First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2434 – The Progenitors Attack

Dao-Seeking City

Old Man Heart Demon stood over the city gates. His eyes were as clear as twin lakes, and their depths shone with a strange light.

“They really did go to the Thousand Deaths Mountains… I just knew that Su Yi would choose to break our encirclement there,” whispered Old Man Heart Demon. “After all, it’s the only forbidden zone near Dao-Seeking City.”

“If you knew that, why come to Dao-Seeking City?” Progenitor Huang Qi asked with a frown. “Wouldn’t it have been better to head to the Thousand Deaths Mountains directly?”

Old Man Heart Demon sighed. “Knowing their destination is one thing, but making arrangements takes time. I most certainly didn’t anticipate that Su Yi would be so ruthless as to kill his old friends after the battle outside Dao-Seeking City, much less that he’d leave so much sooner than expected.

“That aside, I was concerned that Su Yi would bluff. What if he pretended to leave for the Thousand Deaths Mountains, only to return to Dao-Seeking City in secret? That would unquestionably be even more troublesome.

“It seems that nothing of the sort has happened, but I cannot deny that his timing has caught me off guard.

“Still, it’s not too late to change course,” said Old Man Heart Demon. “Now that we’re certain that they really are headed to the Thousand Deaths Mountains, this should be simple.”

He’d only just said this when Progenitor Huan Yan, who’d said nothing this entire time, grunted in agony. Her ethereal face paled.

Old Man Heart Demon’s gaze focused. “Your clone was destroyed?”

Progenitor Huan Yan nodded. “I couldn’t keep him from leaving. It seems he really has become more dangerous after breaking into the Undying Realm.”

Old Man Heart Demon pondered that briefly. “The time has come to lay all of our cards out onto the table. No amount of scheming will do us any good. If we want to win, we have to reveal our true strength.”

He looked at Progenitor Huan Yan and Progenitor Huang Qi. “I’ll have to trouble you two to intercept Su Yi personally. I’ll rush to the Thousand Deaths Mountains to coordinate with you.”

Progenitor Huan Yan frowned. “Don’t tell me you think that Huang Qi and I won’t be enough to stop Su Yi?”

“Don’t underestimate his capabilities,” said Old Man Heart Demon. “He might not be a match for you, but he has countless means at his disposal. What if… he has means of escaping you?”

Progenitor Huang Qi said gravely, “Since the time has come for us to take action personally, shouldn’t you lay all of your plans out in the open?”

Progenitor Huan Yan looked at Old Man Heart Demon, too. She vividly recalled him saying that he had backup measures for defeating Su Yi that he’d yet to put into play.

Old Man Heart Demon pondered briefly, then said, “It’s not that I’m deliberately hiding things from you, but that I have reservations. That said, I guarantee that if Su Yi does somehow manage to escape you two, you’ll see my hidden cards with your own eyes once you arrive in the Thousand Deaths Mountains!”

Progenitors Huan Yan and Huang Qi obviously weren’t satisfied with this response, but in the end, both of them agreed.

They trusted Old Man Heart Demon’s character. This was trust built over countless years. Nothing could break it!

……

“Quick! Pick up the pace!”

Su Yi and his companions flew through the air at top speed. Along the way, they encountered few attempts at interception; it seemed obvious that their enemies couldn’t catch up to them.

But Su Yi could sense an impending crisis. This was an instinct built up over countless years on the battlefield.

He suspected that on the road ahead, his enemies would attack like mad in a bid to intercept them! That would surely be the most dangerous obstacle they had to overcome if they were to reach the Thousand Deaths Mountains.

“Brother Fuyou, none of us are afraid to die, and we haven’t been for a long time. If we really run into life-or-death peril on the road ahead, I’ll clear a path for you even if it costs me my life!” Wen Qingfeng suddenly gnashed his teeth and said, “Also, don’t try to dissuade me! Just remember that if I sacrifice myself, you shouldn’t delay, nor should you hesitate. It’s enough that you live on!”

Without exception, the others were visibly moved.

“The same goes for me,” Luo Yao said calmly. “You’re our only hope. I’ll create an opening for you to escape even if it kills me. You can only avenge us if you live on. I would hate for you to die with us!”

Su Yi’s emotions churned, and his brow furrowed. “With me here, how could there be any need for you to risk yourselves like that? Remember our agreement: we live and die together!”

“We live and die together!” It was just a few words, but Su Yi spoke them with incontrovertible force!

Everyone fell silent.

Su Yi continued, “If anyone dares take it upon themselves and presumptuously tries to die on my behalf, I’ll never forgive them!”

The others exchanged glances. They weren’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

However, they all felt a dense current of warmth wash through them. This was a true friend in their pursuit of the Grand Dao, someone with an unparalleled sense of camaraderie, and a promise of life and death!

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi said, “I know that if life-or-death peril befalls us, you won’t listen to my urging, nor will you heed my threats and warnings. You’re sure to try to sacrifice yourselves to pave my path to safety.”

Luo Yao, Wen Qingfeng, and the others instantly looked ill-at-ease. They were indeed planning to do just that!

“I don’t need you to die for me,” said Su Yi, unprecedentedly solemn. He took a deep breath. “Trust me. If they really push me into a corner, all of them will die!”

