First Immortal of the Sword

Earlier, the Netherworld Abyssal’s roars shook the heavens, causing an enormous disturbance.

But in the blink of an eye, it silently disappeared. This was unquestionably out of the ordinary.

Furthermore, Xue Ye just so happened to notice that right before the Netherworld Abyssal went dormant, Su Yi had opened his mouth, as if conversing with the beast!

Xue Ye’s heart shook inexplicably.

Was the Netherworld Abyssal truly reacting to Su Yi’s presence? Was it really greeting him?

If so, just what did Su Yi say for it to slip back into the mists?

Xue Ye was a bit baffled, and he couldn’t help but suspect he was overthinking this.

But his instincts told him that both the beast’s arrival and its disappearance were inextricably connected to Su Yi!

“Quick, send someone to see what’s happening at the entrance of the River of Forgetfulness Divine Cave!”

“Also, report this matter to the Grand Libationer. Have him make contact with the Netherworld Abyssal and get to the bottom of his disturbance!”

“Everyone else, step back.” Up in the distant skies, some of the older-generation experts issued orders at top speeds.

Before long, the Meng Po Palace experts who’d gathered in response to this disturbance dispersed.

Xue Ye took a moment to calm himself, then led Su Yi and the old blind man over the jade bridge and toward Misty Autumn Peak.

However, along the way, he fell silent.

No matter what, so long as the sect communicates with the Netherworld Abyssal, we’ll learn what caused that disturbance just now, Xue Ye thought to himself. Then, perhaps, we’ll know whether Su Yi was truly involved or not.

He knew that if he reported his suspicions to the sect, few would believe him.

But if the higher-ups asked the Netherworld Abyssal, all would become clear!

Misty Autumn Peak.

The steep terrain was covered in pavilions. The misty clouds were red as fire, and spiritual energy filled the air. Ancient trees grew in forests. It was a scene straight out of a painting.

“Here are your quarters. Please, get some rest.” Before long, Xue Ye led Su Yi and the old blind man to a pavilion near a plateau. After making a few arrangements, he bade farewell and left.

The pavilion was clean and elegant, and from the railing, they could see the fiery, misty clouds, as well as several other distant peaks.

This place hasn’t changed much, thought Su Yi. He was reclining by the railing in his wicker chair, his body thoroughly relaxed.

He’d explored the Netherworld in his past life, and he’d once saved a man called Yun Ziying in the Sea of Bitterness.

Yun Ziying was otherwise known as the Profound Purple Netherworld Emperor, one of Meng Po Palace’s Emissaries of the River!

At the time, Yun Ziying was locked in bitter combat with the Netherworld Abyssal, who’d only just reached maturity. He was severely injured, and if Su Yi hadn’t just happened to be passing by, Yun Ziying would have perished then and there.

Su Yi had stepped in and helped Yun Ziying suppress the Netherworld Abyssal. Yun Ziying then invited Su Yi to Naihe Divine Mountain out of gratitude.

Arriving in Naihe Divine Mountain today was like visiting an old haunt.

“Your Excellency Su, there’s something I’m a bit worried about,” said the old blind man. He approached, then whispered, “The members of Meng Po Palace are obviously dead-set on acquiring the Seed of the Azure. Now that the Ninth Libationer has returned, the sect’s old-timers are sure to find out that the Seed is in your possession. If this leads to certain untoward thoughts, that would be terrible!”

“Mm,” said Su Yi. “That really is a problem. The Ninth Libationer and Jingyan will definitely try to dissuade them, but that doesn’t mean they’ll succeed.”

The old blind man sighed in relief as he realized that Su Yi was also aware of this problem.

He promptly suggested, “Your Excellency, how about we leave now? If something goes wrong in Meng Po Palace territory, we’ll be little different from caged birds.”

Su Yi smiled. “What are you worried about? The skies haven’t fallen. We can consider leaving after I’ve visited the Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness.”

The Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness!

The old blind man’s heart clenched. That was Meng Po Palace’s forbidden ground, and they had a Netherworld Abyssal guarding the entrance! How could you visit a place like that on a whim?

But a moment later, the old blind man seemed to realize something. He couldn’t help but blurt, “Your Excellency Su, don’t tell me that earlier, the Netherworld Abyssal’s agitation… had something to do with you?”

Su Yi said distractedly, “I said it, didn’t I? Just now, it was greeting me.”

The old blind man gasped, then stammered, “This…”

Su Yi waved dismissively. “I know you have a lot of questions, but give it time. You’ll understand eventually.”

The old blind man nodded, then asked, “Your Excellency Su, do you have any plans after this?”

The Netherworld was different from the Azure Continent. It wasn’t just unimaginably vast; it was littered with ancient orthodoxies.

Like Meng Po Palace, the Yellow Springs Palace, the Six Divisions of the Underworld, and the Nine Royal Clans.

There were also numerous strange and perilous forbidden zones.

Like the City of the Wrongfully Dead, the Pool of Rebirth, the Sea of Bitterness, the Blood River of Sin, the Ghost’s Gate, Ksitigarbha’s Netherworld Capital, the ruins of the Infernal Palace, and many others.

