First Immortal of the Sword

The Primordial Sword Devil took a moment to calm himself, then shared a secret of his own accord.

It turned out that the Sword-Testing Tower was a Heavenly Sovereign-level treasure of the Primordial Era. Its owner, a Heavenly Sovereign, had proven his Dao during the Primordial Era.

His title was “Wanjiang,” or “Myriad Territories!”

Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang was one of the strongest sword cultivators of the Primordial Era. Moreover, he controlled the Ashes of Spirit Edict, one of the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will.

The Sword-Testing Tower was a treasure he’d refined personally.

Jiang Wuchen had managed to acquire it in part because of his extraordinary good fortune. He’d happened upon this treasure by chance.

More importantly, he’d succeeded because the Sword-Testing Tower acknowledged him! Were that not the case, no one beneath the Heavenly Sovereign level could possibly have controlled such a high-level treasure.

Why had the Sword-Testing Tower acknowledged Jiang Wuchen?

The Primordial Sword Devil gave Su Yi an entirely unexpected answer—Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang wanted to possess Jiang Wuchen so that he might live again!

The Primordial Sword Devil’s eyes shone with strange light. “There’s only so much good fortune to be had in this world, and this is a Heavenly Sovereign’s secret treasure. How could it possibly be simple?

“The Sword-Testing Tower hides a wisp of Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul. He left this treasure behind in the hope that one day, he’d find a suitable host body. His goal was to find a host, then borrow their vital source to live again!

“Had Jiang Wuchen managed to defeat the imprint of Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul, his plans would naturally have come to naught. The Sword-Testing Tower would have become Jiang Wuchen’s for real.

“But there’s no getting around it; Jiang Wuchen was indeed blessed with extraordinary good fortune. Given his cultivation at the time, he was no match for Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang, but... Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang was nonetheless helpless against him.

Here, the Primordial Sword Devil sighed. “Not even Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang could have anticipated that Jiang Wuchen would carry a sword sufficient to suppress and intimidate him!

“It was that very sword that injured Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint at a critical juncture.

“Fortunately for Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang, Jiang Wuchen couldn’t truly control that Dao Sword. Thus, it merely injured Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint.

“This is why Jiang Wuchen can use the Sword-testing Tower despite never having learned its true nature,” said the Primordial Sword Devil. He let out a wistful sigh.

Su Yi, meanwhile, recalled an incident from the distant past. Long ago, when Jiang Wuchen had only just acquired the Sword-Testing Tower, he did indeed face a near-lethal crisis.

At the time, he was only in the Immeasurable Realm, so when a strange force in the tower ambushed his soul, there was no way he could fight back.

It was the Sword of the Nine Hells that had intervened at a critical juncture, neutralizing that utterly vicious soul attack.

Jiang Wuchen couldn’t make heads or tails of it, but he instinctively assumed it was one of the Sword-Testing Tower’s tests, and that it was by overcoming it that he’d earned the treasure’s recognition.

Now, when he heard the Primordial Sword Devil’s version of the story, Su Yi finally understood the truth.

That hadn’t been a test; Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint had tried to possess Jiang Wuchen, and if not for the Sword of the Nine Hells, he’d have succeeded!

That would have been a complete disaster for Jiang Wuchen!

Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh. The Sword of the Nine Hells really has done a lot for me. If not for its protection, my path of striving for greater heights amid the cycle of reincarnation would have ended at the hands of a Primordial Era Heavenly Sovereign long ago!

A moment later, something occurred to Su Yi. “Wait, you just said that Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint was badly injured and not completely destroyed?”

The Primordial Sword Devil nodded.

Su Yi had been facing away from him, but now, he whipped around and gazed directly at him. “Is the Heavenly Sovereign imprint on the thirteenth floor perhaps Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint?”

The Primordial Sword Devil hesitated. “I’ll tell you, but don’t get mad. You aren’t allowed to renege on our agreement, either!”

Su Yi blinked, then stared intently at him, his expression strange. “Don’t tell me that you’re Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint?”

The Primordial Soul Devil coughed dryly, then applauded. “Clever, clever. You managed to figure it out straight away! That’s right. They call this humble one ‘Wanjiang.’”

As his voice rang out, he took several steps back, creating distance between himself and Su Yi as if afraid that Su Yi would attack in a fit of rage.

Su Yi didn’t move. He just stared intently at the Primordial Sword Devil. “It really is you...”

He suddenly recalled the way the Primordial Sword Devil had lost his composure upon learning of his mastery of reincarnation, and the way he’d admitted that he hoped to borrow Su Yi’s hands to reverse death and life again.

All of this was for a second chance at life!

The Primordial Sword Devil sighed. “It’s because I thought it through that I’m willing to be honest with you. I hope you won’t take offense, and that you’ll let bygones be bygones!”

Su Yi stroked his jaw, then looked the Primordial Sword Devil up and down. “Does that mean all that talk of you surviving the joint pursuit of multiple Heavenly Sovereigns was made up?”

The Primordial Sword Devil shook his head. “That happened before I became a Heavenly Sovereign. I have no need to lie.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. “Then who is the Heavenly Sovereign imprint on the thirteenth floor?”

The Primordial Sword Devil smiled bashfully. “That’s also this humble one, but he’s an imprint of my power alone, with no awareness. He isn’t even worth mentioning.”

