After making the preparations, Li Yi stood quietly on a cliff. The cold wind stirred his dark hair, leaving it tousled and carefree.
Suddenly, Li Yi narrowed his eyes as he watched three streaks of light rapidly approaching in the distance. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and a cold smile flashed across his face. "You finally came."
The three streaks of light stopped in front of Li Yi, revealing three figures dressed in golden robes. There was no need to guess: they were experts sent by Golden Eagle King, an elder of the Eternal Sacred Dynasty.
One was an old man with green eyes, one was a middle-aged man with three horns on his head, and the last was a sinister-looking one-eyed freak. All three were peak Golden Immortals, and it was obvious at a glance that they were no ordinary Golden Immortals. They were true titans among their ranks.
In fact, given their standing in the Eternal Sacred Dynasty, even Golden Eagle King couldn't casually order them around. They had no interest in snatching Li Yi's Innate Spiritual Treasure, either; each of them already possessed a powerful Innate Spiritual Treasure of their own. With their status and origins, once they advanced to Grand Unity Golden Immortals, they would naturally receive supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures. After all, though supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures were rare, an enormous power like the Eternal Sacred Dynasty could still produce ten or so.
But the terms Golden Eagle King had promised were simply too tempting. To Golden Immortals, they were more than ten thousand times more precious than a supreme-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. They couldn't refuse—not that they even had the option.
Golden Eagle King had promised that if they killed Li Yi, he would expend his own source essence to demonstrate the Dao for them for ten years. It was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. The Great Luo realm was a state of being, not something one could cultivate by following a method. Either one comprehended it or one didn't. But if a Grand Unity Golden Immortal was willing to expend their source essence demonstrating the Dao, one might glean something useful from the fluctuations of their source essence—and perhaps break through to the Great Luo realm at once.
In truth, almost no Grand Unity Golden Immortal was willing to do such a thing. For one, it would damage their source essence; for another, it might expose weaknesses in their Dao. Even blood relatives rarely did this. After all, source essence was extremely important to any cultivator. Though Golden Eagle King would only demonstrate the Dao for ten years, it would take at least ten thousand years to recover. Besides, no one wanted their weaknesses exposed. Better safe than sorry.
Golden Eagle King had really gone all out to kill Li Yi. If Li Yi had secretly killed Jin Shi, Golden Eagle King wouldn't have made such a fuss. After all, Jin Shi wasn't his only grandson; he had dozens. With Golden Eagle King's power and status, raising a few more would have been no trouble. The problem was that Li Yi was too famous. Once Jin Shi died, many people learned that Golden Eagle King's grandson had been killed. It was a direct slap in the face.
By now, plenty of Grand Unity Golden Immortals were probably laughing at him. How could he not seek revenge? The more powerful a person was, the more they cared about their dignity. After all, they had little else left to care about. If he weren't afraid that personally attacking a Mystic Immortal would invite ridicule from other Grand Unity Golden Immortals, Golden Eagle King would have loved to tear Li Yi apart with his bare hands.
"Sword Maniac, you're a genius, but geniuses are the one thing the Primordial World never lacks. You've gone too far." The middle-aged man with three horns on his head admired Li Yi somewhat, but that did nothing to lessen his resolve to kill him.
"Why waste so much breath? Just kill him already," the sinister-looking one-eyed freak said impatiently. He wanted nothing more than to go watch Golden Eagle King demonstrate the Dao. He had no time to stand around prattling.
The green-eyed old man didn't want to wait any longer, either. "Let's attack together."
The three-horned middle-aged man and the one-eyed freak nodded. From beginning to end, they had never even considered fighting Li Yi one-on-one.
All three were exceptionally gifted and had killed opponents of higher realms many times. They knew that some people's fighting strength couldn't be measured by realm alone. And judging by Li Yi's exploits over the past twenty years, he was certainly not much weaker than them. If they weren't careful, they could suffer a crushing defeat here.
The higher a cultivator's realm, the more they valued their life. They were each just one step away from attaining the Great Luo Merit Position and roaming freely between heaven and earth. They had no intention of taking risks here.
So, as soon as the green-eyed old man finished speaking, all three unleashed their killing moves at once. They didn't bother testing the waters; they were intent on killing Li Yi with a single blow.
"Annihilation Slash!" A massive Blade Qi, radiating a fierce aura, appeared out of thin air above the green-eyed old man.
"Golden Horn Tops the Sky!" Behind the three-horned middle-aged man appeared the phantom of a giant beast with a golden horn a hundred zhang tall on its head. A desolate, primordial aura poured from the apparition. It was obvious that this move possessed earth-shattering power.
The one-eyed freak silently unleashed a brilliant green light. Wherever it passed, the void seemed to corrode and tear apart, making a sizzling sound that sent chills down one's spine.
The three attacked from different directions, hemming Li Yi in completely. They were forcing him to meet their attacks head-on. Knowing full well how fast he was, they had chosen this tactic in advance, leaving him no room to use his speed. Three against one gave them an advantage from the outset.
Li Yi had never faced a more serious crisis. These three were far harder to deal with than any Golden Immortals he'd faced before. They were not only powerful but cautious, and had immediately chosen the near-certain strategy of attacking three against one. They were truly troublesome.
