The Realm of Annihilation

“A place like this actually exists… where even the Heavenly Dao doesn’t function. That means insights into the mysteries of the Dao, its true meaning—all of it is useless.” A Northsea sword appeared in Ji Ning’s hand. He swung it casually. Whoosh. A flash of sword-light, and that was it. At Ji Ning’s level, every slash should have stirred the power of Heaven and Earth. The ninth stance of his Three-Foot Sword could transform into a black divine dragon!

But now, no matter how he swung, no matter what sword-art he used, the result was nothing more than a fleeting gleam of light. Just the reflection off the Northsea sword’s blade.

“No matter how high my Dao comprehension, it’s useless here?”

“What in the hell is this place?” Ji Ning was baffled. Then, a thought struck him. “Could it be… the legendary Primordial Ruins World?”

He had heard of the Primordial Ruins World during his time at Mount Innerheart. It was the most dangerous place known to exist, located in the endless Void outside the Three Realms.

Legend had it…

After the ancient Primordial Pangu’s World had shattered, giving birth to the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and the Netherworld, remnants of its ruins had been left behind. These remnants were the Primordial Ruins World! It was no longer a complete world, but a broken one—a shattered realm that had become even more terrifying. Space was twisted, time was chaotic, and danger lurked everywhere.

Even True Gods and Daofathers who ventured into it risked death.

“No.” Ji Ning shook his head. “The Primordial Ruins World is supposed to be a collection of shattered landmasses. Yet all I see around me is nothing but void storms. It feels like I’m still drifting through the endless Void itself.”

“Senior Bear, what about the Rahu Bow?” Ji Ning suddenly called out.

Whoosh.

A black-robed youth appeared beside him. It was the Rahu Bow.

“Senior Bear?” Ji Ning called out again.

“It’s dangerous out there. I can’t come out.” The voice of the Yellow-Furred Bear rang directly in Ji Ning’s ears.

“Dangerous? Aren’t you the artifact spirit of the Plowsword Manor?” Ji Ning asked, puzzled.

The black-robed youth was startled. “Master, you don’t know? Senior Bear has been cultivating using his spirit-treasure body. He’s long since surpassed the level of a mere artifact spirit and has become a true living being.”

“What!” Ji Ning was stunned.

“You there, Rahu Bow. I hadn’t told Ji Ning yet, and you went and spilled the beans.” The Yellow-Furred Bear’s voice transmitted mentally.

Ji Ning said in amazement, “Senior Bear, you, you’ve already…” Of course, Ji Ning had heard that spirit-treasures could cultivate. Some Innate Spirit-Treasures could even cultivate to immortality, and could even completely separate from their ‘spirit-treasure bodies’ to exist independently!

“I wasn’t in a rush to tell you, but that Rahu Bow had to open his big mouth. Yes, my master treated me with deep affection. In the Three Realms, there have long been Innate Spirit-Treasures who became Celestial Immortals, and some even became Daofathers! My master did some investigating and then taught me a cultivation method designed specifically for Innate Spirit-Treasures. Over these endless years, I naturally cultivated slowly, and I’ve now become a true living being. I just haven’t reached a high enough level to completely separate myself from the Plowsword Manor.” The Yellow-Furred Bear explained.

“Ah.” Ji Ning had an epiphany. Suddenly, he recalled his first meeting with Patriarch Subhuti, and how Subhuti had said, ‘Return to the Plowsword Manor for now. You are not yet able to leave the Plowsword Manor.’ Ji Ning had been puzzled by the Daofather’s words back then. He had even wondered why the Yellow-Furred Bear was able to shed tears.

So that was it!

“The dangers of the outside world would cause me great harm, so I cannot go out.” The Yellow-Furred Bear transmitted. “Ji Ning, you have the Eight-Nine Arcane Art protecting your body, and the Rahu Bow never bothered to cultivate, so you two don’t have to worry.”

“Senior Bear, Rahu Bow, do you know where we are?” Ji Ning asked.

The two of them had lived since the Primordial Era.

“Where is this?” The Bear was puzzled.

“I don’t know either,” the Rahu Bow echoed.

Ji Ning suddenly recalled that these two had both existed since the Primordial Pangu’s World shattered. One had been suppressed in the Crescent Major World, the other had been hiding in the Grand Xia World. They likely knew very little about the outside world now.

“I’ve heard that the remnants of the Primordial Pangu’s World, the Primordial Ruins World, are filled with chaotic space and time, and in some places even the Heavenly Dao does not function. Even True Gods and Daofathers can die trying to explore it,” Ji Ning said. “Here, the Heavenly Dao does not exist either, so I guessed this was the Primordial Ruins World. But all I see around me is the Void, with void storms raging around me, and not a single speck of land. What do you two think… where am I?”

“Who told you the Primordial Ruins World is just the wreckage of Pangu’s World?” the Rahu Bow countered.

“Isn’t that common knowledge?” Ji Ning asked.

He knew there were special secrets to the destruction of the Primordial Pangu’s World, but aside from it being the wreckage, what else could the Ruins World be?

“Common knowledge is often wrong!” The black-robed youth sneered disdainfully.

“Indeed, it is wrong.” The Yellow-Furred Bear transmitted. “As for the true reason the Primordial Ruins World was born… even I am not entirely clear on it.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning was startled. “Senior Bear, what do you know?”

“Ask your master about it later.” The Yellow-Furred Bear said. “The Rahu Bow and I are merely treasures. His master, Qi, was merely an Empyrean God. Although my master was far more formidable, he had already left me behind before his final battle and didn’t take me with him. I know very little, myself. Your master’s status is even higher than my master’s. He definitely knows a great deal.”

Ji Ning nodded lightly.

