First Immortal of the Sword

Su Yi just smiled in response to Tang Yuyan’s warning. He was already headed for the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains.

Before long, he and the Immortal Lords pierced the barrier blanketing the mountains and disappeared.

The Immortal Kings of the participating factions sat down outside the barrier.

The Divine Hunt would last a month. It might sound like a long time, but experts of the Immortal Dao frequently went into seclusion for hundreds of years at a time. To them, a month was nothing at all.

“I just hope Yuyan remembers what I told her and that she doesn’t cause trouble,” Tang Lingqi muttered to himself.

“Come on, then! Same rules as last time. Let’s bet on who’ll take first place in this Divine Hunt!” one of the Immortal Kings said with a booming laugh. He said impatiently, “I bet an Immortal King-level medicinal herb on our Church of Supreme Oneness’s Weng Changfeng taking first place!”

Several other Immortal Kings eagerly started placing bets. They’d gambled like this during past Divine Hunts too. Whoever predicted which Immortal Lord took first place won. The winners split the losers’ generous wagers.

This time would be no exception.

“I bet on Lotus Temple’s Zhuo Yun. The boy’s naturally intelligent; in his teenage years, they called him a natural-born Buddhist son. He’s now a top expert among Immortal Lords. Even the Divine Mysteries Pavilion appraised him as ‘mightier than an Arhat, with strength sufficient to startle a Buddha!'”

“I bet on Gong Nanfeng of the Church of the Pure One. He isn’t simple. For one thing, he’s a scion of the Misty God Mountain Gong Family, and he’s extraordinarily talented. For another, his master is Sect Leader Qi Nie, and his foundations in the Grand Dao are unfathomably deep.”

“Well, I bet on Cen Baili!”

“I bet on Fei Zhen!”

“I bet on Chu Batian!”

……The Immortal Kings each took out their treasures and placed their bets. Even some of the higher-ups beneath that level couldn’t resist the urge to participate.

When Tang Lingqi saw this, he couldn’t help but laugh dryly. Were Su Yi not participating, the people the Immortal Kings were betting on might really have had a shot at first place.

But Su Yi was sure to prove an enormous and unpredictable variable!

“What about you, Brother Tang? Why haven’t you placed a bet?” someone asked with a smile.

At first, Tang Lingqi wasn’t willing to participate, but after thinking it over, he couldn’t resist. “I’d like to place a few separate bets. I’m sure one will pay off.”

He then placed bets on Tang Yuyan, Shen Mu, and several others. His goal was to divert the Immortal Kings’ attention. He didn’t want anyone to know he was really betting on “Shen Mu.”

Before long, the Immortal Kings moved onto the topic of the hidden realm that had survived since the Primeval Era.

“I wonder what exactly is hidden inside.”

“It most likely has something to do with the natural-born giant devils of the Primeval Era. According to ancient tomes, the Primeval Era was under their dominion. The giant devils were born of chaos, and from the moment of their birth, they were mighty enough to pluck the sun and stars out of the sky!”

“I agree. Some of those terrifying giant devils were even comparable to peak experts of the Great Realm!”

“That’s not all. They say that during the Primeval Era, some of them went on to step onto the path to divinity and become true deities!”

“In short, that hidden realm surely isn’t simple!”

“It’s a pity that only Immortal Lords can enter.”

…As he listened to their conversation, Tang Lingqi thought of Su Yi once more. To the best of his knowledge, Su Yi had decided to participate in this Divine Hunt entirely on account of the hidden realm from the Primeval Era!

……

The outer perimeter of the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains.

The plains were utterly devoid of life. Baleful mists permeated the air, and the ground was covered in dried red liquid, as if it had been thoroughly soaked in blood.

When the winds whooshed past, they carried the pungent smell of rotting flesh.

Poof!

Su Yi appeared out of thin air, looked around, and sensed his surroundings. His brow furrowed. What dense baleful qi!

A dense, bloody, baleful air hung over the place, yet to disperse despite the passage of countless years. It could corrode the blood, vital energy, and souls of even immortals!

Not even Immortal Lords could stay here for too long. The bloody, baleful air would influence their awareness, making it easy for them to lose themselves to insanity.

What a sinister place. I’m sure the bloody, baleful qi has given rise to numerous equally baleful fiendish creatures, thought Su Yi.

As he pondered, space rippled throughout his surroundings, and one Immortal Lord after another appeared around them.

The scattered group exchanged glances. All of them were on guard and ready for battle.

The atmosphere silently tensed.

In the outside world, they would perhaps have shared their names and exchanged pleasantries, but these were the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains. Here, they were competitors, and if it came to a struggle over good fortune, they’d kill each other without the slightest politeness!

“Everyone, I’m Ma Kun, a disciple of the Church of Supreme Oneness. I work under my senior apprentice brother, Weng Changfeng. If you’re willing to join our camp, you’re welcome to travel with us,” a man in navy blue Daoist robes said, breaking the silence. “I cannot promise much, but I can at least assure you that we’ll advance and retreat together in the face of danger!

