First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2817 – Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue

The sound of cursing echoed throughout the prison, but the louder the others insulted him, the happier Cen Xinghe was. He burst into laughter. “I acknowledged the man as my grandfather. Who would I help if not him? Surely not you people!”

Xuan Zhong was so angry that he almost coughed up blood. Dammit! This is your first meeting, yet you’ve already taken him for your grandfather, and you even told him the secrets of Heart Executioner? You’re simply sick in the head, Cen Xinghe!

“Grandfather, with that coin in hand, you’re the ruler of the first floor of the dungeons. If you want wind, there’ll be wind, and if you want rain, there’ll be rain. If you want someone dead, they’ll die!” Cen Xinghe said with a chuckle. “Of course, that includes me, your grandson.”

Su Yi had met plenty of flatterers and boot-lickers in his day, but he couldn’t help but gasp inwardly when a Heavenly Monarch from the Devastation referred to himself as his grandson. But there was no denying that it really was Cen Xinghe who’d transmitted the coin’s secrets to him!

Su Yi found this development quite surprising, too. It seemed that Cen Xinghe’s attitude had changed after seeing him successfully seize Heart Executioner. When he saw the others’ reaction, Su Yi naturally understood that Cen Xinghe had told him the truth about the coin’s power.

“Old Devil Cen, Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue was right. You fucking deserved to get locked up in here!” someone cursed.

“Cen Xinghe, what good does hurting us do you?” someone else sputtered in fury.

“He’s just some Unfettered Realm kid who wandered into the Sin-Severing Prison. Is he really worth addressing as your grandfather?” said another. He longed for nothing more than to charge out of his cell and crush Cen Xinghe to death.

Cen Xinghe sighed, a solemn look on his face. “Everyone, it’s already happened. What good will anger do you? It’s not like you can curse me to death. You can’t hate me to death, either.”

Everyone fell silent, but this only made them even angrier.

“My grandfather might look young, and he might have a humble cultivation base, but he defeated me, his grandson, and seized Ol’ Xuan Zhong’s most precious treasure!” shouted Cen Xinghe. “Even someone totally brainless ought to realize how extraordinary my grandfather is. You people died a long, long time ago. Who are you to look down on my grandfather, ah?”

The Sin Souls sank deeper into silence. As grating as Cen Xinghe’s words were to the ears, when they calmed down and thought it over, they knew he was right!

“This old man admits defeat. Do with me as you see fit!” Xuan Zhong said bitterly. “I just ask that you make it quick. Please, don’t torture me any further.”

Su Yi closed his hand, and the hovering coin vanished.

Xuan Zhong instantly broke into great big gasps, like a drowning man washed up onto the shore.

“Was the Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue who imprisoned you here perhaps the one who mastered the Laws of the Nine Luminaries?” Su Yi asked casually.

Xuan Zhong nodded. “That’s right. During the Devastation, Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue used the Laws of the Nine Luminaries to attack the starry skies. Stars fell like rain! In the end, he figured out how to reach the Far Shore of Destiny, and he transcended the River of Destiny and left.”

“Did he have an Eternal Throne at the time?” asked Su Yi.

The question left the Sin Souls visibly stunned.

Cen Xinghe said obsequiously, “Grandfather, given your intelligence, I’m sure you’re aware that Eternal Thrones are like boats afloat on the River of Destiny. When you reach the Far Shore of Destiny, you have to leave your boat behind.

“When Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue left, his Eternal Throne returned to the Laws of Destiny. They say that a woman named Lu Hongpao acquired it during the later days of the Devastation.

“But none of us Sin Souls were there to see it. We just heard about it from other people.”

Su Yi was unwittingly stunned. Lu Hongpao was the one who acquired Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue’s Eternal Throne?

This was his first time learning this secret.

If that’s really the case, it further proves that the number of Eternal Thrones is unchanging. It’s remained the same since the Devastation. Lu Hongpao managed to become a Heavenly Sovereign because Heavenly Sovereign Zhenyue cast his Eternal Throne aside!

“Who told you all that?” asked Su Yi.

“Jiang Wuchen,” said Cen Xinghe. The answer was unexpected, yet at the same time, well within the bounds of reason.

That makes sense, thought Su Yi. Lu Hongpao was, after all, close friends with Jiang Wuchen. They even, ah, went to brothels together. It’s not at all strange that Jiang Wuchen would know these secrets.

“Grandfather, is there anything else you’d like to ask? So long as I have answers, this grandson of yours will answer every question you have to the full extent of my ability!” said Cen Xinghe, pounding his chest.

His sheer shamelessness made many of the other Sin Souls sneer.

This was a Sword Monarch who had slain too many Outsider Celestial Demons to count during the Devastation, yet now, here he was, kissing up to some Unfettered Realm kid. It was disgraceful!

Su Yi said nothing. He just continued deeper into the prison.

