First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1833 - Terror

Chapter 1833 - Terror

The blood-red divine radiance covering the treasury receded like the tides.

An unbelievable change followed.

The walls of the treasury were originally full of densely backed little cubicles, each full of treasures of all types, a wondrous, glittering display.

Most of the treasures were already nowhere to be seen in the outside world. Some were enough to make Great Realm experts red-eyed with greed!

The earlier fierce battle had arisen precisely because of those treasures.

But as the blood-red light receded, all of the eye-catching, wondrous treasures seemed to lose their strength and vitality. Their light faded, and some of them even cracked and split!

“How is this possible?” Fan Zhui was flabbergasted, and his heart ached. An enormous fortune had been at arm’s reach, but now, it had effectively slipped between the gaps in his fingers and vanished.

Xi Ning’s eyes flashed. “It’s entirely possible that the wondrous treasures stored here have long since run out of power, and the ones we saw early were merely an illusion!”

An illusion? Fan Zhui gasped. Doesn’t that mean that the vast majority of the treasures here haven’t existed in a long time?

This illusion had tricked all of the experts who’d entered this place, most of them Great Realm experts. They’d fought and killed each other over those treasures. This was undoubtedly far too unnerving!

But then, Su Yi said, “I wouldn’t call it an illusion. Those treasures really existed. It’s just that over the years, their vitality and source power have been gradually ripped away.”

He then looked up at the Nine Dragons Furnace. “And the one who seized their power is hiding inside that cauldron!”

When Jing Cheng and the others tried to seize the Book of Karma, a low, raspy voice emanated from the Nine Dragons Cauldron. That was when everything changed.

As soon as Su Yi cleared his head and thought it over, he guessed who the owner of that voice might be!

Suddenly, Fan Zhui exclaimed, “Look! All the blood and corpses’ vital energy is disappearing!”

Su Yi and Xi Ning looked over and, indeed, the fallen experts’ corpses were rapidly shriveling up. Even the vital energy left in the pooled blood and lingering spirituality of the fragmented treasures was rapidly disappearing.

Within just a few blinks of an eye, both the corpses and the treasures had vanished completely!

This strange scene made both Su Yi and Xi Ning furrow their brows. They could see that all of these changes were connected to that blood-red radiance that had burst out of the cauldron and swept the hall!

That blood-colored light originated from the Nine Dragons Cauldron, and it was imbued with karmic power.

The blood-red radiance had since receded into the Nine Dragons Cauldron, bringing with it the vitality of all the fallen experts and destroyed treasures in the treasury!

It was as if a formless gaping maw had opened wide to devour everything!

Meanwhile, the Nine Dragons Cauldron transformed. As the blood-red light returned to the cauldron, the nine dragon statues coiled around it seemed to awaken from their ancient dormancy and come back to life. Rumbling rang out without end.

The surface of the cauldron lit up with Dao Markings. Chaos energy billowed into the air, and red karmic power spurted and gushed within the cauldron, shrouding the entire treasury in unsettling red light.

A mysterious tome hovered over the cauldron. It rapidly flipped to a blank page, where a line of text appeared.

“The end of a story always comes as a surprise. Only I knew that all of this has been foreshadowed since the ancient Primeval Era.

“Now, the story is about to end. Has that anomaly died, or do they yet live? I have to see for myself!”

That last line of text had only just appeared when the book suddenly closed, and a large hand took hold of it.

The hand was pale and wide, with fingers covered in fine, intricate Dao Markings, like the scales of a dragon. They flashed with heart-palpitating luster.

Then, the owner of that hand emerged from the Nine Dragons Cauldron!

An imposing pressure swept out like a hurricane, terrifying beyond measure. It threw the sky into disarray, and the entire treasury swayed violently. 

The curtain of light obscuring Su Yi and his companions’ view suffered the impact, and it too shook.

Fan Zhui gasped and blurted, “Is that… a god!?”

An unprecedented solemnity appeared on Xi Ning’s exquisitely beautiful face. That really did seem like the aura of a god!

But unlike a true god, it had an additional chaotic and strange air of death.

“It really is him…” Su Yi rubbed his forehead as he realized that this would be big trouble.

A blood-red figure appeared above the coffin. He wore his hair in a crown, and he was tall and stalwart. A flood of the red power of the Laws surged around him and fell like rain.

His eyes were like blood-red suns. One hand gripped the Book of Karma, and the other was placed behind his back. Standing above the Nine Dragons Cauldron, his aura was explosive, vicious, and terrifying. With every breath he took, wind and lightning seemed to ransack the nine heavens!

It really did seem like the descent of an unparalleled, malevolent god. The entire treasury of the Dragon Palace trembled. 

Ao Chiting!

In the early days of the Primeval Era, he'd been the ninth crown prince of the Dragon Palace and the strongest Immortal King of his day. He’d proven his Dao and become a god—the Red Lightning Dragon God.

Rumor had it that not long after he achieved divinity, a cataclysm befell the Dragon Palace, destroying it. They said that even Ao Chiting, the Red Lightning Dragon God, had perished. And now, Su Yi finally dared say with certainty that Ao Chiting was dead.

