First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2861 – Fangchun Mountain on a Hairpin

The Qiongqi Mountain Lord accepted the snowy-white jade slip and said, “Master, might you tell me how I might go about finding Su Yi?”

He didn’t ask any questions about the jade slip; it wasn’t the sort of thing a subordinate like him ought to ask about.

The Divine Reverence Pavilion Master said, “He’s outside the Literati Continent, beneath the River of Destiny. Take the white deer with you.”

“Understood!” The Qiongqi Mountain Lord nodded his assent, then exited the gazebo, walked over to the white deer, and patted it on the back.

“Right.” Something suddenly occurred to the Divine Reverence Pavilion Master. “When you see Fellow Daoist Su, you are not to be rude to him. If you run into insurmountable peril, I permit you to use your natal divine ability.”

The Qiongqi Mountain Lord said solemnly, “I shall assiduously carry out your orders!”

With that, he led the white deer away.

The Pavilion Master casually plucked the hairpin holding her hair in place, and her black tresses tumbled down like a waterfall.

She gazed intently at it, then murmured, “Master, the Eternal Pact of the All-Profound Dominion has been destroyed. They broke the rules first, so your apprentice needn’t imprison herself here any further…”

With that, she sighed, her gaze full of melancholy.

Her master and senior apprentice brothers and sisters had left a long time ago. She was the only one left on the River of Destiny.

The light of the heavens was bright and clear. When it landed on the tail end of the inky hairpin, it illuminated three barely perceptible characters the size of a fly’s head.

Fangchun Mountain!

“Why did you come back?” The Pavilion Master suddenly turned to gaze into the distance.

The woman in hemp, Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran, was walking toward her. “Fellow Daoist Su Yi and I are just friends in our pursuit of the Grand Dao. There’s nothing else between us. If you do anything to harm him, I’ll consider you my enemy.”

With that, she turned to leave. It seemed she’d come back simply to deliver this message.

The Pavilion Master sat there for a while, then smiled and shook her head. It’s perhaps true that there’s nothing between her and Su Yi, but it’s obvious that she cares deeply about her ‘friend in her pursuit of the Grand Dao.’ Otherwise, why come back just to warn her own mother like this?

She suddenly felt a bit of a headache coming on.

Her daughter had grown up without her in the faraway God Domain. Now, they’d finally been reunited, but they were like strangers.

The Pavilion Master had no expectation that she’d be able to convince Ling Ran to wholeheartedly accept her as her mother any time soon.

Should the opportunity arise, I can invite Su Yi here as my guest. Perhaps that might close some of the distance between Ling Ran and me, thought the Divine Reverence Pavilion Master.

At the thought of Su Yi, several other secrets came to mind, and she couldn’t help but sink into thought.

A long, long time ago, two supreme, unparalleled existences mastered the power of reincarnation.

Su Yi was the third to succeed, but he was also the most special of the three!

……

Beneath the River of Destiny, the Five-Colored Hidden Realm.

Time slipped by. Soon, half a year had passed.

Su Yi spent the entire time in seclusion.

The little girl, Innocence, was thoroughly bored, so she spent her days wandering the Five-Colored Hidden Realm. She gradually got to know all of the dozen or so servants working for River Empress Peacock.

They all quite liked her, too. She was pitiful, timid, and always polite. Whenever they crossed paths, she clasped her fist and respectfully greeted them as her seniors.

The servants treated her like a beloved junior and frequently brought her toys and snacks.

Even the Star Toad exclaimed over how understanding and well-behaved Innocence was. It was hard not to dote on her.

All of this left Cen Xinghe completely speechless. What would they think if they found out the truth?

While Su Yi was in seclusion, Cen Xinghe lived a life of carefree leisure. He frequently drank with the Star Toad, celebrating arm in arm. Everything in the Five-Colored Hidden Realm seemed absolutely delightful.

But over the past year, something had happened that filled Cen Xinghe’s heart with anxiety.

Three months prior, someone who called himself the emissary of Blue Rat River Emperor came calling.

That very day, River Empress Peacock broke seclusion and left the Five-Colored Hidden Realm with the man.

She’d returned half a month later.

At the time, Cen Xinghe thought nothing of it, but once, during one of his many nights of drinking with the Star Toad, he learned that River Empress Peacock had been injured.

And badly at that!

The thought made Cen Xinghe’s heart shake. What kind of an existence was River Empress Peacock? She ruled over a vast stretch of water, and she’d once stood down the white-robed monk, a Buddhist Heavenly Sovereign!

How many beneath the River of Destiny could injure her?

But when Cen Xinghe tried to ask for further details, the Star Toad refused to discuss it. He just said that even if the heavens collapsed, River Empress Peacock would be there to keep them from falling. He insisted that Cen Xinghe should just stay calm and focus on his cultivation.

But how could Cen Xinghe truly remain calm?

He’d planned to talk to Su Yi about it, but Su Yi had been in seclusion this entire time, so Cen Xinghe could only give up on it.

…

In the blink of an eye, another year passed. There were no further incidents in the Five-Colored Hidden Realm.

But then, Innocence did something entirely out of character: she went looking for Cen Xinghe of her own accord.

When she found him, she said, “There’s something I must warn you about. Recently, seven of the nineteen servants living in the Five-Colored Hidden Realm left and never came back.”

Cen Xinghe’s heart was instantly solemn. He sensed that something suspicious was afoot, and he hurriedly asked for more information.

