First Immortal of the Sword

Her own flesh and blood was kneeling before her, begging her to betray her sect!

Luo Yan had never even imagined such a thing.

For a moment, she stood there in a daze, her heart in knots, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

“A’Yan, Yun’er has already knelt and begged you. He wants us to reunite as a family. Are you... really cruel enough to just ignore him?” Ling Wenxuan sighed. “The Malevolent Sword Venerate is dead, and the Heart-Tempering Sword House has been destroyed. You’re Sect Leader Lu Ye’s junior apprentice sister, so you have every right to vie for the Cauldron of Fate. Even if you don’t care about yourself, you ought to at least consider Yun’er, right?”

Luo Yan’s mind buzzed. She was utterly disconsolate.

She didn’t care at all about anything Ling Wenxuan was saying, but now, her son was kneeling before her. That, she couldn’t disregard.

For a moment, she couldn’t help but doubt herself. Am I really neglecting my responsibilities as a mother?

Suddenly, the kneeling Ling Moyun said gravely, “Mother, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Refuse, and I swear to sever our relationship once and for all!”

Boom!

Luo Yan’s heart shook. Indescribable fury and horror arose in her heart. She bit down on her lip, stared at the kneeling Ling Moyun, and stammered, “What... what are you saying? You’re going to... sever our relationship?”

Ling Moyun looked up and met her gaze. “What good is a mother who thinks the Heart-Tempering Sword House matters more than Father and I?”

Luo Yan’s anger overwhelmed her. Everything went black, and blood gushed from her lips. Indescribable anger and disappointment blew up, rising from the depths of her heart like a volcanic eruption.

Despite herself, her heart was in turmoil.

It was then that a wisp of silver light exploded into being, then took advantage of Luo Yan’s distracted state to burrow into her forehead, right between the eyes.

Luo Yan’s heart was instantly in agony. She was stunned.

Her keen senses detected an unfamiliar, strange power in the landscape of her heart, but when she tried to sense it in more detail, she couldn’t locate it.

“Success!” someone said with a soft laugh.

A rain of light fell, like falling flower petals, and a woman appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed in black, with long, narrow eyes, hair cropped just below her ears, and charming features.

Most striking of all, she had a silver spirit serpent imprint on the center of her forehead.

“Greetings, Your Excellency Qing!” Ling Wenxuan went up to greet her. The kneeling Ling Moyun scrambled to his feet and hurriedly followed suit.

“Your Excellency Qing, did you really succeed already?” Ling Moyun gazed at her with undisguised reverence bordering on fanaticism.

This was Panwu Qing, a mysterious existence from the Far Shore of Destiny with a lofty, illustrious status.

The silver spirit serpent on her forehead marked her as a member of the Panwu Family, the ancient chaos race that ruled over the Panwu Yao Domain!

In the Xuanli Celestial Capital, even Heavenly Sovereign Ling treated Panwu Qing with the utmost respect!

A chill coursed through Luo Yan. She instantly regained her mental clarity and realized that something wasn’t right here.

“Of course I succeeded,” Panwu Qing said with a grin. “I’ve placed a Heart-Swallowing Worm inside her. Now, all I have to do is use a certain secret technique, and I can manipulate her awareness at will. Moreover, I can ensure that no one senses it.”

She looked at Ling Wenxuan and Ling Moyun. “I couldn’t have done it without your help. Her heart is typically unassailable; I could never have found such an opportunity if you hadn’t pushed her hard enough to create an opening for me to exploit.”

A... Heart-Swallowing Worm? She’s going to use it to control me? Luo Yan instantly understood. “So, you two didn’t really come here to convince me of anything. You were really just helping that woman crack open my heart!”

Ling Wenxuan’s gaze was cold and indifferent. “There’s nothing for it. I know that with your cold, aloof nature, there was no way you’d agree to anything no matter how much we begged you. We could only resort to underhanded means.”

Ling Moyun said expressionlessly, “Father, don’t make me kneel to that woman again. I won’t call her ‘mother’ ever again!”

Ling Wenxuan said calmly, “She’s your birth mother, and blood is thicker than water. She’s your mother whether you acknowledge her or not.”

Ling Moyun’s expression darkened. “You were the one who raised me from a young age, and it was Grandfather who taught me to cultivate. There’s no room in my heart for a mother like her!”

Every word was like a knife in Luo Yan’s heart. She clenched her fists and stood there in a daze, the world spinning around her, too shocked to even speak.

Is this how my own flesh and blood really feels?

Ling Wenxuan smiled and clapped his son on the shoulder. “Good boy! All that effort your grandfather and I put into you hasn’t gone to waste!”

“If you have anything else to say, hurry up. I’m setting course for the Divine Wandering Continent in just two hours’ time, and I’ll be taking her with me,” Panwu Qing suddenly warned.

Ling Wenxuan smiled and shook his head. “I have nothing left to say.”

He couldn’t even be bothered to look at Luo Yan.

“I feel the same way, Your Excellency,” Ling Moyun said solemnly.

Panwu Qing teased, “Aren’t you worried that your mother will die?”

Ling Moyun didn’t even pause to think. “If she dies, she dies. There’s no room for her in my heart!”

