First Immortal of the Sword

Although he looked down on it, Su Yi dared not get complacent.

After all, this was an ancient evil spirit. It had been sealed within the blade all this time, but it was still alive. The power at its disposal was undoubtedly nothing to sneeze at.

Su Yi’s gaze was distant, and in his heart, he muttered, It really is time to end this…

When a battle turned into a contest between the two combatant’s trump cards, there was no longer any meaning in dragging it out.

Eerie blood-red mists permeated the air over Cloudcomb Lake.

Whoosh!

Huo Tiandu’s soul emerged from his shattered bodily shell and dove into the unearthly red blade of Netherworld Frost.

“Die!” The sword seemed to come to life. Under the control of Huo Tiandu’s soul, it flew through the air and slashed at Su Yi.

Boom!

Heaven and earth seemed to tremble as despotic, malevolent sword qi surged into the skies like a rampaging windstorm. Beneath the night sky, Cloudcomb Lake looked utterly, jarringly strange.

Over on the shore, countless cultivators lost their composure. They were overcome with terror and unease.

They watched as the swath of bloody mist and the malevolent sword qi swept through the sky. The onlookers could dimly discern the illusory projection of what looked like an evil god laughing without restraint. Its viciousness shook the heavens.

Even just watching from afar, despair rose within their hearts.

Weng Jiu could no longer stay calm. He shot into the air, intent on charging toward the lake and rushing to Su Yi’s aid.

But it was then that—

Clang!

The boundless, ethereal hum of a sword rang out, like music from time immemorial, or the first invocation after the primordial chaos of creation parted. 

Weng Jiu quivered, then froze in place in midair.

He watched in a daze as Su Yi’s tall, lean figure suddenly seemed to expand, growing enormous beyond limit.

His blue robes and black hair fluttered around him. A wisp of mysterious and inscrutable sword intent lingered around him, and he seemed just as calm and detached as before.

However, there was a newfound formless majesty around him, one difficult to describe in words. He was like a deity of the God of the Sword. His words were like divine writ, his hands held the sun and moon aloft, and his majesty suppressed the heavens!

Even someone like Weng Jiu felt an irrepressible dread, terror, and awe well within his heart. He felt as paltry and insignificant as an ant.

A moment later, that sensation and the accompanying scene vanished without a trace. An explosion rang out over Cloudcomb lake.

Boom!

An invisible storm ripped the bloody mist filling the sky part, dissipating it completely.

The towering, unearthly, and malevolent sword qi broke apart, bit by bit, then disappeared like a popped soap bubble.

Even the unrestrained, illusory manifestation of the evil spirit and its unbridled laughter disappeared, as if they were nothing but illusions.

The night was dark and deep. 

There were more autumn winds. There was no more autumn rain.

However, the austere killing intent filling heaven and earth was so dense that it filled every square inch of the sky.

The gloomy darkness of the night returned, becoming the lake’s backdrop once more.

Under the dim lamplight, the onlookers could faintly discern a single, solitary, upright figure standing above the center of the lake.

He stood there beneath the darkness, like an ancient, unmovable boulder. No matter the dangers of the wind and waves, he didn’t budge by so much as a hair!

This was naturally none other than Su Yi. 

He lowered his head to look at his right hand. Netherworld Frost trembled and wailed, as if trying to submit.

Grand Elder Huo Tiandu’s soul was still inside the blade, but it was already incomparably weak, like a burnt-out candle. His life force was spent, and he was on the verge of disappearing.

“We compared our abilities, and you were inferior to me. We compared our trump cards, and you were still inferior to me. Then you were foolish enough to believe you could sacrifice your life to kill me? You… Are you worthy?” Su YI whispered, his eyes carrying a trace of disdain.

Huo Tiandu’s voice emerged from within the sword. He muttered bitterly, “This old man has no regrets about falling beneath such power….”

“This is my power,” said Su Yi calmly.

“Is that so? If that’s really the case, why are you only in the Origin Palace Realm?” Huo Tiandu’s voice was mocking, as if he’d just heard an enormous joke.

Su Yi sighed, and his gaze was pitying. “In the past, an ant like you would have been entirely unworthy of my attention.”

Huo Tiandu wanted to respond, but it was too late. His soul had already started to disperse. It scattered in a rain of light, the droplets gradually dimming before fading into nothingness. 

“Your Excellency, I’m willing to submit and act as your servant!” came a frantic, terrified voice from within Netherworld Frost. Upon closer inspection, a dimly discernible evil spirit lay prostrate within the blade, quivering with fright.

“An evil spirit like you is foolish enough to hope to become my servant? You… sure know how to dream,” said Su Yi with a dry laugh. 

He swept his hand over the blade, which shook violently. The evil spirit trapped within was now completely sealed. 

He wasn’t interested in its origins.

There was nothing for it; in his past life, he detested such spiritual bodies born of filth and sin. 

“The sword itself is actually rather decent.” Su Yi casually put Netherworld Frost away. It was made of Spirit Dao-level divine materials. It wasn’t some rare and precious treasure, but it would serve as excellent nourishment for the Abstruse God Sword.

He naturally wouldn’t just let the evil spirit inside go to waste; he’d feed it to the Netherflame Demon Sparrow as a reward.

Su Yi turned and walked toward the shore.

The fighting had dispersed the rain clouds, revealing glittering stars.

The battle was over, and the area around Cloudcomb Lake seemed to return to its former tranquility.

Over at the teahouse, when he saw that tall, lean figure walking across the water, Weng Jiu reacted as if awakening from a dream, shaking himself out of his daze.

He instinctively went up to welcome Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist, you’re not hurt, are you?”

