First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1053 - Unveiling the Mysteries of the Dark and Gold Ruler

The old glutton quite admired Jing Xing, and he’d more than once expressed his hope that Su Yi would generously relinquish their master-apprentice bond and let him instruct Jing Xing instead.

He’d even promised with the utmost confidence that Jing Xing would become an ancestral-level figure of the Confucian path, a sage in the hearts of the world’s scholars!

But before Su Yi could respond, Jing Xing refused, saying, “A master for a day, a father for life. Becoming another’s apprentice would be as shameful as calling a thief my father.”

This left the old glutton gnashing his teeth with fury, but there was nothing he could do about it.

But even after that, every time the old glutton saw Su Yi, he was sure to go on and on about Jing Xing’s cultivation.

It was because of this that Su Yi thought the old glutton really might well have taken advantage of his absence to run off with Jing Xing!

“Err… the founder most likely wouldn’t… do something like that…” Yu Changming was dazed, and his voice trailed off.

“Enough, never mind that. If Jing Xing is cultivating alongside the old glutton, that’s actually wonderful news,” laughed Su Yi.

And here he’d been worried that the bookworm might have gone and done something stupid.

Now, there was no need to worry.

The old glutton’s cultivation base was deep and unfathomable. Throughout the wilds, only a tiny handful of old fossils could compete with him—the Imperial Apex Pure One of the Nine Extremes Profound Capital, Buddhist Master Inkstone Heart of the Little Western Paradise, or that temperamental she-devil of the Demons’ Elysium.

Su Yi then went on to ask about the disaster that had befallen Profound Sky Academy.

Yu Changming got straight to the point. “They were after the Dark and Gold Ruler.”

But a moment later, he looked confused. “But aside from being extremely ancient, there’s nothing special about it. We’ve always kept it enshrined in the Sages’ Ancestral Hall.

“I once asked the founder about its origins, and he told me that it had an extraordinary background that could be traced to a time before even the ancient era, but… he also said it wasn’t useful except as an offering to the ancient sages.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Before the ancient era?”

The time before the ancient era was mysterious and unknown, as if that period of history had simply been erased or severed. No legacies or records of that era remained.

In his past life, Su Yi had attempted to investigate what happened then, but all he found were fleeting, unreliable rumors. He found no proof and no further leads.

It was only recently, during his time in the Netherworld, that he had learned that these stars and associated planes and worlds were known as the Dark and Gold Star Realm.

At first, the Dark and Gold Star Realm had shone with extraordinary brilliance. Others saw it as the ancestral source of the countless Daos of the starry skies, and it had given rise to innumerable legendary experts!

But then, the Dark and Gold Star Realm was destroyed. Its Laws broke, and its worlds withered!

According to the Netherworld King, the Dark and Gold Star Realm had fallen because of a mysterious catastrophe. During this catastrophe, its gods fell, and all of its legends disappeared in a puff of smoke. The Dark and Gold Star Realm henceforth fell into ruin.

It had been known as the Celestial Ruin ever since.

The passage of time was heartless. As time passed, all traces of the distant past were dispersed and erased. Furthermore, the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s cultivation world was practically annihilated during that mysterious catastrophe. Even the cultivators in the stars beyond the Celestial Ruin had largely forgotten about the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s existence.

Su Yi was already aware that the vanished history of the Wilds was none other than the glory age of Dark and Gold Star Realm, as well as its descent into darkness and ruin!

“Where is the Dark and Gold Ruler now?” Su Yi asked.

It was a treasure that had existed since before recorded history. How could he not be curious?

“I have it on me,” said Yu Changming. He took out a simple black jade box and passed it to Su Yi. “Please, have a look.”

Su Yi didn’t hold back. He opened the jade box and saw a jade ruler lying inside. It was just two feet long and three fingers thick.

It was gray throughout and covered in scorch marks, as if it had been damaged in a fire.

That aside, there was nothing overtly special about it.

However, the “scorch marks” on its surface made Su Yi recall some of the ancient treasures of mysterious origins he’d acquired in his past life.

Just like the Dark and Gold Ruler, they had unerasable scorch marks on their surfaces, as if they’d been through a fire.

Furthermore, in his past life, Su Yi had tried countless methods, but he never uncovered these ancient treasures’ secrets, nor did he discover any use for them. Thus, he left them to collect dust in his treasury at the Grotto of Abstruse Force, and he paid them no further heed.

The one that had left the deepest impression on him was a stone pagoda about a foot tall. It had nine floors, each with similar scorch marks. It looked extremely mottled and ancient.

Now, seeing the scorch marks on the Dark and Gold Ruler, Su Yi instantly understood that those treasures he’d gathered in his past life most likely hid similarly enormous secrets!

“Over the years, the sages of Profound Sky Academy tried to uncover this treasure’s origins, and they tried countless methods of investigating its secrets, but none of them learned anything,” Yu Changming explained softly. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but if the Levitating Sword Hall hadn’t come here for it, I might well have forgotten we even had such a treasure enshrined in the Sage’s Ancestral Hall.”

