First Immortal of the Sword

“Stop the carriage.” Su Yi promptly got up, then exited.

The first thing he saw was a beautiful jade tower fully one thousand feet tall.
It covered an enormous amount of land, and palace lanterns decorated with images of beautiful women hung from the eaves. 

A sign hung over the jade tower’s gate.
The name “Song of the Sandy Creek” was written on it in old-fashioned text.

It was almost nighttime. 

Carriages and palanquins carrying crowds of guests proceeded toward the tower.
Everyone was dressed to the nines, and everyone looked impressive; it was obvious at a glance that they were either wealthy or noble.

“Sirs, you wandered all over the city today.
So, it turns out you were headed to the Song of the Sandy Creek! If you’d said so earlier, I would have taken you here directly,” said the carriage driver with a laugh and an ambiguous, even lewd smile, one all men understood. 

With Su Yi’s experience and powers of discernment, how could he fail to realize that the Song of the Sandy Creek was a brothel?

However, this realization made him furrow his brow.

Yue Shichan was a woman.
What was she doing in a brothel?

The carriage driver’s eyes shone with longing.
“Of all the Great Xia’s brothels, the Song of the Sandy Creek the unquestioned best of the best.
It’s one of the four great towers of Nine Tripod City, and a famed money pit for the nation’s cultivators.
The girls inside….”

The man’s gaze heated up.
“Let’s put it like this.
Even the servants who pour the tea, if placed in any other brothel, would be their finest flower! You can imagine just how stunning the girls there are.”

He paused here, then sighed.
“Alas, ordinary people simply cannot bear the cost.
The tea alone costs five tier-six spirit stones, and even then, you can only sit in the lobby and watch the girls sing and play instruments from afar.

“If you want to choose a girl to accompany you and pour your drinks, you’ll have to pay at least one hundred tier-six spirit stones just to get started.”

When he heard this, Yuan Heng was tongue-tied.
“Isn’t that… a bit too extravagant?”

Over one hundred tier-six spirit stones!

The vast majority of the world’s Origin Dao cultivators didn’t have that much, not even if they tallied up all their possessions!

Yet at the Song of the Sandy Creek, that was just enough to have a girl keep them company…

“Expensive?” The carriage driver sneered.
“Brother, I can tell at a glance that you don’t get it.
The Song of the Sandy Creek is the greatest brothel in the world.
Every single girl in it is a cultivator.
Some are spirits born of trees and grasses.
Some are yao born with disastrous beauty.
Rumor has it that there are even ghost cultivators and demonic cultivators, all of them peerless beauties.
How could they compare with ordinary women of the mundane world?”

Yuan Heng was stunned.
Only now did he understand. So, the girls here are all cultivators! That really is quite a shock.

Cultivators had a lofty status; they transcended the mundane world.
The Song of the Sandy Creek was a brothel, yet it had recruited so many female cultivators, all of them absolute beauties.
Their reach was incredible!

“They say ‘the Sandy Creek is a paradise on earth.
There, one need envy neither immortals nor mandarin ducks.’ What man wouldn’t wish to taste its pleasures for himself?” said the driver wistfully. 

Yuan Heng said, “You understand so much.
Are you sure you haven’t experienced it for yourself?”

The driver’s smile froze; he felt as if he’d been ruthlessly stabbed in the heart.
Some time passed before his gaze dimmed, and he waved them off.
“Carry on, you two.
Farewell.”

With that, he drove the carriage away.

Yuan Heng sneered in disdain. The driver has a lustful heart, but no courage.
He’s got no prospects!

Su Yi fiddled with the continuously shaking purple bells, then glanced at Yuan Heng.
“Have you ever visited a brothel?”

Yuan Heng’s expression froze, and he sheepishly shook his head.

“Come on, let’s go see the world’s greatest brothel for ourselves.” As he spoke, Su Yi led the way deeper into the Song of the Sandy Creek.

When he saw how interested Su Yi seemed, Yuan Heng couldn’t help but feel dumbstruck. So, Master likes the unfettered joy of getting drunk and slumbering amidst the flowers?

But then, that’s to be expected! He’s only seventeen.
Can you even call yourself a young man if you aren’t lustful?

As he thought this, Yuan Heng hurried after Su Yi.
Inwardly, he was a bit excited.
He couldn’t help but admit it; the driver’s description had intrigued him.

Bang!

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Before they even drew near the Song of the Sandy Creek’s main gate, someone flew through the doorway and crashed into the street. 

Upon closer inspection, it was a gaunt old man in Daoist robes.
His face was swollen and bruised, and his hair was disheveled; he cut a sorry figure.
  

“Dirty Daoist, if you dare cause trouble again, I swear I’ll break your legs.
Hurry up and get the hell out of here!” the equally gaunt man in black standing in the doorway said coldly.

“Dammit! The girls of the Song of the Sandy Creek will let Buddhists fondle them, so why not Daoists?”

The elderly Daoist crawled to his feet and sputtered, “Everyone, please act as the voice of reason! They said Miss Rou Yu doesn’t sell her body.
Fine! I said that in that case, I’d sleep with her without paying.
That wouldn’t count as ‘selling’ her body, now would it? Who’d have thought that they’d turn around and accuse me of making trouble? They even hit me!”

This declaration provoked a dazed silence followed by uproarious laughter.

The old Daoist obviously wanted to “play” for free!

Yuan Heng couldn’t help but feel surprised. Since when were stingy brothel-goers so self-righteous?

When he saw Su Yi walk straight through the Song of the Sandy Creek’s gates, Yuan Heng dared not delay any longer; he hurried after him.

“Ee? Why is that kid’s presence somehow strange?” The old Daoist flared his nostrils, then looked at Su Yi, who’d only just entered the building.
A hint of suspicion appeared in his turbid eyes. 

