First Immortal of the Sword

Cui Jingyan couldn’t help but say, “Young Lord Su, aren’t you at all afraid?”

This was Naihe Divine Mountain!

And there was more than one Emperor in residence here!

Given the circumstances, anyone who’d received such news should have felt as if they were sitting upon a bed of needles: terrified and ill at ease.

But Su Yi seemed calm and completely unshakeable.

“Would being afraid help?” he asked.

Cui Jingyan bit her red lips, then said a bit apologetically, “Earlier, when I tried to dissuade those old-timers, I didn’t reveal anything about my jade pendant. That is to say, aside from me, the Ninth Libationer, and Xue Ye, no one else knows that my grandfather attaches great importance to you.”

The way she saw it, had she revealed this secret, the sect’s old-timers would have restrained themselves a little.

But she nonetheless chose not to. Secrets were secrets because they weren’t to be made public.

It was bad enough that the Ninth Libationer and Xue Ye knew about this. Cui Jingyan was already worried that her grandfather would reprimand her over it.

But against Cui Jingyan’s expectations, Su Yi smiled, seemingly gratified. “You’ve done well. The fewer people that know about the connection between your grandfather and me, the better.”

“...” 

Su Yi was so understanding that it actually made Cui Jingyan feel guiltier.

She took a deep breath, and her starry eyes shone with conviction. “How about this? I promise that no matter what, I won’t let anything happen to you in Meng Po Palace!”

Su Yi shook his head. “You’d best not get involved. If you do, how will you establish a place for yourself in Meng Po Palace?”

Cui Jingyan didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “Worst case scenario, I just go home.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but smile. He could tell that, perhaps because of Cui Longxiang, this young woman was quite concerned about his well-being.

She was even willing to have a falling out with her sect if need be.

However, Su Yi didn’t want to get her involved, so he changed the subject. “You said a group of the sect’s elders are dead-set on obtaining the Seed of the Azure. Who are they? And what are their cultivations?”

After a moment’s thought, Cui Jingyan said, “It’s a group led by the Grand Libationer and the Third Libationer. Both are Profound Illumination Emperors. The Grand Libationer is the stronger of the two; he’s in the peak of the early-stage Profound Illumination Realm.

“And the Grand Libationer’s master is Second High Elder Feng Chi, the Searing Flame Spirit Emperor. He reached the Profound Serenity Realm a long time ago.”

In the modern Meng Po Palace, the high elders responsible for overseeing the sect’s affairs were all Emissaries of the River. There were three of them, all three Imperial experts.

But there were nine Emissaries of the River in total.

Aside from the three high elders, the Emissaries of the River were all in seclusion or out wandering. They’d long since ceased paying heed to worldly affairs. Unless the sect was under threat of imminent destruction, those six fossils wouldn’t make an appearance.

This was perfectly normal. The higher one’s cultivation, the harder it was to take so much as a single step forward.

This was especially true for Imperial Realm experts. When they went into seclusion to delve deeper into the Grand Dao, they could easily stay there for hundreds or even thousands of years. How could they pay ordinary matters any heed?

This situation was extremely commonplace in Imperial orthodoxies.

“And what are the others’ attitudes like?” asked Su Yi.

There was conflict wherever there were people. 

This was especially true in the world of cultivation. Major sects and clans were always full of brutal internal conflict over authority and cultivation resources.

An Imperial orthodoxy like Meng Po Palace couldn’t possibly be unified.

Cui Jingyan sighed. “The palace master and grand high elder aren’t currently in the sect, while the second high elder has long since gone into seclusion. They say he’s refining medicine, and there’s been no word of him since.

“And the third high elder is currently conversing with that master and apprentice; he currently has no time to concern himself with this.

“That means that the Grand Libationer is overseeing all of the sect’s affairs, and it will be difficult for others to influence him.”

Su Yi nodded. “I understand.”

Cui Jingyan hesitated, then suggested, “Young lord Su… how about we sneak out of the sect right away?”

The old blind man, who’d been listening by the sidelines this entire time, was instantly tempted. Leaving Meng Po Palace as soon as possible would naturally be ideal.

However, Su Yi merely smiled. “Would you believe it if I told you that the Grand Libationer prepared for that possibility by the time you came to see me?”

Cui Jingyan’s beautiful eyes focused.

Su Yi continued, “I dare say with certainty that, should the old blind man and I leave, that grand libationer of yours would give chase right away. In that case, why bother?”

Cui Jingyan’s expression flickered with uncertainty. “But… if you stay, wouldn’t that be even more dangerous? This is Meng Po Palace territory!”

Su Yi said calmly, “In others’ eyes, this is perilous ground, but in my eyes, it’s little different than anywhere else.”

He then took out a jug of wine, drank, and gazed out the window. The dusk was fading, and night was almost upon them.

Earlier, he said he’d visit the Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness. There was no way he’d leave now.”

Cui Jingyan grabbed her hair in vexation and muttered, “There are no Emperors on the Azure Continent, so with your cultivation, you can naturally stand at the pinnacle of the world. But now, we’re in the Netherworld, and this is Naihe Divine Mountain! How can you be so ballsy even now? You’d even dare disregard Meng Po Palace…”

She was obviously a bit agitated.

