First Immortal of the Sword

Three days passed in a flash. They were entirely uneventful.

The Red Dragon Dao Monarch spent the entire time cultivating within the Dragon Progenitor’s Cauldron, while Xi Ning and Fan Zhui took this time to tend to their injuries.

Su Yi didn’t slack off, either. He gathered all of the trophies to be found in the treasury.

His harvest was shocking!

The experts who’d died here included Great Martial Stage experts of six of the greatest factions in the Immortal Realm, as well as Jing Cheng and the other Giant Whales, numerous prominent experts of the Eastern Sea, and three attendants of divine children, Zuo Huai, Lin Gu, and Huang Chongjia.

Pick any one of them at random, and you’d have someone of great power and influence in the outside world. Their belongings were, naturally, extraordinary. Now, all of them had become Su Yi’s trophies. 

It was just a pity that… only a handful met Su Yi’s standards. 

He tossed the vast majority into the Divine Replenishment Furnace, either to refine pills or to temper the Sword of the Human Realm.

The Divine Replenishment Furnace was excited. Regardless of whether it was refining pills or melting down divine materials, it too benefited enormously.

“Fellow Daoist, I ought to set off.” Xi Ning awakened from her meditation and told Su Yi that she had made arrangements to meet someone after this expedition, and she had to leave now if she was to make it in time.

Su Yi didn’t ask any questions. All he said was, “I’ll see you off.”

Xi Ning nodded. “Alright.”

Su Yi, Xi Ning, and Fan Zhui left the treasury and proceeded back through the ruins. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Along the road, Xi Ning hesitated, then said, “I’m on my way to see a divine son with an extraordinary background. His name is Luo Tiandu, and he’s from the ancient Luo Family. They’ve always been on excellent terms with my Xi Family. When we came to the Immortal Realm, our seniors agreed that he and I were to work together and look out for each other.”

Su Yi was stunned, and curious, too. Why is she telling me this?

But he didn’t ask questions. He simply nodded. 

“Luo Tiandu is tyrannical and terrifying. His abilities and his trump cards are all far beyond the likes of Qing Xiao and Jin Zhuliu. And he’s come to the Immortal Realm with a goal he’s dead-set on achieving,” said Xi Ning. She looked at Su Yi. “Killing you.”

Su Yi finally understood why Xi Ning had brought Luo Tiandu up. He smiled and said, “You aside, who among the divine children isn’t after me? Adding a Luo Tiandu or three to the mix doesn’t change anything.”

A moment later, he realized that something wasn’t right and said, “Will this make things difficult for you?”

Xi Ning shook her head. “That's not what I meant. I just wanted to warn you. Luo Tiandu is dangerous, and he’ll resort to any means to achieve his ends. He’s absolutely an unparalleled figure even among the divine children.”

She paused, then furrowed her brow. “More importantly, I cannot dissuade him. If he sets his sights on you, it’s sure to be trouble.”

Su Yi could sense a hint of trepidation in Xi Ning’s words when she spoke of Luo Tiandu, and he found it quite surprising.

The way he saw it, in terms of strength, Xi Ning was the cream of the crop among Great Profound Stage cultivators. In the Immortal Realm prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, experts comparable to her could've been counted on one's fingers. If even Xi Ning thought Luo Tiandu was terrifying, it was obvious how powerful he was.

But this only piqued Su Yi’s interest.

In his past life, he’d stood supreme over the Immortal Realm, his sword suppressing everything beneath the heavens. He was unparalleled in his era! Among Great Profound Stage cultivators, he was publicly acknowledged as the First Immortal of the Sword. None were comparable to him.

Even Xi Ning was considerably weaker than Wang Ye had been at his peak. 

Given the circumstances, Su Yi was delighted to hear of someone as extraordinary as Luo Tiandu. This was the thrill of a predator spotting his favorite prey.

“You needn’t worry,” said Su Yi after a moment’s thought. “The stronger he is, the happier I’ll be.”

Fan Zhui was stunned. He couldn’t help but interject, “Fellow Daoist, Luo Tiandu is no ordinary divine child. In his youth, he cultivated alongside a High-Rank God, and his cultivation base….”

Before Fan Zhui could finish, Su Yi smiled and said, “I get what you’re trying to say.

Fan Zhui was at a loss for words, but when he mulled it over, it all made sense. Su Yi was an Immortal King. That much was true. But he had the heaven-defying strength to contend with Great Unity Stage experts!

During this expedition into the ruins of the Dragon Palace, it was thanks to him that they turned the tides, sweeping through Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, and the other divine children, then defeated the wraith of the former god, Ao Chiting.

This was someone even the Book of Karma saw as an anomaly. How could he possibly fear Luo Tiandu?

“What’s your relationship with Luo Tiandu like?” Su Yi looked at Xi Ning.

Fan Zhui’s gaze was a bit strange.

Xi Ning thought for a moment, then said, “A while ago, the Luo Family repeatedly suggested that he and I become Dao Partners. Some of the seniors of the Xi Family were delighted to agree. They thought the two of us were a perfect match, but… I refused every time. When I really thought about it, I just saw Luo Tiandu as a member of my generation I have a relatively decent relationship with.”

