FIRST IMMORTAL OF THE SWORD

Chapter 988 - Where is Huo Yao?

Huo Yao was seated cross-legged within a palace when he suddenly opened his eyes and smiled. “Junior Apprentice Brother, are you willing to accompany me somewhere?”

Ye Luo said icily from a shadowy corner, “It seems to me that if you want to live, you’d best kneel, here and now, and wait for Master to punish you. If you turn over a new leaf and repent sincerely, he might well spare your life.”

A hint of ferocity shone in the depths of Huo Yao’s gaze, but outwardly, he laughed heartily. “Rest assured, I have no intention of fleeing without a fight.”

He rose, then said, “I want to go to the Divine Cave of the Six Paths. It’s not far from Broken Souls Ridge. There’s a mysterious bronze temple there, and it seems highly likely that it hides secrets connected to reincarnation. If you don’t come, I’ll leave without you.”

With that, Huo Yao put his hands behind his back, turned, and left.

In his shadowed corner, Ye Luo frowned. Nonetheless, in the end, he got up and followed.

He was certain that Huo Yao was up to something, but he had no choice but to keep an eye on him.

If Huo Yao escaped, he wouldn’t be able to face his master.

The entrance to the Divine Cave of the Six Paths.

When they arrived, Huo Yao suddenly stopped in his tracks. Without so much as turning his head, he said, “Junior Apprentice Brother, let me give you some advice. You don’t understand the full situation, nor have you grasped the enmity between Master and I. Blindly obeying Master’s orders will only hurt you.”

Ye Luo said indifferently, “Hurt me?”

He swept his gaze across the Divine Cave of the Six Paths and continued, “Are you telling me you didn’t lead me here to hurt me?”

Huo Yao stiffened, and his brow furrowed. “Junior Apprentice Brother, that joke isn’t at all funny. Besides, I didn’t tell you to follow me!”

With that, he strode into the cave.

Ye Luo hesitated briefly, but nonetheless gritted his teeth and followed.

The winding cave was dimly lit, but Huo Yao proceeded with the confidence of someone traversing familiar territory.

Ye Luo stuck close the whole time, but he was already completely on guard, and he’d readied his cultivation base for battle.

Up ahead, Huo Yao seemed to sense Ye Luo’s alertness, and a playful smile tugged at his lips.

When they reached the heart of the Divine Cave of the Six Paths, an utterly enormous cavern entered their field of view.

Thousands of thick black chains descended from the four walls. They interwove, enveloping the ancient bronze temple at the far end of the cave.

An ancient ritual ground stood before the palace.

When he took in this grand scene, Ye Luo couldn’t help but feel surprised.

It was then that Huo Yao abruptly whipped around, his eyes shining with explosive viciousness. “Junior Apprentice Brother, as your senior, I must once more urge you to stay here. Don’t follow me any further. Got it?”

Ye Luo furrowed his brow, and his eyes glinted with sharp light. He wasn’t sure when this had happened, but his keen senses told him that despite the severity of Huo Yao’s injuries, they’d already knit back together. Even his cultivation had returned to its peak condition.

“If this really comes down to a fight, you’ll be no match for me,” Ye Luo said as indifferently as before. “Don’t forget that when I first stepped into the Profound Serenity Realm, your cultivation was still restricted to the Spiritual Revolution Realm. You might have caught up to me, but your accumulations are still inferior to mine.”

His words seemed to hit a core point. Huo Yao’s handsome face was instantly ashen, and he said grimly, “Is that so? But what if I add them to the mix?”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, one figure out of another shot from the four walls of the massive cavern.

One was a tall, stalwart man in robes embroidered with dragons. His facial hair was reminiscent of a halberd.

One was a moving beauty in colorful palace garb.

One was an old man dressed in dark robes and carrying a fly whisk.

One was a white-haired young man whose eyes crackled with electricity.

These were none other than the four Profound Serenity experts who’d ambushed Su Yi here earlier. They hailed from the Divine Blue Lightning Sect, Cloud-Scraping Yao Sect, Dragon Tiger Dao Mountain, and Nine Star Sword Mountain, respectively!

….

Meanwhile, on Broken Souls Ridge.

Gu Ziming waited a bit frantically.

Huo Yao had returned earlier with severe injuries, but aside from him and a few of the older-generation experts, no one knew it.

Furthermore, Gu Ziming would never have guessed that someone as mighty as his Martial Uncle Huo Yao would fail to capture a young man like Su Yi, much less that he’d return with heavy injuries!

Gu Ziming instantly realized that something was wrong.

And not long ago, when Huo Yao used a secret art to transmit a message telling him to prepare to retreat from the Burial Ground of the Dao, Gu Ziming understood just how serious the problem was.

“Senior Apprentice Brother, why are we leaving?” Ni Shuang couldn’t help but ask.

Shangguan Jie, Cheng Tiankun, and the others all looked at Gu Ziming too. He was the one who’d called them all here, saying that they would leave the Burial Ground of the Dao as soon as Huo Yao returned.

However, Gu Ziming had never told them why. Thus, all of them were confused.

“Those were Martial Uncle Huo Yao’s orders.” Gu Ziming took a deep breath and said gravely, “We just need to do as we’re told.”

This answer obviously wasn’t going to win anyone over.

Especially Ni Shuang, who said with displeasure, “Senior Apprentice Brother, you’ve been acting all mysterious ever since that Su guy showed up, and you refuse to tell us anything substantial at all. Don’t forget: Su Yi has already killed several of our Emperors!”

