First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1438 - Traitor

The atmosphere was stifled and tense.

A saber scabbard mottled with rust silently appeared in Daoist Master Red Cloud’s right hand.

When Yu Ning, the woman in the black cloak, saw this, she couldn’t help but say, “Red Cloud, please, allow me to say something before we fight.”

She then whipped around to stare at Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist Su, earlier, you said that this was only minor trouble, and that if we couldn’t resolve it, we were to follow your orders. Now this is the plan you’re offering us?

“I’ll be completely honest: I’ve been putting up with you all this time, but you’ve really disappointed me!”

With that, it seemed she couldn’t be bothered to spare him so much as another glance. She just said to Daoist Master Red Cloud, “I’ve said everything I have to say. If we’re going to fight, count me in!”

Clang!

A pitch-black spear appeared in her grip, and her aura transformed, becoming sharp and forceful.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything.

“Daoist Master Red Cloud, I have no desire for a falling out. That’s why I tried so hard to urge you to heed my counsel. Alas, you don’t know what’s good for you. Surely you don’t think I’m afraid of you?” Gu Yuanque’s expression darkened, and his eyes shone with unsettling light.

Daoist Master Red Cloud said to her companions, “All of you can just watch for now.”

Before her voice had even finished echoing through the air, her slender figure disappeared from view.

A moment later, she appeared beneath the distant dome of heaven and swung her saber scabbard at Gu Yuanque.

Gu Yuanque’s expression darkened, and he hesitated no longer.

Clang! Clang!

He drew the twin swords hanging from his waist and met her head-on.

Sword qi crisscrossed, shooting forth like raging bulls, explosive beyond measure.

But within seconds, a deafening impact rang out. Although Gu Yuanque managed to block, he was forced backward. His pupils constricted, but before he could steady himself, Daoist Master Red Cloud attacked once more.

A black saber scabbard soared into the air swathed in black Dao Light. It shattered the sky, highlighting Daoist Master Red Cloud’s unstoppable momentum. She was both forceful and direct.

“Hmph! I predicted that you weren’t a Void Realm True Immortal, so how could I have come unprepared?” Gu Yuanque said coldly.

He suddenly rose to his full height.

Boom!

A terrifying aura appeared around him, and his majestic aura expanded.

“Peak Void Realm combat strength! How is this possible!?” Yun Huaqing exclaimed.

In life, these old-timers were peak Void Realm True Immortals. After becoming immortals, they were only at the level of early-stage Void Realm True Immortals.

It wasn’t just them. The same applied to Xiao Changning, Zhou Zhe, and the others. None of them could display the strength they’d had at their former peaks.

Yet somehow, Gu Yuanque was doing just that!

There was more than just one small realm dividing the early and peak Void Realms!

This scene left the others stunned too.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Beneath the dome of heaven, Gu Yuanque waved his twin swords and blocked Daoist Master Red Cloud’s offensive. A fierce battle ensued.

He was a Holy Son of Vast Ocean Mountain, and both of his swords were immortal weapons. Combined with his peak Void Realm cultivation base, his power was terrifying beyond imagination!

But what the onlookers really found unbelievable was that despite this, he couldn’t suppress Daoist Master Red Cloud. On the contrary, within a few breaths of time, she seized the advantage once more, destroying his offensive!

“This...!” Everyone was stunned. None of them had anticipated that Daoist Master Red Cloud would be this strong!

Bang!!!

The air split. A streak of saber qi descended, forcing Gu Yuanque back.

“It’s just as I thought. In life, you were surely a Saint Realm Immortal Lord! Otherwise, you couldn’t possibly be this powerful!” Gu Yuanque’s expression darkened, but even though he’d been forced back, he didn’t panic.

Daoist Master Red Cloud ignored him.

Rather, now that the fighting began, she disdained to say so much as another word to him!

“Act in accordance with our plan!” bellowed Gu Yuanque.

Twelve Void Realm True Immortals shot out of the surrounding area, each holding an apricot yellow flag, which they placed in formation.

Boom!

A waterfall of immortal light shot forth. The twelve apricot yellow flags stirred up a tidal wave of Immortal Dao formation power, which spread out and blanketed the sky.

The Immortal Origin Sacred Combat Formation!

This was one of the core, sect-protecting formations of Vast Ocean Mountain.

Now, when Gu Yuanque swung his swords, he drew upon its power. His combat strength instantly multiplied.

Boom!

One strike, that’s all, but Daoist Master Red Cloud was forced back. Despite herself, her delicate eyebrows furrowed.

“Hahaha! Who cares how extraordinary your origins are or how powerful you are? You’ve fallen into my trap, so you’ll lose beyond a doubt!” Gu Yuanque threw back his head and burst into unbridled laughter, swords swinging.

The twelve Void Realm True Immortals circulated the formation with all their might to coordinate with him.

Daoist Master Red Cloud was instantly thoroughly surrounded on all sides.

Off in the distance, her companions were startled. Their expressions shifted and their hearts clenched.

“We cannot wait any longer. All of you, attack together! Give it everything you’ve got!” said Yu Ning. She was seething with murderous intent, but just as she was about to rush into battle, Su Yi stopped her.

“Don’t be in such a rush,” he said. His gaze didn’t so much as ripple with emotion. “The show has only just begun.”

“You plan to watch the show even at a time like this?” snapped Yu Ning. “To think Red Cloud thought so highly of you, you ungrateful little wretch! Out of my way!”

“Don’t forget, you agreed to follow my orders,” said Su Yi.

