First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1734 – Rejoicing With Heaven and Earth

The other factions of the Buzhou Mountains had received similar ultimatums from the Church of All Spirits.

They had until the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the day of the Immortal King Night Banquet, to submit or face annihilation!

The Divine Jade Pure Lands, the Divine Fulcrum Pure Lands, and several other immortal factions shook. All of them were fraught with worry.

A storm was brewing.

……

The Buzhou Mountains covered eighty thousand miles. Peaks rose and fell, and these territories were home to numerous first-rate blessed grounds for cultivation.

The Jadelight, Divine Jade, and Divine Fulcrum Pure Lands were each located in one of these blessed grounds, places where immortal spirit veins converged to create an ideal environment for nurturing talent.

But at the same time, the mountain range was home to numerous scattered danger zones. Some were so perilous that not even immortal cultivators dared draw near.

That aside, the most distinctive trait of the Buzhou Mountains was that its lands included numerous spatial planes. Some were hidden realms, worlds in their own right, while others were incomparably dangerous lands of death.

Even immortals risked inadvertently entering an unknown plane while exploring the Buzhou Mountains. Numerous such incidents had taken place over the years.

Rumor had it that the reason the Buzhou Mountains had so many hidden realms and planes was the Tree of All Words rooted in its chaos source!

The tree was also called the Spatial Divine Tree. Long ago, during the Primeval Era, it was known as one of the Six Divine Trees of the Immortal Realm alongside the Kunwu Divine Tree, the Cangwu Divine Tree, the Jian Tree, the Fusang Tree, and the Tree of All Daos.

But throughout the long years between the Primeval Era and the present day, no one had laid eyes on the Tree of All Worlds. Thus, the tree’s existence had become little more than a fleeting rumor.

At this point in time, the Church of All Spirits was the greatest orthodoxy of the Buzhou Mountains. They proudly proclaimed that they had eighty thousand yao soldiers, three hundred Immortal Lords, and dozens of Immortal Kings!

The Church of All Spirits had such enormous numbers because they’d continuously recruited other factions of yao cultivators from throughout the Immortal Realm.

Furthermore, the Church of All Spirits had a god backing them!

That alone was enough to make numerous prominent experts of the Yao Path flock to them and rally under their banner. By now, just looking at the sheer number of Immortal Kings, no other faction of the Buzhou Mountains could compete with the Church of All Spirits!

That was the influence of a god.

Over the past few years, the Church of All Spirits had launched continuous strikes on other sects, relentlessly expanding its territories. They’d already pointed their spear at the Three Pure Lands of the Buzhou Mountains, and several other immortal factions.

Everyone who heard the news understood that the Church of All Spirits was dead set on assimilating the mountains’ other factions. They wanted all of the Buzhou Mountains for themselves!

……

Time slipped by. Soon, two months had passed.

Golden Willow City was one of many unassuming little cities in the Immortal Realm. It had no immortal factions. Its strongest cultivation faction had just a single Transcendent at the helm.

The dome of heaven was shrouded in dense layers of dark clouds. It was the middle of the day, but the skies were as dark as night.

By the look of things, we’re in for a massive downpour. Su Yi sat in a restaurant and glanced out the window before returning to the bowl of wonton noodles on the table in front of him.

The wonton noodles were steaming hot, and the soup was savory and delicious. The noodles were chewy, and combined with a little chili oil, they were satisfyingly addictive.

The restaurant was crowded with diners, including several cultivators in the middle of a lively conversation.

“Whether Shen Mu is alive or dead, he’s drawn attention from throughout the Immortal Realm. He’s as dazzling as the midday sun!”

“It’s true. With mere Saint Realm cultivation, he managed to fight off Immortal Kings. He’s like a figure straight out of a legend. You could search the entire Immortal Realm without finding another like him!”

“Did you hear the rumors? They say that Shen Mu is most likely the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!”

“Nonsense! If he were the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign, how could he possibly have disappeared in the Abyss of Dark Fog?”

“True enough. No matter how impressive Shen Mu is, he’s nothing compared to the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign at the peak of his power….”

Similar discussions cropped up continuously, but Su Yi just went on eating his wonton noodles as if he didn’t even hear them.

Throughout his journey to the Buzhou Mountains, every time he passed through a city, or any place cultivators gathered, someone was sure to bring up his name!

He’d heard such discussions so much that his ears had practically grown calluses.

But looking at it from another angle, it was clear just what enormous waves the incident had caused. Several months had passed, and everyone was still talking about it.

The only thing Su Yi found strange was all the rumors about him being Wang Ye’s reincarnation. He wasn’t sure who’d startled circulating the rumors, but of late, people were talking about it all over the Immortal Realm.

But Su Yi didn’t really care.

“Master, pursuing the Grand Dao is so dangerous and difficult. Why do we have to keep after it? Why not just find a safe, quiet place to live out our days?”

Suddenly, a voice drew Su Yi’s attention. The speaker was a boy of about ten in simple clothing, and he was earnestly requesting guidance from the old man beside him.

The old man was merely a World King of the Heavenly Longevity Realm. He said distractedly, “Well, why did you choose to start cultivating in the first place?”

“I….” The boy thought for a moment, then said, “I just wanted to become a bit stronger. I didn’t want the other kids to bully me anymore.”

The old man laughed. “See? Cultivating can make you stronger. That’s the most common reason people seek the Grand Dao.”

