First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1257 - The Solar Transformation Courtyard

The Immortal Court of Mount Penglai surely once had legacies and records of the Path of Immortal Ascension.

But none remained.

Su Yi was finally starting to understand why the Illusionist went crazy after the Immortal-Burning Ruler was destroyed.

It was an unquestionably agonizing loss!

But although Su Yi found it a pity that an immortal weapon like the Immortal-Burning Ruler had been devoured by the Sword of the Nine Hells, he was already increasingly aware of how mysterious the sword’s origins were!

“They call it the Divine Kingdom of Illusions, but they’d be better off calling it the ruins of Penglai Immortal Island...”

Su Yi stood there and pondered for a while. He thought several things through, but he still had numerous doubts.

But he wasn’t in a rush.

The truth would ultimately become clear.

Su Yi then carried the crimson jade pendant into the ritual grounds. They were quite distinctive and full of mysteries. Each step carried him into an all-new heaven and earth. Su Yi calculated that it’d take sixty-four steps to cross.

In other words, the ritual grounds contained at least sixty-four illusions of ancient worlds.

Whoosh!

A rain of flying immortal light scattered, and in the blink of an eye, Su Yi found himself in an illusory landscape.

He gripped the crimson jade pendant and searched it, stretching out his divine sense.

Time slipped by....

Su Yi investigated one illusory realm after another.

None of them contained any good fortune. They simply reflected visions of long-gone worlds.

Like the Jade Sea, and that barren wasteland.

Actually, there might well have been good fortune here at some point, but if there was, the Illusionist had found it long ago. There was nothing waiting for Su Yi to claim.

Three days later.

Su Yi entered the forty-ninth illusory world.

It was a mountain forest. Purple qi hung in the air, and the ancient trees towered into the heavens.

“Hm?” Finally, ripples spread from the crimson pendant in Su Yi’s hands. It seemed to have detected something.

Su Yi’s eyes lit up, and he sighed in relief. There’s no doubt about it. That madwoman is hidden somewhere in this ancient mountain forest.

He sped up his gate, sensing the jade pendant as he shot into the distance.

Before long, a cliff entered his field of view. A waterfall poured down it like a white dragon, filling the air with mists. The surging waters rumbled like thunder.

There was a hundred-plus-foot pond of blue-green water at the waterfall’s base.

“Is this where that madwoman is hiding?” Su Yi was stunned.

His divine sense hadn’t detected even the slightest of energy fluctuations, but the crimson pendant was scaldingly hot and radiating misty light.

All of this proved that the pawnshop owner was hiding nearby!

“Come on out. The Illusionist is dead,” said Su Yi, his voice reverberating throughout the cliffside waterfall like the sound of the Grand Dao.

But a long time passed, and no one answered.

Su Yi couldn’t help but furrow his brow and scan his surroundings. In the end, his gaze landed on a pond.

It was then that....

Boom!

The pond burst, and a streak of dazzling, profound light ripped through the sky and shot explosively at Su Yi.

Su Yi’s eyelids twitched, and he immediately dodged.

The profound light shot past. The surrounding landscape shattered with a bang, reduced to flat ground.

Even the sky collapsed. Countless rifts tore open and lingered in the air.

A chill coursed down Sun Yi's spine.

That attack could have killed a Cosmic Enlightenment World King!

Upon closer inspection, that beam of profound light was a talisman. It was currently on fire, and it was on the verge of dissipating into ash.

The pond had been destroyed. All that remained was a massive crater.

Golden light flashed at the bottom of the crater. Su Yi walked up to it and discovered that it was a crane folded out of golden paper.

Suddenly, the paper crane seemed to come to life. It beat its wings and circled in the air, then exploded, transforming into a slender, prideworthy figure.

Her eyes were bright, her teeth were pearly, and her features were beautiful to the extreme. Her pale blue, broad-sleeved dress only further enhanced her curves.

A waterfall of black hair was tied casually into a bun, giving her a refreshing feeling.

An exquisitely crafted hundred-treasures bag hung from her waist.

This was none other than the pawnshop owner, a tyrannical, forceful madwoman!

But Su Yi furrowed his brow; this wasn’t the pawnshop owner’s true body, nor was it a remnant of her will. This was just an illusion outlined by the talisman!

“Illusionist, we’ve been fighting all these years, but you’ve only just found this place? You sure are stupid!” The pawnshop owner crossed her arms, her red lips curving into a cold smile. “I’m not afraid to tell you that I broke through time and space and left this cage a long time ago!”

Su Yi’s eyes shone with a strange light. That madwoman obviously left that ambush here for the Illusionist!

“Just you wait! Next time I come here, I’ll kill you, you bastard!” As the pawnshop owner’s prideful, beautiful face filled with murderousness, her figure transformed into a rain of light.

The golden paper crane, meanwhile, burned away completely.

When Su Yi saw this, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He dared say with certainty that the pawnshop owner hadn’t seized any advantage against the Illusionist whatsoever. If anything, she’d been forced into leaving earlier than planned.

“At least she’s still alive...” Su Yi let out a breath of turbid air, then fully relaxed.

Without any further delays, he turned and left.

Along the way, Su Yi recalled everything he’d experienced in the Divine Kingdom of Illusions. He’d actually gained quite a bit; he hadn’t come in vain.

First, his cultivation base had broken into the late-stage Heavenly Longevity Realm.

Second, he’d killed the Illusionist’s Dao Clone, obtaining several secrets regarding immortality in the process. He finally knew with certainty that the Path of Transcendence existed above the World King Realm!

