First Immortal of the Sword

As Su Yi and Yuan Heng rode the carriage aimlessly around the city, Bai Wenqing arrived at Cloudmarsh Tower.

The tower was a thousand feet tall, and it covered fifteen acres.
The primary tower was octagonal, with flying eaves and interlocking brackets.
The beams were carved and the walls were painted, making it an extraordinary sight.

Even the stone steps leading up to the gate were coated in profound iron and inlaid with glittering white spirit jade.

Bronze statues of auspicious beasts watched over the gateway, one on each side. 

One was a swift, extraordinary spirit deer, while the other was a spirit crane.
Its wings were unfurled, and it held its head high.

Combined, the words for deer and crane sounded like “the six directions.”

There were eight steps in total, representing the eight corners of the world.

This layout was inspired by the phrase “I lower and raise my head, taking in the six directions and the eight corners.”

It could also be understood as “throughout the world, I alone reign supreme.”

“This… is one of the four most famous towers in Nine Tripod City, Cloudmarsh Tower?” Bai Wenqing’s beautiful eyes filled with surprise.

It wasn’t that she’d never seen the world before, but it really was her first time seeing such a vast and grand treasure tower.

When she looked at the gates once more, she saw that the serving girls standing there were both Grain Avoidance cultivators.

How could Bai Wenqing not be shocked?

To the best of her knowledge, in some of the Azure Continent’s mundane nations, Grain Avoidance Cultivators were “Earthly Immortals” in the eyes of the masses.
They were experts the populace could only look up to!

Yet now, two young, beautiful Grain Avoidance Cultivators were working as mere servants at Cloudmarsh Tower, their only job to greet the incoming guests…

When Bai Wenqing examined the guests, she saw that they were all either noble or wealthy.
It was obvious at a glance that they were prominent and influential; their every word and gesture had the air of one long accustomed to power.

When she saw this, Bai Wenqing couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous and uneasy.
She didn’t know the origins of the jade pendant Su Yi had entrusted her with.
She didn’t even know who she was supposed to show it to.

After a moment’s hesitation, Bei Wenqing took a deep breath.
She was just about to proceed toward the tower when someone chuckled.
“Miss, is this your first visit to Cloudmarsh Tower?”

The speaker was a valiant-looking man in ornate robes.
He was accompanied by a group of servants; this was someone who knew how to make an entrance.

He looked at Bai Wenqing with great interest, but his gaze made her thoroughly uncomfortable.

“Is that any of your business?” Bai Wenqing shook her head and turned to leave.

The man in ornate robes laughed heartily.
“Miss, Cloudmarsh Tower is one of the city’s four great towers.
Although it’s just a restaurant, but without a ‘Cloudmarsh Medallion’, it doesn’t matter how high your cultivation is; they’ll turn you away at the door.”

Bai Wenqing was flabbergasted.
“There’s a rule like that?”

The man in ornate robes laughed.
“Someone of my status has no need to deceive you.
Roughly one hundred years ago, a Spirit Dao cultivator from the Elephant Province was turned away because he didn’t have a token.
His embarrassment turned to rage, and he tried to lash out, but in the end….”

The corners of the man’s lips curled into a mocking smile.
“In the end, it wasn’t just a matter of lowering his head and apologizing; he was exiled from Nine Tripod City that very day! Nine Tripod City isn’t a place just anyone can act up in.
And Cloudmarsh Tower? Here, even Spirit Dao cultivators must follow the rules.”

Bai Wenqing’s heart sank.
She had no such Cloudmarsh Medallion.
All she had was the dragon sparrow jade pendant Su Yi had given her.

“Miss, if I’m not mistaken, this is your first time in Nine Tripod City.
Might I ask if you have a place to stay?” the man asked with an amiable smile.

“I don’t, actually,” said Bai Wenqing.

The man’s eyes lit up.
“Today, I just so happened to bump into you.
You could say that we were fated to meet.
If you’re not opposed, you’d be welcome to stay by my side and work for me for a while.”

The white-robed elder beside him stroked his beard and smiled.
“Miss, you truly are fortunate! It’s rare for our young master to offer refuge to outsiders.
Should you agree to work for him, your rise to prominence is just a matter of time!”

In her heart, Bai Wenqing laughed coldly. He who offers his hospitality unsolicited must surely harbor evil intentions.

“No need.
I already have a master, and I won’t betray him for the sake of glory.” With that, she turned and left, but she actually felt a bit guilty; Su Yi had never actually taken her on as a servant…

When he saw this, the white-robed elder shook his head.
“This foreign yao cultivator really is blind; she doesn’t know what’s good for her.”

The man in ornate robes had a playful look in his eyes.
“The woman’s yao qi is extraordinarily pure.
Since I happened upon her, there’s no way I’ll let her slip through my fingers.”

He’d only just said this when his gaze suddenly focused.
Bai Wenqing, the woman he saw as his prey, walked right up to Cloudmarsh Tower and took out a jade pendant.
Then, instead of turning her away, the two serving girls personally led her inside!

The man in ornate robes frowned.
“This is obviously that woman’s first time in Nine Tripod City, and she doesn’t know anything at all.
How could a jade pendant possibly get her into Cloudmarsh Tower? Uncle Wen, could you see the pendant clearly?”

The white-robed elder looked utterly bamboozled too.
He shook his head.
“In the area around Cloudmarsh Tower, there’s no greater taboo than investigating with one’s divine sense, as that displeases the illustrious figures in attendance.
I failed to see just what the pendant looked like.”

“This is somewhat interesting.
Don’t tell me that woman has some ancient treasure of extraordinary origins she wants to sell to Cloudmarsh Tower?” The man in ornate robes looked curious.
He’d seen examples of this sort of thing before.

