Chapter Sixty-Six: You Have Offended Me

“Hahaha.” The sword-shaped spirit was exceedingly lifelike, and continued, “I am the very first immortal sword forged by the Azure Tide Imperial Serpent, my name—Dread Resentment! I have now reached the standard of Second Grade, only waiting to ascend to First Grade and return to my master’s hand, whereupon I shall be elevated to an Imperial Weapon!”

The sword spirit prattled on, when suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended out of nowhere—fierce in its coming, unfathomable in its passing.

Then, the sword spirit withdrew from Old Bear Third’s neck; the latter clutched his vanished bear finger, hiding behind Wuyun, stricken with fright and anxiety.

“Since my master has spared you, I will let you live. Now leave…”

The Dread Resentment sword spirit’s words had barely fallen when a stern, slender voice pierced through layers of space and descended here: “Leave that sword behind, you ugly old loach!”

Old Bear Third and King Dou were delighted, but the voice continued: “And the one who speaks recklessly—cut out his tongue and gouge out his eyes!”

Wuyun faltered; Dread Resentment’s sword body wavered, vast sword light filling the entire formation diagram. In the next instant, as it was about to destroy the whole formation, Wuyun spoke: “I truly am an old acquaintance of your master! However, I offended him, and was forced to reincarnate. You see, your master won’t let you kill us—only cut out the tongue and gouge out the eyes, that’s all. And Long Yi, why are you standing there? Leave the Fright-Spirit Blade and that ugly old loach behind—they’ll make a fine gift when this sword is presented to your master in the future!”

In a flash, the immortal sword’s radiance vanished. Before it could act, Wuyun stretched out his tongue, pulled it out with his hand, and tossed it beneath the immortal sword. Then, hooking both hands, he dug out his two eyeballs and flung them into the air.

Wuyun repeatedly reminded them telepathically—these were precisely the things Little Azure had specifically requested.

Now it was the Dread Resentment’s turn to be speechless. His master’s command was supreme will, and the other party had indeed obeyed it perfectly—yet…

It shook its blade and protested, “How could a sword spirit be counted in this? Sword spirits—”

The Six-Talent Ancestor Dragon, in the Fright-Spirit Blade, nodded frantically, but Wuyun interrupted, transmitting, “You stand on the verge of becoming an Imperial Weapon, yet you doubt your own existence? How can a sword spirit not count?”

“If a sword spirit doesn’t count, how can an Imperial Weapon ever be achieved?”

A few simple words from Wuyun left the Dread Resentment sword wavering. It longed to consult its master, but dared not!

As it hesitated, Wuyun—blind and tongueless—dragged Long Yi swiftly toward the Jade Seal Coffin. In this space where one could enter but not exit, it was the only passage.

Several times, the Dread Resentment Sword seemed poised to strike, but Wuyun’s steps were steady and forthright, not at all like a liar. When Wuyun finally leapt into the depths and entered the Jade Seal Coffin, the sword made no move to stop him.

Inside the Jade Seal Coffin, a vortex appeared. As they were about to be drawn in, Wuyun, his face smeared with blood mixed with the dust of prayer beads, muttered wordlessly with his tongueless mouth. Suddenly, the Dread Resentment Sword manifested, furious that someone had sullied its dwelling. But Long Yun pointed a finger, his words springing from his heart: “Hearts, bound as one!”

A cloud emerged from the hilt of the Dread Resentment Sword.

Before the hilt realized it, it swung to cut off the bloodied hand Wuyun had flung, but the formidable sword energy struck the inner wall of the Jade Seal instead, missing its mark.

Instantly, deep gashes appeared within the exquisite interior of the Jade Seal.

The sword spirit, unwilling to accept this, attacked twice more in succession, but both times missed their mark. Meanwhile, after shooing away Long Yi and the others, Wuyun groped his way out from above the vortex and calmly returned to his original spot, reinstalling his gouged-out eyes and tongue.

Then, chanting spells of recovery, his body thinned a little, but soon returned to normal.

