First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1586 - A Formless Demon

The clear light of the heavens illuminated the smooth surface of the lake.

Su Yi stood beneath the bright skies, blue robes swaying around him. He looked ethereal, like one who’d risen out of the dust of mundanity.

The entire area was so quiet that you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was astonished, and everyone watched in a daze.

How tyrannical had Li Fenghan been earlier? He was just one person, yet he’d defeated over a dozen proud chosen of heaven at once. His sheer bluster was appalling.

It was to the point that the crowd couldn’t even imagine how a Universe Realm cultivator could be so strong!

Yet now, Li Fenghan had lost! One palm strike, and he’d been swatted like a fly and forced to the ground!!

This scene was unquestionably astonishing, and it had happened so quickly that the crowd needed tto wrap their heads around it all.

What really baffled them was that the person who’d forced Li Fenghan to the ground in a single slap wasn’t a heaven-defying genius of the Universe Realm. No, he was a young man yet to step into the Immortal Dao!

Even the Immortal Lords’ jaws practically fell off from shock!

The gap in strength was far too enormous, so the resulting astonishment was overwhelmingly great. Everyone felt completely caught off guard.

“I expected this, but still.... Wasn't that a bit too fast?” Fu Yunzhong muttered, his eyes wide.

Meanwhile, Fang Han gazed at Su Yi standing calmly beneath the heavens. He suddenly felt that Tang Weihan, Meng Xinguan, and the other “monstrous geniuses” really... weren’t all that special after all.

Even that “unrivaled god of slaughter,” Li Fenghan, wasn’t all that tough!

“Defeated? Just like that?” Tang Weihan couldn’t help but blurt.

Meng Xinguan and the others had conflicted looks on their faces. They finally understood what others meant when they said “there’s always someone stronger out there!”

“You didn’t lose unfairly, and you needn’t lose heart. Within the Universe Realm, you’re all first-rate experts,” said Su Yi. He gazed down at the suppressed Li Fenghan. “As for him? He’s just demon scum impersonating a cultivator of the Immortal Dao.”

Demon scum? The crowd was stunned.

But before they could react, Li Fenghan let out a heaven-shaking roar, struggled to his feet, and slashed at Su Yi’s throat.

As quick as lightning.

But it was as if Su Yi had precognition. He suddenly stretched out his hand, seized Li Fenghan by the neck, and shook.

Bang!!

Li Fenghan’s clothing was torn. A moment later, his skin split like cloth and shattered into pieces, revealing his true appearance.

His features were similar to a human’s, but his skin and long hair were tinged silver, and he had an additional vertical eye on his forehead. His slender frwas swathed in wisps of strange black demonic flames.

The crowd was stunned.

Chu Baichan of the Divine Mysteries Pavilion cried out, “That’s one of the demons of the Beyond, a Formless Demon! No wonder his strength was so heaven-defying. He was faking his cultivation!”

A Formless Demon?

Most of those present had no idea what that meant.

But sof the older-generation cultivators’ expressions shifted, and they felt chills in their hands and feet.

Formless Demons were among the most troublesand dangerous life forms of the Beyond. They were natural-born assassins with innate transformation skills.

Rumor had it if they willed it, they could bectrees or blades of grass, or even unassuming grains of sand.

Experts of the Formless Demon race could flawlessly disguise themselves as experts at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao!

Ancient tomes of the Immortal Realm described Formless Demons as one of the nine most dangerous demon races of the Beyond.

However, none of them would have guessed that after countless years of dormancy, they’d encounter a Formless Demon here in the Immortal Realm’s territory.

It was just too surprising.

Sof the older-generation cultivators’ hearts sank as they recalled recent rumors—supposedly, beyond the Immortal Realm’s Nine Gates of Heaven, the demons of the Beyond were rallying themselves for battle!

“Is that really an expert of the Formless Demon Race?” someone asked. It seemed they still couldn’t believe it.

“It seems that after the long Age of Fallen Immortals, you’ve forgotten what the demons of the Beyond look like...” Su Yi sighed.

Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, the experts of the Immortal Realm and the demons of the Beyond fought for years on end at the Nine Gates of Heaven. After countless years of fighting, what cultivator of the Immortal Realm’s forty-nine provinces didn’t know what Formless Demons looked like?

Yet now, a living, breathing Formless Demon had appeared before a crowd, but most of them still seemed skeptical. How could Su Yi be anything but rueful over this?

He shook his head, cast aside his scattered thoughts, and stared at the Formless Demon trapped in his grip. “You’re obviously a high-level Demon General comparable to a late-stage Void Realm True Immortal, yet here you are, impersonating a Universe Realm Immortal. Have you no shame?”

Of the demons of the Beyond, there were four categories of demon capable of fighting experts of the Immortal Dao.

They were, respectively, Demon Captains, Demon Generals, Demon Nobles, and Demon Kings. Each was divided into lower, middle, and upper levels.

They corresponded with the Universe Realm Immortals, Void Realm True Immortals, Saint Realm Immortal Lords, and Miracle Realm Immortal Kings of the Immortal Realm.

At the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, there were Great Realm Immortal Sovereigns. They were seen as legendary, unrivaled powerhouses.

