Chapter 397: Looking Around, Unrivaled

The peak of the Mountain of Funerals.

When he sensed Su Yi’s gaze, Thunder Monarch Oblivion’s hair stood on end. At the same time, he felt an indescribable sense of humiliation.

He was a lofty Spiritual Revolution cultivator, stronger than even Fire Demon Lihuo and Old Yao Bone Eater. Thirty thousand years ago, he was a peak expert below the Imperial level.

Yet now, a mere Grain Avoidance cultivator had scared him!

Circumstances had overpowered him.?Beneath the suppression of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, it didn’t matter how vast and far-reaching his powers were. He was still like a lamb to the slaughter, helpless to resist.

When he saw Su Yi stride through the air, Thunder Monarch Oblivion naturally wouldn’t just sit back and wait to die. He immediately bellowed, “Go!”

Boom!

The four thick chains wrapped around the Mountain of Funerals swept forth, and the four chained, ancient corpses seemed to awaken from a long slumber.

Whoosh!

The winged, three-headed, six-armed corpse was the first to take action. He let out a heaven-shaking roar as he suddenly freed himself from his bonds and shot into the sky.?His entire body was bathed in surging, unearthly crimson light, and his eyes were bright red. His six hands waved in sync, condensing a blood-colored Buddhist seal.

Boom!

The blood-colored seal shockingly expanded into a several-hundred-foot-tall crimson skull, which opened its jaws as if to devour Su Yi.

The?Bloodskull?Deathspirit?Seal!

This was a peerless art among ghost cultivators. Those the skull bit were, if the damage was light, afflicted with blood corpse poison, rendering them mindless puppets. Heavier damage would kill a foe on the spot.

Crunch!

Su Yi casually swung his sword, cleaving into the several-hundred-foot-tall skull. It burst apart in midair, as if it were made of paper mache.

The sword qi was too sharp and fierce. Nothing could stand in its way.

But immediately afterward, the other corpses broke free from their bonds and charged too.

One was a thousand feet long. Its upper body was covered in golden scales, while its lower half was that of a snake.

One was the headless corpse of a monk in blood-stained robes.

One was a Daoist with a crown of lotuses. His chest had been ripped open.

The three ancient corpses had died who-knows-how-many years ago. The dense, baleful energy emanating from them soared into the heavens, and they charged Su Yi alongside the three-headed, six-armed corpse.

Rumble!

The four of them attacked as one, filling the skies with unearthly light.

This was Thunder Monarch Oblivion’s ultimate killing technique. Each of the four ancient corpses was a Spirit Dao cultivator he’d killed back in the day. He then refined their bodies with a secret technique, and “raised” them on the Mountain of Funerals.

Furthermore, over countless years, the four corpses’ bodies were now tinged with the power of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness.

Against any other cultivator of this world, even another Spiritual Integration Realm expert, he could reliably come out ahead thanks to the four corpses’ combat strength.

Thunder Monarch Oblivion planned on using them to rule the world once he escaped captivity.

But now, he had no choice but to call upon their full power.

“Like ants trying to shake a tree,” said Su Yi, his gaze cold. He waved his sword and charged into the fray.

Boom!

One majestic sword mountain after another rose up, manifesting the force of the five elements, then descended amidst dazzling divine radiance.

The Great Five Elements Suppression Domain Sword!

Watching from afar, it was as if five primordial divine mountains were descending upon the human world. Their vast, limitless power and dense majesty bore down on the air, making the skies tremble and wail.

Just like before, this attack carried a trace of the Sword of the Nine Hells’ aura.

Bang!

The thousand-foot-tall, half golden-scaled, half-snake creature was the first to fall. A sword mountain bore down onto its massive frame, bursting it bit by bit.

Immediately afterward, the three-headed, six-armed figure, the headless monk, and the Daoist in the flower crown suffered the same fate. The mountains bore down on them, crushing them into pieces as easily as if they were made of paper mache.

One strike destroyed four ancient corpses!

He struck like an ax through bamboo. Thunder Monarch Oblivion’s heart sank, but he couldn’t even stop to mourn his losses. He cried out, “Young friend, I’m sure you know that I had no plans of killing you earlier. I even helped you block Fire Demon Lihuo’s attack! Now that it’s come to this, might you show leniency and spare my life?”

His voice was full of dense panic and uncertainty.

“Ludicrous. You did that to seize my good fortune. How could that possibly be true benevolence?” Even as he spoke, Su Yi shot toward the Mountain of Funerals, slashing Thunder Monarch Oblivion from afar.

He struck quickly and crisply, with no flourishes or wasted movements.

The sword qi dispersed all of the gray mists enveloping the Mountain of Funerals, illuminating the entire stretch of sky with searing light of unparalleled sharpness.

“Bring it on!” roared Thunder Monarch Oblivion. His aura suddenly surged, and crimson lightning burst forth like a volcanic eruption.

However, mere moments later, the strands of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness wrapped around him exerted their strength, tightening like chains and suppressing him.

“Ah—!” Thunder Monarch Oblivion let out a desperate, agonized shout as the chains tore open his flesh, exposing his bones.

However, he’d really gone all out. He directed the explosive crimson lightning with no regard for anything else, striking explosively.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The streak of sword qi Su Yi had just sent flying toward him burst apart, bit by bit.

When he saw that terrifying, blood-colored lightning shoot toward him, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh dryly. His figure blurred, and he dodged far away.

Thunder Monarch Oblivion’s desperate last stand hit nothing but air.

“Die!” Thunder Monarch Oblivion still?wasn’t?resigned. He was just about to charge when his stalwart figure shook.

Then, his entire body burst into flame, like a lit firecracker, cracking and booming as the power of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness relentlessly invaded his flesh. It gouged into him, like sharp blades, leaving him covered in wounds.

