Immortal of the Ages
Chapter 499: Arrival of a Thousand True Immortals!

Far off, the sword vessels that sliced through the air ranged from grand to modest, and their sizes varied.

Yun Xiao could not immediately tell if these were all the sword vessels of the Celestial Court. What he could be sure of was that each one was powered by a Celestial Sourcecore, which granted them terrifying speed, capable of piercing the heavens and shattering barriers.

Yun Xiao's gaze fixed on the sword vessel of Arbiter Lu! Like a pathreplaceer, he was the first to arrive, his destination squarely the Primordial Ruins.

“Seeing Arbiter Lu’s boldness, he must no longer fear the Heavenly Immortals,” Yun Xiao mused.

He recalled the fear that the Peach Heavenly Immortal held towards Lian Xi, and seeing so many sword vessels, he spoke to Lian Xi, “You better hide for now.”

“Understood,” Lian Xi nodded obediently.

As he watched her petite form slip into the shadows, Yun Xiao's eyes warmed.

“Originally, I brought her along to always be ready for a desperate survival attempt by relying on our third session. Now, with the enemy fleeing away, I replace myself without an excuse to draw close again.”

Yet, Yun Xiao was not one to let go easily. He was determined to tackle the issue of the transcending calamity crystal. He always felt that missing this third chance would make it harder to resolve this later.

“And now, with the great enemy dispelled, a fleeting life spared, if she were to suddenly end her own life…”

Then, Lian Xi would be lost to him.

“Once I meet Arbiter Lu, I have to settle this matter with Lian Xi. If need be, I’ll help her rebuild her cultivation afterwards,” Yun Xiao resolved silently in his heart.

He stood in the shadow of a street corner, his body first producing Moon Fairy, then his blood congealed, separating out into a mist-enshrouded Blood Base.

“Go replace her!” With a flick of his hand, the Blood Base, like a movable body double, shot out like a blood-red orb of lightning and vanished in an instant.

From then on, Yun Xiao reverted to his clean, pure image of a young Sword Immortal.

As a Late Yin Immortal Realm cultivator, his combat prowess was naturally formidable!

After settling matters, he soared into the sky.

“It’s him!”

“Yun Xiao…”

“The Three Immortals appear to be all dead, it must have been him!”

Below in the Primordial Ruins, the multitudes awoke from dreams, recalling more and more.

Dean Yu, Shen Cang, and others saw the separation of sun and moon, and now ascending the Primordial Ruins, they saw the masses come to their senses. Overwhelmed with joy, they joined the crowd, becoming pillars of strength, spreading the truth.

At places like the Jade Immortal Tower, Mystic Zenith Temple, and others, people looked to the sky, taking in the profound depths of the first true light of dawn.

For Yun Xiao and Lian Xi, though still shrouded in mystery to some, as time passed, every victim would come to know everything.

Everyone would know whom to thank.

But to Yun Xiao, this mattered little; he never sought adoration for his deeds. He acted from the heart, doing what he felt compelled to do. A simple smile in return for his actions was reward enough.

His ascent to such a conspicuous spot was intended to catch Arbiter Lu's eye.

The roaring of the sword vessels could already be heard across the Primordial Ruins.

"A vessel from the heavens!"

"It must be True Immortals descending to personally commend Yun Xiao."

"Perhaps he's being summoned to ascend and join their ranks!"

The people of the Primordial Ruins buzzed with excitement, anxious for Yun Xiao.

In an instant, the lead sword vessel arrived before him, a wild storm tossing his white robes and long hair.

Through the clear dome, Arbiter Lu could be seen, eyes wide, staring right at him!

With a clang, the dome opened, and a white fog swirled out as Arbiter Lu emerged, instantly standing before Yun Xiao.

"Arbiter Lu," Yun Xiao reported with a smile, "the harmful Heavenly Immortal must have sensed the arrival of the enforcers and fled in panic. The common folk of this realm are now at peace, thanks to your righteous presence."

"I know, it's no longer important," Arbiter Lu's voice trembled.

"Hm?" Yun Xiao noted his peculiar state—his gaze was unfocused, his speech weak and strained, as if battling some inner turmoil.

Yet he appeared unharmed.

"Arbiter Lu, what's the matter?"

Before Yun Xiao could finish, Arbiter Lu suddenly grasped his shoulders, his voice quivering as he shouted, "Yun Xiao, take Lian Xi, board my Skyruler Sword Vessel at once, and flee this mortal plane!"

Stunned by his intensity, Yun Xiao froze, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Hurry! Hurry!" Tears streamed from Arbiter Lu's eyes, turning black like serpents slithering down his face, "Yun Xiao, you are like a brother to me. Survive!"

"Arbiter Lu, what exactly—" Yun Xiao was cut off as Arbiter Lu suddenly exerted force, shoving him to the ground.

The impact threw Yun Xiao against the earth!

He heard a heart-wrenching scream; looking up, he saw Arbiter Lu roaring skyward as pitch-black, sinister flames burst from his body. During his agonized cries, finger-sized flesh worms crawled out of his eyes, ears, mouth, and nostrils!

