Spoiler Ways Talisman Emperor is mirrored by Desolate Era

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by Stark3, Oct 16, 2017.

  1. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    I got led into reading Talisman Emperor because of a post over in Wuxiaworld saying that it couldn't possibly copy from Desolate Era since it was the one published first. That caught my attention since DE is one of my fave xianxia, and being close enough to be called a copycat can't be that bad a thing, right?

    Well, they were right : there are a couple of elements in TE that almost seem to be mirrored by DE. Unfortunately, it doesn't have even half of DE's polish: pacing is really off-whack (MC gets ridiculously OP powers real fast), there are waaay too many convenient plot-armor situations, romance is a mess, some situations aren't really that believable, etc etc.

    Be that as it may, I'm still getting some perverse pleasure in continuing to read it. Mostly from identifying what interesting elements there are that are different from DE, as well as reading those items that are really similar and recalling how IET wrote it out in DE and improved it.

    So ... I decided to keep track of those things that I feel DE lifted off from TE. I'll update from time to time when I do encounter something :)
    *Currently at c439, ways off from the official translation. As such, some items are going to be spoilers. Fair warning has been given :) *
     
  2. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    First off, and within the coverage of the official translations: an inheritance from a primordial Fiendgod, contained within a mansion the MC carries around in a talisman around his neck. It comes complete with a spirit that helps the MC familiarize himself with the master's inheritance and stuff.

    Initially, the inheritance is portioned off, and the MC needs to pass trials that he can access on a limited basis depending on his cultivation level. The first magical powers the MC got was a hand formed by trillions of stars
     
    Last edited: Oct 16, 2017
  3. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    - Another thing I found incredibly similar (and I haven't read in other xianxia, so it's not a common thing like the King Dan etc cultivation levels): not all Dao that a cultivator gets insight to is of the same level. There are some Dao that are like tracks (aka minor Dao) that represent only a small facet of a main Dao. For example, Dao of Freezing is only a subset of the Dao of Water. Unlike DE, TE doesn't have a Grand Dao (or at least not yet), but again, it also has a concept of unlocking cultivation levels only when you have access to a main Dao (no tracks allowed).

    - there's a very prestigious sword school / sect in the world of TE that makes their newly passed applicants observe and meditate on sword marks on a cliff left by seniors of the sect.

    - TE introduces a concept of Daos that can be used to utilize other Daos. The Dao of Swordsmanship for example, could be used to enhance the prestige energies of the Dao of Fire for example.

    - There's a martial arts contest sponsored by the ruler of their macrocosm on a semi-regular basis. Starting from the top 100 onwards, they start getting prizes, with more prizes given the further they go on. The top 3 will be allowed to be taken in as a disciple by an immortal-level figure! (This was how it was initially described at least, they changed it eventually to the top 3 just being able to have access to the imperial storehouse, they can have their choice of one of the secret arts there)
     
  4. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    I almost forgot! One of the first sword skills that the MC gets is a technique to control 8 flying swords at once using his divine sense. They can fly in a sword formation that allows the damage of all 8 swords to superimpose on each other. The 2nd level of this skill allows the MC to use 8 flying swords together to serve as a single node in the formation, basically letting him use 64 swords.
     
  5. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    The similarities are way too many.
    Manor of a ancient Body Refining cultivator, Body, Qi and Soul cultivation, Darcu (Darcian Dynasty) and a sword cultivation legacy... There was a similar subplot as well, with MC finding out that his enemy sect was sacrificing poor villagers to a monster and killing that monster...

    Anyway, how does the current arc end? Also, what are the Daos he has gained insight into in the latest chapter you've read?
     
  6. Blitz

    Blitz ⛈️ awakened from the reverie❄️

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    Sounds interesting. Just wanna mention but talisman emperor started in 2008 while desolate era started in 2014
     
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  7. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    Hmm.. the current arc is where they're trapped in the southern barbarian range, right? Basically, MC kills off most of the monster kings, then collaborates with two of them to grab a fragment of the river chart that's both sealed off the area and prevented the monsters from getting past the violet whatever cultivation level

    As for the MCs current Daos ... he gains insight to the 5 elements (earth, wood, metal, fire, and water) as well as Ying & Yang because those are instrumental in his body refining process (I forgot which boundary). He also picks up a thunder dao, primarily because he was absorbing star essence (used in the body refining process) in the form of thunder.

