Chapter 1006 - A Convincing Defeat

After a long silence, the man in the conical hat said, “The Temple Master.”

It was just a few syllables, yet they seemed as heavy as a primordial divine mountain!

After speaking this title out loud, the man in the conical hat exhaled as if to calm his emotions, then added, “He’s the master of the Temple of the Human Realm.”

The Temple of the Human Realm!

The Temple Master!

The man in the conical hat’s strange expression and inadvertently revealed emotions were enough to tell Su Yi that this Temple of the Human Realm had terrifying prestige.

Otherwise, someone as unfathomably mighty as the man in the conical hat wouldn’t have behaved so strangely while discussing them.

This didn’t seem in line with his former calm, mellow demeanor.

Furthermore, Su Yi had already seen how extraordinary the Sword of the Human Realm was.

The man in the conical had said that the Temple Master’s sword, the Human Realm, had destroyed half a lifetime’s worth of cultivation and all his hard work. That was surely no lie.

From this, Su Yi could imagine how strong the Temple Master was!

The Temple Master? The Netherworld King was a bit confused.

She was from the far reaches of the starry skies, and she was the Seventh Warden of the Nine Heavens Pavilion. She had a lofty position, wielded vast authority, and she had a mighty cultivation base. Nonetheless, this was her first time hearing of the Temple of the Human Realm, or of its Temple Master.

In truth, she’d remained silent since the man in the conical hat and Su Yi began their conversation.

She couldn’t understand it. When had an unfathomable, terrifying expert like this appeared in the Celestial Palace of the Church of the River of Stars? It seemed obviously out of the ordinary.

The Sacred Emissaries of the Solar, Lunar, and Celestial Palaces of the Church of the River of Stars had statuses comparable to the three Heavenly Libationers of the Nine Heavens Pavilion.

But during the Netherworld King’s interactions with the First Heavenly Libationer, she hadn’t been as fearful or uneasy as she was facing the man in the conical hat now!

This made her increasingly aware that his rank in the Church of the River of Stars wasn’t simply that of “Sacred Emissary!”

“Never mind that. I’ve been waiting for years. Now, you’re finally here. Let’s get down to business.” The man in the conical hat’s mellow smile returned as his expression went back to normal.

However, the atmosphere silently turned tense and oppressive.

Su Yi said, “There’s naturally no reason we can’t get down to business, but first, I want to know whether Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer and Cui Longxiang are alive or dead.”

The man in the conical hat furrowed his brow and sighed. “That’s a bit troublesome.”

Su Yi’s heart sank. “Did you kill them?”

The man in the conical hat waved, then pointed to the black ship floating on the Reincarnation Pool. “Just watch. Then you’ll know.”

As he raised his hand and pointed, the ship quivered slightly. Misty light surged forth, and a curtain of light hovered in midair.

The scenery at the bottom of the Reincarnation Pool.

An old man in a dark hat lay suppressed beneath the black ship. His hair and beard were disheveled, and his eyes were wide with fury. The veins bulged on his forehead.

His flesh was in tatters, with wounds all over his skin, but he still supported the bottom of the ship with both hands. Much of the flesh of his arms had long since burst, and many of his wounds were so deep that his bones were visible.

Bloody and brutal!

Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer!

Su Yi’s heart clenched.

The old-timer had obviously been trapped here for a long time, and his injuries were severe, leaving him on the brink of death!

The Netherworld King keenly sensed that Su Yi’s tall, upright figure had stiffened slightly, while his expression was calm and flat as could be!

This was a sign that Su Yi was angry.

He’d reacted similarly toward his disciple, Huo Yao.

There was no doubt about it. Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer’s suffering had thoroughly enraged Su Yi!

“When I arrived, I asked him about the secrets of reincarnation, but he was unwilling to instruct me. I had no choice but to use various methods to keep him here.” The man in the conical hat sighed lightly and shook his head. “I truly don’t understand why he has to be so stubborn.”

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi asked, “What about Cui Longxiang?”

The man in the conical hat said, “I don’t know who that is, but I imagine he’s here too.”

With that, he raised his hand and tapped. The black ship floating on the lake lit up, displaying its interior.

The hundred-foot-long ship contained an independent world, like a vast stretch of sky. A boundless river of stars coursed through it.

Countless stars blazed within the river, bursting with radiant divine flames. It seemed that the entire river was glowing with immeasurable radiance, illuminating everything in all directions!

A massive prison formed out of blazing starlight floated in the center of the river. Numerous figures were imprisoned inside.

They included both men and women. Although all of them looked different, their expressions were the same: all of them had despair and terror written all over their faces.

An old man in ancient robes and a tall hat sat in a corner. His hair and beard were coarse and unkempt, and his eyes were shut as he sat there unmoving.

When Su Yi saw the old man, his pupils constricted. Cui Longxiang!

There was no doubt about it. This black ship was none other than the mysterious Netherworld Vessel that had thrown the entire Netherworld into uproar over the past decade!

And the River of Stars Prison confined all those experts who’d disappeared inexplicably in the Sea of Bitterness during that time!

“I’m ashamed to say this, but to draw your attention, I had no choice but to use my little ship’s power to cause a commotion outside. Only then could I make others aware of the new developments in the Mausoleum of the Gods," the man in the conical hat said with an air of self-deprecation. “Otherwise, I’d disdain resorting to such unseemly arrangements.”

