Chapter 889: Listen to This Sword Hum
Brother-in-Law?
When he heard how Ye Xun addressed Su Yi, the old butcher’s expression turned a bit strange.
Su Yi, however, had long since grown accustomed to this. He promptly rose from his wicker chair and said, “It wouldn’t do to put this off. Let’s go visit the Ghost Serpents’ Ancestral Forbidden Ground.”
Ye Xun said hurriedly, “Brother-in-Law, that nephew of mine, Qinghe, wants to meet with you.”
“Why?” Su Yi hadn’t expected that.
Ye Xun said a bit guiltily, “Earlier, when I conversed with him, I complimented you and it seems… he put two and two together….”
The corners of Su Yi’s lips twitched. I just knew that with Ye Xun’s disposition, there was no way he’d be able to keep a lid on it.
“Where is he?” asked Su Yi.
“Wait a moment, Brother-in-Law,” said Ye Xun. As he spoke, he shattered a talisman.
Before long, Ye Qinghe rushed in. As soon as the second high elder of the Ghost Serpents entered the grand hall, he solemnly and respectfully approached Su Yi, then inclined his head in greeting. “Junior Ye Qinghe greets you, Senior Su. If I offended you earlier in the Ancestral Hall, I humbly request your magnanimity!”
His attitude was modest and respectful to the extreme.
And it was no wonder; during Su Yi’s past life, while exploring the Netherworld, he’d assisted the Ghost Serpents on numerous occasions for Little Leaf.
This was what led to their inclusion in the ranks of the Nine Royal Clans of the Netherworld.
Su Yi had once even rebuilt the formations covering Lotus Platform Peak!
It was no exaggeration to say that, in the eyes of the older-generation Ghost Serpents, the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force was like a deity; they revered him.
“Did he tell you?” Su Yi rubbed his forehead.
Ye Qinghe hesitated, then said in a low voice, “Senior, to tell the truth, even before I asked Uncle Ye Xun, I had my suspicions.”
“Oh?” Su Yi asked with great interest. “Tell me.”
Ye Qinghe cleared his throat and said, “A long time ago, you said that after you improved it, the Ten Thousand Stars Heaven-Slaughtering Formation was enough to threaten the lives of even Profound Serenity Realm experts. You said that even a formations?grandmaster wouldn’t be able to break through it on short notice.
“But today, in the Ancestral Hall, you neutralized its power with a flip of your hand. That’s the first thing that aroused my suspicions.”
Here, Ye Qinghe’s gaze landed on the old butcher. “Second, only a tiny handful of Ghost Serpents know Senior Shang’s identity and why he keeps watch over Tianya City. When I saw that he too had come, I suspected who you were.”
He paused before continuing. “The third reason has to do with Uncle Ye Xun. Everyone in the Ghost Serpent knows that there’s only one person Uncle Ye Xun is polite and respectful to—and that’s you, Senior.”
As he wrapped up his explanation, Ye Qinghe’s?voice filled with excitement and delight. “And reality proves that my suspicions were right on the mark.”
“Does anyone else know?” asked Su Yi.
Ye Qinghe shook his head. “No.”
Su Yi nodded. “I’m not worried about my identity leaking, but I don’t want my appearance to drag the Ghost Serpents into the storm unnecessarily.”
Ye Qinghe said solemnly, “Senior, no matter how great the storm, we Ghost Serpents aren’t afraid! But I’ll naturally keep your identity a secret for you.”
“Mm,” said Su Yi. He had nothing else to say on the matter.
Ye Qinghe considerately asked, “Senior, how about I lead you to the Ancestral Forbidden Ground?”
Ye Xun’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re quite something, kid! So, you’ve learned to rush to curry favor before others get the chance! You’re already a Profound Serenity Emperor, but you’ve learned to lick boots! Don’t tell me you’re after something?”
Ye Qinghe said a bit awkwardly, “Uncle, I just want to work on Senior Su’s behalf. I’m in no way after anything else.”
The old butcher said out of nowhere, “He’s encountered a bottleneck at the peak of the early-stage Profound Serenity Realm. If he overcomes it, he’ll naturally be able to condense Profound Serenity Dao Platforms. However, if he fails, Profound Serenity Laws will corrode his cultivation base. He is facing the ‘Gateway of Life and Death’ of the Profound Serenity Realm.”
Ye Xun instantly understood. “No wonder you were so dead-set on an audience, you punk! So, you wanted to seize the opportunity to ask my brother-in-law about how to overcome this tribulation!”
Ye Qinghe instantly looked a bit ill at ease.
Having his secrets exposed like this was naturally uncomfortable.
Su Yi, however, didn’t mind at all. “Outsiders cannot help you overcome the Profound Serenity Realm’s Gateway of Life and Death. You must rely on your own willpower and spirit to temper your Laws of the Grand Dao.”
He paused, and said, “But when we get back from the Ghost Serpents’ Ancestral Forbidden Ground, I wouldn’t mind sharing some of my experiences with you. They might well be of use.”
Ye Qinghe quivered from head to toe, practically mad with delight as he bowed. “Many thanks, Senior!”
It had been over ten thousand years since he’d broken into the Profound Serenity Realm. However, even after spending the past three thousand years in seclusion attempting to break through the Gateway of Life and Death, he couldn’t take that final step.
Su Yi’s answers were like rain after a long drought, a stroke of good fortune as grand as the heavens themselves.
The old butcher was inwardly rueful. Only Old Monster Su is qualified to do something like this.
The populace honored him as the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force.
But throughout the heavens, he had yet another glorious title—the Master of Ten Thousand Daos!
Were he anyone else, how could he possibly be qualified to guide a Profound Serenity expert’s cultivation?
