First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2918 - Someone’s Finally Here

Su Yi set aside his scattered thoughts, then swung his sleeves. Li Shouhu’s soul, now sealed into a bundle of light, floated into the air.

Next, Su Yi took out the Book of Destiny and tossed Li Shouhu into one of the countless Destiny Cages in the deepest depths of the Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin.

Then, he put the Book of Destiny away and paid Li Shouhu no further heed. There was no need to; Li Shouhu’s wisp of soul had no hope of escaping the Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin.

Although Su Yi didn’t know it, the moment Li Shouhu’s soul was suppressed, it broke free of its seal and regained its awareness.

“Where is this place?” Li Shouhu scanned the area in a daze. All he saw were dense clusters of cages amidst billowing chaos mist, intermingled with the flickering power of Destiny’s Wrath.

It seems I’ve... been thrown into some kind of prison. And I’m far from its only prisoner!

Li Shouhu instantly noticed someone imprisoned in a nearby cell. When he looked over, the prisoner sensed his gaze and opened his eyes. It was like an eruption of light, the dark prison instantly as bright as the sun.

Li Shouhu’s eyes stung, and his soul quivered. He couldn’t help but look stricken. What kind of gaze is that? It’s cold, cruel, and full of endless calamitous power, as if he could swallow my soul whole!

“Are you a disciple of Three Purities Tower?” the voice asked gravely.

Inwardly, Li Shouhu’s heart shook. Who is this guy? How did he see through my origins at a glance?

Out loud, he feigned calm. “I am indeed. Might I request your name?”

Instead of answering, the voice responded with another question. “Did Su Yi capture and imprison you?”

Li Shouhu blinked. What’s going on? It was obviously that man in the feather coat who defeated me. What does the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City have to do with this?

When the owner of that voice saw Li Shouhu’s confusion, he fell silent. After a brief pause, he asked, “Then how do you know Lu Shi?”

This time, Li Shouhu answered without hesitation. “He’s a disciple I think highly of. When I return to the Far Shore of Destiny, I plan to take him with me and make him one of our legacy disciples.”

The voice burst into sputtering laughter. “Now I’m all but certain that you’re one of Fellow Daoist Su’s enemies!”

Li Shouhu’s heart sank. “You’re imprisoned here, just like me. Didn’t Su Yi lock you up, too?”

“No, we’re here of our own free will,” said the voice. “We aren’t like you.”

“We?” Li Shouhu looked around.

Suddenly, a cold voice emanated from the cell behind him. “We really are different. I’m a Buddhist, while he’s a Daoist. They call us bald donkeys, while we call them ox-nosed charlatans.”

Li Shouhu whipped around to look and saw another cage floating in the nearby chaos mist. A dark-skinned monk sat cross-legged inside it. There was nothing overtly eye-catching about him.

That is, until Li Shouhu met the man’s gaze and felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. His soul felt as if it were being torn apart.

Who is that!? Li Shouhu retracted his gaze, entirely out of sorts. He had, after all, regained consciousness mere minutes prior, only to discover that he was imprisoned in this horrible place. Worse, he’d now met two mysterious, terrifying experts in a row.

Who wouldn’t have been terrified?

The first voice asked, “Monk, do you think Fellow Daoist Su cares what happens to this guy?”

“There are two possibilities," said the monk. “Either Fellow Daoist Su can’t be bothered to deal with him right now, or he simply isn’t important. Either way, this proves that Fellow Daoist Su and Three Purities Temple are at odds.”

“Ah, I see,” said the first voice. “Do you think we should seize this opportunity to simply end him?”

Li Shouhu tensed.

The monk said, “I wouldn’t mind lending Fellow Daoist Su a hand. I can save him with the Mantra of Deliverance, severing his connection to his true body once and for all. Moreover, I can ensure that he serves Fellow Daoist Su loyally going forward.”

Li Shouhu shuddered. Who is this monk? Where does he get the confidence to talk like that?

But then, the first speaker shook his head. “No, that would be inappropriate. If we sever his connection to his true body, his true body is sure to notice, which would be disadvantageous. It seems to me that it’d be better if I used my True Tribulations of Purgatory on him. I guarantee that he’ll be begging for death within the hour and more than happy to submit.”

“Isn’t that excessively cruel?” asked the monk.

The other voice said calmly, “He’s just a wisp of soul. Why speak of cruelty?”

“Fine, but do it yourself,” said the monk.

“Wait!” Li Shouhu couldn’t help but cry out. “Dare you tell me your names and backgrounds?”

The monk said solemnly, “A monk tells no lies. My title is Non-Existence, and I was trained in the Spirit Mountain Buddhist Court. I proved my Dao in the Supreme Pure Lands of the Far Shore of Destiny. I’m here with my long-standing enemy, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations, who has ruled over the Abyss of Endless Tribulations since the Primordial Era. Do you understand, Fellow Daoist?”

He said this with the utmost experience, like a teacher resolving others’ doubts.

An explosion went off in Li Shouhu’s mind. He was completely gobsmacked. The Buddha of Non-Existence! An expert who proved his Dao in the Supreme Pure Lands! And the Monarch of Endless Tribulations! What the hell is happening here? Where exactly is this place? How could I have run into two such prominent experts!?

“Where... where exactly am I?” Li Shouhu asked in a quavering voice.

