First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1431 – The Five Realms of the Immortal Dao

Daoist Master Red Cloud took a moment to sense their surroundings before saying to Su Yi, “Those old eyesores have already left. How about…. I help you finish getting even?”

Both the distant onlookers and the experts of factions hostile to Su Yi were visibly stricken.

Feng Jinghai, Lu Dongqiu, and the others’ expressions were completely wooden. They were so overcome by despair that they’d gone completely numb.

But Su Yi was a bit frustrated, and he felt strange. He wasn’t used to sponging off another like this. Both in this life and his last, no matter what wind and waves he faced, he’d always faced them with his own power.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was powerless to resolve this situation.

At the end of the day, Su Yi’s pride and mentality wouldn’t let him stomach this with courage in his convictions. He hadn’t gotten this far relying on other people.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Fellow Daoist, there’s an attack I’d like to show you.”

Daoist Master Red Cloud was stunned, and a strange light appeared in her clear eyes. It seemed she’d realized what Su Yi was thinking, and a faint hint of a smile tugged at her lips. She nodded. “You have my full attention.”

Su Yi then swept his gaze across Feng Jinghai and the others. “I’ll give you an opportunity. If even one of you can block my sword, all of you can live.”

Feng Jinghai, Lu Dongqiu, and the others reacted as if awakening from a dream. They looked at each other, and all of them felt a thread of hope rekindle.

Just one strike, nothing more. If they joined forces and gave it everything they had, they surely had an opportunity!

“Is that true?” Feng Jinghai dared not believe his ears.

If Daoist Master Red Cloud were the one to attack, they’d have given up already.

But that didn’t apply to Su Yi.

“I will guarantee it,” Daoist Master Red Cloud said casually.

Feng Jinghai and the others cast aside their reservations.

“Activate!”

Feng Jinghai’s sleeves billowed around him as he summoned twenty-four dazzling spirit pearls. They formed a perfect ring around him, protecting him on all sides.

The Twenty-Four Lunar Mirage Pearls!

These were Feng Jinghai’s ultimate immortal treasure. They could restrict all living things and block all techniques!

But it wasn’t over yet.

Feng Jinghai’s will summoned all manner of defensive immortal treasures: a heart-protecting mirror, armor, a spirit shield, a battle cloak, and more.

Every last one of them flowed with colorful light. Each had its own wondrous qualities.

The onlookers were wide-eyed and tongue-tied just watching.

“That geezer really knows how to throw his money around!” The yellow dog was unwittingly flabbergasted.

Those were all immortal treasures!

Last but not least, Feng Jinghai raised a glittering golden coffin into the air. It was only about a foot long, but it had a certain charm about it that made it seem as heavy and dense as a mountain.

The Entombed Spirit Golden Coffin!

This was one of the supreme treasures of the Entombed Spirit Immortal Sect. It had buried countless powerful foes over the years, and refined too many immortal souls to count!

Meanwhile, Lu Dongqiu and the other three surviving immortal revenants also took out their treasures. All of them prepared to defend themselves.

Lu Dongqiu even held a dense stack of immortal talismans in each hand.

Every last one of them was armed to the teeth!

Even so, Feng Jinghai and the others dared not get complacent. Every last one of them looked solemn, and they couldn’t have been any more on guard.

In the earlier battle, Su Yi had single-handedly cut his way through an army of dozens of immortals.

Now, Su Yi wanted to sever their enmity in one final slash. Anyone could have guessed that this attack was sure to be terrifying!

Boom——!

The power of the Entombed Spirit Immortal Sect’s formations shot out of the center of Lake Bluemist, blanketing the skies and blotting out the sun.

The sect’s experts were obviously ready and waiting to receive Feng Jinghai and his allies.

When Su Yi saw this, he no longer hesitated to raise the Sword of the Human Realm into the air.

Sword intent shone on its unsophisticated deep blue blade, reserved to the extreme, like undulating ripples.

Within Su Yi’s body, the Nascent Divinity shaped like the Sword of the Nine Hells rumbled and boomed, giving rise to chaotic power as he circulated the full extent of his cultivation base.

“Cut!”

A single soft syllable, and Su Yi swung with all his might.

Boom!

Heaven and earth dimmed.

Sword intent manifested a world of reincarnation, obscuring three hundred thousand feet of heaven and earth.

Countless mysterious and grand visions unfolded within its bounds, as if the entire area had been swept into the cycle of samsara!

In the face of this slash…

The yellow dog’s pupils constricted, and it shuddered from head to toe, instinctively moving closer to Daoist Master Red Cloud.

“Shit!” Feng Jinghai visibly lost his cool.

Bang!!

