First Immortal of the Sword

The Sword Stele was a thousand feet tall. It was like a mountain rising out of the earth, creating strange phenomena that shook both heaven and earth.

That terrifying, unrivaled sword force shocked everyone present. How is this possible?

Ancestor Shen Shang wasn't the only one to find it unbelievable. Sect Leader Lei Yunting, the other higher-ups, and everyone else in the sect were dumbstruck.

Earlier, all they’d known was that the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign had given them the stele prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals and that it was inscribed with thirteen supreme legacies of the Dao of the Sword.

None of them had had any idea that the Sword Stele, their ultimate treasure, was actually unrivaled in its power, too!

Boom!

Heaven and earth trembled. As the Sword Stele took to the sky, the thirty-six peaks of the Blue Firmament Immortal Mountains swayed violently, and countless formation markings surged into the air.

“The Endless Swords of Great Unity!”

Outside the sect, the guardian divine beast, the Xiezhi, stuck its head out of the pond. Its glittering golden eyes were full of excitement. “This has to be Master’s doing!”

When Xu Fushi first established the Endless Swords Immortal Sect, three of his friends, Wang Ye, Ye Chunqiu, and Xiao Ruyi, came to witness the opening ceremony.

The Sword Stele was actually their joint congratulatory gift!

Ye Chunqiu provided rare Great Unity-level divine materials, and Xiao Ruyi forged them into the shape of a stele.

As for Wang Ye? He used the stele as the eye of a formation, connecting it to the power of the underground spirit veins of the thirty-six peaks of the Blue Firmament Divine Mountains.

The resulting mountain-protecting sword formation was known as “the Endless Swords of Great Unity!”

That aside, Wang Ye inscribed the stele’s surface with thirteen supreme legacies of the Dao of the Sword.

This enormous gift left Xu Fushi flattered but stunned. He said with a laugh, “How could I possibly be worthy of such an act of friendship?”

Ye Chunqiu burst into laughter. “It would be best if you owed us for the rest of your life!”

Xiao Ruyi just pressed her lips into a grin.

Wang Ye, however, clapped Xu Fushi on the shoulder and said, “This Sword Stele isn’t just for you. I hope that it will bless the Immortal Realm’s sword cultivators for generations. Only then will it be worthy of the effort the three of us put into it.”

Thinking back on it, Su Yi couldn’t help but be rueful. If ol’ Xu Fushi were here to see how disgraceful his disciples and grand-disciples had become, I’m afraid he’d fly into an explosive rage.

Su Yi shook his head and cast aside his scattered thoughts.

The primary reason he’d been confident enough to come here alone was that he’d left the Sword Stele here in his past life.

He hadn’t planned to use this treasure except as a last resort, but now…

He couldn’t concern himself with any of that.

“Hurry! Give me the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Furnace!” Ancestor Shen Shang roared.

He stretched out his hand and grabbed the furnace, then poured all of his power into it and attacked Su Yi.

Kaboom!

The full power of this Great Martial treasure erupted from its opening. Endless firelight burst forth as if intent on melting the very dome of heaven.

In the face of this attack, Su Yi merely stretched out his hand and tapped the air.

The thousand-foot sword stele rumbled and boomed like a thousand-foot divine sword. It slammed into the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Furnace, sending it flying on impact. The endless streaks of flame scattered and dispersed.

Splurt!

Ancestor Shen Shang coughed up blood, and his expression filled with shock and horror. Even a Great Martial treasure is useless? How could the stele be this terrifying?

Sect Leader Lei Yunting and the others all looked stricken, and they practically broke down. If even the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Furnace was useless, how could they possibly fight back?

Meanwhile, Su Yi had already begun a massacre. His hands formed seals, and he pressed down on the air.

The thousand-foot Sword Stele served as the foundation to connect the spirit veins of the thirty-six peaks of the Blue Firmament Divine Mountains. The resulting Endless Swords of Great Unity Formation activated with a bang.

Countless streaks of dense sword qi took to the air, blotting out the sky. Their dazzling radiance stung on the eyes. It was as if countless words hovered overhead, striking terror into onlookers’ hearts and souls.

One of the high elders completely panicked and let out a hoarse roar. “Su Yi! Let’s talk this over! You wanted an explanation, didn’t you? We…”

Splurt!

A swath of sword qi descended, annihilating him on the spot. He was destroyed, body and soul.

Crushed like an ant.

This was the terrifying might of the Endless Swords of Great Unity formation. After all, Wang Ye had placed it. Even after countless years of dormancy, when it unleashed its power, it was enough to crush Great Realm experts!

How could a mere Immortal King possibly survive?

When Lei Yunting and the others watched the high elder die, chills coursed through them. All of them panicked!

What do we do?

For all their wisdom, scheming, and years of experience, they couldn’t help but feel overcome with helplessness and despair.

“What’s there to panic about? This old man will open a path to life for you, even if it kills him!” bellowed Ancestor Shen Shang.

His hair and beard bristled with anger, and his aura churned around him as he poured everything he had into the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Furnace and attacked Su Yi.

Boom!

In that moment, Ancestor Shen Shang’s essence, qi, and spirit practically all caught ablaze. He was obviously severely injured, yet his imposing aura expanded until it was far greater than before!

There was no doubt about it. He’d used a forbidden technique to stimulate his latent potential!

“A mantis trying to block a chariot.” Su Yi’s eyes flashed with disdain.

Boom!

The thousand-foot Sword Stele’s sword force rose into the firmament. A casual swing was enough to send the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Furnace flying.

And its tyrannical power pinned Shen Shang in place!