The demons of the Beyond had similar experts. They were known as Demon Sovereigns!

An upper-level Demon General was comparable to a late-stage Void Realm True Immortal.

“No wonder he was so overbearing. He really was faking his cultivation!” Chu Baichan snorted coldly, his expression dark.

An upper-level Demon General could naturally sweep even top monstrous geniuses of the Universe Realm!

The crowd quickly realized what was going on, and all of them were furious. They quickly started cursing the demon’s despicable behavior.

Li Fenghan disregarded the crowd’s insults and stared intently at Su Yi. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Who are you? You didn’t just see through my identity; you defeatedin a single attack. How could someone yet to enter the Immortal Dao accomplish that?”

The crowd instantly fell silent as they suddenly cto their senses. He’s right! How could a young man yet to becan immortal have seen through this imposter’s origins? And how could he have defeated an upper-level Demon General in a single attack?

They had an explanation for Li Fenghan’s strength; he was in disguise. But what about this “Fellow Daoist Su” person?

Everyone’s curiosity was piqued.

Su Yi’s gaze was distant and inscrutable. ‘First, tellhow you got into the Immortal Realm. I’ll naturally give you an answer then.”

The Immortal Realm had Nine Gates of Heaven, a natural line of defense. They were covered in the power of suprImmortal Laws. Ordinarily speaking, unless the demons of the Beyond broke their defenses, they had no way of getting into the Immortal Realm.

But of course, there were always exceptions.

For instance, if traitors appeared among the factions protecting the Nine Gates of Heaven, they could collude with the demons to sneak their spies into the Immortal Realm!

Of course, such instants were so rare as to be all but unheard of. The factions overseeing the Nine Gates of Heaven were stringently disciplined. Anyone who tried to play double agent was sure to leave traces, and when discovered, they’d becthe public enemy of the entire Immortal Realm. Collusion with demons wouldn’t just leave their individual reputation in shambles; it was punishable by the extermination of one’s entire clan!

Few could bear such consequences.

Over the years, a few such traitors really had appeared, but after Wang Ye took power, he ruthlessly cleansed the Immortal Realm of its traitors and imposed strict order and discipline. This becthe ironclad law of the Immortal Realm; none dared violate it!

Incidents of collusion with the demons of the Beyond had all but disappeared since.

Yet now, a Demon General of the Formless Demons had appeared over the Mirror Lake. Su Yi immediately realized that a problem had arisen with the Nine Gates of Heaven!

Li Fenghan couldn’t help but laugh and gaze provocatively at Su Yi. “Do you really think I’ll tell you?”

Su Yi smiled faintly. “I just so happen to have a method for turning a Formless Demon’s skin and soul into lamp oil and a wick. Care to burn and light up the night for all eternity?”

“Refining my soul to light a lamp?” Li Fanghan visibly lost his composure, and his whole body stiffened.

Formless Demons’ greatest weakness was their soul, and they saw the method Su Yi referred to as the greatest possible torment!

“Want to try it?” Su Yi asked warmly.

Li Fenghan’s gaze shifted erratically. Suddenly, he roared, “No matter who you are, one day, my clan is sure to avenge me!”

He spoke slowly and emphatically, every word full of loathing.

Crack!

Su Yi snapped Li Fenghan’s neck and tossed him into the Mirror Lake.

Boom!

Before Li Fenghan hit the water, his body caught ablaze. A vast current of destructive power swept out in all directions.

That terrifying power made the entire ritual grounds sway, and even the waters of the Mirror Lake seemed to boil over.

The crowd couldn’t help but gasp. It was obvious to all of them that if Su Yi had been even slightly slower, he would have taken that destructive power head-on!

“That demon scumbag is far too insidious!” someone muttered, their heart full of lingering terror.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. He hadn’t anticipated that Li Fenghan had sealed an extraordinary power within his body.

Earlier, Li Fenghan was so terrified of falling into Su Yi’s hands and getting refined into a lamp that he broke the seal without hesitation, destroying himself in the process!

But then, it makes sense. He’s a demon spy who infiltrated the Immortal Realm; he was likely long since prepared to die, thought Su Yi.

Li Fenghan’s life and death meant little.

But the appearance of a Formless Demon expert told Su Yi that the rumors were true; after countless years of dormancy, the demons of the Beyond really were readying themselves for battle.

Furthermore, problems had undoubtedly arisen at the Immortal Realm’s Nine Gates of Heaven!

I hope the problem isn't too severe. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll soon be in for another full-fledged War of Immortals and Demons.

As Su Yi pondered, he put his hands behind his back, turned, and left the arena.

“Fellow Daoist, many thanks for your intervention and for revealing that Formless Demon’s true nature. You helped us avert catastrophe!” Elder Chu Baichan of the Divine Mysteries Pavilion was the first to approach Su Yi.

The other Immortal Lords instantly cto their senses, smiled, and gathered around him.

All of a sudden, these prominent experts were like stars clustered around the moon. Su Yi had becthe center of attention at this year’s Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly.

The original stars of this event, Tang Weihan, Meng Xinguan, and the other monstrous geniuses of the Universe Realm Immortal Rankings, suddenly paled by comparison.