First Immortal of the Sword

Spatial ripples spread outward, and a figure appeared out of nowhere.

This was none other than High Elder Jing Cheng of the Giant Whale Spirit Race.

Xi Ning furrowed her brow, but Su Yi didn’t find this at all strange.

After entering the ruins of the Dragon Palace, Jing Cheng gave him a jade slip and said that if he encountered danger, he could shatter it, and the Giant Whale Spirit Race would rush to his aid. He still had the jade slip on him. It wasn’t at all strange that Jing Cheng would show up of his own accord.

“This old man came uninvited. Please, don’t take offense, Fellow Daoists.” Jing Cheng smiled, approached, and bowed to them in greeting, one by one.

Su Yi smiled faintly. “Tell me, then. Why did you come uninvited?”

Jing Cheng said solemnly, “Naturally, because I hope to work together to seek out the good fortune within these ruins.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. Suddenly, he asked, “Do you already know who I really am?”

Jing Cheng’s gaze focused, and he exclaimed, “Your powers of perception are impressive indeed. This old man can’t help but admire you.”

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “Then you presumably know about my battle with Gongyang Yu and the others too.”

“...” In the face of Su Yi’s gaze, Jing Cheng felt inexplicably uncomfortable, as if all of his secrets had been seen through.

He took a moment to steady himself, then nodded. “That’s indeed the case.”

Su Yi got straight to the point. “We can work together, but first, I need to see the Giant Whale Spirit Race’s sincerity. Otherwise, you can forget it.”

Jing Cheng’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, but then, he laughed. “We naturally ought to do just that. This old man can assure you that you shall receive half of whatever good fortune we acquire, Fellow Daoist!”

Su Yi laughed. “You call that sincerity?”

Jing Cheng didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he said probingly, “Fellow Daoist, how about you name your conditions? If they’re something I can agree to, I will. I won’t even furrow my brow!”

Su Yi stretched out two fingers. “I have two conditions. First, Fellow Daoist Xi Ning and I get eighty percent of whatever good fortune we acquire.”

Jing Cheng’s brow furrowed, and his smile faded. Indescribable fury welled within his heart. The bastard’s got quite the unseemly appetite!

But in the end, he held back and didn’t rush to express his stance.

Su Yi continued casually, “Second, I don’t like it when people plot against me or try to trick me, so if you want me to trust your sincerity, open your sea of consciousness and let me place my mark on your soul.”

This time, Jing Cheng visibly lost his cool and shouted, “Fellow Daoist, don’t you think your demands are over the line?”

Su Yi laughed. “Relax. I wouldn’t sink so low as to use the mark on your soul to threaten or control you. I simply want to make sure you don’t plot against me while we’re working together.”

Jing Cheng’s expression shifted. “Fellow Daoist, I can understand your concerns. How about I swear on my Dao Heart?”

Su Yi shook his head. “I’ve never trusted oaths. If you agree to my terms, I’ll agree to work with you. If not, I won't. Of course, you’re welcome to refuse.”

Jing Cheng’s chest heaved with obvious fury.

Su Yi ignored him and drank, entirely unperturbed.

Jing Cheng sank into silence, then said, “The ruins of the Dragon Palace are full of untold dangers. Aren’t you afraid you’ll encounter unexpected calamity if you refuse to work with us?”

Su Yi laughed. “Is that a threat?”

Jing Cheng said calmly, “This old man is simply stating a fact. After all, as I’m sure you’re well aware, you’ve thoroughly offended Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, and the other divine children. If the experts of the Immortal Realm’s top factions learn who you are, they’ll target you too.”

He paused, then said, “Given the circumstances, working with us would be the wisest course of action, don’t you think?”

Su Yi said flatly, “No need to waste your breath. I’ll just ask you this. Do you agree to my terms or not?”

Jing Cheng’s expression darkened, but in the end, he forced his fury back down and said, “I’ll think it over carefully. Once I’ve decided, I’ll naturally come see you again, Fellow Daoist. Farewell.”

Suddenly, Su Yi appeared out of nowhere and said with the utmost seriousness, “Seems to me you’d best decide before you leave. I’ll give you fifteen minutes. That ought to be enough.”

As he spoke, he reached for Jing Cheng’s shoulder.

Bang!

The surrounding skies were thrown into turmoil, and Jing Cheng disappeared just in the nick of time. Su Yi’s hand hit nothing but air.

Despite himself, Su Yi’s eyebrows rose, and he whipped around.

Several tens of thousands of feet away, Jing Cheng appeared beneath the dome of heaven, his aged face incomparably ashen.

“Su Yi! So you insist on doing things the hard way!” Jing Cheng’s gaze was sinister. “In that case, you’d best watch yourself! Whatever you do, make sure nothing bad happens to you!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he vanished.

Xi Ning was just about to give chase when Su Yi shook his head and said, “No need. The old-timer most likely controls a relic of the Dragon Palace that lets him use its Laws to teleport freely. Short of sealing off a stretch of heaven and earth in advance, it’d be hard to confine him.”

