First Immortal of the Sword

Beneath the night sky. Nine Tripod City, inside a pavilion.

Chi Jiansu stared, flabbergasted, at the old blind man who’d appeared out of nowhere like some kind of ghost. “You… Who are you?”

The old blind man’s clothes were shabby, his hair was disheveled, and his sockets were hollow and unsettling. At a glance, he certainly didn’t seem like a good person.

Although he had no eyes, beneath his empty sockets’ evaluating gaze, goosebumps appeared on Chi Jiansu’s skin.

Is this old blind man some kind of pervert?

The old blind man, meanwhile, was so excited and gleeful that he rubbed his hands together. “Lass, I am the one who made the Ghost Lantern Talisman you just shattered! If I’m not mistaken, it was His Excellency Su Yi who gave it to you. Am I right?”

When he mentioned Su Yi, Chi Jiansu instantly sighed in relief. She couldn’t help but ask, “Dare I ask… what I should call you?”

The old blind man fell briefly silent. Then, he said solemnly, “I cannot yet tell you my name or origins, but I can give you an opportunity to defy the heavens and change your fate!”

Chi Jiansu arched her brows. If not for Su Yi, she would definitely have assumed the old blind man was some kind of scam artist!

They’d only just met, yet here he was going on about some “opportunity to defy the heavens and change her fate.” If he wasn’t a charlatan or scam artist, what was he?

Chi Jiansu took a deep breath and fixed her bright, sharp gaze on the old man. “I don’t want to defy the heavens or change my fate. I just want an inheritance compatible with my talent. Do… Do you have one?”

The old blind man smiled, then said leisurely, “Girl, I’m not exaggerating when I say that you could search this entire world, and you’d find no one else in possession of such a legacy!”

He paused here; something seemed to have occurred to him. He added, “Of course, His Excellency Su Yi is an exception.”

Chi Jiansu was stunned. She suddenly noticed that despite his unfathomable cultivation, the old blind man referred to Su Yi as “His Excellency”!

She asked with great interest, “Why do you respect Su Yi so much? Do you perhaps know his origins? Just how capable is he? Can you tell me?”

“.....” The old blind man wasn’t sure what to say. She doesn’t care about a chance to defy the heavens and change her fate, but she’s concerned about other people’s business? This girl… there’s something off about her!

He coughed dryly, then got his expression under control. He now looked reverent, as if gazing upon a grand and majestic mountain. “Girl, it would be no exaggeration to describe His Excellency Su Yi as a fallen immortal! As for just how capable he is… Hehe.”

“I dare not speak thoughtlessly,” he said with a mysterious smile.

Chi Jiansu kept probing. “He’s completely and utterly offended more than ten ancient factions. Quite a few people think that before long, it’s highly likely he’ll…”

The old blind man snorted coldly and interrupted her. “How could the ignorant masses possibly comprehend his strength? A dozen or so pathetic little creepy-crawlies who survived the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, that’s all. Even I look down on them, so how could His Excellency Su Yi possibly concern himself with them?”

Chi Jiansu was stunned. This old blind man’s boasts are extraordinary!

The old blind man laughed. “Never mind that. Lass, all you need to know is that fortune capable of changing your destiny stands before you. So long as you accept me as your master, the day will come that your attainments in the Grand Dao will dazzle both heaven and earth!”

Chi Jiansu was, ultimately, no ordinary person. She, too, was a monster of the ancient era, and she had an ancient faction behind her. How could such a declaration possibly move her?

If anything, if not for her faith in Su Yi’s character, she would have drawn her saber and cut down this old braggart already!

She’d seen boasting before, but she’d never seen someone boast so shamelessly. What ‘dazzling heaven and earth’? Does this guy think he’s some kind of Imperial Realm expert?

“You don’t believe me?” The old blind man seemed to pick up her dismissive attitude, and he promptly withdrew a black jade slip from his sleeves. He passed it to Chi Jiansu and said, “This jade slip contains our lineage’s legacy technique, the ‘Lantern Illuminating the Endless Night.’ Of course, it only contains the initial portion. Take a look. Then you’ll know that I’m not lying to you.”

“‘Our’ lineage? Who’s part of your lineage?” Chi Jiansu muttered to herself. However, she couldn’t repress her curiosity. She accepted the slip, then inserted her divine sense and examined its contents.

A moment later, the young woman was rooted to the spot. Her knifelike eyes widened, and her delicate features filled with bewilderment and astonishment. 

Just seeing the secrets within was like a key unlocking her talent. Her energy silently surged, and her slender, curvy figure glowed with wisps of a luster reminiscent of an eternal night.

The old blind man keenly picked up on this, and his expression filled with unconcealable excitement. He murmured, “It really is a Nethervine Yin Bone! What a rare, unmatched good seedling!”

Chi Jiansu was stunned. “So, Fellow Daoist Su really was telling the truth… a legacy perfectly suited to my aptitude really does exist in this world!”

When she next looked at the old blind man, her attitude was already starkly different. “Senior, if I accept you as my master, you’ll transmit this legacy to me?”

The old blind man nodded. “Of course!”

It seemed Chi Jiansu still didn’t dare believe it. “Isn’t that a bit overly hasty? You only just saw me for the first time. You don’t understand my personality or what kind of person I am…”

The old blind man laughed and interrupted her. “I trust His Excellency Su Yi’s judgment!”

Chi Jiansu was flabbergasted. “But Fellow Daoist Su and I don’t know each other at all!”

