Chapter 997 - A Worthy Death

The red-robed, white-haired elder’s expression shifted, and a chill coursed through his heart.

Every Emperor present had borne witness to Ye Luo and the Netherworld King’s terrifyingness.

But who could have expected that Su Yi, who’d watched from the sidelines this whole time, would be this strong?

One slash, and he cut down thirteen Emperors!

This bloody scene dealt a ruthless blow to the others’ mental states.

Immediately afterward, an agonized cry rang out.

“Ah—!”

A streak of indomitable sword qi decapitated one of the Profound Serenity Emperors targeting Ye Luo.

Practically simultaneously, the Netherworld King’s slender, exquisite, jade-like fingers moved like a lotus in bloom as she condensed a mysterious seal.

Bang!

This seal was like flower petals drifting gently to the ground, but a Profound Serenity Emperor shattered like porcelain, exploding into countless bloody chunks.

“Dammit!”

“How is this possible…”

A roar of infuriated roars filled the area, and the situation was instantly thrown into chaos.

The red-robed, white-haired elder was now fully conscious of the problem. His face turned ashen, and he roared, “Retreat!”

The situation was no longer in their favor!

They simply couldn’t have anticipated that despite facing just three opponents, each would be more terrifying and heaven-defying than the one before.

And the consequence of underestimating their opponents was getting routed despite their superior numbers!

“Want to run? Forget about it!” The old man in Confucian robes bellowed and attacked with full force, ruthlessly restricting their opponents.

Meanwhile, Ye Luo and the Netherworld King didn’t hold back either. They had no intention of letting their opponents off lightly.

The situation was increasingly chaotic, and the Profound Illumination Emperors were frantic. They watched as their enemies thoroughly suppressed their allied Profound Serenity Emperors, preventing them from retreating. They could neither flee nor advance.

When Su Yi saw this, he no longer hesitated. He attacked directly.

His clothes billowed around him, and his silhouette was as ethereal as a flowing shadow. As he slipped through the battlefield, he wielded the Immortal-Beating Mallet like a sword and hit the air.

Splurt!

One of the Profound Serenity Emperors locked in fierce combat with Ye Luo stiffened, and his eyes widened.

A moment later, a bloody hole appeared in his throat.

Then, his entire body popped like a soap bubble, crumbled into ash, and dissipated.

“Err…” Ye Luo laughed bitterly. When his master attacked, he was so direct it was almost boring. He killed in one attack; there was no suspense at all.

But he didn’t hesitate to turn around and start mopping up the Profound Illumination Emperors.

And as Su Yi flitted across the battlefield, unsurpassed sword qi swept through the skies, like a scythe harvesting the souls of the dead. He killed a Profound Serenity powerhouse and several Profound Illumination Emperors in the blink of an eye.

It was terrifying.

A young man and his sword—well, mallet—casually traversed the battlefield. Whenever he swung his weapon, death was sure to follow!

This transcendent bearing was enough to make his enemies' will to fight collapse.

Just as I thought. After undergoing that incomparably strange tribulation to become an Emperor, his cultivation has transformed completely… The Netherworld King’s heart shook.

She’d personally witnessed Su Yi welcoming a grand, taboo tribulation atop the Platform of Rebirth. She knew how strange and terrifying it was.

But it had been difficult for her to guess how strong Su Yi had become after his tribulation.

Now, she finally had a sense of it.

The Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, the man who’d been the sole sovereign of the Wilds in his past life, had combat prowess so immense that he could easily slay Profound Serenity Emperors immediately after returning to the Imperial Realm!

Nothing could stand in his way, and no one could oppose him!

But the Netherworld King didn’t find this unbelievable.

Because he was the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force.

Throughout the Netherworld’s long history, he was the first to grasp the secrets of reincarnation. He was the legend who’d made rebirth a reality!

Throughout the world, and throughout the ages, practically no one could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him!

Even in the early-stage Profound Illumination Realm, he was a legendary figure. The power he controlled was surely enough to dazzle any era he appeared in, and it was surely unique throughout creation!

“Bastard! Do you have any idea who we are?” The red-robed, white-haired elder’s incomparably enraged roar echoed throughout the battlefield.

After Su Yi entered the fray, his strength combined with Ye Luo and the Netherworld King’s support meant that the red-robed elder’s forces had all but been annihilated!

A current of destructive power mixed with the dense stench of blood swept across heaven and earth.

By now, only the red-robed, white-haired elder and a middle-aged man in yellow remained. Both of them fought stubbornly.

“Certain doom awaits you, but you still dare to threaten us? Do you have any idea who we are?” Ye Luo snickered.

Even as he conversed, he charged ahead. In the blink of an eye, he’d killed the middle-aged man in yellow too.

By now, Su Yi and the Netherworld King could no longer be bothered to participate. They already had this in the bag; there was no way the red-robed, white-haired elder—the only survivor—could turn this around.

“Who… Who are you!?” The red-robed elder’s expression filled with despair, but he nonetheless resisted like mad. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to rest in peace without answers.

The Netherworld King’s red lips curved into a playful smile. “Back in ancient times, the cultivators of the Netherworld called me the Netherworld King.”

The Netherworld King!!

The red-robed, white-haired elder reacted as if he’d been struck by lightning. He finally understood, and he felt a chill in his hands and feet.

“No wonder we lost so badly…” He let out a deep sigh.

The Netherworld King!

She was a terrifying existence, someone who’d duked it out with the Infernal Palace in ancient times. She was like a legend, and the masses quivered at the mere mention of her name!

It seemed natural that they’d lost to her!

