First Immortal of the Sword

The demons stirring up a storm of bloodshed all over the Immortal Realm all chose to retreat that very day.

This inexplicable decision left everyone baffled. What on earth was happening?

……

A group of divine children were feasting inside an old-fashioned hall, clinking glasses and laughing without end. Of them, Huo Jianfeng, Jia Yun, and Wenren Qingyu drew the most attention.

“It’ll be years before the Immortal Realm’s unrest dies down!

“And now, Su Yi’s as welcome as a rat on a busy street. Everyone will yell and rush to send him packing. The entire Immortal Realm sees him as a criminal!”

As the divine children discussed the storm befalling the Immortal Realm, all of them looked gleeful.

They knew that the chaos wasn’t really about killing Su Yi so much as impeding him enough to prevent him from focusing on his cultivation. That way, when the Path of Divinity appeared, there’d be no way Su Yi could compete for a shot at divinity.

“But it’s strange. Su Yi’s always been so gutsy, so why’d he wimp out this time? I wonder where he’s hidden himself,” someone pondered out loud.

Another divine child nodded. “No need to concern ourselves with that. When the newly re-established Academy of Eternal Night falls, he’s sure to poke out his head.”

The others nodded.

They were from the God Domain, but by now, they understood Su Yi’s character. They knew there was no way he’d just watch as the Academy of Eternal Night was destroyed. And the moment he came out of hiding, he’d be plagued by endless troubles!

“Now we just have to wait for word of the Academy of Eternal Night’s destruction,” said Huo Jianfeng. He raised his cup to his lips and drained it.

Suddenly, an elderly servant rushed in. "Esteemed divine children, it’s terrible!”

“What happened?” asked Huo Jianfeng.

The servant said hurriedly, “The armies of the Spirit Domain have retreated! They say that the million demons spread across the Immortal Realm are all leaving in a hurry!”

The crowd was flabbergasted, then baffled.

“What’s going on?” Huo Jianfeng furrowed his brow. Everything is going wonderfully, why would the demons suddenly decide to retreat?

It didn’t make sense! Weren’t they afraid of Huo Jianfeng’s wrath?

The elderly servant lowered his head and said, “We’re currently investigating. I trust that it won’t be long before we’ve uncovered the truth.”

He’d only just said this when a frantic cry resounded from beyond the hall. “Esteemed divine children, it’s absolutely awful!”

A man in black robes rushed in, completely in a tizzy, and flung himself to his knees. He said in a quavering voice, “We just received word from the Spirit Domain that Su Yi single-handedly invaded, slaughtered practically every Demon Sovereign in the Nine Great Demon races, and killed his way into the Ancestral Demon Grounds! Both the older-generation demon experts guarding the Ancestral Demon Grounds and most of the divine emissaries there have perished! The Spirit Domain has changed completely!”

As that frantic voice resounded throughout the hall, everyone fell into a daze. Waves of emotion coursed through their hearts.

Su Yi… was actually in the Spirit Domain this entire time? And he single-handedly threw it into chaos?

This news came out of nowhere. The divine children needed time to process it.

Huo Jianfeng’s expression was instantly incomparably unsightly. “What about the Nine Progenitors’ spirits? Are they still alive?”

The black-robed man shuddered and stammered, “They’re… most likely… already dead!”

Crack!

Huo Jianfeng slammed his cup of wine to the ground, his handsome face hideously contorted. “Nothing but a pack of fools!”

Even the other divine children jumped. They couldn’t understand why Huo Jianfeng had lost control like this. They naturally didn’t know that Huo Jianfeng wanted to refine the Nine Progenitors into puppets.

Huo Jianfeng’s plans had been ruined, and he felt as if someone had scooped out a chunk of his flesh. It was unbearable!

“I understand.” Jia Yun sighed. “Su Yi’s methods are quite impressive. Everyone thought he was hiding from battle, but in truth, he attacked the Spirit Domain on his own while our attention was diverted elsewhere. In doing so, he indirectly saved the Immortal Realm.”

Waves of emotion crashed through the crowd’s hearts. They couldn’t calm down. They finally understood why the invading demon forces had retreated—someone had overturned their nest in their absence. How could they possibly linger in the Immortal Realm?

The thought that Su Yi had thrown the Spirit Domain into chaos and saved the Immortal Realm from disaster in just nine days left the divine children feeling stifled.

Earlier, their hearts had been full of sadistic glee as they eagerly prepared to watch a spectacle. But the reality was like a sharp slap in the face. It left their cheeks stinging and red!

“Daoist Brother Huo, are you so angry because you’re worried that Su Yi will find out that you were the one behind the Immortal Realm’s crisis?” Wenren Qingyu asked. She too felt that Huo Jianfeng’s reaction to this setback seemed overly intense.

“No.” Huo Jianfeng took a deep breath, then shook his head. “No need to go into it.”

He forced his fury back down and changed the subject. “The Immortal Realm’s crisis has ended. We’ve lost, and we can no longer restrict and implicate Su Yi. What do you think we should do next?”

The crowd exchanged glances. All of them fell silent.

