First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1091 - Bad News

A moment later, Jin Kui hurried up to Su Yi and bowed deeply. “Disciple Jin Kui greets you, Master!”

She was an elegant beauty in a pale blue top and an apricot-yellow skirt. She looked like a young woman in her twenties, but she was actually the fourth legacy disciple of the Grotto of Abstruse Force.

Su Yi smiled and tousled her hair. “It’s only been five hundred years, but Little Jin Kui’s cultivation has already reached the late-stage Profound Serenity Realm.”

Jin Kui couldn’t help but look delighted.

She’d cultivated by her master’s side from a young age. She still remembered that, when she was little, she hated it when her master tousled her hair. She felt like he was treating her like a child, and she frequently sulked about it.

But now, feeling him tousle her hair, she felt a familiar warmth for the first time in ages. She felt much like someone who, after years of wind and rain, returned to the home of the elder who most doted on them.

Su Yi was a bit wistful too.

Jin Kui’s talent was extraordinary, and she had a splendid and extraordinary spirit root. He still remembered that when he first met her, she’d only just formed a fleshly body, and every inch of her still emanated spirituality and elegance. He couldn’t help but praise her, saying, “Her delicate hands scoop up the mist, and her clothes leave a trail of purple haze.”

Bai Yi couldn’t help but say, “Master, I reached the late-stage Profound Serenity Realm even before you reincarnated, but I never heard you praise me for it.”

Everyone was stunned, and they couldn’t help but laugh.

Why did they say that Bai Yi was as pure as a sheet of white paper?

Because he never hid his true feelings in front of their master.

Wang Que’s spirits had obviously improved, and he laughed. “Junior Apprentice Brother, that’s nothing to brag about. I’m just one step away from the threshold of the Profound Unity Realm!”

Ye Luo pursed his lips and jeered, “Senior Apprentice Brother, you won’t let Eighth Junior Apprentice Brother brag, but it’s okay for you to do it? What a pain!”

Bai Yi, the combat fanatic, promptly issued a challenge. “Fifth Senior Apprentice Brother, how about we spar and let Master decide who’s improved more?”

But Wang Que flat-out refused. “As your senior, there’d be no glory in it even if I won. If I lose, I’ll embarrass myself. We’d best skip it.”

Ye Luo couldn’t help but laugh. Jin Kui pressed her lips into a smile, too.

All of them, Su Yi included, suddenly felt as if they’d returned to the past.

Back in the Grotto of Abstruse Force, his apprentices frequently argued and teased each other, as they might their siblings.

Something suddenly occurred to Su Yi, and he facepalmed. “I almost forgot the little tortoise.”

With that, he waved his sleeves.

Xuan Ning, who’d been in seclusion within the Seed of the Azure, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

It was as if Xuan Ning had just awakened from a dream. When he saw Ye Luo, Jin Kui, Bai Yi, and Wang Que, he was struck dumb. He murmured, “Master, I’m afraid I’ve developed a heart devil. Why… why does everything suddenly feel so unreal…?”

Whap!

Su Yi smacked the back of his head and laughed. “What ‘heart devil?’ You’ve been cultivating by my side all this time. How could I possibly let that happen?”

“Uh…” Xuan Ning scratched his head, but a moment later, he was so excited that he let out a strange cry. “My heavens! It’s all real!”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

Ye Luo walked up and said, “Junior Apprentice Brother, tell us. How did you meet back up with Master?”

Bai Yi, Wang Que, and Jin Kui gathered around. All of them looked curious.

“It’s a bit of a long story,” said Xuan Ning.

As his apprentices chatted amongst themselves, Su Yi took out his wicker chair, sat by the cliffside, and stretched languidly.

The night was dark, with sparse stars and faint moonlight. The tranquil darkness blanketed the scenery before him, while his disciples laughed and chatted behind him.

In that moment, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel gratified and comforted.

Su Yi muttered to himself, That muddle-headed bookworm Jing Xing and the old glutton have gone off wandering. If only Jing Xing were here too…

But when he thought of his third disciple, Huo Yao, much of his joy dissipated.

When he left the Netherworld, he let Huo Yao go after erasing his memories and crippling his cultivation base. Su Yi didn’t know what kind of life Huo Yao would lead after that, but he wasn’t willing to find out.

And when he thought of Pi Mo and Qing Tang, what little delight remained in Su Yi’s heart vanished completely.

Indeed, there’s nothing sadder than fathers and sons becoming enmities or violence between masters and apprentices. Su Yi sighed and drank.

“Brother Su, look at any faction in the Wilds. Big or small, any faction with any sort of foundations will give rise to a traitor or two. Look at you! You’re too hung up on your master-apprentice relationships.” The Heavensdeath Demon Empress walked up and sat beside the wicker chair. Her slender, jade-like legs hung over the cliffside.

Her hair was tied up in a loose-cloud bun, and she had youthful, exquisite features. Her fiery red dress swayed in the night breeze, and she emanated a bewitching charm.

Su Yi wasn’t willing to linger on that particular subject, so he said, “Earlier, when you defeated the Three-Eyed Golden Toad, you sensed that powerful will imprint in its soul, didn’t you?”

“Mm,” said the Heavensdeath Demon Empress, her eyes sparkling like sunlit pools. “I once sparred with members of the Nine Heavens Pavilion, and I understand these experts of the stars beyond. They’re strong, but that’s just because they control the supreme Celestial Laws of their respective star realms.”

