FIRST IMMORTAL OF THE SWORD

Chapter 985 - A Strange Tribulation

The secrets of reincarnation!

The Netherworld King’s heart trembled with both excitement and dread.

After everything she’d seen, she was keenly aware that if Su Yi hadn’t intervened just in the nick of time, her clone would have met with disaster and destruction!

“You’d best not recklessly examine the platform’s Dao Markings again. That power is enough to entrap even an Imperial Apex cultivator’s heart, killing them and destroying their Dao.”

As Su Yi spoke, he got up from the boulder.

His bloodstained robes swayed, and he stepped into the air, then whooshed onto the top of the ninety-foot black jade platform.

This was the Platform of Rebirth!

A mysterious, forbidden ground that practically only existed in legend.

Yet now, Su Yi had used a secret art to draw upon the Laws of the Netherworld’s source and make the Platform of Rebirth re-enter the world!

How did he do it?

And why aren’t the secrets of reincarnation having any impact on him whatsoever?

Numerous doubts arose within the Netherworld King’s heart.

After his battle with Huo Yao, Su Yi was already injured, and his cultivation base was on the verge of running dry. His vitality was as weak as could be.

But despite this, he didn’t stop to meditate, treat his wounds, or recover his strength. Instead, he proceeded directly to the Platform of Rebirth to prove his Dao!

This was unquestionably far too unbelievable.

But in the end, the Netherworld King refrained from asking questions.

Su Yi had too many secrets. Unless he was willing to tell her, asking was unlikely to net her any answers.

The swaying, rumbling Immortal Gourd Mountain returned to its former stillness, and the gray power of the Laws flowed and churned above the Platform of Rebirth.

The inscrutable light and shadows of the Laws of Rebirth blanketed the surrounding landscape. An austere silence descended upon the earth, as well as a power that suppressed the heart and mind.

The Netherworld King finally understood why she sensed no life force throughout the vicinity of Immortal Gourd Mountain.

The power of rebirth enveloped the entire area, stripping away the vitality of all living things in its range.

But then, she sensed something unbelievable. Here, in the place Su Yi told her to stand, she couldn’t sense any of the Laws of Rebirth’s influence at all!

Had he wanted to trap and kill me, I’m afraid this clone of mine would have already been destroyed… The Netherworld King’s gaze was inscrutable as she looked at the ninety-foot Platform of Rebirth.

A tall, upright figure in blue stood atop the jade platform. Wisps of gray mist revolved around him, but despite being bathed in their power, he wasn’t injured in the slightest.

Su Yi’s voice suddenly rang out. “After this, no matter what you see, don’t make a sound, and don’t move. Do you understand?”

The Netherworld King suddenly sensed that Su Yi’s calm voice contained a hint of dignified majesty, one that directly touched the soul.

Rather, now that he stood atop the Platform of Rebirth, Su Yi had a strange, unfathomable, imposing presence about him.

The Netherworld King took a deep breath and nodded.

Su Yi sat down and crossed his legs. His hands formed seals, and he clasped them together in front of his abdomen, then shut his eyes, like a monk entering deep meditation. His entire body emanated a transcendent, holy air.

The intricate markings carved all over the Platform of Rebirth contained a portion of the secrets of reincarnation, but you could also call them the Laws of Rebirth.

Because the Laws of Rebirth originated from the cycle of reincarnation. They were a part of reincarnation to begin with.

Much like how Su Yi’s Mysterious Truths of the Apex of Genesis were a combination of three supreme Grand Daos—Genesis, Void Cosmos, and the Supreme Palace.

The Laws that comprised the cycle of reincarnation similarly weren’t limited to the Laws of Rebirth.

As Su Yi sat down and entered meditation, the dense, intricate markings covering the platform on all sides awakened from dormancy, flitting about endlessly like schools of fish. They formed all manner of strange and inscrutable scenes, the passage of endless years, the ups and downs of worldly affairs, the shifting of history, the birth, aging, and death of countless living things…

This familiar scene filled the Netherworld King with terror. She instinctively withdrew her divine sense and watched with her naked eyes alone.

Countless streaks of the gray Laws of Rebirth surged continuously into Su Yi’s meditating figure.

Is he seriously not afraid of death!? The Netherworld King exclaimed.

Su Yi had once told her that the Laws of Rebirth were incomparably terrifying. They could easily strip even Emperors of their bodies, cultivations, souls, and longevity…

This was what they meant when they said that those who entered the cycle of reincarnation were born with nothing and took nothing with them when they died!

And Su Yi had also said that the power of the Platform of Rebirth was damaged, and that it contained only a portion of the secrets of reincarnation. It wasn’t enough to let cultivators enter the cycle of samsara and realize their goal of reincarnation and rebirth.

Yet now, Su Yi was guiding its power into his body!

This practically overturned the Netherworld King’s comprehension.

What exactly is this guy trying to do?

But before she could wrap her head around it, a bloody scene left her scalp numb with fright.

Su Yi’s cultivation transformed into bundles of radiant source power and sank into the platform, as if it were stripping his cultivation away.

Immediately afterward, his skin split, inch by inch. Fresh blood mixed with muscle and bone fell onto the platform.

His entire body exploded into pieces, reduced to countless bloody chunks.

As soon as his soul emerged from the bloody mass, it popped like a soap bubble, scattering like a rain of colorful light across the surface of the Platform of Rebirth.

In the blink of an eye, Su Yi had been completely eradicated!

The Netherworld King quivered, and her starry eyes widened. Wordless astonishment coursed through her heart. What exactly is going on!?

No, something isn’t right here!

