First Immortal of the Sword

Nine Tripod City.

Outside Azurecloud Court.

A group of cultivators subordinate to the Great Xia’s imperial family stood guard. They’d sealed off the entire area.

“Fellow Daoist, look. This is a fragment of that enemy’s corpse. It seems… he wasn’t actually human.” Weng Jiu held a piece of bone in front of Su Yi.

Su Yi glanced at it. “That’s a fragment of a demon puppet. I already know who it belonged to.”

As soon as he returned from beyond the city, he saw Weng Jiu leading a group of guards stationed outside the residence.

After a few quick questions, he learned that shortly after he left, a man in black approached Azurecloud Court and attempted to climb the walls, only for Weng Jiu to catch him in the act.

After a brief skirmish, the black-robed man died on the spot.

When he saw the corpse fragment the man left behind, Su Yi naturally wouldn’t miss that the assailant was yet another of Chu Xiu’s demon puppets.

In other words, Chu Xiu had indeed planned to lure the tiger away from the mountain and set a trap and wait for his prey. He was as insidious as could be. 

If not for Su Yi’s timely precautions, if he hadn’t asked Weng Jiu to look after Azurecloud Court, he feared Yuan Heng, Yue Shichan, and Bai Wenqing wouldn’t have been a match for Chu Xiu’s demon puppet!

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“So, he was a demon puppet!” Weng Jiu couldn’t help but visibly react.

“He’s called Chu Xiu, and he’s a Possessed cultivator from the Tiandu Continent’s Celestial Prison Demon Court. He’s most likely in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.”

Weng Jiu instantly looked solemn. “So it’s him!”

This caught Su Yi off guard. “You know him too?”

“The Great Xia’s imperial family’s forces recently convened to compile the List of Otherworld Possessed. Chu Xiu’s name is on it. However, there’s very little information about him. If you hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t have guessed Chu Xiu was this impressive.”

“Impressive? Hardly. He’s a shameful creature that likes hiding in the shadows, that’s all,” said Su Yi disdainfully.

Weng Jiu pondered, then said, “Fellow Daoist, it’s easy to dodge a direct attack, but hard to block a stab in the back. Might you consider changing residences?”

Su Yi waved. “No need. I’d actually be thrilled if Chu Xiu had the guts to come looking for me again. Given his temperament, and after what happened tonight, I’m afraid he’s long since fled Nine Tripod City.”

Su Yi paused, then looked at Weng Jiu. “Many thanks for what you did tonight.”

Weng Jiu hurriedly smiled. “Helping alleviate your concerns is part of my duty.”

Su Yi pondered for a moment, then said, “There’s something else I’ll have to trouble you with.”

Weng Jiu was briefly stunned, but then, he laughed heartily. “Fellow Daoist, please speak directly. So long as I am capable of it, I guarantee I won’t refuse.”

“With the power at your disposal, how long would it take you to send a message to the Great Zhou?” asked Su Yi.

Weng Jiu paused to think, then said, “If we use a few of our secret methods, I guarantee we can send a message anywhere in the Great Zhou within three days.”

“Three days?” Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up.

Weng Jiu explained, “The Great Zhou is too distant and remote. Even if a Spiritual Manifestation cultivator travels at top speed, they’ll need at least ten days to get there. I’m not bragging when I say that no faction in the Great Xia could send a message to the Great Zhou faster than that.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, took out a blank jade slip, and inscribed a message on it with his divine sense.

Before long, he passed it to Weng Jiu. “Send the message tonight. Deliver it to the Palace Master Ning Sihua of the Great Zhou’s Heaven’s Origin Academy as quickly as possible.”

The contents of the jade slip were simple. He’d simply ordered Ning Sihua to bring his friends to the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House.

The ruins were like a separate world, and they were covered by the Heavensphere Yao Emperor’s Heaven-Sealing Formation of the Nine Absolutes.

When Su Yi left, he entrusted the white bone seal used to control the formation to Ning Sihua. So long as those he cared about hid within the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House, future enemies wouldn’t be able to threaten them like Chu Xiu had even if they wanted to. 

“Got it!” Weng Jiu accepted the slip.

Su Yi then took out another. In it, he carved Chu Xiu’s likeness. He then passed it to Weng Jiu. “This is a portrait of Chu Xiu. If you can find him, I’ll reward you generously.”

Chu Xiu dared to use the loved ones he’d left in the Great Zhou as a threat; he’d already crossed Su Yi’s bottom line. Su Yi naturally wouldn’t just let this end here.

Weng Jiu said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist, rest assured. So long as we capture Chu Xiu, this old man will present you his head personally!”

Before long, Weng Jiu and his forces hurried away.

When Su Yi returned to Azurecloud Court, he called Yuan Heng over. “Yuan Heng, tomorrow, take this sword to the Elephant Province’s Broken Dragon Cliff.”

Su Yi passed him the first sword he made after reawakening his memories post-reincarnation, Mortal Edge.

“When you see Ying Que, tell him to take this sword and head to the Sea of Chaotic Spirits immediately. He is to undergo quiet cultivation near the entrance to the ruins of the Immortals’ Sword House. If anyone is brazen enough to attempt to break into the ruins, he is to kill them, no questions asked.”

Yuan Heng solemnly acknowledged his orders.

Only now did Su Yi relax.

The black flood dragon living near Broken Dragon Cliff owed him an enormous favor.

Sending Ying Que to the Great Zhou to stand guard over the Immortals’ Sword House would undoubtedly give Ning Sihua, Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, and the others an additional layer of protection.

Su Yi then took out a set of formation flags. There were one hundred and eight in total, each inscribed with different glyphs and diagrams. So long as he placed them accordingly, he could recreate Chu Xiu’s Blood Dragon Spirit-Slaughtering Formation.

This was a grand formation capable of killing even Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators; it was naturally extraordinarily precious. 

In the Great Xia, only the peak-level cultivation factions had the ability to place a similar formation.

Tonight, Chu Xiu lost two demon puppets and this killing formation. Such grievous losses would undoubtedly cause him enormous pain for quite some time. 

Before long, Su Yi placed the formation around Azurecloud Court. 

Circulating a grand formation of this scale required spiritual power, but that couldn’t stump Su Yi. As he placed it, he re-arranged its base. Now, whenever someone circulated the formation, it would immediately connect with the power of the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation covering Nine Tripod City. The Blood Dragon Spirit-Slaughtering Formation could thus unleash its full power.

In simple terms, Su Yi was using the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation as an energy source to circulate the Blood Dragon Spirit-Slaughtering Formation…

It was indeed a cheap trick, but there was nothing for it; Su Yi didn’t want to waste an ocean of spirit stones on a formation.

Even if Weng Jiu and his master find out about this, I imagine… they won’t say anything…

“Miss Bai, I’ll entrust the formation disc to your care. If anyone tries to break in or cause trouble while I’m away, just activate the formation and kill them.”

Su Yi gave the formation disc to Bai Wenqing, who hurriedly accepted and nodded her acknowledgment of his orders. 

“What about me, Brother Su? Can I help you?” Yue Shichan couldn’t help but ask.

“You should come to my room,” said Su Yi. He turned and walked toward the pavilion.

Yue Shichan was stunned. “What for?”

“To treat your injuries, of course,” said Su Yi without so much as turning his head.

“....” Yue Shichan’s fair, jade-like face instantly heated up, and her starry eyes shone with embarrassment.