First Immortal of the Sword

Su Yi emerged from the Sword-Testing Tower, but inwardly, he couldn’t stay calm.

To think that the Primordial Sword Devil was actually Heavenly Sovereign Wanjiang’s soul imprint!

The secrets of the Nine Edicts of Heaven’s Will shocked Su Yi, too.

A Heavenly Sovereign’s awareness was hidden in the Sword-Testing Tower this entire time, but neither Jiang Wuchen nor the Malevolent Sword Venerate ever realized... Su Yi thought to himself. The Primordial Sword Devil would never have been so honest with me if not for the power of reincarnation.

It seems I’ve got to put more effort into grasping the mysteries of reincarnation.

Over the course of this lifetime’s cultivation, his mastery of the Grand Dao of Reincarnation had changed and transformed on numerous occasions. However, of late, he’d seldom used it.

For one thing, there was little need for it. For another, every time he used it, he revealed his identity.

But now, the Primordial Sword Devil had helped him realize something. If reincarnation can restore a soul imprint to life... could it perhaps help Xiao Jian reverse death, too?

He felt especially confident because he controlled the Book of Destiny, too. He could try combining the book’s power with his powers of reincarnation. Perhaps that might be enough to bring Xiao Jian back!

After pondering for a while, Su Yi sat cross-legged and started contemplating the Ashes of Spirit Edict.

Everything in all of creation had a spirit, from the smallest blades of grass to the stars and moons of the night sky. It wasn’t just living beings; that was true of even the myriad Daos of heaven and earth and all worldly phenomena.

The mysteries of the Ashes of Spirit Edict were connected to the spirits of all facets of creation, as well as the spirits of all living beings.

Upon grasping the Ashes of Spirit Edict, Su Yi would be able to sense the spirit of all things and see through the fundamental nature of all facets of creation. He could also easily gather the source energies of these spirits and direct them toward his own ends.

But the most terrifying part of the Ashes of Spirit lay in its ability to remove and devour all spirits, then refine them into ash!

If he used this power to kill his enemies, he could instantly strip them of their spiritual nature and soul, then refine both into ash.

He’d also be able to determine whether an object was spiritual at a glance, even when others could not.

The mysteries of the Ashes of Spirit Edict were part of the Laws of Heaven’s Will. Although they were different from the mysteries of the Nine Luminaries and Divine Hunt, they too were supreme.

Su Yi quieted his heart and contemplated them. Before long, he’d grasped some of the Ashes of Spirit Edict’s mysteries.

However, a full day passed before he gained preliminary control over this power. Even then, he was only in the early stages of mastery and far from achieving any real level of skill.

Even so, Su Yi now understood on a visceral level just how unbelievable this Edict was.

Now, when he looked at the Sword-Testing Tower, he sensed a “spirit” he hadn’t been able to before. It was dense and billowing, ancient and vast, like a towering divine mountain standing atop the nine heavens. It seemed distant and unapproachable.

This was the spirit of a Heavenly Sovereign-level secret treasure!

Su Yi then took out the Book of Destiny and examined it with the power of the Ashes of Spirit Edict. He soon discovered that its spirit was incomparably strange and inscrutable, withdrawn, and as formless as chaos itself. It was difficult to describe.

Su Yi repeated the process with his other treasures. Without exception, he sensed more of their “spirits” than he had before.

This reminded Su Yi of Lian Yue, the genius of the Court of the Southern Heavens. She had a divine ability capable of peering into the landscape of others’ hearts.

It wasn’t quite the same, but it was nonetheless similar to what the Ashes of Spirit Edict did.

Su Yi was quite satisfied with his harvest.

The Divine Hunt Edict was primarily used for trapping and suppression, while the Nine Luminaries Edict presided over sin and calamity.

The Ashes of Spirit Edict’s uses were deeper and more wondrous. It could sense the spirits of all things, then refine them into ash!

Su Yi left the forbidden grounds that very day.

Sect Leader Lu Ye and the sect’s old monsters sensed him immediately, and all of them rushed over to deliver a report.

“Master, tomorrow, you’re visiting the Aberrants tomorrow. Might I go with you?” volunteered Sect Leader Lu Ye.

Su Yi shook his head. “You’re the leader of the sect, so you’d best stay here to oversee things. Let Wu Qing lead the way.”

Wu Qing blinked, stunned, then looked gratified. “I shall assiduously carry out your orders, Founder!”

Su Yi nodded. Wu Qing was the first member of the Heart-Tempering Sword House that Su Yi had met in this lifetime, not long after he’d arrived in the River of Destiny. Wu Qing had left a deep impression on him, in part because of his connection to Pu Xuan.

“Come on, let’s go start the third trial,” Su Yi said with enthusiasm.

The Malevolent Sword Venerate had decreed that Su Yi must undergo three trials to earn the Heart-Tempering Sword House’s recognition. Now, he’d already passed two of the three.

The group was stunned. Wait, he still wants to take the test? The founder obviously doesn’t take tomorrow’s trip to Aberrant territory the least bit seriously! If he did, there’s no way he’d be in any mood to think about the trials at a time like this!

But then, if this was what Su Yi wanted, the others saw no reason to refuse, especially since the third trial was extraordinarily simple. There was no need for him to fight or undergo any sort of arduous challenge.

The group promptly set off, proceeding to the halfway point of Candlelight Peak. Here, a tunnel led into the bowels of the earth, with an enormous space at the bottom covered by a formation.

A ten-thousand-foot mountain stood in the center of this enormous space.

