First Immortal of the Sword

They’d been waiting here all this time, but there was no trace of Shen Mu, either.

Yet now, one Immortal King after another was charging into the Abyss of Black Fog in search of their target. The old man couldn’t help but find it absurd.

“Ridiculous?” The woman in the plain dress rubbed her forehead. “Why do I get the sense that something isn’t quite right here…?”

Those Immortal Kings weren’t stupid. All of them had traced Shen Mu’s aura to find him here. In other words, Shen Mu must have appeared in the vicinity of the Abyss of Dark Fog! How could the Immortal Kings have been tricked otherwise?

The woman’s beautiful face shifted, and she gasped. “Elder Mo, I’m afraid we’re the ones who misjudged the situation! It seems highly likely to me that Shen Mu slipped in right under our noses!”

The old man’s smile froze in place, and he exclaimed, “So you’re saying Shen Mu actually entered the Abyss of Dark Fog a long time ago?”

But before the woman could explain, he shook his head. “Impossible! We’ve been lying in ambush by the entrance to the abyss this entire time, and we’ve buried numerous secret treasures to place an inescapable net. Even if he snuck past us, we would have sensed him the moment he entered the Abyss of Dark Fog!

The woman mulled that over. “Could it be that after he arrived, he deliberately left a trace of his aura before hiding his presence and sneaking away?”

The old man’s expression shifted. “That’s possible!”

It seemed that Shen Mu was trying to escape into the Abyss of Dark Fog, but perhaps he was really just trying to trick his pursuers.

He wasn’t trying to enter the abyss at all. Once his pursuers went in after him, he’d just slip away, like a cicada shedding its carapace!

“What a crafty fellow!” The old man in Daoist robes gnashed his teeth in shame and fury. “He’s tricked us all!”

“No, I still think we’re missing something,” said the woman in the plain dress. “If Shen Mu were capable of something like that, why didn’t he just obscure his presence and flee while we were chasing him? He could have hidden from us all.

“Why wait until he got here to do that? Don’t you find it strange?”

Her beautiful face was full of bewilderment. What is Shen Mu trying to do? And what is he after?

“Immortal King Xue He of the Church of the Exquisite Goddess is actually still alive! He sure is a sturdy one.”

Suddenly, they heard a group of Immortal Kings conversing near the entrance to the Abyss of Dark Fog.

“Right? Earlier, we all thought he was dead. It was a real shock to see him up and moving! And he even insisted on charging into the Abyss of Dark Fog after Shen Mu!”

“I’m sure he’s out for revenge!”

When she heard that, the woman in the plain dress felt as if an explosion had gone off in her head. The realization struck like lightning.

Xue He! The problem is with Xue He!

The woman in the plain dress had investigated the valley in which Su Yi fought the five experts of the Church of the Exquisite Goddess. She immediately concluded that Xue He was almost certainly already dead.

Yet now, here he was, and he’d even mixed into the ranks of the Immortal Kings and charged into the abyss….

Just thinking about it made her feel as if she’d been smacked over the head. Her expression darkened. “Elder Mo, did you notice Xue He earlier?”

The old man in Daoist robes was briefly stunned, but he quickly realized what she was getting at. His eyes flashed with sharp light. “Xue He’s suspicious!”

He remembered that Xue He had charged into the Abyss of Dark Fog not far from Meng Zhe and the other Church of Divine Flame experts.

It was just that at the time, the old man had been watching from the shadows, and he dared not investigate too closely for fear of being discovered. Thus, he’d overlooked that particular detail. Looking back on it now, Xue He’s reappearance was obviously a problem!

The old man’s expression instantly turned unsightly.

“If his disguise skills can trick even an Immortal King assassin like Meng Zhe, it’s obvious how extraordinary his abilities are. But if he’s capable of impersonating an Immortal King with such ease, couldn’t he… have fled a long time ago?” murmured the woman in the plain dress.

This came as a heavy blow, and her heart sank. She was increasingly aware of how capable—and how terrifying—Shen Mu was. It was no exaggeration to describe him as “unfathomable!”

Every time she thought she’d figured out what he was capable of, the brutal reality turned around and slapped her in the face!

The old man in Daoist robes suddenly said, “He obviously could have fled if he wanted to, so why follow those Immortal Kings into the Abyss of Dark Fog?”

The question had only just left his mouth when he seemed to guess something. He and the woman in the plain dress exchanged glances. Their hearts shook, and chills coursed down their spines.

Shen Mu had been leading his pursuers by the nose, and he’d gone to enormous lengths to lure them into the Abyss of Dark Fog. Why?

The answer was simple. He wanted to kill them all!!

He wanted to decide the lives and deaths of the Immortal Kings of different factions in the Abyss of Dark Fog!

“Following the deaths of the five Immortal Kings of the Church of the Exquisite Goddess, Shen Mu fled from his pursuers for eighteen hours straight, overcoming countless attempts to intercept or surround him. He was injured countless times, and he looked utterly wretched. Who could have imagined that he was doing it on purpose and that it was all just part of his plan?”

