First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 863: A Rooster Calls, and the Sun Rises

The One-Eyed Ghost Monarch’s agonized cries still echoed throughout the darkness.

An invisible, imposing power spread throughout the area, bearing down on everyone present.

“This…” Within the dilapidated temple, Junior Apprentice Brother Yue practically jumped with fright.

The other Blue Firmament Sword Sect disciples were, without exception, tongue-tied and dumbstruck.

Earlier, they’d inwardly complained about that pompous braggart in blue getting mixed up in this; they thought his intervention highly likely to get them killed.

None of them would have anticipated that the young man in blue would kill the One-Armed Ghost Monarch in a single, understated gesture!

He’s so strong! Xie Yunyan’s heart shook. She was the closest, so she felt it the clearest. Su Yi’s attack might have looked casual, but it contained terrifying power.

Was that the Fire Comb True Intent he spoke of? Meanwhile, the young woman in black was dazed, and her pale blue eyes shone with astonishment.

Who is this person?

Why can he wield the Fire Comb Spirit Staff?

In the distant skies, the Jadeblood Ghost King, Blood Enchantress, and other ghosts were astonished too. Their expressions shifted, and all of them were visibly on guard.

There’s something strange about that boy!

“Fire Comb True Intent is a rare Dao of Heavenly Fire. It reflects the Maned Head of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and controls Vast Sun Divine Fire, like the cry of a rooster at daybreak,” Su Yi said calmly. “In ancient times, Peach Haven Mountain became the Ghost Gate of the East and intimidated all the world’s ghosts precisely because of the Fire Comb True Intent of the Peach Haven Divine Tree.”

He completely ignored the ghosts filling the surrounding skies as he instructed the young woman in black. He seemed perfectly relaxed and at ease.

“The key to unleashing the true power of this Dao is your soul. Your soul must condense an avatar of light, like a sun single-handedly illuminating the cosmos.”

Here, Su Yi paused and asked, “Did your master teach you the Fire Comb Divine Seal?”

The young woman instinctively shook her head. A moment passed before she reacted. How does this guy know about Master’s?secret legacy of the soul!?

“No wonder you’re so weak,” sighed Su Yi.

The young woman in black was instantly embarrassed. She pursed her lips and lowered her head, her pure blue eyes shining with shame and vexation.

Meanwhile, Xie Yunyan couldn’t help but gasp. Although she had no idea what Su Yi was talking about, she was increasingly aware that this young man in blue wasn’t simple! action

And in the distant skies, the Jadeblood Ghost King, Blood Enchantress, and other terrifying ghosts were alarmed and uncertain.

“Let’s chat once I’ve wiped out these ghosts,” said Su Yi a bit helplessly. He suddenly realized that everything he’d said had been a waste of effort, like playing the zither for a cow. The young woman in black had no understanding of the Fire Comb Divine Seal; no matter how much he told her, it would be useless.

“Please, wait!” the Blood Enchantress couldn’t help but cry out. “Sir, dare I ask who you are and where you’ve come from? And why… why become our enemy?”

The other terrifying ghosts were similarly uncertain.

“Insignificant evil creatures like you? How could you possibly be worthy of being my enemies?” Su Yi laughed dryly, stepped into the air, and shook the black wooden staff.

Whoosh!

Golden firelight soared into the air, its brilliance dispersing the darkness and illuminating the landscape. A force seemingly capable of incinerating both heaven and earth spread outward.

But no one would just sit around and wait to die.

The Jadeblood Ghost King, Blood Enchantress, Vampire Bat King, and Corpse Scholar didn’t hesitate to attack together, their monstrous viciousness on full display.

“Kill him!” rasped the Jadeblood Ghost King. Then, chanting a curse, he activated his bloody bronze halberd and attacked Su Yi from afar.

Boom!

Countless ghostly figures surged out of the halberd, blanketing the skies and blotting out the sun. Their baleful energy surged, as if they wanted to destroy all of Vast Sun Peak in a single attack.

“Go!” The Corpse Scholar waved his sleeves, and pale?gray corpse qi transformed into sinister lightning, shooting through the air and enveloping Su Yi.

At the same time, the Blood Enchantress blurred into countless bloody streaks. Some charged at Su Yi, while others charged at Xie Yunyan and the girl in black…

The dense bloody shadows took on the Blood Enchantress’s appearance. Their aura was dark and vicious, and they were like countless body doubles fighting together.

The Vampire Bat King unfurled its rotting wings and revolved in the air, then charged at the dilapidated temple.

With Xie Yunyan’s Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivation, terror had long since suppressed her cultivation base. Never mind fighting back; she couldn’t even consider resisting.

The young woman in black raised her fair hands, and flowing, pale golden firelight obscured both her and Xie Yunyan.

However, her gaze was focused on Su Yi.

She watched as——

Su Yi raised the wooden staff and swung it upward, as if it were a sword.

I have a sword to pluck moon and stars. All the heavens’ light is within my grasp!

Boom!!!

It was as if a dazzling golden sun really were rising into the heavens, bursting with a hundred thousand feet of divine flame. Its radiance swept out in all directions.

The descending blood-colored short halberd melted bit by bit in mid-air, wailing until finally, it couldn’t hold out any longer. When it was just ten feet from Su Yi, it shattered and melted into nothingness.

The distant Jadeblood Ghost King suddenly coughed up blood and cried out in agony. That was his full-force attack, but it hadn’t just broken as if it were made of tissue paper; he’d even suffered a severe backlash!

Boom!