“The Destiny Prison in the Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin of the first page of the Book of Destiny,” the Buddha of Non-Existence patiently explained.

Li Shouhu froze, utterly flabbergasted. The Book of Destiny? The Divine Punishment Destiny Ruin? Fuck... Is destiny playing with me?

The Buddha of Non-Existence looked at him sympathetically. “I thought it best to ensure you understood your situation before your torture began. That way, you’ll naturally have less resentment. After all, here in the Destiny Prison, you cannot even kill yourself.”

Li Shouhu practically broke down. Why not deliver me, O Great Buddhist?

But before he could say anything, everything went dark, followed by a wave of agony, as if his soul were being raked over hot coals and melting like a candle. That burning torment was worse than death.

Suddenly, Li Shouhu discovered, to his horror, that the three founders of Three Purities Temple had gathered around him, their eyes narrowed into sinister smiles. One wiped saliva from his mouth, one eyed him hungrily, while one sharpened his knife. It was as if they were eyeing the most delicious delicacy in the world.

When they approached, an explosion went off in Li Shouhu’s mind, and he was plunged into endless darkness once more. There, new torments awaited him.

Just like that, Li Shouhu’s soul experienced one torment after another. It happened ten times, then one hundred, then a thousand...

In the end, Li Shouhu broke down, his soul sinking into a weakened, listless, numb state.

Suddenly, the Monarch of Endless Tribulations raised his hand and formed a seal. “Monk, it’s your turn!”

The Buddha of Non-Existence clasped his palms together, then chanted a sutra. A wisp of holy light shot forth and surged into Li Shouhu’s soul.

Just three snaps of the fingers later, the Buddha of Non-Existence smiled. “Only a portion of this wisp of soul’s memories remain.”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations let out a long breath.

Li Shouhu was an expert of the Far Shore of Destiny. His true body had a lofty cultivation base, but killing this remnant of his soul still wouldn’t have been all that difficult.

However, selectively removing a portion of its memories was extraordinarily challenging. Even the Monarch of Endless Tribulations had to cooperate with the Buddha of Non-Existence to create the necessary opening.

Their success was an extraordinary accomplishment in its own right.

Even on the Far Shore, searching or otherwise tampering with the souls of those who’d broken the fetters of destiny was all but impossible.

They’d succeeded this time due to a combination of extraordinary circumstances. This was merely a portion of Li Shouhu’s soul, and it was already confined to the Destiny Prison. They’d have had no hope of success otherwise.

“Next time Fellow Daoist Su comes, we can give him the memories we extracted,” said the Monarch of Endless Tribulations.

“You want him to owe you a favor?” asked the Buddha of Non-Existence, his gaze hard to read.

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations laughed derisively. “If we’re to determine the ultimate victor of our conflict, we need Fellow Daoist Su to bring the Book of Destiny to the Abyss of Endless Tribulations. I’m doing what I can for him. Does that really count as a favor?”

After a moment’s silence, the Buddha of Non-Existence inclined his head. “Good!”

The Monarch of Endless Tribulations stretched languidly. “He’s Xiao Jian’s reincarnation, and he carries the Book of Destiny and the power of reincarnation. Add what I suspect is the Big Boss of Sword Sovereign City’s heart devil to the mix, and our Fellow Daoist Su... really is full of secrets!”

The Buddha of Non-Existence had nothing to say to that. It was true. The moment he laid eyes on the heart devil, he guessed some of the truth.

He simply decided not to point anything out.

......

Su Yi knew nothing about what was happening inside the Book of Destiny.

He’d taken out the rusted sword sheath and summoned Innocence, who’d been cultivating in his sleeves. He left her in the hall.

He’d yet to assume true control over Fangchun Mountain’s ancestral grounds, so he couldn’t bring anyone else with him. Ruo Su had warned him seriously against trying it.

Su Yi pondered briefly, then left the Book of Destiny and every other conscious treasure and being he had with him outside. The only exception was the Sword of the Nine Hells floating in his sea of consciousness.

He then rose, held the white jade slip aloft, and activated the Spirit Platform Chapter, his secret power of the heart condensing into a mysterious imprint, which he inserted into the slip.

Weng!

The slip silently lit up, outlining a strange spacetime portal in midair.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the hall shifted, becoming illusory and ethereal, as if the entire room were separated from the outside world.

Everyone in the Five-Colored Hidden Realm noticed this strange development almost immediately.

The hall where Su Yi had gone into seclusion had vanished from their senses. There was no longer any sign of him whatsoever!

Everyone was surprised, but none of them commented on it. After all, Su Yi had told them that no matter what happened after he went into seclusion, they were to pay it no heed.

Su Yi, meanwhile, took a deep breath and walked through the spacetime portal.

The world shifted around him, and a faint, ethereal chanting rang out.

“Treading the starry path, strolling up Kunlun. Grabbing the sun and moon with a sleeve, holding the heavens in the palm. I come from the world of mortals, gently tapping on the gate of longevity. Using a magical technique to see one’s true nature, to bestow Dao onto the fated person.”

Every word was soft, calm, and indistinct, like the natural sound of the Dao, yet full of heart-shaking power.

Before Su Yi could ponder the mysteries of the chanted poem, an excited, joyful voice resounded in his ears.

“Someone’s here! Someone’s finally here!”