First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2933 - An Invitation to a Trap

Next, Su Yi recalled the stele that the Malevolent Sword Venerate had left in the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House. It was inscribed with the words, “Judge my faults and merits as you will. I have a clean conscience.”

Assuming all of this was true, Su Yi’s impression of the Malevolent Sword Venerate had improved considerably.

However, if the Malevolent Sword Venerate was still alive, Su Yi would still kill him without hesitation. He dared say with certainty that the Malevolent Sword Venerate wouldn’t show him mercy, either.

His impression of his second incarnation’s heart devil had improved, but that just meant that he no longer viewed him with disdain.

“Might I be so bold as to request your honorable name and surname?” Heavenly Monarch Shui Ni asked tentatively. She was following Su Yi at a respectful distance, neither daring to stray off nor to get too close.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Su Yi said casually. He had no intention of maintaining a low profile now that he’d returned to the Eternal Heavens Domain. There simply wasn’t any need for it.

He’d come to the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, in part to investigate its destruction, and in part to tell the world that although Jiang Wuchen and the Malevolent Sword Venerate were dead, the Heart-Tempering Sword House still had him!

Anyone who dared to hunt down the survivors would first have to weigh the consequences of Su Yi’s wrath!

......

The ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

The ruins covered thousands of miles. Everything lay in ruin. The ground was strewn with rubble, broken walls, and shattered tiles.

Night was setting in, illuminating the devastated landscape with the blood-red light of dusk. It was a beautiful yet desolate scene.

In stark contrast, the ruins were crowded and full of life. There were cultivators all over the place, like a dense swarm of locusts scouring the ruins. They dug up every last inch of ground in search of treasure, leaving no stone unturned.

This was, after all, the former site of the greatest Heavenly Monarch faction in the Eternal Heavens Domain. It was also one of the most blessed grounds for cultivation in the entire Divine Wandering Continent.

The ruins were now ownerless. Countless treasure-seekers saw them as “fertile ground.”

“A fragment of a Heavenly Monarch’s magic treasure!” someone cried out excitedly as he pulled a damaged copper bell from beneath a collapsed wall, drawing numerous gazes.

Experts of major factions immediately approached to ask if they could buy it. They offered a high price, too.

Others watched with red-eyed jealousy, then resumed the treasure hunt with renewed intensity. They wanted nothing more than to overturn every last inch of soil.

But the ruins were enormous and spread over thousands of miles. The ruins also included numerous damaged grottos and hidden realms.

That aside, numerous formations remained in the ruins. All of them represented hidden, potentially lethal danger. There was no telling how many treasure hunters had died of late.

But the treasures far outnumbered the dangers!

There were fragments of treasures, divine medicines, legacies and tomes, spirit veins, and deposits of divine jades.

This was, after all, a peak Heavenly Monarch faction. Every tree and blade of grass had its own unique qualities, and even the bricks and tiles were made of rare divine materials and covered with secret seals.

Even destroyed and reduced to fragments, there was a lot left to pick through, and a seemingly endless array of treasures just waiting to be found.

The luckiest among them even found complete treasures or bottles of rare pills.

“Fuck! The big factions have already scoured the place and taken all of the good stuff. No matter how bitterly we search, all we’ll find are a bunch of broken dregs,” someone grumbled.

They’d all heard that a group of experts from top factions had rushed in immediately after the sect’s destruction and taken the best stuff for themselves.

“It’s fine. We’re rogue cultivators; this might be a feast, but we can forget about getting any of the meat. A few mouthfuls of soup is pretty good, too!”

“And it’s not like there aren’t any good treasures left. Just two days ago, someone found a battered command token, remember? And it turned out to be a prominent expert’s storage treasure. It contained all of the wealth he’d accumulated over the course of his life!”

Conversations were underway throughout the ruins.

Meanwhile, a group of Limitless Palace experts had gathered atop a distant hill. The leader was dressed in golden robes, and he sat imposingly on a golden throne, eyes flashing like cold lightning.

This was Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang, an elder of Limitless Palace. He was accompanied by around a dozen of his sectmates, all of them Eternals.

Other experts of Limitless Palace were stationed around the ruins, over a hundred people in total.

Limitless Palace had set a rule following the Heart-Tempering Sword House’s destruction—anyone was welcome to hunt for treasures in the ruins, but Limitless Palace got to examine everything they found. If they took a fancy to it, they’d buy it at a high price. If they didn’t, the finder was free to claim it.

The experts of Limitless Palace also maintained order in the ruins, ensuring that no one dared cause trouble.

It was because of these rules that so many people had come to the ruins to test their luck. After all, Limitless Palace was the continent’s only Heavenly Sovereign faction. They were akin to its rulers.

Who would dare to disobey their rules?

