First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1927 - The Gods’ Two Promises

A downpour of sword rain fell onto Celestial Wolf Gate, splattering fresh blood.

One slash, and ninety thousand experts of the Beyond were cut down like grass, regardless of their cultivation. Some were ripped to shreds. Others were burnt to ash. Desperate cries rose, then came to abrupt halts.

Only the booming hum of the sword rang out continuously.

Demon Sovereigns Li Xueyi and Yin Huafeng were dead, just like all the others.

Heaven and earth were without compassion. To them, living things were all just straw dogs. Similarly, beneath Su Yi’s sword, everyone beneath the god level fell like grass beneath a scythe, regardless of their cultivation, rank, or status.

Dense, bloody mist rose into the air.

Clang!

Su Yi shifted his wrist, and the Sword of the Human Realm blurred into a beam of light and shot into his sleeves.

Demon Sovereign Qiu Chi stood not far away. He was the only one left. He just stood there, his eyes vacant. He was completely overwhelmed with terror.

The barrier had broken. The Firmament Burning Formation had broken, too. Everyone in Celestial Wolf Gate had been slaughtered. The garrison had been reduced to rubble and scattered corpses.

And all of this happened in the blink of an eye. Just like that, Su Yi shattered the Spirit Domain’s strongest line of defense and reduced the entire place… to blood-strewn rubble and desolation!

Demon Sovereign Qiu Chi was on the verge of breaking down. His Dao Heart crumbled, and his face was ashen. He gazed at the tall, upright young man in blue, his eyes hollow and his mind blank.

The Tyrant’s reincarnation is so strong. How could he be so much stronger than the rumors? Just… just how strong is he?

“Hurry up and spread the word,” said Su Yi.

His calm voice startled Qiu Chi out of his reverie. He looked over and saw that Su Yi had crossed Celestial Wolf Gate, and he was gradually fading deeper into the Spirit Domain.

“So that’s why he didn’t kill me. He wants me to spread the message for him…” Qiu Chi murmured despondently.

He was a Demon Sovereign, yet he’d survived this catastrophe simply so that he could deliver a message on Su Yi’s behalf. What was that, if not an expression of disdain?

……

After countless years, Su Yi, the reincarnation of Tyrant Wang Ye, crossed Celestial Wolf Gate once more! 

Blood fell like rain, and his sword qi filled heaven and earth. Ninety thousand demons died brutal deaths.   

Word spread throughout the Spirit Realm that very day, causing widespread uproar.

The Tyrant had returned! Every expert of the Spirit Domain quivered at the thought of it.

A man’s reputation was like a tree’s shadow. It didn’t appear out of nowhere. Even though countless years had passed, word of Wang Ye’s return shook the entire Spirit Domain. It would have been no exaggeration to say that the whole world was overcome with astonishment.

“Celestial Wolf Gate fell once more! And the Tyrant’s reincarnation said he’d once more walk that same path and crush the Ancestral Demon Grounds!”

“How could this have happened? Our forces have already invaded the Immortal Realm, so what’s the Tyrant’s reincarnation doing here in the Spirit Domain?”

“Not sure, but I can already say with certainty that he’s come prepared. I’m afraid the Spirit Domain is in for yet another storm of bloodshed.”

…Everyone beneath the heavens was in uproar. The first to receive word were the Nine Great Demon races, and they too were caught off guard.

…

The lands of the Formless Demons, within a grand hall.

“Just wonderful, Wang Ye! He’s trying to divert our attention. He’s attacking the Spirit Domain to save the already invaded Immortal Realm!” @@novelbin@@

A white-haired elder slapped the table in front of him and rose, visibly infuriated. “What spirit! What methods! Your strategy won’t just save the Immortal Realm. You’ll deal massive damage to the Spirit Domain, too!”

The others’ expressions darkened.

“Ancestor, Wang Ye’s reincarnation said he’d flatten the Ancestral Demon Grounds. We have to hurry and intercept him!” someone called out frantically.

The Ancestral Demon Ground was the most sacred place in the Spirit Domain, a universally acknowledged forbidden ground. To the masses, its position was comparable to the Central Immortal Court of old.

But to the Nine Great Demon Races, its importance was far beyond that. The Ancestral Demon Grounds were the place where their progenitors were born, and they hid enormous secrets and profundities. Crushing them would be like digging up and severing the Nine Great Demon Races’ roots!

The old man with white hair took a deep breath, then said, “Pass on my orders. All Formless Demon Sovereigns are to rush to Nightslayer Ridge!”

Nightslayer Ridge!

This was a mountain range on the path to the Ancestral Demon Grounds, like a natural barrier. Those who wanted to reach the Ancestral Demon Grounds had to pass through it.

When Wang Ye fought his way into the Spirit Domain, it was here in Nightslayer Ridge that the experts of the Nine Great Demon Races intercepted him and forced him to retreat.

The name “Nightslayer Ridge” was a holdover from that incident, for it was here that the forces of the Nine Great Demon Races blocked the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s advance.

When the Formless Demons learned that Su Yi planned to retread that same familiar path and fight his way into the Ancestral Demon Grounds,  the Formless Demon experts’ first impulse was to lie in ambush in Nightslayer Ridge.

