First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2416 – Demons of the Heart Are Difficult to Guard Against

Breaking through.

When they heard that Su Yi’s next steps were to break through, all of them were unwittingly stunned.

“Breaking through is one of my goals for this trip to the Boundless Battlefield,” said Su Yi. “If I can prove my Dao and enter the Undying Realm, I should be strong enough to defeat Emperor-Level Celestial Demons with ease.”

Luo Yao and the others exchanged glances. Without exception, their hearts shook. Even if he breaks into the Undying Realm, he’ll just be a One-Tribulation Master God.

Emperor-Level Outsider Celestial Demons are strong enough to intimidate even Nine-Tribulation Master Gods!

Had anyone but Su Yi said something like that, they’d have turned their noses up at him and taken it for a mere joke.

“When do you plan to break through, Daoist Brother?” asked Luo Yao.

“Tonight,” said Su Yi.

Everyone was stunned once more. Doesn’t that mean he’s long since been ready to break through at a moment’s notice?

……

Meanwhile, in a black palace on the shore of a river of blood, a benevolent-looking old man sighed. “He’s as domineering as ever. He’s unafraid of threats or coercion, and there’s no way he’ll ever agree to set aside our grudges and let bygones be bygones.”

“Wasn’t that well within your predictions, Celestial Progenitor Ling Mi?” whispered Progenitor Huan Yan.

Her whole figure was swathed in misty clouds, making her seem dreamlike and ethereal. No one could see her features clearly.

As the progenitor of the Thousand Transformations Soul Demons, she was certain that “Old Man Heart Demon” had anticipated this.

“I indeed predicted this,” said Old Man Heart Demon, inclining his head slightly. “But although I anticipated that he’d be somewhat different after his reincarnation, I didn’t anticipate that he’d be far more domineering than even his past lives.”

“Ling Mi, since Su Yi has thrown himself into the net, don’t you think it’s about time you revealed your plan?” Progenitor Huang Qi said with a frown.

His face was cold and craggy as a boulder. He was dressed in cloth, and his uncovered arms looked as if they’d been forged out of divine gold. Even just seated there casually, he looked like an indestructible golden mountain. He was utterly imposing.

“Very well,” said Old Man Heart Demon, suddenly quite agreeable. He said warmly, “The first step of my plan is ruining his Dao Heart and throwing his mind into chaos!”

“And how do you plan to do that?” asked Progenitor Huan Yan.

“Just wait and see,” said Old Man Heart Demon. He took out a talisman and shattered it, then whispered, “When you fight Li Fuyou, you have to do the opposite of what he expects. So long as we take this first step, our clash is sure to end in clear victory and defeat, with one side dead. There will be no room to turn back!”

Progenitor Huan Yan’s gaze focused.

Progenitor Huang Qi, however, looked eager. “All the better!”

……

Outside Dao-Seeking City, in the camp of the Outsider Celestial Demons.

Everyone, we have a message from His Excellency Ling Mi!” Demon Emperor Chi Nie said with a smile. “Now it’s time to close the net!”

The Emperor-Level experts’ spirits soared.

“And how do we do that?” asked Demon Emperor Ming Ye.

Chi Nie swept his gaze across the group. “Don’t panic! Tonight, I’ll invite you all to watch the show!”

…

Inside Dao-Seeking City, outside a grand hall.

“Even now, Brother Fuyou has shown no sign of moving. I wonder if he’ll really be able to break through tonight,” said Wen Qingfeng. He was seated on the stone steps.

“Breaking through is of the utmost importance. It cannot be rushed,” said Old Mo, who was seated beside him. He suddenly recalled what happened earlier today, then said apologetically, “Ol’ Wen, when you paid your respects earlier today, I shouldn’t have chastised you for weeping.”

Wen Qingfeng shook his head. “It’s fine. Looking back on it now, crying like that really was shameful.”

