First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 1525: One Step Too Late
It was no exaggeration to say that half of the wounds Su Yi had sustained thus far were the work of that master archer.
It wasn’t that his attainments in the Dao of Archery were all that terrifying, but that he chose just the right moment to strike each and every time. He was incomparably precise and incomparably insidious!
With the archer in the mix, Su Yi found himself stifled all the time.
They said it was easy to dodge a spear held in the open but difficult to dodge a hidden arrow. This was a perfect example of that.
Thus, the moment Su Yi broke free of his foes’ encirclement, he shot toward the archer hiding in the shadows.
“Dammit! How is this bastard so strong!?”
Off in the distance, a black-robed man carrying a bronze longbow looked stricken. Without the slightest hesitation, he strung his bow and fired a dense rain of arrows. Every one burst with stinging, intense light and tyrannical force.
But what happened next sent chills down the archer’s spine.
It was as if Su Yi had precognition. He struck several times in rapid succession, every strike effortlessly redirecting the arrows’ power.
Looking at it from the outside, all Su Yi did was swing his sword. He made no attempt to dodge, yet he’d avoided every last one of the incoming arrows!
Leveraging his opponent’s strengths to his advantage!? How much combat experience does it take to pull something like that off?
The man in black’s scalp went numb. He was a Void Realm True Immortal and a master of the Dao of Archery. He’d lost track of how many powerful foes he’d assassinated over the years. He’d even once successfully ambushed an Immortal Lord!
He would never have guessed that the Dao of Archery he took such pride in would be useless against a young man yet to step into the Immortal Dao!
But the man in black had no time to give the matter any further thought. In the blink of an eye, Su Yi was almost right in front of him!
“Quickly, stop him!” The man in black roared as he shot into the distance, taking his bronze longbow with him.
He was a master of the Dao of Archery. The moment his enemies drew near, he lost all means of threatening them.
The man in black had an abundance of combat experience. He naturally wouldn’t give Su Yi an opening to exploit.
Meanwhile, the archer’s allies rushed over, and they attacked Su Yi without the slightest reservation.
But Su Yi didn’t care about that.
Boom!
The Divine Replenishment Furnace took to the sky. A waterfall of purple immortal light formed a barrier, protecting Su Yi on all sides.
At the same time, he leaped through the air and slashed at the man in black.
It was just one slash, but it seemed to blot out all of heaven and earth, heedless of the distance!
“No——!”
The fleeing man in black stiffened and cried out in alarm.
Beneath this slash, he felt as if he’d sunk into the swamp, suddenly subject to a terrifying restriction.
There was no time to dodge!
Boom!
One hundred thousand feet of sky split and collapsed.
A seemingly unstoppable streak of sword qi descended, killing the man in black on the spot. The ground split, creating a chasm so deep there was no bottom in sight.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The others’ attacks arrived in waves, but the Divine Replenishment Furnace blocked them all with a series of deafening impacts.
Firelight interwove as Su Yi suddenly whipped around. Although his entire body was stained red with blood, and although his wounds were severe, far-reaching sword intent still blazed around him.
The depths of his gaze boiled over with murderous intent.
The enemies pursuing him felt inexplicable chills course through their hearts, suppressing their will to fight.
Is this really a cultivator of the Human Realm yet to step into immortality? Isn’t he too terrifying!??
“Get him!” someone gnashed their teeth and bellowed.
They still had eight people left, and Su Yi was grievously injured. He could die at any moment!
“Kill him!”
The Void Realm True Immortals were red-eyed with fury, and they attacked with everything they had.
“Nothing but a group of ants!” Su Yi’s eyes shone with disdain.
He took a deep breath and leaped into the fray.
He was obviously battered and covered in blood, yet his momentum grew only fiercer and more powerful.
He was like a god of the sword descending upon the world, startling heaven and shaking the earth!
Crunch!
A spear split in two. The immortal wielding it looked horrified. They turned to flee, only for the Divine Replenishment Furnace to slam into them, splitting them into pieces.
Their soul had only just emerged from their body when resplendent immortal light swept over it, instantly reducing it to ash.
Meanwhile, Su Yi had already moved on to another target.
During this process, Su Yi piled on more injuries. He was starting to look like cracked porcelain ready to fall apart.
But it was as if he didn’t even notice.
His eyes flashed like cold lightning, blazing with murderous intent!
Before long, Su Yi seized an opportunity to direct the Divine Replenishment Furnace against a group of enemies.
Boom!!
It was as if heaven and earth were collapsing.
The Divine Replenishment Furnace slammed his enemies away, scattering their forces.
Su Yi seized the opportunity to swing his sword and slay an enemy who’d failed to dodge in time on the spot.
As fresh blood splattered the air, Su Yi turned and targeted another enemy.
Five snaps of the fingers later, and another immortal died a brutal death, destroyed body and soul.
Ten snaps of the fingers later, and someone tried to flee, only for a dense, explosive rain of sword qi to slam into them. It was like death by a thousand cuts.
Fifteen snaps of the fingers later, someone cast aside all hope of survival and tried to drag Su Yi down with them.
But in the end, the Divine Replenishment Furnace sent them flying, and Su Yi smiled and slashed right through them.
