First Immortal of the Sword

A long time passed before Su Yi awoke from his meditation.
His deep gaze was clear and tranquil.

“In the Xiantian Martial Ancestor Realm, one refines xiantian qi.
I’ve only refined about thirty percent of mine.
I’m afraid I’ll need a month or so to finish the process…”

As Su Yi pondered, he flipped his hand.
Early Grave hovered above his palm, its sword qi fierce and intimidating. 

However, before Su Yi, it was as docile as a lamb, and it carefully restrained its baleful aura. 

“Should I refine this sword?” Su Yi was a bit hesitant.

This sword was special, and the methods used to forge it weren’t at all simple.
Furthermore, after it was forged, it had been nourished in baleful energies for years, resulting in its current shocking, ferocious majesty.

Based on its quality, it already surpassed the limits of Origin Dao treasures.
This was a divine weapon of the Spirit Dao!

In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, such treasures were called Spirit Dao Treasures.
Only Spirit Dao cultivators could use and refine them!

Judging by its forging methods, the sword had obviously emerged from a demonic sect.
Using baleful energies to temper a blade resulted in unparalleled, despotic killing power. 

However, in Su Yi’s eyes, the sword was fundamentally flawed.

The reason was simple: its potential was limited.
It could at most achieve a hint of spiritual awareness, but it could never possess intelligence or a spiritual body.

It was nothing like the Abstruse God Sword.
With repeated nourishment from the Spirit-Devouring Edict, the Abstruse God Sword would one day gain awareness.
Sword consciousness could then transform into a sword soul, and ultimately, a sword spirit.

In terms of sheer power, Early Grave far surpassed the current Abstruse God Sword.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

However, in terms of potential, Early Grave wasn’t even remotely comparable.

“Forget it.
I’ll hold onto you for a while.
Later, if I find the right opportunity, I’ll reforge you to make up for the deficiencies in your potential.
If I don’t get the chance, I’ll just refine you and fuse you into the Abstruse God Sword,” Su Yi muttered.

Bzzz!

The cursed sword, Early Grave, trembled and hummed as if whooping for joy.

Su Yi put the sword away, rose, and left the room.

……

The night skies were flecked with stars.

’

Fang Yuan was already waiting in the courtyard.
When he saw Su Yi arrive, he jumped, then greeted him.
“Your Excellency.”

Su Yi nodded back.

Fang Yuan reported in a low voice, “Your Excellency, while you were cultivating, the Mountain-Subduing King brought you your trophies.”

He then took out a crystalline, snow-white storage pendant, which he passed to Su Yi.
“The spoils are all inside.
Please, take a look.”

Su Yi first paused to examine the pendant.
It was smooth and warm, like “mutton fat” jade, and it was about half the size of his palm.
Its shape was simple and unsophisticated, but upon closer inspection, traces of golden light flashed within it.

The name “Snow Beetle” was carved on the back of the pendant in characters as small as a fly’s head. 

“Voidcrystal Spirit Jade?” exclaimed Su Yi.
This was a top-notch material for forging spatial treasures.

Fang Yuan said hurriedly, “Your Excellency, according to the Mountain-Subduing King, this storage pendant belonged to the grand elder of Unknown Dragon Mountain, Zhou Changyi.
It’s likely an ancient treasure.”

“Oh?” said Su Yi before examining the Snow Beetle Jade Pendant’s contents with his divine sense.

The pendant’s interior contained an independent space with a thousand-foot radius.
The black jade pendant at his waist only had about three feet of space; it was pitifully sparse by comparison. 

What made Snow Beetle even rarer and more precious was that its interior contained traces of spirituality.
This meant that he could store spiritual medicines in here long term without worrying about them losing their spiritual qualities. 

He had to admit it; the Snow Beetle Jade Pendant was indeed a rare treasure even among storage treasures!

But soon, it was the spoils stored inside that drew Su Yi’s attention.

He saw spiritual medicines, materials, and various weapons and treasures, all piled into glittering, colorful mountains.

It was obvious that someone had organized the treasure, as they’d been split neatly into categories. 

When he first saw this, even Su Yi was briefly stunned.

There were over a hundred different types of spiritual medicine, and all were at least tier four! There was no shortage of rare and precious tier-five spiritual medicines either!

All of the spiritual materials were suitable for Origin Dao cultivators to refine into tools.
The pills and cultivation resources were extraordinary too, and they were shockingly valuable.

These spiritual medicines are enough to refine a batch of ‘Yin-Yang Nine Purities Pills.’ If I use them to supplement my cultivation, I can reach the peak of the Anāsrava Realm within half a month.

’

These spiritual materials are actually enough to make a Five Elements Profound Amplification Formation…..

Right, I need to make a bunch of talismans to give to Lingxue and Cha Jin so they can protect themselves.

I can melt the other spiritual materials, as well as the weapons I don’t need, and use them to nourish the Abstruse God Sword and boost its strength and level.

…Before long, Su Yi had a plan.

He wasn’t worried about enemies coming after him, but he had no choice but to take precautions to prevent them from targeting those around him. 

Especially because today’s battle was sure to provoke widespread uproar.
Who knew how much attention he’d draw? It would be hard to prevent those with ulterior motives from plotting against those he cared about.

Su Yi put away the Snow Beetle Jade Pendant, then took out his wicker chair and sat down.
“Is there anything else?”

“The Su Family sent people here earlier,” Fang Yuan said hurriedly.
“They’ve already finished preparing the offerings.
They include the ashes of thirty-nine Su clansmen and one hundred and thirty-three guards and servants, as well as the remains of You Qingzhi and Su Boning.
Tomorrow morning at dawn, they’ll send them directly to the Green Prayer Mountains.”

