First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1514 - The Ascension Palace

Universal Emptiness Temple.

“My bro the Temple Master is badass!”

It was the middle of winter. Everything was cloaked in white, and flurries rode the winds like goose feathers.

The monk Illuminating Emptiness shouted for joy.

Qing Tang, Qing Wan, Wei Shan, and the others’ expressions were filled with undisguisable delight too. They’d already learned of Su Yi’s accomplishments in the Domain Boundary Battlefield from the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha, and all of them took pride in him.

Especially when the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha mentioned that the Wood Spirit Monarch had personally watched Su Yi rise to the Immortal Realm. Even the Emissaries of Welcoming had fought for the chance to usher him in.

All of this broadened the crowd’s horizons.

Of those present, Daoist Master Red Cloud and her dog, Xing Que, were the calmest of all.

“Is it badass? It’s perfectly normal. You’re making a fuss over nothing.” Xing Que glanced disdainfully at Illuminating Emptiness. “Don’t forget: Su Yi had cut down immortals here in the Human Realm. Given his strength, it would have been stranger if he’d failed to accomplish that much.”

“Don’t sour the mood,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud. “This is worth celebrating.”

The dog wilted at the rebuke and sheepishly fell silent.

“I don’t know when I’ll next get to see Master.” A thread of melancholy arose in Qing Tang’s heart.

Qing Wan lowered her pretty head, gently biting her lower lip. They’d only been separated for a year, but... she was really starting to miss the Mystic Master....

“No need to rush. The presence of the Immortal Dao in the Human realm is becoming denser and denser. Within six months at most, I’m confident I can return to the Immortal Realm,” said Daoist Master Red Cloud. “When the time comes, all of you can accompany me.”

The crowd’s eyes lit up, and their spirits soared. Accompanying Daoist Master Red Cloud to the Immortal Realm would be perfect!

After all, the Domain Boundary Battlefield only opened once every thousand years. Who’d be willing to wait that long when they could just accompany Daoist Master Red Cloud instead?

“Proceeding to the Immortal Realm doesn’t mean you’ll have nothing more to worry about. No matter where you are, you cannot afford the slightest negligence in your pursuit of the Grand Dao. Even after rising to the Immortal Realm, you’ll still have to face your Immortal Tribulation at some point,” warned the dog.

The crowd was instantly solemn.

......

“He hasn’t even stepped into the Cloud Soaring Realm yet, but so many of the Immortal Realm’s Emissaries of Welcoming are fighting over him?”

“His Excellency Su really is unparalleled!”

“Argh. Going forward, the Human Realm won’t have him to watch over it. It feels like something is missing without him.”

“What does it mean to be a legend? Just look at His Excellency Su!”

“I can see it already. With his accumulations, he’s sure to shine in the Immortal Realm too!”

...As word spread from the Domain Boundary Battlefield, everyone throughout the stars was discussing the same person.

Su Yi!

To the cultivators of the Human Realm, this name was as radiant as the sun shining overhead, illuminating the ages!

Even if they searched far and wide, they wouldn’t find anyone capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him!

Over the past few years, he’d left seemingly endless legends behind, accomplishing one miraculous feat after another.

But now, he’d left the Human Realm in pursuit of immortality. Who wouldn’t have been shaken?

......

The Immortal Realm.

The blazing sun hung beneath the endlessly distant skies.

A sign reading “Ascension Palace” hung over a grand, ancient palace.

A pool swathed in immortal mists stood in front of the palace. Misty radiance rose from its waters.

The Immortal Transformation Pool.

The pool was ten thousand feet across, and it surged with dense, auspicious light of the Immortal Dao.

Yu Chen, Qin Suxin, Ren Changqing, and over a hundred successful ascendants were emerging from the Immortal Transformation Pool.

Their ranks included Sword Immortal Qingshi.

“This is the Immortal Realm?”

“Look! That’s an Ascension Palace!”

“It’s as rumors say! When you pass through the Gates of the Immortal Realm, you arrive in an Ascension Palace’s Immortal Transformation Pool!”

“Once you become an immortal, nothing you’ve experienced can compare!”

The crowd excitedly conversed amongst themselves, their expressions full of delight.

Relatively speaking, Yu Chen, Qin Suxin, and Ren Changqing took this in calmly. Becoming an immortal just meant that they’d stepped onto a path beyond the Path of Transcendence. Now, they were denizens of the Immortal Realm, and everything would soon begin anew.

No matter how dazzling they’d been in the Human Realm, now that they’d arrived here, their former positions, glory, and reputations were all behind them.

“I just wonder which immortal province this Ascension Palace is in,” Yu Chen murmured to himself.

The Immortal Realm had forty-nine provinces in total, and it encompassed a boundlessly vast territory.

Rumor had it that each of the immortal provinces had an Ascension Palace and an Immortal Transformation Pool. They were each under the jurisdiction of a different Immortal Lord Faction responsible for welcoming and recruiting new ascendants.

Of course, all of that was ancient history.

A catastrophe had once befallen the Immortal Realm, separating it from the Human Realm for countless years.

No one knew what the rules were now.

“Who is that senior?”

“I don’t know.”

...Numerous people turned their attention to a bony old man seated cross-legged not far from the Immortal Transformation Pool.

His hair and beard were scraggly, and he held a gourd of wine close to his chest. His eyes were shut, and he didn’t move at all, as if he’d fallen fast asleep.

“Is that perhaps an Emissary of Welcoming?”

