First Immortal of the Sword

This new arrival was none other than Weng Jiu.

Su Yi didn’t find this at all strange. Immediately upon entering Nine Tripod City, he sensed that the soldiers of the Great Xia realized who he was.

It would have been stranger if Weng Jiu hadn’t shown up.

“Fellow Daoist, my lord has already had Azurecloud Court cleaned. It’s ready and waiting for you,” said Weng Jiu with a smile. “Also, once you’re settled in, my lord will visit you in person.”

He was visibly delighted.

“Azurecloud Court?” a look of reminiscence appeared in Su Yi’s eyes. “Let’s go.”

The group then boarded the bronze carriage and proceeded to Azure Dragon Lane. Azurecloud Court stood near the banks of Goldenscale Lake.

It was a perfect, bright spring day, and a warm breeze blew by. The willows were verdant, and the flowers were in full bloom.

Azurecloud Court had been reborn. Su Yi still remembered how it had looked when he’d left. The cold had frozen the earth, and the frost had killed the vegetation. The trees and grasses had withered, making the garden a picture of desolation.

Yet now, the trees and flowers flourished, and the bamboo was tall and strong. The jade-like waters of the pond flowed and burbled. Everywhere he looked, spring was in the air.

However, shortly after he started evaluating the courtyard, Su Yi’s nostrils flared. “Was someone living here earlier?”

Weng Jiu couldn’t help but be surprised. “How did you discover it, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi laughed. “I just happened to catch a whiff of a rather different smell.”

“So that’s it.” Weng Jiu thought it over, then said, “No need to hide it. Her Highness Qingyuan’s mother, as well as her companions, recently took up temporary residence here. However, they moved out two days ago.”

He paused, then added, “Fellow Daoist, rest assured. We’ve already cleaned or replaced everything in Azurecloud Court.”

Su Yi wasn’t concerned about that part. Instead, he asked with great interest, “Might you tell me about Xia Qingyuan’s mother?”

Weng Jiu hesitated, then said, “Fellow Daoist, I dare not discuss the matter; it would be overstepping my bounds. All I can say is that she was once the woman my lord loved most in this world, but she left the Great Xia years ago. As for the rest… If you’re really interested, you’d best ask my lord himself.”

Su Yi smiled. “That works too.”

Once everything was in order, Weng Jiu hurried off.

Su Yi, however, took out his wicker chair and sprawled out beside the fishpond.

The water was clear, and lotus leaves floated on its surface. Schools of spirit carp swam to and fro, occasionally leaping out of the water and stirring up ripples. 

“It’s been months since I last saw you. You've gotten thinner.” Su Yi took out a handful of moon clams and tossed them into the pond. The spirit carp instantly started fighting over them.

Wen Xinzhao walked over and asked with a smile, “Brother Su, I plan to take my master and Qing Ya out for a stroll through the city. Do you want to come?” 

Her eyes were clear as limpid pools, and her face was beautiful and delicate. Hers was a simple, elegant charm.

“You all have fun.” Su Yi wasn’t tempted. He wasn’t typically interested in strolling city streets. He only ventured into the hustle and bustle of mortal dust when the mood struck him.

“Okay. We’ll be on our way, then.” Wen Xinzhao waved, and before long, all three women left.

Time slipped by.

The shadows of the trees and flowers gradually shifted and overlapped.

Su Yi lay in his wicker chair. It looked as if he were sleeping, but in truth, he was refining the power of the Grand Dao within his Spirit Palace.

On his way to the Great Xia, he’d continuously refined his three types of peerless Dao Charm: the Five Elements, Wind and Lightning, and Yin and Yang. 

The three types of Dao Charm had already taken their first steps toward fusion. Gradually, they were revealing a completely different mystique.

This was the aura of the Mysterious Truth of Genesis. It had a dark, chaotic quality, and a dense air of creation.

When the Spirit Palace takes shape, it’s like a furnace of the Grand Dao within the body. It contains the Grand Dao and refines source power. This is why they call Spirit Dao cultivators ‘advanced.’ This stage marks the beginning of Spirit Dao cultivation.

Once I’ve truly condensed three types of peerless Dao Charm into the Mysterious Truth of Genesis, my strength in the Grand Dao will have truly reached the Spirit Dao level.

At my current rate of improvement, I ought to be able to fully condense the Mysterious Truth of Genesis within seven days. When the time comes, my strength will inevitably soar to a whole new level.

However, refining this Mysterious Truth will require a lot of painstaking effort…

In the Origin Dao, cultivators mastered the Charm of the Dao.   

In the Spirit Dao, they cultivated Mysterious Truths, otherwise known as “Dao Intent!”

Just like Dao Charm, mastery of Mysterious Truths was divided into four levels: basic understanding, understanding subtleties, major success, and perfection.

The stronger the Mysterious Truth you mentioned it, the greater its resonance with heaven and earth in combat. One’s mastery of their Daoist magics would grow smoother, and their power would become increasingly terrifying.

Night gradually approached.

The setting sun was dazzling. Dusk was when day and night traded places, a vision of the intersection of the pure and impure.

Its qualities were similar to the Mysterious Truth of Genesis.

Suddenly, a figure shot over the residence’s walls and landed in the courtyard.

He was a middle-aged man in yellow. He had the bearing of a modest gentleman, and he carried a jade fan.

He’d obviously come here uninvited, but he made himself right at home. He seemed perfectly leisurely and at ease.

