First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 895 - The Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court

Su Yi really was a bit melancholy.

Just a few days ago, he’d smoothly broken into the mid-stage Spiritual Revolution Realm. Even his control of the Grand Dao of the Apex of Genesis had reached the level of minor success.

With the experience of his past life, he guessed that at his current cultivation, he could kill even mid-stage Profound Illumination Emperors!

Alas, he’d yet to find an opportunity to prove it.

“You’re laughing?” Su Yi frowned slightly.

You Xue’s smile instantly receded, and she said softly, “Fellow Daoist, if you let me attack, I’ll attack. If you don’t, I won’t.”

She seemed as docile as a cat, and she carried herself humbly. She even seemed a bit meek.

The man in Confucian robes had mistaken her for a servant earlier because she was just too docile when she was with Su Yi. Looking at her, it was almost impossible to imagine that she was as terrifying as a deity when she fought.

Su Yi asked, “Do you know how Buddhists see the phrase ‘soul-stirring?’”

You Xue said earnestly, “Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist.”

“It’s only by cutting off all means of escape and facing danger directly that a cultivator can truly understand the terror of life and death,” said Su Yi. “The terror acts as a stimulant, shaking the heart and soul. This is enough to force out the full extent of a cultivator’s latent potential, tempering their essence, qi, and spirit to realize the goal of metamorphosis and sublimation. That’s the true advantage of tempering oneself through battle.”

You Xue felt enlightened. “So, there’s so much behind that simple phrase. Upon careful thought, it’s truly too wondrous for words.”

Su Yi continued, “But how can I stir my soul if I know that, no matter how great the danger I face, I’m sure to win? How can I temper myself?”

You Xue’s eyelashes fluttered, and a look of unease arose on her matchlessly beautiful face. She said pitifully, “So you think I’m hindering your cultivation?”

Su Yi said calmly, “Never mind you, no one in this world can hinder my cultivation.”

Here, he looked directly at her. “Also, you’ve been a deity to generation after generation of ghost serpents, and you’re proud and aloof by nature. Why force yourself to be so meek and docile in front of me?”

You Xue was instantly silent. The look on her beautiful face shifted back and forth.

After a while, she lowered her head and said softly, “I don’t mind.”

“....” 

Su Yi said no more on the matter. He simply leaned back into his chair and rested his eyes.

……

As dawn broke, the prior night’s downpour finally came to an end. The mighty light of a new day dispersed the darkness, illuminating the entire world.

Outside the temple, the air was misty, with high humidity. From time to time, birdsong emanated from the distant wilderness, like the music of the heavens.

Inside the temple, Su Yi asked the man in Confucian robes questions as he enjoyed the breakfast You Xue had prepared for him.

Just like he’d thought, the man in Confucian robes, Xing Yunjia, was from the ancient Xing Family, the heads of the Asura Division.

The five Emperors who’d pursued him last night hailed from a faction known as the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court.

“The Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court? Why haven’t I heard of this faction?” Su Yi asked in a daze.

Xing Yunjia stood to the side and explained the full situation.

It turned out that the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court had first appeared only a month ago, after the most recent Lantern Festival. 

Their origins were mysterious, but their foundations were incomparably terrifying. Just three days after their establishment, they’d already annexed seven of the Netherworld River Territory’s strongest heretical factions!

This orthodoxy worshiped the God of the Netherworld. Regardless of their cultivation, every member of the sect referred to themselves as a “disciple of the God of the Netherworld.”

Now, although only one short month had passed, the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court was the strongest orthodoxy in the Netherworld River Realm!

Su Yi couldn’t help but arch his brow.

He’d suddenly recalled something.

Not long ago, as the Lantern Festival arrived, Ziluo City faced the frenzied onslaught of an army of evil spirits. At the time, the inauspicious bird, the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow, attempted to break into the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication to steal the core treasure of the Cui Family, the Netherworld Judge’s Writing Brush.

It was during that very invasion attempt that Su Yi saw the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow working alongside a Dark Vassal!

In ancient times, the Dark Vassals were considered the attendants of the Netherworld King. Furthermore, the feather the crow left behind as it fled was emblazoned with the aura of the Wheel of Destiny.

And the Wheel of Destiny was one of the nine taboo artifacts the Netherworld King had wielded in ancient times!

From this, Su Yi inferred that the Netherworld King, the mighty expert who’d struck terror into the hearts of the countless denizens of the Netherworld in ancient times, was most likely still alive!

And that he was most likely within one of the City of the Wrongfully Dead’s forbidden grounds!

Now, a mighty and mysterious faction had suddenly arisen in the Netherworld River Territory. Furthermore, they called themselves disciples of the God of the Netherworld.

Su Yi couldn’t help but suspect that the so-called “God of the Netherworld” was the Netherworld King, who’d survived since antiquity!

“Why were they pursuing you?” asked Su Yi.

Xing Yunjia sighed. “As I imagine you’re well aware, there was a sudden development in the Dark Capital on the night of the last Lantern Festival. The Yin-Yang Road was severely damaged. One of our Profound Serenity Realm high elders was trapped inside.