In the end, Su Yi didn’t even have to do anything. The Prohibition of Ancient Darkness chopped Thunder Monarch Oblivion to ruins!

In the last moments before his death, he stared at Su Yi. His eyes were full of bitterness and hatred.

Su Yi naturally wouldn’t concern himself with that. When swatting a fly, who stopped to consider how it felt before it died?

“Another one died…” The woman on the shoulders of the great ape had a complicated look on her face: three parts shock, three parts confusion, and an indescribable, wordless dread.

She naturally could tell that Su Yi’s apparent invincibility wasn’t because of his terrifying cultivation post-break-through, but rather, because he wasn’t the least bit afraid of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness.

Admittedly, Su Yi could only kill those terrifying existences by taking advantage of the situation.

But she asked herself, even if she searched the entire world, who else was even capable of taking advantage of this situation?

“Hahaha, this feels great~!” Hua Xinfeng smiled so brightly, her beautiful eyes narrowed into crescent moons. She felt as if she’d drunk a bowl of chilled lotus seed soup on a blazing hot summer day; all of her pores opened, and she felt thoroughly refreshed.

“Why didn’t you run?” When he returned from the Mountain of Funerals, Su Yi glanced at the Starlight Vessel in mild surprise.

He’d just killed Old Yao Bone Eater and Fire Demon Lihuo in rapid succession. Although he’d done so extremely quickly, it was more than enough time for an expert to run away.

But Star Girdle of the Starlight Vessel didn’t do so.

“I wanted to gamble,” said the gaunt, ethereal silhouette standing on the Starlight Vessel. “Earlier, I offered you and that girl a chance to leave with your lives, so I trust you’ll leave me a path to survival as well, Fellow Daoist.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi, striding toward the Starlight Vessel.

When he saw this, Star Girdle visibly tensed, and the starlight emanating from the ship stirred.

When he was just one hundred feet away from the Starlight Vessel, Su Yi stopped in place and nodded. “You’re right. Although your attitude was proud and condescending, you have lines you won’t cross and a degree of character.”

During his earlier battles, Star Girdle never once intervened.

Perhaps he was just awaiting an opportune moment, or perhaps he had other plans. Still, his attitude was unquestionably more reserved than the other three Perils.

This was why Su Yi left him for last.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “How about this? Give me a reason not to kill you. If you can convince me, I’ll spare your life today.”

Star Girdle instantly fell silent.

The atmosphere was still and so suppressive, they could barely breathe. Everyone there knew that what Star Girdle said next would determine his life or death!

Time slipped by.

A while later, Star Girdle suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with sharp, imposing light.

“Later, when I escape captivity, should I have the opportunity to kill you, I’ll leave you a path to survival too. How is that for a reason?” said Daoist Star Girdle, his voice calm yet forceful.

The woman on the shoulders of the great ape?stared.?Giving a reason like that… How is that any different from seeking death?

The circumstances were not in his favor. At a time like this, shouldn’t he lower his head in exchange for a path to survival?

However, Su Yi laughed. “I can tell that you’re not at all convinced. You most likely think I unfairly exploited my advantage, and that that’s the only reason I now possess power over your life and death.”

Daoist Star Girdle said calmly, “Fellow Daoist, your accumulations and talent are sufficient to startle both antiquity and the present day. Tens of thousands of years might pass without encountering your equal. However, it’s just as you say: you did not achieve victory here today through your own strength or cultivation.”

Su Yi smiled faintly. “That’s a rather juvenile way of looking at it. You’ve lived all these years. You ought to understand that in battles between cultivators, there’s never been any fairness to speak of.

“If I lacked means of neutralizing the power of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, would you have refrained from using it? You’re trapped. Without its power, you could never have tried to kill me in the first place.

“Besides, my cultivation is only in the Grain Avoidance Realm,” said Su Yi, then asked in complete seriousness, “Are you still dissatisfied? Do you still think it’s unfair? Are you still unconvinced?”

Star Girdle fell silent.

The truth was right in front of him, and he couldn’t argue.

In the end, he whispered, “Just do it.”

Su Yi shook his head, “Out of consideration for the fact that you never once attacked me, I can give you an opportunity to challenge me in the future. When the time comes, I imagine that even if I kill you, you’ll die convinced of your defeat.”

He waved. “Go on.”

Star Girdle was stunned. It was true that he was unwilling, but he’d long since prepared himself to face death.

Who would have thought that a young man like Su Yi would let him go despite having the advantage? This was completely beyond his expectations.

“If we meet again, when I have the power to kill you, I shall naturally do as I said earlier and leave you a path to life,” said Star Girdle. With that, the Starlight Vessel shook, scattering starlight, and shot through the air. Soon, it disappeared into the vast ocean.

Su Yi only smiled, took out a gourd of wine, threw back his head, and took a big swig.

The woman on the ape’s shoulder and Hua Xinfeng both witnessed this entire exchange, and it caught them both off guard. Neither of them understood why Su Yi would let Star Girdle go.

However, to Su Yi, it was rather simple. It hadn’t been easy to encounter a sword cultivator worthy of his notice. It would have been a waste to just kill him.

……

Today was the three hundred and ninety-ninth year of the Great Zhou’s history, the first day of the sixth lunar month.

It was on this day that Su Yi stood above the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, underwent a strange and grand tribulation, and entered the Grain Avoidance Realm, becoming a true cultivator.

He stood in the sky, surrounded by thousands of blooming flowers, drinking in the solitary winds!

Sword in hand, he took to the skies, talking and laughing as he cut down Old Yao Bone Eater, Fire Demon Lihuo, and Thunder Monarch Oblivion.

He maneuvered deftly and struck unimpeded. Nothing could stand in his way!