First Immortal of the Sword

Two months later.

Deep within the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night, inside the Underground Palace of Seeking the Profound.

Su Yi awakened from his meditation. He couldn’t help but sigh.

He’d been tempering and refining his cultivation base this entire time, but alas, he still saw no sign whatsoever of an incoming breakthrough.

It seems cultivating in seclusion won’t do me any good, thought Su Yi.

But that didn’t mean he’d spent these two months in vain. He’d further refined the Sword of the Human Realm, raising its power slightly. He’d also refined a batch of pills suited for his Void Realm cultivation.

During his trip to the Seventh Gate of Heaven, he had cut down four Immortal Kings, plus Garrison Master Shen Qingshi. He had also crushed numerous brothels, gambling dens, and other factions, acquiring a simply astronomical mass of spoils.

They included no small number of rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

That aside, Su Yi had acquired plenty of spoils from Chief Libationer Ming Xing and the other Church of All Spirits expert he had killed outside of Blazing Firmament Immortal City.

After sifting through them, he left the treasures he didn’t need to Qing Wei and the others, but this still left him with a shocking abundance of wealth! Even after stepping into the Void Realm, he wouldn’t need to worry about cultivation resources anytime soon.

During these two months, Su Yi used the Divine Replenishment Furnace to refine pills and artifacts. The furnace benefited enormously too. Su Yi estimated that the Divine Replenishment Furnace’s power wasn’t at all inferior to peak Immortal Lord treasures.

But of course, its true function lay in refining medicine and smelting divine materials. The furnace could already refine peak Void Realm immortal pills, and it could even melt down Immortal Lord treasures!

“I’m going out for a bit.” Su Yi found Qing Wei and said, “I’ll come back after I’ve broken into the Void Realm.”

Immortal Queen Liu Yun was in seclusion, tending to her wounds. Qing Wei, meanwhile, was guiding the Fang siblings’ cultivation and enjoying this period of tranquility.

Qing Wei actually quite enjoyed this feeling of separation from the world. It was much like the life of a hermit.

When she learned that Su Yi was about to leave, Qing Wei was reluctant to part with him, but she didn’t argue. “You must take care of yourself, Young Lord.”

Su Yi just smiled and turned to leave.

……

In the days that followed, Su Yi lived as a passing traveler. He walked alone through the White Reed Province, occasionally stopping to drink among the mountains and waters. He feasted on the light of dusk and drank the morning dew as he took in the glorious beauty of heaven and earth.

When the mood struck him, he walked amidst the bustling cities, taking in the red dust of mortality in all its facets.

All the while, his heart gradually settled. He set aside all thoughts of breaking through, going where his heart took him, like a leisurely cloud or a wild crane floating freely through the world, leisurely as could be.

Su Yi was currently leisurely sipping a cup of tea in one of Yellow Diagram City’s many teahouses. The teahouse was packed, and the guests included no small number of cultivators. They were discussing recent developments in the White Reed Province.

“Did you hear what His Excellency Garrison Master Pei Hongjing did? He’s amazing! He sent everyone who showed up to investigate the Seventh Gate of Heaven packing!”

“I heard about that too. They say that experts of the Church of the Pure One, Lotus Temple, and other top factions fell flat on their faces. Pei Hongjing stopped them outside of the City of Ten Thousand Stars.”

“Won’t that offend their factions of origin?”

“Ah, maybe you don’t know this, but His Excellency Pei Hongjing controls the Stele of Heaven’s Will. In the Seventh Gate of Heaven, he’s the unrivaled and supreme ruler. How could he be afraid of offending anyone?”

When Su Yi overheard their conversation, he couldn’t help but smile. He already knew that the battle at the Seventh Gate of Heaven had thrown the entire Immortal Realm into uproar.

And his name was now known to all of its top factions!

Several months had passed already, but it seemed the storm had yet to fully die down.

If it’s as I suspect, Sect Leader Qi Nie of the Church of the Pure One has guessed my identity. The other top factions might well suspect me too. Su Yi took a sip of tea and sank into thought. I’ll have to take on a new identity to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Su Yi wasn’t afraid of trouble. He just didn’t like it when an endless stream of trouble came looking for him, and he knew that those top factions wouldn’t relent until they’d confirmed his identity.

“Who could have imagined that before the Immortal Realm could even uncover that Su Yi person’s origins, Cloud Apparatus Immortal Manor would crumble? They once shook the entire Immortal Realm!”

“Their end was well deserved! They actually betrayed the entire Immortal Realm and colluded with demons. There’s no need for a faction like that to exist!”

“But they weren’t destroyed. They just realized that their crimes had come out into the open, and they dissolved of their own accord. It seems like they’ve disappeared, but who would dare say with certainty that they won’t rise again in the future?”

Soon, the guests’ conversation shifted. Now, all of them were talking about Cloud Apparatus Immortal Major.

This actually drew Su Yi’s attention and put him on guard. Cloud Apparatus Immortal Manor had Old Man Providence, a deity, behind it. How could they just endure in silence after such a crushing defeat?

