FIRST IMMORTAL OF THE SWORD

Chapter 981 - Please Enlighten Me, Master

As the third legacy disciple of the Grotto of Abstruse Force, how could Huo Yao possibly fail to recognize the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos?

This was a legendary Dao Sword. Throughout the Wilds, who knew how many experts paled at the mere mention of this matchless weapon?

“And here I thought that little bitch, Qing Tang, had already gotten her hands on that sword… Who’d have thought you had it with you all this time, Master…?”

Huo Yao’s expression shifted erratically.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he attacked.

Whoosh!

The Scarlet Dome of Heaven soared into the air, bringing with it a rain of divine fire as it slashed ruthlessly at Su Yi.

Even though Huo Yao’s wounds had yet to fully knit back together, the power of that slash was nonetheless tyrannical beyond measure, with enough force to piece through all of creation!

Su Yi gripped the three-inch green-skinned gourd and shifted subtly.

Clang!!

A boundless, ethereal sword hum resounded throughout the withered, battered landscape.

It was obviously just a sword hum, but it contained a supreme, unmatched majesty. It bore down on the landscape, shaking the mountains and rivers. Everything seemed on the verge of collapse.

Huo Yao’s heart suddenly shook, and his qi circulation stagnated. Even his soul was suddenly under indescribably terrifying suppression. His entire body stiffened, and he felt as if he’d plunged into an icy abyss.

At the same time, the Scarlet Dome of Heaven suddenly wailed mid-slash. Its fiery, translucent blade stopped in midair and quivered.

The murderous aura along its edge instantly dissipated.

A sense of foreboding rose in Huo Yao’s heart.

He was just about to use the Scarlet Dome of Heaven to attack when the fingers of Su Yi’s right hand shifted, forming a strange seal before gently pressing the surface of the green-skinned gourd.

Practically simultaneously, a strange Edict appeared on the blade of the Scarlet Dome of Heaven. The sword whooshed through the air and landed in Su Yi’s palm.

Like a swallow returning to its nest.

Splurt!

Huo Yao coughed up blood, and his expression changed dramatically.

His connection to the Scarlet Dome of Heaven had been forcefully severed, and his soul had suffered the resulting backlash.

This caught him completely off guard!

After all, he’d acquired this sword a full five hundred years ago, and he’d since treated it like his natal Dao Sword, tempering it and nourishing it within his body. It had long since connected to his will, and he could control it as if it were an extension of his body.

Who’d have thought that in a matter of seconds, Su Yi wouldn’t just seize the Scarlet Dome of Heaven; he’d even severed its connection to Huo Yao completely!

How could Huo Yao not be surprised?

“Master, you… How did you do that?” Huo Yao said with visible bewilderment, and his voice was far graver than before.

“What I give you, you’re welcome to take, but what I don’t give you will never belong to you.” Su Yi casually put away the Scarlet Dome of Heaven and approached Huo Yao.

His earlier injuries remained, his face was pallid, and his blue clothes were stained with blood. Nonetheless, his expression remained calm, composed, and indifferent from beginning to end.

When he saw Su Yi approach, Huo Yao’s heart inexplicably clenched, and he gnashed his teeth. “Master, brag as much as you want, but you’re ultimately still only in the Spiritual Revolution Realm!!”

Boom!

Divine flames exploded around him, and he pressed his fingers together like a sword and slashed at Su Yi from a distance.

Su Yi waved the three-inch green-skinned gourd, and a wisp of the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells poured into it.

A clear hum resounded from within the gourd once more, like the first primordial sounds of the Grand Dao.

It went off in Huo Yao’s ears like thunder, and it slammed into his soul. Indescribable, rending pain spread across it, leaving him seeing stars. He trembled from head to toe, and his face contorted hideously.

Even his qi was under the effects of a terrifying suppressive force.

Before he could react, a streak of illusory clear sword light flashed within the gourd in Su Yi’s hand, then gently waved through the air.

Crunch!

Huo Yao’s streak of sword qi shattered like paper mache.

A moment later, Su Yi’s slash continued toward Huo Yao, its unstoppable, unmatched power entirely undiminished.

Huo Yao’s Dao Heart had only just struggled free from the effects of that sword hum, but by the time he regained his mental clarity, Su Yi’s slash was already upon him. He instinctively dodged.

Splurt!

A bleeding limb fell through the air. A burst of fine flecks of sword qi followed, reducing the severed limb to ash before it hit the ground.

Su Yi’s slash left a thousand-foot, perfectly straight rift in the air, and even after a long time had passed, it showed no sign of dissipating.

Not far away, Huo Yao’s miserable, sorry figure reappeared.

Although he’d dodged with all his might, he’d ultimately underestimated the power of that slash. His left arm had been severed, and rampaging sword intent was still tearing into the wound. Bits of flesh were reduced to ash before falling to the ground.

This left Huo Yao so startled that he broke out in cold sweats.

He activated all manner of secret arts without the slightest hesitation, and only then did he just barely manage to disperse the terrifying sword intent trying to infiltrate his body.

However, his face paled once more.

Even though the power of the Yin-Yang Nine Purities Pills was helping him recover, Su Yi’s slash had inflicted new injuries upon him!

“Dammit! This isn’t possible! With your current power, how could you possibly use a supreme treasure like the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos!?” Huo Yao cried out furiously.

He could see Su Yi holding an illusory, clear sword shadow. It was three feet long, and as ethereal as a beam of flowing light.

That was the sword light of the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos!