His thin frame was crushed into bits. Flesh and blood scattered.

Only his soul was fortunate enough to survive, but it was locked firmly in place, like a bug in a spider’s web, unable to even budge.

He was a half-step Great Realm expert, yet he’d been suppressed so easily!

This scene was a vivid display of the true meaning of overwhelming force. Beneath the Endless Swords of Great Unity Formation’s power, it didn’t matter that Shen Shang fought with his life on the line. He was ultimately no different from an egg flinging itself against a rock.

When they saw this, Lei Yunting and the others’ will to fight broke down!

Despair.

Helplessness.

Anger.

Terror.

Anxiety.

All of these emotions washed over them like a tidal wave or avalanche, assailing their hearts and minds.

Two Immortal Kings turned and fled without a word, but before they got far, the Endless Swords of Great Unity stirred up a flood of explosive sword qi. Both of them were enveloped and ripped to shreds, right down to their souls.

All that remained of them were their final, desperate shrieks still echoing through the air!

One of the high-elders cried out in obvious terror, “Su Yi! Even if you kill us all, your victory is contrary to martial virtue. Your methods will only make us look down on you!”

His words were so laughable and childish that most people would have found it hard to believe that they’d come out of the mouth of an Immortal King.

Especially since they’d only just broken their own rules without reservation, getting mixed up in what was supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

Now that Su Yi was using the Sword Stele, they accused him of improper, unmartial behavior. The hypocrisy was downright ludicrous.

Su Yi couldn’t even be bothered to argue. He just sent the man on his way.

Boom!

The dense power of the formation washed over him, executing him on the spot.

“Enough!!” Sect Leader Lei Yunting’s eyes bulged in his sockets. “Su Yi, keep killing us like this, and you can forget about getting any answers! Killing us all will do you no good!”

By now, only he and four high elders remained. Dread, terror, and fury were written all over their faces. Su Yi’s cold-blooded, tyrannical methods had intimidated them.

Su Yi completely disregarded Lei Yunting’s threat. “Not afraid to die, huh? I see. I’ll just have to make you live a life worse than death.”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the Endless Swords of Great Unity Formation rumbled and boomed, stirring up a dazzling flood of sword qi that swept toward the high elders.

The five of them blocked with all their might.

Alas, their resistance seemed utterly pathetic by comparison. Within moments, their bodies exploded, one after another, and their blood splattered the blue dome of heaven.

Only their souls remained, all of them trapped firmly in place.

This time, they completely gave in to despair.

They also finally realized something. Had Su Yi used that slippery, elusive movement technique of his to sneak into the Endless Swords Immortal Sect, then controlled the Sword Stele’s power undetected, he could have destroyed them all with ease a long time ago!

It wouldn’t have been at all suspenseful!

Lei Yunting and the others’ faces went ashen at the realization, and they felt a bitter taste in their mouths; they felt like they’d been nothing but bumbling clowns this entire time.

It seemed… that all of their “traps” and “supreme, sect-protecting treasures”, all of their preparations… were nothing but the pointless bungling of a pack of buffoons.

The half-step Great Realm Ancestor Shen Shang had been suppressed. Fourteen of the sect’s nineteen Immortal Kings had died, and the five survivors’ bodies had been crushed. All that remained of them was their souls, and they were already trapped!

The thousand-foot Sword Stele hovered silently in midair.

The Endless Swords of Great Unity Formation’s power enveloped all thirty-six peaks of the Blue Firmament Divine Mountains.

Heaven and earth gradually returned to stillness and tranquility.

As the dust and smoke dispersed, the experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect stood there in a complete daze.

They gazed up at that tall, upright figure standing beneath the dome of heaven, their hearts utterly despondent.

The young man’s blue robes were stained red. His long hair was disheveled, and he was covered in gashes. However, he stood there as upright as a divine sword piercing the heavens, and he seemed utterly unshakeable.

It was as if they were gazing upon a god!

None of them could have anticipated that Shen Shang, Lei Yunting, and the high elders would suffer such a crushing defeat even working together.

They lost even after using the Sword Cage of Heaven and Earth, the Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Cauldron, and the Four Absolutes Immortal-Slaughtering Formation!

Even breaking their own rules and fighting without regard for their lives was no use! All of them still lost in the end!

The shock was just too great. Everyone in the sect sank into astonishment, and they couldn’t shake themselves out of it.

Su Yi swept his gaze across Lei Yunting and the others and said, “It seems you have nothing else left.”

He then turned, fixed his profound gaze outside the sect gates, and used his divine sense to transmit orders to Qi Fufeng and the Zhuyou Great Peng. “Come here!”

He then told the guardian divine beast, the Xiezhi, that no one was to leave or enter the sect without his permission. The Xiezhi agreed without hesitation.

Only then did Su Yi return his attention to the cultivators of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect. He pondered his words for a moment, then said calmly, “I came here to investigate something, not to wantonly massacre the innocent, and I won’t accuse anyone unjustly. Once I’ve uncovered the truth, I’ll naturally give you answers!

“Until then, no one is permitted to leave without permission, but you can otherwise return to your own affairs.”

His voice was like the hum of a sword resounding throughout the nine heavens, echoing throughout the peaks.

The cultivators of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect were astonished, and their expressions shifted.

Once Su Yi had said his piece, he stretched out his hand and grabbed.

Boom!

The Xuanyi Dao-Smelting Cauldron landed in his hand. He then trapped Shen Shang, Lei Yunting, and the other Immortal Kings’ souls within it.

Once he’d uncovered the full truth, he’d strike like lightning, excise every last cancerous growth in the sect, and give the rest an explanation!