First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 226 - Su Hongli’s Fortuitous Encounter

They watched until Pei Wenshan faded from view.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ning Sihua said, “It seems the Su Family doesn’t know about the magnificent feat you achieved atop the Western Mountain’s Tea Party.” 

Shen Jiusong mulled that over, then reacted, saying, “Xiang Tianqiu and the others were all executed, and there’s no way those in His Sixth Highness’ camp would leak the details of that battle.

“As for those watching from the foot of the mountain, they were three thousand feet away. Unless they were Origin Dao cultivators, there’s no way they could have seen the details clearly.

“They might suspect that it was Young Lord Su’s work, but they’ll also suspect that he couldn’t possibly have accomplished such a feat.

“After all, Young Lord Su is still in the Qi Accumulation Realm. If I hadn’t witnessed it for myself, even I would have found it hard to believe that Young Lord Su relied on his Qi Accumulation Realm cultivation to slay a fifth-level Grandmaster like Qin Changshan atop the Western Mountain.

“The Jade Capital’s Su Family almost certainly hasn’t uncovered the details of that battle. Even if they suspect you had something to do with it, I’m afraid they wouldn’t possibly believe that you, with your power alone, could achieve all that.”

Cha Jin nodded, apparently convinced. “So that’s why that Pei Wenshan guy thought my young lord’s backer was the sixth prince, and that’s why he gave that warning… It’s… really a bit ridiculous.”

She pressed her lips into a grin. 

“Fellow Daoist, do you really plan to break off relations with the Jade Capital’s Su Family?” Ning Sihua glanced at Su Yi.

Su Yi replied casually, “There’s a lump in my heart. I cannot be happy until I remove it.”

“To the best of my knowledge, there are ten great Xiantian Martial Ancestors in the Great Zhou, and although the loftiest of them is State Preceptor Hong Shenshang, Su Hongli is the most mysterious and inscrutable.”

Ning Sihua thought for a moment, then said, “In his youth, he once explored one of the Eight Great Yao Mountains, Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain, and obtained a grand stroke of fortune. That was the start of his rise to prominence.” 

“It was thirty years ago that he first stepped into the ranks of Xiantian Martial Ancestors. At the time, he was one of the leading figures of the Great Zhou’s younger generation. He and Hong Shenshang were called ‘the Twin Ramparts of the Great Zhou.’

“However, in the twenty years since he assisted the current emperor in obtaining the imperial throne, Su Hongli has almost never heeded mundane affairs.

“They say he’s holed up within the family estate, cultivating himself through continuous meditation and immersing himself in his pursuit of the Dao. Between the good fortune he obtained in his youth and the foundations and abilities he’s displayed, if he wanted to step into the Origin Dao, he could likely do so easily.”

When they heard that, Cha Jin and Zheng Tianhe’s expressions shifted. This was their first time hearing that Su Hongli was actually that strong. 

“Su Hongli’s terrifyingness isn’t so simple,” said Shen Jiusong with a rueful sigh. “In the years he’s spent cloistered in the Su Family, three non-Zhou kings and five non-Zhou marquis have emerged from the Su Family’s ranks!

“They say that some of them, Su Hongli won over with his breadth of vision and abilities. Others, he taught and trained himself. 

“But no matter what, in the eyes of the world’s Martial Dao Grandmasters, Su Hongli’s status is no lower than State Preceptor Hong Shenshang’s.

“Pei Wenshan wasn’t wrong. If Su Hongli truly loses his temper, the emperor would rather abandon the sixth prince than lose the support of Su Hongli, one of the Great Zhou’s Twin Ramparts.”

Just hearing this left Cha Jin and Zheng Tianhe’s hearts quivering. 

But Su Yi only gave a non-committal “oh.”     

His response sounded extremely flippant and disrespectful. 

Su Yi was the man’s son, yet it seemed he didn’t care about Su Hongli’s heaven-shaking power or his legendary adventures in the least.

