First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 1563: A Divine Decree

The Immortal Lords betrayed the Church of All Spirits so quickly, and so naturally.

No one would have anticipated this.

Fang Han suddenly recalled something Su Yi had said earlier: “Alas, their methods of winning people over are ultimately second rate.”

It was true! When you used force to make allies, your allies would leave you the second your power waned.

As soon as the Red Dragon Dao Monarch appeared, she suppressed the Church of All Spirits’ bluster, filling Immortal Lord Nine Cranes and the others’ hearts with such terror that they’d chosen to distance themselves from the faction they’d only just joined!

After witnessing this, before the seemingly youthful Red Dragon Dao Monarch could express her stance, Libationer Yun Qiong was so angry that he couldn’t help but laugh!

“You old bastards…. Do you really think I’m sure to lose?” His expression was sinister and full of hatred.

Immortal Lord Nine Cranes said expressionlessly, “Fellow Daoist, we’re up against the Red Dragon Dao Monarch. Seems to me that we’d best come quietly. Otherwise, we’re sure to die unsightly deaths.”

“That’s right,” Immortal Lord Talisman Flame said coldly. “You’re welcome to remain stubborn until the bitter end, but we refuse to do the same!”

All at once, all of them turned on Yun Qiong.

Xiao Ju and the other Church of All Spirits experts were so angry that their lungs practically exploded. These old bastards! When it was time to receive their rewards, they pounded their chests and solemnly swore to lay down their lives for the church if need be! But look at them now! They’ve already turned on us!

This was what people meant when they said that worldly affairs were unpredictable.

The young woman stood there, quiet and reserved. She said nothing.

Su Yi watched coldly from the sidelines.

Qing Wei stood protectively in front of Fang Han, watching in cold amusement as the dogs tore into each other.

So what if they were Immortal Lords? All of them were pathetically fragile in the face of an Immortal Queen!

“Hahaha!” Libationer Yun Qiong threw back his head and laughed. “Aren’t you curious about the wondrousness of our church’s divine decree? Now, I’ll kill you old bastards with it to demonstrate its power!”

As soon as his voice rang out, he lifted his hands into the air. A talisman floated into the air with dazzling golden light.

A terrifying air of divinity spread outward. It was enough to make even the heavens themselves tremble, and it shook all of Auspicious Cloud Palace.

“Get behind me!” the young woman whispered, the gaze in her dark golden eyes suddenly solemn.

Xing Yu and Feng Yeyun dared not be negligent. Both of them got behind her, their hearts quivering. Both looked incomparably grim. The power of that talisman was such that it struck instinctual fear into both Immortal Lords’ hearts!

“That’s a divine decree?” A chill coursed through Qing Wei’s delicate frame. She too could sense that the aura emanating from that talisman was incomparably terrifying, like a sword pressed against her throat. It was enough to make one shudder.

Su Yi was the calmest of all.

He’d slain multiple divine emissaries by now, and he’d even clashed with a god’s avatar of will. It was fair to say he had an abundance of experience, so this naturally wasn’t enough to scare him.

“What the…” Immortal Lord Nine Cranes, Immortal Lord Talisman Flame, and the others panicked.

“Senior Red Dragon, please save our lives!” someone shouted and charged at her in hope of receiving her protection.

But Libationer Yun Qiong was already boiling over with murderous intent. How could he possibly show mercy? He just attacked directly.

He activated the talisman and tapped the air.

“Die!”

Kccch!

A sharp blade formed of the natural order shot out of the glittering golden talisman, flashed through the air, and slew that Immortal Lord on the spot. Blood splattered the air, and his soul dispersed!

An Immortal Lord had died, killed without so much as a chance to resist!

The power of the divine decree left the crowd horrified.

Immortal Lord Nine Cranes and the others turned and fled, each faster than the one before.

But how could Libationer Yun Qiong just let them do as they wished? He laughed coldly and directed the talisman with all his might.

Blade after blade of the natural order whooshed forth, slaying them on the spot.

The ground ran red with rivers of blood!

“Have you changed your mind now, Fellow Daoist Red Dragon?” Libationer Yun Qiong said coldly. He gripped the talisman, his entire body seething with murderous intent. He was like the incarnation of a god, with terrifying force and momentum.

The experts of the Church of All Spirits were visibly overcome with excitement. And here they’d given in to despair after the Red Dragon Dao Monarch’s arrival. They’d thought they wouldn’t escape disaster this time.

Who’d have thought Yun Qiong’s divine decree would turn the situation around in a flash?

Xing Yu and Feng Yeyun exchanged glances. Both felt chills in their hands and feet.

Six Immortal Lords had just fallen like wheat beneath a scythe. How could they fail to understand that divine decree’s power after witnessing that?

It was like a taboo killer weapon!

Qing Wei’s heart clenched, and she couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi. He’d told her that the injuries he’d had when they met were the work of a divine emissary!

But when Qing Wei saw that Su Yi’s calm composure hadn’t wavered in the slightest, she calmed down.

“Changed my mind? No. The decree of a god, that’s all. That power doesn’t belong to you, and here in the Black Dragon Market, it cannot kill me!” said the young woman, just as calm as before.

“Hmph!” Libationer Yun Qiong said icily, “Before we left, the leader of our church commanded that no matter what happened, we weren’t to come into conflict with you. I’ll give you one last chance to let this end here. If you do, there’s still room to turn this around. Otherwise…”

The young woman shook her head before he could finish the thought. “No, all of you must die!”

With that, she raised her hand into the air and grabbed.

Clang!

A spear shot forth. It was black as ink throughout and covered in natural dragon markings. Wherever it pointed, it formed countless rifts in the air, which spread outward like ripples.

