First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2475 – Xi Ning’s Dreams

In the end, the Qilin Ancient didn’t give them any answers.

Su Yi had yet to reawaken the memories of his past lives. The Qilin Ancient had no intention of sharing this secret with anyone prior to that.

Qi Jingxiao, Qi Wei, and the others were disappointed, but there was nothing they could do about it.

However, deep within their hearts, they were increasingly curious about Su Yi’s identity. Who is he? Why is the Ancient being so tight-lipped about his identity?

……

A treasure ship soared beneath the dome of heaven.

Su Yi sat in his wicker chair, conversing with the heart devil sealed in the rusted sword sheath.

The heart devil seemed to find their second incarnation’s situation incomparably interesting. “Wonderful! If you die, might I inherit your everything just as the Malevolent Sword Venerate did?”

“…” Su Yi didn’t know what to say to that.

“Oh, no, that wouldn’t work. The Malevolent Sword Venerate was our second incarnation’s heart devil, while I’m our first incarnation’s heart devil. If I were to replace someone, it would be him,” murmured the heart devil.

Su Yi simply said nothing. He could tell that the Malevolent Sword Venerate intrigued the heart devil in the rusted sword.

“It’s a pity, but heart devils are ultimately just heart devils, not living people. They lack their own vital source energies, and their cultivations cannot advance,” the heart devil said suddenly. “That’s the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s weakness. Of course, it’s my weakness, too.”

He was quite forthright, and he openly shared his and the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s biggest weak point.

“I want to suppress you in a clash of the heart and replace you. I’m sure the Malevolent Sword Venerate has similar plans.” The heart devil clucked his tongue. “I wouldn’t have guessed I had competition.”

Here, Su Yi suddenly broke his silence. “He’s not your only competition.”

“Oh?” said the heart devil. “Who else is there?”

“My third incarnation, Xiao Jian. When the Dark Days of Legend arrive, he’ll break free of the Path of the Ancient Gods and enter the present day,” said Su Yi. As he spoke, he couldn’t help but recall his interactions with Xiao Jian.

Xiao Jian had, on multiple occasions, said he’d end things with Su Yi once and for all when he entered the present day.

“Oh….?” The heart devil understood. “That’s even more interesting! He ought to have vanished into the past, but due to problems with the natural order of the River of Epochs, he managed to seize a chance at life, and soon, he’ll have a chance to re-enter the present day.

“The other experts of the distant past never underwent reincarnation, but Xiao Jian is different. You exist as his reincarnation. That means that only one of you can live. You two cannot coexist!

“Hahaha! This just proves the Grand Dao I sought, balance! Xiao Jian exists because the natural order collapsed and lost its balance. He seized that opening and survived until the present day.

“But when the Battle for Order unfolds, the order of the past, present, and future will be rebuilt, and all such holes will be mended. If Xiao Jian wants to leave, his only choice is to replace you!”

The words flowed out of the heart devil. From them, Su Yi learned the true source of his conflict with Xiao Jian.

But then, he laughed and murmured, “I’ve defeated each of my past selves, one by one. Now, I’m up against three of you at once: you, the Malevolent Sword Venerate, and Xiao Jian. This… really is quite interesting!”

He spoke without the slightest agitation or panic. On the contrary, he looked rather eager.

“You feel the same way? That’s just wonderful!” his first incarnation’s heart devil said excitedly. “How about we join forces to defeat the Malevolent Sword Venerate and Xiao Jian, then decide the victor of our competition?

Su Yi directly refused. “I think it would be best if I dealt with you one by one on my own strength!”

This wasn’t conceit. There was just no way that Su Yi would join forces with his first incarnation’s heart devil in a clash of the heart.

“Your courage is admirable!” laughed the heart devil. “But if you ever need my help, I’m ready to lend a hand at any time.”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. He got the vague sense that learning of the Malevolent Sword Venerate had made the heart devil in the sheath a bit restless and impatient.

“We’ll talk about that later,” said Su Yi. Then, without any further idle conversation, he put the rusted sword sheath away.

It was then that Xi Ning emerged from the ship’s cabin.

She’d tied her black hair into a loose bun, and she wore a long, plain dress with no decorations or embellishments. Her beautiful face shone beneath the light of the heavens, her radiance outshining everything around her.

No matter how you looked at her, her beauty was dazzling and unparalleled.

That snowy, crystalline skin was soft and tender.

But a beauty’s beauty wasn’t just skin deep. It permeated her bones and temperament.

Xi Ning had an elegant, ethereal bearing. Combined with her beauty and compartment, she was utterly outstanding.

Su Yi’s heart delighted at the sight of her. This was what it meant for someone to “delight the heart and please the eyes.”

“Quick, have a seat,” said Su Yi, gesturing to the chair beside him.

Xi Ning took a seat, then said in a voice like the music of the heavens, “What were you thinking about just now?”

