First Immortal of the Sword

“No matter how many ‘tricks’ I use, you’ll break through them? Shameless!” Su Hongli snorted coldly.

He stretched, then burst with radiant, misty golden life. His acupoints, including the mind storage acupoint, opened, releasing terrifying energy fluctuations.

In an instant, his power condensed into one, fusing perfectly with this stretch of heaven and earth.

Boom!

His majestic aura soared explosively.

The onlookers watched as Su Hongli transformed into a ruler of heaven and earth, right before their very eyes. He controlled the ambient energy and directed the natural force of the landscape.

He was far stronger than he’d been before!

He waved his sleeves, and all the origin energy within several miles of him instantly gathered around his palm, transforming into a vast ball of golden Dao light, which he flung at Su Yi.

It was a casual, understated gesture. The sight of him freely manipulating the power of nature left numerous onlookers tongue-tied.

Practically simultaneously, Su Yi flung the river of stars, which came crashing down.

Boom!

There simply weren’t words to describe this attack.

Both energies had enough force to crush mountains and rivers. When they clashed, it was like a volcano went off in midair. A dazzling, destructive current swept outward, spreading in all directions.

The nearby streets had long since been destroyed, but as this wave of power spread outward, the earth crumbled and sank, forming countless chasms and scattering fragments of rock.

Although the majority of the onlookers had long since moved further away, the aftershock still hit them, sending numerous figures flying through the air.

The vast majority of the martial artists were so stunned that they couldn’t even speak.

Never mind participating; they weren’t even qualified to watch a battle like this. Numerous spectators had no choice but to move even further away. Otherwise, a moment’s carelessness and the raging battle would crush them into powder.

Even the Earthly Immortals had no choice but to circulate their cultivation. Only then did they resolve the aftershock. All of their faces filled with alarm.

Ancient tales told of angry cultivators who could easily cleave mountains and split rivers or destroy both heaven and earth. That was what this clash reminded them of!

Boom!

Su Hongli slapped the air.

The onlookers watched as the sky full of origin energy transformed into a hundred-foot hand and reached toward Su Yi like a divine dragon’s claw.

Everyone could tell that Su Hongli was starting to turn back the tide. The power he had on display was obviously far greater than before.

“A petty trick.” Su Yi’s fingers slashed.

Streaks of starlight arranged themselves into a massive star diagram. Each individual star danced and revolved, manifesting countless transformations within the diagram.

The resulting power rolled through the skies, as if intent on shattering everything in its path.

Crunch!

Su Hongli’s massive, hundred-foot palm burst apart in midair.

However, he wasn’t the least bit concerned. He waved his hands, gathering all the origin energy in a several mile radius. The clouds he stirred up churned the skies, shooting golden light in all directions.

Like the ruler of this stretch of heaven and earth!

Su Yi, meanwhile, wasn’t borrowing so much as a thread of power. He was using the pure, indomitable power of his fleshly body and true essence.

“When you borrow the power of heaven and earth, it will eventually cast you aside. And here I thought you capable. So, it turns out you’re ultimately just another short-sighted fool.” As Su Yi attacked, he shook his head.

“Cultivators can draw upon the power of their surroundings. This is what sets them apart from mortals. Who are you to deny that? Ludicrous!” Su Hongli’s gaze was cold and indifferent.

His aura drew upon and guided the vast power of heaven and earth. Controlling the ambient energies, even casual movements released ever-growing power.

Boom!

Su Hongli pressed his hands together, and the vast origin energy of heaven and earth transformed into a thousand-foot-cage of circulating golden light. It bore down on the world below.

This was an extremely miraculous sealing art.

Any cultivator trapped inside would be like a fish trapped in a layer of frozen ice; the technique completely severed their every connection with their surroundings! This left them with no strength to resist. In the end, all that awaited them was imprisonment and suppression.

“Break!” Su Yi’s black hair hung loose as his energies surged.

Radiant, clear, divine light surged forth, transforming a grand river of stars, which roared as it surged forth.

Boom!

The world was shrouded in darkness. Light blew apart and fell like rain.

In the end, although Su Yi broke through the massive cage, he tottered on his feet, and his blood and energy churned.

However, it was as if he didn’t even notice. On the contrary, he sighed. “You’re using the power of heaven and earth to suppress me? How could I possibly let you get away with that?”

He suddenly stretched. Every acupoint lit up, and blazing Spiritual Dao Light surged from his organs.

It was as if his foundations in the Grand Dao had awakened from a deep stillness.

When he saw this, Su Hongli suddenly charged ahead. He raised his right hand, which flashed with glittering, translucent golden Dao light. The golden light flickered uncertainly, yet it seemed almost material. It gathered all the power in Su Hongli’s body.

“Cut!” Su Hongli’s palm slapped the air.

All the onlookers sensed was that the ambient origin energy was now under that palm’s control. Opposing Su Hongli was practically tantamount to becoming enemies with heaven and earth.

Controlling the power of his surroundings let him stand above the world. How was that any different from being its ruler?

Boom!

This power shook Su Yi once more, forcing him back.

When they saw this, Su Yi’s allies’ expressions changed dramatically, and their hearts were on tenterhooks

The entire area was already in uproar. Who could fail to realize that Su Hongli had seized the advantage?

“This is the difference between a mortal and a cultivator,” said Su Hongli flatly. He stood in the air like a deity, drawing closer to Su Yi once more.

Each of his eyes was like the vast dome of the firmament. He looked down on all of creation; in his eyes, Su Yi was little different from an ant.

“That so?” Su Yi stopped himself, his gaze derisive. “I’m actually interested to see what you’ll have left after you’ve lost the power of heaven and earth.”

