First Immortal of the Sword

y fell for ten thousand feet, then landed stably on the ground below.

This was the power originating from the underwater formation, linking the power of the current and the layout of the mountains.
It was subtle and miraculous.

Before long, Su Yi and the others appeared in a dark space.
Everything was grey and overcast.
Off in the distance, there stood a massive city, its walls alight with surging green flames that cast their eerie light over the entire area.

It was truly an ugly color.
Su Yi inwardly furrowed his brow.

“If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would never have guessed that a world like this lurked beneath the Great Azure.” Ning Sihua surveyed the area in surprise.

She could tell at a glance that this “world” was actually the intersection of the mountains of Thousand Whirlpool Ridge and the waters of the Great Azure.
It was filled with dark, oppressive energies.

“This is the power of nature, but for that Wuhuan Water Monarch to have found and claimed this place suggests he’s actually a bit capable.” As Su Yi spoke, he gazed at the city off in the distance.
Malevolent energy billowed into the heavens, sinister and imposing.

Then, he looked toward Tao Qingshan.
“In a bit, you’re to make an appearance and ask about the person I’m searching for.”

Tao Qingshan hurriedly nodded his agreement, and the group proceeded into the city.

As they drew near, they saw a name carved in dripping, bloody characters: Ninebends City!

There were ghost soldiers swathed in sinister mists stationed on both sides of the city gates, their entire bodies surging and roiling like smoke.
Their faces were hideous and terrifying.

When the leader of the ghost soldiers saw Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong, he immediately called out, “Mountain Monarch Tao of Mother Ghost Ridge and Mountain Monarch Teng of Spiraltooth Mountain have arrived!”

A pallid lady ghost in colorful clothes immediately flew out of the city and curtsied.
“This humble servant greets you, distinguished guests.”

Tao Qingshan said flatly, “Lead us to the Assembly in Paradise.”

“Yes, sir.” The colorfully-dressed lady ghost turned and led the way.
Su Yi and company stuck close to her.

As soon as they entered the city, they saw one dark, oppressive building after another, like row after row of giant coffins.
The walls and eaves were all pitch-black.

The streets were lined with strings of white lanterns, all of them casting eerie blue-green light.

Ghosts floated up and down the streets, including yin souls and haunts, as well as vicious spirits and vengeful souls surging with malevolent energy.
They were all over the place, with no end to them in sight.

The sound of ghostly chattering rang out continuously, interspersed with weeping, frenzied laughter, mournful wails, and weeping….

It really was a seemingly endless ghostly domain.

Were an ordinary martial artist to come here, they’d almost certainly wind up scared out of their wits.

Su Yi and Ning Sihua, however, seemed calm as ever.
At most, they faintly scrunched up their brow; they detested the sinister, chaotic, broken down feel of the ghostly domain.

As they walked, they passed numerous ghostly street vendors, but their massive iron pots stewed human heads, still covered in soft, rotting flesh, skin, and hair.

Children bounced and played in the streets, carrying still-bleeding severed arms and chasing each other.
From time to time, they’d lunge at their playmates, bare their fangs, and rip into each other.

Some of the peddlers sold eyes, others sold rotting organs.
All kinds of flesh were up for purchase.

There were old women sewing in front of displays built of white bone.
The shelves and racks were full of clothes of all types, all of them made from human skin.

And there were….

It was just one bloody, cruel scene after another, as if this were just daily life to these ghosts.

Suddenly, Su Yi noticed an old man in white paper clothes.
His skin was entirely blue, and half of his head was missing.
He was seated by the side of the road and busy computing something with an abacus.

Upon closer inspection, the abacus's frame was made of radiuses, ulnas, and skeletal fingers, while the beads were made of teeth.

“What are you calculating?” Ning Sihua noticed this, then immediately paused to ask.

“I’m balancing the books,” said the old man without so much as looking at her.

“What books?”

“The records of how many people have died in Ninebends City.” When the elder said this, his blue face broke into a bizarre grin.
“I’ve roughly calculated that in the past one hundred thirty-nine years, eight months, and nineteen days, at least one hundred and thirty thousand living people have died here in Ninebend City.
Their numbers include over thirty thousand women, over ten thousand children, over fifty thousand adult men, forty thousand elders…”

He went on and on, like a bookkeeper rattling off figures, his strange smile filled with indescribable satisfaction.

When she heard this, Ning Sihua’s brow furrowed, and she couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi.

“If it displeases you, when we leave, we can simply eradicate the place,” said Su Yi flatly.

In his past life, he’d grown accustomed to this sort of hell on earth.
He’d even ventured into the netherworld; he’d experienced more brutal and terrifying things than this. 

But even though he’d already seen it all, he still felt an instinctive aversion to everything he saw now.

The colorfully dressed lady ghost turned and said icily, “Distinguished guest, mind your tongue.
If the Water Monarch hears….

Before she could finish, Tao Qingshan snorted coldly, “You’re just a servant girl, yet you dare act impudently? Would you believe me if I said that I could eliminate you here and now, and that Old Man Wuhuan wouldn’t dare so much as say a word against me?

The colorfully-dressed ghost quivered and fell silent.

It was then that cold laughter emanated from not far away.

“How long has it been since we last saw each other? Tao Qingshan, you’ve sure gotten brazen.
Do you really think relying on the Great Zhou’s Sea-Swallowing King means you can run amok?”

Seth's Thoughts

I often run unfamiliar place names through Baidu/Google, just to be safe.
“Nine Bends”,  or “Jiuqu” looks like a common place name generally associated with the Yellow River, as well as shorthand for the “Yellow River Nine Bends Lamp Formation” which is a folk tradition associated with the lantern festival.