Chapter 970: The Burial Ground of the Dao

Atop the boundless, turbid waters of the Sea of Bitterness.

A boat broke through the waves and soared ahead.

Su Yi sprawled out lazily. The boat was cramped and narrow to begin with, and he was on the verge of filling it up.

The Netherworld King sat on the tail end of the boat, her long, slender legs together. She sat at an angle, outlining the ample curves of her rear, and her slender fingers were wrapped around her knees. She seemed similarly relaxed.

Oceanic winds blew past, rustling the young man’s blue robes and the woman’s loose, flowing blue hair.

However, the Netherworld King was missing some of the bewitching charm she’d displayed earlier. The look on her beautiful face shifted erratically beneath the light of the heavens.

She’d anticipated the result of their most recent battle the moment she laid eyes on Su Yi.

However…

When she thought about the power Su Yi had displayed in battle, the Netherworld King wasn’t as calm as she seemed on the surface.

She was far too keenly aware of the strength of members of the Nine Heavens Pavilion.

Historically, a single Executioner was enough to defeat an entire world and kill until no one else dared declare themselves sovereign!

And when Jailer-level experts chased after them, even Profound Serenity Emperors struggled to escape.

The Netherworld King also knew full well that, every time the Nine Heavens Pavilion dominated a vast world, they would seize its source power.

The Imperial experts of the defeated world were then captured by the Jailers and imprisoned within the Dens of Caterpillars; they were effectively treated as if they were spiritual medicines.

The Nine Heavens Pavilion had already lost count of how many of the cultivation worlds scattered throughout the stars they’d conquered. It was enough that they’d built a full nine Dens of Caterpillars!

The so-called “Dens of Caterpillars” were both a place to imprison escaped convicts and a medicine guardian. The Emperors imprisoned inside were like the herbs “growing” in the garden.

As time passed, the captives’ bodies, souls, blood, qi, and cultivation bases were refined into the most fundamental power of the Grand Dao and harvested by the Nine Heavens Pavilion!

Yet today, Su Yi had effortlessly slain Fourth Executioner Hong Ying and seven Jailers above the Sea of Bitterness!

Furthermore, he killed each Jailer in a single strike. One shot, one kill, crisp and to the point.

Even when he slew Hong Ying, he swung his sword but once!

It almost seemed like he was chopping melons or dicing vegetables.

Of course the Netherworld King was stunned. How could she not be?

It was only now that she fully realized just how terrifying Su Yi’s ability to counter the Laws of Heavenly Prayer was.

Admittedly, his cultivation base was still weak. Nonetheless, his power was enough to threaten the entire Nine Heavens Pavilion!

No wonder the Pavilion Master has been searching for someone capable of countering the Laws of Heavenly Prayer all this time… He’s surely well aware that the appearance of such a person would be enough to threaten the entire Nine Heavens Pavilion!

Here, her starry eyes shifted, and she gazed at the nearby Su Yi.

The young man looked leisurely and relaxed. He was lying at the head of the boat with his legs crossed and using his head as a pillow.

The boat was so small that the tips of his toes almost touched her calves.

For a moment, the Netherworld King felt a powerful impulse to teach him a lesson! She’d force him to submit and obey her orders! That way, she could learn the secrets of reincarnation and master the power that countered the Laws of Heavenly Prayer. Then, when she went back to get her revenge on the Nine Heavens Pavilion, nothing would be able to stand in her way!

The impulse was so strong that it assailed her mind like a raging current.

Furthermore, she was certain that Su Yi wasn’t particularly on guard, and that if she attacked, all Su Yi would be able to do was lie there helpless. He couldn’t possibly get up and fight back!

But it was then that Su Yi said suddenly, “Let me see your treasure.”

The Netherworld King forcefully suppressed her impulse to attack and pursed her lips. “What treasure?”

“The one you swiped from Hong Ying,” said Su Yi.

After a moment’s silence, the Netherworld King nodded.

She flipped her palm, and a perfectly square black seal floated into the air.

For a moment, she almost gave into the impulse to attack.

But when her eyes met Su Yi’s deep, inscrutable gaze, and when she took in the nigh imperceptible hint of a playful grin on his lips, her heart shook, and she decisively gave up all thoughts of attacking him.

She suddenly suspected that Su Yi wasn’t really entirely off guard after all.

Is he doing this on purpose? Is he ‘fishing’ to see whether or not I seize the opportunity to attack him?

“Please have a look, Fellow Daoist.” The Netherworld King flashed him a charming smile, and her eyes lit up.

Su Yi reached out and grabbed the seal, then held it up in front of his eyes for a closer look.

“This is Buddha’s Seal of Life and Death. It belongs to the highest-ranked Heavenly Libationer of the Nine Heavens Pavilion,” explained the Netherworld king. “It was refined with the complete source power of a world, so it was a Xiantian Divine Lifeform to begin with. The Grand Heavenly Libationer then fused numerous unmatched divine materials into it. It is somewhat stronger than the Cui Family’s core treasure, the Netherworld Judge’s Writing Brush.

“A few days ago, Hong Ying dared say he could kill his way into the City of Eternal Night thanks to its power; with it, he could have contended with the city’s source power.”

Su Yi nodded, then suddenly asked, “Do you have any other treasures on you?”

The Netherworld King froze, then shook her head. “I don’t.”

Su Yi was a bit surprised. “Weren’t you supposed to have mastered nine treasures comparable to divine artifacts?”

