First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2409 – The Mysteries of the Celestial Demons

The heart was like a battlefield, formless and indistinct.

In this lifetime’s pursuit of the Dao, Su Yi had tempered a heart like an unshakeable, eternal boulder.

Now that he’d competed in the battlefield of the heart against his past lives, you could search the entire God Domain without finding anyone capable of shaking his heart.

Including his past lives!

When that formless strike slammed into Su Yi’s heart like a hammer, it effectively slammed into an ancient, unshakeable divine mountain. It couldn’t damage his heart in the slightest.

“How is this possible!?” a flabbergasted, aged voice echoed directly through Su Yi’s heart.

When Su Yi looked into his heart, he didn’t see anything, but he could sense a strange power assailing it, as if trying to force its way in.

But… to Su Yi, if his heart was a towering tree, that power was like a measly little ant. Try as it might, it couldn’t shake him.

“Of the Outsider Celestial Demons, none are more fearsome than you Formless Heart Demons. Unfortunately for you, in my eyes, you’re too weak to take even a single blow,” Su Yi said inwardly.

Boom!

The power invading his mind seemed to sense the danger, and it frantically tried to escape, but much to its horror, this enemy’s heart was like a bottomless abyss, vast beyond limit and deep beyond measure.

And it seemed paltry and miniscule, like a fly trying desperately to find a way out.

“Just who are you!?” that aged voice shrieked in rage and alarm.

Kcch!

Within the “land” of Su Yi’s heart, sword qi flew through the air, swiftly suppressing that strange power.

“Answer some of my questions, and I’ll let you go,” Su Yi whispered inwardly.

“Nothing but the ravings of a madman!” the aged voice roared.

Bang!

A moment later, that strange power exploded, transforming into a mysterious force that fused into Su Yi’s heart.

That new power was called Secret Heart Power. It could be used to nourish the spirit, refine the mind, and strengthen the heart!

In the God Domain, you could only obtain this wondrous and mystical power in the Boundless Battlefield. Even then, you could only do so by hunting Formless Heart Demons!

It’s a pity, but that was just a King-Level Formless Heart Demon. Refining it will do my heart little good. Su Yi shook his head.

You couldn’t hunt Formless Heart Demons with your soul, as you could many other formless entities. No, hunting Formless Heart Demons came down to the strength of your heart!

For most gods, the battleground of the heart was the most dangerous and troublesome of all. There was no way to fully defend it. More importantly,your cultivation base and powers of the Grand Dao were almost useless in such battles!

Even those who fought Formless Heart Demons regularly didn’t dare to be the least bit negligent.

However, to Su Yi, no opponent was less worthy of his concern than Formless Heart Demons.

He’d killed that Formless Heart Demon earlier without hesitation for the simple reason that he knew it wouldn’t truly submit to him. Unless it offered him information of its own accord, there’d be no prying it out.

Su Yi set the matter aside, then continued confidently ahead, arriving where the little fox had been crouched earlier.

It was indistinct, but he saw a smear of blood at the foot of the run-down altar. Su Yi waved his sleeve, and the altar toppled onto its side, revealing the source of the blood stain: the corpse of a bony fox, its coat smeared with blood.

Just as I thought. That King-Level Formless Heart Demon was just using a corpse, thought Su Yi.

He looked around, then suddenly stomped the ground.

Boom!

Heaven and earth caved in. Everything withered. The entire world seemed to shatter into countless pieces.

When everything returned to stillness, Su Yi found himself back where he’d been about ten minutes ago. The Leaping Dragon Mountains still stood in front of him.

It was about ten minutes ago, in this very place, that Su Yi first heard that weeping. In other words, everything that had happened since, the road Su Yi had walked and everything he’d seen upon it, had been an illusion!

Except, it hadn’t been an illusion in the usual sense, as the Outsider Celestial Demon had used the landscape to manifest an entire realm.

Su Yi had entered that realm the moment he first heard that sobbing!

And the true culprits behind it all were three types of Celestial Demons: Deathless Body Demons, Thousand Transformation Soul Demons, and Formless Heart Demons!

The ones who’d borrowed the little fox’s corpse to attack were a Thousand Transformations Soul Demon and a Formless Heart Demon respectively. Both were King-Level experts, and they’d worked together to use the corpse.

And the two Celestial Demons hidden above and below had been King-Level Deathless Body Demons!

Outsider Celestial Demons came in numerous varieties, all of them quite different, but three clans presided over all others. These were the Thousand Transformation Soul Demons, the Deathless Body Demons, and the Formless Heart Demons.

They excelled at soul attacks, physical attacks, and attacking the heart.

“It seems that the Outsider Celestial Demons have already sensed my arrival, and they’ve placed ambushes in my path.” Su Yi took a sip of wine.

These ambushes were terrifying indeed.

Even if he’d been a Master God, were it his first time in the Boundless Battlefield, it would have been difficult to avoid falling for their tricks.

But Su Yi had seen numerous such tricks and ambushes in his past life, so he could naturally resolve them with ease.

The deaths of a few King-Level experts are sure to alert the Emperor-Level Outsider Celestial Demons. It seems I’ve got to head to Dao-Seeking City as soon as possible. Su Yi thought for a moment, then rushed along with no further hesitation.

