First Immortal of the Sword

The blood-colored chains repeatedly battered the woman in purple. Her petite frame trembled, and she cried out in agony. Bloody gashes appeared on the snowy skin of her back.

Meanwhile, that hoarse voice resounded from the depths of the cave. “Tianji, how dare you try your paltry charm abilities on His Excellency Su? How is that any different from seeking death?” 

“Are you really… His Excellency Su?” The woman’s eyes widened. She looked enlightened, but more than that, her expression filled with dread.

“Go in on your own.” Su Yi pointed to the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern 

“Got it!” This time, the woman in purple seemed fully resigned to her fate. She lowered her pretty head, trembling as she rose to her feet and staggered into the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern. In the blink of an eye, she’d vanished.

“This…” Fei Changting had witnessed this entire exchange, and disbelief was written all over his face. “‘His Excellency Su’? Don’t tell me you’re really…”

Cui Chang’an said earlier, “I said it earlier: you lost to ‘Young Lord Su’, but even if you die, it’ll be a worthy, honorable death. Do you understand now?”

Fei Changting gulped, then slumped in despondency and muttered, “But they say that five hundred years ago… isn’t he already dead? ….How is this possible…?”

……

Meanwhile, atop Heavenly Tripod Mountain. 

“Your turn, you old reptile,” said Su Yi.

“Your Excellency Su, aren’t you worried that my departure might lead to… accidents?” asked the hoarse voice deep within the dave.

“You’re welcome to try it, but the consequences will be yours to bear,” Su Yi said coolly.

Silence greeted this declaration.

Then, the formation covered Heavenly Tripod Mountain surged violently, and the countless blood-colored divine chains rattled. The ground shook and the mountain swayed.

Cui Chang’an was inwardly solemn. His eyes surged with divine light, and he was instantly on guard.

As the leader of the Cui Family, he naturally understood how terrifying an existence the “old reptile” was. Ninety thousand years ago, he was a peak Profound Serenity Emperor whose infamy astonished the world!

Heavenly Tripod Mountain shook, and the formation covered it seemed like it wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.

Su Yi furrowed his brow and pressed his hand against the hilt of the sword jutting out of the center of the altar.

Boom!

Blinding clear firelight shot out of the hilt, and the sword hummed in waves, the sound reverberating throughout the nine heavens and ten earths.

A clearly visible, abundant sword force spread outward with a boom, fusing into the power of the Heavenly Evil-Smiting Formation and suppressing that strange energy fluctuation.

At the same time, a low grunt emanated from the depths of the cave.

I’m afraid the old reptile lost this invisible clash! Cui Chang’an’s eyes flashed.

“Your Excellency Su, please don’t misunderstand. I just wanted to confirm that you and the man I knew are one and the same. After all, your cultivation base is far, far removed from what it was when I last saw you,” said that raspy, hoarse voice.

“Since you acted against me, ought I punish you?” asked Su Yi calmly.

After a moment’s silence, the hoarse voice said, “Your Excellency Su, even after all these years, you’re unwilling to call me ‘Fellow Daoist.’ Now, you see me as a mere captive. I’m truly unwilling…”

The voice was utterly rueful.

“I said it back then: you aren’t worthy of that title,” Su Yi laughed dryly. 

As he spoke, he pressed his right hand against the sword’s hilt and strengthened his grip.

Boom!

The sword’s humming surged, and sword force soared into the heavens. The formation covering Heavenly Tripod Mountain then burst with terrifying Dao Light.

The sounds of a terrifyingly fierce battle emanated from the depths of the cave. 

Shortly afterward, Su Yi relented.

The sword humming dispersed, and Heavenly Tripod Mountain returned to dormancy. The sounds of bitter combat no longer emanated from the cave’s depths.

“Your Excellency Su, thank you for correcting my behavior. I… am willing to submit!” 

That hoarse voice rang out once more, but it seemed weaker than before.

There was no doubt about it; when Su Yi took action, the “old reptile” suffered quite a bit.

Cui Chang’an was inwardly rueful. Uncle Su is currently only in the Spiritual Incarnation Realm, but his methods and power can still strike terror into the hearts of Emperors!

This time, there was no need for Su Yi to say anymore. A bony figure staggered out of the cave.

He was an old man covered in wrinkles, and his hair and beard were disheveled. His eyes shone faint gold, and he was dressed in old, tattered Daoist robes.

Blood-colored chains ran right through his flesh, binding every part of him inside and out. As he walked, the chains rattled and flashed with the bright, startling light of the formation.

The old man looked as if he were on the brink of death, but as he struggled his way out of the cave and arrived atop Heavenly Tripod Mountain, a terrifying, vicious, baleful aura spread out around him. The skies dimmed, and the landscape trembled.

It was only dimly discernible, but beneath the dome of heaven, that blood-colored, baleful energy manifested a ten-thousand-foot crimson flood dragon, its coiled body like a mountain range as it gazed up into the sky!

Fei Changting’s hair stood on end. He was visibly overcome with astonishment. Just who is this? He’s obviously thoroughly suppressed, so why is his vicious majesty still so terrifying?

Cui Chang’an’s eyes flashed. He couldn’t stay calm either.

His father, Cui Longxiang, had told him about the old man imprisoned here ninety thousand years prior. He was not a human, but a dragon born of the Blood River of Sin. The dragon cultivated by consuming the power of sin, and it had an explosive, bloodthirsty disposition.

