First Immortal of the Sword

Each of the Great Zhou’s Eight Great Yao Mountains had their own strange and extraordinary characteristics!

Like Ten Thousand Poisons Yao Mountain’s blood-colored swamp, in which sat a strange altar covered in sinister offerings of skulls.

Or Silverflame Yao Mountain’s underground Corpse Cellar, where mummies roamed.

Treasure Temple Yao Mountain’s ruins, meanwhile, gave rise to unearthly black lotuses and chanting…

And according to the Spiritmartial Marquis, Bloodthistle Yao Mountain hid as-of-yet unknown secrets too!

Su Yi got his thoughts back under control, then asked, “Where is Huyan Hai now?”

The man in brocade robes said in a quavering voice, “A month ago, he left for the Deathbringer’s Gate Headquarters. He said the sect leader was planning something big, so he summoned the heads of all six branches to assist him. Branch Leader Huyan Hai has yet to return.”

“Didn’t the Deathbringer’s Tribulation all those years ago deal an enormous blow to your vitality? You practically fell apart. How long has it been? What exactly is this ‘big’ thing you’re planning?”

The middle-aged man shook his head. “That’s far too great a secret for someone like me to know.”

“Where is the Deathbringer’s Gate’s main base located?”

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, “I just know it’s within the White Province. I’m afraid only base leaders like Huyan Hai know its specific location.

The White Province?

Su Yi suddenly recalled that Xiao Tianque’s Lanling Xiao Family lived in the White Province too.

Furthermore, the White Province directly neighbored the Jade Capital. It was the region surrounding the capital, near the heart of the Great Zhou.

Who’d have thought that the faction the people of this world saw as heretical and unorthodox would establish its base there of all places?

Before long, Su Yi shook his head.

He’d always been too lazy to worry about stuff that had nothing to do with him. He’d only set his sights on the Deathbringer’s Gate because he wanted to uncover clues regarding Qing Wan’s identity. That was all there was to it.

After a moment’s silence, Su Yi said, “About what happened today….”

But before he could finish, the middle-aged man in brocade robes took a deep breath, then made a solemn, forceful vow. “Young Lord, I, Lu Chuan, swear to the heavens that I won’t leak anything that happened here today. If I break my vow, may I suffer heaven’s wrath and die a horrible death!”

“You’re overthinking this,” said Su Yi. “I was about to say that when Huyan Hai gets back, you’re welcome to tell him everything. If he wants to get revenge, he can come looking for me at the House of Waveswept Rocks.”

Lu Chuan was rooted to the spot. His mind seemed to collapse.

I only just finished my vow. If I tell the branch leader now, what’ll I do if I really suffer heaven’s wrath and die a horrible death?

Some time passed before Lu Chuan regained his senses, but by then, Su Yi had already left.

……

Su Yi didn’t fully trust what Lu Chuan had told him, so he planned to go verify it.

An hour later, Su Yi appeared in Lasting Peace Lane.

Its densely-packed buildings were short and run-down. The entire area was in disarray.

Yesterday, Su Yi arrived here with Zheng Muyao in the Zheng Family’s horse-drawn carriage. He’d used the blood-colored candle to locate Weng Yunqi’s current residence.

However, at the time, all he wanted was to go to Heaven’s Origin Academy, which was why he chose not to meet with the old man then.

This time, Su Yi went there on his own, traveling down the webbing paths of narrow streets with practiced ease.

Before long, he arrived at that same run-down residence.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, he paused. His keen senses alerted him to the faint, nigh-indiscernible fluctuations of a formation. It ran all the way around the building’s perimeter.

If he knocked directly, he was sure to invite calamity!

He’s using the formation to obscure the noise coming from the courtyard, but it can be used to kill enemies too. Why do this? What is he guarding against?

Su Yi thought about it. He felt a sudden impulse, and obscure symbols appeared in the depths of his clear, unfathomable gaze. They were reminiscent of golden fire.

The Fiery Golden Pupils of Discernment

There was a common phrase that went “to see something as clearly as one sees a blazing fire”, one glance to understand everything.

The Fiery Golden Pupils of Discernment was a secret art of the soul, a subtle application of the soul’s powers of perception. It was like a divine boon, an enormous boost to the eyesight. It allowed you to perceive spiritual energy, yin qi, baleful energy, and the countless other formless energies dispersed throughout heaven and earth.

Similarly, it could sense the traces left behind after placing a formation, as well as a formation’s structure.

Instantly, the Fiery Golden Pupils of Discernment’s observational powers stripped the formation bare; it had nothing left to hide.

Su Yi stepped forward, then walked around to the rear of the property and gently tapped a blue brick protruding slightly from the wall.

Silently and without a trace, the entire formation sank into a strange stillness.

Almost immediately, the sound of conversation emanated from within the courtyard.

“Old Man Weng, I went to look just this morning. There’s no news from the Peaceful Inn.” A middle-aged man in yellow sat at the courtyard’s stone table, talking between sips of wine. “Are you sure you haven’t made some kind of mistake?”

“That’s not possible.” Weng Yunqi shook his head. “I dare say with certainty that the Su boy arrived in the Imperatorial Provincial Capital two days ago.”

The middle-aged man in yellow said, “Then perhaps he no longer has any intention of visiting the inn.”

Weng Yunqi’s brow furrowed, and he sighed. “Perhaps.”

The middle-aged man in yellow couldn’t help but ask, “Do you really think a young man like that can contend with Huyan Hai?”

