First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 261: A Shocking Declaration

A white-robed monk riding a dragon through the stars? With the abilities I had in my life, I could have done that too.

It seems that this person’s cultivation doesn’t necessarily transcend the Profound Dao. Perhaps he’s like me, an expert of the Profound Unity Realm….

The Martial Dao, the Origin Dao, the Spirit Dao, and the Profound Dao.

The Profound Dao was divided into three realms: Profound Illumination, Profound Serenity, and Profound Unity.

All three were collectively referred to as the Imperial Realm. Thus, those who stepped into the Profound Dao were known as “Emperors.”

And the Profound Unity Realm was the final stage of the Profound Dao. It represented the pinnacle of the Imperial Realm. Thus, it was also known as the Imperial Apex Realm.

Back in the day, Su Yi had used his Imperial Apex Realm cultivation to reign supreme over the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, and the masses honored him as a “Swordmaster of Abstruse Force.”

Interesting. Even just in the Great Zhou, there are Eight Great Yao Mountains, as well as a barrier linking this plane to another. There’s Mu Xi’s True Spirit blood jade pendant, and whatever fortune Su Hongli found on Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain in his youth that enabled him to rise to prominence….

Now, here’s a Buddha statue carved of a True Spirit’s bones, and it seems connected to a white-robed monk who seems like he’s at least an Imperial Apex Realm cultivator… the waters of the Azure Continent are far deeper than I imagined….

For a while, Su Yi couldn’t help but lament.

But then, the “deeper the water”, the greater his anticipation.

If the Azure Continent were really just an ordinary mundane realm, it would be a bit too dull.

He might well have had to go to great lengths to find a way to ascend to a higher-order world to continue his cultivation.

Now, as strange and unusual situations piled up, Su Yi realized that the Azure Continent wasn’t just some ordinary mundane realm after all!

If he could unlock its secrets, one by one, he would unquestionably obtain numerous lucky breaks and fortuitous encounters along the way.

Even if they were temporarily delayed, in three to five years, cultivators from the other side of the spatial barrier sealed at Bloodthistle Yao Mountain would undoubtedly arrive here.

From Su Yi’s perspective, wasn’t that the perfect opportunity to harvest prey??With sufficient fortuitous encounters, Su Yi had no need to fear his cultivation stagnating!

After pondering a while longer, Su Yi put the Buddhist statue away.

Although this trinket no longer possessed even the barest trace of spirituality, it had still been forged of a True Spirit’s bones. Based on its materials alone, it could block a full-force attack from the Abstruse God Sword!

At a critical juncture, he could, if nothing else, use it as a shield.

As for the statue’s origins, when he next saw Mu Xi, he’d ask about the statue’s former owner. He could then follow their trail and infer various hints.

Su Yi then proceeded to organize the goods in the box appropriately. Once everything was in order, he crossed his legs and began cultivating.

Whoosh!

The power of his blood and qi surged like a tidal wave, producing a unique, rhythmic beat within his body.

His heart blazed like a freshly lit furnace.

The heart’s element was fire. The power of a cultivator’s qi and blood circulated through it; it was the core of the human body.

Its spiritual radiance was crimson, bright, radiant, and permeated with dense, flourishing life force.

As he cultivated, Su Yi swallowed five stalks of tier-three spiritual medicine. Their surging medicinal power coursed through him, all the way to his extremities. After eighteen small cycles and thirty-six great circulations, he’d fully refined it. It ultimately transformed into a power that could excavate the body’s latent potential, awakening the body’s vitality and essence. Su Yi’s cultivation silently increased alongside his life force.

To Su Yi, the Four Realms of the Martial Dao were still well within the confines of mortality, and there were no obstacles to speak of between levels.

If he were willing, he could quickly and easily step into the ranks of Xiantian Martial Ancestors.

But that wasn’t what he'd reincarnated for.

The way Su Yi saw it, the core purpose of cultivating anew was to forge foundations far sturdier than in his past life. Everything was in pursuit of greater heights of the peerless Dao of the Sword!

An example of this was what he’d achieved in the Qi Accumulation Realm: full spiritual awakening of the acupoints, an opened Hidden Meridian, and Dao Astral Force. He hadn’t achieved any of these foundations in the Grand Dao in his past life.

Another example was the five-colored spiritual radiance he was aiming to nourish in the Grandmaster Realm! action

Time silently slipped by.

Night descended.

When Su Yi awoke from his meditation, he felt his stomach rumbling. He couldn’t help but sigh to himself.?Without Cha Jin here, even meals have become a problem.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard knocking at the gate.

“Young Lord, I’ve returned.”

It was a gentle, pleasing voice, as melodious as a bell, and the speaker’s tone revealed happiness and a thread of anticipation.

Su Yi was briefly stunned. He approached and opened the courtyard gates, and the sight of a graceful silhouette greeted him.

She wore a muted pink dress, and her hair was tied up. She wore light makeup, and her goose-egg shaped face stood out of any crowd. Her bright, lustrous eyes shone as she looked around.

This was the pinnacle of beauty, a top stunner of her generation!

It was none other than Cha Jin.

She carried a massive box of food in one hand and a jar of wine in the other. When she saw Su Yi, a charming smile instantly blossomed on her face, her red lips curved upward, and she batted her eyes. “Young Lord, you must be practically starving to death by now, right?”

“Uh….” When she saw that he looked a bit displeased, Cha Jin’s smile froze, and she said a bit guiltily, “Last night, I planned to come back, but Palace Master Ning said you had important business to attend to and that I shouldn’t interrupt you, so she had me stay another night….”

Before she finished, Su Yi turned away. “Enough. No need to explain. Hurry and arrange the food and wine.”