The Outsider Celestial Demons were divided into strict ranks based on strength and status: soldiers, commanders, kings, emperors, and progenitors.

Soldiers were the lowest level, but they were also the most numerous. When they attacked in mass, those beneath the god level were doomed!

If they caught their target off guard, they could even threaten Lower and Mid-Rank Gods.

Commander-Level Outsider Celestial Demons could contend with Greater Gods. They were relatively uncommon, and they were considered elites among the demons.

King-Level Outsider Celestial Demons could threaten even ordinary Master Gods! These were true prominent experts among demons.

Emperor-Level Outsider Celestial Demons could threaten even the lives of Nine-Tribulation Master Gods! No matter what variety of demon they were, they were incomparably terrifying.

In a one-on-one duel, Nine-Tribulation Master Gods typically couldn’t defeat Emperor-Level Outsider Demons.

This was especially true of Emperor-Level Formless Heart Demons. They presented the greatest threat to Nine-Tribulation Master Gods.

But Emperor-Level Outsider Celestial Demons wouldn’t personally get involved in combat lightly. Much like most Nine-Tribulation Master Gods, they tended to remain in their respective territories to oversee things. They were like pillars of the demon armies.

They would only enter the battlefield personally in an all-out war or in the face of a particularly severe threat.

In his time as Li Fuyou, he’d cut down numerous Emperor-Level Outsider Celestial Demons. In doing so, he’d dealt a heavy blow to the demon armies’ vitality, and their forces collapsed. They had no choice but to retreat to the depths of the starry sky, beyond the Boundless Barrier.

And the progenitors of the Outsider Celestial Demons were like legends. In terms of strength, they were like those gods who’d taken half a step onto the River of Destiny.

However, over the years with the Boundless Barrier in place, it had been all but impossible for the Celestial Demon Progenitors to truly enter the Boundless Battlefield.

Were that not the case, the experts of the God Domain could never have explored the Boundless Battlefield longterm.

Although the Outsider Celestial Demon Progenotirs couldn’t descend in the flesh, they could use their secret arts to send their clones into the Boundless Battlefield.

Su Yi vividly recalled the time he, as Li Fuyou, had met the progenitor of the Formless Heart Demons. They called him Celestial Progenitor Lingmi.

But the experts of the God Domain habitually referred to him as “Old Man Heart Demon.”

He was an extremely terrifying figure. How sharp was Li Fuyou’s sword heart? Yet despite having fought Old Man Heart Demon repeatedly, he couldn’t take him down. Every time, his opponent escaped.

And that was just a clone!

It was thus obvious how terrifying the Outsider Celestial Demon Progenitors were.

And now, the Boundless Barrier had fallen, allowing the Outside Celestial Demon armies to invade in full force.

Su Yi couldn’t help but suspect that the Demon Progenitors could now enter the Boundless Battlefield as they saw fit, not just the Demon Emperors!

Not even Su Yi could disregard such a threat.

However… Su Yi had come to the Boundless Battlefield prepared, so he wasn’t afraid of any of this.

The only thing he couldn’t grasp were the Angler and the Dipankara Buddha’s intentions. Just what kind of danger lay in wait in the Boundless Battlefield? Why were they so certain that, so long as he came here, he’d meet with certain doom?

Su Yi still had yet to find any leads, but that only made him even less willing to lower his guard.

After passing through the Leaping Dragon Mountains, Su Yi arrived at a familiar stretch of ruins. These were the ruins of the Sky Wolf Workshop. Su Yi had been here earlier, in that illusory world.

Upon his return, he went out of his way to find that collapsed altar. When he flipped it over, he found the bones of a little fox, just as he expected.

Su Yi sighed. It seems it’s just as the Formless Heart Demon who used the corpse said. Sky Wolf Workshop has fallen because of the Celestial Demons, and the little fox… most likely really was a traitor.

Formless Heart Demons were terrifying. They could infiltrate the hearts of even gods, influencing and manipulating their minds. They were difficult to guard against, too.

Without any further delays, Su Yi rushed along.

Meanwhile, on the shore of a blood-red lake, there lay a path paved entirely out of bone. Corpses were more numerous than trees in a forest.

A black palace stood there. Countless Outsider Celestial Demons stood there, gathering on all sides in a dense swarm. There was no end to them in sight.

But none of them, no matter who they were, dared draw closer to the black palace.

Inside the palace, bronze lamps burned oil refined from divine corpses for fuel, illuminating the palace interior.

A figure sat quietly atop a throne forged out of countless corpses.

He was a Formless Heart Demon in the shape of an old man. He was dressed in long robes, and he looked friendly, his eyes as warm as spring waters. His whole body emanated an air of peace and tranquility.

Yet he sat on a skeletal throne, and the lamps lining the palace walls burned oil refined from the corpses of deities. This was in stark contrast with his amiable demeanor, and the juxtaposition was heart-palpitatingly strange.

The old man whispered to himself, “Li Fuyou… uh, no… In this incarnation, I ought to call him Su Yi…

“We finally managed to bring him here before the Dark Days of Legend…”