First Immortal of the Sword

Firemist Cloud Void Jade!

The entire room fell silent; all eyes were drawn to this treasure. 

An almond-sized spirit jade lay in Su Yi’s palm. It was the color of misty firelight, and it looked as ethereal as the clouds. It glittered with divine radiance, beautiful and dazzling to the eye. 

Zuo Xinghe stared, his expression shifting erratically. 

The Zuo Family higher-ups’ hearts ached. All of them stood there in a daze.

Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, and the others stared in wide-eyed, slack-jawed shock, while Wen Xinzhao’s eyes sparkled.

“Wah!” exclaimed Qing Ya.

Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing looked at each other. Both were beside themselves with surprise.

Firemist Cloud Void Jade was a top-quality spiritual material! It was worth a fortune, and it wasn’t just useful for producing talismans; it could be used to make medicine, too.

Without two hundred tier-six spirit stones, you could forget about buying even an almond-sized piece like that!

It was more than twice as precious as Zhang Yuntao’s hunk of Goldenstripe Tiger Jade!

“Fellow Daoist Su… You’ve got good eyes!” Zuo Xinghe complimented him, but inwardly, his heart was dripping blood.

What an enormous loss!

Had a member of Cloudsky Divine Palace obtained it, that’d be one thing. Yet now, some unimportant youth had obtained this precious treasure? How could Zuo Xinghe possibly be happy about that?

The other Zuo Family higher-ups’ hearts ached. All of them felt stifled.

“This is all thanks to you generously offering me the chance to select a Spirit Source Ore, Family Head Zuo,” said Su Yi with a laugh, his words barbed.

Then, ignoring Zuo Xinghe’s rigid expression, Su Yi put away the Firemist Cloud Void Jade and opened the Spirit Source Ore he’d selected for Bai Wenqing.

Crunch!

A crisp, clear sound accompanied by wisps of misty blue light followed. Soon, a goose-egg-sized bright blue spirit jade landed in Su Yi’s palm.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

The sound of gasping resounded throughout the room.

Blue Essence Ocean Soul Jade!    

This was yet another extremely precious variety of spirit jade. It contained the essence of the water element, and it was a miraculous treasure for crafting water elemental treasures. It was no less precious than the Firemist Cloud Void Jade!

“This…” The Cloudsky Divine Palace members found this difficult to grasp. Isn’t Su Yi’s luck a bit too heaven-defying all of a sudden?

Huo Yunsheng, Qian Tianlong, and Sun Feng had all come out empty-handed, so they found this sight particularly grating. They even felt mentally off-kilter.

Zuo Xinghe’s face went rigid, and his expression shifted back and forth. He felt as if someone were twisting a knife in his heart, and the corners of his lips twitched.

The other Zuo Family higher-ups felt as if they’d just eaten a dead fly. Their expressions were extremely unsightly, and they felt so stifled that they almost coughed up blood.

None of them would have guessed that Su Yi would obtain two such rare spirit jades in a row. If they’d known this would happen, they would never have let Su Yi choose two more Spirit Source Ores, no matter what anyone said!

Wen Xinzhao, Qing Ya, and the others couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

Selecting one such rare spirit jade might well be luck, but selecting two in a row? How could you describe that as mere luck?

Earlier, Huo Yunsheng and his cronies all came up empty!

“Little Friend Su, your luck really is something! However, you chose those two treasures on behalf of others. As for the one you chose for yourself… You’ve yet to open it. Why not expand our horizons once more?” Zuo Xinghe took a deep breath, suppressed his displeasure, and smiled.

He wasn’t at all pleased, and he naturally wanted Su Yi to suffer too.

He could tell that the Spirit Source Ore Su Yi selected for himself had ordinary luster, and its markings were dim. It was obvious at a glance that it couldn't possibly hide spirit jade!

When he opened it, Su Yi would have no choice but to go home empty-handed. As for the two spirit jades he’d selected… Those were both for other people, not him!

“Come on then! Let us see whether there’s another miracle waiting for us in the ore our young friend chose for himself!”

“How about this? Young friend, if you can extract another treasure, no matter its quality, I’ll buy it from you for ten times the usual price!” 

The Zuo Family higher-ups chimed in, one after another. All were eager to watch Su Yi make a fool of himself.

Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, and the others all looked at Su Yi. From the Zuo Family higher-ups’ reactions, they realized that Su Yi was highly likely to fall flat on his face!

“Ten times the price?” Su Yi’s lips curved into a faint, disdainful arc.

Zuo Xinghe’s eyelids twitched. He suddenly got the sense that something wasn’t quite right here.

Before he could respond, Su Yi used his fingers as a knife to open the final Spirit Source Ore.

Bits of stone flew through the air, but there was no surge of spiritual light.

When they saw this, the Zuo Family higher-ups couldn’t help but smile. They finally felt better. If things went on like before, they were sure to cough up blood.

Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, and company were secretly exultant, but on the outside, they shook their heads and sighed.

In a deliberately disgusting display, Huo Yunsheng even went so far as to “comfort” him. “Brother Su, this time, you sacrificed yourself for the good of others. Whatever you do, don’t be upset.”

Wen Xinzhao, Qing Ya, and the two yao cultivators looked at each other in confusion. How… How could he choose a waste of ore for himself?

But it was then that—

Zuo Xinghe, who’d been silent all this time, reacted as if he’d been stung. He couldn’t help but blurt, “A Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis!? How is this possible?”

His expression changed dramatically, and he lost control of his emotions. His eyes stared intently at Su Yi’s hands, disbelief written all over his face.

A Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis?

When they heard this name, the other Zuo Family higher-ups reacted as if they’d been struck by lightning. All of them shot to their feet and looked.

