First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2236 – Swords Drawn and Bows Strung

No one was all that surprised when the Three Purities Daoist Court finally launched its attack on the Xi Family.

It would have been obvious to anyone that Xun Hong and the ten-or-so Master Gods working with him were strong enough to one-sidedly crush the Xi Family.

Had everything gone as the onlookers expected, the Xi Family would have been crushed.

But variables had arisen.

Si Ming of the unknown territory Clear Breeze Temple had come uninvited, using a whole series of hidden cards to suppress Xun Hong and the other Master Gods! As furious as they were, when you rode a tiger, it was hard to get back off. They could neither advance nor retreat.

Then, Eight-Tribulation Master God Jin Dubai showed up, warning Si Ming against getting involved in this any further.

But Si Ming responded by taking out a blackbird and ordering it to claim Jin Dubai’s head!

Then, at a critical juncture, Shao Yunke, the founder of Bright Heavens Daoist Court intervened, saving Jin Dubai from disaster.

Shao Yunke was now the first Nine-Tribulation Master God to get involved in this operation the whole world was paying attention to!

The atmosphere was incomparably stifled and oppressive. Shao Yunke was now the center of attention. Xun Hong, his subordinates, and Jin Dubai had all been reduced to side characters.

As for the members of the ancient Xi Family? From beginning to end, they were effectively outsiders. Almost no one paid any attention to them.

Admittedly, they were the nominal cause of this storm, but after all these unexpected developments, they were now of little relevance to the big picture.

Even so, their lives depended on the outcome of this chess match!

The arrival of Shao Yunke, a Nine-Tribulation Master God, had made even Si Ming conscious of the danger, so he called for reinforcements.

The crowd was stunned. Everyone looked around, eager to see just how many reinforcements would come to help this disciple of an unknown territory.

But, as awkward as it was, a long time passed and no one heeded Si Ming’s call.

It wasn’t clear who, but someone burst into laughter, the first to break the silence. Others quickly followed suit, and soon, the whole crowd was laughing uproariously, alleviating much of the ambient tension.

Shao Yunke couldn’t help but shake his head, too. “Little Fellow, this match is too great for a junior like you to influence the outcome, and a few words from you are not enough to overturn the chessboard.”

With that, he shook his fly whisk and said, “Out of consideration for your master, I’ll send you on your way personally to prevent you from disrupting this grand occasion and ruining everyone’s mood.”

Boom!

The snow-white fly whisk shot through the air, stirring up arcs of snowy power of the natural order. The world seemed to shift, and the arcs appeared around Su Yi, binding him completely.

“Go!” Shao Yunke waved his fly whisk, and a massive spatial rift appeared in front of Si Ming.

Shao Yunke had actually opened a spatial node with a single strike!

Si Ming, meanwhile, was carried uncontrollably toward the rift.

The blackbird shrieked, then extended its claws in a bid to break the spatial rift, only for that snowy power of the natural order to envelop it and render it immobile, too.

“Break!”

At a critical juncture, a low, solemn voice rang out, like a Daoist invocation from beyond the nine heavens, full of unsurpassed power.

The arcs of white light binding Si Ming and the blackbird shattered, inch by inch.

Even the spatial rift rumbled, then collapsed, and vanished without a trace.

Boom!

Meanwhile, a towering figure descended from the heavens, his feet slamming into the earth and shaking the entire landscape. Even the sky shattered and split.

Another series of gasps emanated from the crowd.

That towering figure was a man fully one thousand feet tall. He wore a black helmet and armor, and he gripped a thick bronze spear even taller than he was!

Only his eyes were visible through his helmet. Each was bigger than a lamp, and they blazed like twin suns. They were incomparably imposing.

The crowd was astonished. What terrifying, ferocious majesty! He’s got to be at least a Nine-Tribulation Master God.

It’s just… Who exactly is he?

“Uncle, I just knew you cared about me and couldn’t bear to see me bullied!” Si Ming laughed and seized the chance to flatter this new arrival. It seemed that his close call hadn’t scared him in the slightest.

The thousand-foot man in armor said, “His words might have been grating to the ears, but he wasn’t wrong. You are no longer qualified to get mixed up in this, kid. Step aside and be good. Just stand back and watch the show quietly.”

His voice boomed like thunder, resounding throughout heaven and earth. The volume left the distant onlookers seeing stars, and without exception, they retreated in horror.

Master Gods Xun Hong and the others were bewildered and uncertain. That towering, armored giant was like an unparalleled ferocious god straight out of a legend. His aura was far too terrifying!

“Are you perhaps Wu Huangdi of the unknown territory Panlong Mountain?” asked Shao Yunke, a solemn look on his brow.

Wu Huangdi!

He was a mysterious figure all but unknown in the God Domain. Only Nine-Tribulation Master Gods had heard his illustrious name.

But even then, they’d only just heard of him. They knew little more than his name. He was, after all, from an unknown territory.

“This isn’t some reunion of old friends. What need is there for pleasantries?” asked the thousand-foot-tall armored man.

With that, he raised his spear into the air and pointed it at the distant Shao Yunke. “If I wanted to kill you, it’d be as easy as turning over my hand, so I’ll give you an opportunity to call for others!”

