Chapter 1766 - We’d Rather Die

There was no doubt about it.

After the curtains fell on the Battle of Eternal Night, Wang Ye underwent reincarnation and rebirth. In the years that followed, his powerful enemies sought reprisal against the factions subordinate to him, one after another!

Some of the factions connected to Wang Ye had even been “cleansed!”

After all, all of his enemy factions had powerful experts behind them: the Church of the Pure One had the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign, the Church of Supreme Oneness had Jiang Tai’e, the Church of Divine Flame had Nan Pingtian, and Jade Firmament Immortal Palace had Chu Shentong...

Su Yi’s analysis of the situation was most likely on the mark. He understood his enemies’ dispositions. Given the opportunity to get even with the factions connected to him, there was no way they’d be polite.

After all, they were undoubtedly worried that Wang Ye’s old allies would join forces to avenge their fallen Sovereign!

Ultimately, the problem was that although Wang Ye underwent reincarnation, his enemies didn’t let up! In the long years that followed, every faction once subordinate to him, and everyone once connected to him, became the target of his enemies’ retribution!

Learning these truths and guessing the reasons behind them filled Su Yi’s heart with irrepressible murderous intent.

But Su Yi knew that this was not the right time to seek revenge against his enemies, for the simple reason that his current cultivation was pathetically paltry compared to people like Jiang Tai’e and Blood Firmament!

He couldn’t cut down all his enemies in one go, either.

It had been just over two years since Su Yi ascended into the Immortal Realm, but he’d already blazed through the Universe and Void Realms to reach the Saint Realm. The rate of his progress would have been astonishing in any era!

And his strength was already enough to kill any Immortal King of the present day!

Given just a little more time, he’d be able to re-establish his position atop the Immortal Realm and slaughter the enemies he failed to root out in his past life! He’d sweep across the nine heavens and the ten earths!

Su Yi took a deep breath.

There’s no rush. Given my strength, even fake Greats like Shen Shang are no match for me. I’ll be able to duke it out with Great Martial Stage old-timers before I even become an Immortal King!

Little daily efforts accrued over time. None of it went to waste!

With his abilities, if he wholeheartedly pursued faster progress, it wouldn’t be long at all before he returned to the Great Realm!

But that wasn’t what Su Yi wanted.

He’d reincarnated numerous times, experiencing lives as Wang Ye, Shen Mu, the Temple Master, and Su Xuanjun. He knew exactly what he wanted and what he was looking for!

He had to surpass all of his past lives at every stage of his cultivation and seek greater, higher breakthroughs in the Dao of the Sword.

Wang Ye’s old “unparalleled enemies” were at most stumbling blocks he’d encounter along the way.

And one day, he’d achieve divinity and massacre not just the puppets, but their puppeteers. The blood of gods would flow!!

Su Yi hadn’t forgotten how the gods had tried to impede his progress and destroy him over the years, and he certainly hadn’t forgotten that two of his past lives had died at their hands!

I have to focus on the long term. I ought to seek greater heights of the Dao of the Sword. Any enemies I encounter along the way will ultimately be crushed beneath my feet, mere stepping stones as I prove my Dao!

......

“Wait here, you two.” Su Yi cast aside his scattered thoughts, glanced at Qi Fufeng and the Zhuyou Great Peng, and walked into the forbidden ground on the back mountain.

While interrogating Lei Yunting, Shen Shang, and the others, he learned an unexpected secret.

During the Age of Fallen Immortals, many of Endless Swords Immortal Sects’ top experts had refused to submit to the Church of the Pure One, but they hadn’t been killed.

Instead, Shen Shang had imprisoned them on the back mountain!

This wasn’t because he was soft-hearted, but because he’d always hoped to convince the old-timers to submit and serve him.

To this end, he’d employed all manner of methods, torturing them for years to whittle away their will and spirit!

The combination of captivity and torment had broken many of them. They eventually chose to submit and obey Shen Shang’s orders.

Of the nineteen Immortal Kings who’d died beneath Su Yi’s sword, six were Shen Shang’s former prisoners who’d chosen to submit after years of torment.

Some of the old-timers had refused to submit, but their life force had flowed away and dissipated after years of captivity and torment.

Only three old-timers remained alive and in captivity.

...

Su Yi soon reached a dimly lit prison in the forbidden ground on the sect’s back mountain. Three bronze tripod cauldrons stood there, each covered in the mysterious power of a formation.

When Su Yi arrived, a weak, raspy, aged voice resounded from inside one of the tripod cauldrons.

“Shen Shang, did someone provoke you again? Have you come back to vent your anger on us?”

The voice was tinged with mockery.

Icy laughter resounded from another cauldron. “The traitor has accumulated a bellyful of pent-up resentment ever since his breakthrough into the Great Realm went wrong. Heh... he deserved it!”

A cold, clear, female voice resounded from the third cauldron. “That’s what happens to traitors!”

Even just hearing their voices, Su Yi could sense their hatred and resentment; it practically smacked him right in the face.

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi said, “Shen Shang is dead.”