Old Mo sighed. “We old-timers are the last ones left in Dao-Seeking City. I really don’t want to lose any more of my good brothers.”

Wen Qingfeng patted him on the shoulder. “Me neither.”

“I’m going to go check on Lu Dongxing,” said Old Mo, rising from the stone steps. “His heart was badly damaged, and that puts him at risk of developing a heart devil. I can’t help but worry about him.”

“Go on. I’m enough to watch over this place. I guarantee that nothing will go wrong before Brother Fuyou’s breakthrough!” Wen Qingfeng said warmly.

Old Mo turned to leave. Wen Qingfeng sat there alone in silence.

Time slipped by.

About fifteen minutes later, Old Mo returned.

“Ol’ Wen, you should go check on Lu Dongxing, too,” said Old Mo, fraught with worry. “Demon Emperor Ming Ye’s secret arts dealt massive damage to his soul, and obvious problems have arisen with his awareness. He’s showing signs of losing himself to obsession.”

Wen Qingfeng’s pupils constricted. He promptly rose and said, “Look after this place. I’ll go have a look!”

“Got it!” said Wen Qingfeng.

As he watched Wen Qingfeng fade into the distance, Old Mo slowly sat back down on the stone steps.

Meanwhile, in the hall Su Yi sat cross-legged, his vital energy rumbling and booming. Dao Light flowed around him.

The hall’s interior had been pitch-black, but now, the resplendent light around Su Yi illuminated it.

An invisible figure silently slipped into the hall, appearing amidst those resplendent lights without causing even the tiniest of disturbances.

The invisible figure examined Su Yi’s cross-legged figure briefly, then suddenly made its move, silently blurring into a beam of light and shooting toward Su Yi’s forehead.

But it was then that Su Yi suddenly opened his eyes.

That illusory figure, now a beam of light, froze momentarily, then cast aside its reservations and shot toward Su Yi’s forehead anyway.

But then, Su Yi’s eyes flashed with divine radiance, and a terrifyingly sharp sword force appeared.

Boom!

That wisp of light suffered a heavy blow. The impact forced it back, and it took on a human shape once more.

It—or rather, he—turned to flee.

However, before he’d gotten far, a delicate figure appeared out of nowhere, stretched out her jade-like hand, and seized him firmly in place.

Practically simultaneously, outside the hall.

Old Mo was still seated on the stone steps, but his expression shifted dramatically, and he shot to his feet.

But just as he was about to turn and leave, the sharp edge of a sword silently appeared at his throat.

“Old Mo, I truly would never have guessed that you’d long since betrayed us!”

The owner of that sword was none other than Wen Qingfeng. His face was ashen, but his eyes contained no anger. Rather, they were full of wordless agony and confusion.

Old Mo laughed coldly, disregarded the sword at his throat, and swung his palm at Wen Qingfeng.

Wen Qingfeng’s expression shifted. In the end, he couldn’t bear the thought of killing Old Mo, so he swung his sword at his hand instead.

Old Mo suddenly pulled back his hand, retreated explosively, then shot toward the city gates.

But before he’d gotten far, he shook from head to toe and let out a muffled grunt. The blood drained from his face.

A delicate figure had appeared out of nowhere in front of him, her fingers pressed into a sword, which she swung furiously at Old Mo.

Old Mo couldn’t dodge in time, so the slash took his right arm clean off. He cried out in agony, turned, and tried to flee, only for Wen Qingfeng to intercept him.

This time, Wen Qingfeng seemed incomparably determined. He waved his sword and attacked with no further hesitation.

That delicate figure was, naturally, Luo Yao. With Wen Qingfeng’s support, she’d dealt Old Mo massive damage in just a few blinks of an eye!

But there was no denying that Old Mo was strong. He was, after all, a peak Nine-Tribulation Master God. Although Luo Yao and Wen Qingfeng had worked together to deal him a heavy blow, in the end, he managed to seize an opportunity to flee the city.

