soft before they collapsed to the ground. In this instant…all the humans and monsters within the city were trapped within a deep slumber.
“Temporal inversion.” King Yan looked downwards as he executed his technique.
……
“Waaaaaaa!”
A cry rang out, and an infant was born.
“Haha, let’s call this daughter of mine…Eastflow Snow.” A tall man spoke out in a joyful manner.
Eastflow Snow slowly grew up. She was smart and obedient, learning from her father to become a Ki Refiner and loving to play around with the other children of the same age…
Ning just quietly watched.
“So similar. She looks so similar to mother,” Ning murmured silently to himself. In this life, Eastflow Snow lived a joyful, carefree life. She was filled with vigor and life, whereas in her past life as Yuchi Snow, she had always seemed slightly gloomy and quiet.
Eastflow Snow quickly grew up. After turning sixteen, she went out adventuring with her fellow clansmen.
While adventuring in the outside world…
She encountered another boy, a boy who saved her.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Willowriver Chuan.”
The sixteen year old Eastflow Snow had met with the still-boyish Willowriver Chuan.
“Mother. Father…” Ning and King Yan quietly watched.
The two went out adventuring together. Willowriver Chuan slowly grew taller; although he was a few years younger than Snow, he had a tall, muscular frame. Given that Chuan was also a Fiendgod Body Refiner, he soon grew even taller than Snow. After adventuring together for two years, the two naturally began to grow close together, perhaps because they felt an innate affinity for each other. Chuan and Snow both broke through to become Xiantian lifeforms while adventuring together! However, Chuan broke through as both a Fiendgod Body Refiner and a Ki Refiner, whereas Snow was merely a Ki Refiner.
“Little brother Chuan, Father has already sent people to summon me; I have to go back.”
“Big sister Snow, I’ll find you. I’ll make your father allow you to marry me.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
“I’ll definitely come.”
……
“Hahaha, dear Snow, you have quite the eye. This Willowriver Chuan was able to become a Xiantian lifeform; this means that he can be considered a genius of the Willowriver clan. However…their clan is still a small one. It can’t compare with our Eastflow clan.”
“Daddy!” Snow grew worried.
“Ahaha, I’m just teasing you! If you like him, then go ahead and be with him; I won’t stop you.”
……
Months later.
“Chuan, don’t be in such a rush. Father has actually agreed to us already; he’s just testing you.” Snow had stealthily crept over to the guest building where Chuan was residing to tell him this.
“So that’s the case. I was being too impatient.” Chuan rubbed his head. “Big sister Snow, since your father isn’t going to stop us…then I’m going to go back to prepare a betrothal gift. According to clan rules, I need to prepare a gift of nine ding-cauldrons.”
“Alright.” Snow nodded gently, but she blushed a bit with shyness.
…..
A betrothal gift of nine ding-cauldrons was quite a pricey one. However…since Chuan had long ago broken through to the Xiantian level, his status within his clan was quite high. He soon prepared the gift. Although the Eastflow clan was far more powerful, they didn’t move to stop this affair. The two sides soon came to agree on an auspicious day; next spring, the wedding would occur.
Within the Eastflow clan.
“Adept Icebreak, after these three kids join the Flowermont Immortal School, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of them. Here are our gifts for you for taking them on as your disciples; please accept them, Adept.”
“Teaching and guiding one’s disciples is only normal; there’s no need for this gift. I’ve spent quite some time with your Eastflow clan; it’s time for me to go back. Have those three kids come out; I’ll take them back to the Flowermont Immortal School.”
“Yes, Adept.”
The Eastflow clan leader was being very careful to take good care of this Adept Icebreak of the Flowermont Immortal School. The Flowermont Immortal School was the most supreme of the large schools of the Flowermont Commandery. Supposedly, they even had a Celestial Immortal amongst their ranks! In addition, the Flowermont Immortal School was very strict with its disciples; in fact, if any disciples had any sin around them, they would be expelled! From this, one could tell how strict their rules were.
There were naturally many people who wished to join such a mighty, righteous school.
“The Adept forgot this. Please hand this to the Adept.” The Eastflow clan leader secretly handed the gift to one of the Adept’s followers, who accepted it.
Soon, three youths appeared.
“After you go to the Immortal School, you’ll have to work hard.”
“You are the shining stars amongst the younger generation of our Eastflow clan. In the future, our clan will depend on you.”
“Little uncle, remember to come back to visit me.”
“Second brother, take care of yourself.”
