First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1092 - A Plan

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress suddenly changed tacks. She laughed, “Alas, the Nine Heavens Pavilion has no idea how important Big Brother Su is to me. Even if they offered me countless cultivation methods for the Three Realms of the Path of Heaven’s Ascension, I wouldn’t even look at them.”

She sat on the cliffside, and she was shorter than the reclining Su Yi to begin with.

From Su Yi’s position, he could naturally see the places her red dress couldn’t cover. A certain deep, snowy ravine was particularly eye-catching…

But Su Yi was in no mood to admire it. It seemed he was pondering something. “How strong is the Sixth Warden?”

“Strong,” said the Heavensdeath Demon Empress. Her smile disappeared, and after a moment’s thought, “Definitely a peerless figure with extraordinary talent. The Warden’s foundations are exceptional, and he's only been cultivating for eight thousand years, but he's already in the mid-stage Profound Unity Realm.

“It’s worth noting that he's extremely ruthless and determined. He's steady, yet insidious, the type to eat a man alive without bothering to spit out the bones.

“That aside, he carries numerous secret treasures. The one that left the deepest impression on me was his Dao Sword. It contains an utterly taboo, peerless sword intent. When I faced it, even my hair stood on end, and I sensed a potentially lethal threat.”

Here, a rare look of solemnity appeared on her face.

“A Dao Sword?” Su Yi asked with great interest. “Tell me the details.”

He still remembered that the Nine Heavens Pavilion was in possession of a mysterious Dao Sword, the sect’s supreme divine artifact.

Anyone qualified to enter the Nine Heavens Pavilion to cultivate had to swear a Grand Dao Oath before this sword immediately upon entering the sect. They had to swear on their Dao Heart never to divulge any information regarding the sect’s secrets. If they went against their orders, their minds would break down, their Daos would shatter, and their souls would disperse!

For example, when Su Yi met the Fifth Executioner, Mo Chuan, before the tombstone in the City of the Wrongfully Dead, the Executioner died because he revealed the sect’s secrets to Su Yi. His oath destroyed his body and ended his Dao.

Fifth Executioner Mo Chuan was a Profound Serenity Emperor, but revealing those secrets was enough to end his life!

Su Yi found it quite surprising, and he couldn’t even imagine what kind of mysterious sword could confine and kill even a peak Profound Serenity Emperor with a mere oath!

Later, Su Yi learned that the oaths affected even experts on the Netherworld King’s level. Back in ancient times, she stole Heaven-Deceiving Grass from the Deva Division despite the risk of war with the Infernal Palace, all for the sake of escaping her Grand Dao Oath’s fetters.

All of this proved how terrifying the Nine Heavens Pavilion’s Dao Sword was.

Surprisingly, throughout the Nine Heavens Pavilion, only their supreme leader knew the sword’s origins, what it looked like, and just what kind of taboo power it possessed.

All of this meant that the sword had long since thoroughly piqued Su Yi’s interest.

“The sword is four feet long, and about four fingers across. It’s pure black throughout, and its edge is blunt and unsharpened…” the Heavensdeath Demon Empress said softly. “The part that really drew my attention was the hilt. It's emblazoned with the diagram of a mysterious golden eye.

“Alas, I only caught a brief glimpse of it. I couldn’t see it clearly.

“But I did learn that the sword is called ‘Spirit Ashes.’”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. He already dared say with certainty that the Sixth Warden’s Dao Sword wasn’t the Nine Heavens Pavilion’s supreme divine artifact.

After all, the Netherworld King had said with assurance that in the Nine Heavens Pavilion, only the Supreme Leader could wield that blade. As strong as the three Heavenly Libationers were, they didn’t even know the sword’s name or origins.

And the Sixth Warden’s status was far inferior to that of the Heavenly Libationers. How could they possibly wield the sect’s supreme divine artifact?

Still, based on what the Heavensdeath Demon Empress had told him, the Sixth Warden’s Spirit Ashes was surely an extraordinary treasure.

Otherwise, it couldn’t possibly have made her sense a lethal threat!

After a moment’s thought, Su Yi said, “Do you think we could kill the Sixth Warden if we worked together?”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress exclaimed, “Do you plan to attack them?”

“They’re the ones targeting me,” corrected Su Yi. “It’s not like I can just sit around and wait for them to kill me.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress’s eyes flashed. “It’s hard to say who’d win in a direct confrontation. Who knows how many cards the Sixth Warden has hidden up their sleeves?”

Here, something occurred to her, and a hint of excitement appeared on her face. “They promised, didn’t they? So long as I capture you, I can trade you for the cultivation method for the Three Realms of the Path of Heaven’s Ascension. Why not turn their plans against them? If we do, perhaps we can kill them and get our hands on that cultivation method! That’s what they call killing two birds with one stone!”

Su Yi was stunned. “You want me to pretend I’ve been captured, then use me to go fishing?”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress giggled. “They have no idea of our relationship. So long as we take advantage of that, we can catch them off guard.”

Su Yi thought for a moment. “How about this? Let’s wait a bit, then have you reveal my location and lure the experts of the Nine Heavens Pavilion over.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress was stunned. “Why do we have to wait first?”