But when they considered what Su Yi had accomplished atop the Western Mountain, they instantly understood.

Su Yi was only seventeen years old, yet he’d once used his Qi Accumulation Realm cultivation to slay a hegemon among fifth-level Grandmasters. It was no exaggeration to say that his foundations were downright monstrous.

Given a little time to grow, he had no need to fear failing to live up to his father’s glory!

No, he’d inevitably surpass Su Hongli; it was just a matter of time! 

“You just said that he had a fortuitous encounter on Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain, and that from that day forth, his cultivation advanced triumphantly. Is that right?” asked Su Yi.

Ning Sihua nodded. “That’s right, but that part is common knowledge. Thing is, even now, no one knows just what kind of fortuitous encounter he had.” 

“Then what are the Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain’s distinctive characteristics?” asked Su Yi.

This time, Shen Jiusong answered him. “I’ve been there once. It’s in the northeast of the Great Zhou, in the Azure Province. It covers about a thousand miles, and is shrouded in black snow year-round. The winds are sharp as knives, and spirit beasts run rampant. It’s an extremely perilous place.

“Deep in the mountains, from time to time, strange black light soars into the heavens, forming a dark and sinister phenomenon, ‘the Sifting Darkness Aurora.’”

“From ancient times up until the present day, there’s been no way to venture deep into the mountains without being at least a Grandmaster. Furthermore, even Grandmasters dare not recklessly venture into the heart of the mountains, the source of the Sifting Darkness Aurora. 

“It’s seen as a forbidden zone. They say that once, an Earthly Immortal went in to investigate, but in the end, even he disappeared mysteriously. To this day, he has yet to return.”

Shen Jiusong paused, then said, “But many people, me included, suspect that when Su Hongli ventured into the Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain, he almost certainly explored the core regions, the forbidden ground that produces the aurora. It was likely there that he obtained his stroke of fortune. But then, this is all mere supposition.”

Su Yi nodded.

The way he saw it, in a spiritually barren place like the Great Zhou, anyone on Su Hongli’s level had to have had at least a few fortuitous encounters.

Otherwise, no matter how dazzling their talent and no matter how bitterly they cultivated, they couldn’t possibly reach such lofty heights.

Look at Su Yi; he had the 108,000 years of experience of his past life and the Sword of the Nine Hells, but when he cultivated, even he had no choice but to tackle the thorny problem of “sparse spiritual energy” head-on.

At times like this, seeking out fortuitous encounters was undoubtedly the best way to pick up the pace of his cultivation. 

A lucky break could even lead to a form of rebirth, permanently altering the course of one’s life!

Before long, Zheng Tianhe bade them farewell, and Su Yi and the others soared into the heavens on the backs of the Bluescale Eagle. First, they dropped Cha Jin and Chini off at Heaven’s Origin Academy.

Then, they changed directions and proceeded to Bloodthistle Yao Mountain. 

As they flew, Su Yi watched Heaven’s Origin Academy fade quickly into the distance. Suddenly, he asked, “How is Lingxue doing?”

A knowing grin tugged at the corners of Ning Sihua’s lips; it seems she’d long since anticipated this question. “It’s barely been ten days since you last saw her. Do you miss her already?”

“Of course,” said Su Yi frankly. “There aren’t many people in this world I care about, but Lingxue is definitely one of them.”

He made it sound so natural and obvious that Ning Sihua couldn’t help but feel startled. A strange emotion coursed through her heart. So… It seems this guy isn’t made of stone after all….

She immediately took a crane folded out of blue paper from her sleeves and passed it to Su Yi. “Here, that girl Lingxue asked me to give you this.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed, and he looked at Ning Sihua. “Why didn’t you give it to me earlier?”

Ning Sihua met his gaze directly and laughed. “I wanted to see whether or not you’d think about her during this trip to Bloodthistle Yao Mountain. Who’d have thought you’d cave as soon as we passed Heaven’s Origin Academy?”

Her tone was somewhat teasing.

