First Immortal of the Sword

An hour later.

Deep within a stretch of mountains several thousand miles from Blazing Firmament Immortal City, atop a secluded, tranquil cliff.

Su Yi and his companions sat cross-legged on the ground and chatted. Immortal Queen Liu Yun was telling him the full story of how the Church of All Spirits had found and surrounded them.

Just as Su Yi expected, the Church of All Spirits had set its sights on Immortal Queen Liu Yun a long time ago. Their goal was to force her to submit and join their cause!

Immortal Queen Liu Yun was the chief authority figure of the House of Little Joys. If they took control of her, they’d have effectively seized control of every branch of the House of Little Joys in the Immortal Realm!

When he realized the truth, Wen Zhiqiu was so angry that he couldn’t help but laugh. "The Church of All Spirits has gone wild with ambition. How dare they?”

Immortal Queen Liu Yun laughed bitterly. “The House of Little Joys is not what it once was.”

Apparently, the House of Little Joys hadn’t just been damaged during the Age of Fallen Immortals. It had also been invaded by demons of the Beyond.

Furthermore, after the curtains fell on the Age of Fallen Immortals, the Church of Supreme Oneness, another top faction, relentlessly encroached on their territories! The House of Little Joys had taken a massive blow to its vitality, and its situation was precarious. It was now just another ordinary Immortal King faction.

Furthermore, their territories were still shrinking. The situation worsened with each passing day.

In stark contrast, the Church of All Spirits was rapidly rising to prominence. It was now one of the largest factions in the Immortal Realm!

They even had a deity backing them. Given the circumstances, they naturally weren’t afraid to offend the House of Little Joys.

After learning these details, Wen Zhiqiu couldn’t help but sigh. “The long Age of Fallen Immortals really did transform the Immortal Realm.”

The most ancient sects and clans of the present day had almost all suffered terribly during the Age of Fallen Immortals. Wen Zhiqiu’s Divine Jade Pure Lands was no exception!

Thus, he understood how Liu Yun must feel.

“Why has the Church of Supreme Oneness chosen to target the House of Little Joys?” Su Yi asked suddenly.

Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s gaze filled with complicated emotions. “I don’t know either, but my best guess is that it has something to do with their founder, Jiang Tai’e. Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, he and Yao Sovereign Ruyi were old enemies. They clashed at least ten times, and Jiang Tai’e lost more often than not. He’s always nursed a grudge over this.”

Su Yi nodded. At the end of the day, this was an old grudge. Jiang Tai’e’s vendetta against Xiao Ruyi had implicated her faction, the House of Little Joys.

The group chatted a while longer before Su Yi asked the others to step aside so he could talk to Immortal Queen Liu Yun alone.

“Where did Xiao Ruyi go?” he asked once they were alone.

Xiao Ruyi was also known as Yao Sovereign Ruyi. She was an unparalleled expert of her generation, the founder of the House of Little Joys, and one of Wang Ye’s closest friends.

The House of Little Joys had a secret code phrase that went, “The ancient spring and autumn, the little joys of the Immortal Dao, who is supreme in this floating world? Seeing me is like seeing the heavens!”

The fourth part of the phrase, “Seeing me is like seeing the heavens!” corresponded to Wang Ye!

But now, Ye Chunqiu and Xu Fushi’s whereabouts were unknown, and even Xiao Ruyi had disappeared. How could this not draw Su Yi’s attention?

Immortal Queen Liu Yun hesitated, then said, “When the Yao Sovereign left, she said she was headed to the River of Epochs in search of good fortune and breakthrough into divinity. She said she wouldn’t return until she succeeded.”

“And when was that?”

“Eighteen hundred years after the War of Eternal Night.” Here, Liu Yun couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi, then instinctively avert her gaze.

Su Yi rubbed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

There was no doubt about it. Xiao Ruyi had disappeared prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, and she’d vowed not to return until she became a goddess. Given her temperament, the fact that she hadn’t returned meant she’d died over the River of Epochs, or… that something had gone wrong, preventing her from sending word back.

Worldly affairs were unpredictable, and Su Yi’s old friends were nowhere to be found. Su Yi couldn’t help but recall the past, and despite his staunch heart, there was no avoiding melancholy.

Shortly after, he cast aside his scattered thoughts and said, “If you trust me, don’t resist. Let me have a good look at the power of divine tribulation inside your body.”

Liu Yun’s delicate frame stiffened, and her beautiful face filled with eagerness. She agreed without hesitation.

There was nothing for it; this strange power had tormented her for countless years, and her cultivation base was rapidly diminishing. Add the serious injuries she’d suffered today to the mix, and her foundations in the Grand Dao were on the verge of collapse!

It would naturally be absolutely wonderful if Su Yi could help get rid of the power of divine tribulation plaguing her! This was why she and Qing Wei had come to the White Reed Province in search of him.