The Twenty-Four Lunar Mirage Pearls were instantly in disarray, and pressure quickly scattered their formation. A moment later, the Entombed Spirit Golden Coffin shook violently in his grip.

“Break!” Feng Jinghai bellowed.

But no matter how hard he struggled, the reincarnation sword intent left all of his immortal treasures quivering. They were completely suppressed and helpless to defend him.

It was much the same for Lu Dongqiu and the others.

“Dammit!”

“How is this…” Without exception, all of them panicked, and their eyes bulged.

It was just one slash. How could it be so strong?

Boom!!!

All the distant onlookers saw was that world of reincarnation descending. Feng Jinghai and his allies could neither run nor hide; they were completely suppressed.

Four immortal revenants then exploded into nothingness and disappeared completely!

By the time the light and smoke dissipated, all that remained of them were the immortal treasures scattered on the ground.

One slash, and he’d suppressed and killed four immortal revenants as if cleaving through rotten wood!!

Everyone was so startled that they broke out in cold sweats, rooted to the spot.

The experts of the Entombed Spirit Immortal Sect were completely dumbstruck and overcome with grief.

The yellow dog couldn’t help but gulp. Its heart quivered. The power within that slash made even it sense an enormous threat!

Didn’t that mean that even those Void Realm True Immortals from before would have suffered badly if they had been the ones to take that strike head-on?

The dog was finally starting to understand Su Yi’s intentions. It seemed like he was just killing Feng Jinghai and his allies, but in truth, he was telling everyone present that he could have handled the three Void Realm True Immortals even without Daoist Master Red Cloud’s help!

Daoist Master Red Cloud obviously realized this too. Her eyes sparkled, and she inclined her head. “That strike was enough to threaten real immortals. Achieving such power at your level of cultivation is unique and unprecedented. Even in the Immortal Realm, there’s no one else like you.”

Real immortals, not just immortal revenants!

This was already enormous praise.

But Su Yi shook his head. “My strength is still far beneath yours, Fellow Daoist.”

The yellow dog barely resisted the urge to roll its eyes. You only just stepped onto the Path of Transcendence, but you want to compare yourself to my mistress? You call that modesty? You’re obviously mad with arrogance!

Daoist Master Red Cloud thought it over, then said with complete seriousness, “When I was at your level, I was far inferior to you. Your future accomplishments in the Grand Dao are sure to surpass mine.”

Su Yi was briefly stunned. “Fellow Daoist, do you think I’m overly competitive?”

Daoist Master Red Cloud said, “That’s how sword cultivators ought to be! And you, Fellow Daoist, aren’t at all comparable to the world’s other sword cultivators.”

She meant every word, too.

Were she to have helped anyone else of her own volition, wouldn’t they have wept tears of gratitude and gone mad with delight?

But that wasn’t the case for Su Yi. On the contrary, he seemed averse to borrowing external power!

But that only made Daoist Master Red Cloud think all the better of him. Far too many people were all too happy to seek out a powerful backer to lean on.

Alas, the moment they faced insurmountable peril, they’d learn firsthand that pillars of support had an unfortunate tendency to crumble….

Su Yi thought for a moment, then laughed. “I’m not opposed to receiving your help. I just don’t want to trouble other people when I don’t need their support.”

Daoist Master Red Cloud laughed too. “I’m here to add flowers to brocade, not to deliver coal in a blizzard.”

The yellow dog found all of this rather displeasing. Doesn’t she think too highly of that punk kid?

And Su Yi really doesn’t know how to be modest!

“What do you want to do with the others?” asked Daoist Master Red Cloud.

The surviving experts of hostile factions watched with bated breath. Their hearts clenched.

But Su Yi shook his head. “No need to pay them any heed.”

Pulling grass up by the roots?

No, they weren’t worthy of that. It was already clear that following this, these hostile factions would wane. Other factions would swallow them up, or their experts would scatter like monkeys fleeing a fallen tree.

Their fates were sealed when their immortal revenants fell in battle.

Su Yi then turned his attention to the dog. “Do me a favor and gather the spoils.”

“????” The dog’s eyes bulged. This kid is getting even more arrogant! He even dares casually order me about!!

“Do it.” Daoist Master Red Cloud looked over.

The dog instantly grinned. “Got it!”

It then scampered off and got to work.

“Come on, let’s find a place to have a drink. I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud.

“Sounds good!” Su Yi nodded, and the two of them promptly set off. Before long, their figures had disappeared from view.

I’m just giving my mistress face. Otherwise, this lofty one would never perform such a lowly task! The yellow dog felt stifled, but then, it glanced at Mo Xinglin. “Hey, you. Do me a favor and gather the spoils.”