Heaven and earth were in upheaval. The stench of blood billowed outward. The surrounding mountains and rivers lay in ruin, and the ground was covered in striking scars. The sounds of slaughter and mad roars repeatedly rang out, outlining a brutal vision of purgatory on the chaotic battlefield.
This battle was indeed brutal. Su Yi’s wounds were increasingly severe, but his enemies toppled one after another.
By now, only three remained.
“Just… Just who are you!?” someone said in a hoarse voice, his face ashen. He couldn’t accept this.
The only answer he got was a merciless attack. Sword qi poured from the heavens, blanketing the earth as it swept toward him.
The man tried his utmost to resist, but in the end, it was just too much. He died brutally amidst the flood of sword qi.
The two remaining immortals’ will to fight completely crumbled, and they turned to flee.
A full sixteen Void Realm True Immortals had participated in this attack!
Here in the Jing Province, a lineup like that was enough to sweep through an entire faction. Even others of the same cultivation would have given in to despair against so many.
They figured they’d be more than enough to take down this paltry little cultivator from the Human Realm.
Who’d have thought they’d miscalculate?
There was no judging their current opponent by his cultivation base!
When they watched one ally after another die brutal deaths, and they saw how there was seemingly no taking Su Yi down, they gave in to despair. Who wouldn’t have?
The only two remaining Void Realm True Immortals wanted nothing more than to flee this blood-stained purgatory of a battlefield, the further the better.
But how could Su Yi possibly let up here?
The moment the two of them turned to flee, his vital energy coursed through him as he poured what little power he had left into two strikes.
One strike went west, quick as a beam of flowing light.
One strike rose into the heavens, like an arc of white light piercing the sun.
Moments later——
Splurt!
Thousands of feet away, sword qi swept into a fleeing enemy’s back. He stiffened, then silently split in two at the midline.
Like firewood beneath an axe.
Meanwhile, beneath the dome of heaven, the other fleeing enemy exploded into a bundle of bloody mist, like a sparrow hit by a crossbow bolt. The impact scattered his soul.
As of now, all sixteen Void Realm True Immortals had been executed!!
Su Yi stood beneath the dome of heaven, chest heaving, his breathing ragged.
His face was pale, almost translucent, and his new robes were already stained and torn beyond repair. His entire body was covered in startling wounds. Even his vital energy was mottled and in chaos.
He’d long since reached the end of his rope! His blood, qi, and soul power were on the verge of drying up.
This battle had indeed been brutal. He’d been on the brink of death the entire time, fighting for his life. As he danced about with his sword, the slightest incaution could have led to certain doom!
At the end of the day, the gap between their cultivations was just too enormous.
Despite his firm foundations, heaven-defying cultivation, terrifying skills and combat experience, and despite using the Sword of the Nine Hells’ aura throughout the battle, there was no escaping injuries against sixteen Void Realm True Immortals!
Of course, even with his injuries, winning this battle was a legendary accomplishment. After all, he’d yet to become an immortal, but he’d just killed sixteen Void Realm True Immortals in a single battle. Even if word got out, no one would believe it!
“Had they been even just a bit stronger, I’d have had to go all out…” murmured Su Yi. As he spoke, he coughed violently, and blood trickled from his mouth. “But… this was enough….”
He’d only just said this when a low, rich voice with a magnetic quality emanated from afar. “Go all out? Do you…. Still have that opportunity?”
As this voice rang out, Su Yi sensed an impending lethal threat.
Practically on instinct, his figure blurred as he tried to dodge.
Splurt!
A long, slender hand appeared out of nowhere and pierced his back, coming out the other end.
Su Yi stiffened, then looked down to see a bloody hand emerging from his chest.
There was no need to turn around. His divine sense had already revealed the hand’s owner. It belonged to a man in a changshan. A crowd held his long hair in place, and his eyes were like twin dark abysses, strange and unsettling.
Terrifying destructive power burst from his hand, spreading throughout Su Yi’s body and inflicting even more damage.
“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time. Of course, I won’t kill you. After all, you’re the Reincarnator, the one even the gods are hungry to get their hands on.” A mellow, magnetic voice echoed through Su Yi’s ears. It carried a hint of mirth.
Against all expectations, Su Yi just chuckled, shook his head, and sighed. “You’re one step too late. If I want to deal with you now, there’s no need to risk my life.”
As he spoke, he gazed into the depths of the sky.
“Oh?” said the man in a changshan. He couldn’t help but laugh, as if he found this absurd. “Is that so?”
“It is.” Su Yi nodded.
Suddenly, the man in a changshan sensed something. He whipped up his head and gazed into the sky.
He wasn’t sure when, but dense, dark tribulation clouds had silently surfaced overhead.
When he looked over, his heart shook, and he sensed an unprecedented threat. His soul quivered violently under the terrifying oppressive pressure, and his smile froze in place. His hair stood on end, and his soul practically left his body.
“What… kind of tribulation is this!?” the man in a changshan couldn’t help but shout.
“My tribulation,” Su Yi said softly.
Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he raised his hand and beckoned to it.
The tribulation lightning filling the skies came crashing down.