As soon as this thought occurred to them, a dignified voice emanated from within the Ascension Palace.

“Those who’ve stepped into the Immortal Dao are my fellows. Fellow Daoists, please enter the palace for a chat.”

Yu Chen and the others’ hearts were instantly solemn. They looked at each other, then disregarded the old man hugging the wine gourd and entered the Ascension Palace together.

There were around a dozen people inside already, men and women of varying ages, all of them shrouded in immortal light.

A purple-robed middle-aged man in a tall hat sat in the centermost seat. He was tall, stalwart, and majestic, with an extraordinary bearing.

When Yu Chen and the other hundred-plus new immortals entered, they felt immense pressure bearing down on them.

The combined imposing auras of more than ten immortals!

“Seniors, are you perhaps this year’s Emissaries of Welcoming?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

The gathered immortals laughed.

The middle-aged man in purple said gently from the centermost seat, “Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, the Central Immortal Court appointed Emissaries of Welcoming, but that was a long, long time ago. The Central Immortal Court has been gone for a long time. Everything is naturally completely different.”

The man in purple paused, then continued, “Of course, you can still see us as Emissaries of Welcoming.”

“In that case, senior, might I ask what the new rules are?” someone said earnestly.

The middle-aged man in purple said, “Simple. We’ve come to welcome you on the orders of Sect Leader Qi Nie of the Church of the Pure One.”

Sect Leader Qi Nie of the Church of the Pure One!

Most of the crowd was befuddled, but Yu Chen, Qin Suxin, Ren Changqing, and the others seemed to realize something. Their expressions were instantly solemn.

“That aside, there are two more tasks I must complete,” said the dignified middle-aged man in purple. “First, I must record your identities and backgrounds for the Church of the Pure One to examine.”

Qin Suxin couldn’t help but ask, “Why does the Church of the Pure One want to know our identities and backgrounds?”

The others found this strange too.

But the middle-aged man just shook his head slightly. “I don’t know. This is His Excellency Qi Nie’s decree; we’re simply carrying out his orders.

“Second, we’re to select new disciples from your ranks,” the middle-aged man said with a smile. “My fellow Daoists and I hail from different immortal factions. If you’re fortunate enough to earn their recognition, you won’t need to undergo any tests. They’ll admit you directly to their ranks.”

Numerous new ascendants’ eyes lit up. They’d only just arrived in the Immortal Realm, and most were entirely rootless. If an immortal faction accepted them as its disciples, they’d have found both a backer and a place to say!

This was what they meant when they spoke of “enjoying the shade of a towering tree.”

Someone said eagerly, “Senior, might I ask how you intend to select new disciples, and what you’re looking for?”

“Don’t be in such a rush. We’re still waiting for our final fellow Daoist to arrive,” the middle-aged man in purple said with a laugh.

The crowd couldn’t help but be stunned. Someone is still on their way here from the Human Realm?

It was then that——

Whoosh~

The waters of the Immortal Transformation Pool churned, and a tall, upright figure emerged.

He was dressed in blue, calm and detached. This was none other than Su Yi!

“The Ascension Palace..” Su Yi looked a bit dazed. Wang Ye’s memories were flashing through his mind, reflected in his sea of consciousness.

His old friends, his powerful foes, memories of his time exploring the Immortal Realm...

All of it replayed before his very eyes, as if it had all happened just yesterday.

“Fellow Daoist Su!?”

“So, it’s him.”

“Just as I thought. I just knew he’d find a way to come to the Immortal Realm.” Yu Chen, Qin Suxin, and the other new immortals all looked enlightened.

But what really surprised them was that the gathered immortals all rose from their seats and headed outside. They were actually going to welcome Su Yi!

“You’re talented indeed, my young friend. Please, come in!” An immortal walked up to greet Su Yi, his face nothing but smiles.

“My young friend, I’m a deacon of the Blue Pillar Immortal Sect. If you’re willing, I can represent my faction in breaking precedent to admit you directly as a core disciple!” someone immediately started talking terms.

“What does a core disciple amount to? I can guarantee that so long as you follow me, you’ll become our sect’s holy son!” another immortal said with exaggerated confidence.

Someone else said frantically, “Trying to snipe him? No matter how good your offer is, it’s up to our young friend to agree or not!”

“All of you know how rare someone capable of rising to the Immortal Realm without first breaking into the Cloud Soaring Realm is! I’ll say this here. No matter his conditions, our Divine Aberration Mountain is taking our young friend back with us!”

...All of a sudden, everyone was talking all over each other, trying their utmost to rope Su Yi in. They argued until they were red in the face.

Seeing this left the others wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Who could have imagined that these immortals, all of whom had seemed so dignified just moments prior, would act like completely different people the moment they saw Su Yi?

All of them were clamoring over him!

In contrast, the other new ascendants’ treatment was far too cold...

Su Yi hadn’t anticipated such a warm welcome either. He couldn’t help but find it rather funny.

In the end, the purple-robed middle-aged man in the tall hat stepped forth and said gravely, “Seems to me that our young friend is more than worthy of becoming a legacy disciple of the Church of the Pure One. Stop fighting, all of you!”

The Church of the Pure One!

The immortals were initially stunned, but then, they couldn’t help but sigh.

There was nothing for it. The factions behind them really couldn’t compare with a top sect like the Church of the Pure One.

The Church of the Pure One? Su Yi’s eyebrows rose as he recalled one of Wang Ye’s greatest enemies——

The Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign!