First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1250 - A Casual Strike

Su Yi stopped in place.

“Want to fight?” Su Yi asked without so much as turning his head.

Off on that distant stretch of battered land, the thin man seated cross-legged slowly rose. “You’re a human cultivator. It’s only out of consideration for that fact that I spoke up to warn you, so why... aren’t you listening?”

He flashed through the air, appearing close to Su Yi instantaneously.

His hair and beard were disheveled, and his youthful face was as cold and firm as a rock. His eyes were sharp and surging with terrifying sword intent.

Upon closer inspection, where the thin man stood, he was like a mountain supporting heaven and earth. He seemed utterly unshakable.

Even more terrifyingly, extremely condensed sword intent surged around him, creating an endless cycle of rejuvenation. It had a flawless charm!

Even ordinary World Kings would have been instantly intimidated in the face of such an opponent, and their hearts would have filled with despair.

Su Yi’s gaze focused, and he took a deep look at the man. “Your attainments in the Dao of the Sword are quite decent, but I urge you not to proceed down the wrong path.”

With that, he took a step forward.

One step, and the skies abruptly sank. The air trembled on all sides.

A streak of sword qi rose into the air in front of Su Yi. It stretched far and wide, connecting heaven and earth!

With each step Su Yi took, his sword qi intensified. Heaven and earth trembled, and the air distorted, as if unable to bear his sword force.

The thin man looked stunned, and his eyes surged with divine radiance. “I misjudged you. I wouldn’t have thought you were a powerful sword cultivator!”

Su Yi’s lips parted, and he said just two words. “Step aside.”

The thin man shook his head. “Eight thousand years ago, I received someone’s guidance and a secret incantation of the Dao of the Sword. In exchange, I agreed to watch over this place until he escaped confinement. As a sword cultivator, I can’t possibly go back on my word!”

He spoke with firm conviction, and his eyes blazed with determination.

He too burst with monstrous sword intent, like rampaging flames burning the firmament, their dazzling light illuminating the nine heavens.

Boom!

Their power of the Dao of the Sword stirred the clouds, filling the surrounding air with austere murderous intent.

“Acting on another’s orders?” Su Yi took a second to ponder that. “Are you perhaps talking about that self-proclaimed descendant of immortals, the Illusionist?”

“Indeed,” said the thin man.

Su Yi stopped in his tracks, then asked, “Several hundred years ago, a woman entered the Divine Kingdom of Illusions. Do you know anything about that?”

“I do.” A rare hint of emotion coursed through the thin man’s eyes. “She was impressive, but her treasures were even more impressive. One of them could resist the waves of the power of time and space.”

“Did you stand in her way?” asked Su Yi.

“I didn’t,” said the thin man. “When that woman arrived, the Illusionist ordered me to let her into the Divine Kingdom of Illusions.”

Su Yi nodded. “So, if I want to enter too, I have to defeat you first?”

The thin man fell briefly silent, his eyes flashing like lightning. “My Dao of the Sword can only determine life and death, not victory and defeat. I absolutely never hold back.”

Su Yi laughed. “My Dao of the Sword acts in accordance with my will. I have no restrictions. Draw your sword.”

Su Yi’s robes fluttered around him as he approached.

As if he was just out for a casual stroll.

But in the thin man’s eyes, the young man in blue seemed to have jumped out of the cage of heaven and earth to wander freely beyond the nine heavens.

There was nowhere his sword intent did not reach and nowhere it couldn’t go. It was vast beyond measure!

“Excellent!” The thin man’s cultivation base swelled, and he surged with sword intent.

Clang!

He flipped his palm, and a Dao Sword shot forth, cleaving the air.

In the blink of an eye, countless illusory swords surged into being, and countless streaks of sword qi rumbled and boomed. Countless fiery, explosive mysteries of the Laws interwove within his sword qi as it struck.

It was like an endless, fiery sword rain, and it blanketed everything on all sides.

Even more terrifyingly, the layers upon layers of spatial power seemed capable of overturning mountains and inverting seas. The countless “raindrops” struck with indescribable, terrifying momentum.

He’s completely fused the Laws of Space and Fire, using his sword force to transform creation. His sword intent burns like fire, but even more impressive, everything has come together. There’s no longer a distinction between his abilities... thought Su Yi.

He could tell that the thin man wasn’t holding back. This slash contained his full power, and he intended to determine life and death!

His Dao of the Sword was extreme, but that’s what made it so tyrannical.

Su Yi didn’t hold back either.

He raised his right hand high, pressed his fingers into a sword, and swung.

It was a subtle movement, and it couldn’t have been any more ordinary, yet at the same time, he was like god or immortal displaying his strength. His sword intent was like a river breaking through a dam, overturning heaven and earth. It was brimming with inestimable power and indestructible charm.

And this power originated from Su Yi’s fingertips.

Boom!

The firmament quivered, and heaven and earth trembled.

The surrounding skies shattered like glass beneath a hammer, forming countless, spreading, spider web-like cracks.

The thin man’s fiery sword rain was suppressed, as if it had encountered a windstorm. It instantly went out.

The endless layers of spatial power shattered with a bang.

Beneath the dome of heaven, Su Yi’s streak of sword qi seemed intent on stealing the heavens, and ripping the firmament asunder. It was now this entire landscape’s only source of light.

And the thin man stood at the end of its trajectory!

Bang!

