First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2575 – None Can Defy the Heavenly Sovereigns

The Five Lightning Firmament Furnace didn’t move. It just floated there, as obedient as a tamed beast.

Su Yi examined it. He couldn’t help but be surprised.

The furnace contained an aura of Eternity. It was far beyond Undying treasures. It was for this reason that the furnace had managed to keep the Fragment of Heaven’s Will contained.

But more than the treasure, Su Yi was curious about the Fragment of Heaven’s Will inside it.

“Come out.” Su Yi gently tapped the furnace with his fingertips.

Weng!

The furnace quivered, and a page of scripture floated out of the furnace.

Chaos qi rose, and the power of the Laws interwove. The page seemed somehow ethereal, and its pages were covered in lines of strange, twisted markings of the Grand Dao, like wriggling worms. They almost seemed alive.

Unfortunately, Su Yi couldn’t see any of it clearly.

This was a Fragment of Heaven’s Will!

He suspected it was a supreme fragment, and it was mystical and unfathomable. Earlier, it had forced the patriarchs of Five Lightning Temple back.

Yet now, it floated obediently in front of Su Yi, as if submitting to its fate. It dared not act recklessly.

It was then that Zhi Shui, the middle-aged Daoist, and the other patriarchs came back to their senses and gathered around Su Yi.

Zhi Shui stepped forward and clasped her fist. “Many thanks for your timely intervention, Fellow Daoist Su. You saved Five Lightning Temple from disaster.”

The others obviously already knew who Su Yi was, and all of them followed suit.

“It was no effort at all. It isn’t even worth mentioning.” Su Yi shook his head slightly.

He then returned to the Five Lightning Firmament Furnace to Zhi Shui; it was no longer needed to suppress the Fragment of Heaven’s Will.

“Who do you plan to have refine this?” asked Su Yi. “I can lend a hand. I guarantee it won’t act up with me around.”

The crowd exchanged glances, complicated looks on their faces.

In the end, the middle-aged man in Daoist robes said, “What happened earlier proves that Five Lightning Temple isn’t fated to enjoy this good fortune. Fellow Daoist, you came to our aid at a critical juncture, saving us from disaster. It seems to me that you’re the one most qualified to refine that Fragment of Heaven’s Will.”

“That’s right. Cultivators have always understood that fortune and disaster go hand in hand. Fellow Daoist, you just so happened to arrive at precisely the right time to suppress the Fragment of Heaven’s Will. That was a stroke of fate. All of this was predestined,” said the old man with the crown of seven stars. “Please, don’t refuse. Accept this treasure.”

The Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor’s jaw dropped. Is this really happening!?

We just came here as their guests, only to run into disaster. In the end, Brother Fuyou got his hands on a stroke of good fortune as grand as the heavens themselves. This… is simply unbelievable!

Here, Zhi Shui chimed in. “It’s just as you said earlier, Fellow Daoist. Junior Apprentice Taiyu and I invited you here to resolve the problem of this Fragment of Heaven’s Will. Everything that just happened proves that you’re the person best suited to receive it.”

Su Yi pondered briefly, then said, “Very well. It would be rude to refuse.”

Everyone smiled. It might have seemed like they were giving Su Yi a gift, but weren’t they establishing a positive karmic connection with him, too?

To gain something, you have to give something else up. That was true here, too.

“Fellow Daoist, can you see through the fragment’s mysteries?” the middle-aged Daoist politely asked for guidance.

His title was Zhen Yang, or “True Yang,” and he was Five Lightning Temple’s second-generation patriarch, yet he spoke to Su Yi with politeness and treated him as he would a member of the same generation.

“I haven’t examined it yet,” said Su Yi. He could tell that, although they’d given him the fragment, the patriarchs of Five Lightning Temple were extremely curious about it.

He quickly made a decision. “If you aren’t opposed, give me a little time to ponder it. Once I’ve grasped its mysteries, I’ll naturally share them with you.”

The group was all too happy to agree.

They then stepped aside and sat cross-legged so as to avoid disturbing Su Yi.

Su Yi had always disliked sitting cross-legged when he wasn’t cultivating; it wasn’t comfortable. Thus, he took out his wicker chair and sprawled out comfortably.

The Fragment of Heaven’s Will obediently shifted positions, floating in front of him.

The sight of Su Yi relaxing in his wicker chair made the Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor’s lips twitch. He sighed to himself, He acts like there’s no one else here, and he does it so naturally that others couldn’t imitate him even if they wanted to.

After all, who else would dare to be so relaxed in front of the terrifying experts of Five Lightning Temple? Even if the temple tacitly accepted such behavior, I’m afraid no one else would dare…

“Fellow Daoist Su follows his heart without overstepping the bounds of propriety. That’s the mentality Daoists like us strive for: ‘disregarding both humiliation and praise, at ease and content.’ How truly rare and precious,” sighed the middle-aged Daoist, Zhen Yang.

They could tell at a glance that Su Yi was neither wantonly arrogant nor lazy. He wasn’t rude, either. He was simply acting in accordance with his heart and his true nature.

This was exactly what cultivators like them strove for.