The Corpse Scholar’s lightning condensed of gray?corpse qi tried to resist the Fire Comb Divine Flame, but it was at a clear disadvantage until finally, it dispersed.

The golden firelight spread, and although the Corpse Scholar Immediately tried to dodge, his arms, chest, and legs all lit up with firelight. The flames bloomed like peach blossoms, incinerating his flesh, bit by bit as he cried out in agony.

Practically simultaneously, the Blood Enchantress’s countless avatars burnt up, like insects flying into the flame. In the blink of an eye, they were reduced to ash.

“Dammit!!”

In the distant skies, burns appeared all over the Blood Enchantress's true body. She looked utterly miserable.

Meanwhile, the Vampire Bat King gazing down at the dilapidated temple from the skies was fortunate enough to evade Su Yi’s attack. As it beat its wings, dense, turbid, bloody light filled the skies, then poured onto the world below.

This impure, bloody light was utterly terrifying. The slightest contamination would rot even a Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator’s body and soul, killing them on the spot!

“This is bad!” Junior Apprentice Brother Yue and the others hiding within the dilapidated temple visibly reacted, so scared that their souls practically left their bodies. All of them immediately chose to flee.

But just in the nick of time, golden divine flames swept outward.

Boom!

The impure, bloody light filling the skies exploded.

The grand, divine flames enveloped the Vampire Bat King’s massive body, lighting every inch of it ablaze.

“No——!!!”

The Vampire Bat King shrieked in terror and tried to struggle, but in the blink of an eye, the flames incinerated it. Even its soul dissipated.

Within the dilapidated temple, the Blue Firmament Sword Sect cultivators realized they’d just narrowly escaped. They broke out in cold sweats, and the blood drained from their faces as lingering terror arose in their hearts.

However, Junior Apprentice Brother Yue staggered back and fell to the floor, shrieking in agony, “My leg! My leg!!”

It turned out that earlier, a streak of impure bloody light just so happened to land on his right leg, reducing the entire limb to rotten flesh and pus. It then fell off his body.

The sight made the others’ hearts clench.

Far from the dilapidated temple, Su Yi retracted his gaze.

Junior Apprentice Brother Yue’s misfortune was no coincidence. Su Yi might be magnanimous, and he might disdain to make trouble for a small fry, but that didn’t mean he’d blindly let small fries walk all over him.

Is he an Imperial expert in disguise? Xie Yunyan watched in a daze.

She saw the whole thing: one attack, and Su Yi broke through the four terrifying ghosts’ joint attack, destroying the Vampire Bat King both body and soul!

This was unquestionably tyrannical!

The young woman in black pursed her lips and watched in a daze, unable to remain calm.

“Run!”

“Hurry up and flee!”

Panicked cries resounded throughout the night sky.

The Jadeblood Ghost King, Blood Enchantress, and Corpse Scholar fled in panic.

By now, all of them realized that even if they joined forces, they couldn’t possibly be a match for this mysterious young man in blue!

Su Yi ignored them.

Instead, he swept his gaze across the surrounding area. The landscape was densely packed with apparitions; it seemed there was no end to them. Everywhere he looked, there were too many of them to count.

“Fine, then. I’ll just consider it payment for the peach heartwood,” whispered Su Yi.

Then, he stood in the air, blue robes fluttering about. His left hand formed a seal, while his right hand slowly raised the Fire Comb Spirit Staff.

Boom!

Vast Sun Peak suddenly shook. Everyone was bewildered; none of them knew what was happening.

Except for the young woman in black, who seemed to realize something. Her blue eyes widened.

Within the Peach Haven Hidden Realm.

The hundred-foot Peach Haven Divine Tree suddenly shook, and its clusters of fiery peach blossoms seemed to awaken from dormancy. All of them erupted with dazzling firelight.

The trunk and roots, which moments prior had been corrupted with sinister energies, suddenly swelled with a wave of life force.

Then, the roots extending throughout all three thousand miles of Peach Haven Mountain lit up, surging?with the resplendent, mysterious fluctuations of a formation.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook.

Beneath the crowd’s disbelieving gazes, flames as dazzling as the light of the sun swept in on all sides, repeatedly gathering and condensing and forming a massive, illusory peach tree.

The radiant tree instantly dispersed the inky darkness. It was now as bright as at midday. Countless flames poured down like a rain of peach blossoms.

The malevolent ghosts throughout all three thousand miles of Peach Haven Mountain gave into despair as the light disintegrated them completely, right down to their souls.

“It’s the old rooster’s Ghost Gate Divine Restriction——!”

“Dammit!!”

The fleeing Jadeblood Ghost King, Blood Enchantress, and Corpse Scholar trembled and cried out in panic and terror. All of them fled like mad.

But beneath the dazzling flames covering all of Peach Haven Mountain, there was nowhere for these three terrifying ghosts to run. The flames enveloped them, incinerating them completely. In the end, nothing remained.

In that moment, an incomparably radiant, multi-colored rooster appeared at the highest point of the illusory tree covering the mountain. The bird threw back its head, and its sonorous cry reverberated throughout the nine heavens and ten earths.

Throughout all of Peach Haven Mountain, even the ghosts hiding in the darkness were reduced to ash!

According to “Tales of Strange Matters”, in ancient times, the Eastern Ghost Gate was located on Peach Haven Mountain. A divine tree grew there, its roots extending throughout all three thousand miles of the mountain. A rooster lived at the top of the tree, and even gods and ghosts fled before its morning cry.

This was what they meant when they said, “A rooster calls, and the sun rises!”