First Immortal of the Sword

The Divine Fortune Teller said, “But it looks like something's gone horribly wrong with that Combat Soul Puppet’s brain. His awareness is muddled. So long as you stay away from the platform, he’s no different from a lump of wood.

Su Yi looked over and said, “Can you tell what kind of treasure that is?”

The Divine Fortune Teller’s eyes flashed. “My best guess is that it’s a Dao Contemplation Platform made of Chaos Essence Stone. If you sit upon it during your cultivation, you’ll enter a state of enlightenment too wondrous for words. By the standards of the present day, it’s a first-rate treasure. You can only see the like in the greatest of factions."

“As for that six-inch black stone coffin?” The Divine Fortune Teller shook his head. “I can’t figure it out either. I’m afraid no one could without at least opening it first.”

Su Yi nodded. He could say with certainty that both the Dao Contemplation Platform and the six-inch stone coffin were from the Primeval Era, just like the Combat Soul Puppet!

“And how did you find this place?” asked Su Yi.

The Zhuyou Great Peng was so agitated that it burst into a series of expletives. “That old bastard said that a lady Purplegold Condor was participating in this Divine Hunt, so I followed him eagerly, only to discover no sign of the lady in question, not even a single damn feather! I fucking fell for the old schemer’s lies!”

The bird had a bellyful of resentment, and every sentence that came out of its beak included at least one curse.

The Divine Fortune Teller burst into hacking coughs. “If you weren’t blinded by lust, how could you have followed me here?”

He then looked at Su Yi and said with a dry laugh, “I heard that a hidden realm from the Primeval Era had been discovered in the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains, and I couldn’t repress my curiosity. Alas, even with good fortune so close at hand, I can’t acquire it. Nothing I’ve tried has worked.”

Su Yi understood. Given the Divine Fortune Teller’s abilities, avoiding the influence of the area’s Laws and entering the mountains was in no way difficult.

“Why not use that killer weapon of yours?” Su Yi asked suddenly. He knew that the old schemer had quite a few taboo treasures up his sleeves, including a black flag capable of threatening even Great Realm experts!

Without a few such cards up his sleeves, he could never have survived the Age of Fallen Immortals, yet here he was, alive and well.

“I can’t use it unless it’s truly life or death,” sighed the Divine Fortune Teller. “If I do, I’m sure to provoke divine punishment. These old bones are already wracked with countless tribulations. How could I withstand such torment?”

Su Yi mulled it over, then said, “Let me try.”

The Divine Fortune Teller lit up with delight. “With your help, we have nothing to worry about! That Combat Soul Puppet is doomed!”

The Zhuyou Great Peng, however, tried to dampen his enthusiasm. It pointed to itself and said, “Little fellow, look here! That puppet beat the crap out of me! And your paltry cultivation base isn’t even worth looking at. Don’t fall for that old bastard’s schemes. You can’t trust a word he says!”

The Divine Fortune Teller dashed over and smacked the bird on the head. “The hell do you know, you dirty, flat-feathered beast?”

Su Yi ignored them both. Both the old man and the bird were clowns; even existing in their immediate vicinity made him feel like he was losing dignity.

Clang!

Su Yi flipped his palm, and the Sword of the Human Realm appeared in his grip.

The blue, glass-like blade was simple and unadorned, and it scattered a dreamlike and ethereal rain of light.

It had been a long, long time since he’d used this sword, simply because he hadn’t encountered any opponents strong enough to make him draw it.

“Ee? That sword’s quite impressive!” The Zhuyou Great Peng clucked its tongue. It could tell at a glance that the Sword of the Human Realm contained enormous secrets. It was far beyond an “ordinary” divine weapon.

The Divine Fortune Teller muttered to himself, How could an ordinary immortal sword be worthy of the Tyrant?

Su Yi stretched out his finger and flicked the flat of the blade, his qi rumbling and booming. In the blink of an eye, he circulated his cultivation base to unprecedented heights!

Boom!

He was like a divine sword leaving its sheath. His sheer imposing aura made the entire hall shake.

The armored Combat Soul Puppet was extraordinarily terrifying. Su Yi dared not get the slightest bit complacent. Thus, even before the battle began, he readied his full strength.

“Holy shit! How the hell does that kid cultivate? Why the heck is his sword force so terrifying?” exclaimed the Zhuyou Great Peng. Its eyes shone with inscrutable light, as if it were trying to glean insight into Su Yi’s secrets.

But a moment later, the Divine Fortune Teller clamped his hands over the bird’s eyes and shouted, “Don’t even try to use your Zhuyou Torch Eye to learn his secrets! You’ll get yourself killed!”

The Zhuyou Great Peng stiffened, and its heart shook. What’s that supposed to mean? He's just a young Universe Realm cultivator. Don’t tell me he’s hiding something incomparably taboo?

Still, the bird dared not cause any further trouble. It refrained from using its ability any further. Instead, it perched obediently beside the Divine Fortune Teller and waited to see what happened next.

Su Yi took a step forward, and…

Boom!

His sword intent rose higher and higher, growing more and more concentrated. The Sword of the Human Realm let out an impassioned hum. Terrifying sword force swept outward, making the grand hall shake all the harder.

Whoosh!

The stalwart man in armor seemed to notice. He suddenly whipped his head around and locked onto Su Yi, his cold, indifferent eyes suddenly shining with bloodthirsty light.

The Divine Fortune Teller and Zhuyou Great Peng’s hearts clenched. Chills coursed through them. Both of them had firsthand experience with the Combat Soul Puppet’s terrifying strength, and they couldn’t help but sweat on Su Yi’s behalf.

