First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1150 - A Soul Birthmark

Su Yi picked Qing Wan off the bed, then arranged her so that she was seated cross-legged. He then sat down beside her and pressed his hands gently on her slender back.

A mysterious seal appeared between his fingers. He exerted his will, and it flooded into Qing Wan’s body.

This was a mysterious soul art called the Spiritual Subtleties Seal.

It could perceive anything out of the ordinary about a cultivator’s soul and body.

Time slipped past.

Su Yi’s divine sense stretched out like invisible tentacles, sensing every inch of Qing Wan’s body.

Sometimes, Qing Wan emitted an imperceptible, soft grunt, and her slender, delicate frame quivered. But for the most part, she lay there in silence.

Enough time to brew a cup of tea passed. Despite himself, a hint of exhaustion appeared on Su Yi’s brow.

A cultivator’s body was like a treasury or a world all its own. Its meridians and acupoints hid endless secrets and mysteries.

The body cultivators of Buddhism saw the flesh as an internal universe, the acupoints each a world. The power and mysteries they achieved through their tempering were mighty beyond imagination.

This was what they meant when they said, “you can see a whole world in a grain of sand.”

Even for Emperors, perceiving all of the subtleties and mysteries of a cultivator’s body was complicated.

“Why can’t I find anything out of the ordinary whatsoever?” Su Yi’s brow furrowed.

Qing Wan had been in a mysterious coma for close to two months.

But against all expectations, when Su Yi tried to sense her condition, he discovered nothing strange at all.

Don’t tell me it’s because the power I used is far inferior to the mysterious power hidden within Qing Wan’s body? Is that why I can’t perceive it? murmured Su Yi.

Some Daos were greater than others. Some cultivators were strong, while others were weak. The same applied to the powers at their disposal.

If an Imperial Realm expert wanted to hide themselves, those beneath the Imperial Realm couldn’t possibly sense them.

Su Yi was now in the peak of the Profound Serenity Realm. If the mysterious power in Qing Wan’s body far surpassed his cultivation boundary, he couldn’t help but suspect that ordinary methods wouldn’t be enough to detect it. Any attempts were doomed to failure.

“Then I’ll just have to try the Sword of the Nine Hells!” After a moment’s hesitation, Su Yi made his decision.

Earlier, he didn’t use the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells because Qing Wan had yet to become an Empress. He feared that a moment’s incaution on his part could hurt her.

But now, he couldn’t be bothered with all that.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

“Condense!”

Su Yi took a deep breath, then split off a wisp of divine sense and fused it with a minute trace of the Sword of the Nine Hells. He then cautiously inserted it into Qing Wan’s body and tried sensing once more.

But Qing Wan instantly trembled, and deep within her soul, a mysterious totem marking appeared.

It looked just like a strange, icy eye!

“It really is there!” thought Su Yi. Without any further hesitation, he used the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells as a guide to bear down on the totem, which struggled as if it were alive.

Qing Wan moaned in agony, quivering from head to toe as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Her delicate paled and contorted with pain.

But Su Yi had no intention of stopping. If he couldn’t suppress the totem, Little Heavenly Prayer could influence Qing Wan whenever she pleased!

“Suppress!” Su Yi circulated the power of his soul with everything he had, using the Sword of the Nine Hells to restrict the totem marking.

Meanwhile, in the depths of outer space.

A young woman in a blue dress sat on a little boat shuttling through the boundless starry void. Suddenly, she stiffened, her expression pained.

“Dammit! Someone suppressed my other half’s Soul Birthmark!” 

The woman gnashed her teeth, her eyes shining with ferocious light as she poured everything she had into suppressing this strange development.

But her efforts were ultimately in vain.

In the blink of an eye, she was covered in sweat, her delicate frame quivering uncontrollably. She staggered back, then fell onto the little boat.

“Don’t struggle any further! If you damage her Soul Birthmark, you’ll hurt yourself too!”

Nine Planets’ bronze kettle was at the head of the boat, and his concerned voice emanated from within. “Also, I can say with certainty that this is the work of the Temple Master. He must be worried that you’ll influence your other half, so he’s using some method to seal your Soul Birthmark!”

The woman in blue trembled violently, her breathing still ragged.

Some time passed before she gradually recovered and grimaced, “Struggling will do me no good. His power is too terrifying. He sealed my other half’s Soul Birthmark in a single attempt…”

Nine Planets hurriedly tried to calm her. “Lass, I told you it wouldn’t do to provoke him. You lost, but… you still have your honor!”

“?????”

“As you can see, the Temple Master didn’t destroy the Soul Birthmark. That proves his bond with your other half runs deep. In a sense, that’s a good thing,” said Nine Planets. “At the very least, if conflict occurs between you, he won’t strike the killing blow out of consideration for your other half. Of course, it’d be best if no conflict ever arose!”

The woman in blue couldn’t help but facepalm, and she looked deeply ashamed. “Uncle Nine Planets, you’ve changed.”

