First Immortal of the Sword

Burying the gods? Shen Qingshi was stunned. Is that something a divine emissary ought to say How blasphemous!

But when he saw Su Yi raise his hand and erase that red lotus-shaped mark, Shen Qingshi’s heart shook. Despite himself, he was astonished. He said in a quavering voice, “You… You can erase the power of a god?”

“Yup,” said Su Yi.

Shen Qingshi was dumbstruck.

“Answer a few of my questions, and I’ll give you a quick death,” said Su Yi.

Shen Qingshi stiffened. He laughed coldly, “I’m dead either way. Why should I tell you anything?”

“Dead either way? As if,” said Su Yi. “If you don't cooperate, you'll beg me for death. Are you okay with that?”

You'll beg me for death.

It was just five light, airy words, but those who’d experienced the ups and downs of worldly affairs understood just how brutal a torment they represented.

Shen Qingshi’s expression shifted back and forth. In the end, he sighed. “I lost to a divine emissary of your caliber, so at least I didn’t lose unfairly. Fine. What do you want to know?”

“The demons captured the previous garrison master alive,” said Su Yi. “Were you involved?”

Shen Qingshi was briefly stunned, but then, he laughed. “You obviously figured that out already, so why ask?”

Su Yi sighed. “I just wouldn’t have thought that a lofty Immortal King would do something so low and despicable, even after becoming one of the gods’ dogs.”

He recalled what the Divine Fortune Teller had told him. The will of the gods was infiltrating the Immortal Realm!

For instance, Cloud Apparatus Immortal Manor was backed by the Angler, Old Man Providence.

And Divine Venerate Tian Wu stood behind the Church of All Spirits.

There was no need to even question it. There were undoubtedly plenty of other factions working for the gods in the present-day Immortal Realm!

After what he’d seen today, especially after seeing how far an Immortal King like Shen Qingshi went to serve his deity, Su Yi was increasingly aware of how terrifying the gods’ methods were. Shen Qingshi had betrayed the entire Immortal Realm!

As the will of the gods slowly permeated and influenced the Immortal Realm, it would surely bring about numerous unforeseen disasters!

Shen Qingshi’s betrayal was proof of this.

“Before I die, might you answer one of my questions too?” Shen Qingshi asked suddenly.

“Go ahead.” Su Yi took a sip of wine.

Shen Qingshi stared intently at Su Yi. “You too are a divine emissary carrying out the will of your god in this world. Which deity do you serve?”

“...” Su Yi fell briefly silent before laughing, “I’m not a divine emissary.”

Shen Qingshi’s brow furrowed in obvious disbelief.

“You can consider me the one who will destroy the gods,” said Su Yi. With that, he drew his fingertip through the air.

Shen Qingshi crumbled into ash.

Su Yi walked up, patted the Stele of Heaven’s Will, and turned to leave.

……

The Garrison Master’s Palace.

When Su Yi returned, he saw two more Immortal Kings. They’d been on the Cloudy Dome Immortal Platform earlier, but just like Madam Xiangyun, they’d staunchly refused to sell Su Yi to the demons.

Thus, they were exempted from Su Yi’s cleanse.

Madam Xiangyun introduced the two of them, and Su Yi soon learned that one of the Immortal Kings was called Xie Gu. He was gaunt, with a reserved air about him, and he was from the Hua Province’s Eight Views Immortal Palace.

The other was Wen Zhiqiu. He was tall and stalwart, with a tall hat and a broad belt. He was from one of the three pure lands of Mount Buzhou, the Divine Jade Pure Lands.

It was obvious they’d already been waiting for quite some time. When they saw Su Yi, they smiled and greeted him with the utmost respect.

Xie Gu brought him a bag of holding. He said it contained the trophies gathered after today’s battle, and that he’d brought it to give to Su Yi.

Su Yi was briefly stunned. “That is very considerate of you. Thank you.”

An Immortal King had taken it upon himself to complete a lowly task like scouring the battlefield for trophies. This was clear proof of Xie Gu’s respect.

Xie Gu smiled. “It was no more difficult than lifting my hand. Your accomplishments today are what’s truly worthy of respect.”

As the group chatted, Pei Hongjing walked over and said, “Fellow Daoist Su, it’s just as I expected. The group you captured alive included no small number of traitors! That aside, I’ve uncovered several worthwhile leads that suggest Garrison Master Shen Qingshi was the traitors’ and spies’ pillar of support!”

This revelation left the others both shocked and furious.

Su Yi didn’t find it at all strange. He concisely recounted his conversation with Shen QIngshi to the others.

The Immortal Kings finally understood. All of them felt chills in their hands and feet, and their expressions were incomparably unsightly.

Who could have imagined that Garrison Master Shen Qingshi had long since betrayed the Immortal Realm?

And who could have imagined that the gods were behind his betrayal?

Su Yi waited for the group to calm down before saying, “It’s already over. Our next step is to re-establish law and order in the Seventh Gate of Heaven and prevent similar incidents in the future.”

“Yes, exactly!” said Pei Hongjing. “Do you have any specific arrangements in mind, Fellow Daoist?”

The other three Immortal Kings looked at Su Yi; they already saw him as their pillar.

Were the masses of the Immortal Realm to see this, their jaws might well have fallen off in shock.

After all, in the present-day Immortal Realm, those powerhouses at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao had gone into deep seclusion. It had been a long time since anyone had seen them.

