Chapter 576: You Cannot Escape Death, So Why Waste Words?
Jing Lingzhen’s death was arguably the result of complacency.
He was caught off guard and suppressed, leaving him unable to turn things around.?He didn’t even have time for regret.
When he saw his ally's head roll across the floor, Yan Jingyun couldn’t help but recall the way Jing Lingzhen had threatened Su Yi.
“If you dare cross this line, I’ll take your head!”
Now, his threat seemed like an enormous joke. Jing Lingzhen’s threats had been turned on him instead…
“Bastard!!”
Jing Lingzhen’s death made the man in blood-colored clothes explode in fury. His sleeves billowed around him as he swung at Su Yi from afar.
Boom!
The palm imprint looked as if it were condensed of fresh blood. It was bright red, imposing, and it emanated vicious majesty.
Su Yi made no attempt to dodge. Instead, he swung his sword and clashed with it head-on.
Clang!
Celestial Blue hummed like the tide, its rusted blade shining with icy clear radiance. Its sharp glint stung the eyes, and?its?cold glow illuminated the landscape.
A grand battle broke out.
Su Yi’s aura changed, becoming free and unrestrained, with a peerless bearing, like a banished immortal of the sword. With every movement,?sword?qi swept through the air, piercing heaven and earth.
Rumble! Boom!
The entire stretch of heaven and earth was in turmoil. Sword qi swept forth, and bloody light surged.
To Yan Jingyun and the white-robed elder’s shock, Su Yi was at no disadvantage when he clashed with the man in red!
“That kid’s combat prowess is actually this heaven-defying!?” The white-robed elder was bewildered, and he could no longer keep his cool.
The red-clothed man’s Daoist title was Ming Zhen, or “Netherworld Truths.” He was an old Spiritual Integration Realm monster of the Burning Sun Sect. Even without a physical body, his primordial spirit’s avatar was enough to crush any Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator around!
Yet now, a Gathering Stars Realm youth, an Origin Dao cultivator, was going toe-to-toe with Ming Zhen. Of course the white-robed elder was surprised!
“How is this…” Yan Jingyun’s?expression filled?with uncertainty.
Jing Lingzhen’s death had already dealt him an enormous psychological blow.
Now, witnessing Su Yi clash evenly with Ming Zhen’s primordial spirit avatar, Yan Jingyun felt an irrepressible chill rise within his heart.
The reason was simple. Even if he fought with everything he had, he was no match for Ming Zhen.
How could Yan Jingyun fail to realize the implications? If he fought Su Yi, he’d almost certainly meet much the same fate as Jing Lingzhen!
“Attack together! We absolutely cannot let him flee back into the ritual grounds!” The white-robed elder transmitted his voice directly into Yan Jingyun’s ears.
Yan Jingyun nodded, then cast aside his scattered thoughts.
Clang!
The sword case on his back sprang open, and an ancient sword with a pinewood-like steel pattern shot out. It had an old-fashioned, crude design. Two characters, each the size of a fly’s head, were carved on the hilt: “Serene Void.”
With his sword in hand, Yan Jingyun’s momentum changed, and his sword intent soared into the heavens. He planted his foot firmly against the ground, then shot into the air, charging at Su Yi.
Whoosh!
A swath of overlapping sword shadows seemingly manifested from the serene darkness of the void swept forth, bringing a cold, austere, and horrifying aura with them.
Yan Jingyun undeniably lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest monsters of the ancient era. His attainments in the Dao of the Sword were already nearing perfection.
Practically simultaneously, the white-robed elder attacked too.
“Hah!” His voice boomed like spring thunder, and his sleeves billowed around him as he activated a graceful spiritual sword. It glinted like snow as it slashed at Su Yi.
The white-robed elder’s attainments in the Dao of the Sword were even more shocking than Yan?Jingyun’s. In just one attack, he displayed enough power to overturn mountains and seas.
It was also then that the man in red, Ming Zhen, took out his treasure. He gripped twin black short halberds, one in each hand, and swung with all his might. His aura was terrifying.
