Chapter 3139 - Grilling Fish on a Snowy Cliff

Chu Shanke furrowed his brow. “Your analysis was quite in-depth, but I truly don’t understand where Su Yi gets the confidence to make such a plan. Does he really think he and Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan can handle us by themselves?”

He couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Isn’t he worried that when he loses, he’ll doom everyone in the Heart-Tempering Sword House, too?”

The Threelives Buddha fell briefly silent, then whispered, “To tell the truth, I don’t get it either. Even factoring in Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi, their combined power seems... barely worth looking at.”

“Fellow Daoist, don’t forget that Su Yi has no idea that the Primordial Divine Court has already joined forces with Heavenly Sovereign E and the others!” said Chu Shanke. “Given the circumstances, his plan is tantamount to seeking out his own demise!”

Heavenly Sovereign E’s group consisted of six Heavenly Sovereigns, while the Primordial Divine Court had four. That meant eleven Heavenly Sovereigns in total if they included the Threelives Buddha.

Together, they were enough to crush Su Yi with overwhelming force!

The Threelives Buddha smiled. “Fellow Daoist, you and the other experts of the Primordial Divine Court are indeed the biggest variable in all this. You’re sure to catch Su Yi off guard.”

A moment later, he wiped the smile off his face and said gravely, “However, given my understanding of Su Yi, I can say with certainty that he wouldn’t do this unless he had reason to be confident!”

Chu Shanke shook his head. “A man bitten by a snake spends the next ten years jumping at pieces of rope. You’ve suffered so many setbacks at his hands that it’s filled your heart with fear. It seems to me that this is a rare opportunity to defeat Su Yi! If he wants to fight to the death, let’s give him what he wants. We’ll let the whole world watch as we grant him death!”

He spoke with staunch conviction, but the Threelives Buddha just frowned. Is that really the case? No. Given Su Yi’s character, there’s no way he’d recklessly disregard the consequences like this unless he was certain he could win.

I just can’t figure out why he’s so confident. Is it because he’s Destiny’s Chosen? But this is the Eternal Heavens Domain. The River Ancestors he’s subdued won’t be useful to him here. Even if they came to his aid, they’d just be throwing their lives away.

Su Yi wouldn’t do something that stupid, but what else could it be?

As the Threelives Buddha pondered in silence, Chu Shanke said suddenly, “Fellow Daoist, let me lay everything out in the open. Barring interference from the Far Shore of Destiny, Su Yi is doomed beyond a shadow of a doubt!”

The Threelives Buddha sighed. “That won’t happen. Do you know why Su Yi issued these invitations so broadly and invited us openly and directly? It’s his way of saying that the powers of the Far Shore dare not get involved!”

He paused, then continued, “I even suspect that he chose to rebuild in the Unfettered Continent specifically to prevent the forces of the Far Shore from intervening.”

Chu Shanke laughed and applauded. “Isn’t that wonderful news? Without intervention from the Far Shore, Su Yi is surely doomed!”

The Threelives Buddha’s frown deepened, and he sank into thought once more.

Chu Shanke subtly shook his head. “Fortune and disaster go hand in hand. Su Yi has decided to determine life and death. We who want him dead cannot simply go along with his arrangements, but so long as we make ample preparations, he’ll be a fish on the chopping block. We’ll be able to cut him up as we see fit!”

The Threelives Buddha ended his silence and said softly, “I hope so, and... Well, that’s all we can really do.”

His voice contained a hint of frustration. There really was no way out of this trap. No matter how much he thought, planned, and prepared, he’d have no choice but to go to the ceremony.

If he didn’t, the Heart-Tempering Sword House would gain two Heavenly Sovereigns and rewrite the Eternal Heavens Domain’s balance of power. Who could possibly tolerate that?

That was what made the Threelives Buddha feel so frustrated and rueful. Su Yi’s invitations were a true masterstroke.

He laid his intentions out in the open, but they had no choice but to go along with it!

Chu Shanke said, “Does that mean you’ve decided to go in person?”

The Threelives Buddha inclined his head. He had no other choice!

Once Chu Shanke bade farewell and left, the Threelives Buddha sank back into thought. In the end, he concluded that two variables were most likely to threaten them.

First, Su Yi’s strength was still unknown. No one knew just how strong he was now.

Second, on the surface, Su Yi’s helpers were limited to Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan and Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi, but who’d dare say with certainty that there was no one else on his side?

After all, several old-timers of the Primordial Divine Court had survived the passage of countless years. Who’d dare say with certainty that no other Heavenly Sovereigns of the Primordial Era had survived and chosen to join Su Yi’s cause?

The Threelives Buddha couldn’t reach any definite conclusions. All he knew was that these were the biggest variables.

After a while, he set aside his thoughts and sat alone by the lotus pond. His heart was already calm and clear, without the slightest ripple of joy or sorrow.

“Su Yi... Having an enemy like you is fortunate indeed.” He crossed his legs and gently plucked a flower petal. “If you can be this bold, how could I not accompany you to the very end?

“There’s a lot about you that I can’t figure out, but you’d best consider that there’s a lot about me you don’t know either...” he whispered, palms clasped together and eyes shut. Soon, he’d entered meditation.

He felt neither joy nor sorrow. Nothing could disrupt his heart.

There was only emptiness.

......

Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation, Su Yi, would soon re-establish the Heart-Tempering Sword House on Snowy Gale Mountain.

There was no telling who spread the word, but it took the Eternal Heavens Domain by storm, reaching the thirty-three continents, four seas, five celestial capitals, and six pure lands practically overnight.

