First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2652 – The Mountain Guardian Beasts

Unfortunately for them, the first-tier Fragment of Heaven’s Will they’d been fighting for threw itself into Su Yi’s arms.

The light left both parties unwittingly stunned. They exchanged glances, but none of them dared try to seize it back!

In the end, they all obviously decided to swallow their grievances, hold their noses, and endure. They even plastered smiles on their faces and said, “Good fortune is divvied up by the heavens”, “treasures go to those fated to receive them”, and other such lines before dashing off.

Just like that, a grand battle came to a hasty end. Su Yi, who’d simply been passing through, emerged as its ultimate victor.

The experience left Su Yi unsure of whether to laugh or cry.

The black sheep trailing after him wanted to make a few sarcastic quips, but unfortunately, she couldn’t speak.

All she could do was bleat. She found this frustrating and shameful, and she’d long since sworn to herself not to bleat again even if it killed her.

It was just too embarrassing.

Yet now, this Su Yi kid dared name her “Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep”!

…

Ten days later.

A swath of blood-red tribulation clouds poured down from the heavens. The earth sank, creating a massive ravine.

The surrounding landscape was ground away, and the sky was plunged into chaos.

Su Yi watched from a distance. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.

The deeper he went into the Central Divine Continent, the more dangerous it was.

All manner of strange calamities occurred at high frequencies. Entire mountains and rivers could vanish in the blink of an eye. It was far too terrifying.

Along the way, days might pass without encountering anyone else. All he saw was danger and devastation.

Su Yi ran into quite a few calamities, and although he always managed to avoid them startled but unharmed, he didn’t dare to lower his guard.

Su Yi did a bit of quick mental math. At this rate, we should arrive on the periphery of the ruins of Red Pine Mountain within three days.

He’d been travelling on foot for a month, and he’d long since reached the heart of the Central Divine Continent.

Crunch!

Just as Su Yi was pondering, the sky split, and countless meteorites fell from the spatial rifts.

Shockingly, it was a giant, bestial claw that had ripped the firmament to shreds. The claw was fully one hundred thousand feet long, so enormous that it blotted out the sun. It descended ruthlessly upon Su Yi, bringing with it stingingly bright, blood-red light.

Even mountains seemed paltry and insignificant by comparison. Su Yi practically looked like an ant.

Most terrifying of all, the power emanating from the claw was full of a shocking air of Eternity. It was endlessly ferocious.

Su Yi dodged and moved further away.

Boom!!!

Hundred-thousand-foot claw marks appeared on the ground, too deep to measure.

Explosive, blood-red radiance swept outward like a windstorm, shattering the nearby skies.

Someone bellowed from deep within the clouds, “Get back here! Don’t you have any balls? Why are you running away?”

When they looked over, they saw an incomparably massive, bestial figure deep within the clouds.

Its head jutted beyond the cloud cover, and its massive body coiled deep within the clouds, so enormous that there was no end in sight.

Its enormous eyes shone like blood-red blazing suns!

The beast was just too enormous, so much so that when it wasn’t moving, it just seemed like part of the landscape.

It was only when it moved that you could tell that its enormous frame practically filled the entire cloudy sky!!

This was the beast that had shattered the sky and attacked Su Yi earlier.

It was so enormous that Su Yi still couldn’t see it in its entirety; there was no telling what it looked like!

“What is that thing?” exclaimed Su Yi.

“A Mountain Guardian Beast,” an icy voice as sharp as a knife’s edge said out of nowhere.

A graceful figure appeared shortly afterward. She was an exquisitely beautiful young woman with her fiery red hair tied into a ponytail. She wore long-sleeved, black men’s robes, and her skin was snowy and lustrous.

She was beautiful, but her eyes were cold, and her whole body emanated dense murderous intent.

This was Huang Yanleng, an unparalleled, ruthless expert even old-timers of the River of Destiny feared.

Su Yi recognized her at a glance.

Last time they met, she and Su Yi determined victory and defeat in a single move. He’d defeated her avatar of will in a single move.

And Su Yi had long since learned of her background from the Master of Legends, Wang Zhiwu. Huang Yanleng was an unparalleled, heaven-defying figure among Eternals, vicious and bloodthirsty, with sharp eyes and a rebellious fate. She’d personally slain numerous older-generation Eternals.

Even her clan ancestor doted on her and treated her with respect, never daring to put on the airs of a senior. He sighed that he’d long since been unqualified to guide her cultivation.

