Chapter 1010 - The Temple Master’s Identity
The man in the conical hat cut an extremely sorry figure. His flesh was battered, and blood burbled like waters from a spring.
Especially his face. It had been smashed into a meaty pulp, and it was a cruel, brutal sight.
When they heard him roar “enough!” with rage and desperation, Su Yi and the Netherworld King’s expressions were increasingly strange.
Earlier, the man in the conical hat said that at his cultivation, he’d long since ceased to care about glory and humiliation, and he didn’t fear death. Yet now, he’d been beaten and humiliated so badly, he almost wanted to die. He was completely enraged.
“You’ve occupied a lofty position for too long. You think of yourself as a god or immortal, and you think you can look down upon the human world from on high. But now that you’ve fallen from your pedestal, how are you any different from a dead dog?” The Temple Master’s voice boomed. He sounded free and at ease, but also a bit contemptuous.
“Unfortunately for you, I haven’t ‘fallen from my pedestal’ yet!” The man in the conical hat’s breathing was ragged, but shortly after, his wounds rapidly knit together, good as new.
His sleeves billowed, and he suddenly raised his hand and tapped.
Weng!
The black treasure ship burst with resplendent divine flame.
At the same time, a low, agonized cry resounded from beneath the hull.
Su Yi’s expression darkened. That was Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer’s voice!
“Temple Master, I’ve already realized that it was Su Xuanjun’s reincarnation who awakened this portion of your will, and his friend’s life is in my hands,” the man in the conical hat said flatly. “How about we make a deal? So long as you let me go, I swear I won’t harm anyone.”
Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Who was it who said that they disdained to use hostages’ lives to threaten others?”
The man in the conical hat laughed. “That was then, and this is now. I want to survive an encounter with a legendary figure like the Temple Master, and desperate times call for desperate measures.”
As he spoke, his gaze remained focused on the Sword of the Human Realm, never wavering in the slightest.
“Old Fisherman, you’re as despicable as before. You act imposing and fearless in front of others, but you can only resort to shameless schemes in front of me. How unseemly.” The Temple Master’s voice rang out once more. It carried unconcealed disdain.
But then, his voice abruptly frosted over. “But fine, I’ll give you what you want. You can scram.”
The man in the conical hat visibly sighed in relief, smiled, and clasped his fist. “Many thanks!”
He understood the Temple Master’s disposition. He was a man of his word, and there was no way he’d go back on his promises.
Back then, which of the starry skies’ old timers’ didn’t understand the Temple Master’s character?
The man in the conical hat raised his hand and was about to put the treasure ship away when the Temple Master’s calm voice rang out once more. “I never said you could take this dirty ship with you.”
The man in the conical hat narrowed his eyes, and his expression darkened. “Are you planning to go back on your word?”
The man in the conical hat laughed dryly. “Are you going to scram? Or not?”
After a moment’s silence, the man in the conical hat said, “You might destroy this clone of mine, but so what? However… Su Xuanjun’s friends will all die. Temple Master, if you don’t care, you’re welcome to go right ahead.”
He then looked at Su Yi. “You should know what to do if you don’t want those two friends of yours to die.”
The Netherworld King’s heart surged with indescribable indignation.
Earlier, the man in the conical hat had seemed amiable and forthright. Although he was domineering enough to make one give in to despair, there was nothing to criticize about his demeanor.
But now, the Netherworld King realized she’d been mistaken. When this terrifying figure encountered people stronger than him, he revealed his despicable, insidious true nature!
Su Yi’s expression was calm, and he spoke without the slightest ripple of emotion. “You’re welcome to go ahead and kill them, but if you do, I swear to flatten your Church of the River of Stars and take your head to avenge them. Now do as you will.”
This left the man in the conical hat stunned. It seemed he didn’t quite believe it.
“Hahaha! You’ll flatten the Church of the River of Stars? Excellent! That’s how a sword cultivator ought to be!”
The Temple Master’s hearty laughter resounded from within the Sword of the Human Realm. The sound was full of delight.
The man in the conical hat frowned and sighed, “It seems this can only end in a fight to the death…”
“‘A fight to the death?’ Old Fisherman, you’re letting your imagination run away with you.” The Temple Master’s laughter receded, and his voice frosted over.
Boom!
The Sword of the Human Realm suddenly descended and suppressed the black ship. The vessel swayed violently, but it had no power to fight back.
“You….” The man in the conical hat suddenly coughed up blood, and his face paled.
His connection to the black ship had been forcefully severed!
But a moment later, the man in the conical hat laughed, and his eyes shone with delight. “I can sense that the power of your imprint of will is fading, and the Sword of the Human Realm’s suppressive power has sharply decreased!”
He was suddenly excited, and even his voice quavered. “I would never have guessed that an unmatched expert like you would go so far as to expend both your sword and your imprint of will’s power all to save a handful of insignificant lives!”
The man in the conical hat had obviously lost control of his behavior. He muttered, “At this rate, it’ll be less than a hundred years before I can return to the stars and to my former glory!!”
Su Yi and the Netherworld King furrowed their brows.”
“Worthless,” said the Temple Master. “Then there’s no harm in telling you that I’ll return to the stars within a hundred years.”
The man in the conical hat froze, his expression solemn, as if his excitement had grown wings and flown away. “The antique dealer said you wouldn’t return in this lifetime. Don’t tell me that isn’t true?”
“Guess,” said the Temple Master.