A moment later, the Netherworld King sensed that although Su Yi had been eradicated, something was still absorbing the Laws of Rebirth surging continuously out of the platform.

Due to the distance, and because she dared not use her divine sense to investigate, all the Netherworld King saw was the faint outline of a Dao Sword floating amidst the misty light atop the Platform of Rebirth.

Mysterious chains wrapped around the sword on all sides.

However, no matter how hard she tried, the Netherworld King couldn’t see them clearly.

“A sword, yet it’s absorbing the Laws of Rebirth… But what does this have to do with proving his Dao and becoming an Emperor?” The Netherworld King couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

Ever since she’d first set foot on Immortal Gourd Mountain, everything Su Yi had done filled her heart with countless doubts.

Even now, despite her breadth of knowledge and experience, she felt uncertain of what to do, bewildered, and ignorant.

As if she’d returned to the ignorance of her youth. They said that summer insects knew not of winter….

Suddenly——

The Netherworld King’s heart shook, and she subconsciously looked up.

They’d appeared so silently that she wasn’t sure when they’d gotten there, but the skies were full of strange, dark tribulation clouds.

The tribulation clouds formed a massive vortex blanketing ten thousand feet of sky. Mysterious and inscrutable tribulation silently brewed within the vortex’s depths.

Everything was still and utterly silent.

Yet when she saw these tribulation clouds, the Netherworld King couldn’t help but gasp, and irrepressible astonishment appeared on her beautiful brow. What… what level of tribulation is this?

It made no noise, and it emanated no aura. It had appeared silently beneath the dome of heaven, like a vortex or a black hole intent on devouring everything.

It wasn’t cold, but this strange atmosphere made the Netherworld King shudder, and her snowy, lustrous skin quivered.

Furthermore, as time passed, the clouds became increasingly dense and numerous. The tribulation light brewing within the clouds’ depths was increasingly inscrutable.

This doesn’t make sense! If Su Xuanjun had really been reduced to nothingness, what could possibly have triggered this strange, enormous tribulation? Doesn’t this mean that he… isn’t really dead? And that he’s using a highly unorthodox method to prove his Dao and break into the Imperial Realm?

As soon as this occurred to the Netherworld King, her starry eyes rippled with strange light.

That was surely the case!

And the key was definitely in that mysterious Dao Sword hovering over the Platform of Rebirth!

Boom!

Suddenly, the low boom of thunder broke the deathly silence.

At that moment, the Netherworld King’s soul trembled, and she felt more suffocated than ever before.

The sound of thunder emanated from within the tribulation clouds, and it boomed throughout heaven and earth. It seemed as if it were full of unparalleled majesty of the heavens, and it struck terror directly into the souls of those who heard it.

Despite her abundance of experience, the Netherworld King had never heard of anyone undergoing such a strange and terrifying tribulation while attempting to become an Emperor.

It was far too unbelievable!

It was stronger than even a Tribulation of Profound Serenity, and furthermore, it emanated a seemingly taboo power. It was terrifying beyond imagination.

Meanwhile——

The low rumbling of thunder reverberated throughout the entirety of the Burial Ground of the Dao.

This was arguably the most perilous place in the entire Burial Ground of the Dao, where countless strange and terrifying entities lay in wait. Yet now, when they heard the sound of the thunder, all of them sensed a potentially lethal threat. All of them quivered and instinctively hid themselves.

Similarly, the sound of thunder astonished all of the cultivators dispersed throughout the Burial Ground of the Dao’s various territories.

“Who could be so brazen as to undergo tribulation here in the Burial Ground of the Dao!?” someone exclaimed in disbelief.

“Just listening to it made my heart shake with terror and unease. This tribulation is sure to be nothing to sneeze at!” an older-generation expert muttered.

“This tribulation really is terrifying. When I underwent my Tribulation of Profound Serenity, I didn’t sense any of that strange, calamitous power.”

…Practically every cultivator capable of exploring the Burial Ground of the Dao was an Imperial expert.

Yet now, no matter which area these Emperors were in, they were terrified and ill at ease.

Broken Souls Ridge.

Pi Mo’s disciples, as well as the older-generation cultivators they’d led to explore the Burial Ground of the Dao, sensed these changes too. Without exception, their cultivations shifted. All of them were astonished.

“Proving your Dao in a forbidden zone like the Burial Ground of the Dao? How reckless!” Shangguan Jie laughed coldly.

“Perhaps some old-timer could no longer suppress his cultivation and had no choice but to risk it. Otherwise, there’s no way they’d do something so reckless and suicidal,” Ni Shuang said softly.

Although they discussed it amongst themselves, none of them had any intention of investigating to see just who was undergoing tribulation.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but that danger lurked on every corner of the Burial Ground of the Dao. Acting recklessly would most likely only bring disaster.

Only Gu Ziming tightly furrowed his brow. He sank into silence, his expression shifting and uncertain. Don’t tell me that Su guy is undergoing tribulation to become an Emperor?

Within a grand hall.

The meditating Huo Yao silently opened his eyes, a hint of surprise on his face.

The sound of a lightning tribulation of this level was far too strange. Even his Dao Heart quivered.

After taking a moment to calm himself, Huo Yao asked, “Junior Apprentice Brother, do… Do you think Master triggered that tribulation?”

Ye Luo said expressionlessly from a shadowy corner, “I urge you to take this time to get your affairs in order and prepare to meet your end.”

Huo Yao laughed, the depths of his gaze shining with viciousness. “Junior Apprentice Brother, I told you already: even if Master proves his Dao and becomes an Emperor, there’s no way he’ll be a match for me without borrowing external power!”

His voice boomed with firm conviction.