First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2285 – Yan Shuiming

Whoosh!

A treasure ship shot through clouds as soft as cotton, leaving perfectly straight waves of cloud in its wake.

“Third Brother Sword? Hah! I wouldn’t have thought someone as proud as you would choose to become someone’s servant!

“At least I’m not like you! You became a bald donkey’s toy, and he couldn’t even protect you when he died!”

“You don’t understand shit! He and I had nothing to do with each other. If anything, I’m happy he’s dead!”

“Don’t act tough. Whatever else you might say about that bald donkey, he managed to keep you in check and prevent you from breaking free, yet even he died at my master’s hands. That is more than sufficient proof of how wretched your situation was!”

…On board the treasure ship, the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing emanated seething murderous intent, while the Sword of Proximity’s edge flashed with imposing sword light. The two weapons were locked in a fierce staredown.

Even though neither treasure could exactly speak, their wills could curse each other out. Their argument was so fierce that it almost broke out into violence.

Su Yi watched this play out with great interest.

At the same time, he was amused to discover that the Umbrella of Tribulations was quivering not far away, too afraid to speak up.

Su Yi’s imagination suddenly ran wild. What if I gather the Book of Karma, the Sky-Covering Boat, the Yin-Yang Diagram, and the other Mysteries of Chaos in one place? Would they be bold enough to argue with the Sword of Proximity and the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing?

Su Yi thought for a while, but in the end, he concluded that only the first of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos, the Writing Brush of Genesis, could possibly stand up to Third Brother Sword and Second Brother Blade.

Unfortunately, the Writing Brush of Genesis was the most mysterious of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos. Even now, no one knew who’d gotten their hands on it.

There weren’t even rumors about it.

“Drop all the nonsense. It’s been years since we last saw each other. How about we fight?” suggested the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing.

The Sword of Proximity said coldly, “If you want to run, just say so. Don’t even try to play these petty tricks.”

“Who said I wanted to run?”

“Drop the act. How could I possibly not understand how you do things, Second Brother Blade?”

“You…” The Blade of Heaven’s Loathing whooshed into the air as if to start a fight.

But before it got the chance, Su Yi grabbed it by the hilt. It could no longer even budge.

“Are you bullying me?” snapped the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing.

“The winner is a king, and the loser is a bandit,” Su Yi said casually. “You’re now in my possession, so you naturally ought to listen to me.”

“You want to subdue me? That’s nothing but the ravings of a madman! I’ll never, ever submit to anyone!” The Blade of Heaven’s Loathing said staunchly.

“Is that so?” asked Su Yi. “Then I’ll just have to see how tough you really are.”

He unleashed a wisp of the Sword of the Nine Hells’ power. The Blade of Heaven’s Loathing trembled, its wails shaking the heavens.

It would have been obvious to anyone that it had been intimidated. It was completely suppressed; it couldn’t even fight back.

But it remained silent, and it refused to submit.

Like a stubborn, prideful youth, refusing to lower his head no matter what.

“Not bad,” said Su Yi. He put away the Sword of the Nine Hells’ power. “Relax. I’m a sword cultivator; I have no interest in dominating you.”

“See that, Second Brother Blade? You aren’t good enough for my master!” The Sword of Proximity jumped in out of nowhere, eager to “twist the knife.”

The Blade of Heaven’s Loathing quivered with fury and launched into a series of expletives.

When Su Yi saw that the two of them were about to start arguing again, he felt a headache coming on, and he put both of them away.

The world instantly regained its peace and quiet.

Su Yi finally understood just how right the Book of Karma had been about the Blade of Heaven’s Loathing and the Sword of Proximity’s relationship. They really were at each other’s “throats.”

The Umbrella of Tribulations was far more obedient. It had cooperated with him ever since he’d acquired it, and it had never once complained.

The Angler’s got the Sky-Stealing Hook, and I suspect Ol’ Tian Huang has the Realm-Demarcating Ruler, thought Su Yi. Should the opportunity arise, I’ve got to retrieve them both.

But then, he shook his head and gave the matter no further thought.

He took out the Chaos Self-Replenishing Soil and entrusted it to the Divine Replenishment Furnace. An unparalleled treasure like that would be immensely helpful for sustaining the Lord of Sleepless Nights’ life force!

According to Su Yi’s estimates, even if he couldn’t repair the Lord of Sleepless Nights’ damaged vital source, he could at least keep his old friend alive and prevent his wounds from getting any worse. There was no longer any need to fear him dying.

Next, Su Yi turned his attention to the spoils of the battle at Cloudy Heights Temple.

He set aside those he had use for. The rest, he planned to give to the Qilin Trading Company. After all, he could never have crushed Cloudy Heights Temple so smoothly without their help. They deserved a reward.

Su Yi naturally wouldn’t make them work for free.

He’d only just thought this when a message arrived from Qi Wei. “I just heard about the battle at Cloudy Heights Temple. You’ve got to be on guard against the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains’ reprisal.

“That aside, my subordinates have uncovered how Ning Xiu became their pawn.”

According to Qi Wei, Ning Xiu hadn’t betrayed him of her own free will. Rather, someone had placed a spiritual lifeform known as a Paired Heart-Guiding Worm in her soul.

By controlling the worm through its paired counterpart, his enemies had seized control of Ning Xiu’s soul and awareness, making her into their helpless puppet!

Such arts were incredibly rare, to the point that they’d vanished from the God Domain a long time ago. They were a type of long-lost Aberrant magic.

It was all but impossible for anyone short of a Master God proficient in Aberrant legacies to sense a Paired Heart-Guiding Worm inside its host.

