First Immortal of the Sword

After the Divine Fortune Teller described what he’d seen, Su Yi couldn’t help but be solemn.

“The gods waging war in the Immortal Realm? Divine blood falling like rain? A vision of the apocalypse?”

It was difficult to stay calm.

The gods were restricted by the Laws and the natural order. They couldn’t enter this world. This had always been an ironclad rule.

It was for this reason that gods who wanted to influence and interfere with the Immortal Realm’s affairs needed divine emissaries. They gathered devotees and carried out the gods’ bidding in their stead.

For instance, both Cloud Apparatus Immortal Manor and the Church of All Spirits were servants of their respective deities!

But in the Divine Fortune Teller’s vision, the gods had appeared here in the Immortal Realm, fighting an apocalyptic grand battle!

This was unquestionably startling.

The Divine Fortune Teller said in a low voice, “My vision won’t necessarily become a reality. Even I sometimes fail in my attempts to divine heavenly mysteries.”

“There’s an enduring rumor spreading throughout the Immortal Realm,” said Su Yi. “They say that as the Immortal Realm welcomes its golden age, the long-lost path to divinity will return. That means that Great Realm experts might well have an opportunity to prove their Daos and become gods.”

Here, he looked at the Divine Fortune Teller. “If that happens, it doesn’t seem at all strange that gods might appear here in the Immortal Realm.”

The Divine Fortune Teller’s expression shifted. “No, if my vision comes true, it will mean that a Grand Tribulation of the Epochs has appeared over the River of Epochs! Otherwise, the gods could not possibly break the fetters of the natural order and enter this world.”

“A Grand Tribulation of the Epochs? What does that mean?” Su Yi exclaimed. It seems the old scoundrel knows a whole damn lot!

The Divine Fortune Teller coughed and muffled his speech. “A cataclysm that only exists in fleeting rumors. It’s too far away from us, and it’ll only affect the River of Epochs. No need to concern yourself with it.

“All you need to know is that it would take a cataclysm great enough to transform the Laws to let those lofty and supreme deities enter this world free of the fetters of the natural order.”

Su Yi nodded. Would such a cataclysm truly befall the River of Epochs? That would determine whether the gods could enter this world.

It would also determine whether or not the Divine Fortune Teller’s terrifying, apocalyptic vision of the future would become a reality!

About fifteen minutes later, the Zhuyou Great Peng awakened from its contemplation.

Shockingly, the moment it awakened, its wounds healed completely, and divine radiance interwove around its body as it underwent an unbelievable transformation.

Its feathers sloughed off and regrew. They were now dark and shiny, and they glowed with golden luster.

Its gaze was increasingly profound, and its sharp claws looked as if they were made of cut jade. Every feather on its body was now imbued with wondrous, naturally formed Dao Markings.

It was like a butterfly completing metamorphosis and emerging from its cocoon, a transformation akin to rebirth!

The Divine Fortune Teller was unwittingly stunned. That bird brain managed to undergo a complete and utter transformation during its contemplation!?

“Heh heh, hehehe, hehehehehe…..” The Zhuyou Great Peng opened its beak and laughed with smug glee. It was obviously in high spirits.

“A burst of enlightenment, followed by rebirth!” It stretched out its claws and examined them, then said solemnly, “One day, this lofty one is sure to break into the Great Realm and reach the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao. Everyone shall honor me as Immortal Sovereign Zhuyou!”

“Don’t get cocky!”

Whap!

The Divine Fortune Teller smacked the licentious bird on the head, knocking it off the Dao Contemplation Platform.

“Hey! Can’t you be a bit more polite, you old bastard?” The Zhuyou Great Peng flew into a rage. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll get even after becoming a Sovereign?”

The Divine Fortune Teller laughed coldly. “Become a Sovereign first, then we’ll talk. When the time comes, I’ll honor you as… Immortal Sovereign Bird Brain!”

“How dare you insult me, you old bastard!?”

“I dare hit you too, don’t you forget it!”

As the two of them argued, Su Yi walked onto the Dao Contemplation Platform, sat down, and crossed his legs.

He instantly entered a profound and wondrous state of enlightenment. He felt as if he’d been transported into the heart of a vast chaos source.

The chaos shifted and transformed endlessly, manifesting the alternations of worldly affairs, the cycle of the seasons, and the vicissitudes of the years…

All manner of secrets of the Grand Dao appeared within these endless transformations, manifesting suns, moons, mountains, and rivers, creation in all facets.

It was as if countless eons had passed in an instant.

In the end, everything returned to chaos.

Chaos represented the source, the most fundamental of energies, and the beginning. It was the root of the Dao and the foundation of cultivation.

Su Yi’s power of the Grand Dao started to transform amidst the shifting, primeval secrets of chaos, repeatedly returning to its origins.

He’d reached the peak of the Universe Realm back in Blue Cliff Academy. His cultivation base, soul, physique, and powers of the Grand Dao had all reached perfection within this level. All he needed now was the right opportunity to break through.

Su Yi had been searching for this opportune moment without success for quite some time.

Now, seated atop the Dao Contemplation Platform, he sensed his bottleneck loosening. The barrier impeding his progress showed signs of breaking.

His chance to break through had finally arrived!

A moment later, Su Yi set all such thoughts aside and fully immersed himself in his enlightenment. It was as if he’d returned to the primordial chaos. His heart and mind were fully present within it.

Meanwhile, wisps of chaos mist rose from the Dao Contemplation Platform and flooded into Su Yi’s cross-legged form, giving his vital energy an unfathomable, chaotic quality.

Time slipped by.

Two hours, then four, then six.