In Su Yi’s open palm, a tiny, unassuming little chrysalis lay amidst the fragmented stone. It was gray and only about the size of a peanut, but upon closer inspection, its surface was covered in a layer of strange and exquisite cloud markings!

“It… it’s real!” One of the family higher-ups trembled, and his eyes widened.

“In the past hundred years, our Zuo Family has only discovered a single Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis. Who’d have thought that today… we’d finally see another,” another Zuo clansman sighed and exclaimed.

When they saw the way Zuo Xinghe and his clansmen lost their composure, Zhang Yuntao and company realized that something wasn’t right here. They were completely bewildered and uncertain.

“Fellow Daoist Zuo, what kind of treasure is a Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis?” Zhang Yuntao couldn’t help but ask.

Zuo Xinghe took a deep breath to calm himself, then said, “They’re miraculous entities. If you use a secret technique to nourish them, they have a high chance of metamorphosing into a Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly. Jadeseed Spirit Butterflies are born with a talent for discovering veins of spirit jade!

“Long ago, the ancestor of the Zuo Family obtained a Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly, and with its help, he discovered more than ten veins of spirit stone in just ten short years! It was thanks to the butterfly that our Zuo Family rose to prominence.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that our current wealth and influence is inextricably tied to that Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly.”

When they heard this, Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, and the others all felt shaken and out of sorts. Waves of emotion coursed through their hearts. 

Only now did they realize just how shocking of a treasure Su Yi had uncovered. Spirit stones alone were insufficient to measure its value!

Huo Yunsheng was jealous, enraged, and ashamed. He’d only just “comforted” Su Yi by praising his willingness to sacrifice himself for others and saying he shouldn’t be sad. Now, the appearance of the Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis was like a slap in the face, and his cheeks still stang.

Even Zhang Yuntao, who’d seen all manner of grand occasions, couldn’t help but go red-eyed with envy. Su Yi’s eyesight is just too keen!

Ren Youyou, Qian Tianlong, and the others all felt bitter. And here they’d been looking forward to watching Su Yi make a fool out of himself.

Who’d have thought Su Yi would select such a supreme treasure?

“Alas, Jadeseed Spirit Butterflies are just too rare. Over the years, we’ve wracked our brains for ways to find more, but we still only have three, and two are nearing the end of their lifespans….” Zuo Xinghe sighed.

As he spoke, he gazed at the chrysalis in Su Yi’s palm, then suddenly bowed and lowered his head in shame. “Young Friend Su, earlier, we were negligent. I humbly request that you don’t take our oversight to heart.”

The entire venue was stunned.

Su Yi smiled faintly. “Do you want the spirit chrysalis?”

He’d seen right through Zuo Xinghe. A trace of awkwardness flashed across the family head’s face. “If possible, we’d like to buy it. Just tell us your conditions. So long as they’re within our power, we’ll agree to anything!”

His tone carried a hint of pleading.

There was nothing for it; a Jadeseed Spirit Chrysalis was precious to the entire family, enough so to influence the rise and fall of the entire clan!

“Young Friend Su, please grant us this request!” The other Zuo Family higher-ups bowed, one by one. 

When Zhang Yuntao, Huo Yunsheng, and the others saw this, they were inwardly increasingly displeased.

Wen Xinzhao, however, smiled.

Earlier, each member of the Zuo Family had been more conceited than the one before. They had deliberately overlooked Su Yi.

Yet now, they had no choice but to lower their heads and beg!

This was karmic retribution, payback for her earlier displeasure.

“The spirit chrysalis isn’t all that useful to me, and there’s no reason I can’t sell it to you,” said Su Yi.

If he wanted to find spirit jade veins, he didn’t need a Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly’s help. He had various secret arts he could call upon to achieve the same effect.

Thus, it would be better if he could trade the chrysalis for cultivation resources.

Zuo Xinghe lit up, then bowed once more. “Young Friend Su, many thanks for granting our request!”

The other family higher-ups smiled too.

“You’d best read my conditions before you make your decision,” said Su Yi. As he spoke, he took out a jade slip, thought for a moment, then carved his demands onto its surface and passed it to Zuo Xinghe.

“Three thousand tier-six spirit stones, eight hundred tier-six spirit medicines, one hundred spirit jades suitable for crafting Spirit Dao talismans, five hundred types of tier-six spiritual materials….”

When he saw the demands written on the jade slip, the corners of Zuo Xinghe’s mouth twitched involuntarily. Every word was like a sharp knife stabbing him straight in the heart; it was so painful he almost couldn’t breathe. 

By the time he read the whole list, the head of the Zuo Family, one of the most influential people in the Jade Bottle Province, was completely dazed. His body went rigid, and his expression turned blank.

Too ruthless!

How was that “stating his conditions”? He was obviously just trying to rip them off!

After a while, Zuo Xinghe forced a rigid smile. Young Friend Su, aren’t your conditions a bit…”

Su Yi cut him off here. “You ought to know better than me how much wealth this chrysalis will bring you should it become a Jadeseed Spirit Butterfly. Its value far exceeds my demands.”

“But…” Zuo Xinghe still wanted to say something, but he never got the chance.

“Keep haggling, and I’ll sell it to another faction,” said Su Yi flatly. “I trust that none of them would refuse to meet my conditions.”

Zuo Xinghe’s heart shook. How could he dare hesitate any further? He gnashed his teeth and said, “Fine! I agree. I’ll arrange everything you’ve requested by tomorrow!”

Su Yi nodded, then said no more. He simply turned and sat back down.

From that moment forth, not one of the Zuo Family higher-ups dared treat him with the slightest negligence.