Chapter 190 - Foremost in the sword Dao

Heavenly Venerable Wu roared, his muscles bulging as he strained to lift one corner of the Five-Color Immortal Mountain.

I can’t carry it!

The mountain crashed down, pinning half his body beneath it. Clawing a hole in the dirt, he finally wriggled free. Seeing his essence drain away, he scrambled back onto the peak. Good thing no one saw that. Otherwise, I’d have to silence them!

The mountain was too heavy. Even with his Martial Dao Primordial Spirit, lifting it was impossible. Then another thought struck him.

I’m an immortal. Time is all I have. I can cultivate for as long as I please. I can’t carry it today, but there’s tomorrow and the day after, next year and the year after that. If that’s still not enough, I’ll give it another hundred or thousand years. Sooner or later, my cultivation will grow until I can lift this mountain effortlessly and walk away with it!

He burst out laughing, his voice reverberating through the mountain.

One day, I’ll hold the Five-Color Immortal Mountain in my palm! I’ll run with it, jump with it, maybe even smash people with it!

***

Xu Ying gazed toward the Abyss of Cangwu. After a moment’s hesitation, he decided not to go there and began his return journey.

He still had to return to the Martial Dao Other Shore. The people there had to know that Heavenly Venerable Wu had found a path to another world, the realm where the Martial Sage who had created the Eight Arts of the Combat God had gone. They needed to know he hadn't died of old age, but lived on atop the Five-Color Immortal Mountain.

As Xu Ying walked, his mind grew hazy, and he could barely stay awake.

I suppose it’s been a long time since I had a good night’s sleep.

His head grew heavy. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Strangely, his feet kept carrying him forward. His eyes remained open, staring fixedly ahead. At some point, the roots of the Purple Immortal Herb had crept onto his eyelids and pried them apart. Its other roots burrowed into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Without realizing it, Xu Ying had fallen under the herb’s control!

The herb of immortality had played a crucial role in suppressing the Double-Pupiled Great Emperor. Someone had used the herb to seal his physical body, imprisoning him in the jade coffin while siphoning away his mystical power, cultivation, Laws of the Dao, and Dao Arts.

Xu Ying was merely a Qi Cultivator with a Golden Core. A single lapse in vigilance was all it took for him to fall into the herb’s control.

The Purple Immortal Herb climbed onto his head, pleased with itself. Xu Ying’s body was now its body, and his mystical power was its power. It could command his movements, direct his primordial qi and divine sense, and mobilize his vital energy.

Its most pressing concern, though, was finding its six leaves. Going around naked was simply unacceptable.

It rummaged through Xu Ying’s pockets but found nothing. It extended more roots and searched his ethereal void thoroughly. It found the broken door Xu Ying treasured, but still no sign of its leaves.

It raised a few roots and scratched Xu Ying’s head. Realizing that felt wrong, it hastily scratched its own stalk instead. That was more like it.

Just then, laughter rang out. “To think a single stalk of immortal herb could control the illustrious Ageless Immortal! If word got out, people would laugh their heads off.”

The Purple Immortal Herb turned Xu Ying’s head toward the voice. A man with a hole through his skull was approaching briskly, walking on his hands. The herb grew wary, as it recognized the newcomer. It was the powerful figure whose lower body the iron chain had smashed to pieces, though it didn’t know his identity.

“Abba, abba!” the herb made Xu Ying call out to the Emperor of the Underworld Court.

The emperor laughed, grief and fury mingling in the sound. “What am I planning to do? What else could I do? Come back to life, of course! Did you think I was playing along with Li Xiaoke for fun? I joined forces with him for one reason. To claim the herb of immortality!”

His eyes burned with fervor. Brushing the tangled hair from his forehead, he exposed the wound left by the eight-faceted sword and said to the Purple Immortal Herb, “Do you see this wound? Li Xiaoke left it! But I was already dead before I received it! To be precise, my true body was dead!”

The herb worked Xu Ying’s mouth, asking in bewilderment, “Abba abba?”

“You can’t make sense of it? Of course you can’t!”

The underworld emperor sneered, “The god I was in my previous life died long ago. His corpse was used as a ritual artifact to build a formation, together with the corpses of other immortals. Though dead, I did not rot. I lay at the very bottom of the formation, closest to you.

“Every time the jade coffin tried to break free, I breathed in the medicinal potency you released. Over time, that faint trace gave birth to my spiritual sentience.”

The herb arranged Xu Ying’s features into a solemn expression. “Abba abba!”

The Emperor of the Underworld Court burst out laughing. “Exactly! I am a soul born from a corpse! The day I escaped, the jade coffin happened to be attacking the various seals.

“I seized the opportunity to break free of the great immortal formation and flee, only for that very formation to suppress me! By sheer luck, I survived and escaped the volcanic crater, but then Li Xiaoke attacked me, leaving this sword wound on my forehead.”