All were dangerous. Take the Sea of Bitterness: they said it was boundless, and that not even immortals and gods could cross it!

Even now, not even the most ancient factions of the Netherworld knew just how big it was, or how many danger zones it contained.

Rumor had it that the various ancient factions’ territories covered ten million miles. That was bigger than numerous entire worlds added together!

And any given faction’s territory was just the tip of the vast ice iceberg that was the Netherworld!

Not even Imperial Apex experts could gauge just how vast the Netherworld really was.

It was no exaggeration to say that if they wandered aimlessly, like a fly without a head, even Emperors would get lost…

“I plan to visit the Cui Family first,” Su Yi said casually.

He’d come to the Netherworld first to retrieve certain items he’d left here in his past life, and second to begin preparations for his return to the Nine Provinces of the Wilds.

Of course, even more importantly, this was for the sake of his cultivation.

Although the Azure Continent had welcomed its Radiant Epoch, the Origins of the Azure had completely dissipated. This meant that the cultivators of the Azure Continent no longer had the opportunity to prove their Dao and become Emperors.

But in the Netherworld, the power of the Laws was fully present. It was enough to satisfy even an Imperial Apex cultivator’s needs. This meant that Su Yi naturally had no need to worry about his cultivation anytime soon.

Su Yi had decided to visit the Cui Family because of the message left in the jade pendant.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

Cui Longxiang, the Adjudicator of the Netherworld, had written it himself.

“Old Monster Su, great changes have come to the Netherworld, and I have to take a trip deep into the Sea of Bitterness. It remains to be seen whether or not I’ll return alive.”

This was the first line of the message.

Back in the Azure Continent, Su Yi asked the Ninth Libationer. He said that the only truly shocking recent development in the Netherworld was the appearance of a mysterious black ship deep within the Sea of Bitterness.

Everyone who saw it, no matter their cultivation, mysteriously disappeared into thin air.

This incident had drawn the attention of every faction in the Netherworld. Numerous rumors about the black Netherworld vessel circulated, but most were unreliable.

Even now, no one knew just what the ship looked like, where it had come from, or what dangers and secrets it hid.

Su Yi suspected that this was the “change” Cui Longxiang was referring to, as well as the reason he’d gone to the Sea of Bitterness.

Furthermore, in his message, Cui Longxiang warned Su Yi not to reveal his identity to anyone in the Netherworld, no matter what.

According to Cui Longxiang, the Netherworld was different than in the past!

What exactly was different about it? Su Yi still wasn’t sure. That was why he’d decided to visit the Cui Family.

After all, there was no way Cui Longxiang hadn’t left something in reserve before leaving for the Sea of Bitterness.

“The Cui Family…” The old blind man nodded.

Rumor had it that a long, long time ago, the Cui Family were the leaders of the Overseers of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. They oversaw punishment and adjudication.

After the Infernal Palace, an organization comprised of several great ancient factions, collapsed, the Overseers of the Six Paths of Reincarnation crumbled.

Even so, the Cui Family was one of the peak ancient factions of the Netherworld!

The modern Netherworld’s boundless territory was divided into six domains and thirteen realms. Every domain was the size of a world.

Meng Po Palace was built in the River of Forgetfulness Domain, while the Cui Family’s Ziluo City was in the Six Paths Royal Domain.

It was an ancient city, in every sense of the word; its history could truly be traced back to antiquity. It was renowned throughout the Netherworld because of the Cui Family, who oversaw both judgment and punishment.

The River of Forgetfulness Domain neighbored the Six Paths Royal Domain, but in truth, they were extremely far apart. Even if they were in a hurry, it would take a Spirit Dao cultivator a month or so to get there.

But unlike in the Azure Continent, there were transmission formations throughout all six Domains, enabling rapid travel between them.

As night approached, Cui Jingyan arrived on her own.

She wore a purple dress, with the beauty of a lady immortal, extraordinarily enticing beneath the light of dusk.

However, she seemed dejected.

“Young lord Su, there’s something I must warn you about,” she said as soon as she saw him. “Some of Meng Po Palace’s old timers cannot let go of the Seed of the Azure. They’re highly likely to seek you out… for a chat.”

Su Yi laughed, then teased, “Even with your background, you couldn’t dissuade them?”

Cui Jingyan furrowed her willowy eyebrows, then pouted. “What does my background count for? Who knows how long those old-timers have been around for? In their eyes, I’m nothing but a junior, and my words carry little weight. Why would they pay my warning any heed?”

A moment later, she sighed. “If this were an ordinary matter, they might actually give me face, but the Seed of the Azure is different. It’s condensed of a world’s source; even in the Netherworld, such unmatched treasures can only be happened upon by chance. Of course they’re drooling over it… How could they not be interested?”

Su Yi nodded, but he didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “I knew this was coming, and it’s actually not at all strange.”

“....”

Cui Jingyan suddenly realized that even though he was in Meng Po Palace territory, and even though he’d just received bad news, Su Yi didn’t seem at all nervous. He was so relaxed, you’d think this had nothing to do with him!