Here, he looked at Su Yi. “Fortunately, you did show up in the end. All my years of waiting and planning haven’t gone to waste.”

The Netherworld King finally understood. The true purpose behind the Netherworld Vessel was to lure Su Yi here!

This thought made her feel quite conflicted.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

How lofty and contemptuous was the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force in days gone by?

Yet upon returning to the Sea of Bitterness post-rebirth, his legacy disciple Huo Yao used the old blind man and the old rooster to set a trap for him.

Who’d have thought that Huo Yao's schemes were only the beginning?

When they arrived at the Reincarnation Grounds, they suddenly realized that this was a trap that had been underway for years. Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer was a hostage, while the Netherworld Vessel was bait, all to lure Su Xuanjun over!

Su Yi had been plotted against by both his disciple and by an external foe. Both times, they hooked him like a fish, and he had no choice but to face one potentially lethal trial after another!

The Netherworld King had to admit that in his shoes, she would have long since lost her temper, cast aside her reservations, and started a massacre.

But against all expectations, Su Yi’s expression didn’t so much as ripple. “If you’ve already achieved your goal, can you let them go?”

The man in the conical hat shook his head. “They aren’t hostages, so I naturally won’t use them to make an exchange. Besides…”

He looked up with a faint smile, and his clear gaze locked onto Su Yi. “Do you really think I need to use their lives to force you to submit?”

He was dressed in plain cloth and straw sandals. He seemed as mellow as a spring breeze.

But when he said this, his entire body emanated deep-seated contempt and confidence.

The Netherworld King’s heart shook. She suddenly felt as if she weren’t facing a person, but rather, the boundless starry skies. They were enormous, deep, and vast beyond limit!

It was enough to make someone feel as insignificant as a speck of dust.

Su Yi silently narrowed his eyes. He sensed how terrifying the man in the conical hat was too.

But his tone was increasingly calm. “So you’re saying that you won’t let them go even if I give you what you want?”

The man in the conical hat nodded, then explained patiently, “Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer didn’t know what was good for him. It’s only right that I punish him. As for the others confined within the Cage of the River of Stars? They have only their own greed to blame. They brought their captivity upon themselves.”

He paused, then smiled, “Of course, you’re sure to think I’m being overly arbitrary and tyrannical, but that’s just your opinion. In my eyes, they… deserve this!”

Su Yi said directly, “Tell me, what did you set all of this up to achieve?”

The man in the conical hat said solemnly, “I need the true secrets of reincarnation and rebirth, not the scattered remnants of the natural order of reincarnation dispersed throughout this stretch of heaven and earth. You once opened the path of reincarnation within the Reincarnation Pool, and you’ve come back after achieving rebirth. I trust that you understand better than anyone just what it is that I want.”

The true secrets of reincarnation and rebirth?

The Netherworld King was briefly stunned, but a moment later, she started piecing things together.

Both the tombstone presiding over the City of the Wrongfully Dead and the Platform of Rebirth atop Immortal Gourd Mountain were emblazoned with some of the secrets of reincarnation.

But later, she learned from Su Yi that the secrets of reincarnation consisted of more than one Law.

Take the Laws of Rebirth atop the Platform of Rebirth, or the Reincarnation Pool’s Laws of Oblivion. Each only represented a portion of the Laws of Reincarnation.

They couldn’t represent reincarnation as a whole!

There was no doubt about it: the man in the conical hat wanted the secrets of reincarnation in their entirety!

Su Yi didn’t find this at all strange.

He rubbed his forehead. “Had I known this, there would have been no need for all these wasted words. All I have to do is kill you, and the problem will go away on its own.”

He then picked up the three-inch green-skinned gourd hanging from his waist and held it aloft.

“Kill me?” The man in the conical hat paused, then seemed to find this amusing. He laughed, “Here in the Celestial Ruin of the Dark and Gold Star Realm, your past incarnation might well have reigned supreme over the world. However, in my eyes, your past self was ultimately far too weak… never mind your current, far weaker incarnation.”

His words weren’t exactly disdainful. Rather, his tone and bearing contained a lofty air of superiority!

However, when he saw the three-inch gourd in Su Yi’s palm, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. “That treasure is quite something. It’s truly rare and precious. But very well. Since you insist on fighting, I’ll give you what you want, and I’ll make sure… that it’s a convincing defeat.”

Before his mellow voice had even finished echoing through the air.

Clang!

A boundless, ethereal sword hum burst forth.

The little green jade gourd in Su Yi’s palm exploded with clear, ethereal, misty green light. It illuminated everything around them, filling this entire stretch of heaven and earth with its radiance.

The Netherworld King felt a piercing pain in her eyes, and a chill pricked at her skin.

Boom!

Before she could react, a sudden explosion shook both heaven and earth.

Blazing starlight exploded just three feet away from Su Yi.

The surrounding space exploded too as a current of destructive power swept outward.

Off in the distance, the man in the conical hat exclaimed, “What a quick slash!”

As he spoke earlier, he’d exerted his will, and a streak of dazzling, blazing starlight had already silently enveloped Su Yi in an attempt to suppress him in one go.

Who’d have thought Su Yi would sense it immediately or break it in a single slash!?