First Immortal of the Sword

The old blind man was uncharacteristically solemn.

But it seemed as if he were afraid that someone as proud as Su Yi wouldn’t heed his advice, as he explained, “You might not know this, but although the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force has long since left this world, his reputation remains. A few of the Netherworld’s mightiest old-timers have a deep bond with him.

“If you speak of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force with disrespect, it’s highly likely to invite unnecessary trouble.”

Every word was utterly sincere, straight from the heart, an earnest warning. “Even my master, were he still alive, would have been furious had he heard what you’d just said. He respected the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force more than anyone, and he hated nothing more than others casually commenting on him.”

The corners of Su Yi’s lips twitched imperceptibly, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The old blind man really was blind!

“Alright already, let’s get some rest.” Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to say anymore, so he closed his eyes and quickly fell fast asleep.

The old blind man wanted to ask more questions about the master and apprentice’s origins, but when he saw this, he held back.

He softly, cautiously walked over to the corner of the hall, then sat cross-legged, his mind wandering.

Tomorrow, he would return to the Netherworld, but he didn’t know how many years would pass before he could truly avenge his master…

Pi Mo was too strong.

Just thinking about it filled him with helplessness and despair.

No matter what, with His Excellency Su around, I at least have a bit of hope, he thought to himself.

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Earlier, Su Yi hadn’t taken Pi Mo the least bit seriously. He even said that, should Pi Mo dare enter the Netherworld, he’d take him down personally. Whether or not Su Yi could actually accomplish this, hearing it was enormously comforting to the old blind man.

……

The next morning.

The dark immortal grounds were still dusky and overcast.

Meng Po Palace’s camp.

The Ninth Libationer, Cui Jingyan, and the sect’s other experts had already gathered. They were currently setting up an altar.

Su Yi, the old blind man, the old man in Daoist robes, and his white-robed apprentice waited off to the sides. 

Su Yi, of course, was waiting in his wicker chair…

“Fellow Daoist Su.” The old man in Daoist robes approached him with a smile.

“Do you have business with me?” asked Su Yi.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” said the old man, still smiling. “There are just a few things I’d like to chat with you about before we leave the Azure Continent.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Let’s hear it.”

This cold, indifferent response made the young man in white frown.

However, the old man in Daoist robes didn’t mind in the least. He said with a smile, “While my apprentice and I wandered the Azure Continent, we happened upon a few rare and unusual situations.”

Su Yi didn’t respond. He just sprawled out in his chair and drank, perfectly content.

He knew that the old man had more to say. And indeed, a moment later, he said slowly, “The most surprising of them was in a remote little village of the Great Liang.”

“A little village?” the old blind man couldn’t help but exclaim.

An Emperor had been surprised while visiting a little village? This unquestionably implied that the village in question wasn’t simple!

“That’s right,” sighed the old man in Daoist robes. “Every inhabitant is an ordinary mortal, but the entire village is shrouded in auspicious energy. As a result, the villagers are successful in all their endeavors, and they enjoy increased longevity. It’s truly a miraculous sight.”

The old blind man couldn’t help but be stunned. Auspicious energy was fleeting and ethereal. Not even famous blessed grounds were necessarily enveloped in it.

Yet a tiny village was a gathering point for auspicious energy! This was unquestionably unbelievable.

“Could it be that an enormous secret was hidden in the village?” asked the old blind man.

The old man in Daoist robes nodded. “My apprentice and I visited the village in person, and indeed, we discovered a pair of siblings dependent on each other for their survival. They had a miraculous masterpiece of calligraphy pasted above their doorway.”

By now, both the old blind man and the Meng Po Palace experts were intrigued, and all of them were listening in.

Suddenly, Su Yi asked, “Are you talking about Grassy Creek Village?”

Before the old man in Daoist robes could respond, his disciple exclaimed, “You know about that village too?”

The group was unwittingly stunned. Just what kind of village was this? An Emperor was paying attention to it, and now, even someone like Su Yi knew about it!

“In that case, it’s not strange,” muttered Su Yi.

He thought back to the village alongside Floating Immortal Ridge and his meeting with siblings Cao Ping and Cao An. He also recalled the line of text he’d given them upon his departure.

However, this response only piqued the Daoist-robed old man’s curiosity. He couldn’t help but ask, “Fellow Daoist Su, do you perhaps know that masterpiece’s origins?”

Everyone instinctively glanced at Su Yi.

Su Yi laughed, then asked right back, “If I said it was my work, would you believe me?”

The old man in Daoist robes froze, visibly flabbergasted.

But his disciple found it rather funny. “No one would believe that.”

He spoke with complete assurance.

The old blind man instantly frowned. “Why do you say that?”

The young man in white explained at top speeds, “That line of text invoked a supreme Edict, a secret legacy of the Wilds’ number one Daoist sect. Furthermore, only an Emperor can use it!”

The group was instantly astonished. They finally understood why an Emperor was interested in Grassy Creek Village.

The number-one Daoist sect of the Wilds!

The cultivators of the Azure Continent might not know how terrifyingly strong they were, but how could those present not know? 