Yu Ning’s face alternated white and green. She gnashed her teeth with fury.

“They’re here!” exclaimed Zhe Yin.

There, beneath the dome of heaven, they saw Xiao Changning, Zhou Zhe, and Xue Qiaozhi rushing toward them.

“Su Yi! Are you still planning to just sit back and watch?” roared Yu Ning.

“Three reckless fools throwing their lives away, that’s all,” said Su Yi. “No need for concern.”

“????” Yu Ning was so furious that she longed to crush Su Yi to death. Our enemies are already upon us, but he’s still saying that... there’s no need for concern!?

Boom!

Zhou Zhe and Xue Qiaozhi joined forces and led the charge.

Yu Ning couldn’t hold back any longer. She swung her spear and launched into fierce combat.

But it was then that Xiao Changning bellowed, “Yun Huaqing, here’s your chance! Aren’t you going to seize this chance to capture Su Yi?”

Yu Ning stiffened. What’s that supposed to mean? Is Yun Huaqing working for our enemies!?

“Just wonder, Yun Huaqing! No wonder you targeted Fellow Daoist Su at every turn on our way here. So, you were harboring ill intentions all along!” roared Bao Wentai, his face ashen.

As he spoke, he rushed to defend Su Yi.

“You really are a scoundrel!” said the monk Zhe Yin. His response was the most direct of all; he took out his prayer beads and flung them at Yun Huaqing.

Yun Huaqing was stunned, and his face flushed red as he roared, “Who the hell is working with you? Zhe Yin, don’t let them fool you!”

Boom!

Zhe Yin wasn’t listening at all. His eyes were icy as he directed the prayer beads.

Meanwhile, Xiao Changning shot right toward Su Yi and laughed, “Little fellow, Celestial Red Cloud can’t protect you here.”

He was quite smug, and his eyes blazed as he shot over from a distance.

“Run!”

The look on Bao Wentai’s face shifted abruptly. He seized Su Yi by the arm and shot into the distance.

Within just a few breaths of time, Bao Wentai had taken Su Yi and fled the battlefield, but Xiao Changning followed hot on his heels.

Suddenly, Xiao Changning’s voice emanated from afar. “Enough. There’s no one else here. Hurry up and capture the brat.”

Bao Wentai stopped in his tracks, smiled amiably, and said, “Fellow Daoist Su, my apologies.”

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Su Yi’s arm.

Boom!

He instantly sealed Su Yi’s cultivation base.

“Just as I thought,” Su Yi said calmly. “You were the true traitor all along.”

Bao Wentai exclaimed, “You already saw through me?”

Su Yi nodded, not bothering to hide it. “Even before we entered the Starjade Forbidden Zone, I could tell you harbored ill intentions. I just wasn’t sure whether or not Yun Huaqing was colluding with you, so I decided to just wait and see what tricks you pulled without alerting you.”

Bao Wentai’s expression shifted erratically, but in the end, he laughed. “Alas, you no longer have any opportunity to fight back!”

It was then that Xiao Changning sauntered over from afar and ordered, “Ol’ Bao, bring the boy away. Wait for us at the usual spot. I’ll come find you once I’ve reconvened with the others.”

“Got it!” said Bao Wentai.

Su Yi suddenly said, “It seems you were using Gu Yuanque and his cohort too.”

“Good eyes!” Xiao Changning couldn’t help but laugh. “If Gue Yuanque and the others weren’t keeping Celestial Red Cloud in check, how could we have gotten the opportunity to capture you?”

He waved. “Ol’ Bao, be quick about it. Remember not to hurt the brat. We still need his power of reincarnation.”

With that, he turned to leave.

But then, Su Yi’s calm voice rang out. “Wait. The true show... has only just begun. What’s the hurry?”

The “captive” Su Yi’s hand then shot out and seized Bao Wentai by the throat!

“You...” Bao Wentai was overcome with astonishment. He was a Void Realm True Immortal, and he sealed Su Yi’s cultivation base the moment he captured him.

Who’d have thought that in the blink of an eye, he’d find himself captured instead?

Bao Wentai struggled to fight back, only for a terrifying, tyrannical power mixed with the aura of reincarnation to spread from Su Yi’s fingertips, dealing him massive damage.

Bang!

Countless cracks formed all over his body, like an exploding firecracker. Su Yi then seized him by the throat with such force that he couldn’t even scream. His face was instantly contorted, hideous, and racked with agony.

Meanwhile, Su Yi pulled a black wooden hairpin from Bao Wentai’s hair.

“It’s this wooden hairpin that gave you away,” said Su Yi. With a flick of his fingers, the black wooden hairpin crumbled into bits, revealing a golden needle as thin as an ox hair inside.

“This is the unique secret treasure of the Ever Verdant Immortal Province’s Moonwater Immortal Pavilion, the Formless Mother and Child Needles. They come in pairs, a mother and a child, and they can elude the eyes of even Immortal Lords to transmit information undetected. They can help obscure and alter your aura, too. They’re extremely rare, and few would recognize them even in the Immortal Realm,” said Su Yi.

He then looked at the distant Xiao Changning. “You have the other needle. That’s how I knew the two of you were colluding this entire entire time.”

Bao Wentai’s eyes widened. Disbelief was written all over his face.

Xiao Changning’s eyes widened. Waves of astonishment coursed through his heart.

Even if you’d hit them over the head, they would never have guessed that Su Yi, a mere Nascent Divinity cultivator of the Human Realm, would see through this!

It was far too unreasonable!