First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1733 - An Ultimatum

The flowers of the Far Shore fell like a rain of fire. They drifted in the air, outlining the radiant Path of Fire that led into the endless darkness.

The mysteries of the Far Shore represented deliverance. They were one of the core mysteries forming the Grand Dao of Reincarnation.

Alas, given Su Yi’s current mastery of the Laws of Reincarnation, he couldn’t fully open the Path of Samsara. If he could, he’d have surely helped Xing Yuanzi enter the cycle of reincarnation and undergo rebirth.

The blazing firelight was gentle and warm.

Xing Yuanzi’s body crumbled into ash. Only a faint, ethereal soul body was visible on the Path of Fire as he traveled into the endless nothingness.

Just as he was about to disappear, Xing Yuanzi’s soul body silently turned to face Su Yi. He grinned. “Take care, Sovereign!”

With that, his rapidly disappearing soul body vanished completely.

“You too,” whispered Su Yi. A thread of melancholy coursed through his heart.

A moment later, he seemed to sense something, and he gazed into the sky beside him.

......

In the far west of the Immortal Realm, beneath a barren wasteland covered in never-melting ice and overlapping layers of space, there stood an ancient palace.

The beautifully handsome Jiang Tai’e sat before a table. His robes were the color of jade.

He gripped his pen in vivid red fresh blood as he wrote strange and contorted characters on a fully intact human skin.

A bronze lamp cast its mottled light. Jiang Tai’e was half illuminated, half shrouded in darkness.

Suddenly, he heard a faint cracking noise. His pen stopped in place, and he slipped a shattered black talisman from his sleeves.

“So, Yuan Xingzi is dead, huh...? Alright, ‘Shen Mu.’ Let’s see if you’re really Wang Ye!” Jiang Tai’e’s spirits soared.

He set down his writing brush and closed his hands around the shattered talisman. His fingers formed a mysterious seal.

Weng!

Strange light floated into the air, interweaving in the sky to condense a strange, blood-red curtain.

A destroyed landscape appeared within the light.

A moment later, Jiang Tai’e saw a tall, thin figure in long dark robes. He wore a tall hat, and even just standing there casually, he had an absolute, tyrannical momentum about him.

Wang Ye!!

When he saw that familiar figure, Jiang Tai’e’s pupils constricted, and his whole body instinctively tensed. He was once one of Wang Ye’s greatest enemies. He understood the Tyrant’s terrifyingness better than just about anyone.

Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, Wang Ye single-handedly dominated all other Great Realm experts to the point that they couldn’t hold their heads up high!

This was why they gathered a full thirty-three Great Realm experts before ambushing Wang Ye. He was just that terrifying!

Countless years had passed, but how could Jiang Tai’e possibly stay calm when he saw that familiar figure once more?

A moment later, he realized that he’d lost his comportment, and he couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Countless years have passed, but the moment I laid eyes on the Tyrant, I couldn’t help but lose my cool.

Jiang Tai’e stroked his lower jaw and gazed at the figure reflected on the curtain of light as if trying to see through his secrets.

Suddenly, the Wang Ye reflected in the curtain spoke. “Jiang Tai’e, I know you’re watching me from some unknown place.”

Jiang Tai’e froze, then silently sat upright.

Wang Ye continued, his gaze icy with entirely unconcealed murderous intent. “No matter where you’re hiding, I’ll find you. I’ll let you see how it feels to be skinned and refined into a Living Corpse Puppet.”

A moment later, Wang Ye’s figure disappeared into thin air.

Jiang Tai’e’s expression shifted erratically.

Bang!

The curtain of blood-colored light dissipated.

Jiang Tai’e chuckled and muttered to himself, “Want to take me down? The gods have set their sights on you. Let’s see if you live long enough to even try it! The Immortal Realm... is not what it was, and it hasn’t been for a long time....”

......

The Buzhou Mountains.

The Jadelight Pure Lands.

An ancient palace built on a cliffside.

The leader of the Jadelight Purelands, Qi Xiaozhen, and the rest of the sect’s higher-ups had gathered in the same room.

Ying Xiu, the genius in first place in the Void Realm True Immortal Rankings was there with her master, Immortal King Kong Ye.

“We’ve already confirmed that Shen Mu... Rather, Fellow Daoist Su Yi, has disappeared in the Abyss of Dark Fog along with the Immortal Kings of nine top immortal factions!” Qi Xiaozhen said gravely.

He was dressed in a feather coat, and he had an otherworldly air about him. His face was thin, and his expression was full of deep-seated worry.

“How is this possible...?” murmured Ying Xiu, her little face full of deep concern.

Not long ago, she used the Bodhi Bell, the treasure her ancestor Ying Shanxue had left behind, to seek Su Yi out and request his aid.

Su Yi agreed to lend a hand and rid her master, Kong Ye, of the divine tribulation afflicting him.

She’d reported as such to her master. Kong Ye was immensely grateful, and excited, too.

But he wasn’t excited because he had a chance to rid himself of the divine tribulation afflicting him. He knew that Su Yi was the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign! Su Yi’s aid would be enough to resolve the crisis facing the Jadelight Pure Lands!