As the leader of this group, Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang had been overseeing things here for days.

“Master, I still don’t understand. Why not just seal the place off completely? Why not have our own people scour the ruins?” a silver-robed man couldn’t help but ask.

This was Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang’s beloved disciple. His title was Qian Yu, and he’d arrived at the ruins just yesterday.

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang smiled. “Why not see if you can figure it out?”

Qian Yu’s brow furrowed. “Is it because others will criticize us harshly if we try to monopolize the ruins’ good fortune?”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang shook his head. “That’s just part of it.”

Qian Yu blinked, then sank into thought. “Is it because the other Heavenly Sovereign factions want in on the spoils?”

He knew that the experts of two other Heavenly Sovereign factions had gathered near the ruins. The Court of the Southern Heavens had occupied the northwest corner, while Sevendeaths Court was stationed in the southeast.

Of late, both factions had sent their experts into the ruins in search of treasure on numerous occasions.

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang shook his head once more. “That’s not it, either. Try again.”

Qian Yu laughed bitterly. “Master, don’t keep me in suspense. I can tell that things aren’t as simple as they appear, but there’s no way I’ll figure it out just guessing at random.”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang laughed. “In truth, it’s rather simple. We’re inviting our prey into a trap.”

Qian Yu suddenly realized something. “Are we perhaps watching over the ruins to capture the surviving members of the Heart-Tempering Sword House?”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang smiled. “You’re not so stupid after all.”

Qian Yu couldn’t help but say, “But their main base has been destroyed, and when a tree falls, its monkeys scatter. What good will capturing the survivors do us?”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang’s gaze was rife with meaning. “It’s true that their lives and deaths mean little, but they have a treasure so precious that no Heavenly Sovereign faction will be able to remain seated until it’s found. That’s what we’re really after!”

Qian Yu’s heart shook. He finally understood. We left the ruins unsealed deliberately to create an opening. We wanted the survivors of the Heart-Tempering Sword House to hope they could sneak in unnoticed. The higher-ups figure that they won’t be able to resist coming back! After all, this is their sect’s ancestral grounds, the place they’ve been cultivating all this time. Now, it’s been reduced to rubble. Of course its disciples want to come back to see it!

This is called inviting our enemies into a trap! As for the regular treasures scattered across the ruins? They don’t matter at all. Limitless Palace has no need for such things!

Qian Yu pondered briefly, then asked, “Master, have any of the survivors shown up?”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang nodded. “A few, but they’ve been nothing but small fries. We looked the other way to avoid alerting our true prey.”

Qian Yu furrowed his brow. “But what if the higher-ups realize it’s a trap and stay away?”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang smiled and said with conviction. “Relax. They’re sure to send people here!”

He’d only just said this when he suddenly looked up. A bright red bird was shooting toward him.

It landed in front of him, then said, “Your Excellency, my master sent me to deliver a message. Mountain Lord Wen Feng and Vice Mountain Lord Fei Qiu of the Heart-Tempering Sword House will soon reach the ruins!”

Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang’s eyes lit up. He straightened in place, then laughed. “See? The fish took the bait, didn’t they?”

He then said to the bird, “Go back and tell your master that I’ll act in accordance with our plans!”

“Understood!” The vicious bird beat its wings, then soared off.

“So long as we capture those two fish, I’m certain we can figure out where the rest of the survivors are hiding!” Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang rose, his face full of eagerness.

No one knew it, but Limitless Palace had long since joined forces with Sevendeaths Court and the Court of the Southern Heavens to set a trap in the ruins.

Their goal was to draw their prey into their trap. Now, the time had come to close the net!

Meanwhile, a group of experts from the Court of the Southern Heavens was stationed in the southeastern corner of the ruins. Their leader was a white-haired old woman.

She was the one who’d accompanied Lian Yue on the expedition into the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone. She’d participated in the trap targeting Su Yi, too.

Old Yao Kun Peng, Fu Yong, and Bi Yunzi died in battle. Granny Snake was the only one of the participating Heavenly Monarchs who’d escaped alive.

Lian Yue was there, too. She stood beside Granny Snake, dressed in white, as beautiful and ethereal as the moon shining overhead.

“Granny, why haven’t Qiong Ye and the other elders returned?” Lian Yue couldn’t help but ask.

Earlier, Granny Snake mentioned that someone was tailing Elder Xiu Hu. Elders Qiong Ye and Shui Ni had left to help.

“Don’t worry. Unless a Heavenly Sovereign shows up, it’d be hard for Heavenly Monarchs like them to die even if they wanted to,” said Granny Snake. She had a benevolent smile, and her tone revealed her deep-seated confidence.

Lian Yue pointed at the sky. “Granny, do you need me to use the Moon Palace Mirror to check up on Elder Xiu Hu again?”