“Let’s go,” said Su Yi. He was already headed out of the hall.
….
Thirty thousand feet below the base of Lotus Platform Mountain, there was a hidden realm.
This was the Ghost Serpents’ Ancestral Forbidden Ground!
Rumor had it that the progenitor of the Ghost Serpent Race had carved out this hidden realm, and that it hid enormous secrets involving the origins of the Ghost Serpents.
Even the Ghost Serpents’ central divine artifact, the Tianya Dark Torchlight, was hidden inside!
According to Ye Qinghe, it was only several hundred years ago, when Ye Yu left to explore the Dark Capital, that she hid the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos within the Ancestral Forbidden Ground.
And Su Yi had been here once before in his past life; Ye Yu had led him into this hidden realm.
Here, the skies were dark and overcast. Heaven and earth were boundlessly vast, and an ancient, primordial air of desolation permeated the skies.
The key to opening this hidden realm lay in the four Ancestral Jade Seals.
But to Su Yi, this was no longer an impediment.
Spatial ripples spread through the boundless landscape as Su Yi and his companions appeared out of nowhere.
“So, this is the Ancestral Forbidden Ground of the Ghost Serpents? It really isn’t simple. The air contains a portion of the primordial power of chaos.” The old butcher was visibly stunned.
He was effectively basking in Su Yi’s light; it was their connection that won him the opportunity to enter this mysterious hidden realm.
Something occurred to Su Yi, and he said, “While we’re here, we can actually borrow the power of the Tianya Dark Torchlight to dispel the dark shadow over your Dao Heart.”
The old butcher was briefly stunned. Then, he exclaimed, “Old Monster Su, are you serious?”
“Is there any reason for me to deceive you?” Su Yi asked flatly.
The old butcher was instantly sheepish.
Clang!
It was then that the hum of a sword rang out. It sounded as if it had come from beyond the nine heavens, and it instantly resounded throughout the boundless, overcast landscape.
It was like the sound of the Grand Dao, and its unsurpassed power shook the soul.
The old butcher, Ye Qinghe, Ye Xun, and the other three stiffened. Their hearts shook, and they felt an unprecedented sense of crisis, as if a blade were looming over them. All of their hair stood on end.
It was just a sword hum. They couldn’t see it, nor could they touch it. However, the three of them all felt a bone-piercing chill.
Su Yi, however, looked a bit dazed.
After tens of thousands of years of separation, and even after reincarnating, his sword recognized him immediately…
He could even sense the delight and excitement within the humming, like a child whooping with delight.
But a moment later, a terrifyingly cold aura spread throughout heaven and earth, suppressing the humming of the sword.
It was as if the entire hidden realm had instantly been plunged into darkness!
Su Yi narrowed his eyes, then laughed. “It seems the spirit of the Tianya Dark Torchlight is as alert as ever. Come on, let’s go to Torchlit Darkness Mountain.”
As he spoke, he proceeded into the distance. The others followed shortly after.
Before long, a boundless, winding mountain came into view, connecting heaven and earth. From a distance, it was like the massive body of a dragon.
Cold, dark mists enveloped the mountain in its entirety, giving it an additional sense of mysteriousness.
In truth, the mountain didn’t just resemble a dragon; it really was made from a dragon’s body!
The dragon in question was born of primordial chaos amidst the darkness, and it carried the essence of heavenly flame in its jaws, illuminating the ten directions. When it opened its eyes, it dispelled the darkness, like the descent of the midday sun.
But when it closed its eyes, a darkness reminiscent of an eternal night blanketed the world.
This was a Torch Dragon, an extremely rare Xiantian True Spirit!
The Ghost Serpents considered it their progenitor, and their loftiest Daoist magic, the Netherworld Serpent’s Prohibition, was derived from the Torch Dragon’s innate divine ability.
“That enormous mountain in the distance contains the power of a seemingly primordial Law of the Grand Dao!” exclaimed the old butcher. “It’s no different from the Dao Source Mountains of rumors!”
Ye Xun’s lips curved upward. “That mountain is what remains of the body of our progenitor, and it naturally contains the Laws of the Dao of Torchlit Darkness. You really could call it a Dao?Source Mountain.”
His voice revealed a hint of pride.
As they conversed, the group arrived at the foot of Torchlit Darkness Mountain.
Looking up from the foot of the mountain, they saw the peak towering above them, piercing the clouds. It was in the exact spot a dragon’s head would be.
There was an enormous cliff halfway up the mountain, shaped like a dragon’s mouth.
All of Torchlit Darkness Mountain was shrouded in a mysterious power of the Grand Dao as dark and serene as the night itself. They couldn’t see the mountain’s scenery in any detail at all.
Except for the cliff halfway up the mountain, which was bathed in gentle, radiant light. It was particularly eye-catching amidst the misty darkness.
Su Yi could tell at a glance that this was the Ghost Serpents’ core treasure: the Tianya Dark Torchlight!
A Torch Dragon was born of the darkness, and it carried the essence of heavenly fire in its jaws.
This mountain was formed from the body of a Torch Dragon. The Tianya Dark Torchlight on the cliff had been refined from the essence of heavenly fire the Torch Dragon had once carried.
Clang!
That familiar sword hum rang out once more.
The dark rain of light surging from Torchlit Darkness Mountain seemed as if it were suppressing the power of that sword hum.
Everyone’s heart shook. At the same time, they immediately sensed that the sword hum originated from the cliff halfway up the mountain!
There was no doubt about it. Years ago, when Su Yi entrusted the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos to Little Leaf’s care, she hid it there, next to the Tianya Dark Torchlight.
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