“A trivial matter,” said Su Yi. “How have the past few years living in the Qilin Race’s territory been?”

Xi Ning smiled. “They’ve taken good care of us. My clansmen all think this is much better than before.”

Su Yi smiled too.

When Xi Ning smiled, dimples appeared on her beautiful face, lending her a lively, spirited charm.

Xi Ning pondered briefly, then said with sudden solemnity, “Fellow Daoist, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Su Yi’s smile faded. He waved his hand through the air, and an invisible power enveloped him and Xi Ning. Only then did he say, “Have you run into difficulties?”

Xi Ning shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it that, but over the past few years, as my cultivation base has advanced, I’ve started having a strange, recurring dream.”

“A dream?” Su Yi was stunned.

“That’s right. It’s always exactly the same dream, and it keeps happening,” said Xi Ning, looking a bit confused. There was an irrepressible hint of fear and unease in her expression.

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. He was starting to guess what was happening.

Back in the Immortal Realm, Xi Ning had told him some of her secrets. For instance, her vital energy and talent contained a hidden, invisible imprint!

In their last battle in the Epoch Battlefield, Xi Ning sacrificed herself for him, shielding him with her body to block what might otherwise have been a lethal blow.

It was then that Xi Ning underwent an astonishing transformation. The mysterious power sealed within her reacting as if awakened, growing incomparably terrifying. It had forced Di E’s avatar of will back in a single strike!

This had long since told Su Yi that Xi Ning’s origins were extraordinary!

“In my dream, there’s a gray world utterly devoid of life. The skies are cracked, and everything is enveloped in dark clouds. As far as the eye can see, there’s nothing else in any direction,” Xi Ning said softly.

“And I walk through that overcast world, unsure of where I’m going. I just keep walking and walking and walking…

“Along the way, I feel solitude, grief, helplessness, and unease, as if I’ve been abandoned by the world and exiled by the ages, like a leaf of duckweed with no idea where the waves will carry it.

“That’s right. I feel as paltry and helpless as duckweed. I have no idea where I’m going, and my heart feels hollowed out, as if I’m searching for something I’ve forgotten…”

Xi Ning’s beautiful face shifted, a hint of bewilderment in her expression. “Then, I hear a strange conversation.

“The conversation is indistinct and ethereal. In my dreams, I can hear every word completely, but I forget them as soon as I wake up, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot dredge them back up.”

Xi Ning sighed. “In my dreams, I can hear them clearly. Every time I find myself in that dream, I repeatedly remind myself to commit their words to memory, but… in the end, I always fail.”

Su Yi sat there in silence, listening attentively.

To mortals, dreaming was a matter of course.

However, it was highly unusual for a cultivator. Dreaming typically meant that problems had arisen with one’s soul and mental state!

Xi Ning fell briefly silent before continuing, “I’ve had that same dream countless times now, but half a year ago, I saw a person in my dream for the first time!”

Su Yi forcefully suppressed the urge to ask questions and just listened in silence. He knew that Xi Ning would tell him on her own.

“In that dream, I was walking through that barren, overcast landscape, and I heard those familiar voices once more. I thought it would be the same as every other dream, and that I’d forget their conversation as soon as I woke up.

“But that time, I didn’t just remember their conversation. I saw a person, too!”

A solemn look appeared on her face. “A woman said she wouldn’t wait alone any longer, and that she was going to go search on her own.

“The other speaker sounded like a child. He said he would go with her, but the woman refused. She said that reincarnation was uncertain, that the world was unpredictable, and that the cycle of life and death was far too risky. Thus, she told the child to stay behind and wait.

“She said she was going to find someone called Dao Venerate Lin to send her into the cycle of reincarnation.”

When Su Yi heard that, he could no longer remain calm. He abruptly sat upright in his wicker chair. Dao Venerate Lin!?

Don’t tell me that the man the mysterious woman in Xi Ning’s dreams went looking for… was Lin Jinghong’s father?

After all, her father mastered the complete power of reincarnation!

When Xi Ning trailed off, Su Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Did they say anything else?”

Xi Ning shook her head. “They did, but that’s the only piece of their conversation I still remember.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Still, he could already say with certainty that Xi Ning’s dream had to be connected to the mysterious imprint in her vital source energy!

It was even entirely possible that the mysterious woman in the dream was actually… Xi Ning herself!

“And who was it that you saw in your dream?” asked Su Yi.

“A little fellow who transformed from a drop of water,” said Xi Ning, visibly perplexed. “I only saw it indistinctly. A drop of water transformed into a skinny child carrying a sword across his back, but the scene was too unclear for me to see any details beyond that.

“The strangest part was that the boy seemed to see me, and he tried his utmost to get closer to me. He was shouting something, too.

“But I couldn’t hear his voice clearly, and when he tried to get closer, dense mists enveloped him, and I lost sight of him.”

Xi Ning’s brow furrowed. “But I got the distinct sense that he… recognized me!”