Huo Yao had witnessed this sword’s power a long time ago. When fully activated, its sword force could pierce the firmament, rip through the skies, and shatter mountains. It was terrifying beyond imagination!

Even though Su Yi was currently only using a streak of sword light, its might still sent chills coursing through Huo Yao’s heart.

He couldn’t even imagine how his Spiritual Revolution Realm master could display its power.

Because he was keenly aware that his master had said that even Profound Serenity Emperors would struggle to wield the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos!

“There’s a lot you don’t know, you wicked creature,” Su Yi said with cool indifference.

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he gripped his sword and attacked.

Whoosh!

My sword wanders the ten directions, from the blue dome of heaven to the yellow springs below!

This strike contained the profundities of the Rejoicing Sword Sutra. When unleashed through the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos, illusory and ethereal sword shadows filled the skies in all directions. Their hums rose in waves, and despite the enormity of the landscape, everything was under terrifying pressure, and everything shook.

In the face of this attack, the formerly brazenly arrogant, ferocious Huo Yao panicked. He completely disregarded his wounds and forcefully circulated the full extent of his cultivation base.

Divine flames suddenly lit up around him, their radiance illuminating the nine heavens!

“Go!” Huo Yao bellowed.

He fully activated the Lamp of the Nine Dragon Gods. Monstrous divine purple flames filled the sky, transforming into nine lifelike dragons. Their mountainous bodies coiled, and the purple flames emanating from them unleashed indescribable destructive power.

But as those clear, illusory sword shadows swept forth, they slew the nine illusory dragons with ease. The dragons turned into firelight, filled the skies, and went out!

A moment later, the Lamp of the Nine Dragon Gods swayed violently. A strange Edict appeared above its wick, just like the one that had appeared above the Scarlet Dome of Heaven.

Immediately afterward, Huo Yao felt a rending pain in his soul, and he completely lost his connection to the lamp.

The Xiantian treasure, meanwhile, blurred into a streak of firelight and landed in Su Yi’s palm.

As this now-familiar scene played out, Huo Yao’s eyes almost burst with fury.

However, he had no time to think about it any further. The sword shadows filling the sky were already descending upon him.

“No——!!”

Huo Yao suddenly took out the Yin-Yang Chaos Origin Shield, creating an incomparably radiant curtain of light, which ruthlessly blasted Su Yi.

Two markings were clearly discernible upon this curtain of light: two fish, one black, one white. The white fish’s head linked with the black fish’s tail and vice versa, forming a wondrous and unfathomable cycle of Yin and Yang.

But the curtain ultimately couldn’t withstand Su Yi’s slash. It popped before Huo Yao like a soap bubble.

Bang!!

With a heaven-shaking impact, Huo Yao flew back like an arrow loosed from its bow.

The same Edict floated up on the surface of the Yin-Yang Chaos Origin Shield, which suddenly broke free from his grip and landed in Su Yi’s hand.

And before Huo Yao had even managed to stabilize himself, he coughed up blood once more.

The Scarlet Dome of Heaven, the Lamp of the Nine Dragon Gods, and the Yin-Yang Chaos Origin Shield had all been taken from him, one after another. Every time, he suffered the resulting backlash.

Although it wasn’t enough to kill him, his soul was severely damaged.

After taking Su Yi’s powerful slash, even his body was in tatters. The places the Yin-Yang Nine Purities Pills had fixed split open once more. He was now a mass of pulped flesh and wounds so deep that even his bones were visible.

His handsome face was as white as a sheet!

In stark contrast with his initial unbridled, contemptuous, prideful air, Huo Yao seemed miserable and pathetic to the extreme. He’d even lost his left arm.

“How could this… It’s impossible… This isn’t possible!!” Huo Yao howled, his voice full of rage, alarm, and panic. His face was ashen and contorted, his chest heaved, and his long, disheveled hair was stained with blood. He looked utterly insane.

Off in the distance, Su Yi was as calm as ever. His steps never paused, and his gait was neither slow nor hurried. It was as if he were out for a stroll through his own garden.

The clear sword shadow he held in his right hand was illusory and mysterious. It added to his formless pressure, making him seem like a deity gazing down upon the masses from on high,

Su Yi wasted no time talking. His left hand reached into the air.

Boom!

The Silverflame Fighting the Heavens Armor lit up, and an identical Edict appeared on its surface.

“No——! That’s mine! Mine!!” Huo Yao was completely flustered.

He circulated the full extent of his power in an attempt to suppress the Silverflame Fighting the Heavens Armor, but ultimately, his efforts were in vain. The treasure’s Edicts lit up, and it immediately broke free of Huo Yao’s body, transformed into a fist-sized streak of silver light, and landed in Su Yi’s outstretched palm.

“Master, you… How did you do that?” Huo Yao’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the relentlessly approaching Su Yi.

He’d only just said this when he broke into hacking coughs, and blood poured down the corners of his lips. His formerly upright figure was now hunched over.

His battle against the First Heavenly Libationer’s remnant will had left him with severe injuries.

Now, before he could recover fully, Su Yi struck him repeatedly. His heart almost couldn’t take it anymore, and he seemed frantic and enraged, as well as terrified and ill at ease.

“Want to know?” Su Yi asked calmly.

“Please enlighten me, Master!” Huo Yao emphasized each and every word, and he gnashed his teeth so hard they almost shattered.

As if saying those words now was an enormous humiliation.

Su Yi said with cool indifference, “I’m no longer your master, but so long as you kneel before me, I wouldn’t mind clearing up your doubts.”