First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1126 - Qing Tang’s Delightful Surprises

Su Yi’s calm, cold voice echoed throughout heaven and earth.

He really found it difficult to view Qing Tang as the ninth apprentice he’d once doted on. After all, she had another identity, and she was from the stars beyond!

That alone was enough for Su Yi to bear a grudge against her, one he couldn’t let go of.

And that was ignoring that she’d likely committed many treasonous acts over the years, and that her true intentions were shrouded in mystery.

The crowd tensed as they prepared to see what Qing Tang decided.

Against all expectations, Qing Tang shook her head. Instead of making a choice, she said, “Master, first, please allow me to give you a few delightful surprises. Then, I’ll naturally welcome you back to the Grotto of Abstruse Force personally. When the time comes, no matter what you wish to know, I’ll hold nothing back.”

Delightful surprises?

Everyone was baffled and uncertain. They couldn’t figure out her intentions.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “I hope you’re not planning to play any unseemly tricks. If you do, I’ll only be disappointed in you.”

Qing Tang smiled but didn’t explain. Instead, she waved her sleeves.

Thirteen bronze pillars instantly floated in the air.

There was a person confined to each of the thirteen pillars, a mix of men and women. All of them were disheveled and covered in wounds.

All eyes were instantly upon them.

Soon, someone exclaimed, “The Even Skies Sword Venerate Yi Zhiheng!”

“That looks like the Snowpeace Spirit Empress!”

“The Fallen Cloud War Venerate? How is this possible? Didn’t he leave the Wilds to explore other planes a long time ago?”

......Uproar arose on all sides, like a pot boiling over.

When the old-timers saw this, they couldn’t help but feel startled.

Jin Kui, Wang Que, and the others were dumbstruck. They knew all thirteen of the people confined on the pillars, and they weren’t merely acquainted, either!

This scene surprised Su Yi too. Five of the captives were once his honorary disciples, just as the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Garuda, had been!

And the other eight were all Emperors who’d pledged their service to the Grotto of Abstruse Force!

Here, Qing Tang said softly, “Master, five hundred years ago, when you reincarnated, these thirteen people colluded with Pi Mo in secret, aiding and abetting his crimes. Although they fled that day, I couldn’t forget this enmity. I’ve spent years searching the Wilds, capturing them one by one.”

She then took out a jade slip. “This contains the truths I uncovered from searching their souls. It’s completely accurate. Master, soon, I’ll give it to you to peruse personally.”

This declaration left the onlookers astonished. Only now did they understand that Qing Tang had spent years getting even with those who’d betrayed their sect!

“Master, now that you’ve returned to the Wilds, there’s no longer any need to keep these traitors alive.” Qing Tang waved her hand, and the thirteen bronze pillars lit up. The thirteen captives were instantly reduced to ash.

She killed them so decisively that even the Emperors present gasped.

After all, those thirteen captives were all either former honorary disciples of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force or Emperors loyal to the Grotto of Abstruse Sect. Every last one of them was a peak expert, one in ten thousand, and all of them had extraordinarily illustrious reputations and records of accomplishments.

Yet now, Qing Tang had executed them in a flash, as if they were ordinary condemned criminals!

“Qing Tang, is this the ‘delightful surprise’ you spoke of? Isn’t this a bit too disappointing? I’m telling you, even if you hadn’t killed them, we would have gotten even with them sooner or later!” Wang Que said coldly.

“If you think this is enough to earn Master’s understanding, that’s utterly laughable.” Ye Luo furrowed his brow.

And here he’d thought Qing Tang’s “delightful surprise” would be something disadvantageous to their master. He would never have guessed that Qing Tang would give him such a huge gift, as if to express her sincerity.

Qing Tang looked just as composed as before. She said softly, “Please be patient, senior apprentice brothers. That’s merely the first of the delightful surprises I have in store.”

There’s more? The crowd was stunned.

They then watched as Qing Tang raised her fair hand into the air. Dozens of treasures whooshed into the sky and hovered overhead.

Daoist seals, scepters, spiritual swords, fly whisks, alms bowls, all of them flowing with multicolored light and emanating earth-shaking power.

The sight of these wondrous, unfathomable treasures left the onlookers breathless, and their faces filled with astonishment.

Even the oldest among them couldn’t help but be impressed.

“The Illustrious Scepter, Immortal Ivy, the Glazed Jade Flask, the Void Annihilating Fly Whisk....” Ancestor Peng clucked his tongue. “Ol’ Brother Su, these are all the unparalleled treasures you gathered over the years. All of them have extraordinary origins. Such treasures can only be happened upon by chance, not sought.”

Su Yi’s gaze was inscrutable. How could he fail to recognize his treasures?

“A portion of these treasures were seized by enemies and traitors, and a portion were lost in that disaster. Those made their way into the outside world,” Qing Tang continued. “Your disciple spent these years investigating both openly and in secret, gathering leads. Finally, a few years ago, I reclaimed every last lost treasure. I’ve long since been preparing to give them back to you upon your return.”

This was the second of Qing Tang’s delightful surprises!

It left Jin Kui, Wang Que, and the others a bit confused. Is she trying to prove her innocence, or to exchange these treasures for Master’s understanding and forgiveness?