Su Yi finally understood. He couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

His biggest fear had been that Ning Xiu had really betrayed him. Fortunately, Qi Wei’s investigation proved that Ning Xiu hadn’t known of any of this earlier, either. She’d had no idea about the strange worm hidden in her soul, much less that it could be used to control her!

Qi Wei also mentioned that a faction like Cloudy Heights Temple could never have mastered a mysterious, taboo technique like that. She suspected that the Paired Heart-Guiding Worms were the work of the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains!

Were that the case, it’d be far too terrifying. There were only two possible explanations.

First, the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains had somehow discovered long-lost Aberrant Legacies despite them having vanished from the God Domain a long time ago.

Second, that an Aberrant orthodoxy existed in some unknown corner of the God Domain, and that they’d long since joined forces with the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains!

Regardless of which proved correct, if the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains could control Ning Xiu without anyone finding out about it, they could do the same thing to others!

And no one could know who’d been affected until after the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains started controlling them!

That meant that even those closest to you, even those you trusted most, could well be under their control, just as Ning Xiu had been.

The thought was far too unsettling!

Su Yi couldn’t help but frown as he realized how thorny this problem really was.

Aberrant Legacies had vanished from the God Domain a long, long time ago. They’d vanished into the distant past long before Yi Daoxuan rose to prominence.

Legacies of the Aberrant Path were thus incredibly rare!

Nominally “Aberrant” factions existed in the present-day God Domain, but none were the real thing. The paths they sought were nothing like that of true Aberrant cultivators.

In other words, modern Aberrants remained, but ancient Aberrants had been lost!

Yet now, the powers of the ancient Aberrants had reappeared in the present day, and they were intimately intertwined with the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains!!

In his past lives, Su Yi had gained proficiency in countless secret arts and Daoist magics, but very, very few were connected to the path of the ancient Aberrants. Thus, if the Western Paradise Spirit Mountains tried to reuse the trick they’d played with Ning Xiu or employ other similar methods, it would be extremely difficult to defend himself.

The very thought was unsettling. How terrifying it would have been if Qi Wei were being manipulated by an Aberrant secret art, too?

In her message, Qi Wei mentioned that the Qilin Trading Company had already begun investigating the Aberrant lineage. She said they’d contact Su Yi as soon as they found any leads.

Su Yi pondered briefly, then replied to thank her. “You have my utmost gratitude.”

Now that he’d finished up here, he planned to return to Qingwu Divine Court and go into seclusion for a while.

He’d collected an enormous abundance of trophies at Cloudy Heights Temple, including no small number of rare and precious cultivation resources.

Su Yi estimated that with these resources, he could break into the late-stage Limit Realm within half a year!

Of course, on his way back, Su Yi needed to swing by the Spring and Autumn City branch of the Qilin Trading Company.

……

Three days later.

Spring and Autumn City.

Su Yi gave Elder Wei of the Qilin Trading Company all of the trophies he’d acquired but couldn’t use.

Elder Wei was one of Qi Wei’s subordinates, so he already knew who Su Yi was. Thus, he didn’t even try to refuse.

After all, these trophies were a gift for the Qilin Race. Elder Wei naturally wouldn’t take it upon himself to reject them.

It was also in this Qilin Trading Company branch that Su Yi learned of a recent development in the Southern Flame Divine Continent.

It turned out that the day after Cloudy Heights Temple fell, a storm swept through another of the continent’s top factions, the Red Dust Demon Lands.

Yan Shuiming, a Greater God, had gone to the Red Dust Demon Lands to challenge its experts.

He was just one person, but he defeated nineteen Red Dust Demon Lands Greater Gods and even a One-Tribulation Master God without pausing to rest!

This development caused a huge commotion throughout the Southern Flame Divine Continent. Everyone was astonished.

Apparently, Yan Shuiming was from Purple Mist Grotto, an unknown territory.

His combat strength was heaven-defying and terrifying!

Prior to this, no one in the God Domain had known that a terrifying Fortune Realm Greater God like Yan Shuiming even existed.

Rumor had it that Yan Shuiming had a natural Nin-Yin Profound Body. His Grand Dao Divine Ability, a Thousand Watery Graves, was even more extraordinary. No one of the same level could compete.

He’d even used it to defeat a One-Tribulation Master God!

This battle had left the Red Dust Demon Lands’ reputation in shambles.

And the victor, Yan Shuiming, had left with the Red Dust Demon Lands’ greatest treasure, the Osmanthus Tree of the Toad Palace!

The Red Dust Demon Lands had agreed to this wager, so when they lost, they had no choice but to endure.

In truth, the Red Dust Demon Lands hadn’t dared to renege on their agreement, because although Yan Shuiming fought alone, his master had accompanied him.

The Purple Mist Grotto Master!

Su Yi couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, but it wasn’t Yan Shuiming’s strength that surprised him. It was that he’d claimed the Osmanthus Tree of the Toad Palace!

This tree had first been rooted in a chaos well deep in the Endless Ocean. It was full of natural, Undying source power, making it a natural, Undying divine lifeform.

Yi Daoxuan had claimed the tree and left with it a long time ago. He then transplanted it on Sunset Perch Island.

Owning such an Undying Lifeform was equivalent to gaining a first-rate blessed ground for cultivation. It could sustain the cultivation of even Master Gods!

Unfortunately… Things went south for Yi Daoxuan in the Endless Ocean. One of his sworn brothers turned on him, and his powerful enemies surrounded and attacked him. Although he survived, he had no choice but to leave the Endless Ocean and flee to the ends of the earth.

Everything he left on Sunset Perch Island was thus divided amongst his enemies, including the Osmanthus Tree of the Toad Palace.

And it was the Red Dust Demon Lands who’d claimed it!