Mo Xinglin walked over, visibly delighted. “Your Excellency Xing Que, I am honored to assist you!”

The dog instantly felt much better, but outwardly, it snorted coldly. “You’re not helping me. You’re helping Su Yi!”

Mo Xinglin smiled. “Your Excellency, letting me assist you means that you don’t see me as an outsider. I couldn’t be happier; how could I concern myself with just who I’m helping?”

The dog felt increasingly comfortable. I have to say it, this old guy… sure has people skills! He’s not like that Su Yi guy. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never once treated me with respect!

……

Somewhere outside of the Flying Immortal Forbidden Zone, there was a bustling, prosperous city.

It was midday.

Su Yi and Daoist Master Red Cloud sat across from each other and drank on the second floor of a lively tavern.

Their table was laden with expertly prepared side dishes, and through the window, they could see that the streets outside were crowded with carts and boisterous human traffic.

“I enjoy taking trips through the red dust of mortality, seeing humanity in all its facets, and sampling the delicacies of the mundane world. When I do, I always feel calmer and more assured,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud, gazing through the window. “It has none of the tedium of cultivation, and far less bloodshed and strife. The wondrous truths of life are found amidst the ordinary.”

Su Yi drank a cup of wine. “Perhaps that’s the difference between withdrawing from society and entering it.”

Cultivators left the mundane world in search of the Dao, and they waged war throughout the heavens.

But re-entering the world could temper their hearts. They could take in the mountains and waters, survey the multifaceted world of red dust, and settle their Dao Hearts.

“No, there are other differences too,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud, completely serious. “At the end of the day, no matter how lofty or profound our cultivation bases, we too were once ordinary mortals living amidst the teeming masses, and it was as mortals that our journeys began.

“These are our true roots.”

Su Yi was briefly stunned, but when he thought it over, he agreed completely.

Daoist Master Red Cloud continued, “Even in the Immortal Realm, not everyone is a cultivator. The Immortal Realm is also home to countless mortals living out their lives amidst the red dust of mundanity.

“Strictly speaking, the so-called Immortal Dao is ultimately just another stage of the path of cultivation. And the so-called Immortal Realm is just a plane with a higher level of Laws of the Grand Dao.”

Here, Daoist Master Red Cloud drank a cup of wine and said, “Cultivators such as ourselves face far too many ups and downs. After growing accustomed to endless life-or-death conflicts and trials, our humanity is the easiest thing to lose.

“Look at us now. We’re sitting here, drinking together, smiling and discussing the red dust of mortality, but we both know full well that we aren’t like them.”

Su Yi could tell that scene evoked deep feelings, and that she spoke from the heart. He could also sense her extraordinary fondness for the moral world.

She’d always been a woman of few words, but being here made her uncharacteristically chatty.

“The higher your cultivation, the fonder you become of the world of mortal men in all its facets. Feasting at the Immortal Realm’s Immortal Peach Banquet is nowhere near as satisfying as sitting in a little tavern like this with a friend and drinking unfiltered rice wine.”

Daoist Master Red Cloud and Su Yi chatted like old friends between cups of wine, never lingering on any particular topic.

A long time passed before she said out of nowhere, “Earlier, in the Flying Immortal Forbidden Zone, several old-timers were watching from the shadows. All were powerful experts of the Immortal Dao, but of course, they’re just revenants now, neither human nor ghost.

“Just like me, they descended into the Human Realm back then to escape catastrophe.

“Even though they’ve recently reawakened and re-entered the world, their cultivations are far from what they once were. At best, they’re a bit stronger than the three Void Realm True Immortal revenants I killed today.

“Roughly comparable to a… living early-stage Void Realm True Immortal.”

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. These “old-timers” were actually comparable to living early-stage Void Realm True Immortals even after becoming revenants!

Over the course of this conversation, Su Yi learned that the Immortal Dao was divided into four great realms: the Universe, Void, Saint, and Miracle Realms.

The Universe Realm was the first level of the Immortal Dao. These were the experts the masses generally referred to as immortals.

The immortal revenants who’d recently awakened from dormancy had practically all been Universe Realm Immortals in life.

The Void Realm was the second realm of the Immortal Dao. Only those who stepped into this realm were qualified to call themselves True Immortals.

The Saint Realm was the third realm of the Immortal Dao. Those who stepped onto it were known as Immortal Lords, and they were powerhouses even by the standards of the Immortal Realm.

And the Miracle Realm was the fourth realm of the Immortal Dao. Those who reached this level were known as Immortal Kings! They were the top powerhouses of the Immortal Realm, and each was a legendary expert!

Rumor had it that an even higher level known as the Great Realm stood beyond the Miracle Realm. The Great Realm was in turn divided into three levels.