“That’s right! Senior Apprentice Brother, we’ve already decided to retreat, so why are you still not willing to give us any answers?” Shangguan Jie, Cheng Tiankun, and the others chimed in too.

Gu Ziming had behaved strangely all night, and all of them were already displeased with him.

The Emperors of the Abstruse Force Alliance all looked over as well. They wanted to see just what was going on here.

The pressure on Gu Ziming increased, and he couldn’t help but hesitate.

But it was then that——

Whoosh~

Spatial ripples spread through the distant skies. Immediately afterward, a blue-robed young man with a transcendent bearing appeared out of nowhere.

This scene instantly caused a commotion.

“That guy actually dared come back!?” Shangguan Jie was flabbergasted.

The others present found it similarly difficult to believe. This was someone they’d thoroughly surrounded not long ago. He’d escaped, but not without great difficulty. Yet now, this Spiritual Revolution Realm young man had come back. Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

“No, something’s not right. That guy has Martial Uncle Huo Yao’s trump card, the Controlling Currents Shuttle!” Cheng Tiankun cried out.

One sentence, and everyone looked over, and indeed, all of them saw a weaver’s shuttle flowing with ripples of spatial power.

All of them realized that this was out of the ordinary. Something wasn’t right here.

Gu Ziming’s heart thudded in his chest, and he inwardly cried out, This is bad!

He immediately bellowed, “Quick, capture him!”

His voice spread throughout heaven and earth.

The others looked at each other, but although they were incomparably confused, none of them dared be negligent. They each took out their treasures and attacked without reservation.

None of them dared hold back.

They’d witnessed Su Yi’s abilities before, and they were keenly aware that despite his Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivation, his combat prowess was heaven-defying and incomparably terrifying.

Thus, how could these Emperors dare be negligent?

Boom!

The entire stretch of heaven and earth was in turmoil, and divine brilliance exploded through the air.

All manner of treasure swathed in radiant light took to the skies as ten Emperors attacked Su Yi at once.

The depths of Su Yi’s gaze were as tranquil as the waters of an ancient well. He was utterly composed.

His enemies' attacks blanketed the sky, but he didn’t even look at them. He just waved his sleeves.

Boom!

Radiant sword qi swept forth like an avalanche or tidal wave. Its boundless sword force contained profound, inscrutable Mysterious Truths of the Grand Dao, as well as traces of Grand Dao Profound Qi.

The entire stretch of heaven and earth violently churned, and the skies seemed as if they were about to shatter.

As sword qi swept outward, more than ten treasures were sent flying back. It was as if a primordial divine mountain had slammed into them.

Their wails shook the skies.

Several of the treasures exploded directly, splitting into pieces!

And the sword qi continued ahead, its power undiminished, breaking the Emperors’ formation and sending them flying back as well.

One Emperor’s chest caved in, and they cried out repeatedly.

Another spurted blood from their mouth and nose as their body broke.

Another felt countless bones break as they slammed into the ground, hard, then sank directly into unconsciousness.

One casual, understated wave of his sleeve, and the joint attack of more than ten Emperors fell apart!

This tyrannical, overpowering scene immediately astonished everyone present.

“How is this possible!?” someone shrieked in panic.

“He… He’s already proven his Dao and become an Emperor….” someone stammered in terror.

An Emperor!!

Gu Ziming, Ni Shuang, Shangguan Jie, and the others reacted as if they’d been struck by lightning. All of them were visibly astonished and completely startled.

Earlier, they’d surrounded Su Yi on all sides, and he was only a Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator, but he still fought and killed his way out of their encirclement of Emperors!

Now, just half a day later, he was already an Emperor!

Furthermore, he’d effortlessly destroyed their joint offensive in a single attack. Of course they were terrified! Of course their hearts shook!

It was then that Su Yi’s calm voice rang out. “Where is Huo Yao?”

The atmosphere was so tense that the very air itself seemed to solidify, and they found it difficult to breathe.

The group looked at each other. One of them, an old man in yellow, said gravely, “Friend, do you understand the consequences of opposing us?”

Su Yi flicked his finger as if he were getting rid of a fly.

Splurt!

A streak of sword qi pierced the yellow-robed elder’s skull, right between the eyes. A moment later, his body exploded, and blood filled the air.

The group’s courage instantly gave way, and their faces were ashen.

He’d just killed an Emperor with a flick of his finger!

And not just any Emperor—a late-stage Profound Illumination expert!

He was so strong that their will to fight collapsed.

“I’ll give you three breaths of time. If no one answers my questions, all of you will die.” Su Yi said calmly and placed his hands behind his back.

He wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately, but these people had surrounded and tried to kill him earlier. He naturally wouldn’t show them any mercy.

But his voice was like the booming of funerary bells, and it filled the Emperors’ hearts with terror. They subconsciously looked at Gu Ziming.

Cheng Tiankun’s lips quivered as he hissed, “Senior Apprentice Brother! Why haven’t you called for Martial Uncle Huo Yao to help us yet!?”

Whoosh!

Su Yi instantly looked over.

Gu Ziming’s face was ashen, and his whole body tensed. He felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss.

It’s over! I’m completely finished!

“Martial Uncle… is in the Divine Cave of the Six Paths,” said Gu Ziming. He slumped as his heart gave in to despair.

“Do you people know who I am?” Su Yi asked suddenly.

Ni Shuang and the others looked bewildered, and they shook their heads.

Only Gu Ziming lowered his head and averted his gaze. He was visibly uncomfortable.

“You’re coming with me.” Su Yi took all of this in, and without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Gu Ziming from a distance. He then stepped through the air and shot toward the distant Divine Cave of the Six Paths.