First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1322 - Anyone Else?

Universal Emptiness Temple.

“Senior, does that mean that the young master’s strength is already enough to slay Nascent Divinity Realm Transcendents?” asked Wei Shan.

“Hard to say.” Sword Immortal Qingshi shook his head and patiently explained, “Revenants are a type of soul body. They lack true flesh, and are thus innately deficient. Even when they have Nascent Divinity Realm strength, they’re ultimately... not really alive.

“Take that Qin Hongyu woman he fought just now. She was originally a Dao Integration Transcendent, but after becoming a revenant, she’s a bit weaker than a mid-stage Nascent Divinity expert. Against a true Nascent Divinity Transcendent, she’d lose beyond a doubt. This is because revenants are innately deficient. They lack bodies, so they’re like rootless duckweed floating on the surface of a pond.

“Simply put, Fellow Daoist Su’s current strength is already sufficient to contend with an early-stage Nascent Divinity Transcendent.”

The Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha subtly inclined his head. “His power would dazzle any age he’d appeared in. Even in ancient times, aside from a tiny handful of elite descendants of immortals, no one else has ever achieved such a thing.”

Both he and Sword Immortal Qingshi were peak Transcendents in life. Their knowledge and experience far surpassed experts of the present day.

Wei Shan was delighted. “He’s comparable to an early-stage Nascent Divinity Transcendent? That’s plenty! Furthermore, I can tell the young master’s strength is still improving!”

Both Sword Immortal Qingshi and the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha nodded, their hearts full of emotion. How could they not have noticed that Su Yi was gradually tempering his cultivation and digging out his potential as he fought?

And Su Yi was currently only in the Oneness Realm. Just how powerful would his cultivation be when he stepped into Cosmic Enlightenment? Or onto the Path of Transcendence?

They couldn’t help but be astonished even just imagining it!

Meanwhile, outside the temple. Beneath the dome of heaven.

After Su Yi’s voice echoed, a strange silence fell. The intelligent revenants looked at each other, but none of them was in a rush to step forth.

Who could fail to realize that Su Yi was currently in peak condition?

But there were still revenants willing to try him.

“Saber cultivator Liang Guan of Yang Transformation Immortal Mountain wishes to challenge you, Fellow Daoist!”

Before long, a tall, thin man in white robes stepped forth. He immediately drew attention from throughout the surrounding area.

He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His eyes were long and narrow, and a long blue saber hung from his waist. Wisps of saber intent rose and fell in waves around him, and his presence was as firm and steady as iron.

“This person is extraordinary,” said Sword Immortal Qingshi.

Yang Transformation Immortal Mountain was one of the ancient era’s seven great saber sects. Its ranks had given rise to numerous dazzling and unparalleled saber immortals!

Qiu Shaochi had been about comparable to Qin Hongyu in life.

But this person was obviously stronger. One look at his aura, and it was obvious.

“This, perhaps, is just the type of opponent Fellow Daoist Su has been hoping to encounter,” murmured the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha.

As they conversed, the curtains opened on their battle.

Liang Guan stepped into the air, drew his saber, and attacked.

His Dao of the Saber could be described as “quick as lightning and as tyrannical as fire.” His saber intent connected heaven and earth.

When he moved, swaying saber light filled everything between heaven and earth, like a raging tidal wave overturning mountains and seas. Even just watching from afar, the onlookers felt prickling pain on their skin, or as if a knife were twisting in their hearts.

But in the end, Liang Guan lost.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t strong, but that after overcoming the prior two battles, Su Yi’s strength had obviously increased.

Furthermore, he’d swallowed one of the Nine-Colored Lotus Pod’s seeds. His cultivation base had soared as a result. One more step, and he’d break into the late-stage Oneness Realm.

Thus, despite clashing head-on, force against force, Su Yi slowly but surely seized the advantage. In the end, less than ten minutes after the battle began, Su Yi sent Liang Guan and his saber flying.

“Alas, I no longer have my body. Otherwise, I couldn’t possibly have lost so quickly.” Liang Guan sighed. He was badly injured.

He took out a bronze box, then delivered it to Universal Emptiness Temple through the air.

“You’re a bodiless revenant, yes,” said Su Yi, “but I’m a Oneness World King yet to step onto the Path of Transcendence. What’s there to sigh over?”

Liang Guan froze, then nodded and clasped his fists. “You’re right.”

With that, he turned and left the battlefield.

Su Yi let out a long breath of air.

He’d paid an enormous price for his victory. His body was covered in startling saber wounds, and his clothes were drenched with blood. His back was particularly startling; it had a wound so deep, even his bones were visible. His body had practically split open.

But Su Yi didn’t care at all.

A fierce battle like this was far too difficult to come by. It had been a long time since he’d last experienced this. Not even the finest of wines could compare to the intoxicating sensation of combat.

He could clearly sense that his whole body was practically on fire; his will to fight had been completely ignited. He felt an incomparable longing for battle.

What did it mean to be a sword cultivator?

It meant using your sword to fight heaven and earth, forever and without end!

“Next,” said Su Yi. It was just one light, airy word, but it echoed clearly throughout the ears of everyone present.

The atmosphere was stifled.

Su Yi had now defeated three opponents in a row! This left the onlookers wide-eyed and tongue-tied, as if they’d just witnessed a miracle.

And it put enormous pressure on the revenants!

“Fellow Daoist Su, dare you compete with me in terms of the power of our souls?” Suddenly, that black-robed elder standing atop the white jade elephant spoke up.

The yao qi surrounding him soared into the heavens, making him seem like an unparalleled yao god.

