First Immortal of the Sword

Disregarding his injuries, the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign managed to avoid a fatal blow!

Furthermore, with the help of his forbidden escape technique, he slipped completely into the void, fleeing the battlefield.

“Wang Ye——! Just you wait!” Shouts filled with rage resounded throughout heaven and earth as the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign blurred into a beam of blood-colored light and vanished in a flash.

Dust and smoke filled the air. Currents of destructive power still ran rampant.

The mountains and rivers had long since vanished, leaving only ground covered in scars.

The surrounding ten thousand miles had been reduced to scorched earth!

Piercingly cold gales howled past, sharp as knives.

The Divine Fortune Teller was the first to overcome his shock. He looked around and saw that the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign had long since vanished.

Only Su Yi remained amidst the devastated landscape. He stood in the air, his blue robes tattered and bloodstained, but his back was perfectly straight with contemptuous, dignified pride.

An indescribable emotion welled in the Divine Fortune Teller’s heart. He suddenly felt dazed.

Not even he would have guessed that Su Yi could use his mere early-stage Saint Realm cultivation to deal the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign a massive setback. He’d forced that insidious, crafty old-timer to flee in panic!

It was simply too unbelievable. If word got out, there was no way anyone would believe it.

After all, this was the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign, someone who’d reached the peak of the Great Realm prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, an unparalleled expert who gazed down upon the masses from on high!!

Even though he’d been afflicted with divine misfortune, and even though his cultivation base was severely depleted even before the battle began, he was still a Great Realm expert! Someone the masses could only gaze upon from afar!!

Who’d dare believe that a mere early-stage Saint Realm young man could defeat him?

A series of hacking coughs broke the silence.

The Zhuyou Great Peng had recovered from its astonishment. As it gradually came back to its senses, it murmured, “Am I dead? Don’t tell me this is the underworld they speak of in legends?”

Whap!

The Divine Fortune Teller smacked the bird’s skull. The pain was so intense that the dirty bird jumped as if struck by lightning.

“It hurts? That’s good! Pain proves you aren’t dead,” said the Divine Fortune Teller. He was already rushing toward Su Yi.

“I’m not dead?” The Zhuyou Great Peng muttered in a daze. Then, its eyes lit up. “Does that mean His Excellency the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign won? I just knew he was invincible!”

As it spoke, it too hurried toward Su Yi.

……

Su Yi stood in the air and let out a long breath of turbid air before putting away the Sword of the Human Realm and taking a sip of wine.

He didn’t give chase. Even if the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign were far more badly injured than he already was, when he was determined to flee, Su Yi couldn’t stop him. At least, not with his current strength.

“Fellow Daoist, how are your wounds?” said the Divine Fortune Teller with concern. Su Yi was completely covered in blood. It was a startling sight.

“This won’t kill me,” laughed Su Yi.

His wounds really were quite heavy, especually since his ultimate attack had practically depleted his entire cultivation base. He was on the brink of burning out.

That was just how terrifying Great Realm experts were. Even afflicted by divine misfortune and gravely weakened, even at the end of their rope, not just anyone could contend with them.

Su Yi was now strong enough to kill any Immortal King of the present day.

But he hadn’t gotten off at all lightly during his battle with the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign. On the contrary, he’d been forced to draw on the Sword of the Nine Hells right off the bat.

Even so, he couldn’t avoid taking heavy injuries!

“I wouldn’t have thought Spherical Heavens’ strength has declined so badly,” murmured Su Yi. “Were he at his peak… In my current state, I would have lost beyond a doubt.”

At his peak, the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign was in the third stage of the Great Realm, the Great Profound Stage. He was a top expert even within the Great Realm!

Of course, at Wang Ye’s peak, he could have killed the Spherical Heavens Immortal Sovereign with ease.

“Seems to me that Ol’ Spherical Heavens’ divine misfortune is already as bad as can be. If he doesn’t resolve it quickly, he’ll fall from the Great Realm,” murmured the Divine Fortune Teller. “Perhaps that’s why he had no choice but to cooperate with the leader of the Church of All Spirits. He wanted to obtain that method to treat divine misfortune.”

Su Yi agreed completely. “No matter how much I look down on Ol’ Spherical Heavens, there’s no way he would have held his nose and cooperated with an Immortal King like the sect leader unless he’d been forced into a dead end.”

The Zhuyou Great Peng had finally found its chance to chime in. “Unfortunately for him, this time, he crossed paths with the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign. He brought his misfortune on himself!”

The crafty bird was as respectful and reverent as could be in front of Su Yi. All it was missing now was the word “sycophant” carved on its forehead.

“What were you two doing here anyway?” asked Su Yi.

The Divine Fortune Teller coughed dryly. “We’re here in search of the Tree of All Worlds. We never would have guessed we’d bump into the leader of the Church of All Spirits and Ol’ Spherical Heavens.”

Su Yi’s heart stirred. “Was that withered tree branch they placed on the altar earlier connected to the Tree of All Worlds?”

“I’m sure of it,” said the Divine Fortune Teller. “The leader of the Church of All Spirits placed that altar here for the express purpose of using the root segment’s power to awaken the aura of the Tree of All Worlds. He wanted to open a path to the God Domain and usher in that divine son!”