“Got it!”

Someone immediately dashed off to carry out his orders.

The white-haired elder continued, “Also, send word to Ancestor Changsheng in the Ancestral Demon Grounds. Tell him… that Wang Ye has returned!”

Ancestor Changsheng!

His full name was Li Changsheng, and he was an unparalleled Demon Sovereign of the Formless Demons. During the Age of Fallen Immortals, he personally led the armies of the Spirit Domain into the Immortal Realm.

He’d fought Wang Ye before, too!

“All of our forces are to gather here! Tonight, we’ll leave a few experts behind to protect our territories. Everyone else is coming to Nightslayer Ridge with me!”

Someone else spread these orders at top speed, and the Formless Demons set off later that very day.

……

The Floating Demons, yet another of the Spirit Domain’s Nine Great Demon Races.

“Wang Ye wants to fight the Nine Great Demon Races to the death!”

A tall, stalwart man furrowed his brow.

Qiu Ba’an, the leader of the Formless Demons!

Someone else gnashed his teeth and said, “That’s indeed the case. As he knows, we can tolerate nothing less than threats to the Ancient Demon Grounds. So long as he marches upon them, all of the Nine Great Demon Races will have no choice but to do their utmost to stop him! This is what they call pulling a single hair to move the entire body!”

A group of Floating Demon higher-ups had gathered in the hall. All of them had unsightly looks on their faces.

“He wouldn’t have dared announce such a thing unless he had both a plan and confidence in his success. He wants to determine victory and defeat and end things in a single battle.” Another expert’s eyes flashed. “He’s obviously frantic! He wants to fight us as soon as possible. After all, if he weren't in such a hurry, his best bet would be to attack the Nine Great Demon Races one by one.

“But he’s doing no such thing. He broke through Celestial Wolf Gate and announced his intentions of flattening the Ancestral Demon Grounds to force us to take action. In doing so, he hopes to save the Immortal Realm! If he wins, the danger facing the Immortal Realm will resolve itself with ease.”

The crowd nodded. Su Yi’s strategy was so simple that anyone could have seen through it.

But that was the most frustrating part. It didn’t matter that they could see through him. Su Yi’s target was the Ancestral Demon Grounds, so they had no choice but to do their utmost to intercept him!

Clan Leader Qiu Ba’an said gravely, “At this point, there’s no need to hide it from you. No matter what it costs us, we have to intercept Su Yi. We absolutely cannot let him reach the Ancestral Demon Grounds!”

He spoke with incontrovertible force. The others were startled and a bit confused.

But then, Qiu Ba’an continued, “Have you heard about the recent changes in the Ancestral Demon Grounds?”

The crowd nodded. The changes were a mystery to this day, as word had been sealed completely. Not even the higher-ups of the Nine Great Demon Races knew much at all.

“This change involves an opportunity to achieve divinity!” said Qiu Ba’an.

The others were unwittingly stunned. An opportunity to achieve divinity? Don’t tell me that someone in the Ancestral Demon Ground is about to become a god?

All eyes were instantly upon Qiu Ba’an. They were waiting for him to clear up their doubts. 

Qiu Ba’an didn’t hide anything. “Over the past few years, thirty-six divine emissaries and the ancient experts who watch over the Ancestral Demon Grounds have been working together to arrange this. And the gods issued a decree. They say that so long as we of the Nine Great Demon Races work on their behalf, they’ll fulfill two promises. First, when the Path of Divinity appears, they’ll grant the Nine Great Demon Races each a set number of opportunities to ascend to the God Domain.”

The gathered experts instinctively nodded. They’d heard about that a long time ago, and they’d even started planning for it. All of them hoped to receive one of these opportunities to continue their cultivation in the God Domain.

But then, Qiu Ba’an continued. “Their second promise is to use their power to help the Nine Progenitors’ spirits achieve divinity!”

The gathered experts gasped. All of them were astonished!

“As I’m sure you’ve heard, during the earliest days of the Primeval Era, the Nine Progenitors were comparable to the gods in strength. But, precisely because they were so powerful, when they attempted to achieve divinity, they met with a catastrophic, terrifying tribulation. Their bodies were destroyed, and only their souls lived on. They had no choice but to lie dormant in the Ancestral Demon Grounds’ Chaos Pool.

“The gods have agreed to help the Nine Progenitors reforge their bodies, and they’ve arranged for their emissaries to begin the process. They’re hard at work in the Ancestral Demon Grounds. Once the Nine Progenitors have bodies, they’ll recover their former peak strength. Then, with the gods' help, they’ll be able to achieve divinity without fear!”

“That’s why we of the Nine Great Demon Races chose to work for the gods and follow the divine emissaries’ arrangements. That’s the true reason we launched an all-out attack on the Immortal Realm.

“How could we tolerate the Tyrant’s reincarnation entering the Ancestral Demon Grounds at this critical juncture?”

His voice boomed throughout the hall. Waves of emotion crashed through the gathered experts’ hearts.

They finally understood.

The changes in the Ancestral Demon Grounds and their invasion of the Demon Realm were both on account of the gods’ two promises!