First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2120 – If I Grasp the Dao in the Morning, I Can Die in the Evening Without Regret

“Please, go right ahead.” Su Yi raised his hand and indicated to her that she could attack.

Bai Xiu put away her book, and her quiet, delicate demeanor gave way to an imposing, dignified air.

Boom!

She took a step forward, and a boundless, inestimable momentum erupted from her body. Glittering golden Dao Markings surged forth, revolving and dancing around her.

When she raised her fair, slender fingertip, the markings transformed into a Confucian classic, which descended upon Su Yi.

Most wondrous of all, when this Confucian classic appeared, chanting reverberated throughout heaven and earth and visions of countless ancient sages appeared in the air, shaking their heads as they recited fundamental truths of the universe!

“The Sage said, ‘The cultivated gentleman seeks harmony but not conformity; the petty person seeks conformity but not harmony.’”

“I look up to the sages like I gaze upon a towering mountain. I cannot reach them, but I long to emulate them.”

“You can rob an army of its leader, but not a man of his will.”

……The sound of boundless chanting resounded throughout the clouds, full of valiant Haoran Qi.

Bai Xiu now seemed to have transformed into a sage. Her presence encompassed the entirety of heaven and earth, and when she spoke, the world obeyed!

Boom!

The page of a book descended upon Su Yi with ruthless force and endless pressure!

This attack was more than just shockingly powerful; even the chanting assailed Su Yi’s heart and mind like the rumbling of thunder.

As if guiding and encouraging him!

Any other opponent’s soul would have been immediately intimidated and overcome with the urge to prostrate and submit.

Especially the line that said “I look up to the sages like I gaze upon a towering mountain. I cannot reach them, but I long to emulate them.” When Su Yi heard it, he felt as if an ancient sage were transmitting their wisdom to him. He felt tiny, ignorant, as insignificant as an ant, and ashamed of his own unsightliness.

The chanting was a power of the Grand Dao. It influenced and suppressed his heart!

But the feeling only lasted a moment.

Just as the page of classic text was about to reach him, Su Yi’s robes billowed around him.

Clang!

The humming of a sword rang out like a thunderclap, interrupting the chanting of classics.

The countless illusory sages all suffered the resulting impact. They could no longer speak, and thus, could no longer transmit the Dao!

When that sword qi burst forth, it flashed through the air, cleaving through the page of scripture, which scattered into countless Dao Markings and vanished.

“You used Confucianism as a base to fuse all schools of thought, and your chanting encompasses all Daos. Your attainments are extraordinary indeed,” exclaimed Su Yi.

He meant every word. Bai Xiu was no true Confucian sage; she’d created a path all her own, using the Haoran Qi of a Confucianist as a basis to learn from all schools of thought and fuse them into her cultivation. It was like the trunk of the tree of her cultivation, with countless Daos sprouting like branches, each bearing its own fruit. That was what led to her current accomplishments in the Grand Dao.

This was a terrifying feat.

Looking at her through the lens of Li Fuyou’s experiences, he knew that if Bai Xiu ever became a master god, she’d be a “Master of All Schools of Thought!”

“I learn from the strengths of all schools of thought, yet you broke through it all in a single slash. Your attainments in the Grand Dao are far from ordinary.” Off in the distance, Bai Xiu said calmly, “Please, fight without reservation. Give this everything you have.”

Had anyone else requested this, Su Yi would surely have said, “That’ll depend on whether or not you’re worthy of my full strength.”

But against Bai Xiu, he smiled and said straightforwardly, “But of course.”

The reason was simple. Bai Xiu was the strongest Creation Realm Lesser God in history. She was absolutely worthy of his full strength. She was strong enough to cross the walls between realms and fight Greater Gods, something Su Yi had only barely been able to do before beginning the Nine Great Celestial Trials.

“The sage said that if I grasp the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening without regret!”

Bai Xiu suddenly approached from afar, her clothing dancing around her, and her skin sparkling like crystals. The Valiant Haoran Qi of countless Daos surged around her.

It was as if she were creating an inkwash painting. With every swish of her brush, classics and canon condensed out of all manner of Grand Daos, took to the air, then descended upon Su Yi like an avalanche.

Su Yi was no longer polite, either. He drew upon the full extent of his attainments in the Dao of the Sword. The clanging hum of a sword filled the air, and terrifying sword intent swept outward.

Kaboom!

A grand battle broke out, throwing the chaos clouds into upheaval.

Bai Xiu was like one the sages of antiquity. She manifested the Dao into pages upon pages of script, and every character in them brimmed with power terrifying enough to scare both gods and ghosts.

In the outside world, her mere imposing aura was enough to make most living things prostrate themselves before her in submission and eagerly learn from her every word. It stripped them of all ability to fight back!

Her combat strength was unquestionably terrifying. When they fought, Su Yi almost felt as if he were locked in combat with a Greater God.

But then, that was merely a feeling. Bai Xiu wasn’t really a Greater God, and she was still a notch weaker than true Greater Gods like Ren Beiyou and Wen Xiao.

Even so, Su Yi was delighted. His will to fight blazed within him like a furnace, and he fought with relish!

Boom!

Countless streaks of sword qi whooshed through the air, like a dense, pelting rain. As they swept outward, they scattered the Dao Markings filling the sky.

Like wind scattering fallen leaves.