Feeling the tremendous Spiritual Qi fluctuations coming from three directions, Li Yi poured the vast majority of his Power of Slaughter into the Green Lotus Ancient Sword. "Immeasurable Sword Light!" Without hesitation, he unleashed the most defensive of the six Sword Arts. A boundless sword light burst from his body. From afar, Li Yi looked like a silvery-white sun.
Under the pressure of four immense forces, every living creature within a hundred li was reduced to dust. The mountain where Li Yi stood seemed to weather away, crumbling into nothing. The sky turned black, gold, green, and white, while earth-shaking sounds rang out across the region.
"Boom..." The four attacks collided, and a tremendous shockwave swept across the surroundings. One towering mountain after another collapsed, the clouds overhead were pierced, forming a huge ring, and lake water surged up from underground as a fine rain began to fall...
Li Yi knelt on one knee, his left hand pressed against his upper right chest. Blood seeped between his fingers in a steady stream, and a deep gash on his left leg exposed the bone. Countless other wounds covered his body.
The green-eyed old man and the other two were in much better shape. Though they had been injured, their fighting strength remained unaffected.
Even they were shaken. They had already thought highly of Li Yi, but they had still underestimated him. He'd survived the combined force of their ultimate moves. They knew they themselves couldn't have done the same.
Li Yi was actually in terrible shape. He had only a quarter of his Power of Slaughter left, and his body had been badly injured. If not for his astonishing willpower, he would have passed out already.
"I can't go on. I've reached my limit." Li Yi took several more attacks. "Cough, cough..." He spat blood as he frantically retreated.
But how could a gravely wounded Li Yi break through the three-man encirclement? Seeing the three attack again, he thought, I have no choice. 'Green Lotus One World'! He unleashed the ultimate sword move he had kept in reserve.
It wasn't that Li Yi hadn't wanted to use this move sooner. Each time he used it, it nearly exhausted all his Power of Slaughter. If his opponent survived, he'd be finished. But in this desperate situation, he had no choice.
As Li Yi gritted his teeth and unleashed the move, his nerves tightened to the limit. Between life and death, his potential erupted, and scenes of his insights into slaughter surfaced in his mind. The silvery-white Power of Slaughter in his dantian underwent a sudden transformation, turning pure black.
A sudden inspiration struck Li Yi. The Ancient Sword's trajectory shifted slightly, and bizarre, enormous black lotuses appeared throughout the world. Every lotus grew from a twisted vine, lashing out and strangling the three men. The green-eyed old man and the others suddenly felt their hearts seize with fear. They stared in despair at the murderous black lotuses.
"You dare, brat?" A streak of golden light instantly tore through the black lotus. Li Yi was horrified.
A palm thrust toward his chest. Li Yi couldn't dodge. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he spat out a drop of Essence Blood, formed a seal with one hand, and sent the Nine-Colored Pagoda—radiating a terrifying pressure—flying toward the palm. Then he quickly burned his Essence Blood and fled without looking back, turning into a streak of blood-red light.
"Hmm." An old man with golden hair stood beside the three-horned middle-aged man and the others, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. It was none other than Golden Eagle King.
Golden Eagle King's expression was now utterly grim. Not only had he personally intervened, but Li Yi had still escaped. He hadn't expected Li Yi to be so powerful. The three Golden Immortals he'd sent had nearly been killed, forcing him to act. After all, they were all pillars of the dynasty's future; if they died here, he would bear a heavy responsibility. He also hadn't expected Li Yi to possess such a formidable soul attack, or to burn his Essence Blood and flee while Golden Eagle King's soul was shaken.
Furious, Golden Eagle King immediately released his Divine Sense, sweeping across three hundred thousand li. "Hmm? No one. How did he get away so fast?"
At that moment, Li Yi lay at the bottom of a deep pit, covered by the corpses of various ferocious beasts. A thin layer of Power of Slaughter covered his body, too. Li Yi had discovered this use while studying the Power of Slaughter: combined with the residual killing intent emanating from the surrounding beasts' corpses, it could confuse a Divine Sense search. He had used this method to evade pursuit dozens of times.
"Hmph. He must have some Spiritual Treasure concealing his aura," Golden Eagle King murmured. "But if he thinks that can help him evade a Great Luo's search, he's hopelessly naive."
With that, Golden Eagle King closed his eyes. His soul appeared in the River of Destiny, where he began calculating everything about Li Yi. Suddenly, a pair of icy, cold, emotionless Silver Eyes gazed at him, disregarding the barrier of time and space. Golden Eagle King was horrified, a chill spreading through him. At that moment, he felt like an ant.
"Pfft!" In the real world, Golden Eagle King suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. The green-eyed old man and the others, who had stood silently nearby, were shocked. They had no idea what had happened to him.
"Return to the dynasty." As soon as Golden Eagle King opened his eyes, he said to the three beside him. Until he knew who owned those eyes and what their connection to Li Yi was, he wouldn't dare pursue Li Yi. That person was far too terrifying. Even Ancestor Tun Tian probably wasn't remotely their match.
The four streaks of light quickly vanished into the horizon.
Before you continue