At first, Immortal King Kong Ye didn’t tell the sect about any of this.

But then, Su Yi demonstrated his strength at the Seventh Gate of Heaven, slaying a whole group of Immortal Kings and stripping former garrison master Shen Qingshi of his position. A few months later, under the guise of Shen Mu, he slew eight Immortal Kings and shocked the entire Immortal Realm.

In the end, Kong Ye couldn’t suppress his excitement, and he told the sect that with Shen Mu’s help, they could resolve their imminent crisis and alleviate the threat the Church of All Spirits represented.

However, Kong Ye didn’t divulge that Su Yi was the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign.

At first, the higher-ups of the Jadelight Pure Lands only half believed him, but after learning what Su Yi had accomplished at the Seventh Gate of Heaven and during the Divine Hunt, they too grew excited.

Long, long ago, the Jadelight Pure Lands had been a gloriously powerful sect. Alas, they suffered grievous casualties during the cataclysm of the Age of Fallen Immortals. These losses were a massive blow to their vitality, and they’d declined severely.

Only three Immortal Kings remained to oversee things in the sect, and two were afflicted by divine tribulations!

In terms of overall strength, they were now inferior to many “ordinary” Immortal King factions!

In recent years, the Church of All Spirits, who also had territory in the Buzhou Mountains, repeatedly nibbled away at their lands. The Jadelight Pure Lands’ plight was increasingly dire.

The Church of All Spirits was just too strong, and they were at the height of their influence, as radiant as the midday sun. They were far too much for the Jadelight Pure Lands to contend with.

If not for the Jadelight Pure Lands’ ancient foundations and killer weapons capable of threatening even Immortal Kings, they’d have been assimilated a long time ago!

Despite these foundations, they knew they wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

In just a few months, the leader of the Church of All Spirits would host an Immortal King Night Banquet!

When the time came, the Church of All Spirits would invite the Immortal Kings of all three of the Pure Lands of the Buzhou Mountains to participate.

Their goal was to force the other factions of the Buzhou Mountains into submission!

All of this worried everyone in the Jadelight Pure Lands, regardless of rank or status.

If Su Yi lent them his aid, it really would make an enormous difference to the entire sect!

More importantly, Immortal King Kong Ye said with staunch conviction that so long as Su Yi lent them a hand, he could surely resolve their predicament!

Who’d have thought that not long afterward, Su Yi would find himself chased by the Immortal Kings of nine different factions?

Or that after both Su Yi and his pursuers would disappear into the Abyss of Dark Fog?

This development was like a sharp blow to the head. All of the Jadelight Pure Lands higher-ups felt their hearts sink into the pits of their stomachs.

“If only Ancestor Ying Shanxue were here,” someone sighed.

Ying Shanxue was a legendary expert who’d reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals. She was also an unrivaled legend of the Jadelight Pure Lands.

However, she’d gone into hiding during the Age of Fallen Immortals, crossing the River of Epochs to seek refuge in the Epoch of Confucianism.

“I said it a long time ago. We cannot entrust the safety of the Jadelight Pure Lands to a youngster!” someone said glumly.

“There’s no use saying that now. We have less than half a year until the Immortal King Night Banquet. We have to hurry up, find a solution, and finish our preparations,” someone else said grimly.

All of a sudden, all of the higher-ups were talking over one another and offering suggestions.

But no one could think of a good way out of their predicament.

At the end of the day, they were just too weak. They were far from capable of contending with the Church of All Spirits.

All that awaited the Jadelight Pure Lands was assimilation into the Church of All Spirits or... annihilation!

They couldn’t accept either outcome, but what could they do?

The atmosphere within the grand hall was stifled and tense.

Suddenly, Immortal King Kong Ye broke his silence. “I can say with absolute certainty that nothing will happen to Fellow Daoist Su!”

The crowd was stunned. One after another, they looked at Kong Ye.

“What makes you so sure?” asked Sect Leader Qi Xiaozhen.

Kong Ye didn’t explain. All he said was, “I can put my life on the line to guarantee it. Fellow Daoist Su has given his word, and he’s sure to come through!”

The crowd’s expressions filled with uncertainty. Does a guarantee like that really have any meaning?

In the end, he didn’t convince anyone.

When Ying Xiu saw this, she felt the urge to tell the higher-ups the truth: Su Yi was the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign. How could he possibly perish in the Abyss of Dark Fog?

But in the end, she resisted the urge. She couldn’t divulge Su Yi's true identity!

“No matter what, we’d best make sure we’re prepared,” Qi Xiaozhen said gravely. “We cannot place all of our hopes on an outsider’s shoulders.”

There was no doubt about it. Sect Leader Qi Xiaozhen didn’t trust Kong Ye’s guarantee either.

Suddenly, an old man scurried into the hall and reported, “Sect Leader, an emissary of the Church of All Spirits has come with a message. He says that we are to decide whether or not we’ll submit as soon as possible!

“He said that if we don’t give them a clear answer prior to the Immortal King Night Banquet, they’ll kill everyone in the sect!”

Silence descended upon the hall as everyone’s expression darkened.

The Church of All Spirits had issued the Jadelight Pure Lands an ultimatum!