First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2655 – A Caged Dragon Soars Into the Heavens

Blood-red tribulation clouds surged, washing over the Central Divine Continent like the tides.

A yellow sparrow flew forth, followed by a pack of Mountain Guardian Beasts.

The enormous Bai Mang was among them, its true appearance on full display. It was like a mountain in motion, fully one million feet tall!

Its head was like a lion or tiger’s, with eyes that blazed like twin suns. Its body was covered in blue dragon scales, and it had a tail like a serpent and four enormous golden claws.

It didn’t look like any known divine beast, yet it bore a resemblance to many of them. Its aura was utterly terrifying.

It wasn’t just Bai Mang. The other Mountain Guardian Beasts were strange and terrifying, too. One looked like a giant ape with wings formed of pure lightning. Another had a human body and a serpentine head, yet it looked like a ten-thousand-foot-tall mosquito.

They all looked different, but without exception, all of them had terrifying auras.

The yellow sparrow leading the group wasn’t at all eye-catching by comparison, and it was only the size of a dist. It looked totally ordinary.

But it was the Patrolling Spirit of Red Pine Mountain, a Xiantian Spirit born of Red Pine Mountain’s chaos source!

Its origins were mysterious, and it was terrifyingly powerful. It had appeared several times of late, effortlessly devouring any old monster foolish enough to trespass in the Red Pine Mountain Forbidden Zone.

“I’m finally… back…” The yellow sparrow silently came to a halt, standing in midair. Its bright eyes gazed into the distance.

The other Mountain Guardian Beasts stopped behind it and looked over.

Blood-red tribulation light swept across heaven and earth, enveloping the sky.

Off in the distance, a stretch of strange, broken space appeared, like a gaping maw hovering in midair.

Blood-red tribulation light coursed out of it, surging out of the spacetime fault!

“From this moment forth, you are to oversee this place. Act in accordance with the rules of ancient times. When Red Pine Mountain appears, anyone capable of passing through the mountain’s gates is permitted to enter. You are not to interfere,” said the yellow sparrow, back facing the Mountain Guardian Beasts. “But if anyone causes trouble, kill them without mercy!”

The Mountain Guardian Beasts shouted their agreement.

The sparrow continued, “When the mountain gates close, you can return to Red Pine Mountain.”

The Mountain Guardian Beasts were instantly excited. Their eyes lit up.

They’d been born on Red Pine Mountain. Returning meant finally going home to the primordial chaos source that had borne them.

“Esteemed Patrolling Spirit, this Battle for Order won’t just decide the fate of the God Domain. It will determine our survival, too. What… should we do?” asked the snake-headed humanoid reminiscent of a giant mosquito.

The Patrolling Spirit was born of chaos. The Mountain Guardian Beasts all addressed it with respect, for they saw it as the incarnation of Red Pine Mountain’s Laws!

“Act in accordance with the rules.” The yellow sparrow fixed its black eyes on the Mountain Guardian Beast. “When the curtains fall is entirely up to fate, as are our lives and deaths!”

The Mountain Guardian Beasts all fell silent.

The yellow sparrow disregarded them. It turned, then looked at the spacetime fault connecting heaven and earth. “Red Pine Mountain will reappear in one day’s time. I’ll be going first.”

Then, before its voice had even finished echoing through the air, it shot forth, bypassing the endless blood-red tribulation light and vanishing into the spacetime fault.

The Mountain Guardian Beasts dispersed, silently hiding themselves in different parts of the spacetime fault.

……

The God Domain’s source energies were rapidly withering. Its four Divine Continents and thirty-three auxiliary worlds were plunged into chaos and upheaval.

Every living thing beneath the heavens was terrified and ill at ease!

“Is the God Domain’s power of the Grand Dao really done for? If so, how are we supposed to live on?” someone cried out in grief.

“The Battle for Order shall soon begin. Its outcome will determine the fate of the God Domain! It’s just… I pity the poor, unfortunate masses,” someone sighed deeply.

“Is there really no one capable of stepping forth to avert this catastrophe?”

Countless people were uneasy. Never mind the ordinary cultivators; even the old-timers of top factions were terrified.

In stark contrast, the ordinary mortals scattered throughout the world barely noticed the change. Their lives continued as usual.

They lived at the lowest echelons of society, so they didn’t understand how the world had changed.

They didn’t cultivate, so they weren’t concerned about the God Domain’s rapidly depleting source power. Even if they had sensed it, they wouldn’t have understood the implications.

For instance, over in Cloud Light Village, Uncle Wu was busy pouring fresh manure on his vegetable garden.

Blood-red radiance coursed through the sky like tidewater, and tribulation light surged. It was strange and unsettling.

But in Uncle Wu’s eyes, these were just the red clouds of an incomparably beautiful sunset.

The other villagers gathered to look at the blazing, blood-red clouds, chattering amongst themselves as they enjoyed this rare and unusual sunset.

Before long, many of them lost interest and left to go fishing, work their farms, hunt, or tend to their herds….

Their bare-bottomed children busied themselves chasing each other and playing.

