First Immortal of the Sword

“Come in,” said Su Yi as he sat back down in his wicker chair.

Before long, a bony old blind man in tattered clothing walked inside.

“Greetings, Your Excellency, and congratulations on refining an ideal Natal Spirit Treasure!” The old blind man respectfully bowed in greeting.

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “You might be blind, but your vision is far better than most.”

The old blind man laughed too. “My eyes are blind, but my heart isn’t. The vast majority of people are fools; they have eyes, but they cannot see.”

He paused, then flared his nostrils and exclaimed, “Don’t tell me Purple Moon Foxes killed someone here tonight?"

He could smell blood, as well as the unique scent of the Purple Moon Foxes.

“Someone died here, but it wasn’t the foxes’ work. A foolish small fry, that’s all,” said Su Yi. “What have you come here for?”

The old blind man said hurriedly, “Your Excellency, I have major news to report, and I hope to receive your guidance.”

“Major news?” Su Yi looked intrigued. “Let’s hear it.”

“On the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raises its head, the power of the Azure Continent’s source transformed, and the power of the Grand Dao fell like rain, blanketing the entire continent,” said the old blind man. “I trust you know about that already.”

Su Yi nodded.

It was on that very night that he proved his Dao above the Sea of Chaotic Spirits and entered the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.

The old blind man took a deep breath, his expression excited, yet solemn. “On that night, I sensed numerous new rifts in the spatial barrier around the Azure Continent. Some are dead-ends, while some link to other worlds. One of them even leads to the Netherworld!”

When he heard that, Su Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Truly?”

The old blind man said solemnly, “This old man wouldn’t dare lie about such a thing. Not long ago, I ventured into the Dark Immortal Grounds, one of the Great Xia’s three forbidden zones. I can already say with certainty that there’s a spatial tunnel somewhere in the Dark Immortal Grounds!”

The Great Xia had three forbidden zones: Sumeru Immortal Island, the Glittering Ghost Domain, and the Dark Immortal Grounds.

To the best of Su Yi’s knowledge, Ye Xun had arrived in the Azure Continent through a spatial tunnel in the Glittering Ghost Domain.

When he visited the Glittering Ghost Domain not long ago, Su Yi found the already destroyed spatial tunnel.

He would never have guessed that there was yet another tunnel in the Dark Immortal Grounds!

“Did you see the tunnel with your own eyes?” asked Su Yi.

The old blind man said, “I performed repeated divinations with the Heaven-Perceiving Truth-Determining Art, and I can say with certainty that a spatial rift leading to the Netherworld exists in the Dark Immortal Grounds. Furthermore, when I proceeded to the Dark Immortal Grounds, I saw an inheritor of the Meng Po Palace.”

The Meng Po Palace!

Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up.

The Meng Po Palace occupied the Netherworld’s Naihe Ridge, and it was one of the realm’s most ancient factions. It stood at the top of the Netherworld alongside the Yellow Springs Palace, the Five Directions Ghost Sect, the Six Divisions of the Underworld, and the Nine Royal Clans.

Theirs were true soul cultivator legacies. Every one of their palace masters was a terrifying existence who’d reached the Imperial Realm through the power of their soul.

In his past life, while wandering the Netherworld, he had once saved a man who called himself Yun Ziying from the boundless Sea of Bitterness.

He was a high elder of the Meng Po Palace, and his title was the Profound Purple Netherworld Emperor.

However, that had happened tens of thousands of years before. It was old news.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “So have members of the Meng Po Palace already discovered and occupied the spatial tunnel in the Dark Immortal Grounds?”

The old blind man nodded. “That’s most likely the case.”

A moment later, he said with great concern, “I once mistakenly assumed that the otherworld factions entering the Azure Continent all hailed from lesser planes.

“Now that the Meng Po Palace has appeared, I rather suspect that when the Radiant Epoch arrives, even ancient orthodoxies of major worlds will appear. If so, I’m afraid the Azure Continent will be in for utter turmoil!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but tease, “I wouldn’t have guessed it looking at you, but you’re actually rather compassionate.”

The old blind man said sheepishly, “When a nest is overturned, no eggs remain intact. This old man is just taking precautions. Whatever happens, I want to be prepared.”

“Your concerns aren’t unreasonable,” said Su Yi. “As you realized earlier, experts of the Bright Sky Realm’s Purple Moon Fox Clan have already appeared here.”

The old blind man froze, his expression shifting.

The Nine Provinces of the Wilds encompassed and protected thirty-three smaller worlds. The Bright Sky Realm was one of them!    

The old blind man was naturally well aware of it, too.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Your Excellency, does that mean that when the Radiant Epoch begins, the Wilds’ factions will get involved too?”

Su Yi laughed dryly, “Most likely not. Even if the Azure Continent welcomes a Radiant Epoch, and even if it undergoes an earth-shaking transformation, it’ll still be nowhere near as prosperous or flourishing as the Wilds.

“The peak factions of the Wilds couldn’t possibly take any interest in the Azure Continent’s Radiant Epoch.”

This novel is available on "pawread dot com".

He understood the Wilds far too well.

