First Immortal of the Sword

Shortly after, the man saw a mangled, fragmented corpse. It was still a bloody pulp, and it was obvious its owner had died just a few days ago.

This was Le Yunhai, the gaunt old man who’d been killed by the Heaven-Swallowing Immortal Toad.

The scholarly man didn’t recognize Le Yunhai, but he instantly realized that his target was most likely hiding in the ruins in the valley!

“Those five Immortal Lords of the Church of Divine Flame have watched over this place for countless years, yet now, all of them are dead,” murmured the sickly man.

Insanity and sharp sword light glinted in the depths of his gaze. “But that’s for the best. If he were too weak, this would be a waste of a trip.”

The man was just about to enter the Valley of Seeking the Profound when he saw the toppled stele near the entrance and stopped in his tracks.

“I almost forgot. The true spirit imprint of a Heaven-Swallowing Immortal Toad is here.” The man thought for a moment, then decided to wait here until his target appeared.

Time slipped past.

Suddenly, he sensed something. He turned and saw Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er approaching from afar.

“I could say you’re bold, but when we first met, you practically quivered at the mere sight of me. I could say you’re cowardly, yet you came here without fear of death. What have you come here to do?” sighed the Sword Fanatic.

Without waiting for an answer, he shrugged. “Do as you please, but remember this: don’t come any closer.”

With that, he sat on a boulder and placed his bundled sword across his lap. He pressed one hand on the bundled flat of the blade. With the other, he held a jug of wine.

He just sat there and drank. From beginning to end, he never so much as spared Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er another glance.

“We’re going to wait here. Don’t get any closer. If you do, I’m afraid that guy will kill us without the slightest hesitation,” Tang Lingqi hurriedly transmitted.

He then led Tang Bao’er to a nearby hillock.

Time slipped by. Soon, another three days had passed.

…

Within the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound, the Spring and Autumn Space.

Su Yi silently opened his eyes.

He’d been in seclusion for ten years, and his cultivation had advanced from the early stage of the Universe Realm all the way to the late stage. His strength had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

Furthermore, he’d fully condensed his powers of the Grand Dao into Immortal Laws, and they were extremely concentrated. When he fought, he could now unleash the full extent of his cultivation base’s power.

And he’d reforged the Sword of the Human Realm. Its grade and power were far from what they once were.

But what frustrated Su Yi was that he’d reached a bottleneck in his cultivation!

In other words, secluded cultivation alone would lead to no further improvements!

“Very well. When it comes to cultivation, you can’t force things. Doing too much is as bad as doing too little.” Su Yi rose to his feet.

In truth, the past ten years of cultivation had long since frittered away his entire supply of cultivation resources, even the immortal jades and immortal stones. He only had a handful left. And reforging the Sword of the Human Realm had exhausted his entire supply of divine materials.

They said that cultivation required wealth, companions, methods, and a good location, and there was a reason that wealth was at the top of the list. Every cultivator, no matter who they were, had to spend their life gathering the resources needed to satisfy their cultivation.

And now, Su Yi was downright poor.

“I’ll have to wait a year before I can visit again,” thought Su Yi.

The Spring and Autumn Space was unique. You could only enter once a year, and stay for up to sixty years—sixty days in the outside world.

Su Yi had only been in seclusion for a decade, and only tens had passed in the outside world.

Without any further delays, Su Yi left the Spring and Autumn Space.

As he stepped into the secret passage, he reached a decision——

One day, he’d rebuild the Academy of Eternal Night!

Outside the Valley of Seeking the Profound.

The scholarly man with the fangjin headcover had already been waiting for three days.

During those three days, he’d gone through thirteen jugs of wine, and he spent twelve hours a day dozing off. The rest of the time, he just stared into space. No one knew what he was thinking.

Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er waited with him the entire time.

To Tang Lingqi, waiting a few days was nothing at all.

But Tang Bao’er was practically dying of boredom. To her, there was no greater torment than just waiting around.

Suddenly, the man seated cross-legged silently rose to his feet and casually put his bundled sword on his back. All the while, he gazed into the valley.

A tall, upright figure was emerging from the cloud-covered, ruined landscape.

In his blue robes, he looked as if he’d risen out of the dust of mundanity.

In the blink of an eye, the sickly “scholar” reached quite a few conclusions.

First, the young man in blue was only in his twenties!

But he was different from other people. Outwardly, he seemed entirely unassuming, but in truth, his energy was completely withdrawn; none of it leaked outside his body.

Even rarer, he wasn’t doing this on purpose. Rather, this was his natural state. He was like a naturally smooth piece of jade; there was no need for any further carving.

This alone was enough to make the man’s eyes light up. This little fellow’s rather interesting! And if he’s the one who killed those five Immortal Lords, that’ll be even more interesting!

Su Yi saw the man waiting outside the valley too, but he wasn’t concerned.

“He’s come out!” Tang Bao’er practically whooped for joy. There was nothing for it; she’d been far, far too bored.

