First Immortal of the Sword

The night was dark and heavy, and the full, blood-red moon hung in the skies.

Its strange, blood-colored light illuminated the thousand-foot illusory doorway, lending the entrance to the City of the Wrongfully Dead an additional unsettling quality.

The distant Emperors couldn’t help but feel a bit bewildered.

None of them would have anticipated that the old monk in black would point his spear at Su Yi and You Xue.

It seemed that, in the monk’s eyes, that Spiritual Revolution Realm young man was far more noteworthy than their group of Emperors.

Su Yi didn’t concern himself with any of this. 

“Let’s go.” 

He simply proceeded toward the entrance, and soon, his figure disappeared from view. You Xue followed immediately afterward.

The Emperors watched them disappear, then set their other thoughts aside and began their operation.

Time slipped by after the Emperors entered the City of the Wrongfully Dead. Dark clouds enveloped the blood-red full moon hanging in the sky. The red moon’s radiance was now indistinct.

Deep within Inverted Ridge, the spatial gateway formed of black mists turned turbulent and chaotic.

“In the time that follows, no matter who tries to escape from inside, kill them without mercy!” An icy, raspy voice suddenly rang out.

“Yes, sir!” A wave of voices resounded throughout the darkness.

Then, all of Inverted Ridge sank into deathly silence. No one uttered so much as a peep.

…

Snowy Skies City. Outside the blacksmith’s workshop.

The simply-dressed middle-aged man looked up at the blood-red moon on the verge of being shrouded in mists, and he couldn’t help but frown.

“Master, are you worried about that sword cultivator?” The tall, stalwart A’cheng couldn’t help but ask.

His master shook his head. “There’s no need to worry about him.”

“Then why frown, Master?”

The simply-dressed middle-aged man said, “The blood moon is the manifestation of a portion of the Netherworld’s source, yet tonight, it's far weaker than before. No wonder there have been so many changes in recent years, both in the City of the Wrongfully Dead and in the far reaches of the Sea of Bitterness…”

His calm voice carried a hint of solemnity amidst the darkness.

A’Cheng said in a daze, “Master, are you saying that the emergence of the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court and the changes to the Sea of Bitterness are connected to the weakening of the Netherworld’s source?”

The Night Watchman nodded. The Netherworld’s source really had been getting weaker of late.

It was just that no one knew why.

The Netherworld was far too huge.

In ancient times, not even the Infernal Palace, the massive faction that presided over the Netherworld, could measure just how big it was.

“Fortunately, this time, he came back. Otherwise, the destruction wouldn’t end with our Fengdu. Who knows what kind of storm the Netherworld King’s return would bring?” muttered the simply-dressed middle-aged man.

A’Cheng’s heart shook inexplicably, and a chill coursed down his spine. “Master, would it really be so scary?”

“Mm.” The middle-aged man grunted. “But relax; with him here, that won’t come to pass.”

The gathering storm really did threaten to bring an enormous calamity. It would be devastating enough to change the Netherworld’s long-stagnant balance of power!

But the Night Watchman knew that, now that a certain sword cultivator had returned, this calamity would end before it began.

……

The City of the Wrongfully Dead.

A wasteland shrouded in faint silver mist.

The sky above was dark and heavy, and blood-red stars flashed overhead, like the hideous red eyes of devils gazing down from on high.

The wasteland was barren; nothing grew here, not even a single inch of grass. The ground was strewn with long abandoned rotting corpses.

Su Yi walked alone with his hands behind his back. He looked casual, as if he were out for a leisurely stroll, but in truth, he was moving extremely quickly. Each step carried him a thousand feet.

From time to time, he gazed up at the blood-red stars overhead.

But more often than not, he simply rushed along.

This was the Blood Star Plains, one of the City of the Wrongfully Dead’s hundred-plus forbidden grounds. Nine blood-colored stars hung overhead, and a three-hundred-foot layer of corpses was buried beneath the plains.

It was nowhere near as dangerous as Calamity Ridge of the Great Chaos Ruins.

However, spending too much time here would lead to trouble so great, even Emperors dreaded it.

Su Yi planned to head to the Little Necropolis first. There, he’d find the Heavenspan Yao Vine and learn more about the City of the Wrongfully Dead’s current situation before proceeding to the Dark Capital to rescue Little Leaf.

If I pass through the Blood Star Plains, take a detour through the Cliffs of Overwhelming Sorrow, and cross White Bone River, I’ll arrive in the Little Necropolis.

The Little Necropolis was one of the most dangerous places in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. It was a massive, ancient city that had stood since antiquity, and it was inhabited by utterly malevolent evil spirits.

In his past life, Su Yi had once helped a yao vine kill his way into the city, taking the heads of thirty-tree Imperial-level evil spirits and occupying the heart of the Little Necropolis, Stargazing Tower, in one fell swoop!

The vine in question was none other than the Heavenspan Yao Vine.

Hm? As he rushed along, Su Yi sensed the energy fluctuations of a battle. Intermittent roaring and the humming of a sword resounded from afar.

It seems someone’s been trapped by Netherworld Corpse Worms, thought Su Yi.

The most dangerous things in the Blood Star Plains were the nine blood-red stars hanging overhead.

Them aside, the plains were home to countless Netherworld Corpse Worms. They typically lay dormant within the three-hundred-foot-thick pile of corpses, absorbing and refining the baleful Yin energies within the rotting flash.

