First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2491 – The Grand Dao of Profound Ruin, Severing All

Sword qi flew across the battlefield, boundless as chaos and full of destructive power and visions of calamity.

The dome of heaven collapsed, and the earth caved in. It was as if everything had ceased to exist.

The two combatants’ figures were the only constant amidst the destruction, like indestructible lights.

Bang!

Su Yi took several steps backward. Sword intent collapsed between the fingers of his right hand, blood flowing from the joints.

Cuts were cropping up all over his blue robes, marking places where sword qi had swept past him.

Meanwhile, Lu Shi’s sword seal had split, and there was a deep, bloody gash on his cheek.

He too had taken several steps back, his qi rumbling like thunder, the sound booming in all directions.

But he just smiled, wiped the blood from his face, and whispered, “The sword is first and foremost for killing. It’s utterly destructive. No matter what power of the Grand Dao one uses to temper their attainments in the Dao of the Sword, its purpose is to defeat enemies and cleave open a path to survival. Where the sword points, nothing can stand in its way!

“That’s the path all sword cultivators strive for, the one and only!

“But those who truly reach the heights you and I have reached… are far too rare.” Lu Shi let out a deep sigh. HIs words obviously came straight from the heart.But then, he laughed. “Fortunately, I finally managed to meet someone like you today.”

He sounded utterly gratified.

“Why can’t you find stronger opponents on the River of Destiny?” asked Su Yi. “Do you think it’s perhaps because your cultivation is insufficient?

Lu Shi froze, then paused to consider the question seriously. “That really is part of it. Over the years, I’ve explored all over the River of Destiny, but I’ve always gotten the sense that the River of Destiny I was seeing… was only the tip of the iceberg, and that the True River of Destiny is beyond my comprehension. It’s far vaster, and far more mysterious than I can grasp.”

“Right, I visited the Eternal Heavens Domain once. There, I heard about your past life,” said Lu Shi. He looked at Su Yi. “I got to witness the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s majesty for myself.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “Did you fight him?”

Lu Shi shook his head. “The disparity in our cultivation bases is too enormous. Had we fought, I’d have surely lost.”

The Malevolent Sword Venerate is that strong? Su Yi was stunned. It seems my understanding of my second incarnation is still rather shallow…

“But the Malevolent Sword Venerate can advance no further in his cultivation, much like how the Nine-Tribulation Master Gods of the God Domain have halted their advance at the threshold of Eternity. Many will struggle their entire lives without ever truly touching it,” Lu Shi said calmly. “The Malevolent Sword Venerate faces a similar problem.

“But I’m much like you in that I have the potential to grow repeatedly. The Grand Dao is mine to seize!”

Su Yi laughed. “My path is different from yours.”

Lu Shi smiled. “Everyone is different, so everyone’s Dao of the Sword is different. That’s how it should be.”

As they conversed, it seemed as if they weren’t attacking, but in truth, their sword force clashed continuously, overturning the entire stretch of heaven and earth. Everything seemed to wither and collapse, as if sinking into boundless chaos.

This vision of destruction had long since drawn the attention of numerous people throughout the Spirit Firmament DIvine Continent.

Boom!

Lu Shi’s robes billowed around him. Countless purple sword flowers floated before him, then condensed into a sword.

When he took it by the hilt, his imposing aura underwent yet another shocking transformation. It was even mightier than before, and even more tyrannical!

Practically simultaneously, Su Yi stretched out his hand and grabbed. A simple, pure Dao Sword formed in his grip.

His presence silently transformed, too. He now seemed inscrutable and mysterious, as if he’d risen above it all. He had no sharp edges or points. Rather, he seemed steady and plain.

“My Dao of the Sword is called the Nine Extremes. Nine represents the limit, the end of the Dao. Now, I shall share the mysteries of the Nine Extremes with you, Fellow Daoist!” Lu Shi narrowed his eyes, shouted, and attacked.

He casually grabbed a sword flower. Light and shadow interwove, and boundless purple flowers bloomed, transforming the surrounding space.

The heavens seemed to transform in their entirety, becoming a Lightning Sword Domain!

The purple sword flowers filling the sky bloomed, and countless streaks of purple lightning sword qi came crashing down from the heavens.

Terrifying sword force swept out with a bang.

Purple Qi Comes From the East!

In just one slash, Lu Shi manifested a lightning domain. Waves of sword qi swept forth, pushing the destructive power of his Dao of the Sword to unbelievable heights.

Su Yi’s gaze was heavy, but his heart and mind were light and ethereal. He stood in place, unmoving, yet seemingly unshakable.

When the explosive, resplendent lightning sword qi slammed into him, it produced a deafening impact… only for the electric sparks to bounce off him harmlessly. They didn’t injure him in the slightest.

Because a perfectly round sword curtain floated around Su Yi, one without beginning or end. It had no seams or flaws, and it perpetuated itself, as if it had been there forever!

“Break!” When Su Yi took a step forward and swung his sword…

Boom!

The lightning sword domain shook violently, and the countless blooming purple sword flowers withered and dimmed.

A massive chasm appeared at a corner of the sword domain. Su Yi had opened up a rift!

“Good!” Lu Shi laughed.

