Volume One: The Celestial Palace of Mist Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Transaction

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Bargain

Upon hearing this, Celestial Master Yunmiao immediately realized what the shadow was referring to. The pitch-black stone stele was a rare artifact he had once come across by chance in his travels through the Sun and Moon Immortal Realm. Yet, no matter what method he tried, he could not unlock the cultivation techniques hidden within the stele. After thousands of years, he had long since given up, which was why he had left the stele in the first floor of the Celestial Martial Pavilion in the Yunmiao Immortal Palace, a place open to all.

Though the stele appeared crude and unremarkable, any true expert could instantly sense its extraordinariness. Let alone Celestial Masters—even a Grand Celestial striking with full force could not leave the slightest mark on it. Any immortal could recognize how precious such a material was.

“So, what you mean is: if I hand over the pitch-black stone stele and the Voidlight Sword in my possession, you’ll release my three disciples?” Yunmiao’s figure, robed in white like an otherworldly being, did not falter in his assault against the shadowy figure even as he spoke. The immortal sword in his hand shone as bright as day, and with every swing, the shadow took inexplicable hits, for the sword’s energy was both profound and unpredictable—it began as white light, then submerged into the void, turning invisible and formless. Even Night Palace’s shadow, formidable as he was, found himself suppressed, especially with the Celestial Wolf King assisting.

“Heh heh, that’s right. The Voidlight Sword and your palace’s stone stele are more than enough to exchange for three genius disciples! If you don’t want to trade, that’s fine. Do you really think you can kill me? The Voidlight Sword is indeed our nemesis, but with just the two of you Celestial Masters, you still won’t be able to kill me!” The shadowy figure, wreathed in black smoke and exuding a diabolic aura, his hoarse voice adding an eerie chill, remained fearless even under the assault of two Celestial Masters.

Yunmiao said nothing, for he knew the truth: the Night Palace’s shadow had already reached the late Celestial stage, while he was only at the mid-stage. Together with the Wolf King, who was only at the early Celestial stage, it was impossible to kill him. The difference between stages was as vast as a chasm. In fact, Yunmiao had been at the late Celestial stage a century ago, but because of a certain battle, a certain strike, he had been poisoned by the Night Palace shadow and was forced to burn his cultivation just to survive. He had yet to fully recover, and his lifespan had been drastically shortened.

It could be said that while the Night Palace shadow had killed Yu Yang, he had also gravely harmed many others—Yunmiao most of all.

“Heh heh, after a hundred years, the poison in your body still lingers, doesn’t it? Your strike left me badly wounded as well, but I can easily recover by feeding on some local immortals. Now it seems I can finish you both off and take the stele!” The shadow sneered, sensing Yunmiao’s weakened cultivation and knowing his vulnerability.

“Is that so? If you could just kill me and take the stele, why bother saying all this nonsense?”

“Heh heh, that’s a secret I can’t tell you. But today, you must hand over the Voidlight Sword and the stele, or I’ll make you wish for death!”

“I see. You don’t know where I’ve hidden the stele, and you know that killing me would bar you from ever entering the Yunmiao Immortal Palace again. As palace lord, my death would activate the palace’s core formation, inscribed with the blood of generations of palace lords. Unless you bring a Grand Celestial to break the formation, you’ll never get the stele. Killing me would only doom your chances.” Yunmiao scoffed.

“Heh heh, sharp as ever, Yunmiao. You’ve seen through me at a glance. Still, this bargain is hardly a loss for you. The competition for entry to the Grand Celestial’s mansion in seven years is fierce—only fifty slots in total, and your sixteen palaces are fighting over just three. If you lose three more genius disciples, your palace’s hopes will be dashed…” The Night Envoy was shrouded in a cloud of black mist, drifting like a ghost through the void, yet he still held his own against two Celestial Masters.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With a flick of Yunmiao’s fingers, his sword split into thousands of brilliant sword-lights, humming like a swarm of bees.

