Chapter 1845 - An Unexpected Cooperation

This battle was satisfying indeed. In a sense, this was a true clash of the Grand Dao.

Su Yi was in the mid-stage Miracle Realm, but he was strong enough to fight Great Unity Stage cultivators.

Luo Tiandu had suppressed his cultivation to the Great Martial Stage, and he too could fight Great Unity cultivators.

Neither of them used their treasures, nor did they borrow external power. That’s what made this battle seem so rare and precious. Thus, even though Su Yi was injured in the process, he found it thoroughly satisfying.

Of course, all of this was only possible because Luo Tiandu could really put up a fight.

Without any further delays, Su Yi picked up his jug of wine, turned, and left.

“Wait!” Luo Tiandu called out gravely.

“Want to keep going?” Su Yi stopped in place

Xi Ning’s starry eyes focused, and she said immediately, “Enough! Luo Tiandu, the victor is already clear. Don’t tell me you’re a sore loser?”

She knew that if the battle went on, Luo Tiandu would have to draw on his true cultivation base to turn things around. That would be bad for both him and Su Yi!

But Luo Tiandu just laughed bitterly and sighed. “Come on, A’Ning. Since when was I a sore loser?”

He looked at Su Yi, and his bitter smile vanished. “I have to admit that after witnessing your strength, I see you in a new light. Your spirit and bearing are extraordinary, too. However, none of that changes my determination to kill you!”

He paused, his gaze suddenly calm and heavy. “Next time we meet, one of us must die!”

His calm voice was tinged with incontrovertible force.

Xi Ning’s heart sank, and her brow furrowed.

Fan Zhui sighed to himself.

This was just how Luo Tiandu was. Direct and open, tyrannical and domineering. When he was determined to do something, nothing could change his mind!

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Su Yi laughed and said airily, “Then you’d best prepare to die.”

He rather admired Luo Tiandu, but since they were enemies, when the time came to determine life and death, he wouldn’t show mercy!

Luo Tindu smiled too, revealing his pearly white teeth. “Same goes for you.”

He then turned and walked over to Xi Ning and said with self-deprecation, “A’Ning, you’re perceptive indeed. You urged me to take back my overconfident words before the battle even began.”

He’d said he was going to teach Su Yi a lesson, but...

In the end, he was taught a lesson instead!

A’Ning said coldly, “Even after seeing you beaten into such a state, I don’t pity you in the slightest. On the contrary, I feel the urge to laugh.”

“....” Luo Tiandu shrugged in exasperation. “If you want to laugh, go right ahead. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve laughed at me.”

Xi Ning couldn’t be bothered with any of that. She pointed into the distance and said, “Go over there and tend to your wounds. I have something to say to Fellow Daoist Su. We can head to the Elephant Province together once I’m done.”

This wasn’t a negotiation. It was an order. She wasn’t at all polite, either.

But Luo Tiandu seemed gratified. “I was waiting for you to say that. Go ahead and chat, you too. I promise not to be an eyesore. I won’t eavesdrop, and I won’t ask questions, either.”

He glanced at Su Yi, waved, then turned and walked off without a word. Those who didn’t know better would have thought he was bidding an old friend farewell.

But both Xi Ning and Fan Zhui knew that the next time they met, a bloody, life-or-death battle was sure to unfold!

“Fellow Daoist Su.” Xi Ning hesitated, then walked up and said, “Although I’ve always rejected Luo Tiandu, I’ve known him for a long, long time, and when I was little, he was my friend in my pursuit of cultivation. He....”

She trailed off, but Su Yi already understood. “You don’t want to see us fight to the death, right?”

Xi Ning nodded. “That would be best. If you fight again, and if you have means of claiming a certain victory, please, show mercy. I’ll do whatever I can to prevent him from going after you, too.”

Su Yi smiled. “I say this from the heart: I don’t want him to die. If anything, it’d be better if he got even stronger.”

Xi Ning was stunned, then impressed, as she realized what Su Yi was getting at.

But Fan Zhui was still confused. “Why do you say that, Fellow Daoist Su?”

“I need worthy opponents. It doesn’t matter if they’re my enemies or not. The stronger he is, the happier I’ll be. If, one day, he manages to kill me, very well. It’ll just mean he was stronger than me. I won’t resent him for it,”

And indeed, this was how he really felt.

Fan Zhui’s eyes widened, and he stood there in a daze.

What kind of transcendent breadth of spirit does it take to say something like that?

Xi Ning’s eyes flashed. “In terms of courage and spirit, Luo Tiandu really ought to feel ashamed of himself in comparison to you, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh.

Shortly after, Xi Ning bade farewell and led Fan Zhui away.

Before she left, she gave Su Yi a talisman and said that if he needed her help, he could use it to contact her.

Su Yi watched Xi Ning and Fan Zhui disappear from view. Now, he stood there alone, drinking silently from a gourd of wine.

He still felt a lingering hint of confusion. Just what kind of karmic tie existed between him and Xi Ning? Were the mysteries surrounding her somehow connected to one of his past lives?