The Combat Soul Puppet’s gaze put intense pressure on Su Yi, to the point that his skin went taut.

Su Yi dared not get complacent. The Combat Soul Puppet was just too strong; he could defeat even Immortal Kings with ease. At Su Yi’s current level, he knew that he’d be no match for the puppet even if he went all out.

Thus, he didn’t even hesitate to draw upon the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells.

But it was then that something entirely unexpected happened.

Weng!

The six-inch black stone coffin reacted as if suddenly stimulated. It quivered, then burst with strange ripples of dark light.

A moment later, it shot through the air, directly toward Su Yi, like a swallow returning to its nest. It even danced about in celebration and incomparable delight.

“????” “????”

The Divine Fortune Teller and the Zhuyou Great Peng’s eyes bulged. They’d been expecting a grand battle. Who could have imagined that something so unbelievable would happen instead?

Even Su Yi was unwittingly stunned. He forcefully suppressed the attack he’d been preparing.

But he quickly understood. Within his sea of consciousness, the fifth Divine Chain of the Sword of the Nine Hells was clattering. Its links rubbed together as if it were awakening from its long dormancy!

No, it hadn’t really awakened. It had just sensed something. Something was resonating with the divine chain, triggering its unusual movements.

Between that and the six-inch stone coffin dancing joyfully around him, how could Su Yi possibly fail to understand what was happening?

This item was surely deeply connected to his fifth incarnation!

Waves of emotion coursed through Su YI’s heart.

It had been over a year since he’d fused with Wang Ye’s Dao Imprint, but he still had no idea just whose memories were sealed in the Sword of the Nine Hells’ fifth Divine Chain.

Now, it seemed he finally had a lead!

Was my fifth incarnation perhaps an expert of the Immortal Realm’s Primeval Era? Su Yi’s thoughts raced. If so, does that mean that the platform and Combat Soul Puppet belonged to my fifth incarnation, just like that stone coffin?

A moment later, Su Yi cast aside his scattered thoughts and withdrew his aura. He raised his hand and beckoned, and the six-inch stone coffin landed in his palm.

It was small and thin, but it was incomparably heavy. Su Yi felt as if he were supporting a towering mountain in the palm of his hand!

“What the hell is going on here?” The Divine Fortune Teller couldn’t help but cry out. "Whoever heard of a coffin of good fortune?"

Even if you hit him over the head, he would never have guessed that the treasure he’d drooled over would throw itself into Su Yi’s arms like this.

The Zhuyou Great Peng couldn’t help but grumble, “I guess this is what they mean when they say that some treasures are reserved for those chosen by fate. If that treasure weren’t destined to be his, how could it go to him of its own accord? It’s so damn unreasonable.”

In stark contrast with their brutal pummeling, Su Yi had acquired an extraordinary, mysterious treasure simply by raising his hand. Their hearts were full of bitterness, frustration, and envy.

But before they could wrap their heads around it, something else happened that left them tongue-tied.

The stalwart armored man suddenly got down on one knee, lowered his head, and clasped his fist. “Your subordinate, Lei Ze, welcomes your return, master!”

His voice was hoarse but forceful, like a valiant warrior charging into battle.

Deathly silence fell.

The Divine Fortune Teller’s eyes practically popped out of his sockets. “What… What’s going on here!?”

The Zhuyou Great Peng cried out, “Twisted! Really fucking twisted!”

Even Su Yi was stunned. He called me… his master? And he’s been waiting for my return?

Don’t tell me that my fifth incarnation really left this Lei Ze here?

He set aside the stone coffin for later and asked, “Why did you call me ‘master?’”

He stared intently at the armored man, but Lei Ze’s formerly cold, indifferent eyes were full of bewilderment. “I… I don’t understand either.”

His expression shifted erratically, as if he were struggling to recall something, but in the end, he just let out a muffled, agonized grunt. His stalwart frame trembled uncontrollably.

The Divine Fortune Teller cried out, “Something’s gone wrong with his soul! Hurry and tell him to stop trying to remember, or he’ll hurt himself!”

Su Yi was instantly solemn. “You don’t need to think anymore. Get up.”

“Understood!” The armored man rose to his feet, his gaze cold and indifferent once more, without the slightest ripple of emotion. He just stood there, motionless as a statue.

The Divine Fortune Teller walked over and pointed to the six-inch stone coffin Su YI was holding. “Maybe he mistook you for his master because you’re carrying that coffin.”

Su Yi’s gaze was strange, but he didn’t explain. The Divine Fortune Teller knew that he was Wang Ye’s reincarnation, but only Su Yi knew that he’d had other lives before Wang Ye!

“It’s a pity, but the Combat Soul Puppet’s soul is badly damaged. Otherwise, we could learn all kinds of secrets from him!” The Divine Fortune Teller sighed. It was indeed an awful pity.

After all, Lei Ze was a Combat Soul Puppet from the Primeval Era, and he was terrifyingly strong. His origins were surely extraordinary!

The Divine Fortune Teller shook his head and turned his attention toward the six-inch stone coffin. He couldn’t wait to find out more. “Hurry up and open it! Let’s see just what’s hidden inside!”

The Zhuyou Great Peng craned its neck to get a better look, too. The bird’s eyes were full of curiosity.

Seth's Thoughts

“What the hell is going on here?” The Divine Fortune Teller couldn’t help but cry out. "Whoever heard of a coffin of good fortune?"

This is a bad pun in the raws. Change one radical in one character, and "get a promotion and earn lots of money" becomes "raise a coffin to make a fortune."

升官发财 to 升棺发财. Even the pronunciation is the same.