Su Yi said with mild exasperation, “With my current cultivation base, unless I go all out and risk it all, dealing with a mid-stage Profound Unity expert who controls the Laws of Heavenly Prayer is a bit much.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress batted her starry eyes, then laughed. “I actually forgot. Big Brother Su, your current cultivation is far from your former peak. Had I dared tease you like this in your past life, you most likely would have attacked me a long time ago.”

Su Yi disregarded this. Instead, he said thoughtfully, “Pi Mo has started working with the Nine Heavens Pavilion. Do you think he’s made contact with the Church of the River of Stars, too?”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress said, “It’s quite possible!”

“Very well. I’ll give him a bit of extra time and let him prepare properly,” said Su Yi. “Help me spread word that in three months, I’ll visit Martial Heaven Peak to kill my traitorous disciple, Pi Mo, and cleanse my sect!”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress was an ancestral figure in the Demons’ Elysium, and she could command the Wilds’ other Demonist factions. With her at the helm, she could ensure that everyone in the Wilds found out about this.

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress exclaimed, “Big Brother Su, are you trying to make sure everyone beneath the heavens bears witness to Pi Mo’s demise?”

Su Yi said flatly, “He established the Abstruse Force Alliance in my name. Now that I’ve reincarnated and returned, I naturally ought to set the record straight. I’ll actually be curious to see how many of the factions subordinate to the Abstruse Force Alliance dare work on Pi Mo’s behalf once they know that I’ve returned.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress’s starry eyes lit up. “Wonderful! That way, you can ‘shake the mountain to startle the tigers’ and weaken the Abstruse Force Alliance’s power. More than that, you can clearly differentiate between friend and foe, and wipe out all of your enemies in one fell swoop.”

She paused, then said softly, “And even if Pi Mo realizes this, it’ll be difficult for him to turn it around. After all, word of the battle in the Ten Directions Yao Mountains is sure to spread throughout the Wilds. Then, anyone with a working brain will realize who you are! And all of this is sure to deal a heavy blow to Pi Mo’s Abstruse Force Alliance.”

But then, she furrowed her brow. “But what will you do if Pi Mo realizes his predicament and flees?”

Su Yi said flatly, “If he does, he’ll irrevocably ruin his reputation. He’ll henceforth be nothing but a traitor to his master and his sect, and he’ll never be free of this dark mark so long as he lives.

“Admittedly, he might not care about others’ insults, but he’s sure to face me in battle sooner or later.”

Here, the Heavensdeath Demon Empress couldn’t help but be curious. “Why are you so certain of that, Brother Su?”

Su Yi said casually, “Pi Mo’s betrayal was connected to the young mistress of the Studio of the Heart. She’s Pi Mo’s greatest pillar of support, too.

“And as you know, the Studio of the Heart has come to the Wilds to gather Dark and Gold Treasures, as well as investigate the secrets of reincarnation.

“If only for the sake of the secrets of reincarnation, they’d have to come looking for me. Furthermore…” Here, a hint of a mocking smile tugged at Su Yi’s lips. “They’re sure to worry that the Church of the River of Stars and Nine Heavens Pavilion will get to me first. Thus, if there’s an opportunity to take me down… There’s no way they’ll pass it up.” By now, the Heavensdeath Demon Empress fully understood Su Yi’s intentions. “After you take care of Pi Mo, will you go after your youngest disciple too?”

Su Yi sank into a brief silence. “When the time comes, we’ll see.”

He dared say with certainty that when Pi Mo first proclaimed him the common enemy of the Abstruse Force Alliance, Qing Tang guessed his identity.

But strangely, even now, she hadn’t taken any action of any kind, nor had she displayed her stance on the matter.

Even Su Yi found it difficult to guess his youngest disciple’s intentions.

“No matter what, I’ll…. Have to resolve all of this, one way or another…” Su Yi muttered.

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress hesitated, then whispered, “Brother Su, are you certain you can help resolve the difficulties with my cultivation?”

Years had passed, and she was already using a full thirteen Dao-Suppressing Demon Chains to seal her cultivation base. Despite all that, she knew she wouldn’t be able to suppress it much longer.

If she didn’t figure out how to break through soon, her cultivation was sure to recede!

And if that happened, in the years that followed, she’d be forced to watch helplessly as her cultivation base relentlessly declined. That would be no different from plummeting into an endless abyss!

This dilemma had been weighing on her for a long time.

Su Yi didn’t even stop to think. “Relax. The Wilds’ severed Path of Heaven’s Ascension remains hidden in Dark and Gold Essence. If you refine it, you can derive the most fundamental Laws of the Dark and Gold Star Realm. Once you do, you can ascend the heavens and leap into the World King Realm.”

When she heard that, the Heavensdeath Demon Empress finally seemed to make up her mind. “Brother Su, wait for me for a few days. I’ll go get the treasures from the lost era I gathered over the years. I’ll have to trouble you to look through them and see which are Dark and Gold Treasures.”

Then, she rose, her red dress swaying around her as she shot through the air. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared without a trace.

When Su Yi saw this, he couldn’t help but laugh. That demoness is finally willing to bring out her treasures!