The middle-aged man scanned the area, then fixed his gaze on the youth reclining beside the fishpond. “Are you the only one here, little fellow?”

"No," said Su Yi. "There's a yao here too."

“A yao?” exclaimed the middle-aged man in yellow. “Where is it? Why don’t I see it?”

“Aren’t you a yao?” asked Su Yi.

The middle-aged man’s pupils constricted slightly, and he laughed, “I wouldn’t have guessed it, but your eyes are rather sharp! Little fellow, I heard that an esteemed guest of the Xia Emperor is staying in Azurecloud Court. Don’t tell me… they were talking about you?”

Su Yi remained slumped leisurely in his chair, and he didn’t so much as twitch his eyelids. He just drawled, “Drop the nonsense and tell me why you’re here.”

The middle-aged man in yellow frowned, and he couldn’t help but re-evaluate Su Yi.

Beneath the light of dusk, the young man reclined in a wicker chair, eyes closed in repose. This gave him an air of mysteriousness.

The middle-aged man thought it over, then said, “I have no other business here; I just wanted to see the emperor’s illustrious guest for myself and learn his origins, as well as the strength of his cultivation.”

“That so? And here I thought an enemy had shown up on my doorstep.” Su Yi stretched in his wicker chair, then sluggishly got to his feet. “In that case, I won’t make this difficult for you. Leave one of your arms behind, and I’ll let you leave here alive.”

The middle-aged man was flabbergasted; it seemed he dared not believe his eyes.

Then, he couldn’t help but laugh and wave his jade fan. A strange, purple flame blazed in his eyes. “I’m afraid… that depends on whether or not you have the strength to back those words up.”

Every word carried a strange rhythm, like the muttering of ghosts. The sound echoed throughout the dusky skies of the courtyard.

The nearby vegetation suddenly trembled.

The carp swimming through the pond stiffened and froze in place.

Even the air currents seemed to pause.

A strange stillness and oppressive atmosphere enveloped the courtyard.

“See? Now you can’t move. Your mind and soul are no longer under your control. To me, you’re no different from a lamb to the slaughter.” The middle-aged man smiled faintly. “Relax; I’m not here to kill you. However, your attitude was so poor earlier that I am going to punish you a little.”

As he spoke, he raised his jaw, his gaze playful. “Come on then. Kneel for me, call me ‘grandfather,’ then kowtow three times. Make it nice and loud.”

Su Yi had been silently standing beside his wicker chair all this time, but when he heard that, he could no longer hold back his laughter.

The middle-aged man in yellow was stunned, and his pupils constricted. It was as if he’d been shocked; he couldn’t help but blurt, “You… When did you wake up?”

“The Purple Moon Foxes’ Soul-Sucking Spirit Incantation might be extraordinary, but you’ve yet to master it. I’ve been conscious this entire time.”

“....” The yellow-robed middle-aged man stiffened, and his expression shifted.

He was in the Spiritual Incarnation Realm. When he suddenly unleashed the Soul-Sucking Spirit Incantation, he could catch even others of the same cultivation off guard.

Against foes of inferior cultivations, it was even more effective. He could overpower them with ease, and his Soul-Sucking Spirit Incantation had never once failed him!

Whoosh!

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The middle-aged man’s figure blurred as he shot into the air.

There was no doubt about it. He’d realized that this was trouble, and he'd immediately chosen to flee.

However, he was still in midair when a calm voice echoed in his ears. “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Try my Soul-Sucking abilities too.”

With that, an incantation resounded like a bell, exploding within the middle-aged man’s soul.

He felt a rending pain in his soul, and everything went black. He staggered backward, then fell to the ground and landed with a thud.

“Shit!” The middle-aged man was still conscious, but he panicked.

Just as he was about to struggle, someone said, 

“Come on, hurry up and kneel, then kowtow three times. You don’t need to call me grandpa, though.”

It was just one casual, understated sentence, but it entered the middle-aged man’s ears like the voice of divinity, making him tremble from head to toe. His clothes were drenched in cold sweat.

Before long, his eyes went dazed and vacant, as if he were a walking corpse. His knees thudded to the ground.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He kowtowed three times, the impact startlingly loud.

Meanwhile, Su Yi had already returned to his wicker chair. He gazed coolly at the middle-aged man and yellow. “What’s your name?”

The middle-aged man knelt, his eyes vacant and his expression wooden. “Pu Huai.”

“Who sent you here?”

“Holy Maiden Pu Surong?”

“Who’s that?”

“The thirteenth generation Holy Maiden of the Purple Moon Foxes, and the clan leader’s younger sister.”

“Why did she send you here?”

“The Xia Emperor originally prepared this residence for our holy maiden, only for him to kick her out two days ago on account of an illustrious guest. This displeased me, so I decided to come have a look and see just what was so special about the emperor’s honored guest.”

When Su Yi heard that, he vaguely understood. “Pu Surong… Is she Xia Qingyuan’s mother?”

“Xia Qingyuan?” said the middle-aged man in yellow. “No, the holy maiden’s daughter is called Pu Qingyuan.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi. He suddenly recalled something, then asked, “Do you know Ruo Huan?”

When he first entered Azurecloud Court, he caught a faint whiff of a familiar fragrance. He recognized it as the distinctive smell of a Purple Moon Fox.

This led him to assume that Ruo Huan, the young woman in yellow he’d encountered in the Great Qin, had appeared here.

Now, it seemed obvious that that wasn’t necessarily the case!