Earlier, he noticed that Jing Cheng gripped a command token that produced a wondrous resonance with the Laws of the surrounding area. This was what let Jing Cheng escape, startled but unharmed.

Xi Ning asked, “Why not feign civility and agree to work with him, then take him down if and when he tried something?”

Su Yi shook his head. “It would be a bad idea. The Giant Whale Spirit Race knows these ruins like the backs of their hands. They have the home turf advantage, so it’d be hard to defend myself if they harbor ill intentions.”

“But now, Jing Cheng undoubtedly hates you to the bone,“ said Xi Ning. “It’s even entirely possible that he’ll work with others to take you down.”

Su Yi could decipher the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace. That meant that everyone here would be dead-set on controlling him, not just the Giant Whale Spirit Race!

If Jing Cheng went all out and chose to work with experts of other factions, it would be troublesome indeed. After all, the Giant Whales knew the ruins better than anyone!

“No need for concern. “Su Yi stretched languidly. “The Giant Whales have an advantage here in the ruins of the Dragon Palace, but they can’t read its secret glyphs, and there’s no way they’ve truly grasped all of its secrets.

“Even if they join up with other factions, they aren’t much of a threat.” Here, Su Yi’s eyes shone with inscrutable light. “It might not be polite to say this, but they’re the ones who ought to fear my retribution.”

Xi Ning was stunned. She could tell that Su Yi was completely confident that he could handle anything they threw at him!

“What do you plan to do, Fellow Daoist?” asked Xi Ning. Her curiosity had been piqued.

“You’ll find out soon,” Su Yi said with a mysterious grin.

……

Four hours later.

A long dried-up pond stood in a foggy, dilapidated landscape. Wisps of silver starlight emanated from the bottom of the pond, dreamlike and ethereal.

Su Yi and his companions appeared in the distance.

“Fellow Daoist, guess what’s buried at the bottom of the pond,” said Su Yi.

“Surely some sort of treasure?” whispered Xi Ning.

“No, it’s most likely one of the secrets of the ruins of the Dragon Palace,” Su Yi said with a laugh.

“A secret?” Xi Ning was stunned.

But Su Yi was already taking action. He shifted on his feet, appeared above the dried-up pool, stretched out his hands, and grabbed.

Boom!

The base of the pond split, and a glittering arc of silver light shot forth.

Upon closer inspection, it was a palm-sized jade pendant. The pendant was worn around the edges, and it emanated silver starlight.

“Do you… want to steal the pendant my grandfather left me, too?”

A cold voice rang out, and an illusory red figure floated out of the pendant.

It was a wraith!

Upon closer inspection, she was a woman with loose, disheveled hair and a single crystalline dragon horn sprouting from her forehead.

Xi Ning could tell at a glance that in life, the woman had been a Great Realm expert, and an extremely powerful one at that.

Even reduced to a mere wraith, her power was comparable to the mightiest of Great Martial Stage cultivators!

“She’s most likely a descendant of the dragon race!” Su Yi’s spirits soared.

“Thieves… must die!” The wraith’s eyes went red, and she erupted with fierce, terrifying baleful intent.

Boom!

The entire area was thrown into upheaval as the wraith blurred into a beam of light and shot at Su Yi.

Her speed and momentum were shocking and terrifying!

I wonder how he’ll handle this. Xi Ning looked at Su Yi. Fan Zhui had told her how Su Yi had sent Jin Zhuliu, Qing Wu, and Gongyang Yu scampering off in panic.

However, Xi Ning hadn’t seen his strength for herself. This was her opportunity.

She then watched as Su Yi neither dodged nor fled. He just stood there, stretched out his hand, and pressed down.

Boom!

Heaven and earth swayed. Everything trembled on all sides.

The charging wraith was trapped in place, unable to even budge.

Xi Ning:（°ο°）

Fan Zhui, meanwhile, almost felt the urge to kneel in awe. He suppressed such a powerful wraith so easily?

Xi Ning watched, dazed, as Su Yi formed hand seals and wisps of the mysteries of Profound Ruin wrapped around his fingertips, forming a Buddhist seal useful for exorcising wraiths.

Weng!

When the seal descended, streaks of the light of Profound Ruin shot forth, thoroughly surrounding the wraith.

The red power of karma churned violently, then melted like snow and evaporated into wisps of fog. In the blink of an eye, the wraith transformed into an ethereal female figure.

He can actually neutralize the power of karma!? Xi Ning’s heart shook with astonishment.

Fan Zhui was dumbstruck. It all just seemed far too unbelievable.

Karma was like a power of the natural order of the epochs, and it covered the Laws of the Dragon Palace. Even the divine children wouldn’t touch it lightly. If they did, the power of karma would entangle them!

Yet now, Su Yi had neutralized that taboo power with a casual gesture. Who wouldn’t have been startled?

Meanwhile, Su Yi didn’t hesitate to crush a pill used to repair the soul. Its abundant medicinal power transformed into mist and enveloped the woman’s soul body.

Seth's Thoughts

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