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Morning the next day.
Su Yi was practicing the Great Emptiness Origin-Calming Sutra in a courtyard.
This was a method of guiding the breath. It was based on a fist technique and supplemented with specialized breathing. In his past life, after reaching the pinnacle of his Grand Dao, he had spent a thousand years researching the mysterious truths of numerous unparalleled Daoist scriptures before authoring this legacy.
It merged Buddhist methods of contemplation, demonic body refining arts, Confucian incantations for tempering the soul, and Daoist methods of guiding energy.
Yet at the same time, it was starkly different from any of the four practices it drew on.
In his past life, Su Yi had once showed this scripture to his friend, the Peerless Martial Emperor.
After reading through it, the Peerless Martial Emperor sighed. “This scripture is neither Buddhist nor demonic, neither Confucian nor Daoist. It uses the void as a guide and origin power as its root. Throughout the world and throughout history, of all the foundational techniques of the Three Realms of the Origin Dao, this is likely the greatest.”
In other words, in the Peerless Martial Emperor’s eyes, the Great Emptiness Origin-Calming Sutra was the strongest cultivation technique within the Origin Dao level!
Starting from when he had first stepped into the Origin Dao, Su Yi no longer practiced the Pine and Crane Body Refining Technique. Instead, he had switched to the Great Emptiness Origin-Calming Sutra.
With the Strongest Dao Seed as his foundation in the Grand Dao, on top of cultivating the strongest Origin Dao cultivation technique in the Wilds, it was easy to imagine how terrifying of a cultivation Su Yi managed to achieve.
After finishing his cultivation, Su Yi let out a breath of turbid air. His entire body felt light and airy, as if he were riding on a gust of wind.
After washing up, someone knocked on the door.
“Young Lord Su, the family head has ordered me to inform you that the treasures you needed have already been prepared. He requests that you proceed to the meeting hall on the clan’s back mountain for a discussion.”
“Alright.” Su Yi nodded his agreement.
The back mountain.
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The meeting hall.
When Su Yi arrived, Zuo Xinghe and the other family higher-ups were already waiting for him.
“Young Friend Su, please, sit down,” said Zuo Xinghe with a smile. He sat at the center of the hall. He seemed lively and in high spirits.
“No need for that. If you’ve already gathered the treasures, we can make the trade now.” Su Yi’s gaze swept across the group, and he casually took out a jade box. The Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis was sealed inside.
“Young Friend Su, might you permit me to examine it first so as to determine its authenticity?” said a tall, graying elder.
Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly.
Zuo Xinghe smiled and explained, “Young Friend Su, you needn’t take offense. This is the Zuo Family’s Third Elder, Zuo Yunchao. He tends to our Jadeseed Spirit Butterflies year-round. If we finish our transaction after he’s personally looked over the chrysalis, all of us will rest completely assured.”
Su Yi said nothing. He just picked up the jade box and tossed it over.
Zuo Yunchao opened it. His face instantly filled with excitement, obsession, and delight.
After a long time, he reluctantly closed the box and said to Zuo Xinghe, “It is indeed a Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis, and its life force is flourishing. If you give me just three months, I can raise it into a true Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly.”
When they heard this, Zuo Xinghe and the other higher-ups sighed in relief. Their faces filled with delight, and they seemed to perk up.
“Servant, bring the treasures.” Zuo Xinghe waved and let out a hearty laugh.
A servant immediately emerged carrying a jade tray, which he placed in front of Su Yi.
Su Yi’s brow furrowed.
The jade tray had a small mountain of tier-six spirit stones, but there were only a hundred at most.
This was many times fewer than Su Yi had requested!
He’d requested three thousand tier-six spirit stones, and that was just the spirit stones! He’d also asked for spiritual materials and medicines, among other things.
Yet now, the Zuo Family had only taken out a paltry handful of treasure!
The family higher-ups had been keeping a close eye on Su Yi’s expression, and when they saw his brow furrow, as if dumbstruck, they couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Mockery and ridicule were written all over their faces.
“Are you playing with me?” Su Yi’s gaze swept across the Zuo Family higher-ups. His expression had already frosted over.
“Young Friend Su, don’t be angry. Last night, I thought about it, and in the end, I realized that agreeing to your conditions would mean a massive loss for us,” said Zuo Xinghe solemnly from his seat at the center of the hall. “If you ask me, this price is only fair. With one hundred tier-six spirit stones, you can buy two additional pieces of Spirit Source Ore. With your good luck, I’m sure you can find two more Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalises.”
This declaration provoked another round of uproarious laughter. The higher-ups were in stitches, laughing so hard they cried.
“It seems you’ve decided to renege on our agreement?” Su Yi’s gaze grew cold and indifferent.
The grand elder snorted coldly, “Su Yi, yesterday, we asked Young Lord Huo Yunsheng about you. You’re nothing but a rogue cultivator from the Great Zhou, and you have no connection to Cloudsky Divine Palace whatsoever. If you know what’s good for you, these hundred tier-six spirit stones are yours. If you don’t… Hehe…”
He didn’t finish that thought, but the implications were perfectly clear.
“Huo Yunsheng?” Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up.
“That’s right. If not for Young Lord Huo, we would never have realized that you were a hidden expert, my young friend.” Zuo Xinghe sighed. “In just two strikes, you defeated Zhang Yuntao, an elder of Cloudsky DIvine Palace, and you even killed a monstrous figure like the Nirvanic Winds Holy Son. It’s truly surprising.”
