First Immortal of the Sword

When he saw the vicious beast, Su Yi looked gratified. “Little guy, I’m truly surprised you recognized me at a glance today even after all this time.”

Standing before the massive beast’s mountainous head, he looked as insignificant as an ant, yet he called the beast “little guy.” It was truly a bit strange.

However, the beast only waved its massive head in excitement, then spoke with obvious delight. “My lord, your appearance has changed, but your magnificent bearing is the same as ever! Besides, in this world, no other human can comprehend the secret soul language of the Netherworld Abyssals. How could I fail to recognize you?”

Its voice was raspy and deep.

Su Yi nodded.

Netherworld Abyssals were an extremely rare Xiantian spirit beast that lived deep within the Sea of Bitterness. They were born of the ocean’s source power, and they had innate mastery of their secret soul language.

With this innate divine ability, they could comprehend the power of the Grand Dao and heaven and earth, accelerating and transforming their cultivation.

In his past life, after subduing this very Netherworld Abyssal, he learned its secret soul language to satisfy his curiosity.

Earlier, as he crossed the bridge to Misty Autumn Peak, Su Yi used this very soul language to probe its response.

Who’d have thought that the beast would indeed recognize him at a glance?

Su Yi examined the Netherworld Abyssal briefly, then frowned. “So many years have passed. Why has your cultivation stagnated in the Profound Illumination Realm?”

It had been thirty thousand years since he first subdued the Netherworld Abyssal!

But even after all that time, its strength hadn’t changed much at all. This was far out of the ordinary.

“My lord, you don’t know this, but that punk Yun Ziying is a real good-for-nothing. He broke into the Profound Serenity Realm a while ago, but his breakthrough almost killed him.

“In the end, I spent half of my cultivation base’s source power to help him overcome heavenly tribulation, letting him break smoothly into the Profound Serenity Realm.”

“But this resulted in severe damage to my vitality. All these years later, I’ve only just barely recovered.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh. “You’re quite loyal and true. You even dared help Yun Ziying overcome his Tribulation of Profound Serenity!”

Yun Ziying was one of Meng Po Palace’s Emissaries of the River, the Profound Purple Netherworld Emperor.

The Netherworld Abyssal said, “My lord, at the time, you told me to accompany that kid Yun Ziying, to serve him and cultivate alongside him. I’ve never dared forget. When I saw him on the verge of death, I naturally couldn’t just stand back and watch.”

Reading between the lines, it had saved Yun Ziying purely out of consideration for Su Yi!

“But Yun Ziying’s actually a rather decent sort. Over the years, he’d gathered all manner of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to help me heal my Dao wounds. He’s got a conscience after all,” added the Netherworld Abyssal.

Su Yi smiled. “Is he currently at Naihe Divine Mountain?”

The Netherworld Abyssal shook its head. “Roughly a decade ago, that kid heard rumors of a mysterious black vessel in the Sea of Bitterness, and he couldn’t sit still. He set off right away, and he’s yet to return. There’s been no word of him since.”

That mysterious black ship again!

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “Do you know the ship’s origins?”

The Netherworld Abyssal was a Xiantian spirit beast born in the depths of the Sea of Bitterness, and it had once wandered its waters. It ought to understand the Sea of Bitterness far better than ordinary cultivators.

“My lord, I’m afraid I’d never heard of such a strange ship before this either,” said the Netherworld Abyssal. “But I can say with certainty that the vessel in question has never appeared on the Sea of Bitterness before.”

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “In that case, its origins are rather suspicious.”

He then set the matter aside and looked into the Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness. “Is there anyone inside now?”

“My lord, Emissary of the River Mo Wuhen entered the ninth layer of the divine cave, the ‘Ancestral Source of the River of Forgetfulness’ and went into seclusion. They say he’s contemplating the Laws of the Profound Dao. He’s yet to emerge.”

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This was an unmatched, savage beast, a Netherworld Abyssal, yet it treated Su Yi with awe and reverence.

It seemed that, so long as Su Yi asked, it would reveal all of Meng Po Palace’s secrets without so much as a second thought…

“Mo Wuhen? You mean the ninth palace master of Meng Po Palace?” Su Yi remembered that name.

“That’s right, my lord,” said the Netherworld Abyssal. “That squirt’s Yun Ziying’s junior apprentice brother, but he abdicated his position as palace master and became an emissary of the river a long time ago. He’s been immersed in cultivating the Dao ever since, and he no longer pays worldly affairs any heed.”

Su Yi stroked his jaw. “Over the years, who was the strongest to pass the third layer?”

The Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness was a forbidden zone, but it was also a testing ground.

The cave’s depths were divided into nine layers of hidden realms. Throughout antiquity, the cultivators of Meng Po Palace had left numerous Grand Dao imprints within, creating trials for future generations to overcome.

The first three layers were targeted at cultivators of the Three Realms of the Spirit Dao.

Layers four through six were targeted at early, mid, and late-stage Profound Illumination Emperors.