“Women really are women,” Su Yi sighed, and not entirely without reason. “Why do you care so much about other people’s relationships? Don’t you know how irritating that is?”

“......” Ning Sihua had nothing to say to that. 

Su Yi took the crane and unfolded it, then realized that there was no message written there. Instead, there was a tiny hand-drawn figure.

The little figure crouched on the ground, looking up, her hands crossed in front of her, looking pitiful.

The drawing was crude, but its pitiful demeanor was vividly depicted. It looked roughly like this: (,,•́.•̀,,)

Su Yi was stunned, and he couldn’t help but fall silent. 

This was indeed Wen Lingxue’s style. When she couldn’t express herself in words, she’d often express her emotions vividly in other ways.

Like that day she left the House of Waveswept Rocks. She was so upset, the rims of her eyes reddened, and her eyes flowed with tears….

And now, seeing that crudely drawn figure, Su Yi could roughly gauge her current emotional state.

But then, nothing was harder to fathom than the hearts of women.

Their emotions were like poetry, and poetry was subtle and inscrutable; everyone interpreted it differently.

But what Su Yi could say for sure was that Wen LIngxue wasn’t mad at him. That was enough.

He folded the crane back up and put it away, then gazed into the distant sea of clouds and basked in the fierce gales. He instantly felt relaxed and clear-headed. 

“What did she write?” Ning Sihua asked curiously. She could sense that Su Yi’s mood had improved considerably.

“It’s a secret,” said Su Yi flippantly.

Ning Sihua couldn’t help but grin. Still, she could tell that Su Yi didn’t want to discuss Wen Lingxue with her any further, so she no longer lingered on that particular topic. 

….

The day Su Yi proceeded to Bloodthistle Yao Mountain, in the estates of the Jade Capital’s Su Family.

Su Hongli sat by the side of a pond fishing when he received a letter from the Jademountain Marquis, Pei Wenshan.

The letter recounted his meeting with Su Yi in detail.

When he saw that Su Yi said that, before the fifth day of the fifth month, he’d come to the Su Family to collect offerings for his mother’s grave, Su Hongli’s eyes narrowed.

After a moment, Su Hongli put the letter away, then turned to the elder in Daoist robes sitting beside him. “Fellow Daoist, were I to slay my own son in the name of righteousness, what would you think of me?”

The elder sank into silence. A while later, he let out a long sigh. “It seems the Jade Mountain Marquis failed to make that boy lower his head.”

“A little stubbornness is a good thing, but if he’s stupid enough to become my enemy, that’s outrageous and unfilial. Neither the edicts of heaven nor the laws of man will permit such a thing!” Su Hongli said indifferently, “The only reason I let him live all those years ago was that my blood flows through his veins. I couldn’t bear to kill my own son; I didn’t want the people to criticize me behind my back or to bear the title of ‘the man who killed his own child.’

“I never would have guessed that even after all these years, he still carries a grudge. He even wants to avenge his mother. How ridiculous!” As he said this, a streak of cold killing intent flashed across his face.   

The Daoist elder sighed. “The way I see it, you’d best try various methods to beat the rebelliousness out of him. He’s only seventeen; I trust that after a good smacking, he’ll understand how severe the consequences of his planned course of action would be.”

He paused, then said, “Killing one’s own son is, ultimately, far too shocking and offensive to society. It will hurt your reputation and prestige, and I don’t recommend it unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.”

Su Hongli sank into silence, but in the end, he nodded. 

“There’s nothing for it. I’ll just have to show that unworthy descendant of mine that if the Su Family calls upon even the barest hint of its true power, it’ll be enough to make him lose everything!

“If, even then, he refuses to lower his head and repent, then….. “

Before Su Hongli even finished his sentence, the fishing line in the pond shook.

Su Hongli shifted his wrist, and a fat golden fish burst through the surface of the water.

The Daoist elder smiled and clapped. “A golden carp on the hook. That’s a good omen!”