A somewhat complicated look arose in the Netherworld King’s eyes. “Way back when I waged war against the Infernal Palace, six of my nine treasures were destroyed. Only the Wheel of Destiny, Burning Silence Ruler, and the Diagram of the Gods of the Earth remain.

“And you took the Burning Silence Ruler back in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, Fellow Daoist.” A hint of heartache appeared in her eyes.

“That’s a bit troublesome…” Su Yi furrowed his brow and muttered.

The Netherworld King obviously noticed that something was strange about his reaction, and she couldn’t help but ask, “What do you mean, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi didn’t so much as pause to think. “This treasure is full of an utterly terrifying power of will. Unless I mistake my guess, it belongs to that highest-ranked Heavenly Libationer you mentioned.”

The Netherworld King’s pupils suddenly constricted, the tips of her slender fingers quivered, and her beautiful face shifted erratically.

It was obvious that she was incomparably afraid of the First Heavenly Libationer!

Su Yi said casually, “If you can’t erase that remnant of will, this treasure will only bring you disaster. Sooner or later, the First Heavenly Libationer will come knocking on your door.”

A chill coursed through the Netherworld King’s heart, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Can you do something, Fellow Daoist?”

In the Nine Heavens Pavilion, the First Heavenly Libationer was an expert second only to the sect leader! His cultivation was unfathomably terrifying!

Even at her peak, the Netherworld King was nowhere near qualified to fight the First Heavenly Libationer.

Su Yi smiled. “Entrust it to my care, and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Once I’ve proven my Dao and become an Emperor, I’ll naturally erase its remnant of will.”

“....” The Netherworld King fell silent.

He said all that, but he was obviously just trying to claim this treasure for his own!

“If it’s likely to bring disaster, I should be the one to bear that risk,” the Netherworld King said irritably. She most certainly didn’t want to just give such a treasure away.

Su Yi tossed the Buddha’s Seal of Life and Death Over. “Hold onto it, then.”

It seemed as if he didn’t care in the least.

However, this only made the Netherworld King hesitate.

She thought for a moment, then said, “Fellow Daoist, if you’re willing to help, I wouldn’t mind entrusting this treasure to your care for the time being.”

Su Yi shook his head. “Forget it. That does me no good at all. It’s thankless work, so you’d best hold onto it yourself.”

Playing hard to get? Loosening up to gain a tighter hold?

The Netherworld King bit down on her red lower lip. “Then… What kind of benefits are you looking for, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi’s gaze was rife with meaning. “You’re fully aware already.”

The Netherworld King froze, then batted her charming eyes. “Dual cultivation?”

“....”

Su Yi was flabbergasted. “Do you really think Su Xuanjun is that lustful and impulsive?”

The Netherworld King looked him up and down seriously, then said, “I don’t just ‘think’ it. I know it.”

“????”

The Netherworld King could no longer suppress laughter. “I know, I know: you want to learn more about the Nine Heavens Pavilion. How about this? If you help erase the power of will within this treasure, I’ll naturally answer some of your questions.”

Su Yi laughed. “It’s not enough. If you want my help, you need to spend the night with me.”

The Netherworld King’s smile froze. Her starry eyes widened, and she stood rooted to the spot, as if she couldn’t even imagine how the lofty Swordsman of Abstruse Force could have said something so shameless.

The look on her absolutely beautiful face shifted erratically, and she said icily, “I wouldn’t have thought you were that type of person too!”

Su Yi said flatly, “You’re the one who called me lustful and impulsive, so why turn around and insist that I’m not that type of person after all?”

The Netherworld King was instantly at a loss for words. After a long, stifled pause, she growled, “Even an idiot would have realized that I was joking!”

Su Yi laughed. “But you failed to realize that I was joking too. Doesn’t that mean you’re worse than an idiot?”

“....” The Netherworld King fell silent.

This guy’s teasing me on purpose!

As she shook in Su Yi’s playful, teasing smile, she gnashed her pearly teeth, and her prideworthy chest heaved.

“If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t make them,” said Su Yi. “Quick, take out the seal.”

He languidly stretched out his hand.

The Netherworld King tossed the Buddha’s Seal of Life and Death in a huff, as if she wanted nothing more than to crack his head open and leave him battered and bleeding.

……

Two days later, in a stretch of blood-red ocean.

Even from a distance, misty one could see glittering, misty light reflecting the light of the heavens.

A continent floated on the surface of the water, so vast that there was no end in sight. The misty light of the Grand Dao enveloped it on all sides, filling the entire stretch of heaven and earth with glittering light.

The Burial Ground of the Dao!

A forbidden ground that had stood since antiquity. The ruins were so ancient that it was impossible to trace their history all the way back to their origins!

“This place really has re-entered the world…” Su Yi stood at the head of the Unsinkable Boat with his hands behind his back, gazing at the landmass shrouded in the misty light of the Grand Dao. He looked a bit dazed.

The Burial Ground of the Dao was unique.

Even if ordinary cultivators laid eyes on it, when they tried to approach, it would seem incomparably far away, as unreachable as the stars of the night sky. It was as ethereal as a mirage.

Even Emperors couldn’t approach unless they could decipher the mysteries of its Laws of the Grand Dao!

It was then that the ethereal and mysterious sound of the Dao emanated from the distant ancient ruins, like the music of the heavens, or the ancient chanting of scripture. An air of austerity descended upon the entire area.

The Netherworld King said softly, “So, a clue leading to the secrets of reincarnation is hidden in there?”

She gazed at the Burial Ground of the Dao, calmed her heart, and listened attentively to the music of the heavens. A look of anticipation appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face.