“But this body is just a clone. Were I here on my own, I’m afraid I’d struggle to take all of you down,” the Netherworld King said with a sigh.

Were her true body here, how could she possibly have had to go through all this trouble? A flip of her hand would have been enough to quell the wind and waves!

The red-robed, white-haired elder suddenly realized something. He whipped his head around to look at Su Yi and Ye Luo. Something occurred to him: Don’t tell me… could their origins be even more impressive than the Netherworld King’s?

But before he could wrap his head around it…

Boom!

Ye Luo attacked suddenly, and a slash ripped the old man’s body apart with a spray of flesh blood.

With an agonized cry, the old man’s soul shot into the air. He staggered back, his expression bleak. “Please, I have to know before I die.”

The Netherworld King’s charming eyes flitted toward Su Yi. When she saw that he didn’t object, she said softly, “The Fellow Daoist who cut down your physical body is a legacy disciple of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force.”

The Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s…. Disciple!?

The red-robed, white-haired elder’s primordial spirit trembled. It seemed he found this difficult to believe.

The old man in Confucian robes couldn’t help but be surprised too.

Who throughout the Netherworld could possibly be ignorant of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s disciples? Each was more peerlessly talented and mighty than the one before!

These disciples were enough to fill the hearts of even peak orthodoxies’ old-timers with dread!

“Then… who is he?” The red-robed, white-haired elder instinctively looked at Su Yi.

This time, Ye Luo spoke before the Netherworld King got the chance. He said solemnly, “That’s my master.”

Master?

Su Xuanjun’s legacy disciple’s master?

Wait!

Wouldn’t that…Wouldn’t that make him the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force!?

The red-robed, white-haired elder’s eyes suddenly widened. He felt as if countless thunderbolts had slammed into him, and he felt utterly dazed, flabbergasted, astonished, and overcome with disbelief…

Numerous conflicting emotions raged within him. All were different, but all were intense.

The old man in Confucian robes was stunned too, and his chest heaved. This truth he’d learned inadvertently shook him to the core.

It was back in the Azure Continent that he’d first witnessed Su Yi’s numerous unbelievable qualities.

After arriving in the Netherworld, they’d interacted in both Meng Po Palace and Ziluo City. Both times, he’d sensed that Su Yi’s origins were mysterious and unusual.

Still, he would never have guessed that a young man just eighteen years of age would be the legendary former sovereign and top swordsman of the Wilds!

No wonder even the treasure spirits of the Pawnshop of the Heavens treated him with such reverence. No wonder he could resolve the crisis the Cui Family faced on the night of the Lantern Festival….

The old man in Confucian robes finally understood!

“The Swordmaster of Abstruse Force… So…. the legends were true. Reincarnation really does exist within the Netherworld…” The red-robed, white-haired elder seemed completely dazed. “Your Excellency Su, today, I lost to you, but… it was a worthy death…”

As he spoke, he looked at Su Yi, the Netherworld King, and Ye Luo, then let out a deep sigh. His soul suddenly ignited itself, and in the blink of an eye, nothing remained of him but ash.

His last sigh still echoed throughout heaven and earth.

On her own, the Netherworld King was enough to drive someone to despair, let alone the legend whose sword once dominated the Wilds.

This robbed the red-robed, white-haired elder of any trace hope he’d had left. He realized on a visceral level that he wouldn’t escape death, so he chose to end himself!

By taking matters into his own hands, he could at least protect what dignity he had left.

The Netherworld King was a bit stunned. “Fellow Daoist, your reputation really is terrifying. You even made an old-timer of the mid-stage Profound Serenity Realm kill himself…”

It really was quite a shocking scene.

How great must one’s despair be for them to choose to end their own lives?

“He was going to die anyway. Doing it himself was at least better than letting someone else do it,” said Ye Luo.

He felt no pity. Battles between cultivators had no room for that.

It would have been no exaggeration to say that if they hadn’t arrived, that master and apprentice would have died beyond a shadow of a doubt.

And if they’d lost, they most likely wouldn't have avoided death either.

“No more nonsense. Quick, clean up the battlefield,” ordered Su Yi.

“Got it.” Ye Luo instantly set his scattered thoughts aside and obediently got to work.

He almost felt as if he’d returned to his time exploring by his master’s side. Every time a grand battle broke out, he liked nothing better than gathering the spoils after the fighting ended.

It was like digging for treasures, and he always felt like he was really raking it in.

But as his cultivation increased, he no longer needed his master with him when he explored the outside world. This was one of the pleasures of his youth, but over time, he’d gotten to enjoy it less and less often.

Experiencing it again after so long left Ye Luo wistful.

Having his master around really was wonderful!

It was then that the man in Confucian robes reacted as if awakening from a dream. He immediately approached Su Yi and greeted him respectfully. “Your Excellency Su, many thanks for intervening and saving my apprentice and me from disaster!”

This was the Dark Oblivion Yao God. A long time ago, he was already an expert who’d commanded the winds and clouds. But now, his expression was full of gratitude, as well as newfound, deep-seated awe.

Su Yi nodded. “No need to be so polite.”

He’d only just said this when the white-robed Wang Ting finally overcame the last layer of his lightning tribulation!

Although his body had all but been destroyed, and although he cut an extremely sorry figure, all of them could sense the shocking, transformative power surging through him.

“After eight thousand years of pursuing the Dao, my disciple, Wang Ting, has finally stepped onto the path of the Yama King!” the old man in Confucian robes muttered. His excitement was obvious.

However, it was then that Su Yi’s brow furrowed.