This was the Sword Mountain!

Its slopes were covered in thousands of swords of all varieties: flying swords, broken swords, short swords, bronze swords, wooden swords, among others. All of them were different.

Jiang Wuchen had found the primary materials used to construct Sword Mountain in an oceanic abyss in the Eastern Sea. The body of the mountain contained a Profound Magnetic Dao Vein, which was inestimably useful for forging swords.

The Sword Mountain had extraordinary significance to the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

Whenever one of their forebears died in battle, no matter their strength or seniority, their sword was retrieved, then sealed on the slopes of the Sword Mountain.

Any swords the sect’s fallen members collected over the course of their lives were similarly sealed on the slopes for future generations of disciples to use.

That included swords collected as trophies after they killed their enemies.

Over the course of countless years, the number of swords covering the slopes had increased. There were now over ten thousand of them!

Of course, they didn’t just seal any old weapon. The swords of the fallen were placed here unconditionally, but every other sword worthy of a place here was extraordinary. Pick any one at random, and it was sure to have extraordinary origins.

Su Yi stood before the Sword Mountain. Despite himself, his eyes filled with reminiscence.

To the Heart-Tempering Sword House, the Sword Mountain was a symbol. It represented the essence, qi, and spirit of the entire sect!

Sword cultivators had no awe of heaven and earth. They bowed to no one, and when they sought the Dao of the Sword, they placed all of their faith in the sword in their hands.

Thus, every weapon on the Sword Mountain represented a sword cultivator’s convictions!

Over the course of his life, Jiang Wuchen gathered numerous famous swords from all over the world. Some, he gave away, but he sealed most of them on the Sword Mountain.

He kept only his personal weapon, Starry Descent, for himself.

A sword descends, and ten thousand stars prostrate themselves before it!

It was one of the three most famous Heavenly Monarch-level swords in the Eternal Heavens Domain!

However, after Jiang Wuchen’s death, the Malevolent Sword Venerate claimed Starry Descent for himself.

Su Yi swept his gaze over the swords. Countless memories floated to the surface of his sea of consciousness.

Some of the swords had been there for a long, long time, but most were new and unfamiliar. They’d presumably been sealed there after Jiang Wuchen entered the cycle of reincarnation.

Suddenly, Su Yi’s gaze stopped on the bamboo sword at the foot of the mountain. It was three feet long, the color of jade, with a scorch mark on the hilt. Its blade was embedded in a crack in the rock.

It looked far plainer than the other weapons. There was nothing overtly special about it.

However, this was the sword that Jiang Wuchen had carried when he founded the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

The sword had a distinctive name: Proper Conduct.

If a man lacked proper conduct, what need did he have to go on living?

Proper conduct was the essence of propriety. Those without it might as well drop dead.

It was obvious from the sword’s name that Jiang Wuchen really was a cultivated gentleman among sword cultivators.

The sword Proper Conduct looked ordinary, but in truth, it was made of an extraordinarily rare material: the “ancestral root” of a stalk of Spring and Autumn Spirit Firmament Bamboo.

Spring and Autumn Spirit Firmament Bamboo was a rare plant rooted in the River of Destiny. Its ancestral roots were even rarer, but they were a supreme divine material used to refine treasures fit for Heavenly Monarchs.

This type of bamboo contained naturally formed Dao Markings and Spirit Firmament Astral Lightning Origin power. It had an utterly destructive, terrifying aura.

To those yet to achieve Eternity, Spirit Firmament Astral Lightning Power was more terrifying than the lightning of divine punishment. All who touched it were doomed!

However, for Eternals, Spirit Firmament Astral Lightning Power was both useful for killing enemies and for tempering their hearts.

And treasures useful for tempering the heart were rare indeed.

Back then, Jiang Wuchen used one such ancestral root to craft the Proper Conduct bamboo sword.

He had a sword in hand, the proper conduct of a cultivated gentleman, and nothing to fear between heaven and earth!

This sword was full of Jiang Wuchen’s memories from the days before he founded the Heart-Tempering Sword House. When he built the Sword Mountain, he left it behind. It now served as the Sword Mountain’s foundations.

After a while, Su Yi retracted his gaze, took a sip of wine, and said, “To pass the third test, I have to reveal my sword force, and it needs to resonate with all thirteen thousand, two hundred and sixteen swords sealed on the Sword Mountain. Is that right?”

Sect Leader Lu Ye nodded. “That’s right.”

“Has anyone ever done that before?” asked Su Yi.

The others exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

Every last sword on those slopes was extraordinary and distinctive, just like the people who’d once wielded them. All had their own dispositions and preferences.

Making all of them resonate at once was like asking them all to agree to accept the same master; it was far, far too difficult.

“Let’s begin then,” said Su Yi. He put away his jug of wine, then stood there, unmoving. Sword intent rose from his tall, upright figure, then spread throughout heaven and earth.

The Sword Mountain shook, but not one of the innumerable swords covering its slopes wailed. They didn’t even utter a peep.

Everyone was unwittingly flabbergasted. What’s going on? The founder’s terrifying sword force wasn’t enough to resonate with even one of those swords?

They’d only just thought this when an unbelievable scene played out.

Every last sword sealed on the slopes broke free in unison, then flew into the air. It was a spectacular sight.

The dense swarm of swords then flew toward Su Yi, hilts tilted toward him, edges and points facing away from him. It was as if all of them were simultaneously bowing in greeting.

Then, every last sword hummed at once. Their clanging hums echoed throughout heaven and earth, seemingly without end.