First Immortal of the Sword

The aura of a deity!

When they saw that dark shadow appear, even the relatively distant Immortal Kings felt their hair stand on end, and their expressions shifted.

They didn’t even need to think to know that someone was using a secret treasure given to them by a deity!

“Dammit! They’re ruthless! Are they trying to destroy Shen Mu?” someone cursed, his heart full of deep bitterness.

The other Immortal Kings had unsightly looks on their faces. They’d gone to all this trouble and dispatched so many experts, only for someone else to kill their prey before they got the chance. Who’d be willing to accept this?

But Su Yi didn’t dodge. He didn’t even try to fight back.

Whoosh!

He charged right into the darkness, the inscrutable, mysterious power of reincarnation surging around him like countless wisps of sword qi.

Boom!

The tentacle-like arcs of dark light descended, only to shatter before they even made contact. It was as if countless severed limbs were flying through the air.

So what if this was the power of a deity? The power of reincarnation could still counter it!

Su Yi could clearly sense the power of a deity blanketing the area. It was the same as the power of the divine tribulation that had afflicted Immortal Queen Liu Yun!

He instantly knew that his newest opponent was from the Church of All Spirits!

Boom!

Heaven and earth trembled.

Beneath the crowd’s disbelieving gazes, Su Yi streaked through the darkness like an unstoppable beam of light, crushing it as if it were made of rotten wood!

“How is this possible!?” someone roared in fury.

The speaker was a long-haired, stalwart middle-aged man. He’d just watched as the divine decree he’d been holding crumbled into ash.

There was no doubt about it. He was the one who’d tried to use the power of his god to trap Su Yi.

He would never have guessed that Su Yi would break free with such ease!

The other Immortal Kings looked stricken. How… did Shen Mu pull that off!?

“Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and give chase!” someone bellowed and chased Su Yi with all his might.

The other Immortal Kings had long since realized that Su Yi was severely injured and bleeding from head to toe. This was the perfect moment to take him down!

Who’d willingly let him go?

“Let’s go!” Several Immortal Kings dashed after Su Yi, quick as the wind.

“Send word to the others. We have to intercept him. Hurry!”

Someone else hurriedly ordered their companions, “Everyone, come with me! No matter what, we can’t let anyone else capture Shen Mu first!”

All at once, the Immortal Kings of the Church of Supreme Oneness, the Church of Divine Flame, and several other factions shot forth. They no longer hid their presence.

Their terrifying auras swept throughout heaven and earth. Wherever they passed, they invited countless startled cries.

“What are so many Immortal Kings marching into battle for?”

“My heavens! Are those really all Immortal Kings?”

“Under ordinary circumstances, Immortal Kings are as rare and elusive as divine dragons. It’s unusual to see even one. Who could have imagined such a grand procession of them would appear today?”

“Whatever’s happening is sure to shake the world!!”

…The Dark Province was home to numerous immortal cities and immortal factions.

As the Immortal Kings revealed the full extent of their auras and hurtled through the skies, they instantly triggered waves of uproar.

….

Meanwhile, the stretch of landscape once covered by the Datura Barrier had long since been reduced to ruin.

The plainly dressed woman and old man in Daoist robes of the Church of the Pure One conversed among the wreckage.

“All five Immortal Kings of the Church of the Exquisite Goddess are dead….” The woman in the plain dress gasped, her expression utterly solemn.

The old man in Daoist robes sighed. “I wouldn’t have thought Gu Zhaolin, an expert with a Dao Domain, would fall too.

Gu Zhaolin was the gaunt old man Su Yi had just killed. He was a long-established, older-generation Miracle Realm Immortal King!

Condensing a Dao Domain was extremely difficult. Even among Immortal Kings, only a select few could create a complete Dao Domain.

And Gu Zhaolin was one of them!

He was unquestionably a top expert among Immortal Kings of the same cultivation level, yet now, he’d died at the hands of an Immortal Lord. If word got out, it was sure to shake the entire Immortal Realm!

“The Datura Barrier shattered, and five Immortal Kings, including Gu Zhaolin, lost their lives. It was all over in less than ten minutes… It’s obvious how extraordinary Shen Mu’s hidden cards are.” The woman in the plain dress furrowed her brow and said gravely, “Admittedly, he’s injured, and it seems quite serious, but this is when he’s at his most dangerous. He’s far from reaching the end of his rope.

“Were he truly at his limit, how could he have broken through those Immortal Kings’ encirclement to cleave open a path to life? He even broke through the Church of All Spirits’ divine decree!”

Waves of shock coursed through the plainly dressed woman’s heart. She was struggling to stay calm!

The more she learned about Shen Mu, the more she realized that this “mere” Immortal Lord was far, far stronger than her initial estimate, and far more terrifying, too!

She had to admit that if she’d been the one trapped in the Datura Barrier, she’d have struggled to escape. This made it obvious just how terrifying Shen Mu was.

The old man in Daoist robes nodded. “Yes, but I’m afraid he’ll struggle to escape this time. There’s absolutely no way those Immortal Kings will give him a chance to treat his wounds!”

The depths of his gaze flashed with cold light. “I can see it already. On the road ahead, Shen Mu… could fall at any time!”