No matter what, objectively speaking, getting to know Xi Ning had given Su Yi an altogether different sensation. Xi Ning was, at times, as cold as ice, with an extraordinary, ethereal bearing. Visually, she was an extraordinary, unparalleled beauty, beautiful enough to make a man’s heart shake.

Most importantly, Su Yi felt at ease with her, and they had great tacit understanding. Sometimes, they didn’t even need to speak. A single glance, and they each understood exactly what the other had to say.

It was this tacit understanding that had left the deepest impression on Su Yi.

Perhaps this is what they mean when they speak of hearts linked as one,

laughed Su Yi.

He turned and was about to leave when he suddenly sensed something and gazed into the distance.

A delicate, sultry figure clad in a blue dress approached from the distant seas. It was Qing Wu!

She stopped in the distance, then said, "I'd like to work with you.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising. “Why?”

After all, at the Dragon Palace’s Ancestral Worship Hall, he and Xi Ning had forced Qing Wu to reveal her full strength, thereby suffering a backlash from the Laws. She was so resentful that Qing Xiao and Jin Zhuliu didn’t come to her aid in time that she went mad and attacked them both!

When she suddenly backstabbed her allies, she gave Su Yi and Xi Ning an opportunity. They used it to force Qing Xiao and Jin Zhuliu to reveal their true strengths too. Thus, the power of the Laws descended upon them, and karmic power invaded their bodies!

But Su Yi wouldn’t have guessed that Qing Wu would come looking with him, much less that she’d like to work together.

“I’ve already irrevocably offended Qing Xiao and Jin Zhuliu. The two of them hate me to the bone, and they’re sure to try to get even,” said Qing Wu.

After a moment’s silence, she added, “Just now, you survived against Divine Son Luo Tiandu. That proves how extraordinary your strength is.”

Su Yi suddenly recalled that Luo Tiandu had mentioned learning what had happened in the Dragon Palace from Qing Wu.

There was no doubt about it. Qing Wu knew that Luo Tiandu would go after him!

“Are you surprised that Luo Tiandu couldn’t kill me?” asked Su Yi.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” said Qing Wu. “I figured that he most likely wouldn’t kill you out of consideration for Xi Ning.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “And to what end do you wish to work with me?”

Qing Wu took a deep breath, then said solemnly, “Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, and the others are our common enemies. So long as you help me neutralize the karmic power plaguing me, I can help you take them down!”

Su Yi instantly understood what Qing Wu was after, but he smiled and shook his head. “I can handle them on my own. What need do I have for your assistance?”

Qing Wu was unquestionably a clever woman. She was using their “cooperation” as a guise to kill two birds with one stone.

If Su Yi agreed to work with her, she’d be free of the karmic power plaguing her, and she’d have no need to fear it impacting her chances at divinity.

Moreover, she’d be able to borrow his hands to stave off Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, and the others’ reprisal!

Qing Wu seemed to have anticipated that Su Yi wouldn’t agree lightly, and she didn’t miss a beat. “If you have any conditions, anything that’s within my power is on the table.”

Su Yi initially planned to refuse, but after a moment’s thought, he changed his mind. “First, help me find the Fuyou Boat. Once you’ve found it, I can consider cooperating with you.”

Qing Wu was a clever sort, so she instantly realized that Su Yi was testing her sincerity.

“Very well!” She agreed immediately. “How should I contact you once I’ve found it?”

Su Yi tossed her a talisman. “Shatter this, and I’ll come find you.”

Qing Wu accepted the talisman and said, “I’m looking forward to working together.”

With that, she turned to leave.

Su Yi watched her fade into the distance, then shook his head and returned to the ruins of the Dragon Palace.

He had no expectation that Qing Wu would be able to find the Fuyou Boat. He only said that to fob her off and stop her from pestering him.

Furthermore, he was on guard against her. He wasn’t

afraid

, per se; he just knew that deep within her bones, she was frenzied and insane. It hadn’t been long since she’d stabbed her enemies in the back, dragging Qing Xiao and Jin Zhuliu down with her.

If he cast aside all pretenses of cordiality with her, he knew she’d resort to extreme methods of getting even.

Su Yi wasn’t afraid of trouble, but if he could send trouble on its merry way, well, that was all the better.

Meanwhile, on board a lavish treasure ship—

Luo Tiandu stood off to the side and smiled as he admired Xi Ning’s gorgeous profile. He felt thoroughly relaxed and joyful.

This was just how he was. Even though Xi Ning regularly rebuffed and insulted him without the slightest politeness, he relished in it.

“Are you listening to anything I’m saying?” said Xi Ning, her eyes icy as she glanced at Luo Tiandu in displeasure.

Luo Tiandu hurriedly plastered a solemn look on his face. “I heard every word, and I didn’t just hear them with my ears; I listened with my heart, too! Relax, A’Ning! Next time I see Su Yi, so long as he offers up the secrets of reincarnation, I promise not to strike the killing blow!”

Xi Ning frowned and was just about to say something when Luo Tiandu lowered his voice and changed the subject. “A’Ning, earlier, I heard that the Angler’s last, and favorite, disciple has come to the Immortal Realm too.”

Xi Ning froze, and her eyes suddenly erupted with irrepressible murderous intent.