Given the circumstances, Immortal Kings were the strongest experts around, as radiant as the midday sun!

Who’d have dared believe that a whole group of them would treat a Universe Realm Immortal with such reverence?

But those who’d seen what had happened here today naturally didn’t find this treatment at all strange.

“I do actually have a few ideas,” said Su Yi before explaining what he had in mind.

……

The following day.

In accordance with Su Yi’s arrangements, Madam Xiangyun, Xie Gu, and Wen Zhiqiu announced that Dean Pei Hongjing was to become the Seventh Gate of Heaven’s new garrison master!

This announcement caused an enormous wave of uproar in the City of Ten Thousand Sars.

“I’m surprised that Su Yi didn't seize the opportunity to claim the position for himself.”

“I dare say with certainty that Su Yi approved of His Excellency Pei’s appointment!”

“What a wondrous play. Su Yi is already standing where the wind and waves are fiercest. Choosing to step aside now will let him avoid all sorts of disasters and inconveniences.”

“Hah, are you joking now? He managed to seize control over the Seventh Gate of Heaven’s Immortal Laws. How could he fear those so-called ‘disasters and inconveniences?’ Seems to me there’s another reason behind this choice entirely!”

…The city was in uproar. Everyone was talking about the announcement.

No one objected to Pei Hongjing’s appointment. No one dared to object, and no one felt the need to object anyway. Pei Hongjing was the dean of Blue Cliff Academy, and he’d protected the Seventh Gate of Heaven for a long time. He was a forthright, honest, and magnanimous man with a strong reputation. Most people were delighted to see him promoted.

Later that day, at the Garrison Master’s Palace.

Pei Hongjing laughed dryly. “There are actually people in the city who see me as your puppet. Laughable.”

“No need to pay heed to petty rumors and idle whispers.” Su Yi took out a bronze formation disc and passed it to Pei Hongjing. “I’ve re-refined the Heaven-Guiding Formation Disc. With it, you’ll be able to direct the power of the Stele of Heaven’s Will and control the power of the Seventh Gate of Heaven’s Laws. Take care of it.”

Pei Hongjing accepted the disc with both hands and said solemnly, “I’ll do everything in my power not to let you down, Fellow Daoist!”

The other Immortal Kings watched with smiles on their faces.

“The Heaven-Guiding Formation Disc can control a portion of the Immortal Realm’s Laws, but it isn’t truly invincible,” said Su Yi. “Still, unless experts at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao get involved, anyone who tries to stir up waves at the Seventh Gate of Heaven will effectively just be throwing their life away.”

Su Yi paused, then added, “At least in the short run, you needn’t concern yourself with the demons of the Beyond. Just watch over the Seventh Gate of Heaven.”

Last night, he heard Yin Xiaotian and the other Demon Kings say that the demons would launch a full-force war within a hundred years.

They even said that they refused to believe that Su Yi could reach the Great Realm in just one hundred years.

Su Yi naturally laughed this off.

But their conversation left Su Yi convinced that they wouldn’t see any large-scale demon invasions in the near future.

Thus, it was enough to leave an Immortal King like Pei Hongjing in charge of the Seventh Gate of Heaven for now.

……

Su Yi stayed in the Seventh Gate of Heaven for three more days before setting off for the White Reed Province’s Blazing Firmament Immortal City.

Not long ago, he received a message from the House of Little Joys saying that Immortal Queen Liu Yun and Qing Wei were on their way to Blazing Firmament Immortal City. At the time, Su Yi responded saying he’d meet them there within ten days.

“Fellow Daoist Su, I need to head back to the Divine Jade Pure Lands. We could travel together if you like,” said Immortal King Wen Zhiqiu.

He was one of his sect’s high elders, and he was returning to handle a matter of the utmost importance.

“Very well.” Su Yi didn’t refuse.

That very day, Pei Hongjing, Xue Gu, Madam Xiangyun, Yu Sheng, and the others saw Su Yi off as he and Wen Zhiqiu left the Seventh Gate of Heaven.

After watching the two of them disappear from view, Madam Xiangyun suddenly said, “Brother Pei, have you heard the rumor that’s been floating around the Immortal Realm of late? They say that the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign didn’t really die during the Battle of Eternal Night, and that he actually underwent reincarnation to restart his cultivation from the beginning.”

Pei Hongjing’s gaze focused. He nodded. “I’ve heard the rumors. Blue Cliff Academy knows them too. They say that the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign’s reincarnation has most likely already returned to the Immortal Realm, and that the Church of the Pure One, the Church of Supreme Oneness, and numerous other prominent factions have already secretly started looking for leads.”

He paused, as if he’d suddenly realized something, and his eyelids twitched. “Surely you aren’t trying to say that Fellow Daoist Su is the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign?”

Madam Xiangyun’s beautiful eyes filled with uncertainty. “I hope he is. Even if he isn’t, I hope he can become a legendary figure, a second Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!”

After a moment’s silence, Pei Hongjing said, “I hope so, too.”

“The reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign?” Yu Sheng muttered to herself. “If he is, a whole lot of things suddenly make sense.”

Later that day, the new garrison master, Pei Hongjing, undid the power of the Laws sealing off the city and permitted the populace to leave.

It was also on that day that word of how the Seventh Gate of Heaven had been cleansed in blood spread to the outside world, causing a massive commotion.

The whole world shook!