Here, a hint of disdain tugged at her lips. “Were you or I to master such power, we could kill them as easily as we could dogs or chickens.”

Su Yi thoroughly agreed.

The Dark and Gold Star Realm might be withered and damaged, with incomplete Celestial Laws, but it was home to billions of cultivators. Who among the select few who'd fought their way to the Imperial Apex Realm wasn’t a genius capable of dazzling any era?

Who among them had foundations inferior to the experts of the stars beyond?

It was no exaggeration to say that if the Path of Heaven’s Ascension still existed in the Dark and Gold Star Realm, an Imperial Apex Realm cultivator like the Heavensdeath Demon Empress would have broken through long ago, becoming a World King that dazzled even the star skies!

Her accomplishments in the Grand Dao might even far surpass the old-timers of the distant stars!

But alas, all of that was purely hypothetical.

The Dark and Gold Star Realm’s Path of Heaven’s Ascension had long since ceased to exist.

And the Heavensdeath Demon Empress, an unparalleled talent and ancestral figure of the Demonist path, had to resort to Dao-Sealing Demon Chains to suppress her cultivation base, all to prevent it from ebbing!

She was an unparalleled talent, but… weren’t Buddhist Master Inkstone Heart of the Little Western paradise, Ancestor Peng of the Nine Extremes Profound Capital, and the old glutton of Profound Sky Academy unparalleled in their own right?

Throughout the Wilds’ long history, numerous powerhouses decisively chose to venture into the depths of outer space, all to achieve greater breakthroughs in their cultivation. Weren’t they supremely talented too?

“That Three-Eyed Golden Toad might be in the early-stage Profound Unity Realm, and it might control the Laws of Spirit Nirvana, but that aside, its combat strength is at best on par with the Wilds’ late-stage Profound Unity Emperors,” said the Heavensdeath Demon Empress. She snatched Su Yi’s gourd of wine with practiced ease, threw back her head, and drank, letting the liquid pour down her face and splash her chest. She was the very picture of unrestrained valiance.

Then, she said with apparent satisfaction, “When we fought earlier, I was on guard because I sensed something strange in its soul. Otherwise, I would have slapped the dirty toad to mincemeat in a single blow.”

Su Yi nodded; he’d reached a similar conclusion.

Controlling a supreme Celestial Law like Heavenly Prayer, Spirit Nirvana, or Cosmic Silence didn’t truly make you invincible here in the Wilds.

People like that might well be invincible against others of the same cultivation, and they really could cross realms to fight stronger opponents. However, when the disparity between cultivations was too large, their Laws weren’t enough to close the gap.

Take the Three-Eyed Golden Toad. It was in the early-stage Profound Unity Realm, far from the Heavensdeath Demon Empress’s peak Profound Unity Realm cultivation. Even if its Laws of Spirit Nirvana were even stronger, it was doomed to be suppressed.

The Heavensdeath Demon Demon Empress suddenly recalled something and looked over. Her gaze fixed on Su Yi as she said probingly, “Don’t tell me you’re interested in the Studio of the Heart’s young mistress? If not, why were you in such a hurry to ask the toad about her origins? Brother Su, tell me. Is she pretty? What’s her personality like? How does she compare with me?”

The corners of Su Yi’s lips twitched imperceptibly, and he facepalmed.

This was the ever-capricious Heavensdeath Demon Empress. Even in the middle of a serious discussion, she always managed to drag unserious topics into the mix!

“Their young mistress isn’t simple.” Su Yi thought for a moment, then patiently explained what he knew about her.

For instance, that she’d once taken on the guise of Song Chai, slipping into the Grotto of Abstruse Force without him noticing. He also told her that the Painter, the founder of the Studio of the Heart, attached enormous importance to her.

In the end, Su Yi warned, “So I urge you not to get complacent. According to the Three-Eyed Golden Toad, their young mistress is in seclusion. I can already foresee that she’ll do everything in her power to counterattack after she emerges.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress said in a daze, “Brother Su, are you really that afraid of that woman?”

Su Yi shook his head. “This has nothing to do with fear. I’m just warning you not to get complacent.”

The Heavensdeath Demon Empress laughed. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled radiantly, as if satisfied. “I just knew you cared about me, Big Brother Su.”

“....”

Fortunately, she didn’t use that enchanting power of hers this time. Otherwise, Su Yi really would have thought of a way to send her packing.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the Heavensdeath Demon Empress furrowed her brow, stretched out her hand, and grabbed.

Kch!

Spatial ripples coursed violently through the distant skies.

Then, a golden jade slip blurred into an arc of divine light and landed in the Heavensdeath Demon Empress’s hand.

After examining it briefly, she looked stunned, and she muttered, “Brother Su, your oldest disciple really isn’t simple. He’s already started working with the Nine Heavens Pavilion to take you down.”

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”

“This jade slip is from the Sixth Warden of the Nine Heavens Pavilion. They’ve already received word from Pi Mo and confirmed your identity. According to the Sixth Warden, the Nine Heavens Pavilion plans to work with Pi Mo, and they’ll soon send their forces to take you down.”

Here, her starry eyes shone with strange light, and she pointed at her chest. “They want me to participate, too. The Sixth Warden even promised that if I capture you, they’ll immediately give me a secret cultivation method for the Path of Heaven’s Ascension!”