The woman in the plain dress rubbed her forehead. “It’s too early to say that. We can’t view Shen Mu as an Immortal Lord any longer. We have to treat him as a powerful foe capable of threatening our lives!”

The old man in Daoist robes froze, stunned, his expression shifting and uncertain.

In the end, despite his unwillingness to accept this, he had no choice. She was right!

“Let’s go. I’m actually curious to see how long Shen Mu lasts with so many people pursuing him.” The woman in the plain dress took a deep breath, then got moving. The old man followed shortly afterward.

……

Late at night, deep within an ancient forest.

Dark clouds filled the dome of heaven, and everything was silent and still.

Su Yi leaned against the trunk of a towering tree, completely shrouded in its shade.

His robes were tattered and bloodstained, and his long hair was disheveled. His body was covered with startling wounds, including, sword cuts, saber gashes, and fist imprints…

In some places, the flesh was burnt to a crisp. In others, the wounds were so deep that you could see his bones.

It was a startling sight!

But his internal wounds were the worst of all. His essence, qi, and spirit were almost depleted, and his soul power had almost run dry.

His injuries almost couldn’t have been worse. In his shoes, most people would have long since given in to despair and given up the struggle.

But Su Yi did no such thing. His eyes were as calm as ever, and his gaze was distant, cold, and clear, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

He was currently refining a Nine Wonders Skyheart Pill with all his might and circulating his Undying Power. His wounds were knitting back together at shocking speeds.

It had been twelve hours since he destroyed the Datura Barrier. His enemies had already chased him for a full twelve hours!

During that time, Immortal Kings of different camps had chased him like mad. He’d overcome countless perilous and terrifying attempts to intercept and surround him. On several occasions, his life was in danger.

Take just now, for instance. A group of Immortal Kings had intercepted him in a desert, using their ultimate killer weapons without the slightest politeness.

In the end, explosive, destructive power swept throughout all thirty thousand miles of desert. The ground sank, and the skies caved in!

Su Yi escaped by a hair, but his wounds worsened.

It’s been a long time since I was in such a wretched state. It’s frustrating, but opportunities to temper myself amidst life-or-death peril are rare indeed… Su Yi whispered to himself.

His enemies’ faces floated into his sea of consciousness, one after another. They included experts of the Church of Supreme Oneness, the Church of the Pure One, the Church of Divine Flame, the church of All Spirits, and Jade Firmament Immortal Palace…

Nine whole immortal factions!

Thirty-seven Immortal Kings!

The strongest of them was an old man from Jade Firmament Immortal Palace. He was the only one of Su Yi’s pursuers in the late-stage Miracle Realm.

His name was Tai Zheng, and he was a high elder of Jade Firmament Immortal Palace. He was also the greatest threat to Su Yi.

The old-timer had intercepted Su Yi at least three times already. Every time, Su Yi paid a heavy price to break through. This was how he’d gotten many of his injuries.

Furthermore, Su Yi was surprised to discover that experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect were participating in this chase as well!

The Endless Swords Immortal Sect was the top faction of sword cultivators in the Wen Province, as well as one of the greatest factions in the Immortal Realm. Their roots could be traced back to the days preceding the Age of Fallen Immortals!

Back then, the people called this sect one of the Four Great Sword Sects, and its founder was a mighty expert at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, Xu Fushi!

Xu Fushi and Wang Ye had been close friends, like sworn brothers. They’d fought numerous life-or-death battles side by side, overcoming all manner of adversity!

One of the four code phrases of the House of Little Joys, “Who is Supreme in This Floating World?” corresponded to Xu Fushi!

Because of this close friendship, Wang Ye once visited the Endless Swords Immortal Sect, and he gave them a sword stele he’d forged with his own two hands!

Thirteen supreme legacies of the Dao of the Sword were carved on its surface. The area around the stele had been a sacred ground to cultivators of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect ever since.

As well as a sacred ground to the Immortal Realm’s sword cultivators!

Su Yi would never have guessed that now, hundreds of thousands of years later, Xu Fushi’s sect would send three of its Immortal Kings after him.

It was truly unreasonable. Su Yi just couldn’t understand it.

Especially since he hadn’t interacted with anyone from the Endless Swords Immortal Sect since his return to the Immortal Realm. He certainly hadn’t done anything to provoke their enmity!

Su Yi frowned. I can’t just let this go. Even if Xu Fushi is still around, I have to settle this score!

A moment later, he shook his head and set the matter aside. He was currently in grave peril, and his wounds were severe.

However, throughout this drawn-out chase, he never once used the Sword of the Nine Hells!

Su Yi couldn’t help but take pride in this. After all, he was still just an early-stage Void Realm True Immortal.

Without even using his trump cards, he’d survived a pursuit of this scale all this time. Prior to this, not even he would have dared believe he’d be capable of such a feat!

I’m less than thirty thousand miles away from the Abyss of Dark Fog… It won’t be long until the time comes to close the net…

Su Yi’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He was already planning to gather all of his pursuers in one place and take all of them down at once.

Even if he failed, he wanted to destroy as many of them as he could.

And the Abyss of Dark Fog was undoubtedly an ideal place to close the net!