Su Yi nodded. He’d watched much of what had just happened in secret.

“In that case, the Tree of All Worlds is no mere rumor. It must really exist…Hm?” Su Yi had only just said this when he suddenly sensed something and gazed into the distance.

The ground lay in utter ruin. The thousand-foot ritual grounds and the nine-foot altar had been completely destroyed. There was no longer any trace of them.

Yet a faint fluctuation of life force suddenly emanated from the devastated landscape!

Su Yi walked over and waved his sleeves, sweeping away the piles of rubble to reveal a withered, blackened stretch of root.

The root was severely burned, and only a small piece of it remained. Its surface was covered in cracks, like an entirely unassuming hunk of coal.

“Don’t tell me that’s really a section of the Tree of All Worlds’ roots?”

The Divine Fortune Teller and Zhuyou Great Peng rush over to get a closer look. Su Yi stared intently at the section of root as if he’d realized something, but he said nothing.

Crunch! Crack!

Before long, the blackened root split. Countless chunks fell off, rendering the section even smaller. Gradually, dusty gray, chaotic luster shone through the cracks on the tiny section of root.

Su Yi and the others all sensed dense life force assailing them right in the face. All of them reached the same conclusion. It’s rejuvenating itself, like withered wood in spring!

Before long, the section of root split and broke, and a green shoot emerged. It was only about the size of a palm, and it scattered a dreamlike, ethereal rain of light.

The seedling was tiny, as if it had just emerged from the ground. It had two tender young leaves, and they were as smooth and translucent as if they’d been carved out of jade.

But it was wondrous despite its size, and it was swathed in a rain of chaos light. As soon as it appeared, it planted its roots in the sky.

Boom!

The overcast landscape had been full of chaos mists, but now, they reacted as if they’d been summoned. The mist surged madly from all sides, gathering around the seedling.

The little seedling swayed as it absorbed every last drop!

Then, it transformed at speeds visible to the naked eye. Its stalk thickened and sprouted an additional branch. Even its color deepened.

The Divine Fortune Teller gasped, his gaze suddenly heated. “Don’t tell me that’s a seedling of the Tree of All Worlds!?”

The Zhuyou Great Peng drooled at the sight of it. “It sure seems that way!”

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but be impressed.

The Tree of All Worlds was a legendary being thought only to exist in fleeting rumors. They said it was born of the chaos source of the Buzhou Mountains.

Rumor had it that the branches were like the natural order of worlds, and they pierced and connected all worlds and planes! It had wondrous applications, and it was therefore also known as the Spatial Divine Tree.

Long ago, during the Primeval Era, it was known as one of the Six Divine Trees of the Immortal Realm alongside the Kunwu Divine Tree, the Cangwu Divine Tree, the Jian Tree, the Fusang Tree, and the Tree of All Daos.

But countless years had passed since then, and no one had ever laid eyes on the Tree of All Worlds. Thus, tales of the legendary tree were dismissed as unsubstantiated rumors.

Yet now, a suspected seedling of the Tree of All Worlds had appeared before them. Who wouldn’t have been astonished?

“I understand!” The Divine Fortune Teller smacked his forehead. “Ol’ Spherical Heavens and the sect leader built that altar and ritual ground to awaken this section of root and usher in that divine son, but I’m sure they had no idea that after the root section awakened, it would absorb an enormous amount of power from its surroundings. They’ve accidentally caused it to transform and practically brought it back to life!”

Su Yi inclined his head in agreement. “This is why they say you must break before you can build! The tree has attained new life amidst destruction!”

Withering, flourishing, life, and death, were all part of a cycle. This rule applied to all living things.

“I’m going to catch it and examine it,” said the Divine Fortune Teller. He was already champing at the bit.

He stretched out his hand and reached for the seedling.

Kcch!

The seedling disappeared into thin air.

A moment later, it reappeared tens of thousands of feet away, its branches swaying. It almost seemed to be laughing at the Divine Fortune Teller for overestimating himself.

The Divine Fortune Teller exclaimed, “The little bugger’s quite clever!”

He attacked again, but the seedling dodged once more.

The Divine Fortune Teller didn’t lose heart. He tried again and again, but no matter what wondrous technique or ability he used, it was to no avail. The seedling always avoided them with ease!

The Zhuyou Great Peng felt frantic just watching him. It tried to catch the seedling too.

But in the end, it was left gasping for breath. There was nothing it could do but watch in frustration.

The seedling of the Tree of All Worlds was extraordinarily wondrous. It could freely shuttle through space, as if heaven and earth were completely empty!

That aside, it feared neither techniques of restriction nor suppression!

“Dammit!” cursed the Zhuyou Great Peng. “The little bugger’s toying with us!”

A mere seedling was toying with them. Who could have tolerated that?

Su Yi had just watched and observed in silence this entire time, but now, he spoke. “You can’t dominate a divine life form like this through force. Step aside and let me try.”

He didn’t take even a single step. He just stretched out his right hand.

A wisp of a mysterious power of the Grand Dao surged from his palm.

Weng!

Heaven and earth shook.

From a distance, it was as if Su Yi were holding an ancient ruin aloft.

It was immeasurably vast, mysterious, and unfathomable!