First Immortal of the Sword

Boom!

The mountains of white bone collapsed with a bang and shattered.

The blood-colored lightning filling the skies dispersed.

The spears formed of howling wind and rain of sword qi both disintegrated, offering no resistance at all.

In the blink of an eye, beneath the Formation-Breaking Talisman’s unstoppable, sweeping Dao Light, the power of the surrounding killing formation crumbled into nothingness.

The seemingly endless rain of sparks illuminated Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing’s rapidly changing expressions. Both looked utterly shaken. 

However, Su Yi acted as if he’d done something so trivial that it wasn’t even worth mentioning. He stretched out a finger and tapped the Formation-Breaking Talisman hovering in the air.

Whoosh! 

A beam of unyielding Dao Light shot forth, then transformed into a thousand-foot streak of sword qi. It sliced ruthlessly into the overcast vision of purgatory around them.

Boom!

The sword cleaved into the boundless gray world, as if overturning both heaven and earth. The surging tide of formation runes broke apart and disappeared.

The scenery changed, and they found themselves in the Daoist temple once more. The only difference was that the killing formation had disappeared without a trace.

“He broke such a terrifying killing formation just like that?” Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing looked dazed.

“How is this possible!?” An alarmed, outraged shriek resounded from outside the central hall. Every word was rife with disbelief.

Madam Xihua fell to the ground, her face pale and translucent. She clenched a formation disc in her hand, but numerous cracks had appeared all over its surface.

She was the one controlling the killing formation, so when it broke, she suffered a backlash, resulting in injuries.

“I warned you out of the goodness of my heart, but you insisted on courting death. Why?” Su Yi walked out of the central hall and gazed indifferently at her. “Might we have a proper chat now?”

Madam Xihua trembled beneath Su Yi’s gaze. She struggled to sit up, and her expression wavered. “Fellow Daoist… What would you like to talk about?” 

“Who had you place this killing formation to target me?” asked Su Yi.

Madam Xihua lowered her head and said, “I was blind. I thought that by killing the three of you, I could seize your treasures…”

Whap!

A resounding slap struck her right in the face, sending her flying backward. Her beautiful cheekbones caved in, blood gushed from her mouth, and her hair was in disarray.

She was a Gathering Stars Realm ghost cultivator, but in Su Yi’s eyes, she was utterly insignificant, and he could slaughter her as he pleased.

Su Yi said calmly, “A Gathering Stars ghost cultivator like you couldn’t possibly have placed such a killing formation without external help. If you don’t tell me the truth, don’t blame me for my poor manners.”

This slap obviously made it perfectly clear just how strong Su Yi was. Madam Xihua threw herself to her knees and said in a quavering voice, “Mystic Master, please, calm your fury! I was wrong. It’s just as you say. I targeted you this time… at someone else’s behest.”

Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing were both startled. This entire ghostly domain was actually a carefully-prepared booby trap all along?

“Tell me: who made you do this?” asked Su Yi.

Madam Xihua’s expression flickered back and forth with uncertainty. In the end, she said bitterly, “Mystic Master, to tell the truth, witnessing your strength firsthand made me realize that I’ve been tricked.”

She then proceeded to tell him the full story.

It turned out that three days ago, a middle-aged man who called himself “the Blood Valiant” came looking for her. He requested her assistance in killing Su Yi and his companions. 

Once they were dead, he promised to give her a secret technique relevant to Spirit Dao-level cultivation.

At first, Madam Xihua hesitated.

But when he took out a command token, the sight of it instantly cleared up her doubts, and she agreed.

In Blood Valiant’s description, Su Yi and his companions were all in the Grain Avoidance Realm, and only Su Yi was worthy of caution, as he possessed heaven-defying combat prowess.

To counter this, Blood Valiant personally helped her place a killing formation.

With the killing formation in place, Madam Xihua relaxed completely.

Only for this to happen. Alas, she would never have guessed that Su Yi wasn’t in the Grain Avoidance Realm at all. Instead, he was in the Origin Palace Realm, and he was so terrifyingly strong that even a Gathering Stars Realm cultivator like her couldn’t take so much as a single hit. 

He was so strong that he effortlessly broke through a killing formation that could kill even Gathering Stars Realm cultivators with ease!

This led Madam Xihua to believe that she’d been duped. Blood Valiant had tricked her!

After hearing the full story, Su Yi furrowed his brow. “What are this ‘Blood Valiant’ guy’s origins?”

Madam Xihua took a deep breath, and her expression revealed awe and dream. “I don’t know his origins, but I do know that he is in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm. He’s a true advanced ghost cultivator!”

She described Blood Valiant as “dressing in Daoist robes” and having “an immortal air about him.” He looked like a middle-aged Daoist monk; he didn’t seem like a ghost cultivator at all.

“So a Spiritual Manifestation Realm ghost cultivator is after Master!?” Yuan Heng gasped. Surprise appeared on Bai Wenqing’s face too.

“You just said that Blood Valiant took out a command token, and that it’s what convinced you to agree to assist him. What was so special about that command token?” asked Su Yi.

“It bore the mark of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace’s divine emissary,” Madam Xihua explained at top speed. “It was carved with the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace’s unique totem. That means that Blood Valiant is unquestionably a legitimate inheritor of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace; he’s far from comparable to the ghost cultivators of the world’s Deathbringer’s Gates.”

