First Immortal of the Sword

Long ago, a Vermillion Bird of mysterious origins appeared in the Netherworld’s Ruins of the Infernal Palace. It was shrouded in the flames of annihilation, and its ferocious power was appallingly monstrous.

Countless Emperors attempted to subdue it, but all of them failed in the end.

This incident threw the Netherworld into uproar.

However, afterward, the Vermillion Bird of Mysterious Origins disappeared, leaving no trace behind. It was almost as if it had evaporated.

Rumor had it that the Vermillion Bird had already left the Ruins of the Infernal Palace to seek out the Grand Dao in the Sea of Bitterness.

However, no one could confirm the veracity of these rumors.

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And the old blind man’s master told him that the Vermillion Bird had offended the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, who’d used his matchless power to suppress it!

Cui Jingyan had overheard her grandfather, the Adjudicator of the Netherworld, bring this up before too.

Cui Longxiang said that Su Xuanjun suppressed the Vermillion Bird because it had offended the first Empress of the Ghost Serpents, Ye Yu!

Now, seeing a terrifying vicious bird bathed in blood-colored mists, Cui Jingyan and the old blind man finally dared say with certainty that the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force had indeed suppressed the Vermillion Bird!

Before the distant altar.

After devouring the three Pure Yang Fire Perch, the Vermillion Bird soul turned to leave. However, before it got far, Su Yi said suddenly, “You actually kept your promise.”

He spoke these words in a strange and inscrutable language. The Vermillion Bird’s soul body quivered, and it whipped around and fixed its fiery, disbelieving gaze on Su Yi. “You… What are you to Old Devil Su?”

Its voice was raspy, with a unique magnetism. It spoke in the same strange and inscrutable language Su Yi was speaking.

This was the ancient language of True Spirit Divine Beasts.

By using this language, one could communicate with all types of True Spirit Divine Beast!

What surprised the Vermillion Bird was that the young man in blue who stood before him knew some of the secrets behind its imprisonment!

Su Yi’s gaze was distant and profound. “Who I am doesn’t matter. I’ll just ask you this: who broke the seal of this hidden realm?”

The Vermillion Bird’s soul asked right back, “If you don’t tell me your origins, why should I tell you anything?”

It sounded a bit displeased.

Perhaps because of the three Pure Yang Fire Perch, or perhaps because of Su Yi’s proficiency in the language of True Spirit Divine Beats, the long-imprisoned bird dared not underestimate him.

Otherwise, given its cultivation and disposition, it would have long since killed anyone who’d dared speak to it like that. 

Su Yi smiled, then looked up at the umbrella. “I’m here today to take that umbrella with me. You ought to know what that means.”

The Vermillion Bird’s eyes widened with excitement. “For real?”

It sounded a bit frantic.

“But if you don’t answer my questions, I might well change my mind,” said Su Yi.

After a moment’s silence, the soul of the Vermillion Bird said, “The person who broke the seal was highly mysterious. I don’t know their origins, and I couldn’t even tell whether they were male or female, much less what they looked like or how high their cultivation was.”

Su Yi furrowed his brow. “When did this happen?”

“About three hundred and thirty years ago,” said the soul of the Vermillion Bird.

Su Yi was instantly stunned. “Didn’t this place draw attention because of the strange phenomenon of heaven and earth that appeared a few days ago?”

The Vermillion Bird explained, “That person didn’t actually destroy the formation sealing the place. All they did was locate the entrance. As for that strange celestial phenomenon… Hah! That was the Wei Family’s work, so you should ask them.”

Su Yi’s eyes flashed; he vaguely understood. “The Wei Family caused a commotion on purpose to draw heretics and fiends over so that they could destroy them. Is that it?”

“That’s right,” said the Vermillion Bird. “It’s perhaps a bit despicable, but those Wei Family kids are doing it to rid the world of evil. Their intentions are good.”

Here, the bird sighed. “It’s a pity. I promised Old Monster Su not to initiate an attack against anyone. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind helping the Wei Family out.”

Su Yi stroked his jaw and pondered in silence.

In his past life, he really had made the Vermillion Bird’s soul swear such an oath.

Furthermore, the Vermillion Bird’s soul had indeed kept its promise earlier. Even when it saw Wei Yun on the verge of death, it didn’t take the initiative to eliminate those old monsters.

Su Yi asked, “Did that person you spoke of enter this place three hundred and thirty years ago?”

“They did,” said the Vermillion Bird’s soul. “They even stood before the altar, staring at the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella for a long time. Furthermore… they seemed to have sensed my presence. However, from beginning to end, they didn’t say a word, nor did they do anything. They just turned and left.”

“They left?” Su Yi couldn’t help but be surprised. “Does that mean they weren’t here to pilfer the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella?”

The Heaven-Stealing Umbrella was one of the treasures he’d left in the Netherworld in his past life.

It and the Solar Exchange Shuttle were both Imperial-level treasures he’d refined in his past life. Although they were inferior to his personal weapon, the Tiny Heart of the Cosmos, they were each wondrous and unfathomably powerful.

Take the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella. When opened, it could interfere with an entire area’s power of the Grand Dao, seizing the power of its Laws for its own use. 