By now, everyone present finally realized that Empress Qing Tang had made ample preparations for the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s return to the Grotto of Abstruse Force!

But this wasn’t a disciple turning on her master. Rather, she was showing off her achievements and merit.

This was most definitely not what the onlookers had expected.

Before this, most of the old-timers present thought that Su Yi and Qing Tang’s reunion would lead to a rift between master and apprentice, and that their fight would affect the direction of the Wilds and its balance of power!

Yet now, Qing Tang had given her master two “delightful surprises” in rapid succession. Even the old-timers didn’t know what to think anymore.

But the old-timers quickly cooled down. Qing Tang might well be sincere, but none of this can explain away everything suspicious about her.

“Is there anything else?” Su Yi responded to this with equanimity.

A few traitors and lost treasures couldn’t really influence his perception of Qing Tang.

“There is!” An inscrutable, complicated look appeared on Qing Tang’s beautiful face. “Your disciple has been preparing for this day for far too long. There’s no way I’ll disappoint you, Master.”

Here, she took out a wooden box and gently opened it.

A bloodied, severed head instantly came into view. Its eyes bulged with bitterness and bewilderment.

When they saw it, the crowd was shocked. They almost thought they were seeing things.

“Pi Mo? Didn’t he die a long time ago!?” the Skythorn Poison Emperor couldn’t help but cry out.

Many others chimed in their agreement. Back at Martial Heaven Peak, they witnessed Pi Mo’s death in perfect clarity. That slash had destroyed both his flesh and his Dao; nothing remained of him at all. Not even fragments of bone remained, let alone a full head!

Yet now, Pi Mo’s severed head had appeared in Qing Tang’s hands!

Uproar arose on all sides as this scene startled the onlookers.

“So, Pi Mo really wasn’t fully dead...” Jin Kui was surprised, but she and the other disciples were comparatively calm about this.

Because several months prior, their master mentioned that he suspected that Pi Mo wasn’t really dead. It was highly likely that he’d refined the Twolives Twin Lotus and created a Dao Clone independent of his original body.

When Qing Tang displayed Pi Mo’s severed head, it unquestionably proved that Su Yi had been right on the mark.

Indeed, Qing Tang said, “Five hundred years prior, when Pi Mo invaded the Grotto of Abstruse Force, he immediately ran off with the Twolives Twin Lotus. I immediately anticipated that he planned to use it to refine a Dao Clone...”

It was only after she explained the details that the old-timers in attendance understood.

“Master, three months ago, when you went to Martial Heaven Peak, your disciple went on an expedition of her own. I knew that Pi Mo planned to flee the Wilds and proceed to the stars beyond, so I intercepted him and brought back his head.”

Her words echoed throughout heaven and earth. Countless onlookers’ hearts quivered.

This was already Qing Tang’s third delightful surprise.

The first was the executed traitors. The second was the recovered treasures. The third was the destruction of Pi Mo’s clone.

There was no doubt about it. The sovereign of the Wilds, Empress Qing Tang, hadn’t been idle over the past five hundred years. Rather, she’d used them to exact revenge on the culprits behind the invasion of the Grotto of Abstruse Force!

These truths were finally coming to light!

“Pi Mo established the Abstruse Force Alliance in your master’s name, and he declared war against you to ‘cleanse the sect of filth’ on your master’s behalf. How are you any different? The ‘delightful surprises’ you’ve given him thus far could just be an attempt to silence dissidents while using his name to your advantage,” the Border Mountain Yao Ancestor said gravely.

Qing Tang fired back, “Senior, let me ask you this. Over the past five hundred years, when have I ever spurned my master or my sect?” magic

The Border Mountain Yao Ancestor furrowed his brow. “Everyone knows that you injured Bai Yi and ousted Jing Xing. How do you explain that?”

These were among the most important reasons most of those present suspected her of treason.

When the Border Mountain Yao Ancestor brought them up directly, all eyes were on Qing Tang once more. Everyone wanted to see how she’d explain herself.

After a moment’s silence, Qing Tang’s bright eyes focused on Su Yi. “Those trivial matters aren’t even worth discussing now. Later, I’ll naturally give Master an answer.”

Su Yi remained calm and silent, watching Qing Tang’s every mood without revealing his attitude.

“Trivial? Not worth discussing?” The Skythorn Poison Emperor laughed. “Then I’ll ask you this. Why did you collude with the Church of the River of Stars? Don’t tell me you didn’t know their origin! And several months ago, their Holy Son, Qin Feng, led his followers to the estate of the Middle Province Wang Family to harm your master! How could you not know about that?”

The atmosphere was increasingly stifled following these questions.

The Church of the River of Stars!

The old-timers’ expressions changed.

But before Qing Tang could respond, a vigorous, aged voice emanated from within the Grotto of Abstruse Force.

“Fellow Daoist Qing Tang, I said it a long time ago. No matter what methods you use, there’s no way you can deceive Su Xuanjun like you did before. The people of this world will never believe that you aren’t a traitor!”

A group emerged from the Grotto of Abstruse Force accompanying this voice.

Their leader was none other than the First Libationer of the Solar Palace of the Church of the River of Stars, Shang Tianqi!