Chapter 2415 - Three Steps

Demon Emperor Chi Nie gazed coldly at Su Yi, his brow tightly furrowed. He too had never anticipated that Su Yi would conclude so much from three seemingly trivial questions.

After a little while, he said, “Our clan progenitors said that if you’re willing to cooperate with us, we can set aside our grudges and let bygones be bygones. We’ll consider you a friend going forward.

“You can take your time to think it over. Just give us an answer within three days.”

But Su Yi didn’t even pause to think. “I refuse. I won’t let up until every last Outsider Celestial Demon is dead!”

His voice boomed far and wide, causing a widespread uproar.

Luo Yao and the others’ hearts shook. All of them sighed in relief.

They were indeed in grave peril, and they longed for rescue.

But that didn’t mean they wanted to compromise with the Outsider Celestial Demons! Had Su Yi agreed to cooperate with their enemies just to save them, they’d have all been disappointed in him!

The way Su Yi saw it, he had nothing to discuss with the Outsider Celestial Demons. They’d long since become irreconcilable enemies!

He hadn’t forgotten all of his old friends who’d lost their lives by the demons’ hands.

Demon Emperor Chi Nie laughed Su Yi’s answers off. He said calmly, “Don’t speak in such absolutes. You’ve only just returned to the Boundless Battlefield. You’d best take your time to understand the situation before you make any decisions.”

Su Yi had nothing else to say to him. He just turned and walked back toward Dao-Seeking City.

No one tried to interfere, and soon, he'd vanished beyond the city gates.

“Beat the drum and ring the gongs of retreat. We’re going back to camp!” ordered Demon Emperor Chi Nie. He and the other Emperor-Level experts turned and left.

The originally tense atmosphere faded.

They’d only just returned to camp when another Emperor-Level expert couldn’t help but ask, “Chi Nie, just what kind of arrangements did Celestial Progenitor Ling Mi put in place?”

The others looked over too.

Earlier, Su Yi had come here alone, and he’d walked into Dao-Seeking City right under their noses. This had left them all with bellies of pent-up fury.

“I cannot reveal the secrets of the heavens,” said Demon Emperor Chi Nie. “Similarly, without Celestial Progenitor Ling Mi’s express orders, I cannot divulge our arrangements.”

“But Su Yi has already thrown himself into our net, so our operation is already half complete. Now... he can no longer escape!”

He spoke with absolute confidence, as if he knew he had this in the bag.

The other Emperor-Level experts weren’t quite satisfied with this answer, but they did feel considerably more at ease.

At the very least, Demon Emperor Chi Nie’s words proved that everything was under Celestial Progenitor Ling Mi’s control!

......

Dao-Seeking City.

Burning paper money flew through the air, glowing with heat as Su Yi approached and placed three sticks of incense on the altar laden with memorial tablets.

Then, Su Yi clasped his fist and bowed solemnly to the memorial tablets. He was completely solemn, his movements utterly meticulous.

The incense smoke wafted into the air. Luo Yao and the other survivors stood not far away. There was no disguising their grief.

The names on the memorial tablets belonged to their allies who’d died fighting the Outsider Celestial Demons. All had perished in battle and gone to the Yellow Springs.

Su Yi rose, then read the names on the tablets. Some of the names were familiar, but some weren’t. Even so, all of them brought back memories of his past lives.

These... were all experts of his camp, people he’d fought shoulder-to-shoulder with, and people he’d drunk and rejoiced with.

He could clearly picture their smiles even now, but the people they belonged to were long gone.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine, then silently overturned it and whispered, “Sometimes, there’s room to negotiate and make peace, but some enmities can only be repaid in blood.

“I’ve returned, everyone. I’ll use the lives of the Outsider Celestial Demons to avenge you and comfort your departed spirits!”

He spoke slowly and clearly, every word calm, but full of incontrovertible force.

The rims of Luo Yao’s eyes reddened and misted with tears. The other old-timers’ hearts churned, too.

Over the years, they’d been trapped in Dao-Seeking City, like beasts in a cage. Even though they fought, bathed in blood, holding nothing back, they couldn’t turn things around. All they could do was watch helplessly as their allies died in battle or became slaves and prisoners...

Torment, agony, and grief had been building in their hearts for a long time now!

How could they not have been moved when they witnessed Su Yi’s return and heard his solemn vow?

Paper money and the smell of incense danced through the air as Su Yi silently turned to face Luo Yao and the rest of his companions.

“I’ve implicated you in my affairs. From this day forth, I’ll fight alongside you to avenge our fallen friends and end this enmity once and for all!”

With that, Su Yi clasped his fist and bowed.

The others were moved. All of them returned the gesture.

That very day, Su Yi took up residence in Dao-Seeking City.

......

Su Yi sat upright within a grand hall, listening quietly as his old friends told him everything that had happened in the Boundless Battlefield over the years.

Despite himself, after hearing the full story, his heart felt heavy. The situation really was far worse than he’d anticipated.

Over just the past eight years, over a thousand of his allies in Dao-Seeking City had died!

Some had died exploring outside the city. Others had perished beneath the Tribulation of the Five Witherings. Others still had been killed by ancient variant species native to the Boundless Battlefield.