Wen Qingfeng was just about to give chase when Luo Yao stopped him. “There’s no need for that.”

Wen Qingfeng’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. “Why shouldn’t I chase him? I want to kill that old bastard!!”

Luo Yao’s gaze was bleak. She sighed, “There’s more to this story. You’d… best calm down first.”

By now, the disturbance had startled everyone else in the city. All of them rushed over.

When the others learned that Old Mo was a double agent, they were shocked and furious. They found it hard to believe.

Old Mo’s full name was Mo Zhengyun. He was a peak Nine-Tribulation Master God with unyielding stubbornness!

He’d fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them for countless years. He was their brother-in-arms, someone they could fight to the death with!

Who could have imagined that he’d long since betrayed them?

This came as an enormous blow to all of them.

“Earlier today, when I left the city to fight, Old Mo urged me to let him fight in my stead. How… could he have been a traitor?” murmured Lu Dongxing, a complicated look on his face. He couldn’t accept this.

“Strictly speaking, he isn’t a traitor,” said Su Yi, emerging from the grand hall. “Rather, our enemies planted a Formless Heart Demon inside him a long time ago.”

A Formless Heart Demon!

Everyone here was a veteran who’d fought the Outsider Celestial Demons for countless years. How could they have failed to realize what that meant?

There was no doubt about it. During his long years of fighting the Outsider Celestial Demons, his enemies had broken his Dao Heart, and a Formless Heart Demon had invaded him!

Su Yi said with a hint of melancholy, “Ultimately, Old Mo… was the victim of our enemies’ schemes, and his betrayal… wasn’t of his own volition.”

Everyone’s expressions shifted. Some were enraged, others overcome with grief.

Formless Heart Demons’ attacks specifically targeted the gods’ Dao Hearts. That was what made them so terrifying.

When someone lost control of their mental state, it gave the Formless Heart Demons an opening to exploit!

“But we’ve used secret arts to test Old Mo’s Dao Heart before, and we didn’t discover any problems,” Wen Qingfeng said hoarsely. “So… why was this time different?”

They fought Formless Heart Demons year-round, and they’d long since developed numerous means of countering them. Testing their allies’ hearts to see if problems had arisen was just one of them.

“No test has guaranteed perfect accuracy,” said Su Yi. “That’s why I planned to break through tonight. I wanted to root out any latent threats hidden in our ranks.”

That’s right. This had been a trap!

The trap had begun the moment Su Yi set foot in Dao-Seeking City. On the surface, he went into seclusion to break through, but in truth, he was using himself as bait, giving the traitors in their ranks an opportunity to exploit.

And indeed, someone had taken the bait.

It was just that not even Su Yi could have anticipated that it would be Old Mo of all people!

Only now did the group understand why Su Yi had chosen to break through tonight.

“Brother Fuyou, when you asked Old Mo and I to stand guard here, did you already suspect that one of his had been invaded by a Formless Heart Demon?” asked Wen Qingfeng.

Su Yi shook his head. “Forgive me if this sounds heartless, but I suspected each and every one of you right from the start, Luo Yao included.”

Luo Yao was briefly stunned, but then, she pursed her lips and sighed. “As you should. After all, it’s been far too long since we last saw each other, and our enemies are far too dangerous and crafty. In your shoes… I’d make the same choice you did.”

Everyone had a complicated look on their face. All of them stood there in silence.

It was true. In Su Yi’s shoes, they’d have done the same thing, because the Formless Heart Demons were the most dangerous of their enemies, and the most difficult to guard against!

They couldn’t possibly rely on their feelings or experiences, nor could they wholeheartedly trust their brothers-in-arms.

They could only rely on secret arts designed to test the Dao Heart to confirm that those around them were worthy of trust.

It was an unquestionably tragic situation, but it was also a brutal reality that everyone in the Boundless Battlefield had to accept.

Demons of the heart were difficult to guard against! It was a simple concept, but how many had truly experienced the dangers behind them?