Weng Yunqi didn’t even hesitate. “He can! If you’d witnessed the boy’s power with your own eyes, you’d understand just how terrifying his abilities are. Even that old ghost, Blood Balance, was far from being his match.”

He paused, and his eyes flashed with light. “Also, my intuition tells me that a second-level Grandmaster like Huyan Hai cannot possibly defeat him either.”

The middle-aged man in yellow suddenly lowered his voice. “But aren’t you worried that the Su kid will pick up on your true intentions and get revenge?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Weng Yunqi laughed and said leisurely, “He wants to investigate the mysterious soul jade’s origins. That’ll inevitably lead to conflict with Huyan Hai. All I’m doing is borrowing his hands to get rid of Huyan Hai on my behalf.”

“But you’re well aware that he’s arrived in the provincial capital, yet you still haven’t told him that the Deathbringer’s Gate has taken over the Peaceful Inn,” said the man in yellow.

Weng Yunqi chuckled. “You don’t get it. I commited treason, accepting all the risks that entails, just to obtain that jade, only for him to run off with it. I hate him! How could I not? If I can seize this chance to make that brat fall flat on his face, it’ll be worth it.”

Almost as soon as he said this, a calm voice drifted over from beyond the courtyard walls. “Are those your true intentions?”

Weng Yunqi’s smile froze in place, and he immediately shot to his feet and took out a black formation disc. His fingernails viciously scratched its surface, and his voice boomed. “Activate!”

The sound reverberated throughout all four directions.

Yet the courtyard remained perfectly quiet. To his shock, the grand formation he’d placed around the place didn’t react in the slightest.

Weng Yunqi’s expression shifted dramatically, and without the slightest hesitation, he yelled, “Hurry up and run!”

With that, he leaped onto the courtyard’s rear wall.

The speed of his reaction and the keenness of his movements were impressive; he really was a shrewd, sharp-witted old man.

It was only after Weng Yunqi fled that the man in yellow came to his senses and hurried to his feet in panic.

But a moment later, Weng Yunqi froze in place, too scared to move a muscle.

A young man in blue stood before him. He might have looked calm, detached, and unthreatening, but Weng Yunqi felt like a mouse staring down a cat. He immediately broke out into cold sweats.

He took a deep breath, then clasped his fist. “Young Lord Su, you… When did you get here?”

Su Yi smiled faintly. “What you really want to ask is, how did I find this place?”

Weng Yunqi went rigid, a bitter grimace on his lips. He could already guess that Su Yi had heard every word of their conversation just now.

“Young Lord Su, I know I’ve done you wrong, and you’re only right to punish me, but…”

As he said this, Weng Yunqi was obviously much calmer than before. He continued, “If you attack me now, I’m afraid you’ll have no hope of locating Huyan Hai. If you’re willing to give this old man the opportunity to remedy his mistakes, I guarantee that I’ll bring you to see Huyan Hai here and now.”

Su Yi laughed. “Do you really think that without you, I can’t find Huyan Hai on my own? I won’t keep it from you: I only just visited the Peaceful Inn and obtained some information. I already know that Huyan Hai is not currently in the Imperatorial Province.”

Weng Yunqi’s heart instantly sank into despair!

“Then… Young Lord, why didn’t you attack right away?” Weng Yunqi asked grimly.

Su Yi sighed, but he looked a bit dazed. He muttered to himself, “He’s right! What’s with me today? Why waste so much time talking before I attack…?”

Before he’d even finished talking, the man in yellow watched in terror as Su Yi casually waved his hand.

Thud!

Weng Yunqi was a peak Qi Accumulation expert, yet now, his head thudded to the floor, fresh blood gushing from the stump of his neck.

Quick and effortless, like crushing an ant!

The middle-aged man in yellow couldn’t help but exclaim, “Young Lord Su, this had nothing to do with me. I never even considered becoming your enemy. I….”

Su Yi glanced over at him. “How did Weng Yunqi know I’d arrived in the Imperatorial Provincial Capital?”

The man in yellow hurriedly said, “He…. He did something to that copper coin’s blood imprint. He made it so that within two hours of your arrival in the provincial capital, one of the ghosts he was raising would pick up on your presence.”

Su Yi flipped over his hand, and the copper coin appeared. “No wonder I didn’t sense anything fishy about it! So, it was a problem with the materials themselves!”

With that, he turned and left.

It was only after watching his tall, lean figure disappear that the man in yellow sighed in relief and recovered from his daze. His right hand relaxed, revealing the crimson dagger he’d been clutching this entire time. The handle was completely covered in sweat.

“I’m just glad I resisted the impulse to attack just now,” said the man, wiping the sweat from his brow. “That old bastard Weng Yunqi practically dragged me down with him….”

……

The House of Waveswept Rocks.

It was getting late, and the clear blue waters of the pond reflected the light of dusk, producing a magnificent display of color.

Cha Jin had been waiting for quite some time. When she saw Su Yi return, she shot to her feet. “Young Lord, I’ve already seen Miss Lingxue to Heaven’s Origin Academy. Elder Zhu Guqing personally led her to see her sister.”

“Hm.” Su Yi grunted his acknowledgment, then asked, “Is dinner ready?”

Cha Jin nodded, then said softly, “And I bought two jars of quality aged wine. If you’re in a bad mood, I’d happily accompany you for a drink or two.”

Su Yi froze, then pointed at himself. “Do you think I look like I’m in a bad mood?”

Cha Jin bit her lip, then said, “Yes, you do.”

“.......”