He might not need to worry about this latent threat in the short run, but he was certain that if another War of Immortals and Demons broke out, Cloud Apparatus Immortal Major was sure to return!

“Never mind all that. Did you hear that the Middle Province is about to have another Divine Hunt?”

“Who doesn’t know that? The whole Immortal Realm is paying attention!”

“We know with certainty that three top factions, the Church of the Pure One, the Church of Supreme Oneness, and Lotus Temple have sent their unrivaled Immortal Lords to participate!”

“Who specifically?”

“Not sure; they haven’t announced a list of names. However, according to the Divine Mysteries Pavillion’s reports, these top sects all attach enormous importance to this Divine Hunt. Thus, they’re all but certain to send the strongest Immortal Lords they’ve got!”

“Oh brother, we’re in for a spectacle this time!”

…The conversation quickly shifted toward the upcoming Divine Hunt. Su Yi was initially stunned, but when he did the math, he understood.

A few months prior, when he bade farewell to Tang Lingqi and Tang Bao’er, they invited him to join the Divine Hunt due to start in six months.

To the Immortal Realm’s Immortal Lords, the Middle Province’s Divine Hunt was an unquestionably first-rate grand occasion. It dated back to the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals.

During a Divine Hunt, the world’s greatest Immortal Lords gathered at the Middle Province’s Divine Hunt Demon Mountains to compete, strive for good fortune, and debate the Dao!

The Tang Family was hosting the upcoming Divine Hunt, and they’d invited all of the greatest Immortal Lords beneath the heavens to participate. It was to be grander than ever before.

Furthermore, Tang Lingqi said that there were ways around Su Yi’s Universe Realm cultivation if he wanted to participate. There was no need for him to undergo any sort of selection process, either. Tang Lingqi could just give him a spot!

At the time, Su Yi wasn’t particularly interested.

But then, Tang Lingqi revealed secret information that piqued his interest.

Deep within the wilderness of the Divine Hunt Immortal Mountains, they discovered an ancient hidden realm they suspected had existed since the Primeval Era!

The Tang Family higher-ups attached enormous importance to this discovery. Alas, a terrifying formation enveloped the entrance, preventing anyone from entering.

Several Tang Family Immortal Kings deduced that in about six months' time, the formation’s power would fluctuate just enough to let Immortal Lords and under through.

This was one of the Immortal Lord-level participants’ goals for the upcoming Divine Hunt!

The “Primeval Era” referred to the most ancient days of the Immortal Realm’s history.

Now, a hidden realm with a suspected connection to the Primeval Era had appeared in the wilderness of Divine Hunt Immortal Mountain. This naturally drew Su Yi’s interest.

After all, Wang Ye had reached the Great Realm, establishing himself at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, in part thanks to good fortune originating from the Primeval Era. It had been inestimably useful to his growth!

When Su Yi did the math, he realized that less than half a month remained until the start of the Divine Hunt. He quickly made a decision. Fair enough. It seems like l'll have to take a trip to the Middle Province.

His cultivation still showed no sign of an imminent breakthrough. It would naturally be just great if he found the opportunity he needed during the Divine Hunt.

Of course, more importantly, Su Yi was curious to see just what was hidden in that realm.

Su Yi set off that very day, but before he left, he used a secret art to subtly alter his features. Then, he tied his hair into a Daoist topknot, making him look like a perfectly ordinary young Daoist.

He even changed out of his customary blue robes, replacing them with simple, dark robes befitting a Daoist cultivator.

Su Yi was confident that not even Immortal Kings like Wen Zhiqiu could see through his disguise.

Ten days later.

Su Yi crossed the White Reed, Wind, Lake, and Elephant Provinces. After a smooth, uneventful journey, he’d finally reached the Middle Province.

...

Golden Billows Immortal Mountain, the home of the ancient Tang Family.

It was noon, and distinguished guests arrived at the mountain gates at irregular intervals. Some rode in on treasure ships, others sat on the backs of immortal birds, while still others were in ornate carriages pulled by immortal beasts.

It had been like this for several days. This was because the Tang Family was hosting the upcoming Divine Hunt. Every faction intending to participate had to gather here first.

Then, when the day of the Divine Hunt arrived, they’d leave for the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains together.

When Su Yi arrived, fresh from his long journey, he saw numerous other guests gathered outside the gates. It was quite a lively scene.

Suddenly, a commotion arose.

“Hurry to welcome our guests! That’s Gong Nanfeng’s Lightning Flood Dragon Treasure Ship. He’s an unrivaled Immortal Lord from the Church of the Pure One!”

Su Yi looked over and saw a treasure ship swathed in lightning shooting over from the distant skies. Four massive flood dragons, each ten thousand feet long, were working together to pull it. It was an extremely eye-catching sight.

Gong Nanfeng? An unrivaled Immortal Lord from the Church of the Pure One? Su Yi’s eyebrows rose; something wasn’t right here.