Chapter 1608 - The Gravedigger

Tang Lingqi and the others couldn’t help but break out in cold sweats.

All of them saw it clearly. As soon as Su Yi spoke, the nine terrifying figures raced to attack Ying Jue. In the end, it was the kindly old monk on the lotus platform who managed to take Ying Jue’s head.

Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

But from Su Yi’s perspective, this was a perfectly logical conclusion.

The Nine Kings Heaven-Sealing Formation was the joint effort of these nine Immortal King-level Teaching Elders. Every bronze statue was emblazoned with the Grand Dao source power of an Immortal King. When the Immortal Kings finished their part, Wang Ye personally laid the foundations of this formation, making it one of the three great formations of the Academy of Eternal Night.

If not for the passage of countless years taking its toll, the formation would have been enough to doom even Immortal Kings!

“Step back, all of you.” Su Yi sighed. Ultimately, this was just a damaged formation on the verge of falling apart. Those nine statues weren’t really his old friends, and Su Yi thus wasn’t at all delighted to see them.

The nine terrifying figures turned, inclined their heads in greeting to Su Yi, then transformed into a rain of light and disappeared.

Su Yi put away the black jade pendant and led the group ahead.

Along the way, emotions coursed through the group’s hearts. Many of them started to speak, but hesitated. The abilities Su Yi displayed earlier were simply unbelievable. Even the Immortal Lords couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

By now, who could fail to realize that this Universe Realm young man’s origins were far more mysterious than they’d realized?

Tang Bao’er was the only one who couldn’t restrain her curiosity. “Hey, are you perhaps the descendant of one of the Academy of Eternal Night’s experts?”

The crowd’s hearts shook.

Right, if he is, then everything makes sense! If he wasn’t extremely close to someone in the Academy of Eternal Night, how could he seize control of the Nine Kings Heaven-Sealing Formation so easily?

Su Yi was briefly stunned. A moment later, he shook his head. “No, I’m not.”

He didn’t explain. Tang Bao’er wanted to ask more questions, but Tang Lingqi stopped her. Everyone had their secrets. This was a matter of privacy; how could she pry casually?

When they reached White Bone Swamp, Su Yi stopped and said, “Everyone, you can take it from here.”

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Su!” Tang Lingqi bowed.

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Su!” The others followed suit.

But Tang Bao’er was a bit reluctant to part with him. “Will we meet again?”

Su Yi laughed. “Let’s leave it up to fate.”

Tang Bao’er blinked her beautiful almond-shaped eyes and giggled. “I don’t believe in fate, but I’m convinced we’ll meet again!”

Before long, Tang Lingqi led the group hastily away.

Su Yi watched them leave before beginning the journey back to the Academy of Eternal Night. Now that he was alone, he actually felt much more relaxed. Despite the lightning churning overhead and the curtain of darkness, he felt as if he were out for a casual stroll.

Cloudscrape Peak.

An ancient palace stood alone on the thundercloud-enveloped mountaintop.

The palace walls were badly damaged, and the signboard had long since been lost. Death qi permeated the air.

This was the Palace of Scriptures, one of the forbidden zones of the Academy of Eternal Night. It gathered close to ninety thousand canons and scriptures Wang Ye had gathered from all across the Immortal Realm. At its peak, immortal cultivators saw it as one of the four greatest scripture repositories beneath the heavens!

Su Yi only paused briefly before the gateway before walking confidently inside.

The interior was dark and empty. Everywhere he looked, he saw rotten, overturned chairs, tables, and bookcases. Everything was covered in dust.

“Even the nine hidden realms have vanished...” Su Yi whispered. He looked a bit dazed.

Long ago, the Palace of Scriptures had contained its own independent world. Wang Ye had created nine hidden realms, each full of different canons and ancient tomes.

All nine hidden realms had long since vanished from the Palace of Scriptures. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but destroyed furniture. There were no ancient tomes to be found.

But then, Su Yi hadn’t come here in search of ancient tomes.

He looked up at the ceiling. There were forty-nine intercrossing beams, each made of thick bronze pillars shaped like coiled azure dragons.

Whoosh!

Su Yi rose into the air and soared to the southeast corner of the ceiling.

Su Yi examined the dragon-shaped pillar’s head then stretched out his hand and pressed on the space between its eyes.

Weng!

The faint energy fluctuation of a formation rippled outward, starting from the dragon’s forehead.

The dragon’s head transformed, revealing a foot-long indentation. Inside was a simple black jade box.

Su Yi sighed in relief.

Fortunately, it’s still here!

The black jade box was refined from extremely rare Great Realm-level Divine Mysteries Jade, and it was emblazoned with unique, naturally formed secret markings.

Unless someone could discern the markings’ mysteries, even experts of the Great Realm could forget about opening the jade box.

Wang Ye had hidden the box here long ago, when he first built the Palace of Scriptures.

And the jade box held a key!

Immortal light erupted from Su Yi’s fingertips, and he started outlining something on top of the box.

Kcch! Kcch!

The streak of immortal light circulated, and a mysterious diagram floated over the box.

Crunch!