Su Yi didn’t know what to say. Can you really call this ‘humility?’ It’s obviously just blatant, shameless boasting!

Su Yi truly couldn’t even imagine that this black-robed, red-headed man was actually a Heavenly Sovereign.

He also found it all but impossible to connect him to the ethereal, extraordinary Heavenly Sovereign in a feather coat on the thirteenth floor.

“My young friend, are you still willing to help me?” the Primordial Sword Devil couldn’t help but ask, terrified that Su Yi would back out of their agreement and refuse to use the power of reincarnation to help him.

“Of course,” said Su Yi, not even pausing to think. “But are you sure you’re willing to risk accepting my help?”

The Primordial Sword Devil laughed bitterly. “I’ve been waiting since the Primordial Era. I don’t mind waiting until you’ve mastered the mysteries of ‘reversing death and granting new life.’ It’s enough so long as you don’t refuse to help me.”

With that, his expression filled with solemnity. “I swear to give you a reward beyond the bounds of your imagination!”

Su Yi wasn’t at all interested in that. “No need. It’s enough that you give me true ownership of the Sword-Testing Tower.”

No matter what, the tower was one of the Heart-Tempering Sword House’s most important treasures, and it had assisted its disciples enormously over the years.

It was the greatest trial ground in the sect.

“Easily done,” the Primordial Sword Devil said straightforwardly. “Actually, this treasure has belonged to Jiang Wuchen since the moment he acquired it.

“When you defeat the imprint on the thirteenth floor, you’ll be able to refine the tower’s source energies. Then, you’ll be able to control it fully.”

A strange light shone in his eyes. “You almost succeeded last time.”

Su Yi blinked. “You’re saying I came close to defeating that imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign last time?”

The Primordial Sword Devil nodded. “That’s indeed the case.”

Su Yi’s spirits soared. He’d been bitter about his failure, and he even suspected that he couldn’t shake that Heavenly Sovereign’s imprint at his current level.

Now, it seemed he’d obviously misjudged the situation!

The Primordial Sword Devil suddenly extended and flicked his finger.

A blood-red lotus shot toward Su Yi, then silently caught ablaze. In the end, it transformed into an ashen black bundle of flames.

“I can sense two of the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will on your person. If I’m not mistaken, they’re the Divine Hunt and Nine Luminaries Edicts.” The Primordial Sword Devil stretched out his hand, then held the little black bundle of flames over his palm. “This contains the fundamental mysteries of the Ashes of Spirit Edict.”

He sent the black flames flying over to Su Yi. “Consider this my apology. After all, I tried to possess Jiang Wuchen. I failed in the end, but I can’t deny that I made the attempt.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising.

The Primordial Sword Devil had told him that he was known as Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang in life, and that he’d mastered the Ashes of Spirit Edict.

There was no doubt about it. The Ashes of Spirit Edict was a Law of Heaven’s Will. It was the foundation of Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s Grand Dao!

But now, here he was, giving him this rare and precious Edict as an apology gift!

Of course Su Yi was surprised! How could he not be?

“Take it,” the Primordial Sword Devil said solemnly. “The Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will were all supreme powers of the Primordial Era. The more you’ve mastered when you become a Heavenly Sovereign, the better.”

He paused, then explained with a metaphor. “If an Eternal Throne is a boat, then the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will are materials used to improve the boat’s quality.

“They say that if you master all nine, you’ll be able to create a true, unsurpassed Eternal Throne, one that transcends all others!” The Primordial Sword Devil’s gaze was complicated, and he let out a melancholy sigh. “Unfortunately, the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will are just too rare. Even Heavenly Sovereigns might live and die without mastering a single one. Gathering all nine... Hah! It’s practically impossible!”

Su Yi’s heart churned at this shocking revelation. This was his first time hearing that the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will hid such a shocking secret.

At the same time, he finally understood why Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan had gone to such lengths to acquire the Divine Hunt Edict, going so far as to leave his clone in the mundane Huaihuang Empire for countless years.

It was simple. The Divine Hunt Edict was incomparably precious to Heavenly Sovereigns!

“I’ve got to say, your fortune is heaven-defying, too. You’re only in the Silent Realm, but you’ve already acquired three of the nine. If the other Heavenly Sovereigns knew about this...” Here, he trailed off, his gaze shifting. “There’s no way they’d spare you. They’d do everything in their power to capture you.”

“Does that include you?” asked Su Yi.

The Primordial Sword Devil laughed dryly and shook his head. “In life, yes, absolutely, but... at this point, I wouldn’t dare!”

Su Yi laughed, then accepted the Ashes of Spirit Edict. “I dare not refuse your generosity, Senior. Thank you!”

The Primordial Sword Devil smiled. “I’m just glad to be of assistance, my young friend.”

With that, Su Yi turned and left the Sword-Testing Tower without any further delays.

The Primordial Sword Devil let out a deep breath, then slowly took a seat on the blood-red lotus. The depths of his eyes shone with inscrutable light.

Reincarnation! That wondrous power has actually returned? Don’t tell me that mysterious prophecy circulating during the Primordial Era was true?

Two lines floated to the forefront of his mind.

“When reincarnation returns, so too shall the Devastation. All Daos will crumble into nothingness, and the days of old shall draw to a close!”