First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1486 - Eastern Profound City

Chapter 1486 - Eastern Profound City

The Second Battleground, Eastern Profound City.

The dome of heaven was utterly overcast, shrouding everything in darkness.

There’d just been a downpour, washing away the blood smeared all over the city gates, but the faint smell of blood still permeated the air.

“Three days from now, on the night of the Blood Moon, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold out any longer...”

An old man sat by the side of the road, looking utterly dejected. His hair was disheveled, his entire body was covered in blood, and he was riddled with wounds.

“Had I known how brutal the Second Battleground was, I would never have come!” said a tall, stalwart man, cursing under his breath as he gazed down at his broken treasure.

“Is there any point in saying all that now?” said a Daoist with a missing arm. He sighed bitterly.

......

The Domain Boundary Battlefield had opened two months prior.

A group of Eastern Profound Star Domain Dao Integration experts immediately rushed in, appearing in the Second Battleground’s Eastern Profound City.

At the time, they’d numbered over three hundred!

Yet now, just two months later, only about twenty remained alive.

The others had either left the city and been hunted down by experts of other star domains or died brutal deaths defending the city during the monthly Night of the Blood Moon.

Even the twenty-or-so survivors were covered in wounds.

“Compared to the other three star domains, the Eastern Profound Star Domain really is far too weak,” someone sighed.

Of the three star domains, the Northern Abyss Star Domain was the strongest. Its experts were as numerous as the clouds.

The Western Chill Star Domain was next. They too had numerous experts, and it wouldn’t do to underestimate them.

Even the Southern Flame Star Domain, which historically was tied with the Eastern Profound Star Domain for last place, had numerous terrifyingly powerful experts this time.

As for the Eastern Profound Star Domain? Practically all of their experts were former revenants!

Sure, they’d had their curses broken, and they’d recreated their bodies. But even so, their strength was far from their former peaks.

A mournful cry sounded in the distance.

A woman sat collapsed in the dirt, her hair disheveled as she clutched a blood-stained robe and cried her eyes out. She was practically hoarse from weeping.

The others watched, their expressions wooden. They’d seen far too much death over the past two months; they were long since numb to it all.

“If that Su person hadn’t killed so many of our fellow Dao Integration cultivators, how could we possibly have lost so badly?” A silver-robed man gnashed his teeth, his eyes blazing with hatred.

Numerous others’ expressions shifted.

“You can’t say that. Ultimately, the problem is that we’re just too weak,” someone sighed.

It was then that a jeer emanated from the city gates.

“Hey, you pack of prey animals. There’s no way you’ll survive the next Night of the Blood Moon. Instead of turtling up and waiting to die, why not come out and fight me?”

A group of Western Chill Star Domain Dao Integration Realm experts were stationed outside. There were at least ten of them.

Their leader was an indolent-looking young man in purple. He stood in the air, arms crossed, and said heartily, “Where’s your hot-bloodedness? Where’s your spirit? We’ve blocked the city gates, but you’re still too scared to even let out a fart?”

The sound of his mockery traveled into the city. Everyone’s expressions were instantly unsightly.

“Boring. You’re nothing but terrified prey. If I didn’t need to hunt you to accumulate merit, I’d disdain to even attack the likes of you!” The young man in purple shook his head, drifted back to the ground, and returned to camp.

The atmosphere within Eastern Profound City was increasingly stifled.

Everyone was fraught with worry.

“Everyone, are we... really just going to wait to die?” the Daoist with the missing arm said gravely.

In the Second Battleground, the experts of the four star domains each had a camp in which they could take shelter.

They were known as Eastern Profound City, Northern Abyss City, Southern Flame City, and Western Chill City.

Each city was covered by the power of the Laws. Under ordinary circumstances, outsiders couldn’t enter. So long as you hid inside, you were safe from external foes.

But once a month, the Blood Moon would appear beneath the night sky, and the power of the Laws protecting the city would disappear. The experts within each city would no longer enjoy their protection.

That made the Night of the Blood Moon the perfect time to invade other cities!

The appearance of the Blood Moon was responsible for Eastern Profound City’s grievous casualties; each time, external foes had invaded!

By now, only about twenty of their experts remained. All of them knew that the next time the Blood Moon rose, they’d have little hope of survival!

“What do we do? What can we do except wait to die?” that tall, stalwart man said bleakly.

The city was surrounded. If they attempted to flee, they’d be hunted down immediately!

“Perhaps we still have a chance of survival!” that old man covered in blood said out of nowhere.

This statement instantly drew the others’ attention.

“What chance?” the tall, stalwart man said skeptically.

The old man took a deep breath and said gravely, “Waiting for Fellow Daoist Su’s arrival!”

It was just one sentence, with no real explanation, but everyone instantly understood what he was getting at.

There was a disturbance amongst the crowd. Everyone’s expressions shifted.