The Dragon Bone Spear!

With her weapon in hand, her presence abruptly transformed. It was as if long-dormant power had explosively awakened within her petite frame. Blood-red light shot into the firmament, and a draconic roar echoed through the air.

The power of the ancient formations covering Auspicious Cloud Palace gathered around the tip of her spear.

From a distance, it looked as if she were holding a radiant sun aloft at the tip of her spear!

A moment later, she leaped forward and thrust her spear.

Incomparably tyrannical!

Countless astonished cries rang out. Those with relatively weak cultivations were overcome with fright; they simply couldn’t bear the terrifying draconic pressure emanating from the young woman.

Some of the Universe Realm Immortals even toppled over unconscious, bleeding from the seven apertures of their face.

Even the Void Realm True Immortals cried out in pain as her draconic force slammed into them.

“You’re seeking out your own demise!” Yun Qiong roared and activated the talisman, firing another blade of the natural order.

Clang!!!

A deafening impact rang out.

When the blades of the natural order cleaved into the Dragon Bone Spear, there was a dazzling eruption of light. The spear shook, and the young woman staggered about a dozen steps back.

Her youthful face flushed red as her blood and qi surged. It was obvious that although she’d blocked this attack, she absolutely hadn’t gotten off lightly!

She pursed her lips and thrust her spear once more, not hesitating in the slightest!

Her forceful, contemptuous bearing put a solemn look on Yun Qiong’s face. As mighty as a divine decree was, its power was ultimately limited. It only had a few uses left.

If he couldn’t suppress the mysterious Red Dragon Dao Monarch soon, the consequences would be unimaginably dire.

“Die!” Yun Qiong bellowed, then poured the full extent of his cultivation base into the talisman.

Boom!

Golden light burst from the talisman as the power of the natural order surged forth, manifesting one blade after another.

Every strike could slay an Immortal Lord with ease!

But the young woman didn’t retreat.

Instead, she waved the Dragon Bone Spear. The boundless roar of a dragon rang out, and she attacked several times in a flash, blocking each and every blade of the natural order.

But with every blade she blocked, her petite frame shook, and the skin of her hands split and bled.

By the time she’d blocked the last blade, her little face was deathly pale, and blood dripped from the corners of her mouth. Throughout her body, her skin had torn and split.

Even her spear had a startling crack.

“That’s the power of Divine Venerate Tian Wu! How could you block it?!?!” shrieked Xiao Ju.

The other experts of the Church of All Spirits looked stricken too. This Red Dragon Dao Monarch is far too terrifying!

But Xing Yu, Feng Yeyun, and the others looked worried. Although the Red Dragon Dao Monarch had blocked the power of that divine decree, she’d been badly injured in the process! It would have been obvious to anyone that she wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer!

“If you die, the Black Dragon Market will inevitably descend into chaos. Can you really accept such a result?” Libationer Yun Qiong said coldly.

His expression was incomparably sinister. That divine decree was one of their church’s killer weapons. Despite the passage of countless years, they’d only obtained two such divine decrees.

Every time they used these killer weapons, they depleted their power, and there was no way to recover what they’d lost.

Yet now, he’d depleted more than half of the divine decree’s power just to take down the Red Dragon Dao Monarch. How could his heart not ache?

“I said that all of you must die, and I naturally won’t go back on my word.” The young woman pursed her lips, her youthful face utterly calm and composed.

She wasn’t concerned with her life and death. How could she possibly concern herself with the severity of her injuries, much less the well-being of the marketplace?

She raised the Dragon Bone Spear, but just as she was about to attack again, a tall, upright figure stood in front of her. “A talisman, that’s all. No need for you to go to such lengths. Let me handle it.”

This was none other than Su Yi.

The young woman was stunned, and a hint of light shone in the depths of her dark golden gaze.

“You?” Libationer Yun Qiong snickered. “Come on then. I guarantee I can destroy you with a single hand. I won’t need to use the divine decree either!”

Xiao Ju and the others burst into uproarious laughter.

Xing Yu and Feng Yeyun glanced at each other. Even the Red Dragon Dao Monarch had been pushed into such a state. How could someone yet to become an immortal dare say something like that?

Fang Han was stunned too. Does this shameless braggart really have a way to counter the power of a god!?

Only Qing Wei sighed in apparent relief, her eyes flashing with strange light. The Immortal Sovereign… is finally ready to act!

Su Yi wasted no time talking. He just stepped forth, his aura rising around him. The depths of his gaze glinted with cold light.

“Die!”

Yun Qiong was indeed a man of his word. He just raised a single hand and aimed a palm strike at Su Yi.

Clang!

The boundless humming of a sword rang out.

No one saw Su Yi move, but an illusory sword suddenly slashed through the air.

The power of Libationer Yun Qiong’s palm strike popped like a soap bubble.

His expression filled with horror, and he activated the talisman without hesitation.

But within seconds, the divine decree the Church of All Spirits saw as their killer weapon split into pieces beneath that illusory sword, then scattered into a rain of light.

The dazzling rain of light illuminated Yun Qiong’s elderly face. His astonishment, confusion, and terror were on full display.

What kind of power was that? How could it shatter the decree of a god!?

Splurt!

As Yun Qiong’s heart was overcome with terror, a bone spear pierced his throat.

With a flick of its tip, a head flew through the air.

Seth’s Thoughts

The name Tai Wu comes from a Shang Dynasty King who started his reign as an irresponsible teenager, only for supernaturally fast-growing trees to terrorize him into getting his act together. When he started governing properly, the freaky trees died, and he was a good and wise ruler for the rest of his reign.

Is there a connection to the Tai Wu here beyond the name? That remains to be seen.