First Immortal of the Sword

The light of dusk was the color of peach blossoms, and it blazed like fire.

A sickly man dressed like a scholar rode toward the Luo River on the back of a white mule.

He carried a bundled sword on his back, and he wore plain cloth robes and a scholarly fangjin head covering. He looked down on his luck and dejected.

He carried a jug of wine, and with each sip he took, he let out a deep sigh and mumbled something incomprehensible.

Why is it him? When Tang Lingqi saw the man and his mule, a chill coursed down his spine. His palms were drenched in sweat, and his body stiffened.

“Grand Uncle, are you okay?” Tang Bao’er noticed that something was awry.

“That’s right. Why are you scared?” The man on the white mule suddenly looked over and sighed. “How could a member of the Tang Family be so gutless?”

He shook his head in apparent disappointment.

Tang Lingqi took a deep breath, not daring to meet the man’s gaze, and said gravely, “In the face of an unrivaled figure such as yourself, it’s only natural that this old man would feel as terrified as if I were walking on thin ice.”

The man snickered. “Relax. I might be bloodthirsty by nature, but I only kill those who need killing. An old man like you isn’t worth drawing my sword for.”

He shifted his gaze and looked at Tang Bao’er with great interest. “Lass, are you perhaps the pearl of the Tang Family?”

Tang Bao’er blinked her beautiful almond-shaped eyes. “Pearls might be beautiful, but they’re the most fragile of all. I’d rather be an ordinary piece of debris no one paid attention to.”

The man burst into uproarious laughter. “Phoenixes are different from chickens, and pearls naturally cannot compare to hunks of debris. Some people are born as lowly as weeds, while others are born as the chosen sons and daughters of heaven. It’s just a pity that you’re a descendant of the Tang Family.”

With that, he sighed, then rode his white mule toward the Midsummer Mountains on the far shore.

“Hey! Why is that a pity?” Tang Bao’er couldn’t help but ask.

The man didn’t even turn his head. “The Tang Family and I are in different camps. We naturally cannot work together.”

Tang Bao’er’s eyes darted around. “What have you come to the Luo River Forbidden Zone to do?”

“I’m here to kill someone,” said the man.

“Who?”

“Whoever it is that needs killing.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the man on muleback disappeared into the Midsummer Mountains.

Tang Lingqi felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. He let out a long breath. Only now did he realize that the backs of his clothes were completely drenched in sweat.

“Grand Uncle, who was that guy? Why are you so scared? You’re an Immortal Lord!” exclaimed Tang Bao’er.

Tang Lingqi’s expression was conflicted. “He is an Immortal Lord too, as well as a monster who survived the Age of Fallen Immortals!

“Prior to the fall of the Central Immortal Court, he was the greatest of their ten Immortal Lords, and one of the greatest sword cultivators of his age!

“He was fixated on the sword, and he killed too many to count. He was like a frenzied demon obsessed with the sword, so some older-generation cultivators called him the Sword Fanatic!”

As he spoke this title out loud, Tang Lingqi’s heart shook.

Although the Sword Fanatic was only an Immortal Lord, his infamy was beyond even some Immortal Kings!

His Dao of the Sword was just that strong!

“The Sword Fanatic? A legendary expert of the Dao of the Sword who survived the Age of Fallen Immortals? The greatest of the ten great Immortal Lords of the Central Immortal Court?”

Tang Bao’er couldn’t help but feel stunned. What kind of terrifying power of the Dao of the Sword must he possess? How could his reputation exceed even Immortal Kings?

A moment later, Tang Bao’er realized something and asked in confusion, “But if he’s so strong, why is he still just an Immortal Lord after all this time?”

“Simple,” said Tang Lingqi. “Even those who survived the Age of Fallen Immortals were injured during the cataclysm. Those top experts who reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao have gone into hiding to avoid the divine misfortune of the five signs of decay. Even now, none dare show their faces.

“The Immortal Kings are either struggling with their divine tribulations or irreparable damage from the cataclysm. They too rarely appear in public. Even our clan’s Immortal King ancestors have been in seclusion ever since the curtains fell on the Age of Fallen Immortals. They won’t show themselves unless it’s life or death.

“Those beneath the Immortal King level took heavy damage too. They might be able to travel freely, but their cultivations and abilities are far from what they once were. Most have no hope of ever making any further progress in their pursuit of the Dao!”

“That’s sure to be the case for the Sword Fanatic too,” Tang Lingqi said with certainty.

As a member of the ancient Tang Family, he understood how terrifying the cataclysm of the Age of Fallen Immortals was far better than most.

Most ancient orthodoxies and top experts were lost during the cataclysm, and those who survived took massive damage. There were almost no exceptions!

There were numerous such cases among the experts of the ancient Tang Family!

Tang Bao’er instantly understood. “But doesn’t that mean that the Sword Fanatic is much weaker than he was back then? There was no need for you to be so afraid of him!”

Tang Lingqi laughed bitterly. “At his peak, the Sword Fanatic was an absolutely heaven-defying figure among Immortal Lords. He could even kill Immortal Kings. There were countless Immortal Lords in the Central Immortal Court. If he weren’t heaven-defying, how could he have become one of the top ten, let alone the greatest of them?

