First Immortal of the Sword

Ye Donghe shuddered from head to toe.

The old butcher’s murderous intent swept forth like an avalanche or tidal wave, locking firmly onto him.

In that moment, his scalp went numb, and his skin prickled as he sensed a lethal threat.

“Cut!” Ye Donghe bellowed, and a silver Dao Sword appeared, arcing through the air like a graceful ice dragon. It brought with it the abundant energy of Profound Dao Laws as it furiously cleaved through the sky.

How terrifying was it when a Profound Serenity expert attacked?

The attendees beneath the Imperial retreated in alarm, no exceptions, then sought refuge beneath the power of the Ancestral Hall’s defensive formation.

And the Emperors? All of them circulated their cultivation bases before neutralizing the effects of this terrifying power.

But the old butcher didn’t so much as dodge. He just snorted coldly and slapped from afar.

Clang!!!

The silver Dao Sword shook violently and wailed as the impact sent it flying. It swayed in midair, as if it were drunk. Its ear-piercing wails rang out nonstop.

Ye Donghe’s expression changed dramatically.

But before he could adjust his approach, the old butcher charged over, filling the air with monstrous murderous intent.

“Kneel!” The old butcher raised his hand, which burst with terrifying, blood-colored radiance.

He was like a demonic sovereign raising a blood-colored moon, only to slam it back down.

That tyrannical viciousness left even the distant Jiang Yingliu, Huang Yuanxiu, and Yue Shi inwardly astonished.

In their eyes, the elderly proprietor of Auspicious Cloud Tower who’d lived in seclusion for countless years now seemed as terrifying as the demonic sovereign of an age of chaos. Every movement brimmed with unrestrained murderousness, and he was tyrannical beyond measure!

Only Su Yi remained calm.

More than thirty thousand years ago, the old butcher was known as the Blood Slaughter Spirit Emperor, an expert who freely traversed the far reaches of the Sea of Bitterness. He was one of the Seven Devils of the Sea of Bitterness, an expert even the majority of the world’s Emperors dreaded.

Typical Profound Serenity Emperors weren’t even worthy of his attention.

Ye Donghe’s eyes bulged, and he shouted, “Break!” 

In this critical moment with no room for error, he unleashed a supreme secret art. His entire body burst with misty purple light, and the Laws of the Profound Dao condensed into a purple purgatory.

Its only source of light was a single illusory lotus lantern, which manifested the indistinct silhouette of a serpentine ghost god.

The Netherworld Serpent Restriction!

This was the core legacy of the Ghost Serpents. Rumor had they’d derived it from the innate talent of the Torch Dragon, a True Spirit Divine Beast, in ancient times. When used, it could imprison the Grand Dao and suppress the soul. It was incomparably domineering.

The single lamp illuminating the purple purgatory represented the eye of the Torch Dragon!

If he hadn’t sensed a potentially lethal threat, Ye Donghe wouldn’t have used it lightly. That was because this secret art was enormously draining for the user’s soul.

As complicated as this was to describe, it happened quickly.

Boom!!!

The old butcher raised his hand, then swung it down.

It was like a red sun had slammed into the purple purgatory, stirring up waves of destructive power terrifying beyond limit. 

The entire Ancestral Hall shook. 

The seats, chairs, and other furnishings exploded with a bang.

Even the formation covering its four walls produced violent energy fluctuations, startling the attendees currently under its protection.

Only the Emperors in attendance could see it clearly, but——

The blood-colored sun bore down, crushing the purple purgatory in front of Ye Donghe bit by bit. In the end, the illusory serpentine god manifested by the lamp couldn’t withstand the terrifying pressure, and it too shattered.

Light scattered like rain. There was nowhere for Ye Donghe to run, so he was forced directly to the ground.

Bang!

The floor shook as Ye Donghe’s knees hit the ground, and he coughed up blood.

His face paled, instantly translucent, and his eyes bulged.

Dust filled the air. The hall lay in ruin.

Yet the atmosphere was deathly silent!

Everyone’s eyes widened. Words failed them, and their hearts shook.

One attack, and he’d suppressed the early-stage Profound Serenity Ye Donghe!!!

No one had anticipated this!

“Who is this person? Why is he so strong?” Yue Shi’s expression shifted.

He was the chief elder of Fire Illumination Divine Palace’s inner court, and a Profound Serenity Emperor in his own right. He’d overcome countless battles, but this nonetheless stunned him, and he couldn’t remain calm.

Jiang Yingliu, Huang Yuanxiu, and their cohort visibly reacted as well.

In their eyes, the old butcher seemed like a mighty demonic sovereign. The vicious aura emanating was comparable to the experts of even the peak Demonist orthodoxies of the Wilds!

“So, it turns out that senior… is this powerful….” the young woman in the ink-black skirt muttered to herself.

As for the older-generation Ghost Serpents in attendance? Regardless of whether they hailed from the main or branch lineages, all of them were astonished, and all of them were rooted to the spot.

This was their territory, their clan’s forbidden ground, and it was protected by the Ten Thousand Stars Heaven-Slaughtering Formation!

Yet Third High Elder Ye Donghe had still lost.

And after just one attack!

This result was unquestionably unsettling!

“Although I haven’t had any breakthroughs in thirty-six thousand years, and although I haven’t gone all out during that time… a nobody like you still isn’t enough to contend with me,” the old butcher said coldly. “If the young lord hadn’t commanded me to capture you alive, why go to all this trouble? I would have killed you in a single slap already.”

His disdainful attitude sent waves of emotion through the crowd’s hearts.

And as Ye Donghe knelt on the ground, he was so ashamed that he wanted to die.

He was a high elder of the Ghost Serpent Race, yet today, he’d been forced to his knees in front of countless onlookers. Worse, the old butcher had beaten him in a single blow. This was unquestionably humiliating!

