First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1324 - A Tooth for a Tooth

The fierce battle had reached the point that it was about time to decide a victor.

Yet for some reason, Mu Yun’an admitted defeat out of nowhere! This was entirely unexpected, and it caught the crowd completely off guard.

They looked at each other, the atmosphere suddenly stifled and deathly silent.

Beneath the distant dome of heaven, Su Yi subtly inclined his head. “You can leave behind my trophies and go.”

His flesh was in tatters, and his wounds were severe. His entire body was bleeding.

But he wasn’t surprised by Mu Yun’an’s choice to admit defeat.

“The rules are the rules. I can at least lose with dignity.” Mu Yun’an took out a storage treasure and tossed it to the temple gates from afar.

“Brother Mu, why did you admit defeat?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

It was the question everyone was wondering about.

Mu Yun’an shook his head and didn’t explain.

This left many of the onlookers on the brink of madness. This had been a rare, unprecedented, startling battle, fierce and terrifying. If word got out, it’d shake the world.

Yet it had ended so anticlimactically!

Even if you’d hit them over the head, no one could have come up with a reason why Mu Yun’an would admit defeat despite his obvious advantage.

“Senior, can you tell the truth of what happened?” said Wei Shan, feeling itchy and impatient as he asked Sword Immortal Qingshi for his wisdom.

Sword Immortal Qingshi thought for a moment, then said, “I can only think of two possible reasons. First, it’s possible that Mu Yun’an knew that he was sure to lose if the battle continued, so he chose to let things end here. An iron-willed sword cultivator like him would never have given up if there were even a single thread of hope left.

“Second, it’s likely that Fellow Daoist Su has methods that would have led to his certain victory, but that he never used them. Mu Yun’an might have detected this and realized that he’d blundered. Perhaps that’s why he willingly admitted defeat.”

Even after hearing this explanation, Wei Shan couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. All that gobbledygook, and it still doesn’t make sense.

“There’s another reason,” the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha suddenly interjected. “Fellow Daoist Su is about to break through. Mu Yun’an most likely understands that if Fellow Daoist Su broke through mid-battle, he’d no longer be a match for him. I suspect that’s why he admitted defeat.

“That way, he avoided an embarrassing loss. He also avoided influencing Fellow Daoist Su’s imminent breakthrough. It was an upright, broadminded decision.”

Wei Shan nodded repeatedly. This explanation seemed a lot more reasonable!

As the two conversed, Sword Immortal Qingshi suddenly snorted coldly.

Beneath the dome of heaven, Mu Yun’an turned to leave. Su Yi was about to break through. The crowd was still racking their brains for an explanation.

But it was then that something unexpected happened.

Boom!

A blood-red alms bowl appeared out of nowhere and swept toward Su Yi’s head.

Someone had attacked, hoping to take advantage of Su Yi’s heavy injuries to suppress and capture him!

But at that critical juncture, Mu Yun’an swung his sword to block it.

Bang!!

His sword qi shattered like paper mache, and Mu Yun’an was sent flying.

That blood-red alm’s bowl was incomparably terrifying. As bright, misty light flowed, it seemed intent on swallowing up Su Yi and everything around him.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed.

Off in the distant crowd, a middle-aged scholar grinned.

But it was then that——

Boom!

The hum of a sword rang out, like the sonorous cry of a phoenix!

A streak of sword qi shot out of Universal Emptiness Temple. It looked quick, but in truth, it struck the alms bowl before anyone knew what was happening.

Clang!!

A deafening impact rang out. Bright, misty red light scattered, and the alms bowl flew back like a kite with its strings cut.

Its surface split, and its mournful wails shook the sky.

The crowd was instantly in uproar. Startled cries rose up on all sides.

“What’s going on? Did someone just try to assassinate the Temple Master?”

Many of the onlookers only now realized what had happened, and their expressions shifted dramatically.

“Someone’s trying to loot a burning house!”

The revenants were furious.

They’d come here to have their curses broken, yet now, someone had tried to run off with the Temple Master when they least expected it.

Who could tolerate such a thing?

“What son of a bitch was behind that ambush? Come on out and show yourself!” bellowed Illuminating Emptiness. He was seething with murderous intent and fury.

Within the crowd, that middle-aged scholar’s smile froze in place, and his eyes filled with bewilderment. Someone actually broke my Blood Transformation Alms Bowl in a single strike? Don’t tell me a Transcendent powerhouse is watching over Universal Emptiness Temple?

As soon as this occurred to him, he turned to leave. He didn’t even stop to collect the alms bowl first.

“Coward! How dare you do something so unseemly? Die!”

A murderous voice boomed throughout heaven and earth.

The middle-aged scholar’s expression shifted dramatically as he attempted to flee.

But a moment later, boundless sword light exploded and descended upon him with a bang.

Countless Sanskrit glyphs floated within this sword qi, and it was full of enormous dignity and radiance. It was just one slash, but it was like the descent of a Mahayana Buddhist Kingdom.

Boom!

When this sword light descended, the middle-aged scholar didn’t even have time to scream before he was reduced to ash.

The cultivators standing nearby paled with astonishment and fright. All of them moved further away.

Throughout the entire area, Sanskrit chanting rang out, and sword intent glowed as radiantly as the sun. A long time passed before it dissipated.

The revenants who saw this were so startled that they broke out in cold sweats.

“So, it turns out there’s an extraordinary Transcendent powerhouse watching over Universal Emptiness Temple!” gasped Qin Hongyu.