Ninety thousand years ago, the old-timer founded the Blood Dragon Cult and proclaimed himself the Netherworld River Dragon Monarch. In just a hundred years, he recruited over ten thousand heretical cultivators, making the Blood Dragon Cult one of the Netherworld’s top heretical factions.

In the thousand years that followed, the Blood Dragon Cult eradicated countless other factions, and even more civilians, who the cultists saw as bloodmeal just waiting to be refined. This provoked the anger of both the heavens and the populace.

In the end, Meng Po Palace, the Yellow Springs Palace, the Fire Illumination Divine Palace, the Cui Family, and several other peak factions joined forces to eradicate the Blood Dragon Cult.

Its founder, the Netherworld River Dragon Monarch, was taken alive and suppressed within the Bureau of Adjudication’s third layer, unable to die even if he wanted to.

However, Cui Chang’an would never have guessed that the Netherworld River Dragon Monarch would be this terrifying even ninety-thousand years later. 

After emerging from the cave, the bony elder’s golden eyes immediately focused on Su Yi. A moment later, the old man seemed to realize something. “Your Excellency Su, don't tell me… you uncovered the secrets of reincarnation?”

Instead of responding, Su Yi just indicated to the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern.

He didn’t say so much as a single word.

The old man’s expression shifted erratically. It seemed he could tell that Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to talk to him, and he couldn’t help but sigh and mutter, “I long for an opportunity to do you a favor even in my dreams, Your Excellency Su. But if you were Cui Longxiang… Heh…”

The old man shook his head but said no more. He just staggered over to the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern.

Whoosh~

The lotus lantern surged with Buddhist light, instantly imprisoning the old man within it.

Su Yi raised his hand and tapped.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

The Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern shrank back down to the size of a fist and fell into his palm.

Upon closer inspection, illusory figures appeared on each of its four petals.

These were none other than the “old reptile”, the Netherworld River Dragon Monarch, the Tianji Yao Empress, the shabby man in Confucian robes, and patriarch Fei Kongdong of the Denglong.

With that, Su Yi didn’t delay any further. He reached for the hilt of the sword in the altar and pulled it out.

Clang!

The hum of a sword rang out, shaking heaven and earth. A stretch of dreamlike, resplendent clear sword qi soared into the sky, illuminating the ten directions.

At that moment, the entire world of the third layer of the dungeons was illuminated. Dazzling clear light, like the radiance of the nine heavens, dispersed the overcast darkness.

A hundred miles away, the prisoners bound to the Armillary Sash Demon-Suppressing Pillars were astonished.

Fei Changting felt a prickling pain on his skin, and he collapsed to the ground in a quivering heap. He felt as if this were the sword light of an immortal, fully illuminating the skies and terrifying beyond limit.    

“So that’s what Moonlit Shadow really looks like…” Cui Chang’an couldn’t help but look amazed.

Su Yi gripped a bright and ethereal sword, as illusory as a shadow and radiant as the bright moon overhead. Clear light poured out of the blade, and the aura emanating from it was strong enough to make one tremble.

This was Moonlit Shadow, the sword that accompanied Su Yi in battle during his last trip to the Netherworld. He had used it to take the heads of countless powerful foes!

After thirty thousand years of dormancy, Moonlit Shadow re-entered the world!

Weng!

Moonlit Shadow shook as if delighted.

Su Yi felt gratified by this response, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.

With his current cultivation, he was nowhere near capable of wielding Moonlit Shadow, nor could he reveal its true power.

However, it was more than enough to suppress that bunch of old monsters.

Because the Dao-Bearing Stone in the Sword’s hilt sealed a portion of his past life’s cultivation base. Were he to activate it, he could kill those old monsters with ease!

Su Yi snapped his fingers.

Ripples emanated from Moonlit Shadow, and in the blink of an eye, it shrank until it was just three inches long. Su Yi then placed it on the faceless, Buddha-shaped wick of the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern.

It was as if the Buddha were holding a sword aloft as he sat alone atop a lotus platform. It was a wondrous sight.

Only then did Su Yi put the lantern away.

With just the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern, he couldn’t possibly have suppressed those old monsters.

However, with only Moonlit Shadow at his disposal, intimidating and suppressing the old monsters would have taken far more time and effort.

Su Yi proceeded down Heavenly Tripod Mountain without any further delays.

“I’ll leave first. Remember not to divulge anything that happened tonight,” ordered Su Yi.

Cui Chang’an solemnly assented. “Rest assured, Uncle Su.”

With that, Su Yi turned and left.

Cui Chang’an watched Su Yi disappear from view. Only then did he return his attention to Fei Changting.

He said indifferently, “Let’s continue.”

Fei Changting had obviously given in to despair. He muttered bitterly, “You were right. For someone like me, losing to the Sword Master of Abstruse Force is an honor. I can die without regret…”

……

By the time Su Yi left the ruins of the Bureau of Adjudication, it was the middle of the night.

Tonight, he’d acquired the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern from the Pawnshop of the Heavens, as well as the Allheaven Blood Furnace. Both were supreme treasures capable of suppressing malevolent entities.

It was also tonight that he suppressed four old monsters within the Heaven’s Writ Lotus Lantern, then removed the treasure he’d left at Heavenly Tripod Mountain thirty thousand years ago to maintain its formation: Moonlit Shadow!

Combine the Cui Family’s Tree of Ten Thousand Daos, the Xiezhi and Bi’an statues guarding the gates of Ziluo City, and this should be enough to neutralize whatever disaster breaks out during the Lantern Festival a month from now… 

As soon as he thought this, Su Yi relaxed.