“So, he’s one of the evildoers of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace…” Su Yi suddenly recalled Holy Maiden Jade Angelica, who he met at the Spiritbend Assembly, as well as the Nirvanic Winds Holy Son. He’d killed the latter personally.

Both were monsters of the ancient era. They were obviously from the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace too!

“Blood Valiant is either here to get revenge for the Nirvanic Winds Holy Son, or he wants to seize the Demonic Womb back. Or perhaps he intends to do both.”

This was Su Yi’s immediate judgment. 

Even though he’s a Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator, Blood Valiant chose to hide behind the curtain and use Madam Xihua, effectively borrowing another’s knife to kill me. This is unquestionable proof of his extremely cautious nature. Furthermore, he likely understands at least some of my capabilities. 

If he didn’t, he’d just kill me directly, and he’d do it himself. There’d be no need to go to such trouble.

“How were you so certain I’d come here tonight?” Su Yi asked.

Madam Xihua whispered, “Blood Valiant said that if you left Golden Willow City and headed toward the imperial capital, you’d inevitably pass through these lands. He said that so long as I opened the Locust Tree Kingdom Ghost Market and caused a sufficient disturbance, it would surely attract your attention. I was only carrying out his orders.”

“It seems this ‘Blood Valiant’ guy has been stalking me for quite some time….” Su Yi’s eyebrows shifted upward.

After entering the Origin Palace Realm, the power of his soul broke through once more; it was far beyond that of ordinary Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators.

Despite this, he sensed nothing the least bit out of the ordinary on his way here!

This was unquestionable proof that in addition to being scrupulously cautious, Blood Valiant had mastery of utterly profound methods of hiding one’s presence and tailing someone!

This alone made him a far thornier opponent than someone like Li Miaohong. He was more dangerous too. 

When she saw Su Yi fall silent, Madam Xihua instantly panicked. She kowtowed and begged, “Mystic Master, I told you everything I know, and every word is true. In light of my ignorance, might you perhaps spare my life? I’m willing to….”

Splurt!

Before she could finish speaking, a streak of sword qi surged into being, killing Madam Xihua on the spot.

The sword qi was so mighty that it completely erased her from this world before she even knew what hit her.

“You agreed to commit murder on another’s behalf, so you ought to bear the consequences. All I can do is ensure that you die without suffering,” whispered Su Yi, his expression indifferent.

Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing didn’t feel even the slightest sympathy for Madam Xihua. When you committed to something like this, you had to pay the price.

Had they lost instead, would Madam Xihua have shown them mercy in an act of great compassion? Would she have spared their lives?

The answer was obvious.

“Yuan Heng, go take down the portrait hanging in the great hall,” ordered Su Yi.

“Yes, sir.” Yuan Heng quickly brought it back and asked in confusion, “Master, is this portrait some kind of treasure?”

Su Yi picked up the painting and examined it once more. “It’s not a treasure; I’m just a bit curious about the Netherworld Asura Emperor. Although this picture only depicts his back, it hides numerous valuable hints.”

Yuan Heng said modestly, “Master, please enlighten me.”

“If I’m not mistaken, the river of blood in the painting is the Netherworld’s famous Blood River of Sin. The river originates from the perilous lands of purgatory, and flows into the boundless Sea of Bitterness. The river is full of the power of sin, and its waters will corrode anything they touch without fail, whether it’s living or dead. Nothing is left behind.

Su Yi casually said, “Only Imperial Realm cultivators can face the Blood River of Sin’s corrosive power without fear.”

“However, this painting most likely depicts the Netherworld Asura Emperor before he’d entered the Imperial Realm. Despite this, he could sit on a lotus platform atop the Blood River of Sin and glean enlightenment into its sinful power. This alone is enough to prove that after he broke into the Imperial Realm, he became an extremely powerful figure.”

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Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing were both dazed and bewildered.

They wouldn’t have guessed that Su Yi could deduce so much from a mere painting.

Furthermore, it seemed like he knew the Netherworld like the back of his hand!

Also, the casual, natural tone with which he discussed Imperial Realm experts made their hearts quiver inexplicably.

Master, he… Don’t tell me he’s actually seen Imperial Realm experts?!? Yuan Heng’s heart shook, and his emotions were in turmoil.

Yuan Heng had naturally changed; he was nothing like how he’d been in the Great Zhou.

As he learned more about the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness and the disappearance of the Azure Continent’s ancient orthodoxies, he knew with increasing certainty that no Imperial Realm cultivators existed on the modern-day Azure Continent. 

But this was precisely why he found this so bewildering.

Master is only seventeen years old, and he’s neither Possessed nor a monster of the ancient era. But if he’s never seen an Imperial Realm expert before, why does he seem so familiar with them?

Yuan Heng didn’t understand; he just couldn’t wrap his head around it.

He knew that these were his master’s secrets, so he’d best bury his doubts and confusion deep within his heart. That was how a servant was supposed to behave.

As for Bai Wenqing? She, too, had bewilderment written all over her face.

Su Yi glanced at the pair, then shook his head. There’s no doubt about it; saying all that was little different from playing the zither for a cow.

He couldn’t be bothered to explain any further, so he rolled up the painting and casually tossed it into the Snow Beetle Jade Pendant. Just as he planned to leave—

A dazzling streak of light shot over from the distant skies.