First Immortal of the Sword

From the day he first returned to the Netherworld, the old blind man had worried that his identity would leak, inviting unpredictable disaster.

After all, it was Pi Mo who’d killed his master, Five Burials.

When others found out that a Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearer like him had returned to the Netherworld, it was hard to say whether or not it would end well.

Yet Su Yi had told him not to worry about others learning his identity.

On the contrary, Su Yi thought this was an opportunity to see just who came looking for them, where they came from, and what they were trying to accomplish.

They might well uncover a few worthwhile leads.

And now, the time had finally come!

Time slipped by, but nothing happened.

Eventually, Cui Jingyan ran out of patience. “If they don’t show up, won’t we have waited here for nothing?”

But it was then that Su Yi opened his eyes and looked up at the distant dome of heaven.

A group of birds flew overhead, soaring into the distant mountains and filling the air with their sonorous cries.

This sort of scene was commonplace amidst the mountains. 

But when he saw this, Su Yi said, “They’re nearby, but it seems they’re just scouts; they dare not recklessly take action.”

Cui Jingyan’s eyes sparkled. “Then how about we attack them first?”

The old blind couldn’t help but be tempted.

However, Su Yi shook his head. “Let’s wait a little longer. They’re scouts, so they’re sure to report their discovery to the faction behind them. Perhaps… it won’t be long before we can catch ourselves a true big fish.”

As he said this, he closed his eyes once more, basking in the mountain wind and sunlight. His entire body seemed utterly loose, relaxed, and indolent.

The sunlight was just right, and it would be a shame to waste the beautiful mountain scenery. It was a perfect time for a nap and a quick rest.

When Cui Jingyan and the old blind man saw this, they couldn’t help but envy Su Yi’s utter detachment.

At the same time——

Off in the distance, a bird beat its wings and landed atop a boulder in a mist-shrouded valley.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed it.

The mists dissipated, revealing a middle-aged Daoist nun.

She used a fingernail as a blade, decapitating the bird. A bean-sized blood pearl tumbled out of its neck.

She grabbed it, then examined it. Numerous scenes appeared within the blood pearl, including Su Yi and his companions’ cliffside location.

The nun inwardly sighed in relief. “Fortunately, they’re still on the Shifting Cloud Mountain; we haven’t lost them. Qian Jiu, inform His Excellency of our situation.”

“Got it.”

A thin man floated into view.

He took out a talisman, then chanted something. A divine flame suddenly blazed at his fingertip, burning the talisman to ash.

“Daoist Sister Feng, where do you think His Excellency has rushed off to?” The thin man, Qian Jiu, asked softly. 

However, the voice that answered him was raspy and cold. “Given his cultivation base and speed, if he makes haste, he’s likely already in Tianluo City.”

The speaker was an unkempt beggar with disheveled hair and a tangled beard. He crouched in the smoke and drank from a shiny, glistening gourd.

“That makes things simple.” Qian Jiu relaxed. “The blind old Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearer is traveling with the daughter of the Cui Family. That’s truly troublesome, but so long as His Excellency arrives, he can surely resolve this.”

“It’s strange, though. Why has the inheritor of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearer lineage reappeared now, hundreds of years later? Isn’t he afraid of encountering calamity?” Daoist Nun Feng furrowed her brow.

“Perhaps he thinks that no one in the Netherworld still cares about the Master of the Blood Coffin’s death,” Qian Jiu pondered out loud.

The old beggar said, “It’s also possible that the old blind man has no idea how many factions are paying attention to the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers.”

As they conversed, Qian Jiu suddenly whipped out a blue-green jade, which lit up, reflecting lines of radiant text.

When he saw this message, Qian Jiu was visibly delighted. “His Excellency says he’ll reach Shifting Cloud Mountain within the hour!”

Both the nun and the beggar’s spirits soared.

Time slipped by.

By the cliffside, the reclining Su Yi suddenly opened his eyes, stretched, and whispered, “They’re finally here.”

Before he’d even finished speaking, the boundless sea of clouds overhead suddenly shook, and the entire landscape was suddenly silent.

The sonorous chirping of the birds, the buzzing of insects, the rustling of the pines… Everything disappeared. An oppressive aura suddenly spread throughout heaven and earth.

Even the radiant sunlight dimmed.

Cui Jingyan and the old blind man felt their hearts palpitate in terror, and a chill pricked at their skin.

The Profound Dao was like the heavens, and Emperors were like gods!

When an Emperor attacked, their aura affected all of heaven and earth!

There was no doubt about it: an Emperor had arrived!

“My three Fellow Daoists, are you perhaps here to admire the splendor of the flickering clouds and majestic mountains?” A leisurely voice reverberated throughout heaven and earth, booming like a morning bell or evening drum. Its power directly reached their hearts.

A perfectly straight path suddenly formed in the distant sea of clouds. A tall, thin, middle-aged man in blue approached from its far end.