As the former Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, the sole sovereign of the Wilds, he understood how the Wilds’ top factions conducted their affairs better than anyone.

“I feel much calmer having heard that.” The old blind man broke into a grin, and he visibly relaxed.

Su Yi thought to himself, The only thing I’m still curious about is just how the Purple Moon Foxes got here from the Bright Sky Realm. If I can find a lead, when I return to the Wilds, I could choose to enter through the Bright Sky Realm.

Here, Su Yi suddenly recalled something. “Earlier, you said there was something you wanted my advice about. Does it perhaps involve the Netherworld?”

The old blind man nodded. “Your Excellency, I only came to the Azure Continent to escape otherwise certain doom in the Netherworld. Now, I’d like to find an opportunity to go back and see if I can discover our founder’s whereabouts…”

The old blind man was referring to the founder of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers, Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer.

He and Su Yi were acquainted, and they’d once gambled to see who could catch a Rebirth Fish in the Pool of Rebirth first.

In the end, Su Yi won, but Old Ghost Coffin Bearer didn’t carry out his end of the bargain. He couldn’t offer Su Yi the Coffin of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and he said the treasure had yet to enter the world, but that he’d give it to Su Yi once he’d located it.

That was how Su Yi had become Old Ghost Coffin Bearer’s “debt collector.”

And the old blind man was Old Ghost Coffin Bearer’s grand-disciple.

According to the old blind man, Old Ghost Coffin Bearer had disappeared while searching for the Coffin of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and there’d been no word of him since. 

“You want to find Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer and avenge your master?” asked Su Yi.

The old blind man once told him that, five hundred years ago, his eldest disciple, Pi Mo, ventured into the Netherworld in search of Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer’s whereabouts.

Pi Mo had failed to locate Old Ghost Coffin Bearer, but he did find the old blind man’s master, Five Burials. He attempted to capture Five Burials, only for Five Burials to use a self-destructive technique. He successfully escaped and used the Divine Wheel of the Netherworld Old Ghost Coffin Bearer had left behind to send the old blind man away from the Netherworld. 

However, his injuries were so severe that, having seen his disciple off, he passed away.

Pi Mo was behind all this. He was the one who’d started this grudge.

But Su Yi had already guessed why his traitorous eldest disciple had ventured into the Netherworld five hundred years ago to search for Old Ghost Coffin Bearer. He was most likely trying to determine whether his master was truly alive or dead!

After all, five hundred years ago, he’d already chosen to reincarnate and cultivate anew, and the coffin he’d placed in his hall of mourning didn’t really contain his remains…

“That’s right,” said the old blind man. He looked grief-stricken.

A moment later, he took a deep breath. “Your Excellency, as you know, I’ve already taken Chi Jiansu as my disciple, so the lineage of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers will continue. Even if returning to the Netherworld means facing certain doom, I have no regrets.”

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi said, “I’m the one who implicated your master, and I ought to be the one to avenge him.”

The old blind man was flabbergasted. “Your Excellency, what… what do you mean?”

Su Yi patted him on the shoulder. “All you need to know is that I’ll help you deal with Pi Mo, and I’ll help you get justice for your master. That’s enough.”

The old blind man was stunned. After a while, he said gratefully, “Your Excellency, this… How could I accept…”

Su Yi sighed and interrupted him. “Listen to me. For now, don’t rush to return to the Netherworld. After all, the Dark Immortal Grounds are already under the Meng Po Palace’s control. If you attempt to return, they’ll surely get in your way.

He paused, then added, “And I’m sure to venture into the Netherworld one day, as I need to retrieve some treasures I’ve entrusted to my old friends. When the time comes, we can travel together.”

The old blind man straightforwardly agreed. “Okay!”

They chatted a while longer, but soon, the old blind man bade farewell.

Su Yi leaned back in his wicker chair, gazed into the distant night sky, and sank into thought.

The news the old blind man had brought him tonight confirmed something he’d already suspected: although the world’s balance of power was changing, this was merely the beginning. The true spectacle wouldn’t start until the onset of the Radiant Epoch.

When the time came, it seemed likely that no small number of otherworld factions would show up for a piece of the pie!

Things are getting more and more interesting. No wonder the Demonic Huan Family and the various other ancient factions are seizing the months before the Radiant Epoch to continuously expand their forces. They’ve obviously realized that the true struggle will begin after the Radiant Epoch arrives…

However, should they stand against me, they’ll only bring about their own demise!

……

Time slipped by. One day passed after another.

The third day of the third lunar month.

It was the middle of spring, and the trees and flowers were in bloom. The grass flourished, nightingales flew to and fro, and spring was in the air. 

And the atmosphere throughout Nine Tripod City was suddenly tense.

A storm was imminent!

Because word had spread that five of the top ancient factions—the Demonic Huan Family, the Burning Sun Sect, Hidden Cloud Sword Mountain, Tianji Dao Mountain, and the Pure Emptiness Buddhist Sect—would march upon Nine Tripod City in just seven days!

First, to execute Su Yi!

Second, to flatten the imperial family of the Great Xia!

This news startled the entire nation, stirring up an enormous commotion.

And the imperial capital of the Great Xia, Nine Tripod City, had become the eye of the storm!