“I came to the Netherworld River Territory to investigate what happened in the Dark Capital. I would never have thought that, before I even stepped foot in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, experts of the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court would set their sights on me. They attacked directly, leaving me no time to ask why. They wanted to take me alive.

“If I hadn’t encountered you two fellow Daoists, I’m afraid my life would have been in danger.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising. “You’re saying not even you know why they were after you?”

Xing Yunjia nodded.

Su Yi mulled that over. “They surely had a reason for this. It’s highly likely that they weren’t just after you specifically.”

Something suddenly occurred to Xing Yunjia. “Right, not long after I entered the Netherworld River Territory, I heard a rumor that the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court is plotting something big: they want the God of the Netherworld they worship to truly descend upon this world.”

Su Yi was stunned. 

This rumor made him recall his earlier conjecture. 

On the night of the Lantern Festival, the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow and the Dark Vassal had tried to steal the Netherworld Judge’s Writing Brush. They most likely intended to use it to change the Laws of the source of the City of the Wrongfully Dead to help the Netherworld King escape confinement.

Now, there were rumors that the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court was trying to summon the God of the Netherworld. This was a bit different from what the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow and Dark Vassal had attempted, yet it was somehow similar!

You Xue had been listening this entire time, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit vexed. “Had I known that there were so many secrets at play, I wouldn’t have killed those people right away last night.”

“That’s no problem,” said Su Yi. “We can capture another prominent member of the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court. That’ll get us the answers we need.”

You Xue pressed her lips into a smile. “That’s true.”

Xing Yunjia couldn’t help but warn them. “The Mysterious Netherworld Divine Court’s foundations are deep and unfathomable, and their origins are mysterious. Rumor has it that their ranks include several incomparably terrifying Profound Serenity experts. You two had best be careful.”

Su Yi, however, only smiled. “That’s what makes it interesting.”

After a brief daze, Xing Yunjia fell silent as he recalled You Xue’s terrifying display of strength last night.

They chatted a little while longer before Xing Yunjia rose and bade farewell.

Then, without any further delays, Su Yi and You Xue set off once more.

……

Snowy Skies City. 

A massive city that had existed since antiquity.

Snowy Skies City was extremely famous in the Netherworld River Territory. This was because the Inverted Ridge was just three hundred miles east of the city.

And Inverted Ridge was the entrance to the City of the Wrongfully Dead!

Three days later, late at night.

Su Yi and You Xue approached from afar.

“Anyone on their way to explore the City of the Wrongfully Dead must first pass through Snowy Skies City. It's always been like that, and even Emperors are no exception. It’s fair to say that, throughout the ages, this city has seen too many experts to count,” said Su Yi. “Alas, most of the cultivators who explore the City of the Wrongfully Dead die there. Less than one in a hundred make it back to Snowy Skies City alive.”

“Come on, let’s go find a certain blacksmith first.” With that, Su Yi proceeded toward the city.

“A blacksmith?” You Xue was a bit confused.

“You’ll understand when we get there,” said Su Yi.

At night, Snowy Skies City was incomparably lively and bustling.

On the streets, they saw cultivators of all stripes from all over the Netherworld: yao cultivators, demonic cultivators, ghost cultivators, Buddhist cultivators… among others.

There was no shortage of diverse living things of other species, either.

“Why is this city so prosperous?” You Xue couldn’t help but exclaim.

And here she’d thought that, since this city was so close to the perilous Inverted Ridge, few people would come here.

But after arriving here, she discovered that it was nothing like what she’d imagined.

“The City of the Wrongfully Dead is the most famous forbidden ground beneath the heavens, but it’s also a land of opportunity in the eyes of the Netherworld’s cultivators. Every day, too many cultivators to count come here from all over,” Su Yi said casually. “Of course, only a few actually risk themselves in the City of the Wrongfully Dead. Most of them come here to sell goods and conduct exchanges.”

You Xue was dumbstruck. “They’re here to do business?”

Su Yi nodded. “You could say that.”

Each of the Netherworld’s six realms and thirteen territories was like an enormous world in its own right.

For ordinary cultivators, acquiring cultivation resources from other realms and territories required an incomprehensibly long journey.

But it was different here in Snowy Skies City. Every day, cultivators came here from all over the Netherworld. It wasn’t even unusual to see Emperors here.

Given the circumstances, it was extremely convenient for cultivators of different realms and territories to meet here.

Cultivators could also see treasures and oddities from all over the Netherworld. The variety of cultivation resources was such that it would have been difficult for trade not to flourish here.

You Xue asked with great interest, “Does that mean that you can buy rare goods from all over the Netherworld here?”

It seemed women had an innate fondness for shopping.

Su Yi was just about to say something when he saw a familiar female figure not far away. Despite himself, he was stunned. 

Practically simultaneously, the woman looked over, as if she’d sensed something.

When she saw Su Yi’s face clearly, she too couldn’t help but be startled, and she even looked a bit uncomfortable.

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