He paused, then said seriously, “Young friend, to tell the truth, our Zuo Family has no desire to become enemies with one such as yourself. However, today is different from last night. This old man hopes you’ll leave here alive, and that you won’t lose your life in the Zuo Family estate.”
He spoke with complete assurance, and when Su Yi saw the other Zuo Family higher-ups, they seemed confident too.
Su Yi laughed. “You say one thing, then do another, and now you’re threatening me with death? I’ll be curious to see just who leaves here alive in the end.”
Zuo Xinghe sighed, then rose from his chair and said gravely, “Young friend, don’t be angry. I only just said I hope you won’t become our enemy; I can’t bear the thought of you losing your life here. All you have to do is take a single step back and accept our conditions. If you do… We’re willing to show you a path to life.”
Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. He keenly picked up on something a bit strange about Zuo Xinghe’s behavior. It seems like he really doesn’t want to become my enemy…?
But before Su Yi could give the matter any further thought…
Beng!
The sound of wind and lightning suddenly rang out beyond the meeting hall.
Even faster than the sound was an incomparably dazzling silver arrow. Su Yi was facing away from the gateway, and by the time the sound reached their ears, the arrow had already cut through the air and pierced his back.
This change had come too suddenly!
Zuo Xinghe and company jumped. By the time they realized what was happening, the sharp, indomitable, dazzling silver light had already entered the hall.
Splurt!
Su Yi’s figure burst apart.
The dazzlingly sharp silver arrow continued, its power not reduced in the slightest. It pierced ruthlessly into the ground, leaving a striking, terrifying hole. Countless spider web-like cracks appeared, and fragments of stone scattered through the air. Even the very hall itself shook.
The power of a single arrow was actually this terrifying!?
“Is he dead?”
Zuo Xinghe and the others’ scalps went numb with alarm and terror.
That arrow was simply too tyrannical!
“He… He… He isn’t dead….!” Someone shouted.
The group suddenly saw that Su Yi had reappeared thirty feet away from his initial location without so much as a hair out of place.
It turned out that Su YI had dodged so quickly that the arrow only destroyed his afterimage!
He managed to dodge even that? Zuo Xinghe and the others' eyes widened. They were so shocked that their jaws practically fell off.
Beng! Beng! Beng!
Suddenly, one thunderous boom after another rang out, followed by a series of shining silver arrows. Each was like a sudden arc of lightning as they struck, and they covered a compact area.
Each arrow contained enough power to easily burst and destroy a Gathering Stars Realm cultivator!
More than ten arrows streaked over like a sudden storm. The sight filled the gathered Zuo Family members’ hearts with terror and despair.
Clang!
The clear hum of a sword rang out.
Su Yi’s figure blurred, and although no one knew when, he’d already drawn the Abstruse God Sword. As he dodged, he stabbed more than ten times.
He was so quick that he left crisscrossing scars in the air.
Clang clang clang!!!!
A dense series of clashes rang out, scattering spiritual light and creating churning, misty radiance.
Beneath the Zuo Family higher-ups’ astonished gazes, the silver arrows, each strong enough to obliterate a Gathering Stars expert with ease, burst apart like firecrackers. Beneath Su Yi’s sword qi, they quickly dispersed into nothingness!
Smoke and dust spread throughout the hall, but Su Yi’s tall, lean silhouette had already charged outside.
“Once I’ve killed that assassin, I’ll be back to settle the score with you lot!” As his cold, indifferent voice echoed throughout the hall, Su Yi’s figure disappeared from view.
“How could he possibly have stopped that assassination attempt?” someone asked in a quavering voice. They were visibly shaken.
“Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable! In his shoes, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have known what hit us before…” Someone’s face paled with lingering terror.
The attack happened in a flash, over as soon as it began.
Su Yi should have been doomed beyond a shadow of a doubt. Who’d have thought he’d somehow block that terrifying assassination attempt?
Zuo Xinghe’s expression changed dramatically, and he looked despondent. In his heart, he roared in a mad frenzy, That attempt was the work of the Sea of Bitterness’s Ferryman! The terrifying killer who successfully assassinated the Spiritual Manifestation Realm Daoist Mu! How could he possibly slip up?
If the Ferryman failed to kill him, then the Zuo Family… they would completely and utterly offend Su Yi!
When he thought back to what Su Yi said before leaving to chase the Ferryman, Zuo Xinghe felt as if everything around him went dark. Heaven and earth spun, and he felt as if he were about to collapse.
“What happened here?”
The entire meeting hall was in uproar, and the noise alerted numerous Zuo clansmen.
In the end, even Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, Wen Xinzhao, Qing Ya, Yuan Heng, and the others rushed over.
When they saw the startling aftermath of the battle in the meeting hall, they couldn’t help but gasp. All of them were beside themselves with shock.
None of them could even imagine just which assassin was brave enough to make an attempt on someone’s life right under the Zuo Family’s noses!
When they learned that despite being ambushed, Su Yi was entirely unscathed and that he was currently chasing after the assassin, Yuan Heng, Bai Wenqing, Qing Ya, and Wen Xinzhao sighed in relief.
The others reacted differently. Huo Yunsheng, Qian Tianlong, and Sun Feng’s faces were overcast and filled with alarm and uncertainty.
The Ferryman… failed!?
How is this possible?