“No, there’s not just one of them. There’s most likely two of them!” someone said in a low voice.

One streak of sword qi cleaved through that bright red alms bowl.

The other slew the middle-aged scholar.

But in terms of charm and forcefulness, the two streaks of sword qi were starkly different. It seemed obvious that they were the work of two different experts.

“Doesn’t that mean that if we’d attacked Universal Emptiness Temple immediately after arriving... we would have effectively been seeking out our own deaths?” said one of the revenants. His hair stood on end.

The revenants were stunned, and their hearts filled with delayed terror.

Both streaks of sword qi were far too terrifying. Not one of them could have blocked either strike!

That meant that, had they chosen to fight Su Yi directly, they might well have all been cut down by now!

Who wouldn’t be terrified upon realizing this? Who wouldn’t celebrate escaping this fate?

And the way they looked at Su Yi shifted. Don’t tell me that they’re the ones the Temple Master is relying on?

“So, my intervention was entirely unnecessary,” Mu Yun’an said with a self-deprecating laugh. He turned to leave.

“Wait,” said Su Yi.

“Do you need something, Fellow Daoist?” asked Mu Yun’an without so much as turning to look at him.

A moment later, he shook as he sensed the power of the curse leaving his body!

The crowd watched as Su Yi raised his hand and pulled a strange, calamitous, cursed power from Mu Yun’an’s body from afar.

How could Mu Yun’an fail to realize what had just happened?

He whipped around and gazed at the distant Su Yi. Then, he bowed deeply. “I, Mu Yun’an, owe you my life, Fellow Daoist!”

There was uproar amongst the revenants' ranks. They were shaken, but also red-eyed with jealousy. None of them could remain calm.

It was true! The power of reincarnation really could shatter their curses with ease!

A flick of the finger, and the power of the curse shattered and dispersed.

But then, Su Yi said plainly, “You only just tried to help me. That’s why I helped you. You don’t owe me a thing.”

Mu Yun’an was stunned, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply carved this benevolence into his heart.

Whoosh~

It was then that Su Yi suddenly underwent an earth-shaking transformation.

Overflowing Dao Light surged from within his body, and his tattered flesh knit back together in the blink of an eye, good as new.

And his aura soared, rising like bamboo shoots after a spring rain!

This scene left the onlookers astonished once more. All eyes were upon him.

“He broke through....” The revenants looked conflicted.

They’d anticipated this. Earlier, all of them could tell that Su Yi was excavating his latent potential and increasing his strength through combat.

Thus, his smooth breakthrough into the late-stage Oneness Realm didn’t surprise them.

It did, however, make their hearts sink. They felt helpless.

Earlier, Su Yi was already strong enough to fill their hearts with dread. Wasn’t that even more true now?

“I think I understand why Mu Yun’an admitted defeat. He must have realized that the Temple Master’s breakthrough was imminent,” said one of the spectators.

“Does anyone else want to fight?” Sword Immortal Qingshi’s voice resounded from within Universal Emptiness Temple. His dignified majesty enveloped the entire area.

The crowd’s hearts clenched in the face of this indescribable imposing pressure.

There was no doubt about it. It was just as they’d thought; there really were unfathomably powerful, terrifying experts watching over Universal Emptiness Temple!

A long time passed, but no one accepted this challenge.

But the revenants still weren’t willing to just give up.

Qin Hongyu couldn’t help but say, “Fellow Daoist Su, is there anything we can do in exchange for help breaking our curses?”

The other revenants all looked at Su Yi.

But Su Yi still vividly recalled Daoist Master Red Cloud’s warning. These revenants were no saints. It was best not to help any revenant whose origins he didn’t understand.

Furthermore, the moment he freed a revenant from their curse, that revenant would no longer need to fear the power of reincarnation. They might well turn on him and try to seize it from him.

Of course, Su Yi wasn’t worried about all that right now. Still, it was best to be on guard against similar incidents taking place in the future. Su Yi was already mentally prepared for it.

He swept his gaze across the revenants. “There’s no reason I can’t help you, but you’ll need to give me something in exchange.”

The revenants' spirits soared, and their faces revealed their delight.

Qin Hongyu immediately asked, “Please instruct us, Fellow Daoist Su.”

“First, I can promise to break the curse of any revenant who offers me the Tailor’s head,” said Su Yi.

The World Kings who understood the Tailor were instantly in uproar. Who could fail to realize that the Temple Master wanted to borrow the revenants’ hands to deal with his old foe?

The revenants looked thoughtful. Most of them didn’t know who the Tailor was, but they were sure they could get answers if they asked around.

Su Yi continued, entirely unperturbed. “Second, I know the locations of some of the Tailor’s forces stationed in the Divine Capital Star Realm. There are thirty-six in total. Anyone who destroys one of his strongholds, no matter who they are, can receive my aid.”

He took out a jade slip and passed it to Qin Hongyu. “After you’ve read it, give it to the others.”

She hurriedly nodded.

By now, the entire area was already in uproar. Everyone could tell that the Temple Master was furious. He didn’t just want to take down the Tailor; he planned to take all of his subordinates out too!

By now, there was already no small number of revenants wandering the stars. Who among them didn’t long to break their curse?

And each intelligent revenant was stronger than the one before, with strengths comparable to experts of the Path of Transcendence!

Now that the Temple Master had offered such conditions, they could already foresee that the Tailor’s subordinate factions were soon to become the revenants’ prey!