First Immortal of the Sword

The ghostly black mists hovered in the air, taking on the shape of a man in black Daoist robes.

He had strange features and bright red eyes, and baleful mists churned around him. Countless vengeful spirits and aggrieved souls formed within the mist, as if he were a ghost king straight from the hells of the Netherworld.

“You fled in terror?” said the man in Daoist robes, his sharp voice stinging the ears.

The ghost bats hanging from the nearby peach trees silently opened their eyes. Their irises were bright red, like blazing candles. Packed together beneath the canopy, they were an eerie, imposing sight.

“That’s right. He was an extremely terrifying yao cultivator, whose presence filled both heaven and earth. Even just watching from afar left me beside myself with fright,” said the woman, quivering with fright.

“A yao cultivator? Did that Qing Luo person who’s taken up residence halfway up the mountain attack?” asked the man in Daoist robes.

The woman shook her head. “It didn’t… It didn’t seem like Qing Luo.”

“Strange. Guangling City is small and ordinary. None of its martial artists have stepped onto the path of a true cultivator. How did a yao cultivator pop up out of nowhere?”

The man in Daoist robes furrowed his brow.

It was then that a faint voice rang out. “You’re just a tiny, insignificant little ghost, but you know Qing Luo too?”

“Who are you?” Both the black-robed man and the woman were stunned, and they looked in the direction of the voice.

They weren’t sure when he’d gotten there, but a young man in blue now stood to the side of the peach grove, his hands behind his back, looking calm and detached. 

The woman shouted, “Who are you? How dare you barge into—”

“Noisy.” Su Yi snapped his fingers.

Bang!

The woman exploded into black smoke, then dissipated.

The black-robed man’s red eyes focused. This guy’s no pushover!

He then clasped his fist and inclined his head in greeting. “Fellow Daoist, Qing Luo and I haven’t known each other for long, but it’s fair to say we’re connected.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Why would someone of his character build a relationship with an unseemly little ghost cultivator like you?”

The man’s eyes flashed with fury, but in the end, he suppressed it. “Fellow Daoist, I’ve treated you with respect, so please, don't insult me. If you do, it’ll disrupt the peace between us!”

“That so?” Su Yi suddenly chanted an invocation, like the shout of a Buddha. 

Boom!

An enormous, perfectly round, lotus-shaped round wave spread through the air.

Wherever it passed, the bats hanging from the peach trees exploded before they even knew what hid them.

As far as the eye could see, the bats went off like firecrackers, filling the air with sprays of bloody mist. It was a startling sight.

The man in black Daoist robes stiffened, his clothes suddenly drenched in sweat and his hair standing on end. He was completely terrified.

Had those thousands of ghost bats acted together, they’d have presented a lethal threat to any Origin Dao cultivator beneath the heavens. They were vicious and sinister to the extreme.

Yet now, a single invocation had killed every last one of them!

“Do you think that counts as ‘disrupting the peace?’” asked Su Yi.

The man’s expression shifted erratically, and he forced a rigid smile, then bowed. “This humble one had eyes, but he failed to recognize the expert before him. Senior, I humbly request your forgiveness.”

He’s chickened out, just like that? Su Yi paused, then couldn’t help but lose interest. “I ask, you answer.”

“Yes, sir!” The man in black nodded repeatedly. “I’ll tell you everything I know, and I won’t hold anything back!”

“Tell me your origins.”

“I’m a disciple of the Deathbringer’s Gate, and I’ve cultivated for over one hundred and thirty years. Not long ago, I came to Mother Ghost Ridge to cultivate…” The man launched into his tale at top speeds.

Su Yi, however, found his story rather dull. “How do you and Qing Luo know each other?”

The man grimaced. “I won’t lie to you, senior. Two weeks ago, the young man who called himself Qing Luo appeared out of nowhere and said that if I wanted to live, I had to work for him. He said that if I refused, he’d kill me for the good of the world…”

This time, Su Yi finally looked intrigued. “What did he want you to do?”

“Raise ghost bats,” the black-robed man said in a low voice. “According to Qing Luo, he needed a bunch of Netherworld Soul Sand, which can be refined from ghost bat eyes. However, as I’m sure you’re also aware, raising ghost bats requires vast numbers of souls. I had no choice but to dispatch my disciples to stir up the spirit beasts to hunt and kill…”

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “Are you trying to pin your crime on Qing Luo and goad me into making trouble for him?”

The man in Daoist robe trembled from head to toe. He said hurriedly, “I wouldn’t dare harbor such thoughts!”

Su Yi laughed. “It doesn’t matter what your intentions were. This time, you won’t escape death.”

The man froze briefly, then turned and fled.

Boom!

He transformed into black flames and shot into the distance.

However, mere moments later, a streak of sword qi cleaved into him, dissipating his soul.

“Celestial Prison Demon Court is sending spirit beasts to wreak havoc throughout the world, all to gather bloodmeal. Now, even the Deathbringer’s Gate has started gathering souls? Since when was the populace prey you could slaughter as you pleased?” Su Yi muttered, but there was no one there to hear it.

Whoosh!

A moment later, Su Yi took to the skies.

…

Above Guangling City’s gates.

When Su Yi returned, his companions weren’t the only ones waiting for him. Fu Shan, Nie Beihu, Nie Teng, and the others were waiting there too. They’d never left.

“Master, City Lord Fu Shan wishes to host a banquet for us. What do you think?” asked Yuan Heng.

