First Immortal of the Sword

The guests’ expressions were strange.

All of them were shrewd old foxes. Who could fail to realize that the Xue Family had made fools out of themselves?

Tang Lingqi had long since noticed that the atmosphere was a bit off, but he couldn’t be bothered to pay it any heed.

An Immortal Lord clan of the White Reed Province, that was all. The only one with a connection to Su Yi was Xue Hongfeng. He truly couldn’t be bothered with anyone else here.

Tang Lingqi promptly smiled and said, “My young friend, before I deliver Fellow Daoist Su’s gift, please accept the humble gift our Tang Family has prepared for this occasion.”

Tang Bao’er smiled and took out a jade box. She opened it, then passed the jade bottle inside to Xue Hongfeng. “This contains medicine made according to the Tang Family’s secret recipe: Profound Fire Nectar. There isn’t a lot of it, only around ten catties, but I hope you’ll find it pleasing.”

Profound Fire Nectar!

A moment later, everyone was in uproar. All of the guests’ eyes heated up.

That was the most famous medicine of the ancient Tang Family, an ancestral secret recipe unique beneath the heavens and famous throughout the forty-nine provinces!

It was too precious to measure in immortal stones or jades! You couldn’t buy one with money alone!

Yet now, Tang Bao’er had casually given away ten catties of Profound Fire Nectar as a birthday gift! Who wouldn’t have been astonished?

Xue Hongfeng couldn’t help but feel flattered, but also a bit startled. He was just about to refuse when Tang Bao’er stuffed the bottle into his hands.

“Just take it! It’s only a little present,” she chirped.

Xue Hongfeng took a deep breath. “Many thanks!”

He then turned around, faced his father, Xue Changtian, and presented the bottle with both hands. “Father, this is a birthday gift from the ancient Tang Family. Please accept it!”

Xue Changtian felt rather conflicted, and his expression shifted erratically.

If the Tang Family were here to celebrate his birthday, there’d be no need to give his gifts to his fourth son first. In doing so, the Tang Family made their position perfectly clear. They were here on account of Xue Hongfeng; they wouldn’t have given him birthday gifts otherwise!

Tang Lingqi said warmly, “Please don’t refuse, Fellow Daoist.”

Xue Changtian jumped, then hurriedly accepted the jade bottle and said gratefully, “Many thanks, Senior!”

Tang Lingqi nodded, then slipped a rolled-up scroll from his sleeves. He passed this to Xue Hongfeng and said, “This is the gift Fellow Daoist Su prepared for you.”

Xue Hongfeng solemnly accepted it. “Thank you for going to all this trouble, Senior!”

Tang Lingqi pondered briefly, then said, “I have something I’d like to say, but I’m not sure it would be appropriate.”

Xue Hongfeng said hurriedly, “Please enlighten me, Senior. You have my full attention.”

Tang Lingqi said, “This calligraphy is far too rare and precious. It’s a first-rate treasure by the standards of the Immortal Realm as a whole.”

One sentence, and everyone was intrigued. Everyone turned their attention to the calligraphy. All of them longed to see just what secrets it hid.

Tang Lingqi continued, “Forgive my boldness, but I’ll just say this. Fellow Daoist Su told me to deliver this as a birthday gift, but if you want to keep it for yourself….”

Before Tang Lingqi could continue, Xue Hongfeng said staunchly, “Senior, this is a milestone birthday for my father. No matter how precious this calligraphy is, I absolutely cannot claim it as my own. I’ll just consider it a unique gift for my father.”

Simple and direct.

When Xue Changtian heard that, waves of emotion coursed through his heart, and he looked conflicted. An uncharacteristic, indescribable shame and guilt welled within him.

He knew that despite being the boy’s father, he’d never really cared for his fourth son.

Yet now, Xue Hongfeng didn’t hesitate to present this rare and precious gift to him as a birthday gift. How could Xue Changtian not be ashamed of himself?

Tang Lingqi said with a smile, “Very good. No wonder Fellow Daoist Su would choose to give you this.”

Xue Hongfeng couldn’t help but ask, “Senior, just what makes this scroll so special?”

The crowd pricked up their ears.

Tang Lingqi said, “This calligraphy is the work of the greatest expert of the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, His Excellency the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the room boiled over, with startled cries arising on all sides.

“The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s calligraphy?”

“My heavens!!”

“That’s… That’s far too precious!”

“Something like that ought to be treated as a family heirloom and passed down across generations!”

…The room was in uproar. Both the Xue Family higher-ups and the guests were astonished. None of them could remain calm.

This gift really was far too precious!

As for Xue Wenjue, Xue Wenpu, Xue Wenshan, Xue Wenning and the others? They were completely dumbstruck and rooted to the spot.

They were Xue Hongfeng’s siblings, but in truth, all of them looked down on their illegitimate half-brother.

None of them would have imagined that Xue Hongfeng would draw so much attention at tonight’s banquet! Two members of the ancient Tang Family had come in person to congratulate his father, and they’d even provided two enormous gifts!

The other siblings’ gifts seemed downright bleak by comparison; they weren’t even worth mentioning!

“The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s calligraphy…. The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s Calligraphy…” Xue Changtian was the illustrious leader of his family, but now, even his mind went blank with astonishment.

