First Immortal of the Sword

Su Yi wasted no time talking. He raised his right hand, and sharp sword qi erupted from his fingertip.

The gaunt old man’s expression shifted dramatically. He cried out, “I’ll talk! The double agent was the Sixth Teaching Elder of the Academy of Eternal Night, Yuan Gang!”

Yuan Gang!

The image of an armored spearman swathed in demonic flame floated into Su Yi’s sea of consciousness.

He was one of the nine figures reflected in the Nine Kings Heaven-Sealing Formation.

He was a prominent expert of Demonism, a late-stage Miracle Realm Immortal King, and the Sixth Teaching Elder of the Academy of Eternal Night.

He was cold and indifferent by nature, and he killed decisively. He’d been one of the strongest Immortal Kings in the Immortal Realm!

Wang Ye had had high hopes for him. He’d believed that Yuan Gang would eventually reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao!

Wang Ye even shared numerous ancient classics of Demonism with Yuan Geng in hopes of him taking that step. He would never have guessed that the Immortal King he thought so highly of would turn traitor!

Irrepressible hatred, fury, and murderous intent surged within Su Yi’s heart. How could Yuan Gang have betrayed us? And… why would he do that? Did he really collude with our enemies to open the secret passage to the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound? Did he really cause this catastrophe?

Su Yi’s expression shifted erratically. This truth was indeed hard for him to accept.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Is that true?”

The gaunt old man didn’t even pause to think. “If you don’t believe me, look for an expert of the Formless Demon race and ask them. After all, they’re the ones Yuan Gang had dealings with!”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. “He was just one step from reaching the pinnacle of the Immortal King realm. Why would he choose betrayal…?”

The gaunt old man stared intently at Su Yi in apparent confusion. “All of that happened a long, long time ago. Why are you so concerned with all that?”

Su Yi disregarded the question. He just took a deep breath, suppressed his curiosity, and said, “And what about you? How did you wind up trapped here?”

The gaunt old man let out a long sigh, pondered his words, and was just about to speak when Su Yi interrupted him. “Forget it. No need to answer me. There’s no way you’ll tell me the truth.”

“???” The old man looked bewildered. He shook his head in exasperation and said, “Don’t you think I want to leave this blasted place? I was badly injured during the fighting, and I lost consciousness. When I regained awareness, I discovered that I was the only one left in this underground hidden realm.

“I’ve spent countless years here with only corpses for company. The torment has almost driven me insane…”

His face filled with grief, and he sighed. “Cruelest of all is that my foundations in the Grand Dao are badly damaged, and in this blasted cage, I cannot possibly recover. Every additional day I survive is a blessing.”

Here, he gazed at Su Yi with eyes full of hope. “My young friend, I swear on my conscience that if you help me leave this place, I’ll…”

But Su Yi never let him finish. “I’ve never put any faith in such talk.”

“....” The gaunt old man wanted to stomp in a fit of rage. Why does nothing I say seem to work on this kid?

“But I did say I’d leave you a path to life, and I naturally won’t go back on my word,” said Su Yi. “Answer some of my questions, and I’ll help you leave.”

The old man took a deep breath, suppressed his irritation and frustration, and nodded. “Very well.”

Before long, Su Yi had learned a fair bit. The gaunt old man didn’t know how the bloody battle outside the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound had ended. Naturally, he didn’t know what happened afterward, either.

His injuries had been so severe that he was unconscious when it all happened, and by the time he awakened, it was all over.

He had no idea whether or not the experts of the Academy of Eternal Night were alive or dead.

“You’ve been here all this time, but you’ve never entered the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound?” asked Su Yi.

The gaunt old man shook his head. “The palace fell to the invaders, but the battle was far too fierce, and it was then that I was injured and fell unconscious.

“After I woke up, I tried to enter the palace, but it was covered in extraordinarily powerful and taboo tribulation markings. Furthermore, I was already badly injured. Even after all this time, I’ve yet to succeed in entering.”

Su Yi nodded. “Don’t tell me the Church of Divine Flame was the only faction to join in when the demons of the Beyond invaded the Academy of Eternal Night?”

The old man shook his head. “No, numerous others participated too, like the Church of the Pure One, the Church of Supreme Oneness, the Floating Temple of the Eastern Seas, and Jade Firmament Immortal Palace! And those are only the ones I know about.”

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. “How did they get in here?”

The old man shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“You can leave,” said Su Yi.

The old man froze in apparent disbelief. “Truly?”

Su Yi nodded. “Truly.”

He then took out a blank jade slip, carved an Edict, and tossed it to the old man. “Take this. With it, you’ll be able to leave the secret passage.”

The old man accepted the slip, a dazed look on his face as he muttered, “I didn’t think you’d really let me go…”

He bowed in gratitude. “Many thanks, my young friend! I’ll be sure to repay this benevolence ten, no, one thousand times over!”