The sound of a breaking lock rang out.

Su Yi stretched out his hand and grabbed, removing the box from the cavity in the pillar.

Suddenly, a streak of sinister, snow-white sword qi exploded into being, glinting with sharp light. It was headed right for Su Yi’s back.

That sword qi was tyrannical beyond measure. It completely sealed the air around Su Yi; he was like a fish trapped in an icy river, completely frozen in place.

All of it happened too quickly, and it was over in a flash.

Whoever attacked was extraordinarily, terrifyingly strong. One strike, and he sealed space and aimed for Su Yi’s back. He’d hidden himself deeply, and he was wondrously accurate—and ruthless.

But just as that streak of sword qi was about to piece Su Yi’s back...

Boom!

The surrounding air shattered like glass, then swept outward.

That explosive power stopped the incoming streak of sword qi in place. Meanwhile, Su Yi whipped around and caught it between his thumb and pointer finger.

Bang!

The sword qi split down the midline, shattered into a rain of light, and disappeared.

“I found you.” Su Yi gazed at one of the hall’s corners, his eyes flashing like torches.

Suddenly, he vanished into thin air.

At the same time, a streak of white light appeared in the corner. It suddenly bore through the air, and was just about to disappear when the surrounding space started to boil. Spatial power burst forth like a volcanic eruption and bore down on that streak of white light.

“Break!”

A low shout rang out, and the white light transformed into a decrepit old man in black robes. He suddenly raised his hand and chopped.

His palm was like a saber cleaving mountains and parting seas. It was full of the utterly terrifying power of an Immortal Lord. In the blink of an eye, it tore a rift through the dense layers of spatial power.

But before the old man could sigh in relief, he saw a fist tearing through the air.

What kind of fist was it?

It was crude and natural, without the slightest flourish, but it was like the hand of a god descending from the heavens. It shattered and crushed everything in its path!

Its force alone was enough to shake the decrepit old man’s heart. His hair stood on end, and he almost couldn’t breathe.

This is bad!

The old man’s heart filled with terror. His hair and beard bristled as he struck with all his might.

He stretched out his hands as if holding the sun aloft, then pushed, pouring the full extent of his cultivation base into a single attack; he’d decided to risk it all.

From a distance, he looked like a raging barbarian god holding the blazing sun aloft before pushing it into his foe.

But in the face of Su Yi’s fist, all of his efforts were doomed to come to no avail.

Bang!!!

A startling impact rang out.

Su Yi’s simple, unsophisticated punch slammed into the miniature blazing sun.

A rain of light swept outward with unstoppable force, tearing through the old man’s defenses and slamming into his chest.

Boom!

The decrepit old man was sent flying backward. He slammed into the wall. Throughout his body, bones snapped, and he bled from the seven apertures of his face.

He then fell limply to the ground, injured to the brink of death!

That fist was too powerful and tyrannical for words. The impact left a bloody hole in the old man’s chest, and even his vital energy had shattered and dispersed!

Meanwhile, Su Yi floated down and landed before the old man.

“You... how did you discover me?” A stream of blood poured from the decrepit old man’s mouth as he looked upon the blue-robed young man with dread. He’d hidden himself in the corner earlier, using a secret art to hide his presence. Not even Immortal Kings should have been able to detect him.

But it was as if this young man had precognition. Somehow, he’d found him! Furthermore, Su Yi’s strength was far too heaven-defying. He avoided the old man’s long-accumulated killing strike with ease, and he even turned around and trounced him in a single punch. He’d practically crippled the old man’s cultivation.

This was unquestionably far too terrifying.

“The Church of Divine Flame’s Hidden Mirage Incantation is one of the best techniques for hiding one’s presence in the Immortal Realm. Alas, to me, it isn’t even worth mentioning,” said Su Yi.

Suddenly, he raised his foot and stomped on the old man’s left hand.

Crunch!

The bones shattered, and the flesh was reduced to a meaty pulp.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

When Su Yi raised his foot, he saw a coin-sized blood-red talisman between the old man’s fingers.

Su Yi stretched out his hand, and the talisman flew into his palm. “Another Blood River Divine Funeral Talisman? It seems that your Church of Divine Flame hasn’t improved at all despite the passage of countless years. You’re still up to these unsightly, despicable tricks.”

Disdain was written all over Su Yi’s face.

The Blood River Divine Funeral Talisman was an insidious Immortal King-level talisman. When used, it unleashed an incomparably potent, poisonous blood-red baleful fog.

The slightest contamination could instantly reduce anyone beneath the Immortal King Realm to a puddle of pus, destroying them body and soul!

If Su Yi hadn’t crushed the decrepit man’s left hand in the nick of time, he would surely have activated this cruel and insidious talisman.

“Just... who are you?” The decrepit old man was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Disbelief was written all over his face.

A young man like Su Yi had seen through him completely. Every time the old man attacked, Su Yi was one step ahead of him.

“Me?” Su Yi thought for a moment, then said solemnly, “I’m the one who’ll dig the Church of Divine Flame’s grave, and one day, I’ll be sure to give your founder a glorious funeral.”