The old blind man was briefly stunned, but then, he laughed once more. “He’s an excellent judge of character. What does it matter if you know each other well or not?”

“....”

She could tell that the old blind had an almost, well, blind faith in Su Yi. It seemed no matter what Su Yi did, he was right. 

If he made a mistake, he was still right; it was the world that was wrong.

After a moment’s silence, Chi Jiansu said, “I… I want to visit Fellow Daoist Su before I decide.”

The old blind man seemed pleased with that. “Alright. I just so happened to want to pay him a visit to express my gratitude! Come on, let’s go right now!”

….

The night was tranquil, clear, and chilly.

Azurecloud Court.

Su Yi sprawled out in his wicker chair as he pondered something.

He already had enough cultivation resources on him to last him until he reached the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.

Now that he no longer lacked resources, he wanted to return to the Great Zhou.

That was where Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, and his other friends and allies were…

To him, someone who’d reincarnated to cultivate anew, the Great Zhou… was also his “native land.”

“Yuan Heng, start getting ready. We’re returning to the Great Zhou tomorrow,” Su Yi said casually.

His temperament had always been like this. He went where his heart took him, and he took action immediately.

Yuan Heng was brewing tea nearby. He froze. “Tomorrow?”

“Is there a problem?” asked Su Yi.

Yuan Heng hurriedly shook his head. 

“Go tell the others. We’ll leave tomorrow at dawn,” ordered Su Yi.

“Yes.” Yuan Heng rushed off to do as he was told.

Before long, Wen Xinzhao arrived. “Brother Su, you’re going back to the Great Zhou tomorrow?”

A trace of helplessness appeared on Wen Xinzhao’s stunning features. She hesitated, then said, “Isn’t that a bit too abrupt? I wanted to find a chance to return to the sect and discuss things with my master and the others.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “There’s no reason you can’t go back to your sect. I’m visiting the Great Zhou, but it’s entirely possible that I’ll return to the Great Xia before long.”

Wen Xinzhao nodded. “Alright. I’ll be waiting for your return!”

Su Yi took out a jade box and passed it to Wen Xinzhao. “This is the Imperial-level talisman the Xia Emperor gave me when we left for Sumeru Immortal Island. As you know, it’s called the Butterfly Transforming the Firmament. Take it for extra protection.”

Wen Xinzhao felt warmth course through her, and her gaze softened, but she didn’t refuse. Instead, she whispered, “Mm. Brother Su, next time we meet… I’ll stay by your side. I won’t be going anywhere.”

Her beautiful face looked a bit bashful, but her expression was serious and staunchly resolute.

Su Yi smiled. “Alright.”

As soon as he said this, someone knocked on the door.

Ge Qian went to open it, and shortly after, he returned leading a man in simple cloth robes.

The Xia Emperor!

The emperor smiled and greeted Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist, I’m visiting late at night. I didn’t disturb your rest, did I?” 

Su Yi remained seated. “If you’d come back yesterday, I wouldn’t have needed to pay a personal visit to Mount Heavenbristle.”

The emperor fell silent. Then, he sighed and said, “Had I returned yesterday, the imperial family’s disloyal cowards wouldn’t have dared reveal themselves.”

Su Yi took a sip from his wine gourd, then said, “Well, never mind. All of that is in the past. I’m afraid you’re not here tonight simply to discuss that, are you?”

The emperor laughed. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide it from you.”

Suddenly, his expression turned solemn, and he said gravely, “Fellow Daoist, did you notice that the ambient spiritual energy has increased of late?”

“It’s to be expected,” said Su Yi with a nod. “Something has changed the Origins of the Azure, and the Radiant Epoch will now arrive earlier than anticipated. More specifically, it will arrive within a year at most.”

The Xia Emperor’s pupils constricted. “So, you’ve already deduced that?”

Su Yi smiled. He was the one who’d left with the Seed of the Azure. How could he not predict the resulting changes to the Azure Continent?

In the days that followed, more and more spiritual energy would fill the formerly spiritually barren Azure Continent.

All sealed powers, opportunities, and strokes of fortune would break through the earth, one after another.

When the true onset of the Radiant Epoch arrived, it would bring a true, qualitative change!

The emperor sighed. “This change was truly unexpected, and it’s disrupted some of my arrangements. I came here tonight to request your guidance, Fellow Daoist. Is there a faster way to restore the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation? I’d like it fixed as soon as possible.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Even if I personally got involved, I couldn’t restore it to its full former glory. However, once I’ve stepped into the Spiritual Manifestation Realm, I’ll be able to restore about seventy percent of its former power within ten days.”

The Xia Emperor’s eyes lit up. “That’s enough!”

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If the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier recovered seventy percent of its former power, when the Radiant Epoch descended, it would provide excellent protection to Nine Tripod City, as well as the imperial family!

“Don’t get too excited too quickly. Even if I’m willing to help, it’ll have to wait until after I reach the Spiritual Manifestation Realm,” reminded Su Yi.

The Xia Emperor laughed. “A month ago, when you proceeded to Sumeru Immortal Island, you were only in the late-stage Origin Palace Realm. Now, a month later, you’re already in the mid-stage Gathering Stars Realm. Given the strength of your foundations and your cultivation speed, I trust that it won’t be long before you smoothly overcome your Tribulation of Spiritual Manifestation and enter the Spirit Dao!”

Su Yi had nothing to say to that. It seems the Xia Emperor has quite a bit of confidence in me!