This was the elder who, just by showing his face, forced Madam Rou of the Song of the Sandy Creek to lower her head. Yet upon closer inspection, when he faced Su Yi, there was a trace of awe and reverence in his expression!

Earlier, when he faced Su Yi, no matter how humble and modest he seemed, he was merely being polite; he was only acting that way because he had something to ask of Su Yi.

In his heart of hearts, he just saw Su Yi as a junior, albeit a rare, heaven-defying genius of the younger generation.

But now, his attitude had changed completely!

Su Yi naturally understood the reasons for this change full well, but he’d never cared about that sort of thing.  He just asked, “Did you see the whole battle?”

Weng Jiu nodded. For a moment, he thought Su Yi hoped he’d commend on the proceedings, and he immediately started pondering what to say.

But against all expectations, Su Yi said, “Good. In that case, I’ll have to trouble you to gather up the spoils of war. You and your master can bring them when you visit me at Azurecloud Cottage tomorrow.”

Weng Jiu was dazed, and a bellyful of words got stuck in his throat. 

Throughout the Great Xia, who but his master would dare order him around like this?

This kid isn’t the slightest bit polite! His tone and attitude are so casual, too. Don’t tell me that in his eyes, I’m just… some unskilled errand boy?

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“Alright.” Weng Jiu took a deep breath and suppressed his displeasure.

“Is there a carriage?” Su Yi asked again. Undergoing such a grand battle cost him a lot of energy. If he could take a carriage back, he naturally wouldn’t choose to walk.

Weng Jiu grimaced. You punk, you’re sure seizing the opportunity to make demands. The more you order me about, the less polite you get!

But there was nothing for it; he had no good reason to refuse. “Fellow Daoist, continue along this street. Before long, a carriage will come pick you up.”

“Many thanks.” With that, Su Yi turned and walked into the distance.

Ah? This arrogant kid actually knows how to thank people? But hey, at least he’s finally said something pleasant. Weng Jiu felt quite a bit better.

“Right.” Su Yi suddenly stopped in his tracks; it seemed he’d recalled something.

“Fellow Daoist, is there anything else you need?” asked Weng Jiu.

Su Yi pointed at the wooden zither resting on the table. “Allow me to give you a sincere suggestion: you’re not suited to the Dao of Music. Give up on the zither; otherwise, you’ll only spoil good songs like Ambush from Ten Sides.”

With that, he put his hands behind his back and sauntered off.

Weng Jiu frowned so deeply that his brow was covered in black lines. He felt so awkward and ashamed he couldn’t bear it. 

That kid’s sure got a poisonous tongue on him!

It was then that the cultivators watching from the shore finally came to their senses. The area surrounding Cloudcomb Lake exploded into uproar, like the lid blowing off a pot.

“My heavens! Cloudsky Divine Palace’s Grand Elder Huo Tiandu fell in battle!” 

Who knows how many onlookers were shaken, dumbstruck, and tongue-tied?

“That final strike was so terrifying. How did he block it? Just who was that young man in blue?” 

Many of the onlookers attempted to guess Su Yi’s identity, but without exception, they came up empty.

However, that only made the youth seem even more mysterious. The onlookers felt an irrepressible sense of awe rising within their hearts.

When morning comes, the aftermath of this incident will sweep through Nine Tripod City like a tidal wave!” said one of the older-generation cultivators with certainty.

Huo Tiandu was a famous Spiritual Manifestation cultivator with an extremely terrifying background. He was both an inner sect grand elder of one of the nation’s four great orthodoxies and a high elder of the Huo Family, one of the nation’s three great clans.

He was so powerful and influential, yet tonight, he lost his life on Cloudcomb Lake!

They didn’t even need to think to know that this incident would cause national uproar and shake the entire world of cultivation!

…..

Not far from Cloudcomb Lake, on the jade platform on the top floor of a tower.

“No, this is impossible! This simply cannot be!” The head of the Huo Family, Huo Mingyuan, looked utterly grief-stricken, alarmed, and furious. Veins bulged all over his forehead. 

He was a dignified, imposing man in purple robes, yet at this moment, he’d completely lost his composure.

The Huo Family higher-ups accompanying him all had dark expressions.

They watched the entire battle play out from afar. None of them would have guessed that, even after sacrificing his life to unleash one final attack, Huo Tiandu would lose!

For a moment, they simply could not accept it.

“This… How am I supposed to explain this to the sect!?” A mustached man with long, ink-black hair pounded his chest and stamped his feet, looking utterly furious and grief-stricken.

Yu Fenghe.

He was ranked fourth amongst Cloudsky Divine Palace’s inner sect elders, and his cultivation was in the early stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm.

A tall, stalwart man stood beside him. His name was Nie Yingshan, and he too was an early-stage Spiritual Manifestation cultivator from Cloudsky Divine Palace. He was ranked fifth among the inner sect elders. 

Both elders wore extremely unsightly expressions on their faces.

The upper echelons of Cloudsky Divine Palace had argued for days about whether or not to target Su Yi. In the end, High Elder True Monarch Tranquil Seas made a personal appearance and agreed to let Huo Tiandu lead a group to Nine Tripod City to kill Su Yi.

Who’d have thought that a famous mid-stage Spiritual Manifestation cultivator like Huo Tiandu would fall at the hands of an Origin Palace Realm youth?

The atmosphere was oppressive.

In the eyes of mundane cultivators, everyone here was like an overlord. Yet now, every last one of these influential figures looked as devastated as if they were attending their parents’ funerals!

Suddenly, one of the Huo Family higher-ups surged with murderous intent. “We started this, so we should end it. Let’s attack together and destroy Su Yi, the dirty little beast, right now!”