He sneered, “Since I was already dead, this sword wound could do me no harm. Still, a grudge was born. Why do you think I helped him search for the herb of immortality? I came for myself. If necessary, I would offer Li Xiaoke up as a sacrifice.”

The Purple Immortal Herb worked Xu Ying’s mouth and laughed aloud. “Abba, abba!”

“You’ve defeated me before? You seem to have forgotten that you don’t have the immortal mountain’s multiple seals to help you here!”

The emperor’s aura erupted as he unleashed his cultivation. “Even with only half a body left, even after suffering one grievous injury after another, my cultivation and strength still far outstrip yours!”

His aura surged to its peak, and his tattered Primordial Spirit and realm of ethereal void instantly manifested behind him. A moment later, a Nether Pagoda Divine Saber slashed at Xu Ying!

The herb desperately tried to make Xu Ying’s body defend itself, but the blade struck before it could move, nearly cleaving man and herb in two.

Fortunately, Xu Ying possessed immense vitality. Flesh and blood knitted together along the wound, struggling to heal.

Yet the emperor was, after all, the sovereign of the Underworld Court. Though that court only ruled a prefecture of the underworld, his strength was beyond question. The residual divine ability from the saber strike lingered in the wound, disrupting Xu Ying's bodily functions and thwarting the healing process.

As the underworld emperor delivered a second slash, the herb promptly pulled out its main root and returned control of the body to Xu Ying.

Xu Ying awoke to find the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber descending on him. Without thinking, he unleashed the Extreme Intent Freedom Art and shot through the air, covering dozens of li in an instant!

The emperor sneered, “Still trying to escape?”

Nether qi surged behind him, forming a gigantic ghostly hand. Xu Ying had barely landed when the hand swooped down to trap him beneath!

Drawing a long breath, Xu Ying activated the Mountain-Crashing Art. He thrust his fists out like a pair of horns and struck the ghostly hand!

His aura surged, and every grotto heaven behind him opened wide. All twenty-eight grotto heavens spun, dispersing the ghostly hand's force as he retreated step by step.

At the same time, the Purple Immortal Herb lashed out at the Netherworld Ghost Hand with its roots. Together, Xu Ying and the herb finally blocked the emperor’s attack, but its force still sent them sliding backward.

Xu Ying steadied himself and looked up. The emperor’s upper body came flying toward him, unleashing a divine ability as he approached.

Behind the sovereign of the Underworld Court, the sky turned pitch-black, and countless Netherworld Ghost Hands reached out! Arms writhed through the air, too numerous to count, all clawing down at Xu Ying and the Purple Immortal Herb perched on his forehead!

On the Five-Color Immortal Mountain, five layers of forbidden seals had suppressed the emperor. Forced to fight Xu Ying at close quarters, he had suffered a humiliating beating and lost all face. Fortunately for him, most of the witnesses were already dead.

His injuries were even worse now; without the mountain’s seals suppressing him, he could bring more of his cultivation and strength!

Xu Ying flowed from one movement to the next, pushing the Extreme Intent Freedom Art to its limits as he dodged the oncoming hands.

His heart bled. “My Martial Dao Spirit is probably finished! Then again, the Extreme Intent Freedom Art is a martial art too. Maybe bravely evading the enemy is also in keeping with the spirit of the martial Dao?”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground erupted under one thunderous impact after another. Whenever a Netherworld Ghost Hand missed, it sent waves of earth rolling and broken rocks flying, plowing deep trenches through the terrain.

Wreathed in sinister ghost qi, these hands were the Underworld Court’s most formidable divine ability. Their primary purpose was to injure an opponent’s soul and Primordial Spirit and corrupt their Golden Core; the damage they inflicted on the physical body was comparatively minor.

Yet Xu Ying’s greatest strength happened to be his soul. It remained unharmed, while his body suffered wound after wound! Whenever he failed to dodge in time, fresh gashes opened across his flesh, deep enough to expose bone and difficult to heal.

Fortunately, the Purple Immortal Herb was also doing everything it could to fend off the attacks. Though it knew not a single Dao art or divine ability, it possessed monstrous innate strength and an extraordinary natural gift. Its power nearly matched Xu Ying’s.

It also knew that if the “half a man” killed Xu Ying, it would be doomed. The underworld emperor had come to eat it. If he caught the herb, he certainly wouldn't settle for nibbling a single leaf like Heavenly Venerable Wu. He would squeeze out all its juice to drink and use its body to brew soup!

It had no choice but to fight for its life.

Xu Ying’s movements were swift and unpredictable. Despite his vastly superior cultivation, the emperor still could not subdue him, leaving him furious and anxious.

He summoned his damaged Primordial Spirit. Tattered and broken, it swung the Nether Pagoda Divine Saber. Saber light flashed high and low, never leaving Xu Ying’s side!