But when alarmed, the hideous, vicious worms would attack en masse under the leadership of the Netherworld Corpse Worm King. Never mind ordinary cultivators; even Emperors would struggle to escape death once trapped. 

The countless corpses buried beneath the Blood Star Plains had all once belonged to cultivators who’d lost their lives beneath the worms’ hungry mouths.

They included no shortage of Emperors!   

Su Yi wanted to leave this terrible place as quickly as possible because he didn’t want those fearless, vicious worms to set their sights on him.

He wasn’t afraid; he just detested trouble.

I wonder who was unlucky enough to get themselves trapped? Whoever he is, I hope he can fight his way out, thought Su Yi as he continued ahead, minding his own business.

It wasn’t that he was heartless enough to just watch someone die, but that him aside, everyone who’d entered the City of the Wrongfully Dead this time was an Emperor.

Assuming they were capable, neutralizing danger of this level shouldn’t be difficult.

But a little while later, Su Yi stopped in place and gazed into the dome of heaven. A blood-red figure suddenly shot out of one of the stars, like a dazzling beam of light. It was aimed at the location of the distant battle.

“A Star-Refining Sky Ghost has come out too.” Su Yi’s eyebrows rose.

In the Blood Star Plains, nine yao stars hung overhead.

Each was formed of tens of bloody, baleful Yin energies concentrated and accumulated since antiquity.

They were like nests, the territories of the terrifying evil spirits known as Star-Refining Sky Ghosts!

Ordinarily speaking, as long as cultivators didn’t cause too great a disturbance on the planes, they wouldn’t alarm these terrifying evil spirits.

I wonder if that Star-Refining Sky Ghost has condensed a Blood Spirit Pearl or not… Su Yi couldn’t help but feel a bit tempted.

Blood Spirit Pearls were an extremely rare Imperial-level divine material. They contained the aura of the Laws of the Grand Dao of Blood.

If a Profound Illumination Emperor gathered Blood Spirit Pearls, they could create an avatar of will, which could be unbelievably useful.

Fine, I’ll go have a look. Su Yi shifted directions, proceeding toward the source of the disturbance. Earlier, he’d sensed that the Star-Refining Sky Ghost was targeting the unlucky sap facing a swarm of worms.

Shortly after, a raging battle entered Su Yi’s field of vision.

Dazzling flashes of purple sword qi intercrossed amidst the dim landscape, and a graceful figure emanating the distinctive aura of the Imperial Realm fought, sword swinging.

Her opponents were a swarm of Netherworld Corpse Worms. They were densely packed, and there were so many of them that they blotted out the skies.

Each worm was about the size of a fist. They had faces like fanged ghost masks, and they were completely red, with wings as sharp as knives. They were preternaturally quick, almost as if they were teleporting. 

Even though the woman fought with all her might, killing so many worms that their corpses fell like rain, there were just too many of them. They were like a blood-red current surging toward her relentlessly from all sides.

Even more terrifyingly, a deathly pale man was restricting a woman. He was tall and thin, with a bloody, baleful aura. His every gesture revealed terrifying strength comparable to that of an Emperor.

As he fought, bloody light transformed into stars, their destructive power terrifying beyond limit. They firmly restricted the woman’s attacks.

“So, it’s her…” Su Yi recognized the unfortunate sap who’d been surrounded at a glance.

The third libationer of Meng Po Palace, Yuan Linning!

But Yuan Linning had changed since their first meeting; it was obvious that she’d already condensed a complete Profound Dao Law, and her strength had soared.

However, she was nonetheless in a tight spot.

The man in blood-red robes, the Star-Refining Sky Ghost, was no weaker than her to begin with. Add the relentless onslaught of Netherworld Corpse Worms to the mix, and Yuan Linning had no way out.

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Su Yi couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He sighed, “You really are stupid. You know your opponent is the manifestation of a bloody, baleful apparition, so why not use the Flying Nightmare Incantation recorded in the third scroll of Meng Po Palace’s supreme Daoist canon, the Classic of Nightmares and Comprehending the Profound?”

Yuan Linning’s heart was already full of frantic panic and despair. When she heard this, she was stunned. Someone’s here?

And he… seriously just called me stupid!?

Yuan Linning was inwardly ashamed and angry.

But she was currently in peril, and she couldn’t concern herself with that. She subconsciously did as the voice instructed her, activating her Dao Sword and using her secret art.

Boom!

A streak of resplendent blue light shot forth, filling the sky like a dream or illusion and illuminating the landscape.

The Star-Refining Sky Ghost froze, like a moth trapped in a spider’s web. His movements were obviously restricted.

Yuan Linning couldn’t help but feel delighted. It actually worked! 

The Flying Nightmare Incantation specifically targeted the power of the soul, and it wasn’t all that strong. In battles between Emperors, it struggled to affect an opponent’s heart.

That was why Yuan Linning had never attempted to use it.

Who’d have thought that this secret art could achieve such wondrous and unbelievable effects at a time like this?

Despite her delight, Yuan Linning’s movements never slowed. She planned to seize the opportunity to cut down the Star-Refining Sky Ghost.

But then, a familiar sigh rang out once more. “Stupid! With your cultivation, you won’t be able to kill the Star-Refining Sky Ghost anytime soon. Why not seize this opportunity to kill the Netherworld Corpse Worm KIng and escape?”