The three voices sank into silence. They seemed astonished.

A little while later, that raspy, aged voice rang out once more, “Truly?”

“That I was able to come here should be proof enough of his death,” said Su Yi.

Suddenly, a burst of excited, uproarious laughter filled the dungeons. “Hahaha! The heavens have eyes! That traitor finally got what was coming to him!”

“Shen Shang is really dead?”

“Who are you? Are you perhaps the one who killed him?”

All three of them were talking all over each other. It was completely chaotic.

From this, it was obvious how excited the three Endless Swords Immortal Sect experts imprisoned within the cauldrons were.

Without any further delays, Su Yi waved his sleeve, and the power of the formations covering the cauldrons disappeared.

Three bloody figures emerged from the bronze tripod cauldrons: two men and one woman.

The first was an old man with disheveled, scraggly hair. He was so thin that he looked like mere skin and bones, and his entire body was covered in wounds.

The next was a gaunt man with skin so pale, it was almost translucent.

The third was a woman with long white hair. Her clothes were tattered and covered in dried blood, her breathing was shallow. Her vital energy showed signs of collapse and disarray.

Just like the old man, the gaunt man and the white-haired woman were completely covered in wounds. Their injuries were so severe it seemed that their life force might flow away at a moment’s notice!

But now, they’d finally escaped captivity within the cauldrons and seen the light of day once more. All three of them were excited!

Some time passed before they slowly calmed down and looked at Su Yi.

Su Yi flicked his fingers and tossed them each a bottle of medicine. “Treat your wounds first. I’ll tell you the full story.”

He then sprawled out in his wicker chair, took out a jug of wine, and recounted everything that had happened between sips.

......

Dusk descended over the central peak.

The Zhuyou Great Peng was preening its feathers when it suddenly raised its head and gazed into the distance.

A grand and imposing army of cultivators was headed their way. These were the experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect!

They ranged from elders and deacons to inner and outer sect disciples.

Qi Fufeng’s pupils constricted, and he was instantly on guard.

The Zhuyou Great Peng said slowly, “No need to be nervous. Not one of them is an Immortal King. I could send them all flying with a single flap of my wings.”

The bird was a late-stage Immortal King, and it indeed had the strength to back up its words.

Qi Fufeng felt considerably calmer. He said in a low voice, “Senior, since the Sovereign chose not to lay hands on these people, it’d be best to wait until we’ve fully grasped the situation. It won’t be too late to take action then.”

The Zhuyou Great Peng nodded. “Very well.”

The experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect stopped before the central peak, their vast army numbering over ten thousand!

Rage and determination was written all over their faces.

Their leader was a man in plain cloth robes. His features were cold and firm, and his bearing was as heavy as iron.

“Are you here to cause trouble?” said the Zhuyou Great Peng with a cold glance at him.

The man in plain cloth robes was just a late-stage Immortal Lord, but against all expectations, he showed no sign of fear even in the face of a late-stage Immortal King’s imposing aura.

He said with staunch determination, “As disciples of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect, we’ve come to demand an explanation!”

The Zhuyou Great Peng asked, “What kind of explanation?”

The man in plain cloth robes said slowly and emphatically, “You people brutally murdered our seniors. How could we possibly remain bystanders?”

The Zhuyou Great Peng couldn’t help but find this amusing. “Don’t tell me you plan to attack me all by yourselves? How would you be any different from ants trying to shake a tree? You’d just be throwing your lives away!”

It waved its wing through the air. “Lead your people away. His Excellency chose to spare your lives, so you ought to cherish them.”

But the man in the plain cloth robes said coldly, “Our strength might be paltry, but none of us are cowards. If you won’t give us an explanation, we’d... rather die than leave!”

“We’d rather die!” the ten-thousand-plus experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect bellowed in unison, their impassioned, vehement voices shaking the clouds.

They weren’t afraid to die!

The Zhuyou Great Peng couldn’t help but find this hard to believe.

They obviously know they’re doomed. How could they be stupid enough to throw their lives away?

Is it really worth it?

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

But Qi Fufeng was moved. He could tell that the sword cultivators of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect really weren’t afraid to die!

Their eagerness to go valiantly to their deaths might have seemed laughable, but Qi Fufeng couldn’t bring himself to laugh. On the contrary, his heart felt inexplicably shaken.

What strength of character! And what spirit!

Even the Zhuyou Great Peng fell silent. It wasn’t unusual to meet an individual unafraid to die, but it was very unusual for a group of over ten thousand such people to gather in one place.

Suddenly, a gratified voice rang out. “You’d rather die? Good! That’s how a sword cultivator ought to be! That’s the strength of character and conviction the Endless Swords Immortal Sect has passed on for generations!”

Beneath the fiery light of dusk, Su Yi emerged from the forbidden ground on the back mountain, his tall, upright figure shrouded in a dreamlike, ethereal glow.

When they saw him return, the man in the plain cloth robes and the gathered Endless Swords Immortal Sect disciples all had strange looks on their faces.