First Immortal of the Sword

Zhu Guqing’s expression was wooden, and she said nothing.

But when Su Yi heard the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s words, he arched his brow, and his heart trembled. Zhu Guqing is dying in Wen Lingxue’s place?

He then turned to Ning Sihua and said, “You deal with Wuhuan, I’ll find a way to flatten this place.”

“Flatten!?” Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong gasped, so startled, they broke out in cold sweats.

How could they miss that the captive white-haired woman in the center of the ritual hall was the person the Mystic Master was searching for?

Old Ghost Wuhuan is doomed! Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong glanced at each other.

“Alright.” Ning Sihua nodded, then rose to her feet and said coldly, “Wuhuan, I’ll give you just one chance. Let her go, and I’ll grant you a quick death.”

Her voice was soft and pleasing to the air, but it carried an unfathomable majesty as it resounded clearly through the ears of every yao and apparition present. The entire place instantly fell deathly silent.

The crowd all looked over, their expressions flabbergasted and bewildered.

Ning Sihua was calm, and she was staring directly at the Wuhuan Water Monarch. “I urge you not to let your anger overcome your rationality. Think carefully, then decide.”

The wooden, lifeless Zhu Guqing quivered, and a spark of light returned to her lifeless eyes. She recognized Ning Sihua, and she couldn’t help but get excited.

The Wuhuan Water Monarch’s brow furrowed, and he felt rather confused. His eyes seemed to crackle with cold electricity as he swept his gaze across the venue. “Does anyone know just who this shameless braggart of a woman is?”

He planned to start by figuring out who Ning Sihua was.

“I know! She came here with Mountain Monarch Tao!” shouted Ha Shisan. “Water Monarch, I highly suspect that Mountain Monarch Tao came here with ill intentions!”

“That’s right. I can attest to that as well,” said the elderly weasel yao. When he looked at Tao Qingshan, his eyes shone with glee and schadenfreude.

Tao Qingshan rose, his expression solemn, and said in a low voice, “Old Ghost Wuhuan, don’t say I didn’t warn you! You’d best let that woman go, or else, Ninebends City will be wiped off the face of the planet before the night is up!”

The hall was silent, but these words instantly triggered another round of uproar. Some of the ghosts couldn’t help but burst into raucous laughter.

“Hahaha! I’m afraid Tao Qingshan has lost his mind!”

“Wiped off the face of the earth? Ninebends City? Not even an Earthly Immortal could do that!”

“No, this is too fishy. Mountain Monarch Tao has never struck me as someone so foolish and arrogant. Don’t tell me he’s deliberately provoking me in an attempt to ruin the sacrifice?”

……By now, even the Wuhuan Water Monarch was amused; his anger was so extreme that it turned into laughter.

“I invited you to attend the festivities, yet here you are, brazenly proclaiming your intentions to destroy my Ninebends City. Fine! Go ahead and destroy it; I’ll watch. Please, broaden our horizons!”

Another burst of mocking laughter reverberated throughout the ritual grounds. Some of the ghosts laughed so hard that their heads were on the verge of falling off.

Tao Qingshan furrowed his brow, but then, Su Yi shook his head. “What’s the use of all this talk? Just attack.”

Ning Sihua nodded, then strode toward the center of the ritual hall.

She was petite and dressed in simple, cloud-patterned white skirts. Her features were youthful, like a girl in her early teens.

But when he sensed her cold, indifferent gaze, a sense of suppression rose unbidden in the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s heart. Despite himself, he was alarmed.

“Stinky woman, don’t you have any sense of self-respect? Get the hell out of here!” Madam Mountainden shot to her feet and blocked Ning Sihua’s path. She stretched out her hand and reached for Ning Sihua’s throat.

Her plan was to grab Ning Sihua by the neck and fling her back to her seat, but before her right arm even finished moving, a slender, jade-like hand grabbed it tight.

“No one will mourn your death,” whispered Ning Sihua.

The palace lady’s world went dark, and her body contorted and collapsed in on itself as if it had suddenly encountered terrifying pressure. A gust of howling wind escaped her body.

Then, beneath the crowd’s stunned gazes, Madam Mountainden exploded like a popped rubber ball, splitting into baleful energy and dispersing into the air.

Everyone fell silent.

Many of the ghosts and yao were visibly shaken.

The lady in palace garb was called “Mountainden.” She was formed of a hundred-year vengeful soul, and although she wasn’t as strong as a Grandmaster, she could easily kill those within the Qi Accumulation Realm.

But now, she’d been killed just like that!

“Hmph!” The Wuhuan Water Monarch’s expression darkened, and he bellowed, “Ghost soldiers! Where are you? Go seize that woman, and Mountain Monarch Tao, too!

Boom!

Vicious ghosts surged into the ritual hall, pouring in from all directions. There were hundreds, then thousands of them, all of them surging with baleful energy.

Some charged right toward Ning Sihua, but others targeted Su Yi, Tao Qingshan, and Teng Yong.

All of them emanated imposing and sinister energy. Their killing intent permeated the entire area.

Ha Shisan still feared that this wouldn’t be enough, so he roared to add to the chaos. “Everyone, attack at once! Seize Mountain Monarch Tao and his cohort!”

Instantly the other guests rose, their expressions decidedly unfriendly, and charged into the fray.

These were ghosts and yao, so their methods were extremely strange. Some controlled dark yin energies, while others spit poisonous mists and flames. Some directly reverted to their true forms and pounced.

Each was more vicious and violent than the one before, their auras startling.