    From treasures he picks up along the way, he gains a small insight into Slaughtering, Perishing, other shore (dunno how this translates officially, but it's a concept similar to the netherworld / after life I think?), which he then builds up because of all the killing he does.

    He gets access to the Dao of Swallowing from a Kunpeng (Roc?) bone. The magical powers there actually uses either water or thunder to form a whirlpool / eddy current that has incredible suction and then feeds the energies back to the user. Since he has both water and thunder daos, he picks this up rather easily.

    Finally, he gets a tablet that has implications to the Dao of Annihilation. Actually, the MC at this point already has some ideas about this, because of a martial art that he gets that uses the concept of opposing energies (water and fire primarily, but MC is thinking how to use Yin / Yang to add to mix) to release an annihilating burst of energy.

    @AardwarkThe2nd
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2017
  8. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    Here's another I just found :
    One of the main Daos, whose access has been mostly lost to the macrocosm the MC starts in, is the Dao of Chaos.

    Also:
    The name of the realm that the MC starts in is Three, and it has 3000 macrocosms (no word about the microcosms like in DE tho)
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2017
  9. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    100+ chapters later (currently at c633) and I haven't found anything that DE's appropriated from TE again. Not sure if it's a coincidence though, there was an author note in a chapter around near where I found the last one saying that the year is about to go to 2014 (The year DE was published). Maybe IET didn't have time anymore to gain inspiration from TE once he started on his own book?
     
  10. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    I have to say though ... this novel is really wearing me down. The more I progress, the more I'm annoyed by the logic, as well as the author's need to constantly make the MC super OP. The MC would stay at the first level of a cultivation boundary, "impress" people by his potential and the benefits carried over from his previous boundary for a year or less. Then something would almost always happen, and then he gets boosted 4 or 5 levels within the boundary in an instant, after which he'll continue on roflstomping on everyone.

    Absolutely disgusting, no real sense of pacing. -_- Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to read right now T_T
     
  11. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    How does he keep up with the Talisman Creation? What are the auxiliary disciplines he gets into? (eg. talisman refining, cooking). Also, how does his brother progress? How huge is the harem? If the harem was too huge, IET might have dropped it.

    Story recs from LNMTL:
    Ongoing: If you like auxiliary techniques in stories, Library of Heaven's Path and Gourmet of Another World are pretty good. 40 Millenniums of Cultivation is up as well if you like refining with grimdark sci-fi (Warhammer-style). If you like wars and tactics, try Human Emperor.

    Complete: Immortality has wars and tactics, a xianxia and has harem. If you like pure xianxia, Great Dao Commander has a intelligent protag while Legend of the Great Saint is good too. Also if you don't mind 5K+ chapters and slow pace, Legend of the Cultivation God is stellar.
     
  12. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    I think the talisman thing is more a matter of translation. The actual title is Fu Huang - if you do a google on the character for Fu it does look like it means talismans or tally commands or something like that. From a bunch of other stuff I've read via MTL though, in xianxia more often than not it refers to runic / magical symbols, with Fu Dao (Dao of Symbols?) related not just to the memorization of those symbols but also to the study of the various mutations those symbols may have and how they interact with other symbols. Using Fu Dao to make talismans is just a small part of it IMO.

    Anyway, there's only one instance where the MC massively creates a lot of talismans to shore up his battle strength, to make traps, etc. On the other hand, all cultivators, once they get to the boundary after Rebirth / Nirvana (I forgot the official translation for it, in MTL it's deep honourable person -_-), needs to make a choice as to which Dao they'll take as their main, and use that Dao to act as their control to the utilization of other Daos. The MC chooses Fu Dao as his main. Now, in scenes where he gets to full battle mode, he's surrounded by magical symbols, and some of the techniques that he launched before using his fist or sword starts off as a symbol before transforming and showing its magical effects.