His murderous intent shook the heavens.

He obviously didn’t take the founder of Bright Heavens Daoist Court the least bit seriously.

Shao Yunke’s eyes narrowed, but then, he laughed. “Very well. At this point, there’s really no need to hide anything any further.”

With that, he called out, his voice like the roar of a dragon booming throughout the cloudy dome of heaven. “Fellow Daoists, please step forth and show yourselves!”

The crowd watched in astonishment as one figure after another appeared in the air near Shao Yunke. Their ranks included both men and women, all of them emanating monstrous divine majesty, and all of them bathed in immeasurably radiant, Undying divine light.

The Blood River Sword Court’s high elder, Jin Keshui!

Liuxiang Hen, the ancestor of the Liuxiang Family!

And the third-generation leader of Eight Views Grotto, Le Youyuan!

As the crowd recognized these prominent experts, a deathly silence descended over the area. Everyone was left wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

These were all Nine-Tribulation Master Gods who’d gone into seclusion in the Spirit Firmament Divine Continent a long time ago. Every last one of them was at the helm of a peak faction!

Yet now, these true top experts were arriving one after another, and all of them stood with Shao Yunke!

There were nine of them in total. When their divine majesties conversed, heaven and earth changed color, and the entire landscape dimmed.

“Our Xi Family is innocent. How did we get swept into a storm of this magnitude…?” The old-timers of the Xi Family were completely dumbstruck and overcome with terror. Even Xi Jingshan and his daughter, Xi Jing, felt chills in their hands and feet.

A lineup like that… would be unparalleled even if you searched the entire God Domain! Throughout the ages, almost no one had ever seen so many Nine-Tribulation Master Gods in one place.

“Just as I thought. I knew that there had to be numerous unforeseen variables hidden in this chess match.” Si Ming frowned, but he wasn’t exactly panicked.

“What do you think of our lineup now?” Shao Yunke asked with a smile.

The thousand-foot-tall armored man said coldly, “This still isn’t enough.”

“Truly?” Shao Yunke exclaimed.

“Truly!” said a voice, but it didn’t belong to the armored giant. This time, the speaker was an old man.

“Numbers alone have never been enough to determine victory and defeat,” said yet another voice, this one gentle and melodious.

Practically simultaneously, a coarse voice rang out. “Since all of you have gotten involved, fine. If we don’t back up that stubborn geezer now, I’m afraid his disciple won’t be able to give this enormous gift.”

“It’s true. That stubborn old man refuses to die, but we’ve still got to give him face.”

As these voices rang out, four people appeared beside the thousand-foot giant.

A young man in fiery Daoist robes, a fair, moving beauty in purple, a refined, elegant old scholar, and a man in a jade crown and robes embroidered with dragons, like an emperor of the mortal world.

When the four of them stood beside the armored giant, their combined divine majesties weren’t the least bit inferior to Shao Yunke and his allies!

On the contrary, looked at individually, all of the armored man’s allies were considerably stronger than Shao Yunke or anyone else in his camp!

The distant onlookers’ minds buzzed, and their hearts quivered in their chests.

Too terrifying!

Even if you’d hit them over the head, they could never have anticipated that this operation targeting the ancient Xi Family purely to force Su Yi out into the open would draw so many monstrous, terrifying existences out of hiding, too.

Master God Xun Hong and the others couldn’t help but be startled, too. They were also Master Gods, and they’d been tasked with destroying the Xi Family, but not even they had known that there were so many terrifying existences lying in wait just outside the chessboard.

By comparison, they weren’t even worth looking at!

“You’re finally here, seniors.” Si Ming smiled and greeted them all, one by one. He looked much calmer.

The black bird obediently greeted them too and averted its gaze, not daring to act up.

Because these terrifying existences all hailed from unknown territories, and they were all old-timers of the same generation as Si Ming’s master, the “old man who just won’t die!”

Now, all of them had personally stepped forth. This was completely unprecedented!

Off in the distance, Shao Yunke and the other Nine-Tribulation Master Gods’ expressions were solemn. They recognized these ancient experts of unknown territories.

They were astonished. None of them had anticipated that a junior like Si Ming could rally so many old-timers.

“According to ancient rumors, those of unknown territories live in seclusion and never get mixed up in worldly affairs, so what are all of you doing here?” Shao Yunke said gravely. “If you’re here to seize the power of reincarnation, you needn’t oppose us. We can just work together to defeat Su Yi.”

“You’re wrong,” said the seemingly youthful man in Daoist robes. Despite his appearance, his voice sounded extraordinarily aged. “We’re here on behalf of the old man who just won’t die. We’ve come to help that boy Si Ming prepare a massive gift!”

“What kind of gift?” Shao Yunke frowned.

“We’re going to send every last one of you nuisances packing! That’s already a sincere, ample gift!” said the red-robed young Daoist.

The armored giant, woman in purple, scholarly old man, and man in dragon robes nodded.

Shao Yunke and his companions’ expression darkened. The atmosphere was suddenly as stifled as could be, and the air was rife with hostility.