Layers six through nine were targeted at early, mid, and late-stage Profound Serenity Emperors.

And below that was the source upon which Meng Po Palace had established itself——The River of Forgetfulness Ancestral Origin!

Simply put, the River of Forgetfulness Ancestral Origin was the source of the River of Forgetfulness, and it contained Xiantian chaos power.

This power contained the Dao of the River of Forgetfulness, which related to the soul.

Only those who mastered this power could practice the loftiest inheritance of Meng Po Palace, and they excelled at nothing more than erasing enemies’ memories and controlling their hearts!

Su Yi now stood in the third layer, a trial targeted at Spiritual Revolution cultivators.

Throughout antiquity, any Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivator who overcame this trial left a mark recording their achievement.

The strongest were those who overcame the trial of the third layer the fastest.

“My lord, over the past thousand years, the strongest to overcome the third layer and current record-holder is Third Libationer Yuan Linning. She set her record three hundred years ago,” the Netherworld Abyssal said at top speeds. “It took the little lass just fifteen minutes to overcome every Grand Dao imprint of the third layer. Her record remains unbroken; she was the strongest Spiritual Revolution cultivator Meng Po Palace has seen in the past thousand years.

“Of course, two hundred years ago, she proved her Dao and became an Empress. She’s the youngest Imperial expert of Meng Po Palace; she’s only cultivated one thousand, three hundred years in total.” 

Su Yi couldn’t help but be stunned. Yuan Linning?

He wouldn’t have guessed that that proud, icy woman was once the strongest Spiritual Revolution cultivator in Meng Po Palace, and that her record remained unbroken even now!
No wonder her aura seems weak compared to other Profound Illumination Emperors. So, it’s only been two hundred years since she proved her Dao and broke through. I’m afraid she’s yet to condense a complete set of Profound Dao Laws… thought Su Yi.

Every step of the Profound Dao was arduous. 

Every step forward required extensive time and effort.

This was part of why Emperors often went into seclusion for hundreds or thousands of years at a time.

Unless they happened upon a grand stroke of fortune that enabled rapid advancement, an Emperor’s cultivation required extensive, repeated tempering over an extended period of time.

Su Yi gave the matter no further thought. He ordered, “Give me a transmission talisman. I’m going to the fourth layer.”

“Got it!” As the Netherworld Abyssal responded, a streak of misty light escaped its lips, transforming into a silver talisman that fell into Su Yi’s outstretched palm.

With this, Su Yi could traverse the nine layers of the divine cave freely. Even if he encountered danger, he could activate the talisman to escape.

“Stand guard here. If anyone shows up, keep them away for me,” said Su Yi as he put away the talisman.

The Netherworld Abyssal solemnly assented. “Understood!”

Su Yi’s tall, lean figure proceeded into the pitch-black cave beneath its reverent gaze. Before long, he’d disappeared without a trace.

……

The first layer of the Divine Cave of the River of Forgetfulness.

The world within was boundless and overcast. Everything was gray and devoid of life, like an abandoned world.

A spatial fluctuation rippled outward, and Su Yi appeared out of nowhere.

Su Yi swept his gaze around the area. “It’s just like it was back then. It hasn’t changed a bit.”

He’d visited Meng Po Palace as a guest in his past life, and he’d even accompanied Yun Ziying to the Ancestral Origin of the River of Forgetfulness. This place naturally wasn’t unfamiliar to him.

Boom!

Suddenly, heaven and earth rumbled with the sound of the Grand Dao.

Streaks of misty light descended from the distant skies, transforming into illusory figures.

They were manifested of imprints of the Grand Dao!

They were called “combat spirits of will.”

Throughout its long history, the top Spiritual Manifestation experts of Meng Po Palace had left their will imprints here.

Ordinarily speaking, Spiritual Manifestation cultivators had to defeat the combat spirits of will spread throughout the first floor of this mysterious world to pass.

However, this wasn’t Su Yi’s goal.

He activated the talisman, passing through the second layer and arriving on the third.

This trial was targeted at Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivators. The combat spirits here belonged to peak Spiritual Revolution cultivators, who’d left them here over the course of the sect’s history.

Overcoming this trial required defeating every single one of these combat spirits. 

When he arrived, Su Yi pondered briefly, then decided to remain. Forget it. Might as well test myself and see just how long it’ll take me to overcome this trial at my current cultivation. 

It won’t be too late to proceed to the fourth layer after overcoming the third.  

As Su Yi pondered, heaven and earth rumbled.

Streaks of misty light descended from the distant dome of heaven, transforming into illusory figures. All of them emanated terrifying Spiritual Revolution Realm auras.  

The combat spirits had no life force or sentience, but they were otherwise no different from true Spiritual Revolution Realm experts.

Furthermore, each was more terrifying than the one before!

Back on the Azure Continent, Su Yi had long since disregarded all the world’s Spiritual Revolution cultivators. When he saw this, even he couldn’t help but look a bit eager.