Rumble! Boom!
The entire area was thrown into upheaval, and misty light surged forth.
Su Yi instantly found himself in peril.
Although he only faced three foes this time, it was far more terrifying than his battle with Huan Shaoyou and his eight Spiritual Manifestation Realm allies.
The reason for this was simple: the white-robed elder and Ming Zhen were both peak Spiritual Integration Realm primordial spirits. Their majesty and power almost defied the imagination; Yan Jingyun and other freshly broken-through Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators weren’t even remotely comparable.
After clashing with Ming Zhen earlier, Su Yi knew that with his current cultivation, dealing with someone like him would be a bit exhausting.
But now, he had to fight the white-robed elder, who wasn’t one whit inferior to Ming Zhen, and Yan Jingyun too. This meant that Su Yi was beset by danger on all signs.
Alas, the timing’s wrong. Otherwise, I’d love to use this battle to temper my cultivation…?Su Yi sighed to himself.
After all, he had other plans for this excursion into this underground world; he naturally didn’t want to waste his energy on a fight like this.
After all, if he expended too much power, it would influence what happened next.
“Quickly! He can’t hold out too much longer!” Ming Zhen bellowed, killing intent surging around him.
“Die!” The white-robed elder’s gaze was sinister, and his aura was terrifying.
Although Yan Jingyun wasn’t much use, he stood defensively between Su Yi and the ritual grounds; he obviously was trying to prevent Su Yi from retreating.
When Su Yi saw this, the corners of his lips arched upward. “Don’t panic. I’ll send you on your way now."
As his voice rang out, a wisp of a mysterious and inscrutable aura silently rose upon Celestial Blue, making the sword buzz and shake.
As if shouting its excitement.
Whoosh!
The white-robed elder’s spiritual sword descended, graceful and glinting like snow. It struck with dense, imposing force. The power contained within the blow seemed capable of overturning mountains and seas. It was vast, grand, and extremely domineering.
“Die!” Su Yi’s eyes glinted with cold light. He raised the relentlessly trembling Celestial Blue into the air, then swung it, shooting out a streak of sword qi.
It was three feet long and as simple as could be.
But as it swept forth, it was as if nothing could stand in its way. It easily broke through the white-robed elder’s attack.
Crunch!
Immediately afterward, the elder’s spiritual sword split into pieces.
The change happened so suddenly that the elder visibly lost his composure. He immediately turned to flee, shouting, “Dammit! How could this have…”
Before he could finish speaking, the three feet of sword qi came crashing down. He visibly lost his composure, then shouted hoarsely, “Descend!”
His primordial spirit seemed to burst into flame. Dense golden glyphs fell like rain, condensing into an eighteen-layered, hovering golden shield. Its defensive aura was utterly shocking.
The?Goldenwave?Divine Defense!
This was one of the loftiest secret inheritances of Tianji Dao Mountain. Its defensive powers were shocking, and numerous Spirit Dao cultivators had used it to block divine tribulations.
Yet now, Su Yi’s slash was imbued with a wisp of the Sword of the Nine Hells’ power. How could a single defensive art possibly block it?
Boom!
The three feet of sword qi descended, and the eighteen-layered golden barrier burst apart like paper mache. A rain of light scattered in all directions.
As for the white-robed elder? A bloody mark had appeared on his forehead. It traveled down the bridge of his nose, to his lips, chin, throat… and continued downward, in a perfectly straight line.
“I would never have guessed that I, Song Chi, would fall at the hands of a Gathering Stars Realm cultivator…” The white-robed elder sighed.
Splurt!
His sigh still echoing through the air, the primordial spirit split down the midline, scattered into light, and dispersed.
In one slash, Su Yi had cut down a peak Spiritual Integration Realm cultivator’s primordial spirit avatar!
This unstoppable, domineering spectacle left both Ming Zhen and Yan Jingyun completely stunned. Both of them gasped.
All of this had happened too quickly!