A secret legacy of the Wilds’ top Daoist sect had appeared in a remote village in the Azure Continent. This was unquestionably unbelievable!

Furthermore, the young man in white’s words proved that the calligraphy in question couldn’t possibly be Su Yi’s work!

After all, he was only in the Spiritual Incarnation Realm. Writing those words would have required Imperial Realm cultivation, and he’d have to be a disciple of the Wilds’ top Daoist sect.

Cui Jingyan’s red lips curved into a jeer. “Young lord Su, it seems they’ve seen through your boasts.”

Su Yi smiled but didn’t explain.

This was why he’d asked, “would you believe me?”

Sometimes, when the truth didn’t fit in with someone’s preconditions, they’d dismiss it as an absurd lie.

If you explained, it would only cause further misunderstandings.

Of course, only Cui Jingyan dared mock Su Yi. The others just saw his words as a joke.

Before long, other matters diverted the group’s attention. Only the old man in Daoist robes seemed like he still had something to say. He’d sensed that something wasn’t right here, but he didn’t know quite where to start asking questions.

“The transmission altar is already finished. Now, we just have to wait for the sect to guide us back,” said the nearby Ninth Libationer.

The thirty-foot black altar stood before the Ninth Libationer. It had eight corners, each covered with different formation Dao markings.

When they saw this, the group’s spirits soared.

The old man in Daoist robes, however, could no longer hold back. He transmitted to Su Yi, “Fellow Daoist, we’re about to proceed to the Netherworld. I have a perhaps unreasonable request. I’m not sure if I should say anything or not, but…”

Su Yi glanced at the old man, then seemed to realize what he was getting at. “Rest assured. I won’t reveal anything about you two.”

The old man in Daoist robes stiffened slightly, but a moment later, he said solemnly, “Many thanks.”

Inwardly, however, he couldn’t remain calm.

Su Yi’s words had just confirmed something he’d already suspected: Su Yi really had discerned their identities, as well as what they were attempting to do!

For a moment, the old man couldn’t help but suspect that the calligraphy in Grassy Creek Village really was Su Yi’s work.

But it was then that Su Yi sensed something, and he looked up at the sky.

It’s here, he muttered to himself.

Boom——!

Practically simultaneously, a low, thunderous rumble emanated from over the horizon.

The thirty-foot black altar standing before the Ninth Libationer surged with radiant, intricate Dao markings, which interwove and wriggled continuously in the sky.

“Everyone, the tunnel to the Netherworld is about to open. Please, get ready,” the Ninth Libationer said gravely.

He’d only just said this when a searingly radiant pillar of light descended from the dusky skies, like the galaxy pouring down from beyond the heavens as it enveloped the altar.

The wriggling Dao markings suddenly burst with terrifying spatial energy, outlining a whirlpool-like entryway.

The entrance gradually stabilized.

“Everyone, if you please!” The Ninth Libationer looked at Su Yi, the old man in Daoist robes, and the others.

“Wait a moment.” Su Yi rose from his wicker chair, then whipped out a jade talisman. As he circulated his cultivation base, it burst into light, producing ripples of starlight.

It was visible to the naked eye. The strange spatial fluctuations surging from the transmission altar swam like fish into the jade talisman.

The Ninth Libationer was instantly tense. “Fellow Daoist, what are you doing?”

Su Yi said casually, “I’m labeling the spatial node. That way, when I return to the Azure Continent, I’ll be able to find my way back.”

The Ninth Libationer, Cui Jingyan, and the others were unwittingly stunned. They couldn’t quite wrap their heads around it.

Marking the spatial node? Weren’t only Emperors supposed to be able to make such engravings?

They instinctively looked at the old man in Daoist robes, who ran his fingers through his beard and laughed, “Fellow Daoist, you’re borrowing the transmission formation’s power, using the spatial talisman as a guide. Such methods are like seizing fortune from the heavens.”

Only then did the group understand.

However, the old man in Daoist robes had a conflicted look on his face.

He made it sound simple, but how could he fail to realize that this seemingly inadvertently revealed ability was, in fact, a truly unbelievable secret art?

And spatial talismans were precious treasures! Where had Su Yi obtained one?

All of this made the old man increasingly aware of Su Yi’s mysteriousness, and in his heart of hearts, he no longer dared treat him as a normal Spirit Dao cultivator.

“Let’s go.” Su Yi quickly put away the talisman, then walked toward the transmission altar. The others followed him, entering the whirlpool one after another.

By the time I return, I might well have already entered the Profound Dao. If so, entering the Azure Continent might be a bit troublesome… thought Su Yi.

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook, and runes circulated.

Rumbling booms rang out, and Su Yi and his companions disappeared into thin air. 

After they’d left, the thirty-foot altar seemed to have run out of power. It silently split, then crumbled into dust and disappeared into the wind.

Heaven and earth returned to their former peace.

This was the twenty-fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

On this day, Su Yi, who’d become a legend in the Azure Continent’s Radiant Epoch, left for the Netherworld!