Su Yi promptly got to work. He split off a streak of his divine sense and inserted it into Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s body.

Her heart shook, and a strange sensation coursed through her, as if she were touching an electric current.

Su Yi was a man, and with his divine sense inserted into her body, he could undoubtedly see every last inch of her, inside and out.

He saw even more than he would have if he’d ripped off her clothes…

Immortal Queen Liu Yun couldn’t help but feel bashful, and her youthful, beautiful face heated up and flushed red.

Su Yi indeed saw a whole awful lot, but he wasn’t thinking about any of that. After inserting his divine sense, he quickly located that strange and taboo power of divine tribulation!

When he tried to use the Sword of the Nine Hells to approach it, it reacted as if startled. In the blink of an eye, it shrank back and hid within Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s Immortal Origin Space!

It was an agonizing sensation. Her beautiful brow knit, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead. A muffled grunt escaped her nostrils.

Su Yi disregarded this. His divine sense continued further in like a tentacle, searching the inside of her body for traces of that strange power.

Throughout the process, Immortal Queen Liu Yun quivered as if she were being electrocuted. Su Yi’s divine sense was like an enormous, invisible hand relentlessly searching her inside and out. That feeling… was simply indescribable, nor was there words for that inexplicable sense of shame.

Quite some time passed before Su Yi withdrew his divine sense.

Immortal Queen Liu Yun felt a massive weight lift from her shoulders, and he let out a long breath of turbid air. Her beautiful face was still flushed red, giving her typically aloof bearing an additional charm.

She lowered her head and pursed her lips, not daring to look at Su Yi. Her bashfulness had yet to fade, as she didn’t even need to think to know that Su Yi had seen every last inch of her, every nook and cranny, in full detail.

Su Yi disregarded all this and said, “That so-called ‘divine tribulation’ is most likely a curse created by the deity backing the Church of All Spirits, Divine Venerate Tian Wu. It relentlessly devours cultivators’ foundations and life force, and it’s extremely difficult to get rid of. In the Immortal Realm, I’m afraid only those old-timers at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao could pull it off.”

Immortal Queen Liu Yun froze, and her heart sank, but out loud, she said gently, “Your Excellency, this junior has long since understood how terrifying this power is, so I didn’t get my hopes up. I…”

Before she could finish, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “Did I say I couldn’t break it?”

“Uh…” Immortal Queen Liu Yun froze, stunned, and her beautiful eyes widened. Her heavy heart instantly lightened, her despondency replaced by delight and excitement. “Your Excellency, can you really do it?”

Her change in mood was enormous, from the pits of despair to celebration.

Su Yi nodded. “I naturally have means of helping you resolve this crisis, but I need to step into the Void Realm first.”

Earlier, he quietly pondered the matter, and realized that the Sword of the Nine Hells’ aura was too tyrannical. If he forcefully removed the power inside Liu Yun’s body, he’d inevitably hurt her, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Fortunately, the power of reincarnation could also suppress that of divine tribulation!

Still, due to the limits of his cultivation base, Su Yi’s power of reincarnation couldn’t extend into Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s Immortal Origin Space. However, he figured that it wouldn’t be difficult after he broke into the Void Realm!

“It’s just a little while longer. I can wait!” Liu Yun’s eyes shone with delight.

Nothing was more terrifying than life without hope. Now, Su Yi had given her hope once more. How could she not be excited?

Su Yi smiled, rose, and found Wen Zhiqiu. He said directly, “I can neutralize the Church of All Spirits' strange power of divine tribulation. You can go back and tell Immortal King Tao Meng to wait for me. I’ll be sure to visit the Buzhou Mountains before next year’s Immortal King Night Banquet.”

Wen Zhiqiu’s heart quivered. He hurriedly bowed and said with delight, “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Su! Everyone in the Divine Jade Pure Lands will prepare for your arrival, and we’ll welcome you with our utmost hospitality!”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Would you mind dropping by the Jadelight Pure Lands on your way back? I’d like you to tell Ying Xiu that I can treat her master’s divine tribulation. Have him wait there for me too.”

Wen Zhiqiu solemnly nodded his assent. “Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I’ll bring them the message!”

Wen Zhiqiu set off that very day and rushed to the Buzhou Mountains.

Meanwhile, Su Yi and Liu Yun brought Qing Wei, the Fang siblings, and the others to the Luo River Forbidden Zone.

Immortal Queen Liu Yun was badly injured, and her life hung in the balance. Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t do to linger in the outside world. They had to find a safe, secluded place for her to recover in as soon as possible.

At the same time, Su Yi planned to go into seclusion to prepare for his breakthrough into the Void Realm.

Deep within the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night, there lay the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound. No one else could enter.

It was naturally an ideal place to enter seclusion.