Bai Xiu’s delicate face was increasingly solemn. As the battle raged on, Su Yi put ever greater pressure on her. At first, her attainments in the Grand Dao were enough to place them on equal footing, but gradually, she found herself giving it her all and drawing on the cards she kept in reserve just to defend herself.

He’s ridiculously strong. He… He’s got to be a true Transgressor. He’s broken the fetters of cultivation levels, defying both common sense and the natural order of creation.

There was no disguising Bai Xiu’s astonishment.

In her epoch of origin, she was strong enough to duke it out with Greater Gods. Even if she lost in the end, she was so strong that they proclaimed her the greatest Lesser God in history. There was no one else like her.

Yet now, despite knowing full well that Su Yi was a Great Profound Stage cultivator, she felt as if she were up against a true Greater God.

Of course she was startled! How could she not be?

No wonder that senior sent the nine of us. Su Yi really is far too unbelievable… Bai Xiu sighed inwardly.

Heaven’s Chosen were few, but there were a handful in every epoch civilization.

Transgressors, those who managed to break the ironclad Laws of the natural order, were far too rare. Several epoch civilizations might come and go without a single one appearing! Transgressors were so rare that their existence was like the most fleeting, insubstantial of rumors.

Now, Bai Xiu knew that the rumors were real. Her current opponent was a “mere” immortal, yet he’d broken an ironclad rule. He was strong enough to fight Greater Gods!

But… this only ignited her will to fight! She longed to see just how great the gap between her and Su Yi was when she cast all her reservations aside and fought with everything she had!

Boom!

The battle raged with even greater intensity. Su Yi could keenly sense the startling changes to Bai Xiu’s will to fight; even her combat strength had improved considerably.

She’s one with the Dao. She’s so immersed that she’s completely forgotten herself.

Su Yi’s eyes lit up. How could he fail to realize that Bai Xiu’s heart, mind, essence, qi, and spirit were completely immersed in combat? She’d entered a state of enlightenment and begun excavating her latent potential mid-battle!

Su Yi had done just that on numerous occasions. He was naturally familiar with the process.

In other words, both he and Bai Xiu were trying to grow and advance through combat!

It was just a pity… As heaven-defying as Bai Xiu was, and although she was a worthy opponent, she didn’t put enough pressure on Su Yi. At the very least, he didn’t have the heart-palpitating sensation of a true life-or-death struggle.

Even though Su Yi wanted to enter a state of enlightenment mid-battle, it wouldn’t be possible here.

A little less than ten minutes later, the inevitable happened.

The resplendent classic of the Grand Dao split, and countless Dao Markings scattered as unstoppable sword qi cleaved through them and flew toward Bai Xiu.

Bai Xiu unleashed the full extent of her power of the Grand Dao, but she couldn’t block this strike, and it was too late to dodge!

When she saw the attack headed her way, her delicate, tranquil face showed no sign of terror. There was only heartfelt emotion and understanding, as if she’d finally grasped something.

This was what they meant when they said, “If I grasp the Dao in the morning, I can die in the evening without regret!”

Kccch!

The sky was thrown into disarray. Sword qi rumbled and boomed.

A moment later, the sword qi descending upon Bai Xiu silently scattered into a rain of light and vanished.

Bai Xiu was briefly stunned, but a moment later, she came back to her senses, sighed, and murmured, “Fellow Daoist, I’ve never seen such swordsmanship before, nor have I ever seen anyone like you.”

She clasped her fist, a look of heartfelt delight on her face. “This battle parted the clouds and let me see the sun, granting me enlightenment. It’s like I’ve been reborn, and I’m sure to enjoy countless benefits.”

“I, Bai Xiu… am convinced of my defeat!”

With that, she bowed, like a disciple bowing to her master.

The sage said, “If three walk together, one can be my teacher.”

She lost, but she was fully convinced and pleased with this result. To her, fighting Su Yi and witnessing his abilities first hand was no different from receiving a teacher’s guidance.

Thus, she greeted him like a disciple greeting her master of her own free will!

Su Yi took in this expression of respect and the unconcealed delight and respect on Bai Xiu’s face. He couldn’t help but be touched.

This woman is more than just a wondrous genius. Even her bearing and breadth of spirit are far beyond the vast majority of gods!

Only someone this pure-hearted, and this diligent and earnest in her pursuit of the Grand Dao, could accept insights from all schools of thought without regard for right, wrong, benevolence, enmity, and distinctions of rank and superiority. She’s willing to learn from others of diverse backgrounds and orthodoxies and make them her own!

“Despite your immense aptitude, you were lost to a bygone epoch. The heavens really are envious of those blessed with talent,” Su Yi sighed with heartfelt emotion. “That guy did at least one good thing. It’s thanks to him that I got to meet a fellow Daoist like you today.”

Su Yi had changed how he addressed Bai Xiu. He now saw her as his fellow Daoist!

All who wholeheartedly sought the Dao were his fellows!

Su Yi was extraordinarily picky. Those he truly saw as his fellow Daoists were few and far between. Now, Bai Xiu had been added to that highly exclusive list.

“‘That guy…?’” Bai Xiu pondered the title briefly before realizing that Su Yi was referring to the Crypt Guardian.

A moment later, she cast aside her scattered thoughts and asked, “Can you clear up my doubts now, Fellow Daoist?”

Before the battle began, she asked Su Yi if the height of one’s cultivation base was important.

Now that the battle was over, she really wanted to hear what answer an unbelievable Transgressor like Su Yi would give her.