But the vast majority had met their end at the Outsider Celestial Demons’ poisonous hands!

That aside, some of them had been taken captive.

By now, only thirteen people remained in Dao-Seeking City, including Luo Yao and Master God Tian Jing, the man Su Yi had just rescued.

Moreover, their situation looked bleak. Over the past eight years, they’d fought bathed in blood, overcoming too many fierce battles to count.

Five of them had severe Dao Wounds that still had yet to heal. The others had varying degrees of injuries too.

Currently, of the thirteen of them, only three could fight with their full strength: Luo Yao, Wen Qingfeng, and Old Mo.

Lu Dongxing had been able to fight previously, but his Dao Heart had been damaged in today’s battle!

In stark contrast, the Outsider Celestial Demons’ forces, which included the Formless Heart Demons, Deathless Body Demons, Thousand Transformation Soul Demons, as well as other races, were a million strong!

That was a number great enough to strike terror into the hearts of even the God Domain’s top factions.

Especially since the Celestial Demon Progenitors were there to oversee things in addition to the Emperor-Level experts.

Both my individual strength and by numbers, the disparity was far too enormous!

It wasn’t just Su Yi. When Luo Yao and the others recounted this information, there was no hiding their heavy hearts or deep concern, either.

“Daoist Brother Fuyou, seems to me that fighting them head-on won’t work,” said Old Mo. “Before we do anything else, we’ve got to break out of Dao-Seeking City!”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Wen Qingfeng shook his head. “It’s impossible. If I were the Outsider Celestial Demons, there’s no way I’d give us the opportunity. Even if we could defeat their Imperial-Evel experts, how could the Celestial Demons Progenitors possibly just let us leave?”

He paused, then said, “That aside, even if we break out of their encirclement, where would we go? The Outsider Celestial Demons have taken over the entire Boundless battlefield!”

Old Mo said, “Where there’s life, there’s hope. If we can find a way to leave the Boundless Battlefield, that would naturally be even better.”

Wen Qingfeng instantly lost his temper. “Run? If we run, what will become of the captives? And how will we avenge this blood debt?”

Old Mo furrowed his brow. “I said that where there’s life, there’s hope. If we risk it all and lose our lives, how can we speak of revenge?”

When she saw that the two were about to argue, Luo Yao sighed and interrupted them. “Quit it, you too. Let’s see how Daoist Brother Fuyou sees things first.”

Whoosh!

All eyes were instantly on Su Yi.

Su Yi took a sip of wine and said, “The Outsider Celestial Demon’s forces are powerful indeed, but that doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. Besides... This trap was targeting me. There’s no way they’ll just let me take you and leave.”

The group fell silent.

“But I made some preparations before coming here.” Su Yi swept his gaze across the group. “We can roughly divide my plan into three parts.”

The crowd’s spirits soared. All of them looked attentive.

“First, we’ll fight our way out of Dao-Seeking City. This has already become an inauspicious ground; if he remains trapped here, our enemies are sure to retain the initiative. We’ll be helpless to do anything but let them pummel us.

“How vast is the Boundless Battlefield? Once we’ve fought our way out of the city, we can find a safe place to rest. Then, we can adopt guerilla tactics to fight back!

“Second, we need to find an opportunity to save the hostages. It might sound difficult, but it’s not impossible. I can handle this one on my own.

“Third, we’ll end things with the Outsider Celestial Demons once and for all!

“Simply put, we’ll break free, save the hostages, and begin our counterattack!” said Su Yi. “But that’s just a plan. I’m sure there’ll be numerous unforeseeable variables along the way, but all we need to do is plan for the worst while striving for the best. That’ll be plenty.”

Everyone exchanged glances. All of them understood.

Su Yi wasn’t planning to retreat. Rather, he wanted to make one final push and end things with the Outsider Celestial Demons once and for all!

“I agree,” said Luo Yao without even missing a beat. “The Outsider Celestial Demons have been planning for years. There’s no way they’ll just let us escape, so fixating on that will only put us at a disadvantage!”

She swept her gaze across the crowd. “Thus, we have to do as Daoist Brother Fuyou says and prepare to fight the Outsider Celestial Demons to the bitter end!”

“I agree too,” Wen Qingfeng said firmly.

The others took a stand, one by one. All of them supported Su Yi’s idea.

In the end, only Old Mo remained. He laughed bitterly and said, “Everyone, it’s not that I’m afraid of battle. I suggested that we retreat earlier because...”

Su Yi said warmly, “Old Mo, I understand your intentions, and your concerns are valid, too. However, when we fight the Outsider Celestial Demons, you’ll understand. Our way out... has long since been sealed off.”

Old Mo sighed, then nodded. “As you say.”

Everyone sighed in relief. Old Mo was the most stubborn person here. Fortunately, in the past, he never went against Li Fuyou’s decisions.

It seemed that held true even now.

Su Yi smiled. “It’s settled, then. But there’s one thing I need to do before we set off.”

Everyone was stunned. Luo Yao asked, “What is it?”

Su Yi stretched languidly, rose from his wicker chair, and said casually, “Break through.”