The kinsmen of the three youths sent them off…and amongst them was Eastflow Snow.
The distant Adept Icebreak glanced over, his gaze suddenly falling upon Eastflow Snow. He immediately sent mentally, “Eastflow clan leader.”
“Adept,” the Eastflow clan leader hurriedly said.
“That white-robed girl looks nice.” Adept Icebreak sent mentally, “I am in need of a maidservant, and she looks quite obedient and clever; she’s a good fit. Help me speak to her; if she is willing to accompany me, then send her to me. But if she is not willing, then forget it.”
Adept Icebreak then led these three early-stage Zifu Disciple youths into his flying ship, then departed from the Eastflow clan.
The Eastflow clan leader hesitated a moment, then spoke to Snow’s father about this.
“Clan leader, you are going to give Snow to Adept Icebreak? We can’t do that; in another month, she’s going to get married. Can’t you refuse?”
“How can I refuse? Don’t you know what sort of a person this Adept Icebreak is? Although he looks like an upright gentleman, in secret he’s very greedy and very lecherous! It’s precisely because he is greedy that our Eastflow clan was able to send three of our own into the Flowermont Immortal School. If we don’t give him Snow…he’ll probably be embarrassed and angered, which will have a negative impact on Fuqiang and the others. They are the future of our Eastflow clan; for the sake of the clan, if we have to sacrifice a little girl like Snow, then we will do it!”
“But the Willowriver clan…?”
“The Willowriver clan merely has two Zifu Disciples; how would a clan like that dare to offend our Eastflow clan? Ignore them. For the sake of the tribe, even I myself can be sacrificed, much less Snow! I’m just letting you know in advance; later, I’ll go speak to Snow myself. I trust that she knows what truly matters. In addition…from this day forth, you are not to meet with Snow any longer. I’ll handle everything myself, to ensure that there are no slip-ups.”
……
“Clan leader, you…you are telling me…no…no! I want to see Father, I want to see Father!”
“You should know what truly matters. Come, men, go and lock her up! Tomorrow, I’ll send her off myself.”
……
Within a vast wilderness.
“Big sister Snow, why did you break the message-talisman? What has happened?”
“I used a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal to flee. There’s no time! I want you to give up everything and leave this place by my side. In fact, we’re going to leave the entire Flowermont Commandery, but we will be together. Alright?”
Romantic love and familial love warred with each other. In the end…
Willowriver Chuan had knelt down, kowtowing towards the direction of his clan. “Father. Mother. Elder brother and second brother will have to be filial in my stead. Forgive me for being unfilial! In the future, if I have the chance, I will return.”
“Let’s go.”
That very night, Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow had left their homeland, eloping.
* * *
Book 17, Chapter 5 - Truesoul
Ji Ning stood there in the wilderness, watching the scene of Willowriver Chuan and Eastflow Snow fleeing that had been created by the temporal inversion. His heart felt heavy…because up until now, everything which had transpired was identical to events as portrayed within the book King Yan had given him.
“Let’s go to the Ninesongs Sword Sect,” Ning said.
“Alright.”
King Yan knew that until Ning saw everything in person, he wouldn’t give up hope. The two immediately teleported forward to the Ninesongs Sword Sect, located in another commandery.
……
That year, Chuan and Snow had carefully, slowly departed in a drifting manner. They spent a total of eight years before passing out of the vast Flowermont Commandery and arriving at the Ninesongs Sword Sect. Chuan was very skilled in the sword to begin with, and because they had encountered many dangers over the past eight years, he had improved significantly. His had reached the Zifu Disciple level as a Fiendgod Body refiner, and so he was able to easily enter the Ninesongs Sword Sect as a disciple. As for Eastflow Snow, she had entered by his side as his ‘maidservant’.
The second year after their entry into the Ninesongs Sword Sect. Snow, by relying on a spirit-pill which Chuan had acquired from the sect, was able to break through to the Zifu Disciple level. She, too, was accepted as formal disciple of the Ninesongs Sword Sect.
“This is the place where the Ninesongs Sword Sect used to be.” From his position high up in the air, King Yan pointed downwards towards a giant pile of rubble.
Ning stared at the rubble, his heart sinking.
The rubble spanned tens of thousands of kilometers, and there were quite a few monsters in this area.
“Eastflow Snow…Willowriver Chuan. According to the intelligence reports that I collected, they lived here at Waterflow Peak, which should be right over there.” King Yan quickly flew to a part of the destroyed city. Waving his hand, he caused the many monsters and Diremonsters there to all collapse.