As he spoke, Fang Yuan took out a folding notebook, which he passed to Su Yi.
“Your Excellency, here is a list of the offerings’ names.
Please feel free to look it over.”

Su Yi didn’t so much as glance at it.
Instead, he asked right back, “Tell me, do you think the Su Family would dare to deceive me?”

Fang Yuan didn’t so much as stop to think.
“Your Excellency, in my humble opinion, after surviving this calamity, there’s no way the Su Family would dare mess around.
After all, if their deception came to light, it would implicate the entire clan.
The consequences would be unimaginable; it’s not worth the risk.”

He paused, then continued, “But if you’re concerned, I can go through the list and investigate the offerings one by one.”

Su Yi waved.
“Enough, never mind that.”

Su Hongli was already dead, and he’d already rid himself of the knots in his heart.
He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more time and energy on such trifles.

Fang Yuan said, “Your Excellency, the Sea-Swallowing King, Ge Changling, visited as well.
He said that tomorrow, he’d bring the stone stele he found on Green Ivy Yao Mountain here for you to see.”

Su Yi found that rather surprising.

And here he’d planned to find a spare moment to visit Skyblue Mountain and see the mysterious prophecy engraved on the stele for himself.
Who’d have thought that Ge Changling had already decided to bring it here instead?

This would save Su Yi a trip.

’

“Is there anything else?” asked Su Yi.

Fang Yuan explained at top speed, “There’s one last thing.
The Featherflow King, Yue Shichan, requests a private meeting tomorrow.
She told me to let her know if you agree.”

The image of a picturesque beauty in white with a sword strapped to her back floated into Su Yi’s mental sea.
He immediately said, “Sure.”

He then looked up at Fang Yuan.
“I’ll soon leave the Jade Capital.
I’m afraid you won’t be able to accompany me any longer.”

Fang Yuan was stunned, and his gaze dimmed slightly.
A moment later, he laughed.
“I knew the day would come that we had to part.
I just didn’t expect it to come so quickly.
Your Excellency, please rest assured.
I have ways of getting by, and should the chance come, I’d be honored to serve you again.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then took out a blank jade talisman.
He used his divine sense to carve a cultivation technique into it, then passed it to Fang Yuan.
“Here’s a cultivation technique.
It’s nothing overly lofty, but it’s highly suitable for your aptitude.
Take it.”

Fang Yuan quivered, knelt, and lowered his head to the ground.
“Your Excellency, you have my deepest gratitude!”

“The Dao is not to be passed on lightly, and the Dharma is not to be taught casually.
I’ve witnessed your performance during my time here, and you haven’t disappointed me.
If you achieve success in your cultivation, just remember not to rely on my name as you conduct your affairs,” said Su Yi calmly.

Fang Yuan said solemnly, “Please, rest assured.
I’ll engrave your teachings into my heart and remember them as long as I live!”

“Go back and rest,” said Su Yi.
He then rose from his wicker chair, put his hands behind his back, and returned to his room.

Many years later, when Fang Yuan established himself as a Spirit Dao expert, and when the people of this world honored him as a “Silent Night Divine Monarch”, he thought back to what happened here tonight, and his heart surged with emotion.

A line from an ancient poem read: “an immortal patted my head, tied up my hair, and taught me the secret to eternal life!”

That was how he felt.
 

……

Morning the next day, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

This was the day Su Yi planned to sweep his mother, Ye Yufei’s grave.

A faint drizzle rained from the skies, and a vast procession of imperial honor guards was stationed outside the northern city gates. 

Zhou Zhili stood at the front of the group, feeling both nervous and eager.

He rose and got to work long before the sun, dressing himself in bright yellow robes embroidered with dragons and a feather headdress.
He then led this grand procession to the gates to wait for Su Yi.

’

“What are you doing here?” Suddenly, a calm voice reverberated throughout the gentle rain.

Zhou Zhili looked over and saw a young man in blue carrying an oil paper umbrella.
He looked above it all, like a fallen immortal.

This was none other than Su Yi.

Now that he actually saw Su Yi, Zhou Zhili was instantly overcome with nervousness, and he stammered, “Brother Su, I… I’m here to….”

Su Yi’s gaze swept across the guards, and he vaguely understood.
“Did your father send you?”

“That’s right!” said Zhou Zhili.
He hurriedly added, “But it’s been a long time since I last saw you, so I wanted to take this opportunity to see you too.”

Su Yi waved dismissively.
“It’s fine.
You can come with me.
Just you, though.”

Zhou Zhili hurriedly agreed, then scampered off into the distance after Su Yi.

The grand procession was instantly struck dumb. Is His Highness the crown prince just going to leave us here?

In truth, Zhou Zhili really didn’t have any mental energy to spare for them.
What could be more important than following Su Yi right now?

As they walked, Su Yi didn’t even need to ask.
Zhou Zhili took the initiative to tell him the whole story about how he’d become the crown prince.

Upon finishing his tale, he looked at Su Yi nervously, as if he had a guilty conscience.

Su Yi couldn’t help but shake his head.
“Isn’t this good news? What are you so nervous about? I roughly understand your father’s intentions.
When you go back, you can tell him that I have no interest in the Great Zhou’s affairs, but that you’re welcome to borrow my name.”

After a brief, stunned pause, Zhou Zhili realized the implications.

Su Yi was obviously saying that, were the Great Zhou under Zhou Zhili’s leadership, he could borrow Su Yi’s name to intimidate the nation’s martial artists. 

But if his father tried it, he’d get nowhere!

Zhou Zhili was so moved that he was beside himself with emotion, and he felt completely dazed. 

Did meat pies ever fall out of the sky?

They did!

One had just landed right on Zhou Zhili’s head, and he was still dizzy!