Some of the revenants sneered. How could he make such a shameless request? It’s obvious how shameless the old bastard is.

“Old-timer, you might be a revenant, but you’re still a Transcendent. How could you be so shameless?” Illuminating Emptiness shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice rife with mockery.

“In life, I cultivated the soul. It was just a suggestion; I never demanded that Fellow Daoist Su agree to my challenge,” the old man in black said coolly. He wasn’t the least bit concerned about the mocking gazes around him.

Su Yi looked the old man up and down. “If we compare the power of our souls, I’m afraid you’ll only lose even faster.”

The crowd was dumbstruck.

The old man in black went by the title “Daoist Master Hua Yin.” He was proficient in secret soul arts, and he was among the greatest of the gathered revenants.

After all, revenants were souls. They feared nothing more than experts proficient in secret soul arts like Daoist Master Hua Yin.

Yet now, it seemed Su Yi wasn’t at all afraid of him!

“Are you... sure?” The black-robed old-timer said with a strange look on his face.

“Why not try me?” said Su Yi.

Daoist Master Hua Yin laughed, then scanned his surroundings. “See that, everyone? Fellow Daoist Su chose to accept this duel of the soul. You can’t accuse this old man of bullying the weak.”

He seemed delighted, even smug. His whole face was nothing but smiles.

The crowd sank into silence. Su Yi had agreed to this challenge, so what else could they say?

“In that case, this old man won’t hold back, Fellow Daoist Su.” Before Daoist Master Hua Yin’s voice had even finished echoing through the air, his figure disappeared into thin air.

Kcch!

A moment later, countless Daoist Master Hua Yins appeared, surging toward Su Yi from all sides. There were so many of them that they blotted out the sun.

Many of the revenants’ expressions shifted, and they gasped.

The Myriad Doppelgangers!

This was an extraordinarily strange secret soul art. Every illusory figure was a soul clone, and when they fought, it was as if thousands of Daoist Master Hua Yins were fighting as one.

Even though the clones’ strengths were far inferior to his main soul body, they could still deal opponents a lethal blow.

Su Yi just stood there, entirely unmoving.

He said they’d compare the power of their souls, and he naturally wouldn’t go back on his word.

Boom!

His sea of consciousness rumbled and boomed, transforming into a massive vortex of the Dao of the Sword.

When Daoist Master Hua Yin saw this, he couldn’t help but throw back his head and laugh. He then charged right into the vortex, bringing his countless soul clones with him.

The booming vortex crushed some of Daoist Master Hua Yin’s clones into nothingness, but it ultimately couldn’t destroy all of them.

The real thing, meanwhile, forced his way into Su Yi’s sea of consciousness in one fell swoop!

“This...” The crowd was stunned.

Some of the revenants’ eyes flashed as they prepared to swoop in.

It was obvious to all of them that Daoist Master Hua Yin had entered Su Yi’s sea of consciousness. That meant he could succeed in possessing Su Yi at any time!

“How is this possible?” Many of the onlookers were stunned.

How could the Temple Master have gotten this complacent? Sword Immortal Qingshi and the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha were caught off guard too. Both were visibly stricken.

But just as they were about to intervene....

“Ah——!”

An agonized shout ripped through the dome of heaven, startling the crowd.

A moment later, Daoist Master Hua Yin’s figure staggered out of Su Yi, clutching his skull, crying out in overwhelming agony, and convulsing as if he were having a seizure.

The onlookers’ hair stood on end. This unexpected development left them stunned.

“Are you convinced?” Su Yi asked with a laugh.

Back then, Buddhist Master Blood Lantern invaded his soul too, only to find himself completely suppressed.

And this Daoist Master Hua Yin met with the same fate after his attempted invasion; Su Yi suppressed him with ease. The aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells practically shattered him completely.

“I’m convinced!” Daoist Master Hua Yin shouted in a quavering voice. His whole face was a mask of terror.

“I told you that competing in terms of the soul would only hasten your defeat,” said Su Yi. “Leave behind your items, then step back.”

Daoist Master Hua Yin hurriedly took out a spatial bracelet, then left the battlefield and sat atop the white elephant to tend to his wounds.

His injuries were too severe to do anything else; his soul body was on the verge of cracking. It was painful to even look at him.

This scene filled the onlookers with astonishment. They couldn’t even imagine how Daoist Master Hua Yin had suffered such a crushing defeat.

The way the revenants looked at Su Yi changed once more.

Sword Immortal Qingshi and the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha silently gasped, then looked at each other. They couldn’t help but mock themselves.

Even they couldn’t tell what had happened, and they were so startled that they lost their composure. That truly shouldn’t have happened.

“Anyone else?” Illuminating Emptiness said valiantly as he swept his gaze across the surrounding area.

Su Yi had just won four duels in a row. This left the monk's heart swelling with emotion. He too took pride in this.

Of course, even more importantly, they’d gathered a highly enticing pile of trophies. All were Transcendent-level treasures, and their value was inestimable!

The atmosphere was stifled and tense.

All was silent, save for the words “anyone else?” still echoing through their ears.

The revenants’ expressions filled with uncertainty. All of them instinctively looked toward the same place: that golden arc of sword qi, where the cultivators in feather coats stood.

“If no one else wishes to fight, allow me.”

When he sensed the crowd’s gazes, their leader, a middle-aged Daoist, stepped onto the battlefield.

He wore a feather coat and a Daoist cap. A rain of immortal light whirled around his tall, upright figure.

As soon as he took to the battlefield, he became the center of attention.