He then slowly got into an old fashioned fighting stance.

Five stars floated up in front of him. They were, respectively, green, red, white, yellow, and black. These were the five colors of Five-Colored Spiritual Radiance. They interacted with each other, transforming a cyclical, radiant, five-elemental ring. The lights merged into one, becoming an utterly transparent clear!

Five elements fused into one, their color: clear. Their shape was chaotic; their quality, ethereal; their presence, hazy!

This was Su Yi’s true, perfected power, the very peak of the Grandmaster Realm.

He now unleashed it, using the Starry Skies Sword Fingers as a guide.

The divine ring formed of clear, five-elemental starlight looked misty and ethereal, but its strength was thick and condensed to the extreme. It was vast beyond limit, like chaos itself!

“Go!” Su Yi waved his sleeves.

Boom!

The origin energy of heaven and earth churned violently. Everything within a ten-thousand-foot radius was enveloped in a terrifying, destructive aura.

The five-elemental ring shot forth. Su Hongli immediately sensed that he was starting to lose control over the ambient energy.

It was as if the power of the surrounding area had been suppressed by Su Yi’s attack; it seemed like it couldn’t take much more!

Su Hongli’s expression immediately changed. “Open!”

Without the slightest hesitation, his blood and qi boiled, and his power reached greater heights than ever before. He suddenly threw a punch.

Boom!

An explosion reverberated throughout heaven and earth.

The onlookers then watched as the five-elemental ring bore down, and Su Hongli’s punch burst apart like paper mache. Then, the terrifying destructive currents enveloped him completely.

Bang!

Clouds of dust flew into the air as Su Hongli was sent flying hundreds of feet back.

Then, to the crowd’s utter astonishment, they saw that his hair was loose and unkempt and his clothes were in tatters. It was obvious that Su Yi’s attack had hurt him; there were numerous scorch marks all over his skin!

“This….” Everyone present was shaken.

Su Hongli had only just barely seized the advantage, only for Su Yi to suppress him again, and even injure him!

This change came so suddenly that the crowd’s minds practically went blank!

“Hmph!” Su Hongli’s expression was overcast and sinister.

With every breath, overflowing origin energy poured into his body, and his wounds quickly knit back together.

Immediately afterward, an aura that struck terror into the onlookers’ hearts rose up around him.

There was no getting around it; Su Hongli’s control over the ambient origin energy far surpassed You Tianhong. He’d already achieved mastery, and he could control it freely.

Alas, the way Su Yi saw it, this was ultimately a worthless, paltry little trick!

“Take this!” Su Yi charged ahead. He was still using the Starry Sky Sword Fingers, but every attack contained the fusion of the five elements. Clear Dao Light, like misty chaos, merged into each and every star, suppressing the force of heaven and earth!

Rumble~~!

Su Hongli’s aura was connected to the power of his surroundings. Now, cracks appeared in it, and it showed signs of imminent collapse. It seemed to boil over, and mist rose up around him.

Su Hongli’s expression darkened. He bellowed, his voice booming like thunder, “Open!”

Then, he met Su Yi’s attack head-on, using all the power at his disposal.

But mere moments later—

Bang!

He fell several hundred feet, almost plummeting down to earth. That inelegant scene provoked numerous startled cries.

Even the Earthly Immortals’ scalps went numb.

In just one attack, Su Yi had blasted apart practically all of the power under Su Hongli’s control. He was so strong, it was downright unbelievable!

Su Hongli’s expression was unsightly, and his eyes flashed with apparent disbelief. There was no longer any trace of his former calm indifference. His majestic bearing was as dense and imposing as a mountain. It was obvious that Su Yi’s display of power had shocked him too!

“How does it feel when heaven and earth abandon you?” said Su Yi calmly.

As he spoke, he prepared to attack once more. The sky filled with clear, chaotic stars, flowing with ethereal, illusory light.

When it came to understanding of heaven, earth, and everything in between, Su Xuanjun knew enough to make even the Nine Provinces of the Wilds’ other Emperors lower their heads in shame.

Su Hongli’s petty flourishes looked impressive to the uninitiated, but he was an amateur showing off in front of an expert. He was completely ignorant of his own weakness.

All Su Yi needed to do was sever Su Hongli’s connection to his borrowed power, and it would revert to its original configuration!

Boom!

Heaven and earth boomed. There was no imagining how terrible that strike was.

The crowd watched as stars appeared out of nowhere, filling the sky. They suppressed the lingering origin energy, then swept toward Su Hongli.

“Activate!” Su Hongli let out a long roar. The onlookers then watched as eight stone steles floated up and revolved protectively around him. Each illusory stele burst with an aura as dense and heavy as a mountain.

The Eight Hells Mountain Monuments!

This was an extremely mighty defensive technique.

However, when the sky full of stars swept over, the eight illusory steles suffered severe damage. The impact made them burst to pieces, one by one.

In the blink of an eye, the defensive skill was utterly destroyed, disintegrating into nothingness.

Boom!

As the stars descended, both Su Hongli and the stretch of sky he occupied were enveloped in dazzling light.

Then, beneath countless gazes, Su Hongli plummeted down to earth like a meteor and slammed into the ground, hard.

Boom!

The impact left a giant crater in the earth, at least several hundred feet deep.

And Su Hongli lay at the very bottom. He seemed to have suffered heavy injuries—there was no coming back from this. His glow faded, and his skin was covered in bleeding lacerations. He was a pitiful sight.

The entire area fell silent. Without exception, the onlookers were stunned. Did Su Hongli… Actually lose?