“You’re insulting the entire Ghost Serpent Race,” an elder shouted indignantly. “Don’t push us too far!”

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The old butcher’s eyes glinted with cold light. “I recognize you. Earlier, you spoke without reservation, insulting my young lord. To think you’d dare bark like a dog even now. You’re truly seeking death!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he slapped from afar.

Bang!

The offending elder exploded into a meaty pulp, destroyed both body and soul.

The other branch lineage members’ faces were ashen. All were overcome with terror and unease.

“Enough. Every crime has a chief offender, and every debt has its debtor. Killing those insignificant characters won’t do any good,” Su Yi said calmly.

The old butcher nodded. “As you say, young lord.”

One sentence, and the attendees felt an incomparably complicated mix of emotions.

How terrifying and unrestrained was the old butcher? Who could have imagined that he’d treat a young Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator with such respect?

Ye Zishan and the young woman in the ink-black skirt suddenly realized on a visceral level why Su Yi was so complicated!

Yue Shi was inwardly conflicted.

Earlier, he’d found it difficult to bear the thought of Su Yi getting himself hurt or killed, and he’d even encouraged Su Yi to lower his head.

Now, he suddenly realized… how ridiculous his earlier behavior had been.

“Now, it’s your turn.” Su Yi suddenly fixed his gaze on Jiang Yingliu, Huang Yuanxiu, and the others. “You cannot escape your share of the blame for the Ghost Serpents’ internal conflict. By now, there’s surely no reason not to share what you’re really after?”

Jiang Yingliu’s expression filled with uncertainty. She knew that these recent developments didn’t bode well for her.

The crux of the matter was that Ye Donghe had suffered far too crushing a defeat, and even the Ghost Serpents’ clan-protecting defensive formation was useless against Su Yi and the old butcher.

All of this meant that, more than ever before, Jiang Yingliu felt that the trend was no longer in her favor. It was a depressing sensation.

Who would have imagined it? She’d gone into this sure of her victory, only for the young man in blue to step in and ruin things at the last moment!

“Hmph! We were invited to witness the conference. How could we be ‘after’ anything? Young man, your words are nothing but baseless slander!” Huang Yuanxiu snorted coldly.

Even now, he was calm, with confidence in his backing.

Because the Profound Yellow Sword Pavilion stood behind him, as well as the Abstruse Force Alliance!

“‘Baseless slander?’” Su Yi laughed, then said to the old butcher, “I’ll leave him up to you. There’s… no need to take him alive.”

“Got it.” The old butcher straightforwardly agreed. A late-stage Profound Illumination Emperor, that’s all; Huang Yuanxiu was in no way worthy of his attention.

Huang Yuanxiu froze, then said in apparent disbelief, “Do you have any idea what the consequences of this will be!?”

Boom!

The old butcher paid him no heed. He simply attacked from afar.

Huang Yuanxiu visibly lost his composure.

Even if someone had hit him over the head, he would never have guessed that anyone would dare disregard both the Profound Yellow Sword Court and the Abstruse Force Alliance!

Alas, he’d realized this too late.

In the face of this palm strike, the late-stage Profound Illumination Huang Yuanxiu seemed as weak as could be. In the blink of an eye, he exploded, destroyed both body and soul.

This was an absolute suppression in terms of both strength and raw cultivation!

After all, the gap between the mid-stage Profound Serenity Realm and the late-stage Profound Illumination Realm was enormous. 

Even the early-stage Profound Serenity Realm Ye Donghe had fallen to a single palm strike, let alone Huang Yuanxiu!

Whoosh~

Blood scattered like rain.

The grand hall was deathly silent. Everyone was dumbstruck, and a chill coursed through their entire bodies. 

Just like that, an elder of Profound Yellow Sword Pavilion had been killed. Everyone was now fully aware that no transcendent status or illustrious background would help them now; neither meant anything at all to Su Yi or the old butcher!

In other words, neither Profound Yellow Sword Pavilion nor the Abstruse Force Alliance were an effective threat!

This had a deep impact on Ye Donghe, who was still kneeling on the floor. His face was ashen.

Earlier, he’d hoped that Jiang Yingliu and Huang Yuanxiu’s intervention would help him turn this around.

But now that Huang Yuanxiu had been killed, nothing remained in Ye Donghe’s heart but dense feelings of despair and helplessness.

At the same time, Jiang Yingliu’s beautiful face paled with despondency.

She realized the implications too.

In the past, even though she was only in the mid-stage Profound Illumination Realm, her status as Pi Mo’s disciple meant that she was treated respectfully wherever she went. Even the Netherworld’s peak orthodoxies treated her with respect and wouldn’t dare to provoke her lightly.

That was why she’d been so confident earlier; she had faith in her background.

But the status and background she’d been relying on were both useless against Su Yi and the old butcher!

“Now will you tell me what you’re after?” Su Yi looked at Jiang Yingliu.

When Su Yi first arrived in the Ancestral Hall, his expression was calm. No matter how many people looked upon him with disdain, his composure never wavered.

Now that the situation had turned in his favor, he was still calm and composed. He was neither conceited nor in a hurry.

But now, no one in this hall full of illustrious figures dared underestimate this Spiritual Revolution Realm young man!

Jiang Yingliu took a deep breath, her eyes flashing like lightning as she gazed at Su Yi. “The Grotto of Abstruse Force has never had any cowards afraid of death, not in the past, not now, and not in the future!”

Su Yi was briefly dazed, and a ripple of emotion coursed through his heart.

Before Jiang Yingliu’s voice finished echoing through the air, her delicate figure shot forward, and she charged at Su Yi.

There were only about a hundred feet between them, so she was confident that she could capture him!