First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1732 - Sending Xing Yuanzi on his way

The night sky was dark, deep, and flecked with stars.

Su Yi walked through a stretch of barren wilderness, his clothing rustling in the nighttwinds. He looked utterly natural and unaffected.

Suddenly, he silently halted his footsteps.

“You’ve trailedsince I left the Abyss of Dark Fog. A full day and full night have passed. Why not show yourself?” whispered Su Yi.

Everything was empty on all sides. No one answered.

But beneath the distant night sky, a wisp of fog silently surged, taking on the shape of an elderly man in plain, worn-out robes. His hair and beard were disheveled.

There was a bronze mask obscuring his face. Only his vacant eyes were visible.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. Whoever this person was, there was something strange about his aura. It was full of death qi, as if he were a long-dead corpse. It was incredibly strange.

“You...” Su Yi was just about to say something when the old man in plain cloth robes attacked!

Kcch!

He disappeared into thin air, only to appear in front of Su Yi a moment later. His fingers shot forth like sharp swords.

This attack was as simple as could be, but extraordinarily forceful and tyrannical.

Su Yi’s pupils constricted, but it was too late to dodge. All he could do was swing his arm and block.

Boom!

The flames filling the surrounding ten thousand feet of sky abruptly burst. The entire landscape swayed.

Immeasurably forceful destructive power swept out in all directions, shattering the layers of cloud and creating countless startling rifts on the ground.

Su Yi staggered back on impact, his blood and qi churning within him. He looked utterly wretched.

He couldn’t help but be stunned. The old man sure is strong!

Even stranger, he was shrouded so completely in death qi that Su Yi couldn’t discern his cultivation. All he knew was that he was terrifyingly powerful.

He was even stronger than Immortal Kings like Tai Zheng and Yu Wenqi!

Before Su Yi could give the matter any further thought, the old man in plain cloth robes blurred into a piercing beam of black light and attacked once more.

He didn’t use any secret arts or divine abilities. He just clenched his fist and punched.

Utterly simple, yet his tyrannical power couldn’t have been any more terrifying.

It was just one punch, yet heaven and earth trembled on all sides, and the landscape swayed. The impact tore a startling rift in the sky, and the surrounding space contorted and fell into disarray!

Su Yi didn’t dare to get complacent. He struck with everything he had, and soon, he and the old man were locked in fierce combat.

Boom!

Heaven and earth were overturned, and the sun and moon lost their light.

The entire stretch of wilderness descended into upheaval and destruction. Mountains toppled, one after another, and the plants were reduced to power.

Within just a few breaths of time, Su Yi was forced back once more, then sent flying!

His brow furrowed. He’d spent the past month deep in seclusion in the Abyss of Dark Fog, and his cultivation had reached the pinnacle of the Void Realm. He could handle even late-stage Immortal Kings.

Yet now, he was up against just one disheveled old man in plain cloth robes, yet his opponent was putting immense pressure on him!

Furthermore, the old-timer’s aura was extraordinarily strange. He didn’t seem like a living person, and he showed no sign of emotion whatsoever.

But he wasn’t like the Combat Soul Puppet Lei Ze either. He was more like a plain old corpse!

Boom!

The old man attacked once more, forceful and ruthless. He could have easily shattered an Immortal King’s defenses.

Su Yi no longer dared to hold back. He drew and swung the Sword of the Human Realm.

Sword qi flew through the air, shaking all of creation.

Over the past month, he’d increased the Sword of the Human Realm’s level. It could easily break even Immortal King-level treasures.

His strength soared as soon as he combined this mighty weapon with his attainments in the Dao of the Sword.

Even so, he could only just barely hold off the old man’s offensive.

An ancient corpse full of death qi, terrifying strength beyond the late-stage Miracle Realm... Don’t tell... Su Yi’s gaze focused as something suddenly occurred to him. The old man’s most likely a Living Corpse Puppet!

Living Corpse Puppets were a subcategory of puppets, but they were extremely rare and insidious.

The primary material used to refine them was a living human being. The puppet-maker flayed his “material” before refining their soul, blood, and flesh. The process was elaborate and intricate, with numerous steps.

The hardest part was retaining the cultivation base the puppet had in life. Only then could you refine a perfect, complete corpse puppet.

According to Su Yi’s memories, no one in the Immortal Realm was better at refining such puppets than the founder of the Church of SuprOneness, Jiang Tai’e!

He was a master of skinning, refining souls, raising spirits, and all manner of strange, secret arts. Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, Jiang Tai’e had refined a massive army of corpse puppets, each with strength comparable to an Immortal King!

There was almost no doubt about it. If this old-timer was really a corpse puppet, Jiang Tai’e was the one who’d sent him here!

Su Yi’s eyes glinted with cold light at the thought of it. He immediately struck with the intent to kill, launching the strongest attack at his disposal.

Clang!

The inscrutable hum of a sword rang out, and dull sword qi burst forth.

The Sword of the Human Realm thrust, swathed in the light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. It shattered the old man’s offensive as if it were made of rotten wood.

Crunch!

As sword qi burst forth, the old man’s bronze mask split, revealing an aged face covered in wrinkles.

“Xing Yuanzi!! How could it be you?” Su Yi’s heart shook, and his eyes bulged.

A moment later, he stopped his attack without the slightest hesitation. The Sword of the Human Realm stopped mid-thrust, its tip directly against the old man’s neck. Any further, and it would pierce his throat!

But the old man in plain cloth robes seized the opportunity to swing one palm at Su Yi’s sword. His other hand reached for Su Yi, like a divine dragon extending its claws.