The little girl didn’t hide anything. Of late, she’d frequently interacted with the servants, and she’d learned a lot in the process.

Not long ago, River Empress Peacock sent four attendants to the Spirit Treasure Celestial City to buy medicinal herbs.

But the four of them never returned.

Days later, she sent three more servants to gather information, but the three of them never returned, either.

The little girl asked the servants for more information, but none of them knew what was going on.

After hearing the full story, Cen Xinghe realized that something wasn’t quite right here.

Half a year ago, River Empress Peacock returned to the Five-Colored Hidden Realm with heavy injuries. Now, two groups of servants had vanished inexplicably in rapid succession. It would have been obvious that something strange was afoot.

Someone was obviously targeting River Empress Peacock!

“I think the Five-Colored Hidden Realm is no longer safe,” transmitted Innocence. “How about you warn Master so that he can prepare?”

Cen Xinghe froze, stunned, as he understood what was really happening here. She doesn’t dare to disturb Grandfather’s seclusion, so she came here to make me do it for her.

Cen Xinghe said tentatively, “Your Excellency, would you mind if I asked the Star Toad for more information first?”

Cen Xinghe was still a Sin Soul, so when he faced the little girl without Su Yi, he dared not show even the slightest disrespect. He always addressed her as “Your Excellency.”

“Sure, but I’ll leave informing Master up to you. If you screw it up…” Innocence patted Cen Xinghe on the shoulder. “Don’t blame me for forgetting the debt of gratitude I owe you for the flattery lessons.”

With that, she put her hands behind her back and walked off.

Cen Xinghe stood there with his hands behind his back, his face drenched in cold sweat. He dared not hesitate, so he immediately went looking for the Star Toad.

Much to his surprise, the Star Toad was looking for him, too. He said with frantic concern, “My dear brother, something bad has happened!”

Cen Xinghe’s heart shook. “What is it?”

“The ol’ peacock left again, and her wounds still haven’t healed. I told her not to do anything reckless, but she refused to listen!” The Star Toad sighed. “I came here to tell you that when she left, she said that if she didn’t return within a month, we should leave this place immediately!”

Cen Xinghe instantly realized the severity of the situation. “What exactly is going on here?”

The Star Toad hesitated, then said, “Last year, the ol’ peacock attended a secret meeting in the Spirit Treasure Celestial City. Numerous other River Emperors of the River of Destiny participated, too.

“I don’t know why they convened that secret meeting, either. All I know is that during the meeting, the ol’ peacock killed River Emperor Winged Dragon’s son in a fit of rage. There’s been a grudge between them ever since.

“Do you remember the time River Emperor Blue Rat sent his emissary to meet with the ol’ peacock? The Blue Rat River Emperor said that he wanted to serve as a mediator and end the grudge between the ol’ peacock and River Emperor Winged Dragon, but after the ol’ peacock left, she realized that she’d fallen into a trap!

“Fortunately, she sensed that something was amiss and fled immediately. Even so, she was badly injured in the process.” The Star Toad sighed. “River Emperor Winged Dragon is utterly ruthless, with an army of one hundred thousand warriors at his beck and call. He reigns over six underwater cities, and he’s a famed, unparalleled existence. When lesser River Emperors see him, even they avert their gazes and lower their heads.”

The toad’s brow furrowed with concern. “There’s now a grudge between him and the ol’ peacock. It should be obvious how serious that is!”

Cen Xinghe’s gaze was utterly solemn. “Does that mean that River Emperor Winged Dragon is behind her seven servants’ disappearances?”

“I’m sure of it!” The Star Toad gnashed his teeth. “All seven of them have served the ol’ peacock loyally for years. Now, all seven have gone missing at once. The ol’ peacock was naturally furious, and there’s no way she could just disregard their safety, so she left the Five-Colored Hidden Realm to end things with River Emperor Winged Dragon once and for all!”

Cen Xinghe fell briefly silent, then gnashed his teeth. “I have to let Grandfather know as soon as possible!”

With that, he went off to find Su Yi, not to ask him to help, but because if something had happened to River Empress Peacock, the Five-Colored Hidden Realm was no longer safe!

If they stayed, all of them would be in trouble, too. Thus, they had to prepare well in advance.

The Star Toad said hurriedly, “Brother, if you meet with Destiny’s Chosen, be careful what you say. The ol’ peacock said that this is a private grudge and that she doesn’t want me involved, let alone you all.”

His gaze was instantly solemn. “You must persuade Destiny’s Chosen to stay out of this. Otherwise, I’m afraid it’ll be hard for him to stay in the River of Destiny!”

Cen Xinghe knew that the Star Toad had Su Yi’s best interest in mind, so he nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

With that, he dashed off.

…

Ceng Xinghe was deeply uneasy about entering Su Yi’s seclusion grounds, but when he arrived, he was surprised to discover that Su Yi had already awakened from his meditation.

He was sitting in his wicker chair, drinking from a jug of wine. His other hand carried a yellowed tome, and he looked utterly relaxed.

Before Cen Xinghe could say anything, Su Yi said, “Have you heard of Spirit Treasure Celestial City?”

Cen Xinghe blinked, then said hurriedly, “I have!”

It was the nearest major city to the Five-Colored Hidden Realm, a place famous throughout the River of Destiny. It was incomparably vibrant and flourishing.

“I plan to go there,” said Su Yi. He rose from his wicker chair. “Call Innocence over, and let’s go see the city for ourselves.”