First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1282 - You Really Are a Bitch

One slash.

It was as simple as could be. He just swung his sword down.

But unsurpassed sword force burst forth, plunging the entire immortal palace into a terrifying, oppressive atmosphere.

Beneath this slash, the avalanche of immortal light flooding in from all sides dissipated with a bang.

As fragile as a soap bubble.

Heavenly Prayer’s black scepter shattered with an audible crunch. Her slender, graceful frame was sent flying back, and she slammed into the wall, hard.

Her smooth skin was covered in blood, and too many bones to count snapped.

Her pink lips parted, and blood poured from her mouth.

Boom!

In the end, the entire palace trembled. The formation Dao Markings covering the walls split, cracked, and disappeared.

One slash to turn the tides!

Amidst the dust and smoke, Heavenly Prayer raised her head with great difficulty. “That power doesn’t belong to you!”

Su Yi was covered in injuries, but all of them were superficial flesh wounds.

Heavenly Prayer’s wounds were far more severe. She sat sprawled on the ground, her long hair hanging loose and her delicate frame dripping blood, looking wretched as could be.

“So you’re saying the power you used earlier all belonged to you?” Su Yi said in a voice rife with mockery.

During their earlier battle, he sensed that she was drawing power from the formation covering the four walls of this immortal palace.

This woman might well have stepped onto the Path of Transcendence, and she might really have far surpassed the World King Realm.

But she wasn’t here in the flesh. Instead, she was occupying Heavenly Prayer’s body!

The woman silently wiped the blood from her lips. “But you... will lose beyond a doubt in the end.”

She’d already recovered her cold, aloof pride, and her gaze was indifferent.

Su Yi walked over. “What makes you say that?”

The woman’s gaze shifted inscrutably as she stared intently at him. “Your past life swore on his Dao Heart that he’d protect me with his life. Moreover, he swore that he was willing to die for me!”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying it was because of this oath that Shen Mu’s heart shattered, killing him?”

The woman shook his head, her voice tinged with an uncharacteristic display of hatred. “You are him, and you’re still alive. How could he have truly died?”

“Shen Mu was Shen Mu,” said Su Yi. “And I’m me. Whatever oaths he swore, they mean nothing to me.”

The woman laughed. “Have a look at this. Do you recognize it?”

A lock charm floated above her palm.

It was perfectly ordinary, the type of jewelry a child wore as an expression of their elders’ hopes for a long life and a good future.

When he first laid eyes on it, Su Yi felt nothing at all.

But within his sea of consciousness, one of the seven chains suppressed by the Sword of the Nine Hells suddenly started clattering and swaying.

It was the chain that sealed the Dao Imprint of Shen Mu’s life!

As the chain shook violently, a dense, inextricable sense of grief assailed Su Yi’s heart and soul.

The emotions burst out of him like a volcanic eruption. Su Yi instantly stopped in his tracks, and his brow furrowed. The grief appeared on his face, and he stood there, rooted to the spot, as if dazed.

“Shen Mu, I just knew you wouldn’t forget me,” the woman said softly. “This longevity lock forged of mundane iron was your greatest treasure. When you gave it to me, you swore to protect me for the rest of your life, never forsaking me...”

Here, she sighed. “Your feelings were far, far more precious than the jewelry itself...”

Su Yi’s gaze shifted, and he felt dazed. The grief in his expression intensified.

It was as if he’d become an entirely different person. He was completely disconsolate, dazed and unable to speak.

But when the woman saw this, a nigh imperceptible hint of contempt appeared in the depths of her gaze.

She stared intently at Su Yi. “I was honest with you back then. I told you I was a disciple of the Six Desires Demonist Sect, and that I wanted to achieve the Dao through emotion, or rather, the lack thereof. The stronger my Dao Partner, the greater the power I’d obtain by severing that bond.

“I told you that when I fell in love, I could disregard everything else, but that when you fell inextricably head-over-heels for me, it would mean that the time had come for me to sever our bond, ideally by killing you with my own two hands. Only then could I reach unsurpassed heights of the Dao.

“This is my Dao. Having killed my beloved, I could advance with no fear of heart demons’ influence. Nothing external could sway me. I’d be a supreme expert, free of emotional fetters. What danger or pitfall could hinder me then?

“But you were a fool. Even after learning everything, you said you were willing to sacrifice yourself to help me realize my Grand Dao...”

Here, the woman let out a soft sigh. “Were that truly the case, all would have been well. I could have been truly heartless, with my heart no longer standing in my way. Who’d have thought... you’d reincarnate?”

Here, her face revealed a hint of bitterness. “Shen Mu, did you know that learning of your reincarnation almost made me suffer an emotional backlash and lose myself to obsession?”

Su Yi stood there, his expression shifting, his face full of grief, bewilderment, and despondency.

The woman rose from the ground with great difficulty and stared at him intently. “If you still care about our bond, if you still remember your vow, might you... give me complete fulfillment?”

Su Yi raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

Whap!

Her butt hit the ground, and her pretty face reddened and swelled.

She looked flabbergasted. “You...”

Su Yi rubbed his face, the grief, bewilderment, and despondency vanishing without a trace as he regained his earlier calm composure.