He brought his palms together, and in an instant, the sword-lights shot in unison toward the Night Envoy, who, startled, unleashed his strongest defense.

A black sphere expanded, plunging the Night Envoy’s surroundings into utter darkness—like the edge of a black hole, shattered stars being drawn in to be devoured.

The sword-lights swept forth, deadly and unstoppable. Even retreating into the void would not guarantee escape, for space itself was collapsing, cracks crisscrossing a million-mile radius, warping reality under the immense pressure of the Celestial Masters’ attacks.

The Wolf King, fighting alongside Yunmiao, did not stand idle. Sensing Yunmiao’s all-out effort, he prepared his own ultimate strike.

A frigid wind howled, snow and ice swirling, crystals growing larger and harder. The shattered void filled with whirling snow, and the Wolf King’s massive form began to shrink, concentrating his power into an enormous snowball—swelling to the size of a mountain in mere moments.

A mournful wolf’s howl echoed across the cosmos. As the sound faded, the snowball flew, bristling with countless icy spikes, resembling a colossal white sea urchin.

The roaring energies shook the heavens. Both Celestial Masters had unleashed their mightiest attacks. The Night Envoy’s eyes grew cold and grim—he had not expected them to strike so desperately, but there was no time for hesitation. The Voidlight Sword was indeed his bane; even a lesser immortal could wound him with it, though not as devastatingly as a Celestial Master.

If he could not withstand this, the Night Envoy might truly die!

Buzz!

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The void twisted as the Night Envoy’s black sphere became a swirling vortex, threatening to devour everything. At the same time, the myriad sword-lights transformed from the Voidlight Sword were about to pierce through all obstacles and storm into the vortex, followed closely by the Wolf King’s white, spiked snowball, whose power seemed capable of freezing all in its path, instantly icing over the shattered space.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous explosions rocked the cosmos, energy storms raging in all directions, sword auras scouring the already broken void. The battlefield of the three Celestial Masters was a realm of eternal radiance, each ray tinged with murderous intent. Even a late-stage Golden Immortal would find only certain death here, for the air was thick with killing intent and endless malice—a veritable field of slaughter.

After a long time… a faint black shadow slowly condensed into a human form.

“Heh, hahaha, heh heh heh! Trying to kill me? With your power? Not a chance!” The shadow cackled madly, though his body was riddled with wounds, and one eye was gone.

That was the work of the Voidlight Sword, his bane, countering all their immortal arts and techniques—a source of endless trouble for the Night Palace, yet unsolvable. Even many Night Palace elders didn’t know why these bane objects existed, as if they were born solely to oppose them.

“Cough, cough…”

Not far from the Night Envoy, Yunmiao’s form appeared, hair disheveled, his white robe tattered and stained with blood flowing from his seven orifices—a pitiful sight, weakened to the extreme.

“Awooo!”

A small white wolf lay in the void, whimpering, blue blood dripping from its mouth. It was the Snowdrift Wolf King, already depleted before unleashing its final attack. Having taken a pill to boost its immortal power, it had overdrawn its essence and was now at death’s door.

“Xiao… Lai, Xiao Lai…” The little white wolf’s vision blurred, its consciousness fading, yet it kept murmuring that name—a name it could never forget.

In a trance, it seemed to see the girl appear beside it, smiling with two adorable little fangs, dressed in simple clothes, skipping along and humming a favorite tune. She said nothing, only cradled the little wolf tenderly as before, showering it with kisses and caresses, treating it as her closest companion. Finally… girl and wolf ran together, vanishing into the depths of the forest, laughter and howls as joyful as ever.

In the void, the Wolf King’s corpse instantly shattered into countless shards of ice, scattering across the universe.

A flash of movement—so swift it left no trace—rushed toward the laughing Night Envoy.

“Stop! Come back!”

A golden hand appeared between the Night Envoy and the figure, but was instantly shattered by the Night Envoy’s black, demonic palm strike. The golden hand at least shielded the figure, or else it too would have been obliterated.

