First Immortal of the Sword

The woman in black pursed her lips, then let out a long sigh. “Who could have imagined that an existence like the Netherworld Asura Emperor would fall in a place like this?” 

Her expression carried a trace of grief.

“All of that happened a long time ago,” said the man in Daoist robes. “As inheritors of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace, we ought to carry out the palace master’s orders and bring His Excellency the Netherworld Asura Emperor’s remains back with us.”

The woman’s eyes flashed. “What then? Are we going to give him a proper burial?”

The man in Daoist robes froze, then said expressionlessly, “That will depend on what the palace master has in mind.”

The woman in black fell briefly silent, then said, “Elder Gu, even if you don’t say anything, it’s clear to me that the palace master wouldn’t have dispatched you and four Spiritual Incarnation Realm dharma protectors here just to bring the Netherworld Asura Emperor’s remains back for a proper burial.”

The man in Daoist robes frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

The woman in black shook her head. “Nothing at all. I just hope no one sees the remains of His Excellency the Netherworld Asura Emperor as an opportunity, and that no one does anything outrageous or unfilial. If something like that were to occur, I’m afraid the Emperor’s departed soul would be overcome with fury.”

The man in Daoist robes snorted coldly. “Xuan Zhi, saying something like that to me is fine, but it wouldn’t be good if word got out!”

The woman’s heart shook. She could hear the implied threat.

Grief rose unbidden to her heart, and she fell silent.

“We did it!” 

A delighted voice suddenly rang out.

The four Spiritual Incarnation Realm cultivators seated cross-legged before the bronze altars rose, their bodies surging with misty light. Their heads were in front of them, as if they were holding something aloft.

“So quickly?” The man in Daoist robes couldn’t help but exclaim. 

And here he’d thought it’d take another half a day or so before they managed to fish the Netherworld Asura Emperor’s body out of the chasm.

Who’d have thought it would happen so quickly?

“It’s actually quite the coincidence. Earlier, there was a sudden undulation of the power sealing the Emperor’s remains, and it’s showing signs of collapse. Its ability to resist our power sharply decreased, giving us an opportunity to exploit,” said an elder in red.

“So that’s it,” said the man in Daoist robes. 

The remains of the Netherworld Asura Emperor had been deep within the chasm and sealed by an obscure, mysterious power. No one could even get close to his body.

With no other choice, the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace set up four bronze altars and had four Spiritual Incarnation cultivators join forces to fish the body out.

Furthermore, each of the four altars had pieces of the weapon the Netherworld Asura Emperor had left behind.

Thanks to the weapon fragments’ auras, the power protecting the Emperor’s remains didn’t resist their attempts to fish out his body.

Boom!

Something swayed violently deep within the rift, and searing, dark radiance surged forth.

When the man in Daoist robes and the woman in black looked over, they saw the net of woven dark light slowly lifting a battered corpse out of the chasm.

The man in Daoist robes was so agitated that his breathing sped up, and he muttered, “The Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace has always thought our founder had likely returned to the Netherworld. Who would have thought he… He fell in the Glittering Ghost Domain?”

The woman in black looked at the remains too.

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Although tens of thousands of years had passed, the body showed no sign of decay. Their founder was dressed in a feather coat and dark robes, with a broad belt and high-brimmed hat. He had sword-like brows, starry eyes, and handsome features.

A mysterious and inscrutable seal hovered around the body as it slowly entered their field of view.

“It really is His Excellency the Netherworld Asura Emperor!” Xuan Zhi recognized him immediately.

Even now, portraits of their founder remained in the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace’s ancestral grounds. The man depicted looked just like the remains before them!

“Brother Gu, the seal on the founder’s remains is about to collapse. I’m afraid that with our ability, we won’t be able to bring his remains back intact,” said the red-robed elder.

The man in Daoist robes fell briefly silent, then said, “Then we’ll do as the palace master ordered and begin the refining process right away. It’s fine so long as we can bring the source energy within the founder’s remains back with us.”

“Got it!” The red-robed elder and the other three Spiritual Incarnation Realm cultivators nodded.

Their power held the corpse aloft, and their hands formed seals. The four bronze altars suddenly boomed and lit up. Four arcs of blood-colored light shot out of them, enveloping the body.

Xuan Zhi’s expression shifted dramatically. “Stop! How can you treat our founder with such disrespect?”

But it was as if they didn’t even hear her. They ignored her completely.

Except for the man in Daoist robes, who said solemnly, “Xuan Zhi, if the founder is watching us from the next world, I’m sure he would want us to put his Grand Dao source power to good use.

“As you can see, the seal around his remains is on the verge of dispersing. Once the seal dissipates, his remains will quickly disintegrate, and his remaining source power will be lost. How could we possibly just let that happen?” He turned to look at Xuan Zhi. “You… Surely you don’t wish to see that happen either, right?”

His gaze was heavy, and an imposing aura surged around him. Xuan Zhi stiffened, and her heart clenched.