He glared with his restored eyes, rolled them a few times to ensure they were intact, and muttered, “To offend me is a grave error!”

The Dread Resentment Sword scoffed. At that moment, the Six-Talent Ancestor Dragon emerged from the Fright-Spirit Blade and chimed in, “Senior Wuyun never leaves a grudge unavenged, and is a master schemer—you’re in trouble now!”

The sword spirit was unconvinced and unleashed its pressure, filling the space with invisible sword energy, nothing could withstand it. Just as it prepared to attack, it heard Wuyun chanting—Azure Tide Imperial Serpent, Little Azure! Little…

What did it mean to call out in the Dao tongue over a dozen times in a row?

Amidst the rippling layers of space, a divine consciousness appeared again, sweeping past Wuyun, then the Dread Resentment Sword.

“Those without fear are truly fearless. Even if my master is not upon this star, she can transmit her commands to all her followers through spatial channels—she can even strike directly. You, insignificant ant, my master’s divine mind is as a sword; in an instant, she will pierce you through!”

Wuyun burst into wild laughter; the Six-Talent Ancestor Dragon joined in, though his laughter was strained, and in the next moment he froze.

For Wuyun said to the sword spirit, “In the next instant, your master will erase your mind, leaving only your sword body.”

The Dread Resentment Sword spirit seemed to hear the most ridiculous jest—until, before his eyes, a rift split open in the space, and a restriction, heedless of the might of a Second Grade Immortal Sword, struck down upon him.

Terror twisted the sword spirit’s features as he faded away, leaving only a blood-black immortal sword, floating, motionless.

The Six-Talent Ancestor Dragon was so frightened he retreated into the Fright-Spirit Blade, peeking out in secret.

Wuyun gathered up the insignificant wisp of cloud, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and said, “To attain the rank of Immortal Emperor naturally breeds suspicion. When she saw your body bear my mark, and heard me calling out to her again and again, she naturally assumed you had been subdued by me. To be safe, and prevent you from revealing her past, she would of course annihilate you!”

At last the Six-Talent Ancestor Dragon understood, and praised loudly, “Brilliant! Senior, this move of borrowing a knife to kill, yet not a man to slay a knife—unparalleled!”

Just as he was about to flatter himself further, suddenly a cloud rose nearby, carrying Long Yi’s voice. That rascal, having just left, had reverted to his true form and been nailed to a pillar by someone.

“Damn it!” Wuyun cursed, and with a wave of his hand, in the very instant that Four Heavens and Three Lands entered the vortex, he swept up both the Dread Resentment Sword and the Jade Seal Coffin.

No sooner had they landed than the entire formation seemed to enter another great array, where chill winds howled.

Countless shadowy beasts assembled methodically, above, below, left, and right, walking in midair. At the center of a great turning millstone, an ancient pillar rose. The little bug, Old Bear Third, and King Dou knelt at its base, while Long Yi was nailed upon it, his dragon blood pouring ceaselessly into the grinding stone.

“Big loach! Your companion is not very friendly toward you!” Wuyun teased as he entered the formation, and with a wave, freed Old Bear Third and the others from their bondage. Yet Long Yi, his soul pinned, could not escape.

“Hold fast to your true heart, use the Divine Dragon’s Ninety-nine Cycles—though the flesh perish, the soul shall endure forever!” Wuyun quipped, and the shadowy beasts, as if understanding, hastened the bloodletting, until soon the vast millstone was awash in blood, and a dragon’s shadow appeared above it.

“You are the Earth Dragon Beast, already a full Immortal King, yet you cannot withstand the Azure Tide Imperial Serpent, who has only just become an Immortal Emperor! Pathetic!”

Faced with the taunt, the dragon-shaped shadow made no reply, only struggled atop the millstone. After half a day, Long Yi’s blood was spent; he was but a dried husk, and still the dragon shadow had not gained what it sought.

“Divine Dragon, twenty-seven cycles of three nines—where my spirit endures, the dragon endures!” Long Yi’s voice echoed from his soul. No matter how the millstone turned, not a shred of his soul could be extracted.