However, to the vast majority of experts of the Immortal Dao, the Great Realm was like a legend.

The old-timers Daoist Master Red Cloud spoke of were all peak Void Realm True Immortals.

However, they were extremely few and far between.

This was because existences of this level had no choice but to sever their cultivation bases when they entered the Human Realm. They could never have come here otherwise.

It was similar to how a massive divine dragon had to cast aside its enormous power and transform into a lesser flood dragon if it wished to leave the ocean and seek refuge in a lake.

These old-timers had severed their own cultivation bases to enter the Human Realm, but even so, their lofty cultivations meant that they suffered the most during the End of the Dharma. Their physical bodies were destroyed, and even their souls were almost annihilated.

Although they’d since reawakened as revenants, they were far from their former peaks.

As for Saint Realm Immortal Lords and the experts beyond them? Unless they used taboo secret arts and paid a grievous price, they couldn’t possibly descend into the Human Realm.

Immortal Lords were just too powerful. Barring extraordinary circumstances, they would never choose to seek refuge in the Human Realm.

But learning these insider secrets left Su Yi quite surprised.

Even after severing their cultivation bases and enduring the End of the Dharma, these Void Realm True Immortal revenants had power comparable to an early-stage Void Realm True Immortal!

This made it obvious just how terrifyingly powerful they’d been in life.

Daoist Master Red Cloud said softly, “Even if experts of this level re-enter the world, they won’t be able to stay in the Human Realm for long. They’ll have to seek out a path to life as soon as possible. Otherwise, their cultivations will rapidly wane and disappear.”

Su Yi was stunned. “Why do you say that?”

“Their cultivations are too high,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud. “Even after severing their cultivation bases and becoming revenants, holding onto what remains of their cultivation bases requires sufficient resources.

“But where in the Human Realm can such experts find cultivation resources sufficient to fulfill their needs?”

Su Yi understood. The fundamental problem was that the cultivation resources of the Human Realm just weren’t enough to fuel the cultivation of a Void Realm True Immortal.

“My cultivation realm is different from theirs, but I’m facing a similar predicament,” Daoist Master Red Cloud said softly. “If I can’t gather enough resources to sustain my strength, as time passes, there will be no need for others to do anything. My cultivation will fall on its own, ultimately leading to my death.”

With that, she sighed. “The higher you stood when the heavens fell, the greater the impact. Those of lower cultivations were actually fortunate. At least… they won’t have to face this awkward situation.”

Su Yi’s gaze focused, and he thought for a moment. “Did you ask me to accompany you to the Starjade Forbidden Zone to resolve this problem?”

Daoist Master Red Cloud nodded. “That’s right. It won’t just be me, either. Those old-timers will come with us.”

She paused, then said, “In truth, numerous experts of the Immortal Dao went to the Starjade Forbidden Zone during the End of the Dharma. They saw it as their only path to life in the face of catastrophe, and they sought survival there. Alas… They perished beneath the catastrophe, still searching for that path to life.

“But things are different now. The power of the catastrophe has faded. Although the Starjade Forbidden Zone is still perilous and unfathomable, so long as we’ve made sufficient preparations, we ought to be able to find that path to life and resolve our difficulties.”

She looked at Su Yi. “But I’ll need your help, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yi smiled. “I agreed to help you already. I naturally won’t go back on my word.”

Daoist Master Red Cloud shook her head. “According to my initial estimates, it’d be another three months until the ideal opportunity to enter the Starjade Forbidden Zone arose. But things are different now. The world’s changes are speeding up, and we have to set off earlier than I’d planned.”

“How long do we have, then?” Su Yi’s eyebrows rose.

Daoist Master Red Cloud mulled it over, then said, “Half a month at the earliest, a month at the latest.”

Su Yi thought for a second, then said, “Let’s set off in two weeks.”

Daoist Master Red Cloud smiled. “Excellent. In two weeks, I’ll come to Mount Clearmoon personally.”

……

On that day, Su Yi fought alone save for his sword, cutting down thirty-six immortal revenants to achieve a complete victory!

When word spread, the stars descended into unprecedented upheaval. Every last star realm shook.

The Temple Master had cut down immortals here in the Human Realm!

No one would have dared to even imagine such a thing, yet now, it had really happened!

And it wasn’t just one immortal, either. The Temple Master had killed thirty-six of them in rapid succession!

Even in the ancient past, had anyone beneath the heavens ever accomplished such a feat?

……

Universal Emptiness Temple.

After returning with the yellow dog and Mo Xinglin, Su Yi went into seclusion.

He had something important to do before he left for the Starjade Forbidden Zone.

He had to fuse with the Dao Imprint of his sixth lifetime!