She took a deep breath, but she remained resolute. “But… Desecrating the Netherworld Asura Emperor’s corpse is the most blasphemous act we could commit!”

The man in Daoist robes suddenly snorted. “There’s no reasoning with you!”

With that, he paid Xuan Zhi no further heed.

Xuan Zhi’s heart filled with grief, and she muttered, “For the sake of Imperial source power, you’d even… be so outrageous as to desecrate our founder’s corpse… If His Excellency the Netherworld Asura Emperor knew, how furious would he be….?”

Suddenly——

A high-pitched, violent blast rang out.

The divine artifact fragments placed atop the four altars suddenly trembled, rose into the air, and shot in the same direction.

Shit!

Both the man in Daoist robes and the four Spiritual Incarnation cultivators attempting to refine their founder’s remains were caught completely off guard.

They could only watch as the remnants shot into the distance.

It was then that a sigh reverberated through the distant crimson mists.

“I suppose this is why they say public morality has degenerated,” said a voice rife with helplessness and despondency.

Who!?

Everyone present instinctively looked over, then saw two figures approaching through the bloody mists.

One was a young man in blue, the other an unkempt old Daoist.

What really surprised the red-robed elder and the others was that the eleven treasure fragments were all revolving around the unkempt old Daoist and humming as if in celebration!

These were none other than Su Yi and Ye Xun.

However, Ye Xun looked utterly despondent and down in the dumps. His earlier domineering, outrageous attitude had disappeared without a trace. 

He’d just witnessed his disciples and grand disciples trying to refine his remains and use them as resources. Who could have been happy after seeing that?

Su Yi sighed to himself.

He thought back to the days before his reincarnation and what he’d seen in the Hall of Mourning he’d prepared for himself.

Hadn’t his disciples behaved like this too?

Even his youngest and most beloved disciple went so far as to pry open his coffin, all for the sake of obtaining the Sword of the Nine Hells.

Ye Xun’s misfortune was actually rather similar.

Su Yi deeply understood how Ye Xun must feel right now. It was an extremely complicated mixture of alarm, melancholy, frustration, indignation, and…

Neither of them had guessed something this preposterous would happen after they “died.”

Meanwhile, when she saw Su Yi, the woman in black was briefly stunned. Then, she couldn’t help but blurt, “Young Lord Su, what are you doing here?”

Su Yi recognized her at a glance. This was Xuan Zhi, otherwise known as Holy Maiden Jade Angelica of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace.

Now that he thought about it, he’d learned of Ye Xun’s involvement in the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace from her.

“Xuan Zhi, you recognize them?” The man in Daoist robes frowned.

The Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace had long since sealed off this entire era. Furthermore, everyone standing guard was in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.

Yet now, two people had trespassed nonetheless. This was unquestionable proof that this duo had extraordinary origins!

Holy Maiden Xuan Zhi took a deep breath, then said, “Elder Gu, that’s Young Lord Su Yi!”

Su Yi!

The tall man in Daoist robes, the elder in red, and everyone else present looked stunned as they realized just who the young man in blue was.

“But what about the old man?” asked the man in Daoist robes.

“Who am I…?” Before Xuan Zhi could answer, Ye Xun muttered to himself, then smiled. However, his smile was obviously sorrowful.

A moment later, he suddenly straightened his spine, looked up, and swept his gaze across the group. He shouted, “I’m your forebear!” 

He sounded utterly enraged.

The group was flabbergasted, and they looked at each other.

Then, the man in Daoist robes glowered and said coldly, “Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you be so impudent?”

He suddenly gestured at the nearby remains. “See that? That’s His Excellency the Netherworld Asura Emperor, the founder of the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace. He passed away tens of thousands of years ago!”

The red-robed elder’s expression darkened. “How dare you slander our founder to our faces, you bastard! Outrageous!”

Ye Xun froze, temporarily rendered speechless.

What could have been more absurd than this?

“Enough. It’s only natural that they wouldn’t recognize you,” said Su Yi.

Ye Xun said bitterly, “Actually, I long since anticipated this. That’s why, no matter how desperate and down on my look I got, I was never willing to ask the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace for help. Still, when I saw those bastards trying to refine my body, I… I could no longer hold back.”

He shook his head and said no more. All of this came as far too great a shock.

“Then just let me deal with this,” Su Yi said softly.

“What do you mean by that? Don’t tell me you’re planning to seize our founder’s remains?” The man in Daoist robes frowned even deeper than before.

The red-robed elder and the others had equally unfriendly expressions.

Xuan Zhi’s heart clenched, and she said hurriedly, “Elder Gu, please don’t misunderstand. Young Lord Su is absolutely not a bad person. He…”

The man in Daoist robes snorted coldly and interrupted her. “He’s not a bad person? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who killed Holy Son Nirvanic Winds and Mo Xingzhe?”

Xuan Zhi instantly fell silent.

Then, the man in Daoist robes changed tacks. His gaze landed on Su Yi, and he said, “However, I can give you two a chance. Leave this place right this second, and I can pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, this shall become your burial ground!”