Cen Xinghe’s frantic voice emanated from behind him. “Grandfather, don’t tell me you’re here to contemplate the Laws of Rahu? As your grandson, I must warn you that the second floor is home to a little girl so vicious as to eat someone alive without pausing to spit up the bones. You must be careful!

“Someone like Xuan Zhong is a mere insect compared to her. He isn’t even enough to fit in the gaps between her teeth!

“That said, I trust that given your intelligence and capabilities, you’ll be fine so long as you don’t lower your guard!

“Your grandson is eagerly awaiting your triumphant return!”

His voice rang out repeatedly, but Su Yi had already vanished from the first floor.

As soon as Su Yi was gone, Xuan Zhong glowered, his face terrifyingly ashen. He said slowly and clearly, “Old Devil Cen, what the hell are you playing at?”

The atmosphere was oppressive. The Sin Souls were as silent as cicadas in winter. All of them watched Cen Xinghe with rapt attention.

They didn’t get it. Did he break his brain? How could he reveal the secrets of the Heart Executioner? He’s effectively placed all of our lives into that kid’s hands!

Cen Xinghe leaned against the wall and crossed his legs. “I acknowledged a good grandfather. I just hope he can grant me release before he leaves!”

Release! To the Sin Souls confined in the Sin-Severing Dungeon, the word carried an extraordinary significance. The general populace feared death, but they saw it as a release!

They had been imprisoned here since before the curtain fell on the Devastation, and they remained here to this day. Even though their bodies had died a long time ago, they lived on in perpetuity as Sin Souls. Dying a true death seemed all but impossible. Of course, it wasn’t that they were desperate to die, but that they were desperate to leave their prison, even if it meant vanishing for good. That, too, would be a form of release.

Throughout the ages, no small number of Sin Souls had indeed dissipated. Some simply withered away, while others were devoured by other Sin Souls. Not one of them died a good death. The remaining prisoners would rather dissipate after escaping than remain trapped here.

“You sold us all out just so that you might find release?” someone roared.

Cen Xinghe laughed. “You’re wrong. If my grandfather is a real do-gooder, he might well grant you all release, too.”

“Nonsense!”

The sound of cursing filled the dungeon.

Only Xuan Zhong sank into silence.

Cen Xinghe’s identity wasn’t simple. He hadn’t just been imprisoned here because he had committed an unforgivable sin. There was more to it than that.

Xuan Zhong could disregard the other Sin Souls of the first floor, but he couldn’t overlook Cen Xinghe! Today, Cen Xinghe’s attitude had changed dramatically after meeting that unfamiliar Unfettered Realm kid. He even went so far as to acknowledge that kid as his grandfather and teach him the secrets of the Heart Executioner. Xuan Zhong was certain that Cen Xinghe’s decision wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface!

……

Fu Yong, Old Yao Kun Peng, Granny Snake, and Bi Yunzi had gathered near the entrance to the Sin-Severing Dungeon. They had already covered the well in four killing formations. Each was the greatest killing formation of a Heavenly Sovereign-level orthodoxy. They were all strong enough to trap and kill Heavenly Monarchs.

All of these experts lay in wait nearby, all for the sake of killing a sword cultivator only in the Unfettered Realm.

The onlookers’ hearts quivered in front at the sight of it.

Four supreme killing formations!

Over a dozen Heavenly Monarchs of top factions!

Even in the Five Great Continents, who but a Heavenly Sovereign could face all that?

But only a select few knew that this terrifying lineup was targeting an Unfettered Realm cultivator—Li Muchen!

Of course, even fewer knew who Li Muchen really was. Even Dong Liujia, Lian Yue, and Xia Rouyun had no idea. They had asked their respective seniors, but all of them had received a shockingly similar answer: The truth would become clear when it was time to close the net!

Shang Wuhui stood in the distance, hands behind his back, watching it all take place as he pondered. Just how long will Su Yi spend in the Sin-Severing Dungeon?

Every death trap had its weak points.

He wasn’t at all worried that Su Yi would see through his trap. It was enough that the operation as a whole succeeded.

…

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the dungeon.

The cells were totally empty. There wasn’t a single Sin Soul in sight. Everything was utterly quiet and desolate.

Su Yi walked past the empty cells. Inwardly, he found the situation exceedingly strange.

It wasn’t like no one had reached the second floor over the years. On the contrary, according to Su Yi’s research, there should have been at least ten Sin Souls confined here.

Yet now, there was no one to be found!

When Su Yi reached the far end, he stopped suddenly by the door to the third floor.

A tiny figure with matted hair was crouched by the doorway, dressed in blood-smeared, filthy rags.

When Su Yi approached, the figure looked up at him, revealing a scarred little face and bright, clear eyes. Those eyes were like twin mirrors, seemingly capable of illuminating the deepest recesses of the human heart.