Chapter 1180 - Bait
Four hours later, Su Yi awakened from his meditation.
“The Graveyard of Fallen Immortals really is the Origin of Ten Thousand Daos. When you cultivate here, you can absorb and refine the most primeval chaos energy of the Dark and Gold Star Realm!”
Su Yi was a bit surprised.
When he meditated earlier, he clearly sensed his heart and mind returning to the primeval chaos. It was too wondrous for words.
And this is only the outer ring. Who knows what benefits I’ll reap if I proceed further in?
As Su Yi pondered, he took out the beast skin map and tapped its surface.
The landscape drawn on its surface instantly came to life, undergoing a wondrous transformation. The mountains and rivers wriggled like worms, gradually outlining an all-new image.
Meanwhile, numerous characters each the size of a fly’s head appeared throughout the map, marking locations as “safe”, “dangerous,” “extremely dangerous,” or “certain death.”
It was a map of the outer ring of the Graveyard of Fallen Immortals!
When Su Yi first obtained the beast skin map, he used his experience exploring this place in his past life to confirm the map’s accuracy.
Now, as he examined it more closely, he quickly confirmed that he was in a place called Greenwood Ridge. It was still quite far from the heart of the Graveyard of Fallen immortals.
And Greenwood Ridge was marked as safe!
“Starting from Greenwood Ridge, getting to the Black Blood Ruins will require passing through two danger zones and one safe zone. It’s not overly perilous.”
As Su Yi thought, he rose to his feet.
When they entered the Graveyard of Fallen Immortals, he and the Heavensdeath Demon Empress agreed to reconvene at the Black Blood Ruins.
I just wonder how many trial-takers there are in the outer ring, and what kind of existences the Custodians are...
As he pondered, Su Yi got to work and left this primeval forest.
......
The Thousand Currents Wastelands.
A place the beast skin map marked as a danger zone.
These lands contained countless rivers and lakes. Mist hung in the air, like a swamp kingdom.
Occasionally, massive, primordial vicious birds streaked through the skies, the auras emanating from them comparable to Imperial Apex Emperors.
On the ground, fragmented corpses floated in the countless surging, turbulent rivers, as well as bits of treasures and all manner of tattered and decaying items.
Some of the rivers emanated baleful mists. Strange, malevolent spirits lurked within them.
Deep within some of the rivers, the waters’ depths occasionally flashed with the red light of cold, indifferent eyes.
The entire stretch of swamp had a strange, broken, ferocious quality to it.
Su Yi had been here in his past life, but he had stayed less than half a day before deciding to leave.
The swamp was extraordinarily strange, and it was home to utterly terrifying lifeforms, each as strong as could be. They were enough to threaten even Imperial Apex Emperors!
But now that he’d returned, Su Yi’s mentality had changed completely.
It wasn’t just that his strength had long surpassed his former peak, but rather, that he’d fused with the Temple Master’s memories and experiences. That was enough to change how he viewed things.
“I wonder whether the spirit fish in that lake are still there?” thought Su Yi.
He remembered a lake of molten lava deep within the Thousand Currents Wastelands. Rare Nine-Colored Divine Lotuses grew there, and an extremely rare and wondrous type of fish lived at the bottom of the lake. They were a little over a foot long, crystalline and white as snow, with golden eyes and dragon scales and whiskers.
Most wondrous of all, the surface of their bodies was innately covered in mysterious Dao Markings. They swam freely through the lava, emanating startling energy fluctuations of the Grand Dao.
Now that he had the Temple Master’s knowledge, Su Yi knew that those fish were Yin Dragon Carp!
Xiantian Lifeforms born in sources of the Grand Dao.
They were an absolute treasure even in the eyes of World Kings. Eating one was like refining unparalleled divine medicine!
As for the Nine-Colored Divine Lotuses? They too were rare divine treasures. Their seeds were inestimably beneficial when refining the soul.
Now that he’d returned, Su Yi planned to visit and see if he could catch a few Yin Dragon Carp and pluck a few Nine-Colored Divine Lotuses.
Along the way, Su Yi avoided the perilous rivers and silently shot into the distance.
But in the end, he still ran into a bit of trouble.
One of the rivers surged with powerful waves as a group of vicious spirits charged at Su Yi like demons.
“Annoying.” Su Yi sighed, then waved his sleeves. A rain of light filled the skies and descended, wiping out every last one of the vicious spirits.
On the road that followed, similar incidents took place from time to time.
An Imperial Apex cultivator would have long since fled in panic, but to Su Yi, these perils were at most minor inconveniences. He could destroy them with a snap of his fingers.
Before long, dazzling firelight illuminated the distant landscape. Blazing waves of heat swept forth, as if intent on refining every mountain, tree, and blade of grass in its path.
It was a lake of lava, its firelight soaring into the heavens and illuminating the surrounding area. It was an extremely eye-catching sight.
“I’m finally here.” Su Yi was just about to walk past when a desperate shout emanated from the banks of a distant lake of lava.
“You’ll pay for what you’ve done! I’m sure of—!”
