Chapter Ten: Carrying Out the Mission

A look of realization gradually appeared in Su Yizhao’s eyes. On the ground, the shattered fragments of nether souls were slowly floating upward. Though nether souls were notoriously difficult to destroy, when sliced into pieces, their threat became negligible. Yet what was happening now was deeply unsettling. Countless fragments of the nether souls, illuminated by the purple glow, began to merge together. The closer they drew to the spherical object suspended in midair, the faster they fused.

“In this place, these nether souls are impossible to kill!” he thought to himself.

More and more nether souls reformed, and in an instant, they shot toward the group once again.

Liu Qinwu and his two companions also sensed that something was wrong. The sword arts they wielded consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy; after performing the technique seven or eight times, all three retrieved pills from their pouches and swallowed them. The number of nether souls before them clearly diminished, yet from the distance, more began to gather, their numbers swelling with every moment.

“This purple light is strange!”

“You can’t kill nether souls here!”

Mu Renxing suddenly declared, “Let’s just take the treasure first!”

The others, finding his reasoning sound, were just about to nod in agreement when suddenly, a figure flashed past them and leaped into the air.

For a moment, everyone thought their eyes were deceiving them. But as they looked more closely, they saw the figure drawing afterimages through the air, plunging headlong into the sea of nether souls.

“Who’s got the nerve for this?”

“Is he courting death?”

By the time the three men came to their senses, their anger surged, only to be replaced by a schadenfreude—the thought of charging alone into thousands of nether souls was enough to make even them hesitate.

“Su Yizhao!”

“Brother Yizhao?”

Mu Qingqing and Li Xiu Yue gasped in shock.

It was indeed Su Yizhao in the air. He had no intention of letting the treasure fall into Mu Renxing’s hands, so the moment Mu Renxing voiced his plan, Su Yizhao acted without hesitation.

As for the surrounding nether souls? With his mastery of the Leaping Technique and a cultivation at the mid-stage of the Fourfold Profound Realm, he had utter confidence in himself.

Sure enough, before the afterimages faded, he already neared the purple glow. A rush of exhilaration flooded his mind, and as he soared past the spherical object, he stretched out his right hand, seizing the purple light.

With his swift momentum, Su Yizhao and the purple glow flashed through the air, vanishing into the mine shaft on the far side of the cavern.

A hush fell over the vast space.

Thousands of nether souls, along with the few remaining cultivators, stared at the fading afterimages in a daze.

What had just happened?

Liu Qinwu suspected it was a hallucination and rubbed his eyes, but the lingering afterimages and the purple glow remained. Yet, in the span of a few breaths, they, too, disappeared completely.

“No... way...” Mu Renxing choked out, his words dissolving into an inarticulate groan. The nether souls, roused from their stupor, wailed angrily and abandoned the cultivators, surging into the mine shaft in pursuit.

Two breaths later, only a few fading fragments of nether souls remained; not a single complete one was left.

“Should we go after him?”

“Why bother?” Huang Guiming still thought it had all been an illusion. But as realization struck him, he shouted, “Of course we go after him! Kill him and take back the treasure!”

The three stomped the ground in unison and shot after the fleeing figure.

“Was that real?” Mu Qingqing murmured uncertainly.

Li Xiuyue was also unsure. “I think so. In my memory, he’s always been formidable.”

“Really? No wonder you were so confident even after his cultivation was stripped away!” Huang Rong’er exclaimed in surprise.

A thought occurred to Mu Qingqing, and she retrieved a jade box from her storage pouch. She said with difficulty, “There’s something else. The day you gave him the pill, he didn’t take it. He left it on the table, and I picked it up. At the time, I just didn’t want him to recover his cultivation!”

Li Xiuyue found the jade box familiar, and on hearing this, she recalled the incident. Her expression changed as if about to get angry, but then she laughed. “Now you believe me, don’t you? He’s truly remarkable, and quite handsome too! Especially his eyes—so bright! Have you ever seen anyone like him?”

Mu Qingqing handed her the jade box, recalling, “Now that you mention it, he is rather handsome, and his eyes really are bright.”

“Handsome or not, aren’t you worried about him? With all those nether souls, and those three envoys!” Huang Rong’er reminded them.

Li Xiuyue’s eyes flickered with a hint of fear, but she quickly regained her composure. “He’s formidable. Those envoys and however many nether souls there are might make things tough for him, but to take his life? That’s not enough.”

Su Yizhao, in truth, was far from struggling—at least, not at this moment.

If he wished to escape, with his mastery of the Sword Control Technique, who could catch him? But he had accepted a mission, and to fulfill it meant he could not simply run away.

So, judging he had put enough distance between himself and the others, he turned and stopped in place.

After a dozen breaths, a chilling wind swept in—the nether souls had caught up.

The spherical object was not large; he could hold it in his left hand. Though he could store it in his pouch, without the purple glow, the nether souls would simply disperse after a brief struggle.

But to complete the mission perfectly, the involvement of the nether souls was essential.

The swarm of nether souls rushed at him, with the three furious envoys close behind.

His bright eyes fixed on the trio, unwavering. The corners of his mouth lifted as his right hand formed a gesture, and in the next instant, he vanished.

The nether souls were the first to attack, their cries reverberating in his mind as he plunged into their midst.

“Perfected Sword Control Technique!” he intoned inwardly. Cold light flared from his body, shooting outward in all directions, and wherever he passed, nether souls were obliterated into dust.

With mastery of the Sword Control Technique, within a radius of thirty feet, his sword responded to his every thought, striking wherever his mind willed. In the blink of an eye, his sword had slashed hundreds, even thousands, of times.

“What sword art is this?” Mu Renxing and the others faltered mid-stride.

“Heavenly Thunder Sword Technique!”

“Gale Sword Technique!”

“Liu Clan Sword Technique!”

With three shouts, the narrow mine shaft trembled.

Standing amidst the storm of nether souls, Su Yizhao’s expression remained unchanged. Since Xiuyue wanted him to test his mettle against talents from the main sect, he would not disappoint her; at the very least, he would experience the power of their sword techniques.

Swords gleamed in the air, laced with the fury of thunder, the bite of the wind, and the unique pressure of the Sword Control Technique—all hurtling toward him.

Clad in blue, wreathed in cold light, Su Yizhao slowly closed his brilliant eyes.

The power was formidable, to be sure.

But only to that extent. This mission, it seemed, had brought him unexpected gains.

Sword light filled the air, and the nether souls pressed in.

He whispered, “Leaping Technique!”

A thunderous roar erupted amid the sword light, and the wails of the nether souls resounded.

In the midst of it all, a figure and the purple glow dissolved into ash.

The three envoys rejoiced and prepared to examine the remains, only to discover that the figure was nothing more than an afterimage.

“My apologies, gentlemen!” A voice sounded behind them.

Turning, they saw a cultivator standing four or five yards away, watching them intently.

Who else could it be but Su Yizhao?

Now, his cultivation was fully revealed, with nothing left concealed.

“Mid-stage Fourfold Profound Realm? You—you dare deceive—”

“Beware the nether souls!” Su Yizhao interrupted before Mu Renxing could finish.

By this time, the purple sphere had been tucked away in his storage pouch, and the nether souls, unable to find their target, went berserk, attacking indiscriminately.

“Ha! Just these nether souls? Courting death!” The three envoys, enraged, summoned their swords.

Su Yizhao smiled calmly. “And don’t forget me. Only, it’s truly difficult—not leaving a single wound behind!”

With that, his right hand formed a gesture, and his sword shot forth, hurtling straight toward Mu Renxing.