But Tang Lingqi’s heart clenched, and his gaze focused. If the Sword Fanatic is really after Fellow Daoist Su, a fierce battle is sure to unfold!

“Were you the one who killed the Immortal Lords of the Church of Divine Flame?” asked the Sword Fanatic languidly. He cut straight to the chase.

Su Yi was briefly stunned, then thoughtful. “Yes, that’s right. Are you here to avenge them?”

Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er couldn’t help but exchange glances. The Sword Fanatic really is here for Su Yi!

The man shook his head. “I couldn’t care less about their deaths. I’m here because I owe someone a favor.”

“A favor?” said Su Yi. “To whom?”

The man laughed. “If you survive this strike, I wouldn’t mind chatting with you for a bit, but if you die, there’ll be no point wasting words on talk. Don’t you think?”

Su Yi nodded. “Well said.”

The man put away his jug of wine and sighed. “I admire your straightforward disposition. How about this? If you can block three of my attacks, I won’t kill you.”

Then, without pausing to see if Su Yi agreed to his terms or not, he drew the sword bundled on his back.

Clang!

The low, dull hum of a sword rang out, like demons whispering at the bottom of an abyss. The sound alone was enough to make one tremble.

At first, Su Yi wasn’t all that interested, but when he saw the man’s sword, he couldn’t help but looked surprised.

It was three feet, four inches long, simple with dull luster. Its pitch-black blade was mottled with flecks of red, but it was unclear whether this was rust or dried blood.

A pure, tyrannical, forceful, murderous air rose from the sword. The surrounding skies collapsed with a mournful wail, and even heaven and earth changed color.

This was merely the sword’s aura!

In the eyes of a sword cultivator, a sword resembled its owner.

The sword’s aura alone was enough to make Su Yi’s spirits soar, and the desire for battle rose within his heart.

“What a fierce sword. Even rarer, its aura is as pure as can be, without the slightest contaminants. I can see that your Dao of the Sword is focused on slaughter, and that slaughter is the focus of your pursuit of swordsmanship,” whispered Su Yi.

The man couldn’t help but laugh and stick up his thumb. “Well said! I truly wouldn’t have thought that a young man like you would have such keen perception. Your eyes are sharper than even most Immortal Lords! It seems I was right to have come here!”

“Grand Uncle, why have they started flattering each other?” Tang Bao’er couldn’t help but grumble.

Tang Lingqi irritably smacked her on the head. “Fool! Just watch and don’t interrupt. You've never seen something like this in your lifetime!”

His expression grew solemn, with a subtle hint of eagerness. He was curious. Just how would the incomparably mysterious young Su Yi handle the pressure of facing the Sword Fanatic? The greatest of the ten great Immortal Lords of the Central Immortal Palace?

Off in the distance, Su Yi noticed Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er, but he didn’t say anything.

He was thoroughly intrigued by this sickly man with the air of a scholar.

Su Yi gestured to himself and said, “I’m a sword cultivator too. When I encounter a worthy opponent, it’s hard to avoid getting more talkative than usual.”

The man was stunned. “A worthy opponent? Haha! Wonderful! Then I’m looking forward to seeing how great a surprise a young sword cultivator like you can bring me!”

Su Yi chuckled. “I hope your attainments in the Dao of the Sword can surprise me too. Otherwise, everything I said to you earlier was a waste of breath.”

He was already walking toward the Valley of Seeking the Profound. “Enough. Draw your sword.”

The man let out a wholehearted laugh, seemingly delighted. He couldn’t help but throw back his head and drain his jug of wine. “Very well!”

Boom!

Sharp, overflowing sword intent suddenly surged from the sickly man, rising into the nine heavens and shattering the surrounding thunderclouds before sweeping outward.

It was indistinct, but they could faintly discern the hum of a sword sweeping throughout heaven and earth, stirring the soul.

As for the sickly man himself? His clothes billowed around him, and he looked frenzied. HIs gaze was utterly contemptuous, forceful, and imposing.

He was as sharp as his sword, with his edge on full display!

Tang Lingqi stiffened and gasped, his heart full of astonishment. The Sword Fanatic was badly injured during the Age of Fallen Immortals, and his strength is far lower than it once was, so why is he so terrifying? I can’t help but suspect that if I were to fight him, he’d cut me down like grass!

Tang Bao’er’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes widened. She murmured, “He really is different from other Immortal Lords. His sword intent connects heaven and earth. It’s far too terrifying. Isn’t Su Yi in trouble?”

The young woman’s heart was instantly on tenterhooks!

“This sword force and sword intent really aren’t bad!” The depths of Su Yi’s gaze lit up with an uncharacteristic hint of eagerness. Even if he searched the entire world, finding such a worthy opponent was no easy task. Especially since this particular opponent was a sword cultivator!

This came as an enormous, delightful surprise to Su Yi. It seemed as if all of his vital energy had been stimulated, and it silently transformed.

This was the joy of a hunter who’d spotted his favorite prey!