“But I can say for certain that the Primordial Ruins World is far more complicated than you think. If it were simply the wreckage of Pangu’s World, how could it be so terrifying?” The Yellow-Furred Bear said. “After all, Pangu’s World was an extremely ordinary major world. But the Ruins World is far too dangerous. Even the Heavenly Dao doesn’t exist there. Truly bizarre. As for where you are now… I’ve thought it over carefully. This should be the boundary zone between the Void and the Primordial Ruins World: the Realm of Annihilation!”

“The Realm of Annihilation?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

Of course, he knew about the Realm of Annihilation.

A major world was like an island floating in the endless Void. The border zone where the endless Void and the island met would form some turbulent void storms. That area was called the ‘Realm of Annihilation’. However, because the major world was ‘too small’, the void storms there were very weak. For example, the Realm of Annihilation of the ‘Grand Xia World’ was very safe—at least to Ji Ning, it felt like tiny ripples.

“Right. They say the Primordial Ruins World is comparable in size to the Primordial Pangu’s World. It’s unfathomably larger than an ordinary major world.” Ji Ning quickly reasoned. “Then the border zone between the Primordial Ruins World and the Void would naturally have far more powerful storms!”

“Indeed!”

“This should be the Realm of Annihilation on the outskirts of the Primordial Ruins World.” Ji Ning deduced. “Only a place as mysterious as the Primordial Ruins World could cause its neighboring ‘Realm of Annihilation’ to lack even the Heavenly Dao.”

“Ji Ning, whatever you do, don’t enter the Primordial Ruins World. There may still be remnants of terrifying power from the ancient era in there.” The Yellow-Furred Bear urgently transmitted. “Back then, even True Gods and Daofathers died in droves. Even if it’s not as dangerous as it was before, if you go in now, you might be incinerated to ash with just one misstep.”

“Right, right, right. Don’t go in there,” the Rahu Bow chimed in.

“Of course I know. The legends all say True Gods and Daofathers don’t dare to rashly enter the Primordial Ruins,” Ji Ning nodded.

…

Half an hour later.

BOOM!

An increasingly violent wave of void energy sent Ji Ning tumbling and flipping, flying over ten thousand li before he managed to stop.

“It’s too fierce. The further I try to push outward, the stronger the waves get.” Ji Ning was helpless. “How do I get out?”

“You really are dense.” The black-robed youth, who stood beside him completely unaffected by the void waves, laughed heartily. “The closer you are to a major world, the smaller the void waves are. The further away you go, the more violent they get, all the way until they reach a peak! If the Primordial Ruins truly is as large as the Primordial Pangu’s World, then to break out of the Realm of Annihilation, you would probably need the strength of a True God or Daofather. Even a True Immortal or Empyrean God couldn’t do it. With your current power, you can’t go against the waves; you simply can’t get out.”

“Then should I go with the waves?” Ji Ning retorted.

“Going with the waves means heading toward the Primordial Ruins. That’s suicide.” The Rahu Bow said.

“Then what am I supposed to do?” Ji Ning felt helpless.

Going against the waves—couldn’t get out.

Going with the waves—toward the Primordial Ruins—was suicide.

“What else can you do? Just make do and survive,” the Rahu Bow said. “You can just slowly cultivate here in the Realm of Annihilation. The power of the Sunstar and the Taiyin Star still reaches here, so you can still train your divine power.”

“I suppose that’s the only option.” Ji Ning racked his brains but couldn’t think of another way.

Time to drift.

Slowly drift along in the void waves. As long as he didn’t get close to the Primordial Ruins, any direction was fine.

He would just have to train the entire way.

While Ji Ning drifted and wandered within the ‘Realm of Annihilation’ outside the Primordial Ruins World, inside the tower of the Shaoyin clan…

Whoosh.

A streak of light flew into the tower. It was the horned, golden-robed figure.

“Ancestor.”

“Master.”

Everyone called out.

“I have already sent Fufeng to the Small Cycle of Reincarnation,” the Shaoyin Ancestor nodded. “The Ten Kings of Hell of the Small Cycle did give me face. However, Fufeng’s karmic sins were too heavy. He is now suffering in the endless purgatories. Once his suffering ends and his sins are cleansed, he will be reincarnated back into our Shaoyin clan. But that will be eight million years from now.”

The Infatuated Immortal, Kingfisher Immortal, and the others all nodded.

When one’s karmic sin was great, entering the underworld meant suffering. There was no way around it.

“Lord Ji Ning and Fufeng suffered the descent of Karmic Hellfire at the same time.” The Shaoyin Ancestor’s face darkened. “Seven days have passed now. Whether he lives or dies… the answer should be out. Arrange for someone to go investigate his sect, the Black-White College. Once Ji Ning is dead, his Life Tablet in the Black-White College will shatter. Investigate carefully. We must ascertain whether or not Ji Ning’s Life Tablet has been broken.”

“Yes.” Everyone acknowledged.

“I’ll handle this arrangement,” the Mystic-Peak Immortal said. He was the one in the clan who handled the most miscellaneous affairs, as he was the weakest among the group of Celestial Immortals.

“Good. Mystic-Peak, you handle it. Remember, you must find out clearly. You must confirm that Ji Ning’s Life Tablet has shattered. Don’t just listen to rumors.” The Shaoyin Ancestor narrowed his eyes. “I won’t be able to rest easy until I know he’s truly dead.”

The six Celestial Immortals present all wore grave expressions.

As long as Ji Ning didn’t die, none of them could rest easy.

After all, how difficult was it to produce a Celestial Immortal? And yet they had lost two already at his hands. Moreover, if Ji Ning truly didn’t die, the calamity he would bring upon the Shaoyin clan would likely continue to cause them terrible losses.