With a swish, the figure retreated to the golden hand’s owner—Yunmiao.

“Heh heh, a mere Golden Immortal dares ambush me? Did you really think a wounded Celestial Master would be so easily slain?” The Night Envoy sneered at Yunmiao and the figure.

“Forgive me. I was prepared to stake my life to kill this demon, but…” the figure looked up at Yunmiao, shaking his head with self-mockery.

“Yun Fang, it’s not your fault. I understand how you feel. But we can’t kill him now. Stand back; I’ll bargain for your disciples’ return,” Yunmiao said resolutely, his eyes unwavering.

After this battle, he knew the Night Envoy’s strength and cunning were truly formidable. Even with the bane object he so feared, there was no way to kill him.

“Heh heh, have you come to your senses, Yunmiao? You wasted your strength just to wound me, hoping to make it easier to finish me off later, didn’t you?” the Night Envoy said.

“Enough talk. I’ll give you the Voidlight Sword first—but you must release two of my palace’s disciples before I hand you the stele!” Yunmiao replied coldly.

“Heh heh, isn’t that unfair? You get all the chips and give me only half?”

“Then this: I’ll accept releasing two first. Trade the last one for the stele.”

With a flick of his sleeve, three figures appeared in the void, their eyes closed.

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“Wake them up,” Yunmiao demanded.

“As you wish.” The Night Envoy smiled, his sleeve brushing over Zhou Hao, Yu Nan, and Su Qing. Soon, their eyes fluttered open, instantly alert as they saw the Night Envoy, but upon spotting Yunmiao and Elder Yun Fang, they understood the situation.

Swish, swish, swish! More figures descended with the sound of breaking air—six in total—all aiming their weapons at the Night Envoy.

“Heh heh, no matter how many of you come, you’re nothing but ants. I’m only willing to negotiate because of your palace’s stone stele and your sword, Yunmiao. Otherwise, you’d all be dead!” the Night Envoy said disdainfully.

“So, what you really mean is: once we give you what you want, you’ll kill us all anyway?” Yun Fang spat angrily.

“Heh heh, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

“You…”

“But then, killing you would be quite a hassle, and I have no desire to waste time on you. Killing you is of no use to me. What matters now is getting the bane object back to the Night Palace. Sparing your lives is actually doing you a favor!” The Night Envoy spoke with casual indifference, making it clear he didn’t see Yunmiao and the others as worth his notice. In truth, Yunmiao had fought so desperately earlier only to tilt the coming bargain in their favor; with their numbers, if they could wound the Night Envoy, the trade would go far smoother.

Yet, it seemed to have had little effect. The Night Envoy still stood high above, even injured and facing seven Golden Immortals and a Celestial Master.

“Well, have you decided? Which two will you exchange for the Voidlight Sword?” The Night Envoy sneered.

Zhou Hao and the others burned with fury—they were being treated as mere bargaining chips, powerless to resist, unable even to move, only able to blink. The humiliation was beyond words.

“What do you take them for? Bargaining chips?” Li Qionghua was seething, ready to draw her sword, but Yunmiao stopped her.

“You fiend, release my daughter at once!” Yu Longtian gritted his teeth.

“Everyone, stay calm. If he doesn’t release all three disciples today, we fight him to the death!” Nangong Xun suddenly declared coldly.

His words inspired all the elders, who voiced their support.

“That’s right, to the death! To the death!” they echoed.

“Everyone, let me handle the negotiations. Trust me—I will bring back our three genius disciples safely to the palace,” Yunmiao said as he stepped forward, his back radiating a profound sense of responsibility.

“Release Zhou Hao and Yu Nan, and I’ll give you the Voidlight Sword.”

“Heh heh, agreed!”

Clang!

The Voidlight Sword transformed into a stream of light, flying toward the Night Envoy, who, at the same instant, sent Zhou Hao and Yu Nan back to their side.