The torn lightning sword domain suddenly collapsed.

And amidst that collapse, an indescribable destructive fluctuation surged forth.

It was as if it had destroyed the ground cover, triggering a volcanic eruption. Countless streaks of sword light emanating a destructive aura and death qi bloomed and took to the sky as the ground broke.

At the same time, Su Yi felt a strong sense of impending crisis.

Lu Shi’s first strike manifested a lightning sword domain, while his second strike wrought new life where his first strike had wrought destruction!

They seemed like two separate attacks, but in truth, they were connected. This was the perfect unity of destruction and new life!

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but silently applaud his abilities. His attainments in the Dao of the Sword are wondrous indeed, with endless transformations hidden within them.

“Break!” Su Yi swung his sword in a light, airy gesture.

It was a simple, casual strike, yet it was fully imbued with the mysteries of Su Yi’s Dao of the Sword.

Water had no stable form. Su Yi’s attacks didn’t either!

His Grand Dao was rooted in his swordsmanship; he fused all other Daos into it. He could use his sword to break all abilities, but also to manifest all manner of abilities.

Similarly, his sword could break all Daos, or create all Daos!

He’d long since ceased to consider divine abilities of the Dao of the Sword, Daoist magics, or specific attacks when he fought. His sword followed his heart. It was beyond such limitations!

Take this strike, for instance. It contained the wonders of Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, as well as the essence of Splitting Mountains and Seas of the Rejoicing Sword Sutra.

Those were moves and abilities he’d invented himself. Now, he’d fused them all into one.

When Su Yi attacked, he tore open a rift in heaven and earth.

As the rift spread, the countless streaks of destructive sword qi parted like the sea and dissipated. The rift continued, as if nothing could stand in its way.

Its tip stretched toward Lu Shi. Wherever Su Yi’s strike went, it broke killer moves, split heaven and earth, and shot toward his enemy.

Heedless of the distance!

This strike looked simple. Even ancient experts would have struggled to see through its mysteries, let alone ordinary people.

But Lu Shi obviously sensed them. His expression shifted, and his gaze shifted inscrutably. He dared not hesitate to unleash his third strike.

Kacha!

A streak of resplendent sword light appeared, quick as lightning, and Su Yi’s strike broke!

Lu Shi’s strike appeared instantly, then vanished instantly, so quick that it seemed unbelievable. This was Lu Shi’s Nine Extremes Sword Dao’s third extreme, a Flash of Inspiration!

Beneath this strike, space didn’t seem to exist, while time contracted. Its speed was indescribable. When mastered, this strike’s destructive power and forcefulness reached unprecedented heights!

“That attack isn’t bad,” said Su Yi, “But it isn’t unbreakable.”

Lu Shi smiled. “Then I’ll just have to clean out my eyes and look closely.”

He’d only just said this when… Whoosh!

That flash of sword qi cleaved into Su Yi, cleaving open a perfectly straight chasm where he was standing.

But at the same time, Su Yi appeared in another stretch of sky. The Su Yi who’d been destroyed was but an afterimage.

Although he’d avoided that unbelievably quick strike, Su Yi was still injured. His left sleeve had been cut, and there was now a bloody wound on his arm so deep that his bones were visible.

In other words, if Su Yi hadn’t dodged fast enough, he might well have lived, but he’d have surely lost his arm!

Before Su Yi steaded himself on his feet, more and more streaks of sword qi came crashing down like a pelting rain.

All of them were unbelievably fast, and they attacked from different angles and directions. Worse, they appeared out of nowhere.

They even predicted Su Yi’s escape routes. Whenever he dodged, another streak of sword qi appeared in his path with wondrous accuracy and endless transformations.

Lu Shi’s Dao of the Sword could have killed most Nine-Tribulation Master Gods before they even knew what hit them. It was just too fast; there was no blocking it!

But against Lu Shi’s expectations, Su Yi didn’t try to dodge. Instead, he stood in place, like the unmovable blue dome of heaven!

How terrifyingly strong was the sword qi pelting Su Yi?

But, as unbelievable as it seemed, before those strikes could display their power, the formless power of the Dao of the Sword around Su Yi devoured them!

It turned out that a vast, invisible ruin had formed around Su Yi! It was endlessly vast and unfathomably deep. Within it, direction seemed to lose all meaning. It was as if anything that entered it was swallowed up and silently disappeared.

These were Laws of Profound Ruin!

They could sever karma and restrict fate! This was a power from the River of Destiny, an unparalleled Dao granted to him by his first incarnation.

In the face of Profound Ruin, all powers and all treasures were severed, like trees snapped at the roots or rivers severed at their source.

Su Yi had used this power many times before.

However, it was only now that he’d stepped into the Undying Realm that he understood Profound Ruin’s true power.

This Dao didn’t just restrict fate or sever karma. It could cleave through everything!

For instance, Su Yi now stood there, as if standing amidst a vast ruin. It severed all of the sword qi headed his way.

He, meanwhile, was entirely unharmed!

When Lu Shi saw this, he furrowed his brow. He wasn’t shocked.

Rather, he was bewildered!

Because, as broad as his horizons were, he couldn’t see through the Dao Su Yi was using!