“It would be just wonderful if I could play another round of chess with Little Su beneath this beautiful sunset.” Uncle Wu suddenly recalled the “Little Su” he’d played with not long ago. He couldn’t help but find it a pity.

Ever since Little Su had left, none of the other chess players in the village met Uncle Wu’s standards.

This was the life of a mortal. So what if the heavens had changed? They didn’t know, didn’t understand, and didn’t care. Thus, everything continued as normal.

Meanwhile, to some people, the world’s changes had effectively shattered their shackles!

This group included Eternal Dao Lords of the River of Destiny, as well as those experts of the Central Divine Continent who’d proven their Dao and achieved Eternity a long, long time ago.

To them, these changes didn’t just mean that the God Domain’s source energy was drying up. It also meant that they could now freely enter the world and use their full strength.

They were like dragons breaking free of their confines and soaring into the heavens!

Such scenes were taking place throughout the Central Divine Continent.

The one Lu Jianchi called Ancestor Hun Yun, the red-robed man whose hiding place the black sheep had shattered beneath its hooves, and numerous others who’d proven their Daos and entered Eternity long ago now re-entered the world!

And in the endless void beyond the God Domain, numerous figures took action. All of them hurtled toward the God Domain.

Most were Unfettered Realm Eternals, all of them in their true bodies!

There were also a few clones belonging to Eternals of higher levels, but unlike before, their clones had no need to fear a backlash. Thus, they were far more powerful than before, not at all weaker than the Unfettered Realm experts’ true bodies.

These included Lu Shi and Yu Chiyang.

Actually, every Eternal who’d lost a clone to Su Yi in the battle of the Borderless Mountains had returned, and all of them were heading straight for Red Pine Mountain.

Meanwhile, even further into the endless void of time and space, numerous prominent experts had yet to take action. They just watched from the shadows.

Only the first corner of the curtains had risen; the Battle for Order had not yet truly begun. The stronger and loftier the expert, the less willing they were to act hastily at this juncture.

……

Su Yi stood outside the cave in silence, his hands behind his back as he gazed into the blood-red tribulation light churning beneath the dome of heaven. His eyes didn’t so much as ripple.

The black sheep wrote in the dirt, “When the Battle for Order begins, you’re on your own. I cannot help you.”

“If I needed help, I’d have asked for it by now,” said Su Yi. “I wouldn’t have waited to beg for aid at the last minute.”

The black sheep snorted derisively, then wrote, “If you don’t ask for help, you’re doomed! I can sense that numerous Eternals are headed this way from beyond the God Domain.”

“That’s what I’m most looking forward to,” said Su Yi. He stretched languidly. “I fear neither death nor defeat, so what need is there for concern?”

His eyes shone with contemptuous light. “Those who fail to kill me will ultimately become my stepping stones!”

The black sheep froze, stunned, then looked at Su Yi for a moment before writing, “All I know is that even if you step into Eternity now, you’re sure to die an unsightly death.”

Su Yi laughed and didn’t argue. He just took out a jug of wine, threw back his head, and drank. “Want to come with me to Red Pine Mountain?”

The sheep inclined her head.

“You aren’t afraid to die?” asked Su Yi.

The sheep glared at him and wrote, “I’m going to see how you die!”

This was obviously just spite.

Su Yi couldn’t help but stretch out his hand to pet the proud, haughty sheep on the head.

At least, he tried. She was clearly on guard, and she dodged before he got the chance.

The sheep gnashed her teeth and wrote, “Try that again, and I’ll really lose my temper!”

Su Yi casually tossed his empty jug of wine onto the ground and strode off. “Let’s go.”

The black sheep was stunned. She looked up at the sky and saw that the blood-red tribulation light was still churning, and it showed no sign of stopping. If they set course for Red Pine Mountain now, there was no telling how much danger they’d encounter along the way. It seemed most unwise.

But in the end, she just followed him, maintaining the same ten-thousand-foot distance as always.

Six hours later, the blood-red tribulation light showed signs of dissipating.

From time to time, dazzling, stingingly bright radiance appeared in the sky, shooting toward Red Pine Mountain with terrifying force.

Su Yi disregarded it all and continued ahead, entirely unperturbed.

By the time he reached the periphery of Red Pine Mountain, the blood-red tribulation light was sparse.

The black sheep sighed in relief. Thus far, they’d yet to run into any lethal threats.

And when they arrived, they saw numerous figures gathered there already.

Some were cultivators from ancient times, while others were old monsters from across the God Domain. Su Yi was familiar with quite a few of them, like Lu Jianchi.

“Is that Su Yi?” asked the man beside Lu Jianchi, an imposing figure in a feather coat. His long hair hung loose, and his eyes were as sharp as swords. He carried an oil paper umbrella, and he looked leisurely and relaxed, yet his presence was terrifying beyond measure.

This was the aura of an Eternal!

This was Ancestor Hun Shan, an expert who’d stepped into Eternity in ancient times.

Zhao Baihou, who Shen Jue had killed while helping Su Yi not long ago, had been his martial nephew!