Su Yi waved him away. “Go on.”

The gaunt old man turned to leave. When he sensed that Su Yi really wasn’t trying to stop him, his taut nerves finally relaxed.

When he made it to the end of the secret passage and reached the outside world, he couldn’t help but throw back his head and laugh uproariously. “After countless years, I, Le Yunhai, can finally see the sun again!”

A moment later, he thought back to what he’d just experienced. He couldn’t help but gnash his teeth in fury and growl, “Little wretch! Just you wait! Next time I see you, I’ll leave you longing to die but unable to do so!”

With that, he waved his sleeves and shot into the distance. But just as he was about to exit the valley…

“Croa——k!”

The cry of a toad shook the heavens as a mountainous amphibian appeared between heaven and earth. Its eyes were like twin lakes as it fixed its cold gaze on the gaunt man.

The gaunt man stopped in his tracks as he broke out in cold sweats. It’s that Heaven-Swallowing Immortal Toad!

He turned to flee, but he was already one step too late.

The toad opened its mouth, and a terrifying suction burst forth, sweeping the gaunt old man into the toad’s gaping maw.

As if its prey were as insignificant as a worm.

“No——!” The gaunt man cried out, his voice full of terror and unwillingness.

He’d been trapped for countless years. Now, after overcoming great adversity, he’d finally seen the sun again… only to immediately find himself in unsurmountable peril. Who could have accepted this?

“That black-hearted, despicable little whelp was behind this! I was blind to trust him!”

Before this last, mournful wail had even finished echoing through the air, the Heaven-Swallowing Immortal Toad devoured him.

Moments later, the mountainous toad disappeared.

……

Within the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound.

Su Yi silently calculated the time and thought, That old bastard’s likely been eaten by the little toad’s true spirit imprint by now.

He then set that trivial matter aside and continued toward the tightly shut palace door.

He waved his sleeves, and a profound, inscrutable edict floated into the air and imprinted itself on the palace gates.

A massive rumbling and booming followed as the gates swung open.

Su Yi walked inside.

Not long after, he stood in front of the table at the far end of a grand hall and sank into silence.

The Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound had originally stored countless rare and precious immortal weapons, medicines, and other goods, but there was no longer any trace of them.

According to that gaunt old man, the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound had fallen during the invasion too.

But when Su Yi arrived and stepped inside, he saw no sign of conflict, let alone corpses or fragmented treasures.

It seemed as if someone had simply cleared the place out completely, and they’d even earnestly cleaned up after themselves.

All that remained was this table, which was carved with lines of strange, wormlike text.

The script of the demons of the Beyond!

Five of the great races of the Demon Domain joined forces to destroy the Tyrant’s Academy of Eternal Night. We’ve effectively wiped out one of our greatest enemies in the Immortal Realm!

Su Yi's eyes narrowed. The Demon Domain was what the demons called the vast stretch of territory they occupied.

He continued reading.

But I have regrets about it too.

We were intercepted, and we failed to exterminate every last expert of the Academy of Eternal Night. Thus, I cannot bring myself to smile despite our victory. This is one of my regrets.

We timed this operation for when a cataclysm swept the Immortal Realm. Although the forces of the Demon Domain swept across more than half of the Immortal Realm’s territories, we failed to claim them for our own, and we were forced to retreat prematurely. This is the second of my regrets.

And since the Tyrant Wang Ye has been dead for years, I could not take his head with my own two hands. This is my third and final regret! And it is this that I regret most of all!

If a denizen of the Immortal Realm should ever reach this place to see these words, remember this. This lofty one is Li Changsheng of the Formless Demons!

Although I couldn’t enter the Immortal Realm in person this time, one day, I’ll be sure to destroy your Nine Gates of Heaven, enter the Immortal Realm openly, and seize control of it!

On the surface, it seemed Li Changsheng was venting about his regrets, but in truth, he was bragging about his military strength. After reading this, Su Yi couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

Demon Sovereign Li Changsheng!

So, it was him!

The image of a handsome youth with a head of long silver hair floated into Su Yi’s sea of consciousness.

There was a natural red lotus birthmark at the center of his forehead, and he was dressed in black. He stood proudly atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, his hands behind his back. When his eyes opened and closed, they flashed with divine radiance, as if he could perceive the entirety of the nine heavens and the ten earths.

This was Li Changsheng!

He was one of greatest Demon Sovereigns of the nine great races of the demons of the Beyond. His transformation arts were utterly wondrous and inscrutable!

Long ago, when Wang Ye fought the demons of the Beyond, he was one of the select few Wang Ye attached the greatest importance to!

Wang Ye defeated Li Changsheng three times.

However, every time, he failed to kill him. Li Changsheng always used some wondrously powerful method to escape and come back another day.

From this, it was obvious how tough an opponent Li Changsheng was!