He would never have guessed that he’d receive such an astonishing gift on account of his overlooked fourth son!

Xue Hongfeng accepted the scroll with both hands. His emotions churned, and the rims of his eyes moistened. He couldn’t help but recall what Su Yi had said before they parted ways: "Even if I can’t make it, I’ll prepare a generous gift."

When he thought back to it now, Xue Hongfeng was so moved that he almost wept.

Tang Lingqi took in the crowd’s astonishment, but he didn’t find it at all strange. That was the work of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign! Throughout the Immortal Realm, how many treasures compared?

……

The banquet soon started in earnest, but the atmosphere had changed.

Family Head Xue Changtian was so ashamed that he took the initiative to apologize to Xue Hongfeng and express his guilt in front of his guests.

The crowd couldn’t help but be wistful. They didn’t even need to think to know that after everything that had happened tonight, everyone in the Xue Family would treat Xue Hongfeng with respect going forward!

Even Elder Xie Yun of White Arc Sword Court transmitted to Xue Wenning, “Lass, you’d best be good to that brother of yours going forward. His future prospects are immeasurable!”

Xue Wenning’s gaze was bleak, but she nodded silently. Of course she understood that!

Never mind the rest; the fact that two distinguished members of the Tang Family had come in person would have been enough to change Xue Hongfeng’s position.

That’s even before factoring in the mysterious “Fellow Daoist Su” who’d given him the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s calligraphy! This made it obvious how much he valued Xue Hongfeng!

And those two members of the Tang Family even said they were honored to work on their Fellow Daoist Su’s behalf!

Who’d dare underestimate Xue Hongfeng after all that?

If only based on his connection to that mysterious “Fellow Daoist Su,” everyone in the Xue Family would have to treat him better going forward!

In truth, it had already started; Xue Hongfeng had already noticed several higher-ups had taken the initiative to express their goodwill and make small talk. Prior to this, none of them ever paid him any heed!

Even the guests offered him one toast after another!

Brother Su, I’ll be sure to repay this enormous act of benevolence even if it takes me the rest of my life, Xue Hongfeng muttered inwardly.

The banquet had yet to end, but Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er bade farewell and left. They still had to visit Blue Cliff Academy to pass on Su Yi’s message.

“Grand Uncle, that Xue Hongfeng guy didn’t look like anyone special. Why would Su Yi value him so highly?” Tang Bao’er asked in confusion after they left.

She’d seen enough of the banquet that she understood that Xue Hongfeng was a low-status son of a concubine. He wasn’t anyone special.

Tang Lingqi explained, “Bao’er, you’re mistaken. Fellow Daoist Su doesn’t care about your position, your strength, or your weakness, but that’s exactly what’s so admirable about him, don’t you think?”

Tang Bao’er mulled that over and quickly understood. It was true. If Su Yi was the type to simply go with the flow and help whoever was strongest, why would he have killed Church of Divine Flame Immortal Lords just to save them?

“He’s grasped the vastness of creation, yet he still cherishes each individual blade of grass. His breadth of spirit is far beyond us. He doesn’t care about worldly authority, position, or power. That’s why he’s so worthy of our respect!” Tang Lingqi sighed. The words came straight from the heart.

The more he got to know Su Yi, the more he realized just how extraordinary his breadth of spirit was despite his tender young age.

“Let’s go. We’ve still got to visit Blue Cliff Academy!”

……

Further up the Luo River, there was a seemingly boundless, uncultivated wilderness seldom visited by men. It was shrouded in bone-chilling mists year-round.

Never mind cultivators; even birds and beasts were a rare sight.

Heaven and earth were utterly desolate.

The setting sun cast elongated shadows, and bone-chilling gales whooshed over the ground. Su Yi walked through the desolation on foot, looking extraordinarily alone and forlorn.

His was originally the site of Mount Taiwu. The mountain had stretched a full eight thousand miles.

This was once the greatest blessed ground in the Immortal Realm, the famous “Little Heavenly Court!”

Every day, immortals came here, like pilgrims visiting a sage. They were as numerous as carps in the river, and the place was extraordinarily lively.

But all of this had ceased to exist. All that remained was emptiness and desolation as far as the eye could see.

Heaven and earth were empty, with only the knifelike, frigid gales for company.

Su Yi’s heart filled with melancholy.

It had been three days since he’d arrived here. He’d searched practically everything within an eight-thousand-mile radius, but he hadn’t uncovered any worthwhile leads whatsoever.

It really seemed as if all of Mount Taiwu had simply evaporated into thin air.

It seems some unknown development affected the mountain during the Age of Fallen Immortals. Whatever power caused this was surely extraordinary; otherwise, they couldn’t have done it without at least leaving some sort of trace, thought Su Yi. It’s possible that experts at the peak of the Immortal Dao did this, but it’s also possible that… the gods were involved!

He’d searched for a full day, only to find nothing at all.

But just as Su Yi was about to leave, the sound of cursing rode in on the frigid gales.

“You’re just a feathered beast. What the hell do you know? Back when Mount Taiwu was still around, all I had to do was say the word, and Wang Ye himself would scramble out the door to greet me!”