Xi Ning asked curiously, “Why ask, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. “I was just wondering what would happen should he and I ever become enemies. Would that make things difficult for you?”

Xi Ning’s eyes flashed, and her red lips rose into a playful arc. “Before I met you, he and I talked, and I said I wouldn’t mind helping him take you down, but now… If the two of you become enemies, I naturally won’t remain a bystander.”

Su Yi smiled and said nothing. He roughly understood Xi Ning’s stance.

Suddenly, Xi Ning asked, “What do you plan to do next, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi didn’t even hesitate to think. “I’ll roam around the Eastern Sea for a bit and see if I can find the Fuyou Boat.”

Xi Ning inclined her head. “The Eastern Sea is enormous and far removed from the forty-nine provinces of the Immortal Realm. If you stay here, you’ll be able to avoid numerous storms.”

Su Yi smiled. “I hope so.”

He knew that when word of what had happened in the Dragon Palace spread, it would stir up massive waves throughout the Eastern Sea and the Immortal Realm.

After all, prominent experts of six factions of the Immortal Realm and all the top factions of the Eastern Sea had died here. This was sure to attract attention. That aside, Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, Qing Wu, and Qin Jianshu had left in abject defeat. There was no way they’d simply swallow their anger and tolerate this.

All of this meant that even if Su Yi remained in the Eastern Sea, trouble was sure to come looking for him.

Of course, Su Yi figured that if he really wanted to avoid the impending storm, it wouldn’t be overly difficult. All he had to do was adopt a new identity.

After leaving the ruins of the Dragon Palace, Su Yi and his companions appeared above a boundless stretch of ocean.

“Hm?”

They’d only just arrived when Xi Ning seemed to sense something, and she instinctively gazed into the dome of heaven.

The look on her beautiful face shifted. “The power of divine misfortune within the Laws has changed!”

A moment later, she opened her jade-like hand, a black compass appeared. When she activated it, the needle spun, and wispy, strange talisman markings floated into the air.

Xi Ning put the compass away, a strange light in her beautiful eyes. “Just as I thought. The heavens have changed!”

“The heavens have changed?” repeated Su Yi. “What do you mean by that?”

Xi Ning’s eyes sparkled. “The power of divine misfortune has shown signs of ebbing. If all goes as I expect, within three years at minimum, or five at most, divine misfortune will disappear completely!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising.

By now, he fully understood the origins of divine misfortune. During the Age of Fallen Immortals, the gods joined forces to place this power within the laws of the Immortal Realm. It targeted the Immortal Realm’s Great Realm experts.

When this power of the laws burst forth, it plunged the entire Immortal Realm into a long, drawn-out cataclysm. This was the origin of the catastrophe of the Age of Fallen Immortals.

And the cultivators of the Immortal Realm knew this power of the Laws as Divine Misfortune!

This power had remained within the Laws ever since, completely transforming the balance of power in the Immortal Realm.

The old-timers who’d stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm prior to the cataclysm had all gone into hiding to avoid divine misfortune. To this day, none of them dared to leave seclusion!

Now, Xi Ning was saying that this power was ebbing, and that within five years at most, it would be gone completely. How could Su Yi not be surprised?

“Does that mean the Path of Divinity shall soon reappear?” asked Su Yi.

“That’s right.” Xi Ning nodded. “Furthermore, I can foresee that in the years ahead, the threat divine misfortune presents to Great Realm experts will weaken continuously. When it vanishes completely, the long-lost path of divinity will soon appear in the Immortal Realm!”

Her voice was tinged with eagerness. She had too many secrets about her, and she needn’t fear failing to become a goddess.

But if she could acquire good fortune related to achieving divinity when the path to divinity appeared, that would naturally be all the better!

Furthermore, the good fortune due to appear was extraordinary. Several of the gods divined that first-rate Epoch Laws would be up for grabs when the path to divinity appeared. These were incomparably rare and precious! This was why the divine children had descended into the Immortal Realm, one after another. Everything was for the sake of this rare and precious chance at divinity!

This good fortune would appear in the Immortal Realm within three to five years. Who wouldn’t have been eager? Who wouldn’t have longed for it?

Ripples coursed through Su Yi’s heart.

In his past life, Wang Ye had poured countless time and effort into proving his Dao and becoming a god. He’d searched the entire Immortal Realm, hunting down relics of the Primeval Era in search of the mysteries of divinity.

He’d even crossed the River of Spacetime, seeking out the road to divinity in the civilizations of different epochs…

But despite the passage of countless years, none of his ambitions came to fruition!

After the Battle of Eternal Night, Wang Ye entered the cycle of reincarnation. Hundreds of thousands of years had passed, and he’d cultivated and undergone rebirth several times in the interim. Now, finally, he... saw hope of achieving divinity!

Su Yi’s heart was as firm as a boulder, but even so, he was endlessly rueful.

It wasn’t that becoming a god was so difficult, but that the necessary opportunities were just too difficult to find.

If the time wasn’t right, it didn’t matter how dazzlingly talented you were. You were doomed never to realize your ambitions or progress any further!