The whole world was in uproar. Everyone was talking about it.

By now, what cultivator hadn’t heard of Su Yi, that most dazzling, legendary, and unparalleled of sword cultivators?

Who didn’t know that even the Heavenly Sovereigns, the rulers of the Eternal Heavens Domain, were all targeting Su Yi?

That was especially true recently. Most of the Heavenly Sovereigns had placed bounties on Su Yi's head!

The whole world had practically boiled over in response to these developments. They’d stirred up countless ripples.

The vast majority of cultivators had been certain that Su Yi was doomed beyond a doubt. After all, Heavenly Sovereigns reigned supreme in the Eternal Heavens Domain, and Su Yi was just one person. How could he possibly have any hope of survival when so many Heavenly Sovereigns wanted him dead?

Many of the world’s sword cultivators in particular had expressed their grief and indignation over this. They asked when the Eternal Heavens Domain had gotten so small that it had no room for a sword cultivator like Su Yi.

Many of them couldn’t help but find Su Yi’s situation a pity. Was such an unparalleled sword cultivator really doomed to suffer the same fate as Jiang Wuchen?

No matter their opinion of Su Yi, practically no one thought Su Yi would return to the Eternal Heavens Domain proper after being declared the Ruler of the Four Seas.

Because doing so was no different from throwing himself into the net!

Yet now, everyone was suddenly saying that Su Yi was going to rebuild the Heart-Tempering Sword House in the Unfettered Continent. Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

“Has Su Yi gone insane? Is he just not afraid to die?” Countless people were flabbergasted. They found this impossible to understand.

“A reliable source says that he even sent out invitations. All the Heavenly Sovereigns have been invited to the ceremony! That’s more than just insane. That’s simply... sick in the head!”

No one could figure out why Su Yi was doing this. He had to know that the Eternal Heavens Domain was a fire pit, yet here he was, jumping right into the flames!

“Insane? Not necessarily. Which of Su Yi’s accomplishments since his arrival in the Eternal Heavens Domain hasn’t been astonishing and glorious?”

“Look at his battles in the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone, the Divine Wandering Continent, and the Sea of Fate... Which of them didn’t seem too dangerous to overcome? But he made it out alive, didn’t he?”

“He definitely came prepared this time, too!”

Similar discussions broke out throughout the world.

No matter how inexplicable something seemed, there was surely more to it than met the eye. How could Su Yi’s daring be attributed to simple madness?

The uproar only grew over time. As word spread, more and more details came to light. Before long, the masses realized that Su Yi wasn’t simply trying to re-establish the Heart-Tempering Sword House. He was trying to help two of his disciples become Heavenly Sovereigns, too!

The world was already in uproar, but now, it descended into complete chaos.

“My heavens! Even one opportunity to become a Heavenly Sovereign is enough to astonish the entire world, but now, the Heart-Tempering Sword House has two of them!”

“If the Heart-Tempering Sword House really winds up with two Heavenly Sovereigns, they’ll completely rewrite the Eternal Heavens Domain’s balance of power!”

“Impossible! How could the Heavenly Sovereigns possibly let that happen?”

“Just wait. The day the Heart-Tempering Sword House re-establishes itself will be the day it’s destroyed for good!”

No matter how great the commotion, and regardless of the uproar, discussion, and controversy, everyone knew one thing for sure: The Heart-Tempering Sword House’s re-opening ceremony would invite unpredictable peril!

It was even likely that this would lead to the greatest battle of Heavenly Sovereigns since the Devastation!

No matter who won, it would come as an enormous shock to the established order. Everything would change!

Not long after word spread, countless cultivators set off, surging toward the Unfettered Continent from all over the Eternal Heavens Domain. Everything was for the sake of witnessing history with their own eyes!

The ships that regularly carried passengers to the Unfettered Continent were nowhere near enough to satisfy the sudden increase in demand, and ticket prices increased many times over.

Meanwhile, in the Unfettered Continent, on Snowy Gale Mountain.

Snowy Gale Mountain was an enormous mountain just thirty thousand miles from Divine Reverence Pavilion. It was shrouded in snow and frigid gales year-round. Its spiritual energy was sparse, to the point that few ever ventured near.

“They call this place Snowy Gale Plateau. It isn’t famous for its scenery, but the boundless snowy landscape is worth a glance.” Ruo Su stood atop a boulder on the peak, gazing down at the coursing river on the ground below. The waters lapped the shore, like a churning dragon of ice.

“It really is a nice place,” said Su Yi. He stood on the cliffside, holding a fishing rod, its line extending into the frigid waters. No matter how the winds howled, he was leisurely and relaxed.

He’d only just spoken when his wrist shook, and he pulled a plump fish out of the frozen river. He took it in hand, then slaughtered it on the spot, lit a fire, and started grilling it.

The frigid gales howled, and the bonfire blazed as the savory smell of cooked fish gradually permeated the air.

Ruo Su watched Su Yi drinking by the fire and smiled. “Mortals say a proper general has thunder in his heart but a face as serene as the surface of a lake. You, Fellow Daoist, take that a step further.”

Ruo Su initially planned to ask if he was prepared to face the deathtrap that would commence in just ten days' time, but when she saw this, she instantly understood. There was no need to ask.

Worse, doing so would ruin the beautiful landscape. It’d be like boiling an immortal crane or setting fire to a zither.

And of course, such questions were unworthy of the fish Su Yi had grilled for them personally.