Now, here she was again!

“Mountain Guardian Beasts?” asked Su Yi. “So they guard Red Pine Mountain?”

“That’s right,” Huang Yanleng said icily, her words as sharp as a knife. “Red Pine Mountain is unique. Most of the mountain is obscured in chaos. Only a portion of it is visible.

“Mountain Guardian Beasts are the vicious creatures that guard its entrance. Every one of them was formed from one of the chaos spirits of Red Pine Mountain. They have far-reaching divine abilities, and their power is practically without limit.

Huang Yanleng gazed into the clouds. “They only obey the Patrolling Spirit’s orders. Throughout the ages, they’ve guarded Red Pine Mountain inside and out. They kill anyone who dares to trespass or cause trouble here.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising. Huang Yanleng was an Eternal Dao Lord from the River of Destiny, yet it seemed she knew Red Pine Mountain like the back of her hand!

“We’ll need to wait a little longer before the ruins of Red Pine Mountain appear,” said Huang Yanleng. “Advance any further now, and you’ll be deemed a trespasser. The Mountain Guardian Beasts will attack you.”

“You sure know a lot, little girl. Care to join me for a drink?” said the enormous beast hidden in the clouds, its voice rumbling like thunder.

Huang Yanleng’s beautiful eyes flashed with murderous intent. “Sure. When the ruins of Red Pine Mountain appear, I’ll cut off your head and turn it into a drinking vessel!”

The Mountain Guardian Beast burst into laughter. “You think that you can do whatever you want just because you came from the River of Destiny? Ridiculous! When the time comes, I’ll even stretch out my neck for you. Let’s see if you can really cut my head off!”

“Listen carefully. This lofty one is called Bai Mang. I’ll be waiting for you on Red Pine Mountain!”

Before its voice had even finished echoing through the air, its enormous frame faded away, vanishing deeper into the clouds.

“Bai Mang, huh? I’ll remember that name!” Huang Yanleng said coldly. She turned to face Su Yi. “Do you want to participate in the Battle for Order, too?”

“That’s right.” Su Yi inclined his head.

A strange look appeared in Huang Yanleng’s sharp eyes. “I wouldn’t have guessed that you’d really dare to show up.”

Those beneath the Eternal level could go to Red Pine Mountain, but they weren’t at all qualified to compete. Those who tried were doomed.

Yet here Su Yi was!

Su Yi just laughed in response. “Last time, I blasted your avatar to bits. You said that next time we met, we’d fight again. Does your promise still hold true?”

Huang Yanleng’s curved eyebrows rose. “Are you really that eager to throw your life away?”

Su Yi said calmly, “If you aren’t a woman of your word, fine. We don’t have to fight.”

Huang Yanleng said, “If you make it to the Five Elements Altar alive, I’ll happily fight you.”

With that, she looked around, then said, “I urge you not to linger here. We’re still quite far from the ruins of Red Pine Mountain, but it’s still on the periphery of the territory the Mountain Guardian Beasts are guarding. They’ll attack anyone who advances any further, no matter who they are.

“Also, there’s no telling how many eyes are watching this place already. Be careful not to bring disaster onto yourself!”

With that, Huang Yanleng turned to leave. Her graceful figure quickly faded from view.

The black sheep stood a thousand feet away, but from beginning to end, Huang Yanleng didn’t seem to notice her presence.

After Huang Yanleng left, the sheep tilted her head. Her eyes looked thoughtful.

For some reason, Huang Yanleng’s presence seemed a bit familiar, but she couldn’t for the life of her say why.

The sheep found this immensely frustrating.

“Can you tell how many people are watching this place?” asked Su Yi.

The black sheep paused, then looked around. The whole area was run-down and withered, with thunderclouds surging overhead. It was incomparably desolate, with no mountains, rivers, trees, or grasses visible in any direction. All was bleak.

But the black sheep seemed to sense something. She raised her tail, and her wool coursed like flowing water.

She suddenly appeared beside Su Yi, waved her head, and lifted Su Yi into the air. He landed on her back.

Then, she vanished, taking Su Yi with her.

Boom!!!

Practically that very instant, snowy, jade-like chains of the natural order appeared where Su Yi had been standing just moments prior.

The chains danced about, tearing space apart.

The entire stretch of heaven and earth contorted and collapsed.

Indescribable, terrifying pressure swept outward.