He paused, then continued, “It’s true that seeking the Dao is dangerous, and difficult, too. But when has anything in this world ever been smooth or easy? Even if you wanted to find a quiet place to live out your days in peace, you’d encounter obstacles, setbacks, and frustrations. That’s just how life is.”

The old man took a sip of wine. “Life is never perfect. Most things won’t go your way, and there’s only so much you can share with other people. You’re still young. Once you’ve grown up, you’ll understand that as difficult as seeking the Dao is, there’s no greater suffering than giving up when you should have worked hard.”

The boy clearly still didn’t get it, but in the end, he resisted the urge to press for further explanations. Instead, he asked a different question altogether. “Master, the road of the Grand Dao is long. When does it reach its end?”

The old man fell silent. After a while he said, “Having something to strive for is always better than reaching the end of your journey, don’t you think?”

The boy looked bewildered. What does that mean?

But Su Yi’s heart stirred. The old man’s words weren’t wondrous truths of the Grand Dao. They were normal life principles, simply articulated and easy to understand.

Yet when they entered Su Yi’s ears, they sent ripples through his heart.

Having something to strive for was fortunate indeed! Su Yi had experienced the bitterness of reaching a dead end numerous times already.

Wang Ye had bitterly sought out the road to divinity, never to reach it.

The Temple Master had bitterly sought out the Path of Transcendence, but he never reached it, either.

It was the same during his time as Su Xuanjun. He’d sought the Path of Heaven’s Ascension, but in the end, he never reached it. He had no choice but to undergo reincarnation and try again!

This was the torment of a dead end. It was sheer misery!

But looking back on it now, all of the dead ends he’d encountered in his past life could be traced back to the gods!

They feared the power of reincarnation and did not tolerate its return. Thus, they sent a cataclysm sweeping across the Human Realm to shatter the Path of Transcendence. In the Dark and Gold Star Realm, they destroyed the Path of Heaven’s Ascension in much the same way.

Even the cataclysm of the Age of Fallen Immortals that had befallen the Immortal Realm was the work of the gods!

The gods couldn’t tolerate reincarnation, but more than that, they couldn’t tolerate any new gods rising to threaten their Divine Thrones!

“I sometimes get confused about my cultivation. What should I do when that happens?” asked the boy.

The old man smiled and pointed at the boy’s head. “Thinking too hard will do you no good. It’s only through experience that you can overcome your confusion. I could talk at you all day, but would that be enough to ensure that you live a good life?

Here, Su Yi rose, walked over to the old man, and said, “Sir, your words have moved me. Many thanks for your guidance.”

With that, he clasped his fist, turned, and left.

The old man was stunned, then completely baffled. Those words were intended to comfort a child! How could they possibly have moved that young man? How could he not understand all that at his age?

The old man thought for a moment, then solemnly urged his disciple, “See that, child? That’s someone who never achieved any success in his pursuit of the Grand Dao whatsoever. Anyone who’d achieved anything at all would have understood such simple principles already. Whatever you do, don’t wind up like him!”

The boy said solemnly, “I’ll bear that in mind, Master.”

The old man nodded in satisfaction. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

……

Whoosh!

After Su Yi left the restaurant, the long-accumulated layers of black cloud gave way to a downpour. Rain instantly enveloped the entire area.

The rain pitter-pattered against the ground, scattering droplets of water. When it landed on the eaves, it sounded like the rapid beating of a drum.

Su Yi casually raised an umbrella and walked confidently through the streets.

Over the past few months, he’d continuously pondered his breakthrough into the Saint Realm. Whether he was drinking the dew and feasting on the wind amidst the wilderness or strolling through city streets, all he could think about was how he’d break through.

Alas, try as he might, he couldn’t tear off that last paper-thin layer between him and his breakthrough.

In the end, he decided to just stop thinking about it. He just continued on his journey like a wandering traveler. When it was time to cultivate, he cultivated. When it was time to enjoy himself, he relaxed and had fun. He trekked through the wilderness and passed through lively, bustling cities.

Gradually, he ceased to care about anything at all. He was completely immersed in his own world.

That is, until tonight, when he ate a steaming hot bowl of wonton noodles and overheard that master and apprentice’s conversation, and his heart inexplicably stirred.

This wasn’t exactly a sudden burst of enlightenment, nor had he broken through a bottleneck. It wasn’t that the old man’s words were particularly deep, either. It was just a feeling, like a fleeting whim, much like gazing at the scenery and having a sudden flash of inspiration.

Just like that, Su Yi naturally grasped the opportunity he needed to break through.

It was just that wondrous.

But Su Yi knew that this was the fruit of his past two months of pondering and experiences. They’d just needed time to settle first. Without these accumulations, he could never have had this sudden flash of inspiration.

The rain intensified. Soon, it was coming down in buckets. The sound filled the entire landscape.

Su Yi’s gait was light and airy, and a smile tugged at his lips. When the impulse hit him, he tossed away his oil-paper umbrella and walked through the downpour, perfectly content even as it drenched him.

He didn’t run for shelter, nor did he use his cultivation base to block it. He just walked right through the rain.

That very day, Su Yi proved his Dao and broke through outside of Golden Willow City, smoothly entering the Saint Realm.

All the while, rain poured down like a waterfall.

A good rain knew when the time was right. Similarly, heaven and earth knew his will.

Su Yi rejoiced, and heaven and earth rejoiced with him!