“Furthermore, if we acquire good fortune, we’ll split it evenly!”

Uproar followed this declaration.

Someone couldn’t help but ask, “Daoist Brother Ma Kun, are you for real?”

Ma Kun said with a reserved look on his face, “Of course. Even if you don’t trust me, surely you trust the Church of Supreme Oneness? Relax; we aren’t the type to kill those who’ve helped us after we’re done with them, nor do we burn bridges after crossing them.”

“Alright. I’m willing to travel with you, Daoist Brother.”

“Count me in too.”

Soon, several other Immortal Lords voiced their agreement.

Ma Kun swept his gaze across the crowd and said flatly, “There won’t be a second chance. If you miss it and we run into each other later, it’ll be as opponents.”

Some of the crowd’s expressions shifted, and before long, two more Immortal Lords chose to join Ma Kun.

“Take care of yourselves!” Ma Kun smiled at those who remained, then led his new allies away.

After they faded from view, a man in gray robes couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “How could cooperating with the Church of Supreme Oneness possibly end well for us? We won’t even get a sip of soup, never mind a bite of meat!

“And that’s the least of it! If they run into danger, those fellow Daoists who joined the church’s camp will become nothing but meat shields!”

Suddenly, someone suggested, “Everyone, how about we work together instead? We can look out for each other.”

“Sure, but we need to set rules first.”

“But of course.”

Before long, several Immortal Lords were involved in the conversation. One of them invited Su Yi to join them. “Fellow Daoist Shen, would you like to travel with us?”

“I’m good.” Su Yi shook his head, turned, and left. It wasn’t long before his tall, upright figure disappeared into the boundless wilderness.

“It’s not like he’s an unrivaled Immortal Lord, so why does he want to travel alone? How is that any different from suicide?”

“Perhaps he just has no idea how dangerous the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains really are!”

“To the best of my knowledge, even the unrivaled Immortal Lords will recruit helpers, and none of them dare to lower their guard.”

…..The group continued their conversation. In their eyes, Su Yi’s choice to travel alone was tantamount to suicide. After all, everyone who’d chosen similarly in past Divine Hunts met with one of two fates.

Either they washed out early, or they died in the wilderness!

……

Just an hour later, Su Yi encountered a group of Blood-Red Demon Spiders.

Each was about the size of a millstone, and their whole bodies were red. Their auras were violent and fierce, and each was comparable to an early-stage Saint Realm Immortal Lord. There were at least thirty of them.

They hid themselves in the depths of the earth, then charged suddenly, surrounding Su Yi before attacking en masse.

Boom!

The earth shook as the spiders opened their mouths and spewed a blood-red net of demonic flame. It blanketed the sky and obscured the sun, and it was so dense that it left nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

There was no need to even question it. Anyone trapped within the net would promptly be devoured!

Clang!

Su Yi swung his sleeve, and the hum of a sword resounded throughout the nine heavens. Sword rain fell on all sides.

All thirty or so Blood-Red Demon Spiders died instantly. Blood fell like rain, and severed limbs flew through the air.

The most terrifying part was that their blood was terrifyingly corrosive. As it splattered the surroundings, it left even the air itself riddled with holes. Even the boulders scattered across the ground melted!

But this naturally wasn’t enough to injure Su Yi. He didn’t even dodge. When the splattered blood got close, his power of the Grand Dao formed a barrier and neutralized it with ease.

Before long, Su Yi searched the corpses and found two demonic cores.

Both were about the size of a peach core, pale golden, and full of startlingly pure vital energy. It was indistinct, but there was a hint of divinity about them.

These treasures could be used to make medicine or forge weapons. They were extremely rare outside these mountains.

“There were more than thirty spiders, but they only had two demon cores between them?” Su Yi was stunned, but not that disappointed. After all, this was only the outer perimeter of the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains.

Su Yi put the core away, then resumed his journey. He carried the talisman Tang Yuyan had given him. Sensing its energy fluctuations helped point him in the right direction, and on he went.

Before long, a heaven-shaking commotion emanated from afar. A wave of lava rose into the air, illuminating the dome of heaven and stinging the eyes.

Off in the distance, a lake of lava churned and erupted.

Strangely, a snow-white ice lotus bloomed at the center of the lake, swaying beautifully amidst the churning waves of lava as it spewed dreamlike, misty light.

It was just an ice lotus, but it made the entire lake of lava churn violently, shaking heaven and earth!

This was an unquestionably rare earthly treasure!

The disturbance drew numerous Immortal Lords. All of them gathered at the shore, their eyes flashing with eagerness. They were ready and raring to go.

Su Yi was there too. He recognized the lotus at a glance. It was an unparalleled elixir of inestimable value, a Netherworld Icefire Lotus. It was extraordinarily useful for tempering the soul and physique.

But no one dared recklessly attempt to claim it. It was obvious to all of them that the lake of lava was dangerous and full of an air of destruction.

Suddenly, a man in jade-colored robes appeared not far from Su Yi and said with a gentle smile, “Friend, might you do me a favor and bring me that immortal herb?”