Xu Ying and the Purple Immortal Herb unleashed every move they had in a frantic defense, and both sustained injuries. Xu Ying had no time to employ the Eight Arts of the Combat God. He could only use the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword, pitting Heavenly Sword against the Emperor of the Underworld Court.

Apart from the Extreme Intent Freedom Art, the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword were the ultimate martial Dao technique he had learned best. The Eight Arts of the Combat God ranked only third.

He was already proficient in Heavenly Dao runes and possessed a profound understanding of the Heavenly Dao. The Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword embodied the Heavenly Dao itself. In his hands, its sword intent was unfathomable, its moves so exquisite that even the emperor could not unravel them.

But the emperor did not need to unravel them. His cultivation was so profound that he could simply overwhelm Xu Ying with his Netherworld Ghost Hands and Nether Pagoda Divine Saber.

Even if Xu Ying had mastered Heaven’s Sword and every variation of the Heavenly Dao, the emperor’s mystical power and divine ability could still crush his techniques. Xu Ying could not possibly wound him!

Just as he seemed to have exhausted every option, Xu Ying sensed something amiss: an unusual fluctuation that Heaven’s Sword intent had detected. Understanding dawned, and he shouted, “Li Xiaoke, what are you waiting for? I’ve exposed you! If you don’t act now, it’ll be too late!”

As soon as he said that, sword qi filled the air, sword intent spreading everywhere. With a blade of sword qi in hand, Li Xiaoke charged straight into the battlefield. Sword light swept out, destroying countless Netherworld Ghost Hands in an instant as he drove through their ranks!

Swoosh!

The sword qi shot from his hand and pierced the Emperor of the Underworld Court between the brows.

Caught off guard, the emperor was hurled backward by the strike and pinned to a distant cliff with a resounding crash, unable to move. He already bore a sword wound between his brows from Li Xiaoke’s eight-faceted sword. Now Li Xiaoke had repeated the feat, displaying all the brilliance of a peerless swordsman.

The Netherworld Ghost Hands filling the sky dispersed. Li Xiaoke turned, his face pale, and smiled at Xu Ying.

“How did you notice me?”

Xu Ying took several ragged breaths. Only after steadying his breathing did he answer. “I just used the Thirteen Techniques of Heaven’s Sword. Its swordsmanship is exquisitely refined, drawing on the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao. When you saw that my attainment in the sword Dao had surpassed yours, your sword intent wavered. That was what I sensed.”

Li Xiaoke burst out laughing. “My attainment in the sword Dao falls short of yours? What a joke! You learned the very foundations of swordsmanship from me! How could I be inferior to you?”

Xu Ying waited quietly for him to finish laughing. “We’re both masters of the sword Dao. We can tell at a glance who stands higher. Why deceive yourself?”

Li Xiaoke’s expression darkened. He snorted, and another blade of eight-facet sword qi appeared in his hand.

Pointing it at Xu Ying, he said coldly, “Hand over the immortal herb, and I’ll leave your corpse intact! On second thought, there’s no need for that. I hear certain people are looking for you. All I have to do is hand you over to them. They’ll take very good care of you.”

Xu Ying smiled. “I can teach you the Thirteen Techniques of the Heavenly Sword.”

The corner of Li Xiaoke’s eye twitched. He gave a low chuckle. “My mastery of the sword Dao is greater than yours...”

Xu Ying slowly lowered his right hand. Blood dripped from his fingertips, mingling with his primordial qi to form a blade of sword qi. He said casually, “Don’t believe me? Care to try?”

Li Xiaoke’s pupils contracted. The sword qi in his hand slowly dipped. The two men shifted their footing, their auras growing steadier and fainter until both were nearly imperceptible.

Then, they lunged forward. The instant their sword light met, their techniques erupted. Sword qi swept up from the ground, countless blades colliding in the air with ringing clashes!

Xu Ying and Li Xiaoke passed each other. The sword qi filling the sky divided into two streams and flowed back into them.

Thirteen pieces had been sliced from the front and back of Li Xiaoke’s robes. They fluttered around him like colorful butterflies. Not a single new tear marked Xu Ying’s clothes. They remained the same mass of tattered strips.

In that brief exchange, they had traded thirteen moves. Li Xiaoke had lost all thirteen.

Li Xiaoke’s face was as still and dark as a stagnant pool. The corner of his eye twitched violently, and he gripped his sword qi with crushing force.

If he unleashed his full strength, he could cut Xu Ying down as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables. No matter how great Xu Ying’s attainment in the sword Dao, he could never contend with Li Xiaoke’s mystical power!

After a moment, the sword qi in his hand dispersed. Without looking back, he tossed Xu Ying a set of clothes.

He said flatly, “Put these on. I’ll learn your swordsmanship.”