Chapter 999 - The Church of the River of Stars
The people of the Netherworld called the old rooster the Peach Haven Mountain Monarch.
However, although few knew it, his true body was a Pure Yang Profound Pheasant, and he had an innate mastery of the Fire Comb True Intent.
The meat the man in sapphire was roasting was obviously a torn-off wing, and the wisps of Fire Comb True Intent wafting from it had yet to dissipate!
When Su Yi dealt with Huo Yao earlier, he learned that not long after the old rooster arrived in the Burial Ground of the Dao, he entered the Mausoleum of the Gods, and he’d yet to return.
When Su Yi saw this, he immediately realized that the old rooster had most likely met with disaster!
“Do you know who this person is?” transmitted Su Yi.
Earlier, the Netherworld King’s transmission contained undisguisable dread. This told Su Yi that she most likely knew this person’s origins.
Indeed, the Netherworld King responded, “I don’t know him specifically, but I can tell that he’s from the Church of the River of Stars! This is a faction from the depths of the starry sky, and they’re utterly terrifying. Their foundations aren’t at all inferior to the Nine Heavens Pavilion.”
She paused, then continued, “And the Lotus Nebula Crown on his head means that he’s undoubtedly a Guardian of the Faith. He is from the Church of the River of Stars’ Cloud Division!”
According to the Netherworld King, the Church of the River of Stars had three palaces and four divisions.
The three palaces were, respectively, the Solar Palace, the Lunar Palace, and the Celestial Palace.
The four divisions were named after wind, thunder, cloud, and fire respectively.
And the lotus crown on the man in sapphire’s head was emblazoned with a nebula totem. This made it clear that he was a Guardians of the Faith of their Cloud Division.
And the strongest ability at the Church of the River of Stars’ disposal was the “Laws of Cosmic Silence.”
This was a power of the Grand Dao no weaker than the Laws of Heavenly Prayer!
When he realized this, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel solemn.
Only now did he understand that the man in sapphire was from the depths of outer space, and furthermore, that he had a faction comparable to the Nine Heavens Pavilion behind him!
It was then that the man grilling meat by the fire said suddenly, “Since you made it here, you’re surely amongst the top experts of the Netherworld. Still, I urge you to end your journey here and leave immediately.”
He didn’t so much as look at them. He just sat there languidly, but his voice contained hints of unsettling power.
Unbelievably, he was only in the early-stage Profound Serenity Realm, but he faced Su Yi, Ye Luo, and the Netherworld King without the slightest fear. If anything, he revealed bone-deep aloof pride.
Su Yi’s companions instinctively glanced at him.
“You two wait here,” said Su Yi. He then walked into the palace.
“Hm?” The man in sapphire frowned in displeasure, then glanced up at Su Yi and said slowly, “Refusing good advice will get you killed, you know.”
The man had handsome features, but his eye sockets were somewhat sunken. Even just sitting there, he emanated a faint air of superiority.
Su Yi’s companions were instantly solemn, and they readied themselves for battle.
Although the man in sapphire didn’t display any particularly terrifying majesty, all of them sensed a dangerous aura emanating from him.
“Did you kill the Peach Haven Mountain Monarch?” asked Su Yi, one hand behind his back, the other fiddling with the Immortal-Beating Mallet.
“The Peach Haven Mountain Monarch?” The man in sapphire furrowed his brow, then suddenly seemed enlightened. He laughed dryly, “If you’re asking about that five-colored rooster, then yes. I indeed killed him.”
Su Yi’s expression showed neither joy nor sorrow. “Why kill him?”
The man in sapphire raised the meat skewered on his sword and laughed. “To satisfy my hunger, that’s all.”
He then opened his mouth and took a bite of meat. As he chewed, he exclaimed, “That rooster had innate mastery of Fire Comb True Intent, and its talent and abilities were shocking. But in my eyes, it was also a first-rate delicacy. Especially its wings! They need no condiments or seasonings. Even without them, they’re lustrous, fragrant, and scrumptious. There’s nothing else like them.”
A chill coursed through the group’s hearts.
This person might seem elegant, but he saw the Peach Haven Mountain Monarch as food, and he was feasting on his corpse with relish!
This utter disregard was unquestionably a form of provocation!
“What, were you friends with that rooster?” laughed the man in sapphire.
Su Yi nodded. “That’s right.”
“So, you want to get revenge for it?” The man’s gaze was playful. “I urge you not to try it. Otherwise, you’ll end up the same way—just another meal on my plate.”
“Isn’t this bastard a bit too much….?” Ye Luo couldn’t help but frown. This was his first time hearing someone discuss cannibalism as if it were so natural and obvious.
The Netherworld King’s eyelids twitched. She already understood Su Yi’s temper and disposition. The calmer Su Yi was in the face of threats, the denser the killing intent building within his heart!
But just as the Netherworld King thought this——
Su Yi was already attacking
He couldn’t be bothered to waste words.
Back when he first explored the Netherworld, the old rooster was one of his few friends. Seeing someone treat the old rooster’s body as food crossed Su Yi’s bottom line, filling his heart with austere murderous intent.
He didn’t care in the slightest where the man in sapphire had come from. He had to avenge this grudge on the old rooster’s behalf!
Weng!
The Immortal-Beating Mallet stirred up power as dark as the night. It transformed into inscrutable, illusory sword qi and cleaved at the man in sapphire.
The man in sapphire sneered and waved his sleeves.
Boom!
Blazing divine flames surged forth, glittering and resplendent, like burning starlight. They were faint, but there were blazing stars within the flames.
Su Yi’s sword qi instantly dissipated with a bang, melted into nothingness.