No one doubted that Su Yi could make it to the Second Battleground! Anyone who understood his strength knew that even the First Battleground was well within Su Yi’s reach!

Someone said hesitantly, “But... Do we still have time to wait for Fellow Daoist Su?”

Only three days remained until the next Blood Moon!

“That’s why I said it’s just a chance,” the old man said with a bitter laugh.

“You’re wrong! Seems to me that even if that Su person shows up, there’s no way he’ll help us!” that silver-robed man said grimly. “Don’t forget that all of our factions of origin are on poor terms with him. How could he possibly help us?”

The crowd’s expressions were instantly bleak. That was indeed the case. Until recently, the various ancient orthodoxies and many immortal factions had seen Su Yi as their common foe.

“That’s not necessarily true,” the old man said gravely. “Recently, the various ancient factions all chose to lower their heads to him. That’s why he broke all of our courses.

“Besides, if Fellow Daoist Su arrives in the Second Battleground, he’ll be a fellow member of Eastern Profound City. How could he possibly stand back and watch us die on account of past grievances?

“Seems to me that Fellow Daoist Su isn’t that type of person!” said the old man, his voice filling with staunch conviction.

“There are only three days left. Will Fellow Daoist Su show up...? Seems to me we can’t pin our hopes on him...” someone murmured, his face ashen.

The others’ emotions rose and fell. The atmosphere was increasingly stifled.

Everything was silent, save for the still-weeping woman’s sobs, which echoed throughout the city. This only made the crowd’s hearts all the heavier.

But although no one noticed, a tall, upright figure stood silently beneath the eaves of a building further down the street.

This was Su Yi, who’d only just arrived in the Second Battleground.

He’d arrived just in time to hear their entire conversation.

When he saw the Dao Integration experts’ wretched state, he couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

It seems the End of the Dharma that swept the Human Realm only affected the Eastern Profound Star Domain; the other three weren’t influenced at all. Otherwise, there’s no way the Eastern Profound Star Domain would have lost so badly.

As he pondered, the purple-robed young man’s voice emanated from beyond the city walls. “What 'Fellow Daoist Su?' You’re still hoping someone will come to your aid at a time like this?”

There was no doubt about it. Although the purple-robed young man was outside city limits, he was paying attention to everything going on outside, and he’d heard their conversation.

“Heed my advice: obediently wash your necks and leave the city. I’ve always been kind-hearted, so I’ll give you quick deaths. I promise you won’t suffer in the slightest,” the purple-robed young man outside the city laughed.

He was leisurely sprawled out in a chair, and his mocking voice echoed throughout heaven and earth.

“Refuse my advice, and in three days, on the next Night of the Blood Moon, I promise to take your heads one by one and hang them from the city walls for all to see!”

The Eastern Profound City experts’ expressions were increasingly dark.

But it was then that footsteps emanated from further down the street. They were light, but against the stifled, deathly silence, they were unnaturally clear.

The Eastern Profound City experts instinctively looked over.

There, beneath the dimly lit skies, they saw a tall, upright figure approaching from afar. He was dressed in blue, elegantly handsome, as if he’d risen above it all.

This was Su Yi!

The crowd couldn’t help but look stunned, as if they almost dared not believe their eyes.

“Your... Your Excellency Su!?” someone said in a quavering voice.

Immediately afterward, every last injured Eastern Profound City expert shot to their feet, their faces full of mad delight, like drowning men grasping at straws.

“It really is you, Your Excellency Su!” the blood-covered old man cried out excitedly.

Even the silver-robed man who’d only just had a lot to say about Su Yi looked excited. But a moment later, he lowered his head in guilt.

What he’d said earlier had been highly disrespectful to Su Yi!

Su Yi’s expression was calm, but inwardly, his heart churned with emotion.

These feelings belonged to his sixth incarnation, Wang Ye.

In Wang Ye’s youth, he’d protected the Sixth Gate of Heaven in the Northriver Province alongside his brothers-in-arms. They fought side by side, bathed in blood, living and dying alongside each other!

It was for this reason that throughout Wang Ye’s life, he’d always attached incomparable importance to his allies.

No matter their cultivation or their status, if they were members of his camp, he saw them as his own.

When his brothers-in-arms died in battle, Wang Ye would do everything he could to bring back their corpse for a proper burial. He’d also do his utmost to look after their relatives and descendants.

It was for this reason that the man many in the Immortal Realm called “the Tyrant” had a group of staunchly loyal subordinates and friends willing to fight and die alongside him!

Now, when Su Yi saw the wretched state of Eastern Profound City’s experts, irrepressible anger rose within Su Yi’s heart.

This was Wang Ye’s fury!

Thud!

The disheveled woman prostrated herself before Su Yi and wailed, “Your Excellency Su, I beg you! Please, help me avenge my senior apprentice brother! I... I truly can’t do it myself. Please, I beg you! I beg you——!”

All the while, she kowtowed repeatedly, with such force that her forehead bled.