    About the brother - he only ever gets to be in the same battle as the MC once. After that, his primarily role changes to become the founder of the next Chen clan, so no battles for him, more of management. The harem is too much for me, though the time when there was a lot of members was brief (after which MC needs to travel to a different dimension and ONLY 3 women who's attached to him has the rights to go to the same destination)
     
  13. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    I read Library of Heaven's Path up to around ch300 or so, after which I got tired by the same old same old 'face slapping' proposition. It really loses charm when the same schtick is used over and over again with little to no variation. I REALLY enjoy 40 Milleniums of Cultivation (I'm at ch2363), though I need a break from it since it's reaaaally serious at times and deals a lot more with philosophical concepts. (Just about the only reason why I'm reading TE is that it's a light read and gives me time to recharge before going back to FMC).

    Am finished with Legend of the Great Saint, though I find it a pity that it's unfinished - the last chapter really reads like something that gets cut off. No progress whatsoever in several months in the RAWs tho, so I'm not holding any more hope for it
     
  14. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    Can I get some more spoilers on the latest parts you are at? Also, when does he get laid and are xxx scenes graphic?

    Almighty Student Bringing the Farm to Another World, School Beauty's Personal Expert, Omni Genius, Legend of the Cultivation God, Martial God Space, Dragon-Blooded War God... All of them are 3k+ in chapter count. Are they any good, have you read one of them? Don't they get way too repetitive at a point?

     
  15. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    No worries. Currently at c826.

    Regarding the significance of the title (Fu Huang), I almost forgot to mention: at one point, when he'd learned enough about symbols, the next time he went over to the cave mansion to do a trial he unlocked the real inheritance left behind by that ancient master. He no longer has to finish trials, has unlimited access to the cave mansion as well as the room inside that has a 10x time slow effect, and he's taught what the MTL calls God Fu (Personally I think it's a cop out by the author - most likely he got tired of thinking of a magical power to give to the MC at the end of each trial)

    Each God Fu are capable of completely describing a single main Dao, and it does so by being comprised of tens of thousands of more primitive symbols in an interlocking, complicated pattern. Anyway, he's taught 5 simple God Fu first, one for each of the 5 elements, and he used that knowledge to refine a sword that has growth potential. (This was back in the time where he uses the sword for pretty much everything).

    And then ... at the time that the MC gets to the top of the deep perfection boundary, the current arc villain gets to wreck his Dantian which normally can't be recovered from. In the exploration of the next world, MC encounters alien races and gets an idea from them: rebuild his whole cultivation base using symbols. He uses a combination of the 5 God Fu, which gives him a massive power up.
     
  16. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    But there are three cultivations: body, qi and soul. Dantian wrecked all of them?
     
  17. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    Only the qi one got wrecked.

    About him getting laid ... Sometime after ch200 I think. It happened in one of those contests, and he got chased down by two beauties into an a foggy area ... Which turns out to be the essence of a beast specializing in passion. At that point the MC couldn't move a muscle and was actually forced in turns by the women. It's relatively graphic, but not as much as novels that actually feature it a lot (aka Chaotic Lightning Cultivation, etc)
     
  18. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    Hello, are you caught up with cultivation 40K? How does the current arc with Li Yao facing 2K Iron Fist and Chaos Saber members in his college competition conclude?
     
  19. Stark3

    Stark3 Well-Known Member

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    Not caught up, but pretty far ahead (ch2363 out of 26xx). I'm trying to recall the details, but he was able to set the iron fist and chaos saber members against each other, even though the 2 groups had agreed to concentrate on Li Yao beforehand. He was able to beat them all in the confusion.
     
  20. AardwarkThe2nd

    AardwarkThe2nd (R-18 writer) Aardwark, the king of aardvarks!

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    Back when 40K was being TLed by on Friendship is Power free Wordpress site, a Reddit post on r/rational said that this story had many intelligent antagonists who are opposing Li Yao for understandable reasons. (Not xianxia shit).
    Also, there are many plots to end the world where MC has to stop them. (Like James Bond).
    When does this begin? Also can you describe the first such antagonist with his world ending plot?