First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1467 - Backstabbed

Chapter 1467 - Backstabbed

The man in blue turned his hand and put away the golden lantern.

Then, he turned to his distant companion. “Mu Jing, tell me: is the one who used the Ten Thousand Demons Imperial Talisman to summon his subordinates really the famous… Tyrant?”

His voice quieted as he said the title, and his gaze filled with deep-seated dread.

A long, long time ago, the Tyrant of the Immortal Realm was a legend. Even all-powerful rulers feared him!

An indifferent voice rang out, calm, yet as sharp as a knife’s edge. “According to Shi Zhuo, only the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign can carve Ten Thousand Demons Imperial Talismans. If it’s as I suspect, it was indeed the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign who summoned them.”

As this voice rang out, a figure silently appeared in the air.

A steely-featured man in hemp clothing. He was thick-boned, with a worn-out and dull black wooden sword on his back.

He had a halberd-shaped mustache, and his presence was steady and reserved. He seemed as immovable as a mountain.

“The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign?” The blue-robed man’s eyes flashed, and he said coldly, “Mu Jing, how many years has it been since the Tyrant reincarnated? How is he in any way worthy of such a title?”

“It’s a habit. There’s no fixing it,” the hemp-clad swordsman said expressionlessly.

The man in blue said thoughtfully, “Then how strong do you think the Tyrant is now that he’s returned?

“Didn’t you ask that old man who called himself the Tailor the same question just a few years ago? His reincarnation has only just stepped onto the Path of Transcendence,” the hemp-clad swordsman said calmly.

The blue-robed man let out a deep sigh. “To tell the truth, I’m not at all confident. After all… even if he’s only in the early stages of the Path of Transcendence, he’s still the Tyrant who once stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, the man who fought his way to the top and became the unrivaled hegemon of his era!”

“Are you afraid?” asked the man in hemp.

After a moment’s silence, the man in blue said, “Yes! Of course I’m afraid! But I’m afraid of who he was then, not who he is now.”

“Oh,” said Mu Jing, the man in hemp. He had nothing else to say.

“Let’s go. We old-timers are the only ones left in the Epoch of Demonism. If we can seize the Tyrant’s reincarnation, we’ll have no need to fear lacking means to return to the Immortal Realm.”

As he spoke, the man in blue shot deeper into the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains. “If we can’t catch him, we’ll have no choice but to use that talisman.”

Mu Jing stuck close to him in silence.

The man in blue didn’t mind. Mu Jing had always been as cold and taciturn as a rock. He’d gotten used to it.

“When we get there, you hold up the rear,” said the man in blue.

Mu Jing nodded.

Before long, the two of them reached the divine palace floating on a lake of lava. The man in blue took out that golden lantern, raised his hand, and shook it.

Weng!

A bloody figure appeared.

He was a middle-aged man. His face was deathly pale, and his entire body was covered in burns, as if he were a piece of living charcoal. It hurt to even look at him.

The man in blue seized him by the throat, his gaze cold and cruel. “Invite your esteemed ruler out to see me!”

The middle-aged man trembled from head to toe, gazed at the divine palace, and roared, “Your Eminence, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign’s dogs have come for you. Run, quickly——!!”

His voice boomed throughout heaven and earth.

“You’re seeking death!” The blue-robed man’s expression darkened. He stuffed his captive back into the golden lantern. The flames surged, leaving him writhing and shrieking in agony. 

Boom!

Meanwhile, the distant divine palace gates open.

Su Yi, Wu Meng, Bai Tuo, and the others emerged.

“Ol’ Stone!” Wu Meng’s expression shifted. He recognized the man trapped in the golden lantern at a glance.

Way back when, eighteen immortals of the Epoch of Demonism had become Wang Ye’s followers.

Ol’ Stone was one of the eighteen. His name was Shi Zhuo!

When they saw this, Bai Tuo, Black Toad, and the others’ expressions were unsightly. When they looked at the blue-robed man and Mu Jing, their eyes blazed with murderous intent.

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign’s subordinates?

Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly.

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign was one of Wang Ye’s greatest enemies. He was an old-timer who’d reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao long before Wang Ye.

Two days prior, Su Yi learned from Wu Meng that Blood Firmament had once led a group of immortal powerhouses into the Epoch of Demonism in search of Wang Ye’s reincarnation.

But in the end, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign left having found nothing at all.

Now, countless years later, just three days after Su Yi’s arrival in the Epoch of Demonism, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign’s subordinates had come looking for him. 

And they’d even taken Shi Zhuo hostage!

“Are you… Tyrant Wang Ye’s reincarnation?” The blue-robed man’s eyes flashed like lightning as he scanned the area. In the end, his gaze landed on Su Yi, but he still only seemed half-convinced.

A moment later, his eyebrows rose in apparent confusion. Su Yi showed absolutely none of the characteristic energy fluctuations of a cultivation base. He seemed like an ordinary mortal, but this only made him all the more inscrutable.

“That’s right,” Su Yi said with a slight nod. He pointed at the golden lantern. “Let him go, and this lofty one will leave you a path to life.”

His tone was calm, but it brooked no room for dissent. 

The man in blue laughed derisively, his gaze playful. “There’s no reason I can’t let him go, but you have to come with me. Otherwise… he’s doomed!”

With that, he raised and flicked his fingertip.

Kcch!