“Even with his vitality badly injured and his strength severely weakened, who wouldn’t be afraid after encountering such a monster?”

Tang Bao’er pursed her lips. “Past glories all ultimately give way to the wind and rain. The Immortal Realm has changed a lot since then!

“I heard my other great uncle say that three hundred thousand years have passed since the end of the Age of Fallen Immortals, and that during that time, thousands of new Immortal Kings have cropped up throughout the forty-nine provinces of the Immortal Realm, as well as tens of thousands of Immortal Lords and countless lesser immortals.

“And that’s only just the beginning! The Immortal Realm is awakening from its long dormancy to welcome an unprecedented golden age! That means that in the days to come, more and more experts of the Immortal Dao will arise! Turbulent times give rise to heroes. We of the present day are sure to far surpass those experts of the distant past!

“My other great uncle also seemed convinced that countless elites and unrivaled legends would arise during this new golden age! Before long, the Immortal Realm will be home to dazzling talents capable of proving their Dao and entering the Great Realm. Sooner or later, they’ll be able to compete with even the top experts of the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals!”

As she spoke, her eyes filled with unconcealable longing.

A river’s current never ceased. Each generation was stronger than the one before.

The Immortal Realm had lain dormant for a long, long time, but a golden age was imminent. Who could say that its experts would pale in comparison to those of the distant past?

Who would dare say that those of the present day could never reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao?

Tang Lingqi laughed, but in the end, he didn’t argue.

Reality was ultimately the cruelest of all.

It was true that a golden age was imminent, and that countless elites would rise to prominence. But what expert’s rise wasn’t accompanied by endless adversity and bloodshed?

The road to the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao was long. Far, far too many chosen sons and daughters of heaven died along the way!

For every one who succeeded, thousands of others perished!

“Oh no!” Tang Bao’er looked stricken. “Don’t tell me the Sword Fanatic is here to kill Su Yi?”

Tang Lingqi’s pupils constricted, and he said solemnly, “I actually didn't think of that! Although the Sword Fanatic was once loyal to the Central Immortal Court, the Central Immortal Court was lost to history a long time ago. It’s highly likely that he’s joined the Church of Divine Flame since!”

Tang Bao’er’s heart clenched. “Doesn’t that mean Brother Su is in danger?”

“Not necessarily.” Tang Lingqi’s eyes flashed. “Don’t forget that although Fellow Daoist Su is only in the Universe Realm, he’s strong enough to kill Immortal Lords! If that were all, it’d be one thing, but don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how that Church of Divine Flame Immortal Lord died seven days ago?”

Tang Bao’er’s beautiful eyes lit up with excitement. “I almost forgot too. Throughout this trip to the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night, Brother Su’s seemed like he’s simply returned to his former home. He didn’t just seize the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s calligraphy; he even managed to control the Nine Kings Heaven-Sealing Formation!"

“Like he returned to his former home?” Tang Lingqi froze, stunned, then laughed. “In any event, if the Sword Fanatic really runs into Fellow Daoist Su, I’m afraid his victory isn’t assured!”

“Grand Uncle, how about we go have a look?” Tang Bao’er said eagerly.

Tang Lingqi mulled it over, then gnashed his teeth. “Let’s go!”

Although the Luo River Forbidden Zone was one of the six most dangerous places in the White Reed Province, they’d made it through earlier. Tang Lingqi wasn’t all that worried.

The ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night.

The scholarly man in the fangjin head covering narrowed his eyes and examined the ruins shrouded in dark thunderclouds. From time to time, he broke into hacking coughs.

He coughed so hard that his thin, sickly face flushed red.

But he didn’t care. He just held his jug of wine and went on drinking.

His mule, however, couldn’t remain calm. It stomped its hooves restlessly and brayed frantically as if trying to urge its rider to leave.

“What are you afraid of? I’ve visited this blasted place before.” The Sword Fanatic patted the mule’s head, his eyes shining with reminiscence. “Back then, I visited the Academy of Eternal Night in search of greater heights of the Dao of the Sword, and I sparred with their Third Teaching Elder, Wen Jianya.

“Wen Jianya lived up to his reputation as their strongest Immortal King expert of the Dao of the Sword. He suppressed his cultivation and fought as an Immortal Lord, and even though I narrowly emerged victorious, I know he let me win on purpose. He never went all out.

“But I was giving it everything I had.” The Sword Fanatic’s eyes shone with grief. “He was one of the three sword cultivators I admired most in life. Alas, before I managed to become an Immortal King, a cataclysm befell the Immortal Realm. It didn’t just leave me badly injured. Even the Academy of Eternal Night fell.

Here, he let out a deep sigh and dismounted. “You wait here. I’ll continue on foot.”

Before long, the man arrived at the entrance to the Valley of Seeking the Profound.

When he arrived, he furrowed his brow, and his nostrils flared. He caught a faint whiff of blood in the air!

Seth's Thoughts

This will be explained in more in detail later, but "divine misfortune" (the thing forcing Great Realm experts into hiding) and "divine tribulations" (the inexplicable power forcing Liu Yun and other Immortal Kings into seclusion) are different, and correspond to different terms in the raws. They both have a divine origin, hence the similar names.