“I’ve changed?”

The woman gnashed her teeth. “Yes! Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed? Whenever the Temple Master comes up, you’re scared out of your wits. You couldn’t be any wimpier!”

“....”

He coughed dryly, a conflicted look on his face. “You just don’t understand how terrifying of an existence the Temple Master is. He…”

The woman in blue couldn’t help but interrupt him before he finished. “No matter how impressive he was once, this is just his reincarnation, and he’s only in the Profound Serenity Realm! So why are you so afraid of him, Uncle Nine Planets?”

Nine Planets fell silent.

The young woman in blue froze, as if realizing she’d spoken a bit too harshly. “Uncle Nine Planets, I’m sorry. I lost my composure and said something I shouldn’t. I know what kind of person the Temple Master is, so please, rest assured. Even if we meet again, I’ll do my best not to come into conflict with him.”

“Enough. How could I not understand your personality?” Nine Planets said with magnanimity. “But avoiding conflict is nowhere near enough. You have to be respectful, and you have to mean it. You can’t be the least bit flippant…”

The corners of the woman’s lips twitched, and she suddenly felt a headache coming on. Uncle Nine Planets can even disregard my master, so why does he pale at the mere mention of the Temple Master?

Just what happened between him and the Temple Master to make him act like this?

……

In a pavilion at the bottom of Meteor Abyss.

Qing Wan was sound asleep. Su Yi set her down and covered her with a blanket before getting off the bed and letting out a breath of turbid air.

It’s actually an innate Soul Birthmark? Qing Wan’s origins really aren’t simple!

While perusing ancient tomes, he learned some all-but-lost secrets. Rumor had it that Soul Birthmarks were a distinctive legacy unique to the most ancient races of Xiantian lifeforms.

These ancient beings were called the Xiantian Spirit Races!

But these were just rumors, and the records were vague. In his past life, he’d lived for 108,000 years without seeing an example of a Soul Birthmark.

Yet now, he’d seen one such strange mark deep within Qing Wan’s soul. This surprised Su Yi, but more than that, he was now fully aware of just how extraordinary Qing Wan’s origins were!

“Fortunately, the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells could seal even that Soul Birthmark. Otherwise, no matter where Qing Wan went, Little Heavenly Prayer would come looking for her…” Su Yi picked up a jug of wine and drank with relish before leaving the room.

“Big Brother Su Yi, how is Qing Wan?” Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, and the others rushed up to greet him.

Su Yi smiled. “She’s no longer in any danger. Let’s go feast.”

When old friends were reunited, they naturally had to eat and drink together.

Before long, Ning Sihua had arranged a sumptuous banquet. The crowd clinked glasses, laughing and chatting. The atmosphere was lively and harmonious.

Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, Wen Xinzhao, and A’Cang were there, as well as Yuan Heng, Ying Que, Ge Qian, Tao Qingshan, and numerous other old friends.

It had been almost a year since they’d last seen each other, but they hadn’t changed much.

But Su Yi was nonetheless rueful.

By comparison, he’d changed far, far too much.

Still, that only made interacting with his old friends even more soothing and comfortable.

It was a tender sensation. One that had nothing to do with fame, benefits, enmities, or ever-shifting worldly affairs.

After several rounds of drinks and numerous sumptuous delicacies, Su Yi told his old friends that he’d come back to the Azure Continent hoping to take them to the Wilds!

Although a storm was fast approaching from the starry skies, he’d make arrangements beforehand to ensure their safety.

It was actually more likely that something would go wrong if they remained on the Azure Continent.

Of course, Su Yi didn’t go into his exact reasons; he didn’t want to worry them.

Everyone had long since been prepared for this, so they weren’t overly surprised. When Su Yi left, he told them he’d return to take them to the Wilds to cultivate.

The group promptly agreed.

“Big Brother Su Yi, a few days ago, the Xia Emperor came to Meteor Abyss to ask if there was any word from you,” Wen Lingxue suddenly spoke up.

Su Yi was stunned. “What for?”

Ning Sihua chimed in, “When he heard you weren’t around, he left without saying anything. That said, I could tell he was in some sort of trouble. He seemed a bit worried and distracted.”

Cha Jin added, “At the time, Qing Wan was having those strange symptoms, so we didn’t ask any further questions. But now that I think about it, given the Xia Emperor’s prestige and authority, he wouldn’t have come here to disturb us if it were something he could resolve on his own.”

Su Yi subtly inclined his head. “Now that you mention it, there really is a bit of a bond between the Xia Emperor and me. I ought to go see him before we leave. If it turns out he really has run into trouble, I’ll help him while I’m at it.”

The next day, Su Yi woke up in Cha Jin’s bed, then got to work. He got everyone settled in the Seed of the Azure, then left Meteor Abyss.

Just an hour later, Su Yi appeared outside Nine Tripod City, the capital of the Great Xia.