The woman in the plain dress felt a chill in her hands and feet. “He was using himself as bait and feigning weakness to lead his opponents by the nose. Everything was for the sake of determining victory and defeat in the Abyss of Dark Fog. Shen Mu… is simply terrifying!”

She’d already lost track of how times she’d used the word “terrifying” to describe him.

Realizing Shen Mu’s true intentions startled even an Immortal Queen like her. Chills coursed through her entire body!

The old man in Daoist robes said gravely, “I can now say with certainty that even though we’re carrying Heaven-Deceiving Chess Pieces, Shen Mu sensed us a long time ago!”

He looked at the woman in the plain dress. “What should we do next?”

Her expression was filled with uncertainty. She was already starting to lose her nerve. The idea of opposing someone as terrifying as Shen Mu made her want to run for her life, the faster, the better.

In the end, she resisted the urge.

“Let’s just wait for now and see how their pursuit ends. As for us…?” The woman in the plain dress gnashed her teeth. “We cannot get involved any further, regardless of whether Shen Mu lives or dies!”

The old man felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. “I feel the same way.”

He was quite frightened, and his heart was full of dread. If at all possible, he had no desire to oppose someone as terrifying as Shen Mu.

“No wonder the sect leader just sent the two of us to watch the battle instead of ordering us to attack. I suddenly suspect that the sect leader has long since realized Shen Mu’s origins,” muttered the woman in the plain dress.

The old man in Daoist robes nodded. “That’s most likely the case. The sect leader revealed this information only to those factions with divine backers. He was perhaps hoping to borrow their hands to kill Shen Mu, but more importantly… It seems he knew that taking Shen Mu down wouldn’t be easy!”

……

The Abyss of Dark Fog.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled throughout a barren, bleak stretch of mountain wilderness. The air was shrouded in fog, and from time to time, dazzling lightning bolts descended, ripping through the sky. It was a startling sight.

This was the outer perimeter of the Abyss of Dark Fog, but even so, it was home to numerous perils sufficient to threaten the lives of Immortal Kings!

It’s finally time to close the net… Su Yi, now disguised as Xue He, felt as if he’d returned to his own backyard. He felt thoroughly relaxed.

Kcch!

He crushed the talisman he’d prepared well in advance. A wisp of silver light shot into the firmament and disappeared without a trace.

“No rush. I’ll play with them to my heart’s content after my wounds have healed.” Su Yi suppressed his long-accumulated killing intent. He turned and was about to leave when he sensed something, and his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Practically simultaneously, he heard a group of Immortal Kings soar over from the distant skies. It was Meng Zhe and the other experts of the Church of Divine Flame!

They were the first five Immortal Kings who’d attempted to defeat Su Yi after he arrived in the Dark Province. Meng Zhe took advantage of the pouring rain to unleash his astonishing assassination abilities.

The five of them had chased Su Yi all the way here, and they were completely relentless. They’d tried to intercept him many times over.

Now, they were headed right toward him.

Su Yi didn’t move. He just coldly watched them approach.

“Fellow Daoist Xue He.” Meng Zhe suddenly greeted him and asked, “Have you discovered any trace of Shen Mu?”

Su Yi’s expression didn’t so much as waver. “What do you mean?”

Meng Zhe laughed. “You needn’t overthink it, Fellow Daoist. I won’t lie to you: we lost Shen Mu’s trail after entering the Abyss of Dark Fog. We can no longer sense any trace of his presence, so I thought I’d ask if you’d found anything.”

All Su Yi said was, “Oh.’

Meng Zhe’s eyes flashed. “That aside, we’d like to invite you to join our camp. The Abyss of Dark Fog is perilous and unpredictable. Traveling alone will be far too dangerous.”

Su Yi inwardly felt rather strange, but on the outside, he just laughed coldly. “If you want extra manpower, just say so. Why beat around the bush?”

Meng Zhe smiled. “It’s indeed as you said, Fellow Daoist. More people means more power. That will make our trip through the Abyss of Dark Fog less precarious, and even if we encounter competitors from other factions, we won’t need to fear them.”

Su Yi understood. Meng Zhe was roping him in for two simple reasons.

First, the Abyss of Dark Fog was perilous. Recruiting extra manpower was naturally for the best.

Second, they were now in competition with the Immortal Kings of other factions. The greater their numbers, the greater their advantage!

After all, there were nine immortal factions involved in this pursuit, and they were competitors. The moment they discovered “Shen Mu,” they were sure to fight amongst themselves!

“Fellow Daoist, the other four Immortal Kings of the Church of the Exquisite Goddess have already lost their lives. Haven’t you come here to get revenge? In that case, why not consider joining forces?” Meng Zhe said solemnly.

His four companions looked at Su Yi.

Su Yi mulled it over for a moment, then nodded. “We can work together, but if I discover that you have ulterior motives, don’t blame me for my poor manners!”

Meng Zhe and the others smiled. The way they saw it, it would have been strange if Xue He hadn’t been on guard against them. Had he straightforwardly agreed, they would have found it suspicious.

Meng Zhe immediately pounded his chest and promised Xue He that nothing of the sort would happen!