The thin man suffered a blow greater than he could withstand. He stepped back, his firm, boulder-like face paling.

The impact set his robes and long hair fluttering, and countless minute bloody gashes tore open on his skin.

“Might I ask the name of your attack?” The thin man whispered in a daze.

“It was a casual strike. It has no name,” Su Yi said plainly.

As he spoke, he exerted his will, and the sword qi targeting the thin man disappeared without a trace.

“A casual strike....?” the thin man muttered to himself. “And what a casual strike it was!”

His gaze was inscrutable, and his eyes shone with astonishment.

A casual strike, and he’d ripped open the dome of heaven, shattering the skies. The mysteries of the Dao of the Sword therein were too great for him to fathom.

His Dao of the Sword was simply unbelievable!

The thin man had always been focused on his cultivation. He’d sought enlightenment on numerous occasions before finally creating a Dao of the Sword all his own.

He was confident that despite his Oneness Realm cultivation, his power of the Dao of the Sword was enough to let him compete with even some Cosmic Enlightenment powerhouses.

But now...

He’d lost.

To a single slash at that!

And his opponent was obviously just an early-stage Heavenly Longevity World King, with a bone age in the early twenties...

The thin man took a deep breath, then clasped his fists. “My strength is inferior to yours, and I am resigned to my defeat. But even though you didn’t kill me, I’ll die before I back down!”

He spoke with staunch conviction.

Su Yi’s eyes shone with a hint of admiration. “Didn’t you say that the Illusionist taught you a sword incantation? Why not use it?”

The thin man shook his head. “I’ve yet to fully incorporate it into my swordsmanship. If I tried to use it in battle, I’d only make a fool of myself. I’d be like an artist trying to draw a tiger, only to draw a dog instead.”

Su Yi nodded in complete agreement. “Well said.”

The thin man froze, stunned, then asked, “Tell me, what do you think of my Dao of the Sword?”

Su Yi thought it over seriously, then said, “In the modern era, you’re a first-rate sword cultivator. In my eyes, you’re an uncommon foe.”

“Just... uncommon?” The thin man’s gaze was conflicted, and he sank into silence.

He had no idea that out amongst the stars, those the Temple Master appraised as “uncommon” could be counted on one’s fingers!

“You’ve already started walking down your own path. Why concern yourself with others’ opinions?” Su Yi said softly. “Your cultivation base might be flawed, and you’ve perhaps yet to fully master your power of the Grand Dao, but you can fix all that later. No, the problem is that when it comes to cultivating and seeking the Dao of the Sword, you lack confidence. That’s your greatest flaw.”

“Confidence?” The thin man was flabbergasted.

“That’s right. Confidence!” said Su Yi. “As a sword cultivator, the moment you attack, you ought to have a heart that looks down upon all things. This isn’t arrogance or conceit, but rather, breadth of spirit.”

He paused, then said, “You might well be unafraid of death, but asking me what I thought of your swordsmanship proves that you lack absolute confidence in yourself and your Dao of the Sword.”

This left the thin man unwittingly dumbstruck.

Like sudden thunder and lightning amidst the silence.

His words were simple and easy to understand, but the thin man knew they were right on the mark. His opponent had seen the flaws in his Dao Heart!

A little while later, the thin man sighed. “Your words have swept away the clouds, letting me see the sun once more.”

With that, he faced Su Yi and bowed deeply.

“Do you still plan to stand in my way?” asked Su Yi.

The thin man said apologetically, “This is the task entrusted to me. I cannot go back on my word.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but smile and incline his head. “Truly not bad.”

He snapped his fingers, and the Laws of Restricting the Profound surged forth, silently suppressing the thin man. He could no longer move a muscle.

His hair stood on end.

Had his opponent used this Law of the Grand Dao earlier, he would have lost even more quickly!

Su Yi then continued into the distance.

Before he’d gotten far, he seemed to recall something, and he asked, “Right. What’s your name?”

“Nie Jiancheng,” said the gaunt man.

“I’ll remember it,” said Su Yi. With that, he took a step forward.

Boom!

The tides of time and space ran rampant, their power terrifying beyond limit

Su Yi’s sleeves billowed around him, and over a thousand Spatial Divine Crystals burst. The spatial power therein condensed into a streak of sword qi and landed in Su Yi’s palm.

He casually swung it.

The raging windstorm of spacetime ripped open a path.

Meanwhile, Su Yi flashed through the air, seizing the opportunity to enter the gate to the Divine Kingdom of Illusions. In the blink of an eye, he’d vanished.

The path he’d cleaved open with sword qi was slowly corroded, dissolving into the tide of space and time.

When did the stars give rise to such a terrifying, heaven-defying young sword cultivator?

Given time, his attainments in the Dao of the Sword are likely to shatter all of the Temple Master’s records!

Off in the distance, the thin man, Nie Jiancheng, had already freed himself from confinement.

His gaze was utterly rueful.

As a sword cultivator, he’d only ever worshiped one person, and that was the Temple Master!

He knew the Temple Master’s accomplishments like the back of his hand, or like his own family tree.

Yet now, he felt a strong premonition——

That young sword cultivator would likely one day stand shoulder to shoulder with the Temple Master.

He might even... surpass him!

I just hope you can make it out of the Divine Kingdom of Illusions alive. Whatever you do, don’t die in there... Nie Jiancheng muttered to himself.