First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 923 - Only Fit to Kneel and Obey

Executioners and Jailers!

Even just listening to these titles, it was obvious that they represented a position.

“Executioner” naturally wasn’t the man in black’s name.

Even Su Yi wouldn’t have expected that an expert who controlled the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, a calamity of the Grand Dao would appear in the Netherworld. This was most likely a member of the mysterious Will of Heaven Sect!

Furthermore, this one was ranked “Executioner!”

This naturally piqued Su Yi’s interest.

“What would you like to discuss?” asked Su Yi.

The man in black smiled. “Let’s discuss this tombstone. To the best of my knowledge, it’s stood here since antiquity, and it was left here by the last monarch of the Infernal Palace. It’s highly likely to contain some of the secrets of reincarnation. Thus, I’d like to request your guidance, Fellow Daoist.”

This immediately drew Old Yao White Eyebrows and the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow's attention. Who wasn’t curious about the secrets of reincarnation?

But instead of answering, Su Yi asked, “What else do you know?”

The man in black pondered, then said, “Now that I’ve seen you, I finally know with certainty that reincarnation exists, and furthermore, that its secrets lie within the Netherworld.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Does that mean you came here from the depths of the starry skies in search of the secrets of reincarnation?”

The man’s eyes flashed. “That’s right.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “And what’s your connection with the Jailers?”

The man in black froze, stunned, and his brow gradually furrowed.

Their conversation was completely under Su Yi’s control, and he found it quite objectionable.

A moment later, he smiled. “Fellow Daoist, if you’re willing to answer my questions, I wouldn’t mind chatting about that.”

Su Yi said without the slightest concern, “That tombstone really does contain a Daoist canon relating to the secrets of Reincarnation. It’s called the Cycle of the Six Paths, and the last monarch of the Infernal Palace took painstaking effort to carve it into the tombstone.”

The Executioner’s eyes lit up. Old Yao White Eyebrows and the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow’s hearts shook.

They’d both been confined in the City of the Wrongfully Dead for a long, long time. This was their first time learning that the tombstone that safeguarded the place hid such shocking secrets!

“So, you’re saying that in your past life, you gleaned enlightenment into the secrets of reincarnation after examining the canon carved within the tombstone?” asked the man in black.

Su Yi laughed, took out a jug of wine, and drank with relish before finally answering. “First, answer one of my questions. Of course, you’d best first tell me the name of your faction.”

The man in black felt stifled. He’d already realized that if he wanted to pry answers out of Su Yi, he’d need to offer some of his own secrets in exchange!

Were it possible, he’d have much preferred to attack and capture Su Yi on the spot, then use secret arts to search his soul. That way, he could learn everything Su Yi knew about reincarnation.

But in the end, he held back.

Over the past nine years, he’d advanced through this forbidden zone, step by step. He was finally just seventy feet from the mysterious tombstone. Getting this far hadn’t just taken time and effort; it had also cost him five Life-Inversion Divine Origin Pills. Each was a priceless treasure!

How could he be willing to give up now?

A little while passed before the man in black suppressed his emotions. “I can tell you that I’m from the Nine Heavens Pavilion, and that I’m ranked Executioner. The Jailers you speak of are also from the Nine Heavens Pavilion. Forgive me, but I cannot say any more on the matter.”

The Nine Heavens Pavilion?

Su Yi was briefly stunned. Then, he laughed dryly, “And here I thought your faction was called the Will of Heaven Sect. It seems I let my imagination get the best of me. After all, what faction would be so brazen as to name themselves after the Will of Heaven?”

The man in black was visibly surprised. “Fellow Daoist Su, why would you think that?”

Su Yi’s gaze was distant and inscrutable as he looked at the man in black. “I once heard that the Dao of Heaven subtracts where there is excess and adds where there is deficiency, but that the Dao of Men subtracts where there is deficiency and adds where there is excess. I also met with a Jailer who proclaimed that he was carrying out the Will of Heaven, which is what led me to that hypothesis.”

This, too, was an attempt to probe for information.

The man in black nodded after a moment’s silence. “It seems you know quite a bit, Fellow Daoist. However, I urge you not to investigate our sect’s affairs. Be careful not to bring calamity upon yourself.”

He paused, then looked at Su Yi. “It’s your turn to answer my question.”

Su Yi said forthrightly, “The Cycle of the Six Paths does indeed contain clues regarding reincarnation, but that’s all. It doesn’t contain the full secrets of reincarnation.”

“Is that so? So you’re saying that the secrets of reincarnation are hidden elsewhere in the Netherworld?” the man in black said thoughtfully.

“That’s right.” Su Yi nodded.

“Where?” The man in black was obviously excited as he pressed for further details.

Su Yi, however, seemed quite patient. He said slowly, “First, tell me how you became old friends with the Netherworld King.”

Veins bulged in the Executioner’s forehead, and he was obviously a bit impatient.

But in the end, he suppressed his impatience and said, “Little crow, you tell Fellow Daoist Su.”

Su Yi shook his head. “You’d best explain it yourself.”