The man in the conical hat felt stifled. A moment later, he laughed, “You’re nothing but an imprint of will on the verge of dissipating, yet you dare threaten me? Temple Master… don’t you think you’re underestimating me a bit too much?”
“Even if my power has ebbed, cutting down your clone will be as easy as turning over my hand.”
Before the Temple Master’s calm voice had even finished echoing through the air, the Sword of the Human Realm rumbled.
Bang!
The man in the conical hat took a blow to the face. His freshly healed facial features caved in once more, reduced to a meaty pulp as he was sent flying.
Yet another blow to the face!!!
This familiar, humiliating sensation left the man in the conical hat on the verge of going insane.
“Come on and kill me!” The man in the conical hat seemed intent on going all out. His entire body burst with appalling, fiery starlight as he launched an attack against the Sword of the Human Realm.
Bang!
But a moment later, his head was forced back as he took yet another blow to the face. He spun in circles in midair before slamming to the ground with an audible thud.
His face was a pulp of indistinct flesh, and all of his teeth had fallen out.
“You’re pushing me too far!” The man in the conical hat shouted in fury.
However, he’d lost so many teeth, and his lips were red, bleeding, and swollen. This muffled his words, and he didn’t seem the least bit threatening. If anything, it was funny.
“You’re seeking out a painless death, but I refuse to give it to you,” the Temple Master said calmly.
The Sword of the Human Realm struck once more.
Bang!!
The man in the conical hat’s skull practically shattered, and his features were completely ruined. Intense humiliation and agony made his entire body convulse.
When he saw the Sword of the Human Realm sweep toward him once more, the man in the conical hat bellowed in fury, “When I escape, I’ll repay this one hundred times over!”
Then, beneath Su Yi and the Netherworld King’s flabbergasted gazes, his body surged with blazing starlight. A moment later, his entire body had been reduced to ash.
He’d actually killed himself!
“When he goes all out, he’s even willing to burn himself…” The Netherworld King muttered, feeling a bit tongue-tied. It seemed ludicrous.
However, Su Yi was inwardly solemn. The man in the conical hat really was ruthless. People like him were typically the most terrifying of all.
“Were the old fart here in person, he likely wouldn’t have dared try that.” The Temple Master’s voice resounded from within the Sword of the Human Realm.
The man in the conical hat was just a clone!
But this only made Su Yi increasingly aware of how terrifying the man in the conical hat was.
Still, after the clone died, Su Yi felt much calmer.
The Temple Master’s voice emanated from within the blade once more. “Miss, I apologize in advance, but I have to have a private conversation with, er... Su Xuanjun.”
A moment later, a sword shadow flashed into being, transformed into a curtain of light, and instantly blocked the Netherworld King’s six senses. Her vision and divine sense could no longer detect anything whatsoever.
Meanwhile, the cross-shaped Sword of the Human Realm lit up, and an upright, illusory figure floated above the hilt.
A man in a dark hat and long, undyed robes.
He looked young, elegant, and refined, with eyes as bright as the sun and moon. Just standing there casually, his thin frame seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth and suppressing the void of the starry skies!
His was an incomparable air of transcendence, as if he’d escaped from the cage of the Grand Dao. He was unmatched in this world, unfettered and at ease.
Although his figure was indistinct, his majestic bearing was beyond that of the man in the conical hat!
However, for some inexplicable reason, the man in the dark hat and long robes seemed somehow familiar to Su Yi, as if he’d seen him before and he just couldn’t remember where.
When Su Yi thought back to the movements of the divine chains of the Sword of the Nine Hells, he was increasingly certain that the Temple Master had a deep connection to the Sword of the Nine Hells!
Su Yi took a moment to calm himself, then expressed his gratitude. “Many thanks for your assistance, sir.”
“‘Sir?’” The Temple Master’s illusory figure wavered, and a strange smile tugged at his lips. “Earlier, the fisherman killed his own clone, and now, I’m actually thanking myself for my own aid. Hah! How interesting.”
Here, he could no longer hold back laughter.
After a brief daze, Su Yi’s pupils dilated.
His heart was as firm as iron, and it had been for a long time. Even so, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. Waves of shock coursed through his heart, and he felt dazed.
A moment later, he thought back to his Tribulation of Profound Illumination, and to the divine chain that had sealed an imprint of the Dao of his past life.
He then recalled his earlier, bold hypothesis: that the other eight divine chains each sealed the Daos of one of his past lives.
However, at the time, that was mere conjecture, and he had no concrete proof, so he temporarily set the matter aside.
But now, the Temple Master’s words went off like a thunderclap. Su Yi suddenly realized that his earlier guest was most likely right on the mark!
Earlier, he’d been in dire straits and ready to fight with his life on the line. It was the unusual movements of the Sword of the Nine Hells that awakened the Sword of the Human Realm, and the remnant will of the Temple Master dormant within the blade!
Furthermore, Su Yi could sense that the aura of one of the chains of the Sword of the Nine Hells was still resonating with the Sword of the Human Realm!
It seemed that combined, all of this pointed toward an unbelievable truth!
“It seems you’ve already guessed it.” The Temple Master stood in the air off in the distance, his gaze rife with meaning. “I am you, and you are me. We’re simply different incarnations of the same person.”
Su Yi’s hands quivered, and he sank into silence.
This truth was far too shocking, and he hadn’t anticipated this revelation at all, to the point that he struggled to process it.
The master of the Temple of the Human Realm is… me? Su Yi felt quite strange. When I first heard about him, I mocked his arrogance… Looking back at it now, wasn’t I just mocking myself?
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