Quite a few cultivators from foreign lands would bring strange and miraculous treasures to Cloudmarsh Tower.
So long as the treasure was sufficiently rare and precious, they could make a killing.

“Uncle Wen, come with me to have a look.
Everyone else, stay here.” With that, the man in ornate robes walked toward the tower.

The white-robed elder hurried after him.

As soon as they entered Cloudmarsh Tower, the man in ornate robes saw Bai Wenqing waiting in the lobby.
He smiled and walked up to her.
“Miss, if you’re here to sell treasure, I’d be willing to buy it at a high price.’

“Who said I wanted to sell treasure?” Bai Wenqing furrowed her brow. This guy is such a pain! He actually followed me inside?

The man in ornate robes was stunned.
“Then how did you get in?”

“I walked.” Bai Wenqing rolled her eyes.

A scowl flashed across the man’s face, but then, he smiled.
“Then what are you here to do? If you tell me, I might well be able to help you.”

“I said it already: it has nothing to do with you.
Please have a little self respect and leave me alone, okay?” Bai Wenqing was starting to get angry, and she was visibly losing her patience.

Numerous prominent figures passed through the lobby on the first floor of Cloudmarsh Tower.
When they heard this, numerous people looked over, and a burst of laughter rang out.

Some even went so far as to tease, “It seems the amorous, smooth-talking seventh young master of the Tang Family has fallen flat on his face today! How can this be?”

The man in ornate robes felt his expression grow rigid; he felt as if he had no face left.
He forced a smile, clasped his fist, and looked around.
“It seems I’ve made a fool of myself.”

He took a deep breath, then glared icily at Bai Wenqing and transmitted, “You’re just a paltry little yao cultivator, but you’ve repeatedly refused to give me face.
If you lower your head and accept me as your master right now, I won’t pursue this any further.
If you insist on being stubborn, just you wait.
Once you leave Cloudmarsh Tower, I’ll be sure to teach you a listen!”

His tone was dark and imposing, and he made no attempt to disguise the threat.

When he finished speaking, he sat off to the side, on one of the chairs provided to guests, and he watched Bai Wenqing.
He seemed carefree, but his gaze was utterly cold.

“You’re the one who insisted on doing this the hard way!” The white-robed elder glanced coldly at her too, then stood beside the man in ornate robes.

Bai Wenqing’s expression shifted erratically.
She could tell that the man in ornate robes had an illustrious background.
He was obviously no ordinary person.

The prestige of Cloudmarsh Tower might be enough to intimidate him temporarily.
Here, he wouldn’t dare act up.
But when she left, there was no way he’d be so restrained!

She silently clenched the Rhinoceros Horn Talisman Su Yi had given her.

She wasn’t exactly afraid of offending the man in ornate robes, but she worried that if they bore a grudge against her, it would cause trouble for Su Yi.

She knew that Su Yi wasn’t afraid of trouble, but he hated it when trouble came looking for him. 

“Hah? It seems you’ve already made your choice.
Excellent.
Then… let’s just wait and see what happens.” The man in ornate robes transmitted once more.
His gaze was already icy and sinister, and his voice carried a hint of bloodlust and cruelty.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

He was like a vicious beast baring its fangs as it chose who to devour.

Bai Wenqing felt a chill course through her delicate frame, and the look on her beautiful face shifted.

The way she silently endured this humiliation only made the man even more fearless. Some foreign yao cultivator dares disrespect me, Tang Jiansen? Once I make her submit, I’ll be sure to ravage her good and proper!

Suddenly, there was a disturbance on the far end of the lobby.

The illustrious figures scattered throughout the room ceased their conversations and looked over.

A man in gray robes and a round black hat had entered the lobby.
He was old, and he walked with a cane.
Other prominent members of Cloudmarsh Tower clustered around him.

As he walked over, the illustrious guests were incomparably stunned.
All of them subconsciously got out of the way, lowered their heads, and bowed.

“Greetings, Elder Shui!”

“Elder Shui, what has happened to make you come here in person?”

“Elder Shui, it’s been a long time since you made a personal appearance.”

The guests were all well-known, prominent figures in Nine Tripod City.
All of them had incomparably lofty positions.
However, when they faced the old man in gray, every word that left their lips was as respectful as could be.

“Elder Shui!” The man in ornate robes gasped too.
He shot to his feet as if startled, and he was instantly meek and obedient as could be.

The elder in white accompanying him went so far as to lower his head; he dared not look up.
He was submissive to his very bones.

Big as it was, the entire hall quieted down.
All eyes were upon the gray-robed elder and the group surrounding him, like stars clustered around the moon.

“Might I ask if you are Miss Bai?” The gray-robed elder looked at Bai Wenqing.

Bai Wenqing felt a bit dazed, but she subconsciously nodded.

The gray-robed elder’s entrance had surprised her.
She was just wondering which prominent member of Cloudmarsh Tower had such prestige.
Even the tower’s illustrious guests stepped aside, lowered their heads, and bowed as he passed!

It was much like how when a fierce tiger went on a journey, all other beasts fled before him!

However, although she would never have anticipated this, it seemed… Elder Shui was here for her!

“This old man is called Shui Tianqi.
Greetings, Miss Bai!” The old man in gray strode up to Bai Wenqing, his expression solemn as he clasped his fist and bowed.

The entire lobby fell silent.

Without exception, the illustrious guests were dumbstruck and tongue-tied.
They almost dared not believe it.

Elder Shui of Cloudmarsh Tower was one of the most prominent men in Nine Tripod City.
Even Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivators had to treat him with respect!

Who would have thought that someone so lofty would appear in person and bow to a woman of his own accord? Much less that he’d do so so solemnly?

This scene stunned the man in ornate robes too.
He was utterly flabbergasted, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. What… What’s going on?