The man in black took a deep look at him. “Very well. Then I’ll speak directly. In ancient times, the Netherworld King was first an expert of the Nine Heavens Pavilion who came to the Netherworld in search of the secrets of reincarnation. This search is what led to the Netherworld King’s enmity with the Infernal Palace.”

Old Yao White Eyebrows couldn’t help but be stunned.

In ancient times, the Netherworld King’s power shook the entire Netherworld. Rumor had it that the Infernal Palace, then the sovereigns of the Netherworld, paid an utterly enormous price to suppress the Netherworld King.

Who could have imagined that this mighty expert hailed from a sect from beyond the stars, the Nine Heavens Pavilion?

If word got out, it would throw the entire Netherworld into uproar!

Su Yi asked in confusion, “You’ve known for a long time that the Netherworld King was confined here, so why didn’t the Nine Heavens Pavilion come to his aid before?”

The man in black sighed. “The reasons behind this are a long story. If you want to hear it, why not answer my questions first? It won’t be too late to get into this afterward.”

Su Yi, however, smiled. “How about we end this here? I’m already not all that interested in your business. Even if I want to know more, all I need to do is capture and interrogate you.”

The Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow couldn’t help but jeer, “Old Monster Su, are you really foolish enough to think you can capture His Excellency the Executioner with your Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivation?”

The man in black frowned, his expression increasingly calm and indifferent. “That so? Then I’d really love to see for myself just how capable the former sovereign of the Wilds, Su Xuanjun, is now that he’s reincarnated.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, killing intent emanated from this tall, thin frame and soared into the sky.

Old Yao White Eyebrows shuddered, and his expression shifted dramatically.

The Executioner’s aura was so terrifying that it was simply unbelievable!

Even the White Bone Emperor, Divine Monarch Falling Star, and other peak old monsters were far inferior to him!

“Old Monster Su, don’t just stand there! Fight back! Show me just how far your Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivation can carry you!” The Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow laughed coldly, its voice rife with disdain and provocation.

The man in black laughed and waved. “Little crow, don’t say that. Fellow Daoist Su was once illustrious indeed. Although he’s since reincarnated, and although his current cultivation isn’t at all eye-catching, it wouldn’t do to underestimate him.”

Although he said this, his words revealed an air of superiority.

Old Yao White Eyebrows looked at Su Yi with concern.

By now, he understood that the Su Xuanjun who stood before him was no longer the unsurpassed legend who’d dominated his entire era with ease.

As his voice rang out, the man in black seemed to reach a decision. He turned and charged.

It had taken nine years of painstaking effort, all while enduring unimaginable pressure, to get within seventy feet of the tombstone.

Had nothing gone wrong, he would surely have reached it within six hours!

Yet after learning of Su Yi’s reincarnation, the man in black decisively gave up on the past nine years of hard work.

He was well aware that, so long as he captured Su Yi alive, he wouldn’t just acquire the secrets of the tombstone; he could also learn just where the full secrets of reincarnation were hidden!

As the man in black turned and moved further away from the tombstone, the formless power of the Laws bearing down on him starkly decreased.

And his majestic aura and momentum soared!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The man in black put his hands behind his back. His taupe eyes surged like whirlpools, and his thin frame emanated a terrifying majesty seemingly capable of destroying both heaven and earth.

“So, His Excellency the Executioner is just one step away from challenging the Profound Unity Realm…” the Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow exclaimed in astonishment. It only now realized just how terrifyingly strong the Executioner’s cultivation base was.

In the modern Netherworld, peak Profound Serenity Emperors were already supreme experts. They were like true sovereigns!

Old Yao White Eyebrows gulped with great difficulty, and his body stiffened.

The man in black’s aura was so forceful that even watching from a distance filled his heart with irrepressible terror and dread.

Furthermore, Old Yao White Eyes keenly sensed an utterly terrifying aura of calamity about him. It was a strange power difficult to describe in words, like a tribulation of the Grand Dao or the terrifying majesty of heaven!

However, Su Yi’s expression was just as calm as before.

Seeing this, he finally dared say with certainty that in the Nine Heavens Pavilion, Executioners far outranked Jailers!

Although Jailers were terrifying, their cultivation was only in the Profound Illumination Realm.

The Executioner was different. Most likely, only Profound Serenity Emperors were qualified to take up this post.

When he was three hundred feet from the tombstone, the man in black stretched, as if sloughing up the pressure that had been bearing down on him. His aura had already soared to unbelievably terrifying heights.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he gazed at Su Yi from afar. “Fellow Daoist Su, please, allow me to bear witness to your divine abilities.”

He was calm and composed. His voice was utterly dignified, and every word boomed like thunder, reverberating throughout the desolate landscape.

The Nine Serenities Netherworld Crow shuddered, and its red eyes shone with deep-seated dread.

Old Yao White Eyebrows’ heart shook, and he wanted nothing more than to turn tail and flee.

However, Su Yi simply laughed right back. “I forgot to tell you this, but I am the sovereign of this forbidden zone. Heaven and earth are mine to command, and all Daos act in accordance with my will. Someone like you is only fit to kneel and obey.”

As this calm voice rang out, Su Yi raised his right hand and gently pressed down.

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