Were an ordinary Grandmaster here, they would surely have given into despair.

But neither Su Yi nor Ning Sihua seemed to notice in the least. Their expressions didn’t so much as waver.

Boom!

Ning Sihua’s aura expanded, and radiant, dazzling light lit up around her petite frame, like a sun illuminating everything around it.

Some of the ghosts had only just charged over, but before they even drew near, they let out desperate, terrified shrieks as their bodies first melted, then dissipated into green smoke.

But it seemed the vicious ghosts didn’t even know the meaning of the word “fear.” They nevertheless charged into the fray, surging with baleful energy.

When some of the more powerful yao and apparitions saw this, they seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, the power Ning Sihua went onto display taught all of them the true meaning of “terror” and “despair.”

They watched as—

Her clothes swayed as she walked, and with a casual slap, she forced back the swarm of vicious ghosts. As they flew back, their bodies exploded in the air.

Some of the more powerful apparitions carried weapons, yet this single understated motion obliterated them too. Ning Sihua slew them as easily as she might squash an ant.

Many of the other ghosts and yao in attendance were beside themselves with fright.

Meanwhile, Su Yi had already risen to his feet. He said calmly, “You two, get behind me.”

As he spoke, he walked toward the nearby bronze pillar.

Vicious ghosts lunged from all sides, but it was like he didn’t even see them. Or rather, it seemed he didn’t take them the least bit seriously.

Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong looked grave as they hurried after him. They would never have guessed that this battle would erupt out of nowhere, but they had no time to think.

Their predicament was too dangerous for that!

This was Ninebends City, the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s home turf. Furthermore, hundreds of his guests, all of them tough customers, were charging right toward them.

If it weren’t for Su Yi, they feared they would have chickened out right off the bat….

Now, all they could do was place their hopes in Su Yi.

Rumble~! Boom!

Baleful energy surged like the tide. The packs of vicious ghosts bared their fangs and waved their claws, charging from all sides. Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong instinctively felt the urge to fight back.

However, a streak of sword light struck before they could react.

Whoosh!

The sword qi was unstoppable. Any vicious ghost in its path was cleansed into nothingness. Only billowing black smoke remained.

Two yao had mixed into the pack of vicious ghosts. Both ruled over their own mountain, and neither was a pushover. They’d come here tonight as distinguished guests.

However, beneath that sword, they split as easily as if they were made of paper mache, dying on the spot. They couldn’t even attempt to dodge.

When they saw this, Tao Qingshan and Teng Yang’s eyes widened, and their jaws dropped. Their hearts shook, Is this the majesty of a mystic master?

“This is bad! That kid is too strong. Hurry up and flee!” Ha Shisan had planned to charge into the fray too, but when he saw this, he was so terrified that his fatty cheeks jiggled. He turned and fled, not daring to even hesitate.

He would never have guessed that the blue-robed youth he’d overlooked all this time was actually so terrifying!

Even the elderly weasel quivered, and he slipped away and hid as smoothly as if the floors were freshly greased.

Of course, there were still some with no fear of death. They charged, drawing their weapons or calling upon dark and sinister secret arts.

But without exception, Su Yi cut them down with Guiding Mysteries, his movements fast and efficient, as if he were cutting open melons or chopping up vegetables.

Before long, Su Yi and company arrived at the massive bronze pillar.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

The fearless ghosts that remained kept charging toward him with towering momentum, but before they got near, Su Yi cut them down.

At the same time, Su Yi’s left hand stretched out, his fingernails like knives. With a few lightning-quick movements, he carved a series of obscure and mysterious inscriptions into the metal pillar.

This was true multitasking. One hand cut down the throngs of enemies as the other carved the pillar.

In just a single breath of time, an inscrutable pattern appeared in the pillar’s bronze surface.

Su Yi didn’t delay. He led Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong over to yet another pillar.

All the while, the killing never stopped. It didn’t matter how many attacked; they were like moths to the flame. All fell beneath Su Yi’s sword.

“Who exactly are these people?”

“How terrifying!”

“Hurry up and hide! I came here to attend a banquet, dammit, not to throw my life away!”

…..Yet another round of uproar and startled cries filled the air. Everything was thrown into chaos.

It was clear that they could stop neither Su Yi nor Ning Sihua!

The power the two of them had displayed was enough to shake the guests’ hearts. The less suicidal among them were beside themselves with terror.

Before this, who would have dared believe that just two people, just one man and one woman, could be so strong?

And who would have dared believe that anyone would dare cause so much trouble in the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s home turf?

The Wuhuan Water Monarch currently stood at the center of the ritual hall. His expression darkened.

He no longer hesitated. He pulled a blood-red streamer from his sleeves and waved it in the air with all his might.

Boom!

Nine massive bronze doors emerged from the ground surrounding the nine-segmented ritual grounds. Each was a hundred feet tall, and each was carved with a different blood-colored totem: wind, lightning, earth, fire, the sun and moon, etcetera.

When the nine doors appeared, they acted like walls, sealing off all possible routes of escape.

By perfect coincidence, it was that very moment that Ning Sihua slew her way out of her encirclement. Her steps were light and airy, and she was already less than fifty feet from the Wuhuan Water Monarch.

“Die!” The Wuhuan Water Monarch roared, then waved the blood-colored streamer at Ning Sihua with all his might.

Boom!

It was then that a bolt of bloody lightning surged out of the southwestern bronze gate, carrying piercing, unearthly light as it shot straight toward Ning Sihua.