The voice came to an abrupt halt.
Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. He silently withdrew his aura, then walked over.
......
A churning lake of lava and rising divine flame.
Chairs and tables were arranged on a black boulder on the shore. A red-robed, young-looking man sat on one of these chairs.
He had his legs crossed, and he held a glittering golden fishing rod in one hand. The other hand held a jug of wine, from which he drank contentedly.
A still-bleeding corpse lay sprawled out on the ground next to him.
A hemp-clad elder with sparse hair extracted its soul, then deftly placed it on the fishing rod’s thumb-sized hook.
Once this was complete, he said respectfully, “Your Excellency, the bait is ready.”
“Mm,” said the red-robed man. He set down his wine, then shook the golden fishing rod. The baited golden hook instantly sank thousands of feet into the center of the lake of lava.
“I’ve already been fishing for half a month, but I’ve only caught three Yin Dragon Carp. The little buggers are far too crafty.” The red-robed man sighed.
The elder in hemp clothes nodded. “You needn’t rush, Your Excellency. Yin Dragon Carp are Xiantian Lifeforms born of sources of the Grand Dao. Even out amongst the stars, they’re incredibly rare. Now that we’ve found this treasure ground, all we need is to fish patiently, and we’ll return well-rewarded.”
The red-robed man nodded. “I don’t lack patience, but I can’t possibly waste all my time here. Once we’ve gathered enough Dark and Gold Tokens, I’ll proceed directly to the secret origin grounds. Once I’ve gone, I’ll leave this place to you.”
“Understood.” The hemp-clad elder solemnly assented.
“Also, Luo Zihong sent word that Su Yi has already arrived in the Graveyard of Fallen Immortals, and he hopes we can work together to take Su Yi down. Do you think I should participate?” asked the man in red robes.
“Hmmm....” The hemp-clad elder’s expression shifted. “Su Yi is the reincarnation of the Temple Master, and just half a year ago, he borrowed the power of his past life and killed every World King at the Sea of Falling Stars...”
Here, the red-robed man interrupted him. “That was then, and this is now. Luo Zihong says that Su Yi’s strength is heaven-defying, but that he can no longer use the power of the Temple Master’s Dao Imprint. He also says that if we don’t seize this opportunity to kill him now, it’ll cause endless trouble down the line.”
The red-robed man’s eyes shone with killing intent. “Furthermore, our Studio of the Heart suffered grievous losses during the Battle of the Sea of Falling Stars. We lost a World King and five Imperial Apex experts! How could we not avenge this enmity?”
The hemp-clad elder subtly inclined his head. “You’re absolutely right, Your Excellency.”
“Of course, we won't do it alone. Luo Zihong is gathering World Kings of other factions so that we can take Su Yi down together. When the time comes, I’ll accompany them. That way, nothing will go wrong.”
The man in red had only just said this when his golden fishing rod trembled.
“It took the bait?”
His spirits soared, but just as he was about to real it in, he saw that the Yin Dragon Carp swimming deep within the lava had deftly grabbed the soul with its mouth, avoiding the hook completely.
The red-robed man couldn’t help but furrow his brow. “Kill another Emperor. I refuse to believe I can’t catch that little bastard!”
“Got it!” The hemp-clad elder nodded his ascent.
A group of cultivators sat on the ground not far away, their cultivations restricted. There were over thirty prisoners in total.
When they saw the hemp-clad elder approach, their hearts filled with panic, and they quivered with fright.
Over the past month, about a dozen cultivators were killed every day, their souls extracted for the red-robed man to use as fishing bait!
“Choose the next bait,” the hemp-clad elder ordered indifferently. It was as if the cultivators of the Wilds weren't even people, but rather, livestock awaiting slaughter!
“Yes, sir!” Experts of the Studio of the Heart were stationed nearby. One of them, a man in golden robes, stepped forth and grabbed a woman.
Her clothes were in tatters and her hair was disheveled, but unlike the other captives, she showed no sign of panic.
Instead, she let out a long sigh. “If His Excellency Su were here, how could outsiders like you be so brazen? His Excellency Su would have long since exterminated every last one of you!”
The other cultivators all looked conflicted.
Half a year ago, in the battle on the Sea of Falling Stars, the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force swept through an entire group of enemies, slaying every last expert of the stars there!
Who didn’t know about this?
Whap!
The woman took a slap to the face, leaving her cheeks red and swollen.
The golden-robed man seized her by the throat, his gaze cold and cruel, “Let me tell you. Even if that bastard Su Xuanjun showed up, he couldn’t save your lives!”
With that, he dragged the woman to a spot not far away. The ground was littered with corpses, and the stench of blood permeated the air. The bodies were all experts of the Wilds who’d been killed recently.
“You ought to celebrate the opportunity to serve as bait for our master. We’re putting you to good use; your lives haven’t been in vain,” said the gold-robed man with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
As he spoke, he reached for the woman’s head.
The cultivators confined in the distance turned their heads; they couldn’t bear to watch.
But it was then that the clear hum of a sword rang out.
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