The lantern’s divine flames erupted, burning Shi Zhuo and making him roar in agony. It seemed it wouldn’t be long until he’d been completely incinerated.

“You’re seeking death!”

Wu Meng roared in fury, and his blood surged.

“Your leader and I are having a conversation. This is no place for you to talk. Scram!” The blue-robed man snorted coldly, then pressed down on the air from a distance.

Boom!

A glittering golden hand bore down.

The sky exploded and split, and Wu Meng was sent flying back. He landed several hundred feet away, coughing up blood.

A Saint Realm Immortal Lord!

The crowd’s hearts were instantly solemn, and their expressions shifted. 

In the Epoch of Demonism, no matter how heaven-defyingly talented you were, you could at most reach the pinnacle of the Void Realm.

Reaching a higher level required passing the Path Heaven Forbids and ascending to the Immortal Realm.

Wu Meng and the other old-timers had long since reached the pinnacle of the Void Realm, but despite countless years, their cultivations had stagnated here.

Yet this subordinate of the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign had the strength of a Saint Realm Immortal Lord!

Here in the Epoch of Demonism, that made him invincible!

“Your Eminence…” Bai Tuo looked at Su Yi with concern.

Su Yi waved it away. “Don’t worry. He might be a Saint Realm Immortal Lord, but the Laws are restricting his strength.”

He could see through the blue-robed man at a glance.

The blue-robed man threw back his head and laughed. “Hahaha! So what if my cultivation base is restricted? Here in the Epoch of Demonism, I can do as I please!

“More importantly…” the man in blue paused, his expression playful as he fixed his cold gaze on Su Yi, “I’m finally certain that even though you’re the Tyrant’s reincarnation, you’re far, far from his level. Otherwise, why wouldn’t you have stopped me from humiliating your subordinate?”

He shook his head in self-deprecation. “And here I was worried earlier. I thought you might have tricks up your sleeves, and I dared not act recklessly. Looking at you now, it seems… I worried for nothing.”

It would have been obvious to anyone that the man in blue had relaxed completely. His bearing and mannerisms were now prideful and unrestrained, without the slightest fear.

Su Yi said calmly, “If you really aren’t afraid of me, why bother with all that talk? Why not just strike directly and prove that you have nothing to be afraid of?”

The blue-robed man’s pupils constricted, but then, he laughed. “Caution leads to longevity. No matter what, you once stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao. It’s still possible you’re hiding cards sufficient to threaten my life. I’m not stupid enough to underestimate you.”

The crowd’s hearts sank. The man in blue didn’t just have a terrifying cultivation base. No, he was cautious and crafty, too. He was obviously an extremely difficult opponent!

And that’s before even considering the hemp-clad swordsman standing beside him. Although he’d yet to say anything, it was obvious to all of them that he too was an Immortal Lord!

Given the circumstances, who wouldn’t have been startled?

Su Yi took out a jug of wine, had a sip, and commanded the group. “Going forward, you all can just watch. Don’t get involved.”

With that, he stepped forward.

He was calm and composed, but his eyes were utterly cold and cruel.

The blue-robed man’s eyelids twitched, and he bellowed, “Come any closer, and I’ll kill your subordinate!”

As he spoke, he raised the golden lantern into the air. His aura surged around him, and he circulated the full extent of his Saint Realm Immortal Lord cultivation base.

Heaven and earth shook. Everything around him trembled.

The crowd couldn’t help but lose their composure. This was the power of an Immortal Lord!

The blue-robed man spoke once more. “How about this? Wrap these chains around your neck, and I’ll let your subordinate go immediately.”

As he spoke, he waved his sleeves, and a silver chain shot forth and floated in the air. It was about ten feet long, and it shone with radiant silver light. It was covered in strange, contorted immortal glyphs, and it emanated heart-palpitating energy fluctuations.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “A Soul Prison Chain the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign refined personally?”

As he spoke, he continued his approach at a steady, unhurried pace, but a formless, inscrutable aura silently surged around him.

The blue-robed man’s eyebrows furrowed, and his heart tensed inexplicably.

The young man before him seemed entirely unassuming, but how could he not know how terrifying an existence he’d once been?

Even a mightier Immortal Lord would have been a mere ant before him!

Even all-powerful rulers paled at the mere mention of his name, no exceptions!

“You really don’t care whether your subordinate lives or dies?” bellowed the man in blue. He gripped the golden lantern, his expression overcast and his aura increasingly terrifying.

But it would have been obvious to anyone that Su Yi’s approach had made this Saint Realm Immortal Lord nervous!

Finally, Su Yi stopped in his tracks, raised his hand, and casually grabbed the silver chain.

The man in blue was stunned. Has the Tyrant… finally decided to lower his head?

If not, why take the Soul Prison Chain of his own accord?

But before he could celebrate, Su Yi casually issued orders. “Kill him and prove that you haven’t defected.”

With that, Su Yi didn’t spare the man in blue so much as a second glance.

“Who are you commanding?” The man in blue felt his heart thud in his chest. This didn’t bode well.

“Understood!” A respectful, solemn voice emanated from behind the man in blue.

His expression shifted dramatically, and his hair stood on end. A chill coursed down his spine, and he instinctively turned his head to look behind him.

Turning one’s head was a simple movement. Ordinarily speaking, he could have done it in a flash.

But this time, as he turned his head, a black wooden sword silently pierced his throat, leaving him frozen mid-movement.