Because this Ao Chiting was a wraith.

The wraith of one who’d died after achieving divinity!

Before entering the treasury, Su Yi wondered if the power of karma had transformed Ao Chiting into a wraith upon his death. Now, it seemed that hypothesis was a reality…

To Su Yi and his companions, this was undoubtedly the worst possible situation. If they wanted to claim the Book of Karma, they’d have to get through Ao Chiting first!

“Be careful. That’s Ao Chiting,” transmitted Su Yi. He quickly explained the situation to Xi Ning and Fan Zhui.

Xi Ning’s delicate brow furrowed, and her heart sank. She was from the God Domain. How could she not know how terrifying a god’s power was? Even if Ao Chiting was merely a wraith, neither fully human nor ghost, he was far from comparable to other wraiths.

As for Fan Zhui? He was overcome with fright. He sensed an impending lethal threat. In fact, he felt that they were doomed!

Unless a god intervened personally, it wouldn’t matter who came to their aid. There was no way they could escape disaster. They had no hope of leaving this place alive.

No, wait! Fellow Daoist Su is here too! He can contend with the power of karma, and he can help the young leader stave off the suppression of the Laws!

But even if they worked together, Fan Zhui wasn’t certain if Su Yi and Xi Ning could defend themselves against a wraith created from a dead god…

Even more terrifyingly, Ao Chiting was a dragon! After becoming a deity, his power was undoubtedly unimaginably terrifying. His wraith had to be far from ordinary, too.

“The aura of a god…” Suddenly, Ao Chiting turned and fixed his intense red eyes on Xi Ning.

Xi Ning held her breath, and she instinctively took out her Epoch Treasure, the Seven-Sar Seal.

Ao Chiting’s presence was far too terrifying. The moment he looked at her, she felt as if her mind and body had been suppressed.

“Do you want to steal my Book of Karma too!?” Ao Chiting’s red eyes flashed, and his voice was low and raspy. His face contorted with dense murderous intent.

The hall swayed, and the air trembled. It would have been obvious to everyone that Ao Chiting was furious.

Su Yi’s thoughts raced. I’m afraid he’s sensed the divine blood flowing through Xi Ning’s veins, and it’s triggered a powerful reaction. It seems that the gods really are the true culprits behind the disaster that befell the Dragon Palace!

He’d only just thought this when Ao Chiting raised his right hand and slashed at Xi Ning from afar.

A bloody, enormous, draconic claw shot forth, effortlessly crushing the air. The curtain of light formed out of the mysteries of Profound Ruin tore instantly and split with a bang.

Xi Ning attacked without the slightest hesitation. The Seven-Star Seal burst with the taboo power of a god, as if swathed in a boundlessly vast domain of stars, then flew through the air.

Kaboom!

A heaven-shaking impact rang out, scattering a rain of light. The starscape manifested of the Seven-Star Seal split, and even the seal itself shook and wailed.

 Splurt!

Xi Ning swayed on her feet. Blood dripped from the corners of her lips, and she suffered a powerful backlash.

Her eyes filled with disbelief. This was a mere wraith, yet he was unbelievably powerful. A single attack had been enough to injure her!

“The Book of Karma is mine! Anyone who dares to covet it must die!!” Ao Chiting’s voice boomed like thunder as he attacked once more.

He stretched out his hand, and a blood-red halberd appeared in his palm. He swung it through the air, and…

Boom!!

It was as if the heavens collapsed and the earth caved in. Stingingly bright red divine radiance descended with such terrifying force that Fan Zhui felt a rending pain in his soul. His qi was instantly under such a terrifying suppression that he couldn’t even fight back, and he remained standing through sheer force of will. Otherwise, he’d have collapsed on the spot.

Su Yi couldn’t help but look impressed. He’s far more terrifying than I thought! He’s significantly stronger than I was at the pinnacle of my past life!

There’s no doubt about it. Ao Chiting’s wraith is no longer a god, but he’s far beyond Great Profound Stage cultivators!

It was then that Xi Ning took a deep breath. Resplendent blue Dao Light rose around her graceful figure, like blazing divine flames.

“Break!”

She activated the Seven-Star Seal and blocked with all her might, but it was sent flying in an instant.

That bright red divine radiance sent her staggering back, her beautiful face deathly pallid and her qi on the verge of descending into disarray.

The red light continued, drawing rapidly closer to Xi Ning. If it reached her, it would tear her apart.

At this critical juncture, Su Yi intervened without hesitation, unleashing the Laws of Profound Ruin to manifest a Dao Sword unparalleled in its sharpness.

The sword slashed the air, and…

Bang!!!

It exploded, inch by inch.

But the streak of divine radiance collapsed and disappeared too.

Although he’d neutralized this terrifying strike, Su Yi’s vital energy was left churning within him. It was an extremely unpleasant sensation.

He furrowed his brow, his gaze cold and profound, then snorted. “Allow me!”