…A full day passed, and Su Yi still showed no sign of awakening from his enlightenment. The Divine Fortune Teller and Zhuyou Great Peng couldn’t help but be surprised. Just what mysteries of the Grand Dao is he grasping for his enlightenment to last this long?

“Hey, you old scoundrel. Don’t you think it’s about time you told me where Little Brother Su Yi came from?” The Zhuyou Great Peng whispered.

Su Yi was a young Universe Realm Immortal, yet he could neutralize divine misfortune, he’d inexplicably acquired that six-inch stone coffin, and a Combat Soul Puppet from the Primeval Era took him for his master.

The Divine Fortune Teller didn’t even dare let it use its Zhuyou Torch Eye to investigate Su Yi. All of this made him seem incredibly mysterious.

The Divine Fortune Teller snorted coldly. “You’re just a flat-feathered beast. Who are you to pry into his secrets? But I don’t mind giving you a little guidance. Going forward, treat Fellow Daoist Su as you would your ancestor. It’ll bring you benefits you can't even imagine!”

The Zhuyou Great Peng launched into a series of curses. “Fuck you! You…. You want me to act like some junior’s grandson? Only someone like you could say something so damn shameless!”

The Divine Fortune Teller said coldly, “You’re wrong. Even if you wanted to be his grandson, Fellow Daoist Su wouldn’t acknowledge you! All I can tell you is that you’d best treat him with the same respect as you would an ancestor. If you do, I swear on my life that your dreams of proving your Dao, entering the Great Realm, and becoming the glorious Immortal Sovereign Bird Brain will be entirely achievable!”

The Divine Fortune Teller’s words were extremely grating to the ear. However, they made the Zhuyou Great Peng’s heart shake. He knew the old scoundrel wouldn’t guarantee something with his life just for the sake of a prank.

Don’t tell me this kid can really help me realize my ambitions of breaking into the Great Realm?

Suddenly, both the old man and the bird stiffened. A moment later, they shot out of the bronze hall and gazed into the dome of heaven.

They weren’t sure when, but dense, ink-black tribulation clouds had blanketed the sky.

Even just gazing upon them from afar made the Zhuyou Great Peng puff up its feathers and shriek, “A divine… divine tribulation?

Whap!

The Divine Fortune Teller smacked the bird and said through clenched teeth, “There’s nothing ‘divine’ about it! Fellow Daoist Su is just breaking through! But… it really is strange and calamitous…”

His eyes were full of unconcealable dread. The tribulation had appeared silently and without a trace. It was nothing like most people’s Void Realm Tribulations, as it was full of an air of calamity.

Even though the Divine Fortune Teller had experienced divine punishment too many times to count over the years, and even though he was plagued by endless tribulations, Su Yi’s impending grand tribulation made him quiver with fright, and his heart filled with instinctive terror.

The Zhuyou Great Peng let out a strange shout. “He’s just breaking into the Void Realm? But this tribulation is far, far more terrifying than what I went through to become an Immortal King!”

“Don’t you understand? It’s simple! This tribulation is targeting Fellow Daoist Su!” muttered the Divine Fortune Teller.

As they conversed, the first beam of tribulation silently fell, piercing through the sky and disappearing into the bronze hall.

Almost immediately afterward, it slammed into the seated Su Yi’s soul.

An unbelievable scene followed. As terrifying as that tribulation light was, when it entered Su Yi’s soul, it dissolved like a clay ox dropped into the ocean, vanishing without a trace.

It didn’t harm Su Yi in the slightest. It didn’t even startle him out of his state of enlightenment.

The Sword of the Nine Hells floating within his sea of consciousness neutralized and refined it all!

The Divine Fortune Teller and Zhuyou Great Peng saw it all. Both of them were unwittingly stunned. No reaction at all!?

Before long, yet another beam of tribulation light fell, but it was just as ineffectual as the first. Su Yi didn’t even blink.

“Strange. Far too strange!” The Zhuyou Great Peng was completely flabbergasted.

How strange and terrifying was this tribulation? It was enough to panic even an Immortal King. Who’d have thought it would fail to even scratch the person undergoing tribulation?

No, it’s to be expected, sighed the Divine Fortune Teller. This might be an incomparably grand and strange tribulation, but in the face of Fellow Daoist Su’s power, it was doomed to amount to nothing!

Perhaps all of this is connected to his power of reincarnation!

In the time that followed, more and more beams of tribulation light fell from the clouds, but without exception, they melted like snow on a warm day upon reaching Su Yi.

A full ten minutes later, the tribulation clouds had dissipated completely. The Divine Fortune Teller and Zhuyou Great Peng felt a massive weight lift from their shoulders.

Su Yi still sat cross-legged atop the Dao Contemplation Platform, entirely unmoving, as if he had no idea what kind of terrifyingly catastrophic tribulation he’d just overcome!

Meanwhile, an astonishing transformation was taking place within him. His cultivation, soul, and physique were born anew as he broke through his bottleneck and soared into a brand-new realm of cultivation.

The light of the Dao poured around him like a waterfall, and the sound of the Dao rumbled like thunder.

This was the Void Realm, the second of the Four Realms of the Immortal Dao.

Those who reached this realm were honored as True Immortals!

Seth's Thoughts

The Divine Fortune Teller laughed coldly. “Become a Sovereign first, then we’ll talk. When the time comes, I’ll honor you as… Immortal Sovereign Bird Brain!”

Took some liberties with this one. The raws are literally just "Bird Sovereign." I did this because "bird" is often used in a vulgar or derogatory sense in Chinese, and sticking it in front of other characters can make them into insults. "Bird language," for instance, is a derogatory term for foreign languages.

Maybe that helps explain all the bird slander and abuse that goes on in this novel!! Justice for the Zhuyou Great Peng!!