Clang!!

The humming of a sword shook the heavens, and the Sword of the Human Realm almost flew from Su Yi’s grip.

Su Yi was sent flying back on impact. His shoulder shattered, the surrounding flesh reduced to pulp. If he hadn’t dodged just in time, his skull might well have been shattered instead.

Su Yi frowned, his expression dark, but inwardly, all he did was sigh. He couldn’t blhis attacker.

Xing Yuanzi was once one of Wang Ye’s most trusted subordinates. He’d fought alongside Wang Ye for years, braving countless dangers and achieving enormous merit.

He had a staunch, unyielding will, and he was like Wang Ye’s right-hand man. Furthermore, he was an expert of the first level of the Great Realm, the Great Martial Stage.

In the former Immortal Realm, Xing Yuanzi was one of the four Great Realm generals of Mount Taiwu, the Little Heavenly Court.

Yet he’d since been refined into a corpse puppet! He was neither human nor ghost, and he had no awareness to speak of!

The moment Su Yi recognized what had happened to Xing Yuanzi, he was perfectly certain that Jiang Tai’e was behind his transformation!

Su Yi’s heart welled with irrepressible killing intent at the mere thought of it.

Jiang Tai’e had participated in the Battle of Eternal Night, too.

Even the former master of the Black Dragon Market, the Black Dragon Dao Monarch, had met his end at Jiang Tai’e’s poisonous hands!

Su Yi longed for nothing more than to go kill the old bastard right away.

Boom!

As he pondered, Xing Yuanzi attacked again without the slightest hesitation, his attacks incomparably fierce and tyrannical.

Su Yi dodged and pondered how best to save Xing Yuanzi, but in the end, his heart sank.

Xing Yuanzi was beyond saving. He’d already been refined into a puppet. He was no different from a walking corpse. There was no coming back from that!

Su Yi understood Jiang Tai’e’s methods. Since he’d sent Xing Yuanzi here, either Xing Yuanzi was destroyed, or Su Yi died!

Su Yi frowned, and his expression filled with uncertainty.

In the end, he sighed. He couldn’t bring himself to strike the killing blow. Instead, he decided to capture Xing Yuanzi “alive” for now. Everything else could wait.

After making his decision, Su Yi no longer dodged. He swung his sword and charged right in.

“Suppress!”

Sword qi rumbled and boomed, and the light of reincarnation interwove. Terrifying sword force crushed Xing Yuanzi’s offensive and suppressed him completely.

Bang!!!

Xing Yuanzi was slammed to the ground, hard.

But before Su Yi could launch another attack, Xing Yuanzi thrashed violently, as if somehow stimulated.

A trace of agony appeared in his formerly hollow, emotionless gaze, and a bestial howl escaped his lips. His face contorted with agony as his skin split, inch by inch. Blood gushed forth like a waterfall.

His entire body convulsed in the throes of terrible agony.

“Xing Yuanzi, do you remember this lofty one?” Su Yi bellowed. His voice was full of the power of the Grand Dao, and it directly touched the hearts of all who heard it.

As Su Yi spoke, his appearance changed. He was now tall, majestic, and dressed in long, dark robes and a tall hat.

This was how he’d looked in his sixth lifetime. This was Wang Ye’s appearance!

The howling, agonized Xing Yuanzi suddenly raised his head, his once hollow eyes full of bloodlust.

But when he saw Su Yi, his entire body trembled as if he’d been struck by lightning.

“My... My lord!” He murmured in a daze. The bloodlust faded from his gaze, and his entire body quivered. It seemed he’d finally recovered a hint of rationality.

A delighted, excited smile spread across his pallid face. “Is it really you? I thought I’d never see you again...”

He breathed in ragged gasps, and his entire body trembled as blood gushed like a waterfall from countless wounds. The pain seemed unbearable.

Su Yi’s heart ached at the sight of him. He could tell at a glance that Xing Yuanzi’s power was rapidly flowing away.

“Don’t talk. Letseal you and get you out of here,” said Su Yi.

But just as he was about to get started, Xing Yuanzi cried out, “My lord, don’t cany closer!”

He staggered as if about to fall and cried out urgently in his hoarse voice, “I’m already doomed. All that remains ofis a trace of residual obsession. I’ll disappear completely within seconds.”

He took several deep breaths and grinned. “In the last moments before my death, I got to see you again, my lord. I’m already satisfied with that!”

Su Yi frowned, his heart full of grief. “Do you... have anything you’d like to say to me?”

Xing Yuanzi shook his head. “There’s no need forto say anything. You’re sure to avengeeither way, right?”

Su Yi let out a long sigh. “Of course.”

Xing Yuanzi stared intently at Su Yi before smiling in apparent release. “Then... your subordinate.... Hopes that you can... live well. May every passing year... be better than the last... and may you stand... at the pinnacle... once more...”

Thud!

He fell to the ground, his entire body covered in blood. His vital energy was as weak as could be.

He no longer had the strength to raise his head, and his voice started and stopped. “It’s a pity, but I... can no longer fight by your side... If there’s another life, I... will be certain to serve you again, my lord....”

His voice gradually faded away.

Waves of emotion coursed through Su Yi’s heart. Fury, agony, bitterness, frustration, and brief... All of them gathered and brewed within his chest, like a knot in his heart. It was all too much to take.

In the end, he took a deep breath and said, “Xing Yuanzi, allowto send you on your way!”

He raised his hand, and the fiery red flowers of the Far Shore drifted down from the night sky.