The group narrowed their eyes. They could sense Su Yi’s confidence.

“Besides, I too have other methods prepared for this trip to the Thousand Deaths Mountains, ” said Su Yi. “It’s nowhere near as simple as you think, so you should just… wait and see!”

“Are you saying we’re overly pessimistic? Or that… we’re showering affection on someone who doesn’t want it?” Wen Qingfeng laughed bitterly.

“‘Showering affection on someone who doesn’t want it?’ Hah! That’s the least of it,” said Su Yi. “You’re being completely stupid. How many years have we spent fighting side-by-side? How could I possibly have failed to realize what you were thinking?”

Wen Qingfeng was instantly sheepish. He lowered his head in silence.

“That goes for you, too, A’Yao.” Su Yi looked at Luo Yao. “I said that I’d bring you all back with me. How could I have brought you with me just so that you could die for me in battle?”

Luo Yao lowered her head, not daring to meet Su Yi’s gaze. She grunted in acknowledgment so softly, he could barely hear her.

“You want to live and die together? That would be best!”

Suddenly, a thunderous voice boomed in the distance.

A tall, stalwart figure appeared out of nowhere, shattering the entire stretch of sky.

His skin was golden, glittering, and resplendent, as if it had been forged out of Undying Divine Gold. When his eyes opened and closed, they flashed with divine radiance. His blood and qi were so powerful that they shook the nine heavens and the ten earths.

This was the progenitor of the Deathless Body Demons, Huang Qi!

“You’ve promised to fight and die together, so you’d best heed Su Yi’s warning. Don’t do anything muddle-headed. If you die… you ought to die together. Only then will your incomparable commitment to your friendship be apparent.”

As this ethereal voice rang out, Progenitor Huan Yan’s indistinct figure appeared out of thin air.

Luo Yao, Wen Qingfeng, and the others instantly looked stricken. Their intuition told them that these were Progenitor Huan Yan and Progenitor Huang Qi’s true bodies!

The skies shook, and everything dimmed on all sides. The two progenitors’ auras were enough to overturn heaven and earth and dim all of creation!

It was just too terrifying. They were like fierce tigers going into battle, scaring off all other beasts.

In the face of the two progenitors, Luo Yao and the others felt instinctual terror. They couldn’t suppress it, nor could they neutralize it.

This was due to the immense gap in their cultivations. This was a formless, natural pressure. There was no faking it!

Throughout the God Domain, those with cultivations comparable to the Outsider Celestial Demon Progenitors were limited to just those like Di E, people who’d placed one foot over the threshold of the River of Destiny.

People like the old hunchback and Gu Huaxian, who’d merely touched the threshold, were a notch inferior to them!

“Why isn’t Ol’ Heart Demon here?” Su Yi asked suddenly.

He, Luo Yao, and the others had stopped in place. They stood in midair, gazing at the two dangerous figures blocking their path from afar.

“He’s waiting for you in the Thousand Deaths Mountains,” said Progenitor Huang Qi. “In other words, even if you manage to get past us, you can forget about escaping alive!”

He wasn’t lying, either. The time had come to lay their cards out in the open, so there was no need to hide anything.

Progenitor Huan Yan said, “You might be able to escape, but your old friends cannot.”

She swept her gaze across Luo Yao and the others before looking at Su Yi. “Of course, you’d all best do as you said earlier and live and die together. Do that, and Huang Qi and I will personally send you all on your way before the day is through!”

She spoke with incomparable confidence and composure. This doubled as a form of intimidation. She was suppressing their will to fight!

Luo Yao and the others’ gazes were solemn, but they weren’t intimidated.

Su Yi wasn’t moved either. On the contrary, he sighed as if he found it an awful pity. “It’s a pity, but Old Man Heart Demon is the craftiest and the most troublesome opponent among you. I suspect… that he’s exploiting you.”

“Exploiting us?” Progenitor Huang Qi couldn’t help but last. “Throughout the ages, no rifts of any kind have formed between us and Ling Mi. Our trust is unbreakable. How could you create distance between us with mere words?”

His voice was rife with disdain.

“That was then, and this is now,” Su Yi said calmly. “You could rely on each other like that in the past because you’d never faced a life-or-death tribulation like this before. I’m sure that Old Man Heart Demon has realized that. That’s why he hid himself in the Thousand Deaths Mountains and sent you two to defeat me.

“The way he sees it, it would be best if you two manage to kill me. If you can’t, he can at the very least borrow your hands to get a better sense of my hidden cards.”

He spoke slowly and unhurriedly, with calm composure, as if he were describing something perfectly ordinary and trivial.

But both progenitors’ brows furrowed.

“You call that exploiting us?” said Progenitor Huan Yan. “To tell the truth, your attempts to sow discord are pathetic and unseemly.”

“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to follow me to the Thousand Deaths Mountains,” said Su Yi, his gaze not so much as rippling with emotion. “When the time comes, you can join forces with Ol’ Heart Demon to defeat me. Wouldn’t you be more confident then?”

Progenitors Huang Qi and Huan Yan exchanged glances. Both of them were stunned; they hadn’t anticipated that Su Yi would suggest something so absurd.

For a moment, they couldn’t wrap their heads around it. What is he up to?

It wasn’t just them. Luo Yao and the others were stunned, too. Just… what is he trying to do?