“Heaven-Stealing” referred to stealing the power of the Laws of heaven and earth.

That aside, the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella could eradicate evil, purify, and incinerate. It had numerous wondrous uses.

However, it loved nothing more than devouring wicked creatures.

Whenever it sensed a malevolent or heretical aura, whether it belonged to a cultivator or a treasure, it was like a hungry ghost who’d spotted a wondrous delicacy. 

Why was it like this? The reason was simple. When Su Yi created it in his past life, he used the Natal Bone of a Taotie and the divine blood of a Bi’an to refine the umbrella’s handle and ribs…

Taotie loved eating above all else, while Bi’An hated nothing more than wicked creatures. 

Its artifact spirit had both traits: it loved devouring the wicked…

“I’m not sure about that,” said the soul of the Vermillion Bird, shaking its head. “Whoever they were, they were extremely strange and mysterious. I couldn’t see through them at all. I could only keep a respectful distance.”

Su Yi was instantly silent.

Three hundred and thirty years wasn’t all that long ago, but not just anyone could break through the seal he’d left and enter this place.

And despite the Vermillion Bird’s powers of perception, it couldn’t even tell whether the intruder was male or female. This was unquestionable proof that, whoever they were, they hadn’t wanted to reveal their identity.

Yet in the end, they’d left without doing anything. That was even stranger.

In my past life, aside from Little Leaf, only that old-timer of the Wei Family knew about the seal here. But then, that was thirty thousand years ago.

That mysterious person entered this place only three hundred or so years ago. Could Little Leaf be involved? Or perhaps the Wei Family?

Su Yi immediately rejected the idea. 

Had the intruder been a member of the Wei Family, they couldn’t possibly have hidden their identity from the Vermillion Bird.

And Little Leaf wouldn’t have needed to hide her identity.

However, whoever this mysterious person was, they undoubtedly had concrete information. Otherwise, they couldn’t have found this place.

And only Little Leaf and the Wei Family could have provided such information!

It seems I’ve got to seize this opportunity to visit the Wei Family, thought Su Yi.

In his past life, he and Little Lead had once ventured deep into the wilderness of Yama’s Floating Mountains to hunt down a traitor of the Ghost Serpent Race.

After killing said traitor, he and Little Leaf inadvertently happened upon the Vermillion Bird pursuing them with ill intentions for Little Leaf.

In the end, Su Yi thoroughly suppressed the endlessly ferocious, maddened fowl and imprisoned it in a forbidden ground. 

The grudge between the bird and Little Leaf was complicated, but simply put, Little Leaf had once ventured into the Ruins of the Infernal Palace in search of treasure. In the process, she inadvertently offended the Vermillion Bird, which then saw her as its enemy.

But the grudge wasn’t all that deep, so Su Yi spared the Vermillion Bird, imprisoning it instead of killing it.

He even agreed to free it when he came back for the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella. 

An Emperor of the Wei Family, Wei Daoyuan, had participated in this operation too. 

When Su Yi and Little Leaf left Yama’s Floating Mountains, they asked Wei Daoyuan to keep watch over the area. 

When it saw Su Yi sink into silence, the Vermillion Bird couldn’t help but ask, “You… Really can take the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella?” 

Instead of answering, Su Yi asked, “In your opinion, why didn’t that mysterious person take the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella with them?”

The Vermillion Bird didn’t even stop to think. “They were definitely worried Ol’ Monster Su would come after them for revenge!”

“Is that so…?” Su Yi furrowed his brow. 

Five hundred years ago, he’d already reincarnated. Everyone believed he’d long since left this world. In that case, why would they possibly be afraid of him seeking revenge?

Could it be that the mysterious person had believed he wasn’t truly dead?

As soon as this occurred to him, Su Yi had a certain premonition. 

It was true that in his past life, he’d reigned supreme over the Wilds, his sword suppressing the heavens. But when word spread of his passing, who but his loved ones and enemies had truly cared?

Aside from his old friends, only his disciples truly cared whether he lived or died!

He gazed at the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella on the altar and thought, No matter who that mysterious person was, they likely left the umbrella behind to bide their time and see whether anyone else came for it. That way, they could learn… whether or not I was still alive.

In other words, if I take the Heaven-Stealing Umbrella and that mysterious person comes back, they’ll be able to confirm my identity!

Su Yi thought a moment longer, then looked at the soul of the Vermillion Bird. “Help me with something, and I won’t just let you go, I’ll even give you an opportunity to achieve rebirth akin to Nirvana!”

But the Vermillion Bird just seemed frantic and upset. “Didn’t you just say you were going to take the umbrella away? Why have you gone back on your word all of a sudden?”

It sounded angry. 

“Also, what nirvana? What rebirth? That’s nothing but dog farts! I have no need of it!”

“I know a place where Phoenix Flame Divine Essence is buried,” Su Yi said calmly. “Are you sure you don’t need it?”

The soul of the Vermillion Bird was stunned, and its eyes gradually widened. Finally, it let out a strange shriek. “Aiyaaa! Why didn’t you say so earlier? What do you need me to do?”

This incomparable True Spirit Divine Bird’s attitude changed in a flash. All of a sudden, it was downright zealous.