His hair was tied up in a topknot, and he had a strikingly handsome face. He held one hand behind his back, while the other clutched a jade flute. His robes fluttered around him, giving him a casual, dashing elegance and transcendent air.

Three others followed him: Daoist Nun Feng, Qian Jiu, and the disheveled beggar.

As soon as they appeared, an invisible power enshrouded the entire landscape. Cui Jingyan and the old blind man felt as if they had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

It was as if the middle-aged man in blue were a sovereign surveying his domain, and as if the entire landscape had submitted to him!

Su Yi rose from his wicker chair, then brushed the pine needles off his clothing. Only then did he gaze at the middle-aged man in blue. “The scenery is quite nice, but it can’t outshine your arrival.”

As he spoke, the middle-aged man in blue led the others to the cliffside.

When he heard that, the middle-aged man in blue couldn’t help but exclaim, “Were you waiting here for us?”

“We were,” Su Yi said calmly.

The middle-aged man laughed. “So it seems you already know why we’ve come?”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “I know who you’re here for, but there are still some things I don’t understand. I just don’t know if you’ll be willing to enlighten me.”

He spoke with calm composure, without the slightest sign of nervousness. This left Daoist Nun Feng and the others unwittingly stunned.

Earlier, they’d only paid attention to the old blind man and Cui Jingyan; they’d overlooked Su Yi completely. Now, they suddenly realized that the young man in blue wasn’t simple!

After all, the middle-aged man in blue was an Emperor!

But Su Yi didn’t seem at all nervous or uneasy. He spoke with perfect composure. How could they not be surprised?

The middle-aged man’s eyes shone with a strange light, and he laughed, “What is it you don’t understand? Go ahead and say it.”

Su Yi got straight to the point. “Why are you looking for the inheritor of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearer lineage?”

The middle-aged man in blue was unwittingly stunned.

He’d originally assumed that Su Yi would be curious about their origins and ask about their background. But now, it seemed he wasn’t at all concerned about who they were!

The middle-aged man in blue thought it over, then smiled. “I’m afraid that’s a secret. If you want to know, how about you and the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearer both come with us? If you do, I wouldn’t mind resolving your doubts.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “Where would we be going?”

“You’ll know when we get there,” said the middle-aged man.

Cui Jingyan rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but mutter, “You said all that, but none of it had any substance!”

The middle-aged man didn’t get angry, however. Instead, he smiled and inclined his head in greeting. “Please don’t take offense, Miss Cui. We’re only here for our fellow Daoist. No matter what happens, we won’t let this matter implicate you.”

As he spoke, he pointed at the old blind man.

There was no doubt about it: the middle-aged man in blue knew who Cui Jingyan was. His attitude might have seemed polite, but he was utterly unyielding. He wouldn’t give up on his goal on Cui Jingyan’s account!

Cui Jingyan’s eyes flashed. “Then do you dare reveal your origins?”

The middle-aged man mulled it over, then said, “When you return home, you’ll be able to uncover our identities with ease. There’s no need to hide them.”

He paused, then said, “My name is Ran Tianfeng. My companions and I are all from the Netherworld Sky Sect.

The Netherworld Sky Sect!

Cui Jingyan and the old blind man’s expressions shifted.

The Netherworld Sky Sect was the hegemon of one of the Netherworld’s thirteen realms, the Netherworld Sky Realm. Their foundations were ancient; they were one of the Netherworld’s peak orthodoxies, no weaker than Meng Po Palace or the Yellow Springs Palace!

Su Yi was the calmest of all.

The moment the man who called him Ran Tianfeng appeared, he guessed his background by observing his aura.

That was why he couldn’t even be bothered to ask where their pursuers were from.

Su Yi wasn’t unfamiliar with the Netherworld Sky Sect’s teachings, either. They were a faction of yao cultivators who walked the path of body cultivation.

Their loftiest inheritance was the Netherworld Sky Nine Revolutions Scripture, a first-rate Daoist canon of body cultivation. 

This orthodoxy only accepted yao cultivators. Its founder, the Netherword Sky Yao Emperor, was reportedly an extremely rare True Spirit Divine Beast, a Zhuyan!

In his past life, while wandering the Netherworld, Su Yi had visited all six territories and thirteen realms, including the Netherworld Sky Realm. There, he sparred with the top expert of the Netherworld Sky Realm, the Master of Profound Simplicity.

It was an entirely unsuspenseful match-up; the Master of Profound Simplicity lost.

Given the circumstances, how could he fail to recognize Ran Tianfeng’s origins?

“To the best of my knowledge, there is no grudge between the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers and the Netherworld Sky Sect. Don’t tell me that you’re carrying out this operation on another’s orders?” Su Yi asked suddenly.

“Ludicrous! Who in this world could possibly command the Netherworld Sky Sect?” Daoist Nun Feng said coldly.

But although she didn’t notice it, when Ran Tianfeng heard that, he was stunned, and his eyes instinctively narrowed. 

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