Panwu Qing couldn’t help but laugh. “The kid sure is ruthless! He’s sure to make something of himself one day!”

Luo Yan’s face was as white as a sheet of paper, and she felt chills in her hands and feet. Her gaze was vacant, and the light faded from her eyes. This... is the child I thought of day and night? Even... even if he didn’t grow up by my side, and even if there’s no bond between us, how... could he say something so cruel and heartless?

Suddenly, Luo Yan realized something. “You didn’t trick me just to acquire the Cauldron of Fate, did you?”

Panwu Qing blinked, then looked at her in surprise. “You really are a natural-born talent for the Dao blessed with an Ethereal Lotus Heart. Without that father and son’s help, I’d have had little hope of ever finding the opening I needed to place the Heart-Swallowing Worm.”

The Ethereal Lotus Heart was an incomparably rare talent of the heart. Those who had it were said to be immune to external influence. Nothing could affect their thinking!

After a brief pause, Panwu Qing laughed. “You’re right. The Cauldron of Fate is important, but it isn’t overly precious to me. I’m using you to get closer to Su Yi; you’re the pawn I’m placing by his side. As for my ultimate goal...”

She flashed Luo Yan a mysterious smile. “I’m not at liberty to divulge it.”

Luo Yan pursed her lips, her gaze dull. She understood. Ultimately, the moment she fell into Heavenly Sovereign Ling’s hands, she was doomed to become a pawn.

Now that her master had returned through the cycle of reincarnation, it was time to put her to use.

Ling Wenxuan had pursued her even when his father put pressure on him, and he’d done so much for her, but it was all for the sake of deceiving and exploiting her.

“You cannot seek death. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try it,” Panwu Qing said playfully.

Luo Yan’s last line of mental defense broke. She fell into a daze, her hopes turning to ash. Two lines of tears streamed from her hollowed-out gaze, but it was unclear just who she was crying for.

“How unsightly. Father, let’s go. We shouldn’t delay Her Excellency Qing’s affairs, and I don’t want to see any more of that woman.” Ling Moyun shook his head.

Ling Wenxuan smiled and led him away.

But it was then that a muffled impact emanated from beyond the Xuanli Sect’s gates. Immediately afterward, the ground shook, and the formations covering the sect churned, stirring up a rain of formation light.

Everyone in the Xuanli Sect was startled. What’s going on? Don’t tell me that someone is trying to force their way through our gates?

Everyone in the sect found the very idea of it absurd. After all, this was the Xuanli Celestial Capital! Moreover, it was the ancestral grounds of the Xuanli Sect, a Heavenly-Sovereign faction!

Throughout the ages, when had anyone ever been so brazen as to barge through the Xuanli Sect’s gates?

Even if someone wanted to throw their life away, there were far better ways to do it!

Ling Wenxuan and Ling Moyun were unwittingly stunned, too.

Panwu Qing clucked her tongue. “Tch, tch. I wouldn’t have guessed that anyone would be so bold as to invade the Xuanli Sect. They’re causing such a commotion, too.”

She’d only just said this when a horrifying scene unfolded.

A giant hand bore through all of the sect’s formations, tearing open a massive hole!

A raging current of destructive power poured in through the opening, washing over the sect and destroying countless buildings.

Startled cries arose on all sides, and infuriated roars shook heaven and earth.

“Who the hell is trying to force their way into the Xuanli Sect?”

“Hurry! An enemy is at our gate!"

Meanwhile, a calm, dignified, aged voice went off like a thunderclap, booming throughout the Xuanli Sect.

“Where is Heavenly Sovereign Ling? Give up Luo Yan of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, or I’ll flatten the entire sect!”

A massive hand appeared accompanying this voice. It grabbed both sides of the hole in the sect’s formations, then ripped.

Crack!

A waterfall of light scattered as a massive rift spread through the sect’s defensive formations.

It was as if the sky was falling. Countless onlookers’ hair stood on end, and they were visibly overcome with astonishment.

The defensive formations of the Xuanli Sect were enough to stave off the attacks of even a Heavenly Sovereign!

Throughout the ages, none had ever managed to shake them!

Yet now, someone had effortlessly torn a hole right through them! Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

Ling Wenxuan, Ling Moyun, and the others looked stricken. This isn’t good. The mysterious figure at our gates is here for Luo Yan!

Panwu Qing frowned. “What arrogance! But then, judging by his aura, he does seem rather extraordinary...”

Meanwhile, everyone in the Xuanli Sect saw a grand figure hovering outside the hole in their formations.

He was a smooth-faced old man in a feather coat. His whole body billowed with monstrous, blood-red light, its crimson glow reflecting an illusory Qiongqi standing atop a river of stars, supporting the firmament on its back. Its majesty was terrifying beyond measure.

This was none other than the Qiongqi Mountain Lord!

As soon as he arrived, he barged right through the Xuanli Sect’s gates with no thought for anything else!

Luo Yan saw him too, but she felt only bewilderment. Who is this? Don’t tell me that Master sent him?

A hint of light returned to her hollowed-out gaze as hope reignited in her heart.

Panwu Qing noticed, then laughed coldly. “Give up. The Heart-Swallowing Worm has already invaded your body. No one, no matter who, can save you now!”