Su Yi set aside his scattered thoughts, took the ruler out of the box, and examined it. He said casually, “The old glutton didn’t discover anything either?”

Yu Changming shook his head. “Most likely not, but my sense is that the founder wasn’t at all interested in this particular item.”

Su Yi inclined his head. He could tell that the Dark and Gold Ruler was much like the other ancient treasures he’d gathered in his past life; there was nothing outwardly special about it.

But for Elder Feng of the Studio of the Heart to have set his sights on it meant there was surely something extraordinary about it.

“Have you tried breaking it?” asked Su Yi.

“We did,” said Yu Changming, a bit bashful. “Past sages have slashed it with swords, cleaved it with lightning, burned it with divine flames… but no matter what kind of power they used, they couldn’t so much as scratch it.”

“That alone makes it extraordinary,” said Su Yi. The ancient treasures he’d gathered in his past life were similarly indestructible. It was for that reason that he didn’t simply toss them away, instead letting them gather dust in his treasury.

Yu Changming nodded. “That’s indeed the case, but… that’s the only thing special about it.”

“Might you let me try?” Su Yi asked.

“Your Excellency Su, please, feel free. No need for concern.” Yu Changming said hurriedly. “If you can break it and discern its mysteries, I trust the founder will be delighted.”

Su Yi nodded.

He didn’t use brute force. Rather, he tested the various Laws at his disposal: Rebirth, Withering and Flourishing, the Far Shore, and Oblivion. However, the Dark and Gold Ruler didn’t react at all.

If the Laws of the End won’t cut it, I’ll just have to try something else, thought Su Yi. He exerted his will, and dusky, serene power surged from his fingertip.

The Laws of the End!action

The Dark and Gold Ruler instantly quivered.

“It worked!” Su Yi’s spirits soared.

Earlier, he didn’t even try brute force because he knew the sages of Profound Sky Academy had tried just about everything to test the ruler.

That implied that a special method was required to discern its mysteries.

And indeed, his guess was right on the mark.

The Laws of the End really did get a reaction from the ruler!

An extremely subtle one to be sure, but this was already a shocking discovery!

Especially since Su Yi had only a superficial understanding of the Laws of the End. He hadn’t even really crossed the threshold yet.

And the Mysterious Truths of the End were the core of the Grand Dao of reincarnation! This was why he found the secrets of reincarnation so difficult to grasp.

Still, Su Yi wouldn’t have expected the Laws of the End to truly provoke a response from the Dark and Gold Ruler!

After taking a moment to calm himself, he controlled his breathing, focused, and carefully used the power of the End. It spread across the ruler like a spiderweb, covering it completely.

Kcch! Kcch!

A series of faint cracking noises rang out, and a shocking scene unfolded. The scorch marks covering the Dark and Gold Ruler’s surface sloughed off, like paint peeling off a wall.

The gray jade ruler instantly turned crystalline and transparent.

A pure, heavy, primordial chaos aura swept outward.

Boom!

Su Yi’s hand sank; he felt as if the ruler had transformed into a primordial divine mountain in his grip. The sudden weight almost snapped his wrist.

The surrounding air seemed unable to bear the pressure. It rumbled and collapsed, producing a series of explosions.

It was only after Su Yi circulated his cultivation base that he managed to hold the ruler in his palm. This sudden development left even him unwittingly stunned, and his eyes lit up.

Firelight surged from the Dark and Gold Ruler, like the power of chaos. It soared into the heavens, shaking the stars. All of Phoenix Perch Mountain was instantly shrouded in shadow, as if obscured beneath dark clouds.

This shocking development left Yu Changming unwittingly stunned. “What kind of power is this? It’s like the source power of a major world!”

His heart quivered. He felt as if he were standing in a primordial chaos source, with boundless power on all sides. It was unknowable, indescribably vast. He felt like a grain of rice floating in the endless ocean: tiny and insignificant.

Su Yi had already risen from his wicker chair, and he hovered in the air.

His qi rumbled and boomed, and his robes billowed around him. If he weren’t using the Laws of the End to hold the Dark and Gold Ruler aloft, its power could have easily crushed the mountain they were standing on into powder!

Su Yi couldn’t help but suspect that if he relaxed his grip and let the ruler’s power burst forth, it would destroy the entire Profound Sky Realm!

Boom!

Heaven and earth rumbled, and chaotic firelight surged. A gloomy atmosphere enveloped everything within a ten-thousand-foot radius.

And this strange phenomenon was the result of a mere wisp of the Dark and Gold Ruler’s power!

“So, the scorch marks on the ruler are a mysterious seal. The Laws of the End broke the seal, revealing the true nature of the Dark and Gold Ruler!”

Su Yi was starting to understand.

But then, he suddenly recalled the ancient treasures he’d owned in his past life, treasures he’d left to gather dust in his treasury!