That aside, he learned numerous secrets regarding immortality. For instance, that the Path of Transcendence had been severed, but that immortals had once existed in the Human Realm!

Third, the Sword of the Nine Hells had devoured Penglai Immortal Island’s core treasure, the Immortal-Burning Ruler.

Recalling this left Su Yi at a loss for words.

The Sword of the Nine Hells had devoured both the Divine Tribulation War Spear and the Immortal-Burning Ruler, two mighty, taboo treasures, yet it hadn’t changed a bit!

......

The Dark Sea of Stars.

Before the Divine Mountain of the River of Heaven, in the mysterious pawnshop.

“I can sense it. His Excellency Su has returned!” the Heart-Inquiring Bell called out.

Wonderful!” The Starry Abacus and Scales of Judgment cried out joyfully.

Meng Changyun couldn’t help but sigh in relief too.

“Well? Why haven’t you welcomed him?” the old pawnbroker urged.

The Heart-Inquiring Bell hurriedly rang, and the pawnbroker opened the shop’s doors personally. Indeed, he immediately saw Su Yi’s tall, upright figure strolling toward them from afar.

The crowd hurriedly welcomed him into the pawn shop.

“Did you see our boss, Your Excellency Su?” asked the old pawnbroker.

Su Yi sprawled out comfortably in a chair and relaxed completely. He paused to sip from a jug of wine before answering, “She’s already left the Divine Kingdom of Illusions, but I don’t know when it happened or where she went.”

The old pawnbroker was stunned, but a moment later, he felt a massive weight lift from his shoulders. “I can rest assured as long as she’s safe!”

The Starry Abacus and other treasures chimed in their agreement too.

Su Yi took out the crimson jade pendant and returned it. “What do you plan to do next?”

The old pawnbroker thought for a moment. “In accordance with the boss’s orders, I’m going to leave the Dark Sea of Stars and wander the stars in search of those fated to do business here.”

He paused, then added, “I’m sure she’ll come back and find us someday.”

Su Yi nodded, then suddenly asked, “What is your boss’s connection to Shen Mu?”

The old pawnbroker was stunned. “Your Excellency Su, dare I ask who this Shen Mu person is?”

Su Yi furrowed his brow. Instead of answering, he looked at the Starry Abacus, Scales of Judgment, and Heart-Inquiring Bell. “Do you know?”

All three treasures insisted that they’d never heard the name before.

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this a pity. “It seems I’ll have to wait until I see your boss before I’ll get any answers.”

Inwardly, he felt a sense of foreboding. Part of him suspected that the pawnshop owner might be the woman who’d destroyed Shen Mu’s heart, killing him.

Were that truly the case...

They might truly become enemies!

I just hope it won’t come to that... Su Yi raised his jug of wine and silently took a sip.

The second day.

Su Yi decided to set off and leave the Dark Sea of Stars.

“Your Excellency Su, where do you plan to head next? How about we take you there?” asked the old pawnbroker.

The Pawnshop of the Heavens could shuttle between worlds and planes, and even between star realms.

If it weren’t the apple of that madwoman’s eye, Su Yi would have wanted to steal it for his own use.

“That’d be great. You can just drop us off somewhere in the Thousand Opportunities Star Realm,” said Su Yi after a moment’s thought.

Meng Changyun’s spirits soared. He knew that His Excellency the Temple Master would take him back home, and he couldn’t help but long to return.

I wonder how my friends and loved ones are doing... Meng Changyun murmured to himself.

He was from the Thousand Opportunities Star Realm’s Solar Transformation Courtyard. He was one of their high elders, and even their current sect leader had to respectfully address him as martial uncle!

......

The Thousand Opportunities Star Realm.

This was one of the top ten star realms of the Eastern Profound Star Domain. It was vast and ancient, and it encompassed over a thousand lesser worlds and planes.

Sects and orthodoxies were as numerous as the trees.

Here, the Primordial Unity Daoist Sect, one of the greatest sects of the starry skies, reigned supreme!

Solar Transformation Courtyard was far inferior to the Primordial Unity Daoist Sect, but it was still a first-rate sect that stood out from the star realm’s countless factions big and small.

Cloud Bridge Divine Mountain.

The Solar Transformation Courtyard’s home base!

“I’m finally back!” Meng Changyun’s heart filled with excitement. “First, I’ll visit my master. Then, I’ll go see that kid, Bai He. If he dared slack off on his cultivation in my absence, I won’t let him off!”

Meng Changyun couldn’t help but smile.

Bai He was his one and only closed-door disciple. He was bright, and his talent stood out from the masses. It was just that he was a bit lazy and stubborn.

However, none of this affected Meng Changyun’s love for his disciple.

By now, Meng Changyun had already passed through the gates. Without alerting anyone, he went straight for the back mountain; that was where his master was in seclusion.

“Martial Uncle Meng!?” a startled cry rang out.

Along the way, a middle-aged man in a feather coat saw Meng Changyun, and his face filled with disbelief.

Meng Changyun smiled, nodded, and continued on his way.

The middle-aged man in the feather coat was called Lie Yun. He was an elder, and going by seniority, he was Meng Changyun’s martial nephew.

After watching Meng Changyun disappear from view, Lie Yun’s expression shifted erratically, and his brow furrowed.

How could Martial Uncle Meng... dare return?

He took a deep breath, then took out a transmission talisman and used his divine sense to write a message.

“Quick, report to the sect leader. Tell him that High Elder Meng Changyun has returned!”