Su Yi shook his head. “No need.”

He then fixed his gaze on Wen Changjing. “Where are Lingxue’s parents?”

Wen Changjing was briefly stunned. Then, he whispered, “Three days ago, subordinates of the imperial family arrived from the Jade Capital and led both Wen Changtai and Qin Qing away.”

Su Yi frowned. “What for?”

The head of the Wen Family shook his head. “They just said they were inviting the couple to the capital as guests. We don’t know the specifics either.”

The head of the Wen Family shrank beneath Su Yi’s gaze, terrified and uncertain.

His attitude was completely different from before.

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi turned his attention to Nie Teng. “Mother Ghost Ridge has become a gathering point for spiritual energy. It’s sure to become a famous mountain. You’d do well cultivating there.”

“Thank you for your guidance, Master Su,” said Nie Teng.

Su Yi nodded, then turned and left. “Come on. We’re going to the Jade Capital.”

There wasn’t anything in Guangling City he was reluctant to part with.

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

He’d come back, but that was to solidify his Dao Heart.

However, when he learned that the imperial family’s subordinates had escorted his former in-laws to the capital, he instantly realized that something strange was afoot.

Lately, there’d been rumors that the imperial family and Hidden Dragon Sword Sect had surrendered and pledged their allegiance to the Celestial Prison Demon Court.

And the Celestial Prison Demon Court was connected to Chu Xiu. Su Yi couldn’t help but suspect that Chu Xiu was acting behind the scenes, and that Wen Changtai and Qin Qing had been led away at the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s orders!

After all, everyone knew that they were once Su Yi’s in-laws. Even though he’d long since severed that bond, his enemies wouldn’t necessarily see it that way.

Su Yi could have ignored this, but Wen Changtai and Qin Qing were Wen Lingxue’s parents. How could he possibly remain uninvolved?

……

Two days later, outside the Jade Capital.

Su Yi crushed a talisman, and before long, a Swiftlight Sparrow came shooting through the air.

Su Yi had already prepared a jade slip, which he tossed to the bird. The Swiftlight Sparrow caught it in its beak and flew away.

“Come on, let’s go in.” Su Yi walked into the city. 

The Jade Capital wasn’t at all unfamiliar to him. 

He’d grown up here, and it was here that he defeated Su Hongli and slew the imperial family’s Unknown Dragons, establishing his reputation.

However, the Jade Capital had obviously changed in his absence.

As the capital of the Great Zhou, the Jade Capital had always been prosperous, with an auspicious air. It was a magnificent city.

Yet now, a bleak, austere atmosphere spread throughout the city, and there was no sign of its former hustle and bustle.

The few pedestrians they saw were martial artists, and all were in a hurry.

Before long, Su Yi arrived at Peach Glyph Alley’s Pinewind Villa.

This was a gathering spot for the Ten Directions Pavilion, and when Su Yi returned to the capital for his revenge, he’d stayed here.

When Su Yi arrived, there was already a fat, oily-looking monk standing in front of the villa. 

This was none other than Monk Hongji. Su Yi had previously obtained quite a bit of information from him. 

“Young Lord Su, it really is you!” When he saw Su Yi, Monk Hongji rushed over fawningly. He said in delight, “It’s been months since I last saw you. And here I thought that once you left for the Great Xia, you wouldn’t come back!”

Su Yi laughed. “Let’s chat inside.”

He walked into the Pinewind Villa, took out his wicker chair, and made himself comfortable. “You sit down too.”

The monk glanced at Su Yi’s companions, then laughed and sat on a stone bench beside Su Yi. “Young Lord Su, might I ask what you’ve come to the Jade Capital for?”

Su Yi, “There’s some information I’m hoping to learn from you.”

The monk was instantly serious. “Young Lord, please speak directly.”

“Have the imperial family and Hidden Dragon Sword Sect really submitted to the Celestial Prison Demon Court?”

Monk Hongji nodded. “It’s true. Seven days ago, a group of the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s cultivators invaded the Jade Capital. It was on that very day that Emperor Zhou Zhili and the head of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect publicly announced that they’d pledged allegiance to the Celestial Prison Demon Court.”

He had a complicated look on his face as he sighed. “The otherworlders of the Celestial Prison Demon Court are just too strong! Their ranks included over a hundred Origin Dao cultivators.

“To the best of our current knowledge, they’ve got four elders and nine dharma protectors, as well as thirty-six deacons, but even the deacons are in the Origin Palace Realm! No faction in the Great Zhou can oppose such overwhelming strength.”

Su Yi wasn’t at all interested in that, so he asked directly, “Do you know if the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s experts have been searching for those connected to me?”

Monk Hongji stiffened, then nodded. “That’s indeed the case. Roughly five days ago, under the Celestial Prison Demon Court’s orders, the imperial family announced that anyone connected to you was wanted for arrest. Anyone who provides useful leads will receive a generous reward.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi, but his expression didn’t so much as ripple. “Then do you know how many of those connected to me they’ve found thus far?”

Monk Hongji shook his head. “That, I don’t know. However, to the best of my knowledge, the White Province’s Xiao Tianque, as well as his clansmen, were all imprisoned in the imperial palace a few days ago. Rumor has it that they were arrested because of their connection to you.”

Su Yi had nothing to say in response, but the atmosphere silently turned tense and oppressive.

The others present felt as if they were sitting on a carpet of needles.