Cha Jin watched his back in a daze for a moment, then scrunched up her lips. Shortly after, she couldn’t help but shake her head and laugh.

He really hasn’t changed. It’s been several days since we last saw each other, but he doesn’t seem at all happy. Instead, he’s complaining that I arrived late. I’m sure that he only realized how wonderful I was after I left.

Mm… If nothing else, I’m sure he thought about me when he was hungry…

As she thought this, Cha Jin’s spirits soared. She’d returned to the familiar House of Waveswept Rocks and reunited with a familiar person. Even her gait was lighter and?airier?than before.

Before long, a sumptuous feast was laid out beside the pond, with Cha Jin there to personally refill Su Yi’s cup.

As Su Yi ate and drank, he suddenly felt that?this?was the type of life he ought to live. When there was no one to wait on him, he always felt like he was missing a certain something….

Cha Jin sat across from Su Yi, her head resting on her hands. Her eyes shone like autumn waters, and from time to time, she examined Su Yi, her expression tender and gentle.

During the few days she spent at Heavens’ Origin Academy, she felt uncomfortably dependent on another’s charity, and whenever she thought back to her life at the House of Waveswept Rocks, she felt increasingly melancholy.

Now, sitting here bathed in the light of the setting sun, watching Su Yi eat and drink, she felt as if she stood on solid ground once more. All of her troubles seemed to melt away.

Suddenly, Su Yi asked, “How is Lingxue doing?”

Cha Jin was briefly stunned. Then, she whispered, “At noon, I planned to invite her to come with me to see you, but then her family arrived at Heaven’s Origin Academy. They said it was on your orders. Apparently, you told them to temporarily take up residence at Heaven’s Origin Academy, and that they should stay there until the fifth day of the fifth month. Lingxue chose to stay behind. She said that once her family was settled in, she’d come here to see you.”

Su Yi responded with a relaxed nod. “I’m happy so long as she’s still willing to see me.”

Cha Jin sighed to herself. How could she fail to realize that Wen Lingxue was more important to Su Yi than her?

But there was nothing for it.

After all, before she even met Su Yi, he and his little sister-in-law…. No, she wasn’t his little sister-in-law anymore.

In any event, he'd already doted on her to the extreme.

“Is your cultivation about to break through?” As he ate, Su Yi held a cup of tea Cha Jin had brewed and asked between sips.

Cha Jin was instantly delighted. “You can tell too? I have a certain premonition that soon, I can attempt to break into the Grandmaster Realm.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “You have the dual cultivation technique I taught you, and you cultivate the Nine Profundities of Perceiving Chaos Sutra. This progress is to be expected.”

Dual…. Dual Cultivation…..?Cha Jin’s stunning face instantly flushed red. Her eyelashes twitched, and she bashfully lowered her head, averting her gaze. Inwardly, she complained,?Young Lord, why is it that every time you bring that up, you’re just so… so open about it?

Late that night, after helping Su Yi bathe, Cha Jin was just about to leave when he called out to her. “Stay here tonight. I’ll describe the keys to cultivating in the Grandmaster Realm, one by one.”

After a brief daze, Cha Jin’s pretty face blushed bright red, and she grunted her agreement, soft as a gnat. “Mm!”

…….

Meanwhile, beneath the same night sky.

The Jade Capital, the home of the Su Family.

Su Hongli sat upright in a gazebo facing a stream. The mottled lamplight illuminated his face, and he flickered in and out of view.

A long time passed in silence.

Su Hongli’s brow furrowed slightly. “Daoist Brother, a few months ago, that unworthy son of mine was nothing but a waste without a cultivation. Why is that now, just a few months later, he possesses enough power to slay even Xiantian Martial Ancestors? And he’s still just a first-level Grandmaster.”

His tone was tranquil and casual, but it contained unconcealed confusion.

Su Hongli was head of the Su Family, and, alongside State Preceptor Hong Shenshang, one of the Great Zhou’s Twin Ramparts. However, it was clear that even he found the sheer extent of Su Yi’s transformation surprising and unusual.

In truth, when he received a report about what happened in the Imperatorial Province, it sent waves coursing through his heart.

In the battle at the seat of the provincial government, two non-Zhou kings, two non-Zhou marquis, and an entire group of big shots died brutal deaths. Furthermore, Su Yi had killed them all on his own.

This bloody accomplishment was completely beyond Su Hongli’s expectations.

It also made him realize that, even after the Western Mountain’s Tea Party, he still underestimated the unworthy descendant he detested to the extreme.

An elder in Daoist robes stood to the side, holding a horsetail whisk. A grave look arose on his wizened face, and he said, “When something out of the ordinary occurs, there’s always an explanation for it. On the second day of the second month, Su Yi used his Blood Circulation Realm cultivation to take first place in Guangling City’s Dragon Gate Banquet. Today, it’s the twenty-seventh day of the third lunar month.

“In just two months, he went from the Blood Circulation Realm to the first level of the Grandmaster Realm, with power sufficient to slay Xiantian Martial Ancestors. His cultivation speed and cultivation strength are unquestionably shocking; common sense is insufficient to evaluate him.

“Fellow Daoist, do you remember? All those years ago, even a heaven-defying genius like the Featherflow King, Yue Shichan, took a full year to advance from the Blood Circulation Realm to the Grandmaster Realm, but Su Yi….”

Before he could finish, Su Hongli frowned and waved him to a halt. “No need to say all that. All you need to do is to tell me your conclusion.”

The elder in Daoist robes fell briefly silent, then said, “I suspect…. It’s highly likely that Su Yi has been possessed.”

A shocking declaration.

Su Hongli’s pupils silently constricted.