At the Immortal Peach Assembly, Su Yi slew everyone who stood in his way, including divine children like Qing Xiao, Gongyang Yu, and Jin Zhuliu. His heaven-defying strength was enough to scare even the divine children gathered here.

When they learned that Su Yi had single-handedly plunged the Spirit Domain into chaos, saving the Immortal Realm in the process, the divine children felt more helpless than ever before. None of them had confidence that they could take Su Yi down if they attacked him themselves.

They even felt like there was nothing left they could do.

After a while, Jia Yun sighed. “What else can we do? All we can do is avoid him and wait for the Path of Divinity to appear. We’ll have to destroy this heretic then.”

Several others nodded.

“We can take this time before the Path of Divinity appears to gather Undying Materials,” added Wenren Qingyu.

Everyone responded to this statement differently.

Undying Materials!

These were unparalleled, precious treasures left behind when an epoch was destroyed. Even gods would go red-eyed with greed over them. This was because these treasures could help cultivators contend with divine tribulations!

In the Immortal Realm, there were ruins of the prior epoch, the Spirit Martial Epoch. Undying Materials were available there.

Like Undying Demon Gold and Undying Profound Iron, among others.

“That’s all we can do,” said Huo Jianfeng. In the end, he couldn’t suppress his frustration. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Su Yi’s escaped disaster yet again. I’m truly frustrated!”

He was frustrated? Who here wasn’t?

……

Numerous cultivators were gathered inside a restaurant.

“Who can say with certainty that the demons have really left the Immortal Realm?”

“It’s hard to say. Let’s wait a while longer.”

“No matter what, this is good news, right?”

Everyone was talking about the demons’ retreat. They were delighted, but concerned, too.

By now, everyone knew of the demons’ inexplicable departure. It had caused widespread uproar—and confusion. No one quite dared to believe it.

It was just too inexplicable. The demons had been winning, only to retreat inexplicably and without warning. Who’d dare fully believe such a thing?

Bang!

Suddenly, an azure-robed man smacked the table and roared, “I’ll curse Su Yi whether the demons have retreated or not! If not for him, how could this disaster have befallen the Immortal Realm?”

His words were grating to the ears, and they instantly drew the crowd’s attention.

The azure-robed man started dancing about with agitation. “Su Yi’s the primary culprit. If he had any conscience at all, he’d have slit his own throat in penance a long time ago!

“Earlier, I saw him as a god. I would never have guessed that when disaster befell the Immortal Realm, he wouldn’t let out so much as a fart in our defense! Shameful! It’s simply shameful!”

The azure-robed man had obviously had too much to drink. His entire body reeked of alcohol, and his eyes were bloodshot as he continuously insulted Su Yi.

Many of the others found this quite satisfying, and they cheered him on. The azure-robed man was giving voice to what many of them were thinking.

Others frowned with discomfort, but before they could respond, joyous cries resounded from the streets, and a clamor of excited voices rose into the firmament.

“Divine Venerate Su has saved us all!”

“He fought into the Spirit Domain alone, slaughtering an untold number of Demon Sovereigns of the Nine Great Demon Races. He even fought his way into their ancestral grounds! None could stand in his way!”

“They say that the Beyond is in complete chaos. Those demon scum are all scared out of their wits!”

“No wonder Divine Venerate Su seemed to have vanished for the past nine days. He was in the enemies’ base all along! Incredible! Tyrannical! Satisfying!”

“I finally understand why the demon armies retreated. They’ve lost their home base. How could they not retreat?”

….A clamor of joyful voices rose and fell in waves. The entire city was instantly in uproar.

Inside the restaurant, the diners were dumbstruck. It was actually Sovereign Venerate Su who saved the Immortal Realm?

The azure-robed man’s face was flushed red, and his chest heaved as if about to explode. He’d only just been cursing Su Yi out to his heart's content.

But now, he was completely gobsmacked.

“Quick, get him! How dare he slander Sovereign Venerate Su? We can’t let him off!”

The crowd pounced on the man like tigers and wolves.

Word that Su Yi had ventured into the Immortal Realm alone and saved the Immortal Realm spread rapidly, causing an enormous commotion. Similar scenes to the one in the restaurant took place all over the world.

Countless people cried out in joy, so happy that they wept.

Those who’d reviled Su Yi as the culprit behind all this, those who’d cursed and chastised him, and those who’d indignantly proclaimed that Su Yi should kill himself to make amends were dumbstruck. Some of them feared retribution and publicly repented, weeping and sniveling as they cursed their own short-sightedness. Their unsightliness was on full display.

The world was in uproar. Everyone was talking about Su Yi’s glorious accomplishments in the Spirit Domain. The entire Immortal Realm was livelier than ever before. The masses saw Su Yi as their savior!

He’d saved the Immortal Realm while it was on the brink of collapse. In doing so, his prestige reached unprecedented heights. He’d yet to achieve divinity, but to the masses, he was no different from a god!

But even as the masses rejoiced, others lamented.

When the Church of the Pure One, the Church of Supreme Oneness, and the other former top factions heard the news, they were shaken and ill at ease. They knew that when Su Yi returned, he’d be sure to get even with those who’d fanned the flames and contributed to the Immortal Realm’s chaos!