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Enough already. There’s no need for a little girl like you to worry about me.”

Cui Jingyan was instantly beside herself with anger, and her bright eyes blazed with fury. “Who’s ‘little’! I’m afraid you’re even younger than me! Besides, I’m not worried about you. I’m worried someone my grandfather has taken an interest in will die on Naihe Divine Mountain!”

What was a beauty?

Someone who was too beautiful for words even when she was angry.

At this moment, Cui Jingyan was the very embodiment of this.

“Forget it. I’ll go discuss this with the third high elder. He was once my mother’s junior apprentice brother; I trust that he’ll give me face.”

With that, Cui Jingyan turned and left in a huff.

The old blind man couldn’t help but sigh, “Miss Jingyan truly has a warm heart.”

Su Yi nodded. “She’s really nothing like her grandfather. Were that old fox Cui Longxiang to encounter such a situation, he’d stay out of it and watch the excitement with sadistic glee.”

The old blind man’s expression was strange, but he considerately chose not to respond.

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He most certainly didn’t think himself qualified to comment on the Adjudicator of the Netherworld’s comportment.

It was then that the sound of footsteps emanated from afar.

“Where is Su Yi?” 

An icy woman in Daoist robes approached.

As she spoke, she stepped directly into the pavilion without waiting for their consent.

When he saw her, the old blind man stiffened, and his expression changed dramatically. An Emperor!

“Do you have business with me?” Su Yi remained seated in his wicker chair as he gazed upon this uninvited guest.

Her appearance was utterly extraordinary, and she had a tall, slender figure. Although she wore simple Daoist robes without embellishments, this did nothing to detract from her beauty.

However, she was extremely icy and aloof, and as she looked around, her eyes shone with a sense of superiority and domineering indifference.

When others faced her, a sense of oppression would smack them right in the face.

Even the old blind man tensed up, and his heart felt stifled.

It wasn’t that he was timid; her superior cultivation suppressed him!

But it was as if Su Yi didn’t even notice.

Given his mental strength and the experience of past life, there was no way this would influence him.

When she saw Su Yi remain seated in his wicker chair, and that he had no intention of rising to greet her, the woman in Daoist robes frowned. However, she didn’t lose her temper.

Instead, she said directly, “My name is Yuan Linning, and I’m the Third Libationer of Meng Po Palace. I imagine that Jingyan already told you about Meng Po Palace’s stance. Have you thought things over?”

Meng Po Palace’s Third Libationer!

The old blind man instantly realized what had happened. Earlier, Cui Jingyan had warned them that several older members of Meng Po Palace were determined to obtain the Seed of the Azure, and that this group was led by the third and grand libationers. 

And Third Libationer Yuan Linning was in the early-stage Profound Illumination Realm. She was a true Imperial expert!

The people honored her as the “Iceflame Netherworld Empress.”

Su Yi hadn’t heard of Yuan Linning in his past life, nor of Grand Libationer Gu Zhongxun.

There was no doubt about it: during his time wandering the Netherworld, both were yet to prove their Daos and become Emperors.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said seriously, “I think you’d best repress your greed. Otherwise, you’ll only bring disaster upon yourself.”

“.....” 

Yuan Linning said nothing. She would never have suspected that even under such circumstances, a young man from the Azure Continent would dare speak to her like that.

He’d even threatened her!

Didn’t he know that Emperors were like the heavens? They were not to be slandered!

Yuan Linning’s gaze frosted over. “Before I came here, the Grand Libationer told me not to be too hard on you out of consideration for Jingyan. He even promised that, so long as you freely offered up the Seed of the Azure, Meng Po Palace wouldn’t mistreat you.”

She paused, then continued, “To the best of my knowledge, this is your first time in the Netherworld, my young friend. You have no one to rely on, yet your cultivation is deep and solid. If you’re willing, Meng Po Palace would happily accept an extraordinary young man like you as a legacy disciple…”

Here, Su Yi cut her off. “There’s no room for discussion.”

As an Emperor, no Spiritual Incarnation youth had ever been so rude as to interrupt Yuan Linning before. Her eyes flashed with cold light.

“Young man, I’ll give you one more chance, so don’t accuse me of bullying the weak,” she said icily. “If you insist on being stubborn, don’t blame me for my poor manners.”

As she spoke, An invisible pressure silently permeated the air around her. The old blind man’s hair stood on end, and he felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy abyss. Even his expression changed.

However, Su Yi remained seated, then asked with great interest, “That so? How about you show me your poor manners?”

This woman had only proven her Dao and become an Emperor recently.

This undoubtedly piqued Su Yi’s interest.

Back in the Azure Continent, he’d stood at the pinnacle of the Spirit Dao, and he’d already set his sights on Profound Illumination Emperors. And Yuan Linning was undoubtedly a suitable opponent!

To the point that even without this particular incident, Su Yi would have wanted to spar with her.

Meanwhile, Su Yi’s utterly provocative words completely enraged Yuan Linning. An oppressive, murderous atmosphere spread throughout the pavilion. 

The air almost seemed to freeze solid!