“Who do you think you are? I said I’m not Shen Mu.” Su Yi laughed dryly. “But after everything you just said, I finally understand how Shen Mu, that muddle-headed bastard, died. It’s truly... infuriating!”

As he said those last few words, Su Yi gnashed his teeth.

You were head over heels? Fine, but pick the right target first! You met someone with ill intentions, and you sacrificed even your life? You’re simply too stupid for words!

It’s true! Love cuts the deepest!

Even viewed through the lens of the Temple Master’s experiences, Shen Mu was extraordinarily talented, a miraculous genius of the Dao of the Sword. There was no one else like him!

The Temple Master had never seen his equal in terms of power or comprehension!

At fifteen, he contemplated for ten days and ten nights, smoothly proving his Dao and becoming an Emperor.

At seventeen, he overcame a life-or-death struggle and broke into the World King Realm.

At just twenty-three years of age, he reached the pinnacle of the Cosmic Enlightenment Realm and pointed his sword at the Path of Transcendence!

Yet this peerless genius had let a woman shatter his heart, killing him.

It was simply absurd.

“Impossible! Shen Mu and I were together for years. Even if he’s reincarnated, even if he’s yet to reawaken his memories, he ought to obey my every command and attend to my every whim. Even if I tell him to die, he shouldn’t so much as furrow his brow!”

She sat there on the ground and completely lost her cool. There was no longer any trace of her earlier cold, aloof bearing.

Su Yi walked up and pressed down on her head.

He tightened his grip and pulled, drawing a soul out of Heavenly Prayer’s body.

Upon closer inspection, the illusory, indistinct soul body was as beautiful as a lady immortal.

But she looked utterly wretched in Su Yi’s grip.

“Can we chat properly now?” asked Su Yi.

The woman’s soul body only laughed coldly in response. “A wisp of soul, that’s all. I can afford to lose it. Besides... do you really think you’ve won?”

Before Su Yi could respond, the woman’s soul body pointed at Heavenly Prayer. “She’s my legacy disciple. Do you understand what that means?”

Su Yi’s expression darkened.

Heavenly Prayer and Qing Wan were originally the same person.

Yet now, this woman was saying that Heavenly Prayer was her disciple!

That undoubtedly meant Qing Wan was her disciple too!

The woman continued leisurely, “I heard from Yan Daolin that you and Qing Wan have feelings for each other, and that you’ve established a deep bond. But I can say with certainty that as her cultivation rises, the soul birthmark within Qing Wan will awaken. When the time comes, she’ll remember her past in its entirety.”

Here, she stared intently at Su Yi, then chuckled. “You can guess what will happen next. Will Qing Wan do as I have, and sever her bond to prove her Dao?”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed tightly. “Did you arrange for Qing Wan to appear by my side?”

The woman smiled with even greater delight. “That isn’t important anymore, is it?”

“You’re using your own disciple in your schemes. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Su Yi found this quite surprising. This woman might seem proud and aloof, but in truth, there are no depths to which she will not sink!

Hurting Shen Mu, the man who loved her more than life itself, was one thing. But now, she was even plotting against her disciple. She had the heart of a scorpion or snake, shameless to the extreme.

The woman’s smile faded. “We disciples of the Six Desires Demonist Sect pursue a Dao Heart without feelings, a Dao unswayed by emotion. Qing Wan is my disciple. Should she have the opportunity to kill you, it will rid me of my heart’s maladies, and she too can achieve an unsurpassed Dao. That’s what they call ‘killing two birds with one stone.’”

“And do you think I’ll let that happen?” asked Su Yi.

The woman said with conviction, “Yes, unless you kill Qing Wan. If you don’t, when her birthmark reawakens and she regains her memories, she’s sure to do as I have and rid herself of you, her greatest stumbling block. In simple terms, she’ll have to kill you to prove her Dao.”

She paused, then laughed. “But... Can you bear to kill Qing Wan?”

Whap!

Su Yi slapped the woman’s soul body so hard, it almost split.

For a moment, she was obviously enraged, but then, she laughed dismissively. “Only someone inept would lose their temper like this.”

“Inept? You’re wrong. I’m simply slapping you on Qing Wan’s half; she deserves better.” With that, Su Yi slapped her across the face once more, leaving her soul body trembling violently.

The woman said icily, “Sooner or later, I’ll have you on the ground, wagging your tail beneath my feet like a dog!”

Whap!

Su Yi slapped her once more, without the slightest politeness.

“You...” The woman was obviously enraged.

Her status was extraordinary. Even in the Six Desires Demonist Sect, her position was lofty and transcendent, and her every action carried enormous weight.

She was currently just a soul body, but that slap came as an enormous humiliation.

“I might as well tell you now that, although I’m not Shen Mu, one day, I’ll kill you and help him vent his anger!” Su Yi said casually.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he tightened his grip.

Bang!

The woman’s soul body exploded into a rain of light and scattered.

“You really are a bitch.” Su Yi shook his head. He couldn’t for the life of him imagine why Shen Mu would go so far as to sacrifice his life for such a woman.

Perhaps onlookers just saw things more clearly?

Shen Mu was directly involved, making him blind.

Outsiders just saw the spectacle, while those involved felt true emotions.

The two were as far apart as mud and clouds.