In just a moment, hundreds of black worms poured out. They shrieked, twining together, forcibly molding into the silhouette of Arbiter Lu before flying off into the distance, enshrouded in black mist.

"The path leads there, the path leads there!" The screams of the black worms seemed to mindlessly repeat these words.

After they departed, Arbiter Lu still hovered in the air, his eyeballs and tongue gone, his body like a wave, rippling under the caress of the wind.

This showed that all that was left of him was his skin...

"Yun Xiao, the others who have come, they are not Arbiter Immortals…" Perhaps his soul clung on a moment longer, Arbiter Lu left these words in Yun Xiao's ear.

After speaking, he was thoroughly gone. Only his skin remained, floating like a kite in the air, hollow under the skin, his face a mask of fear and sorrow.

This scene was too much for Yun Xiao!

"Arbiter Lu..." Yun Xiao knew that such an end, facing fearless foes, must be connected to his bravery in reporting them.

But clearly, the waters were too deep, the stakes too high. A man without backing like Arbiter Lu could be erased so easily, dying more miserably than anyone, even unknowing of whom he had offended.

"The Immortal Asylum!" Yun Xiao knew it must be involved, pulling the veils of heaven itself!

He looked up! Indeed, those sword vessels behind Arbiter Lu were not headed for the Primordial Ruins.

They did not care to involve themselves with the calamity of the denizens of the Primordial Ruins. These vessels had bypassed the Primordial Ruins entirely, rushing towards the direction of the Nine Hells!

In that missed instant, Yun Xiao saw clearly! The number of sword vessels far exceeded his expectations, numbering in the thousands, many vastly larger than Arbiter Lu's Skyruler Sword Vessel, their complexity stark.

Most terrifying was the presence of their owners, each bearing an aura vast and boundless, each one a world unto themselves.

"Why does each Immortal feel stronger than the Peach Blossom Heavenly Immortal?"

The Peach Blossom Heavenly Immortal had just been scared away, but now thousands of other True Immortals from the Celestial Court had descended!

As the Nian had said, if they were to fight over the Immortal Asylum, would they care about the Nine Hells?

"Yun Xiao, what's going on…?" Lian Xi approached, her eyes red with worry, her voice anxious, momentarily at a loss.

The arrival of these True Immortals, their scale and majesty, was beyond mortal comprehension!

The tens of millions of inhabitants of the Primordial Ruins hadn't even realized what kind of beings had just roared past.

"Stay calm!" Yun Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes icing over.

"Lian Xi, help me hide this Skyruler Sword Vessel, I need to go down and see!"

Without waiting for a response from Lian Xi, Yun Xiao dashed downward on his Sovereign Sword.

"Yun Xiao..." Lian Xi was full of concern, but in the blink of an eye, Yun Xiao had disappeared, leaving her to murmur, "Please be careful."

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Thunderous rumbles shook the heavens as the sword vessels descended, halting above the Immortal Asylum. Their abrupt stop tore the sky asunder, creating thousands of spatial rifts that stretched for miles. The sky above the Nine Hells fractured into a web of blue and black.

The black rifts, like gaping maws, devoured white clouds and the essence of immortality.

This sudden change sent shivers through the just-awakened beings of the Nine Hells.

They understood nothing of this phenomenon. They were like ants upon a crown, overwhelmed and baffled by the unfolding events.

Thunder rolled again as the thousand sword vessels opened, causing horrific spatial tremors.

The Heavenly Immortals had barely revealed themselves when the cosmos around the Immortal Asylum began to disintegrate. Even the rocks and vegetation below were pulverized into dust by the force unleashed.

Laughter and whispers echoed as the sword vessels opened. Celestial beings, each cloaked in radiant light, stepped forth. A congregation gathered above the Immortal Asylum, their eyes fervently fixed on an octagonal stump below.

"North River Star Lord, your intelligence is impressive," a figure murmured, emerging from the shadows. There were five twisted figures in total. Darkness swallowed all around them, spreading like a canopy of black peach blossoms from their forms.

"Not as keen as you Five Specters from the Peach Blossom Mountain," a majestic, white-robed Immortal replied, his presence wrapped in starlit rivers, resplendent and sublime.

Among them, figures like the North River Star Lord and the Five Specters from the Peach Blossom Mountain were many!

Under a heavy, brutal atmosphere, most remained silent, their focus on the Immortal Asylum and wary of each other.

"Folks, we're all here, why not proceed?"

"Who shall command the Immortal Asylum will be decided by fate and fortune!"

Cold voices filled the air, the atmosphere above the Immortal Asylum chilling to the extreme. Only the demonic hair-like cosmic rifts danced wildly in the sky.

Just as the tension reached its boiling point...

BOOM! All the Immortals moved at once! They targeted one of the eight gates of the Immortal Asylum, bursting forth in streams of stardust and trails of immortal mist, plunging into the Immortal Asylum!