But before he could think it through, the man in dark robes charged out, leading a group.
All of them were furious. 

“Brothers, he tried to slink off without paying! Help me teach this shameless bastard a lesson!” bellowed the man in black robes. 

The old Daoist’s expression shifted dramatically, and he slipped away so quickly that it was as if his feet had been greased.
All the while, he cried out, “How could I possibly slink off without paying? You said Rou Yu wasn’t selling! If she was, how could I have come up with such a perfect solution?”

This provoked yet another burst of uproarious laughter.
The atmosphere was full of revelry.

……

The first floor of the Song of the Sandy Creek was as lavish as an imperial palace.
The interior was thoroughly lit and extraordinarily lively.

Young, beautiful, colorfully-dressed servants flitted about like butterflies, each serving a different guest.

Every last one of them was extraordinary.
Some were charming and fiery, while others were pure and lively, while others were as gentle as water…

Musicians played on the central jade platform, and a group of stunningly beautiful dancers whirled about on stage.
Only gauze covered their delicate figures, giving them an enticing charm.

“Young lord, you…” A beautiful servant approached to welcome him.

However, before she could say anything, Su Yi cut her off.
“I’m looking for someone.”

“Might I ask…” She was just about to ask another question when Su Yi took out a tier-six spirit stone and passed it to her.
“You’re not needed here.”

She was stunned, but before she could react, Su Yi led Yuan Heng further in.
He passed through the main hall, and it seemed he knew exactly where he was going.

“Master, you ’re… you’re not here for fun?” Yuan Heng was only just starting to realize what was happening.

“Do you think I’m that lustful?” Su Yi didn’t so much as glance at him.
He just sensed the swaying and fluctuations of the little purple bells and made his way inside.

“Of course not.” Yuan Heng felt a bit ashamed. Just now, how could I lump master in with those amorous playboys?

The Song of the Sandy Creek was enormous; it was like its own self-contained world.
The halls were like the strands of a spider’s web, and there were doors to various halls scattered all over the place.

Without a guide, anyone here for the first time was sure to get lost.

As Su Yi forged his way ahead, he encountered numerous stunning beauties.
Some were obviously nature spirits born of trees and grasses, and they had a unique charm.

The carriage driver was right; all of the girls were cultivators.
This made them far more appealing in the eyes of their clients.

However, it was as if Su Yi didn’t even see them.

Were they pretty?

Yes, they were.

However, aside from a select few truly peerless beauties, it was difficult for others to draw his attention.

Besides, no matter how famous it was, the Song of the Sandy Creek was ultimately just a brothel.
Some of the women here sold laughter and conversation, while others sold their bodies.
Who knew how many men they’d served over the years?

Su Yi didn’t find them the least bit tempting. 

After ten thousand tasted them, a pair of red lips lost their appeal.
Just the thought was sickening…

This was why Su Yi found it so difficult to understand why Yue Shichan had appeared here.

Before long, the entrance to another hallway appeared in the distance.

Past this point, the atmosphere was much more tranquil.

A beautiful woman in palace garb stood in the hall’s entryway.
Her hair was tied up, and she exuded a mature charm. 

She was obviously surprised to see Su Yi and Yuan Heng, but she soon bowed in greeting.
“Honored guests, I’m afraid only VIPs of the Song of the Sandy Creek are allowed past this point.
I’ll have to ask you not to proceed any further.”

Her attitude was neither meek nor overbearing. 

Su Yi stopped in his tracks and said, “What lies at the end of this hallway?”

He looked young, but his aura was calm, and he had an extraordinary air about him.
That, combined with his sheer composure meant that the woman in palace garb dared not underestimate him.
She whispered, “Young lord, Cloudwater Stream is up ahead.
It’s a beautiful place, almost like a separate world, and only our most illustrious guests can drink and feast inside.”

“Who is dining there now?” asked Su Yi.

The woman responded with a calm, polite, and reserved smile.
“Young lord, forgive me, but I am not at liberty to disclose that.”

Su Yi furrowed his brow.
“Forget it.
I won’t make this hard on you.
Might you visit Cloudwater Stream and pass on a message for me?”

The woman in palace garb shook her head.
“The illustrious guests inside ordered that none were to disturb them no matter what.
I humbly request your understanding.
If there’s nothing else, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

She was starting to get a bit impatient. 

Su Yi glanced down at the bells shaking urgently in his hand, then looked up at the woman in palace garb.

She seemed to realize something, and her eyebrows shot upward.
“Young lord, this is the Song of the Sandy Creek.
You ought to know full well the consequences you’ll bring upon yourself should you make trouble here.
I don’t want any unpleasantness, so please, don’t do anything stupid.
Please, leave this place right away!”

This was a warning, and a threat, too.

Just as that last sentence left her lips, and before she could react, Su Yi gently wrapped his right hand around her snowy, swan-like neck.
The look on her beautiful face shifted, filling with alarm.
It seemed she hadn’t anticipated that the young man in front of her would dare act violently here!

After all, the Song of the Sandy Creek was one of the city’s four great towers.
Not even Spirit Dao cultivators would dare commit any violence here!

Su Yi said calmly, “Guarding the door is your job, and I disdain to kill you for it.
I can, however, help you think of a way to avoid responsibility for this.”

The woman was stunned, but before she could react, she felt a pain in her throat, and everything went dark.
She sank into unconsciousness, and her body fell limply to the floor.

“Yuan Heng, keep a lookout here,” said Su Yi as he proceeded down the hallway.

“Yes, sir.” Yuan Heng solemnly accepted his orders.
He realized that his master had likely sensed something bad happening.
Otherwise, he wouldn ’t have barged in like this.