“You didn’t see Fellow Daoist Su fight in the Heaven-Combating Hidden Realm. When he’s still, he’s like a mountain, steady and composed, but when he strikes, his enemies are dead in a flash.” Hong Taiyu’s eyes shone with reminiscence. “We Daoists strive to uphold the doctrine of inaction and live in accordance with nature. Only then can you transcend worldly concerns, remain calm even when the sky collapses around you, and maintain equanimity in the face of both fortune and disaster.

“We might have reached that level before, but it’s hard to maintain that mentality when something happens beyond the limits of our control. But Fellow Daoist Su is different. His heart holds steady no matter what!”

The others couldn’t help but be impressed. One by one, they started asking about Su Yi’s feats in the Heaven-Combating Hidden Realm.

When he overheard them discussing Su Yi’s Dao Heart and cultivation, the Heaven-Swallowing Toad Ancestor couldn’t help but take glory in it, too. That’s my Brother Fuyou!

Heaven and earth were still, and all was silent. The forbidden ground on the back mountain had regained its typical tranquility.

Su Yi sat in his wicker chair. His heart was typically as tranquil as the waters of an ancient, but now, it rippled.

When he inserted his divine sense into the Fragment of Heaven’s Will, a dignified voice rang out before he could even glean insight into its secrets. “This item bears my mark. If you dare to refine it, I’ll sense your transgression and punish you accordingly another day!”

The voice spoke slowly and clearly, like the boundless ringing of a bell. It reached Su Yi’s heart directly, shaking his soul with such force that, had he been an ordinary Master God, it would have shattered!

As this voice rang out, Su Yi’s divine sense “saw” a human figure.

He was a short, vigorous old man in golden robes. His long hair and beard were snow-white and so long that they almost reached the ground. His aged face was completely covered in scars, and his eyes blazed like twin suns.

He stood in the void, four lamps floating around him, one in front, one behind, and one on each side.

The lamps reflected images of the Four Beasts, the Vermillion Bird, Xuanwu Tortoise, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon.

The moment Su Yi sensed the old man, the four lamps lit up simultaneously, and the four legendary beasts came to life, soaring through the sky.

The Vermillion Bird beat its wings and soared through the nine heavens.

The Xuanwu Tortoise lurked in the abyss, breathing in suns and moons.

The White Tiger leaped through the air, everything perishing beneath its claws.

The Azure Dragon hid in the void, nurturing all living beings.

As these visions appeared, a massive blast rang out, and terrifying destructive power bore its way through Su Yi’s sea of consciousness.

As mighty as Su Yi’s soul was, he couldn’t block it!

But at a critical juncture, the Sword of the Nine Hells awakened from dormancy. The wind and waves died down, and that terrifying, explosive power vanished completely.

The golden-robed old man in Su Yi’s sea of consciousness was suddenly ethereal and indistinct.

“You blocked it?” The golden-robed man with a face covered in scars was obviously stunned. His expression frosted over. “This was but a warning. If you dare to refine this treasure, you’ll die for it!”

“Who are you, anyway?” Su Yi asked through his divine sense. He wasn’t the least bit concerned.

“Ignorant junior. You don’t even know who I am?” The golden-robed old man’s eyes blazed like twin suns, dazzling and imposing. “Listen carefully. On the River of Destiny, I travel accompanied by the Lamps of the Four Beasts. Wherever I go, Eternity paves my path. My powers of the Grand Dao connect heaven and earth, and the masses… address me as the Heavenly Sovereign Wuxu!”

Heavenly Sovereign Wuxu?

Wait. ‘Heavenly Sovereign’?

Su Yi suddenly recalled everything he’d learned about Eternal Thrones and Heavenly Sovereigns.

In the Eternal Heavens Domain, there were thirteen Eternal Thrones in total. Two of the occupied thrones had vanished from the world, while two others were in the perilous Sea of Fate and Abyss of Endless Tribulations.

The other nine had been claimed countless years ago. Their owners were known as Heavenly Sovereigns!

Heavenly Sovereign Wen of Limitless Palace was in possession of one such Eternal Throne, and he ruled over Huangting Grotto.

This old man covered in scars, whose hair and beard were so long that they almost touched the ground, was actually calling himself Heavenly Sovereign Wuxu. Su Yi couldn’t help but suspect that he too was one of the nine Heavenly Sovereigns of the Eternal Heavens Domain.

“Are you from the Eternal Heavens Domain?” asked Su Yi.

“You aren’t entirely ignorant after all,” said the golden-robed old man, his eyes blazing like torches. His voice was cold. “Since you know of the Eternal Heavens Domain, you must know that none can defy the Heavenly Sovereigns. Disobedience will only lead to certain doom!

“You’re a junior, but you’re on the verge of crossing the line and violating my orders. I order you to stop now, before it’s too late!”

He spoke with an air of lofty superiority, like an unparalleled ruler issuing a warning.

In Su Yi’s shoes, even most Eternals would have lost their cool. They’d have been too intimidated to act recklessly.

Unfortunately for Heavenly Sovereign Wuxu, this time, he’d run into Su Yi.

“‘None can defy the Heavenly Sovereigns’ and ‘disobedience will only lead to certain doom,’ huh?”

Su Yi laughed dryly. “You sure know how to throw your weight around. What a braggart!”

His tone was utterly dismissive.

His flippant, disdainful attitude made the golden-robed old man frown, his gaze increasingly cold and terrifying.