Su Yi’s companions were stunned. After all, with his current power, he could kill Profound Serenity Emperors with ease. His streaks of sword qi were naturally terrifying beyond imagination.
Who would have guessed that the man in sapphire would melt his sword qi into nothingness with such casual ease?
“The Laws of Cosmic Silence!” The Netherworld King’s eyes flashed.
The man in sapphire didn’t have a particularly impressive cultivation base, but he controlled the supreme power of the Church of the River of Stars. It was like a taboo, and it wasn’t any weaker than the Laws of Heavenly Prayer!
Meanwhile, Su Yi sensed the distinctive, mysterious power of this Grand Dao Law.
It was different from the calamitous power of the Laws of Heavenly Prayer. Instead, it was full of an incinerating force. When unleashed, it seemed capable of setting the starry skies ablaze. Its starlight burned like fire, and it was incomparably terrifying.
“Since you dared to attack me, leave your life behind.” The man in sapphire remained seated, and as he spoke, he flicked his fingers.
Kcch!
A streak of blazing starlight exploded into being, transforming into an arc a little over a foot long which shot toward Su Yi.
A terrifying, incinerating power filled the air.
Everyone sensed that although this attack seemed airy and casual, it was like the collapse of a stretch of starry sky. Countless stars caught fire and fell down to earth, and it seemed they’d incinerate everything in their wake!
This power made the onlookers’ hair stand on end.
But Su Yi remained as calm as ever. He raised the Immortal-Beating Mallet and tapped the air.
Then, something unexpected happened——
As terrifying and taboo as that arc of light seemed, this time, it shattered beneath the Immortal-Beating Mallet, exploding inch by inch like paper mache.
Ye Luo and the old man in Confucian robes felt their spirits soar, while the Netherworld King’s heart shook. She suddenly realized that the mysterious power under Su Yi’s control couldn’t just counter the Laws of Heavenly Prayer; it could counter the Laws of Cosmic Silence too!
Despite herself, she gasped.
She was far too keenly aware of what this meant.
Were they to learn of this, neither the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion nor the Archbishop of the Church of the River of Stars would be able to sit still!
Because the mysterious power Su Yi controlled was enough to threaten the very foundations of their respective factions!
“You…” The man in sapphire was stunned too. He shot to his feet, his eyes blazing with divine radiance, like a blazing divine lamp. It was an imposing sight.
“You can neutralize my power!?” The man in sapphire had an imposing presence, and he was surrounded by blazing starlight.
Su Yi said nothing. He simply waved his mallet as he would a sword and attacked.
His clothing billowed, and his long hair fluttered around him. His expression didn’t show even the slightest trace of emotion, but his tall, upright figure burst with austere murderous intent.
Clang!
The man in sapphire waved his Dao Sword, and the skewered meat flew into the air.
Then, he poured his power into his weapon and charged.
Boom!
His Dao Sword arced like a celestial rainbow or a beam of flowing light. Dazzling, radiant firelight shot forth. It was like the descent of the god of fire.
Clang!!
An explosive impact shook both heaven and earth.
Amidst a burst of divine radiance, the man in sapphire was sent flying back. He slammed into the distant wall, shaking the entire building.
Su Yi’s companions’ eyes widened. They almost dared not believe their eyes.
The Laws of the Grand Dao the man in sapphire controlled were terrifying, so terrifying that even Profound Serenity Emperors like them sensed an enormous threat.
Yet now, Su Yi had sent him flying with a single slash!
“Just as I thought. Su Xuanjun’s power can counter the Laws of Cosmic Silence too. That means that anyone from the Church of the River of Stars will lose the very thing they rely on most against him. Without this power, all that guy has left is his early-stage Profound Serenity cultivation. How could he possibly be a match for Su Xuanjun?” muttered the Netherworld King, her eyes shining with strange light.
“How is this possible!?” The man in sapphire crawled to his feet, his expression shifting dramatically, as if he found this difficult to accept. There was no sign of his initial calm or aloof pride. Instead, alarm and bewilderment were written all over his face.
Before he could give the matter any further thought, Su Yi attacked once more.
It was then that the man in sapphire finally realized how terrifying this early-stage Profound Illumination Realm young man was.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of muffled impacts rang out. With every swing of the Immortal-Beating Mallet, the man in sapphire was sent flying. No matter how hard he struggled, it was to no avail.
In just a few blinks of the eye, his head was bleeding, his flesh was torn open, and he was shrieking like a pig being slaughtered. All over his body, countless bones had snapped, and fresh blood poured from the corners of his lips.
He was completely frantic with alarm and anger. He now fully realized that this wasn’t looking good, and he planned to run away.
But this was Yama’s Palace, and it only had one entrance and exit. No matter how hard he tried to break past Su Yi, every attempt ended the same way—with a mallet slamming ruthlessly into him. He was already a bedraggled mess, and his shouts shook the heavens.
He cut such a sorry figure that even the Netherworld King and the others felt a bit sorry for him. Who could fail to realize that Su Yi was deliberately torturing his opponent to vent his fury?
Otherwise, he would have long since killed him!
“Stop hitting me, I admit defeat! Also, that rooster isn’t dead!!” Finally, the man in the lotus crown couldn’t take it anymore. He shrieked hysterically, as if begging for his life.
Su Yi instantly stopped in his tracks.
Bang!
The mallet came slamming down once more, and the resulting injuries left the man in sapphire staggering. He fell into a kneeling position, and his head slammed into the floor with such force that he saw stars.
His wounds were far too heavy, and his body was like a meaty pulp. After he fell, he couldn’t get back up.
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