They would never have guessed that Su Yi, despite being surrounded by peril on all sides, would suppress and kill the white-robed elder in a single attack!
This left the two of them flabbergasted.?How… How terrifying must his attainments in the Dao of Sword be to have accomplished this?
How could a Gathering Stars Realm youth possibly wield such power?
To Su Yi, killing the white-robed elder had been no more difficult than brushing the dust off his clothing.
He didn’t stop there. Next, he fixed his gaze on Ming Zhen.?“Die!”
As this single, light, airy word drifted through the air, Su Yi struck once more.
It was still just a simple slash.
However, Ming Zhen seemed to sense that this wasn’t looking good for him. He didn’t even try to meet it head-on. Instead, he turned and fled.
Jing Lingzhen’s death could be attributed to complacency; it wasn’t enough to instill dread in Ming Zhen’s heart.
However, the white-robed elder’s death made him thoroughly aware of the danger. How could he dare linger?
“Can you escape?” Su Yi’s eyes shone with disdain.
Whoosh!
A little blue sword shot out of his forehead, then disappeared into thin air.
The Divine Slaughter Sword!
The fleeing Ming Zhen suddenly felt terror well within his heart. He inwardly cried out in alarm and waved his short halberds furiously through the air.
Bang!
It struck the Divine Slaughter Sword while it was still a foot away from Ming Zhen’s head. The sword burst into pieces and dispersed.
But before Ming Zhen could sigh in relief, the tip of a sword came hurtling toward him!
The aura of impending death drove him practically insane. He circulated his power, pouring everything he had into his halberds, which he crossed in front of himself.
Crunch! Crunch!
Both were like divine weapons, but they suddenly seemed as weak as paper. The sword pierced them both with ease.
The sword’s edge glinted as it pierced Ming Zhen’s throat.
One ruthless twist of the wrist and—
Boom!
Ming Zhen’s primordial spirit avatar was crushed. Fragments scattered in all directions, like a rain of light.
As of now, the second of the two peak Spiritual Integration primordial spirits had died!
When he saw this, Yan Jingyun abruptly stopped his charge and froze in midair. He dared not go any further.
His complexion paled as the blood drained from his face. His eyes widened with astonishment and disbelief, and he felt as if he’d been plunged into an endless abyss!
“It really is a pity,” said Su Yi ruefully as he watched Ming Zhen’s primordial spirit dissipate.
Both primordial spirits were top-notch whetstones. Had they been fighting one on one, this could have been a satisfying, fast-paced, dangerous battle.
There was nothing for it. He had to conserve his energy, as he was here with other plans. He just had to grit his teeth, strike the killing blow, and get this over with.
.
Then, Su Yi turned around and faced the distant Yan Jingyun.
The moment he sensed Su Yi’s gaze, Yan Jingyun stiffened, and the corners of his lips twitched. He sighed. “Is it… too late to admit defeat?”
His tone was rife with dense bitterness and dejection.
Earlier, this monster of the ancient era known as the “Sword Fanatic” had adopted an air of lofty superiority, as if Su Yi were nothing at all. When they spoke, his tone had been rife with mockery, disdain, and derision. It was a show of utter confidence, but also contempt.
Yet, now, he seemed overcome with shock, as if his heart had given into despair. It was easy to imagine how great a blow everything he’d just witnessed had been.
Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “We're not discussing the Dao. There’s no victory and defeat here, just life and death. I can give you a chance to commit suicide, though.”
Yan Jingyun’s already dejected expression gradually darkened.
A moment later, he took a deep breath, as if preparing to go all out. His despair disappeared, and he said with staunch conviction, “As a sword cultivator, I’d rather…”
Before he could finish speaking, Su Yi’s sword had already cleaved into him.
Splurt!
Yan Jingyun’s head fell to the floor. Fresh blood splattered the skies.
In the moments before his death, his face filled with astonishment and bitterness, as if he dared not believe that Su Yi would kill him without so much as giving him the chance to speak…
“You cannot escape death, so why waste words? What good would it do you?” Su Yi shook his head.
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