First Immortal of the Sword

After breaking through in the Daoless Domain, Su Yi’s Immeasurable Realm cultivation smoothly advanced into the Heavenly Fate Realm, letting him realize a thorough transformation inside and out, like a phoenix reborn amidst the flame.

His cultivation base had risen to a higher level. He’d grasped the mysteries of Heavenly Fate and established a Heavenly Fate Dao Root.

The most shocking change of all took place in the Epoch Spark.

Years prior, the Epoch Spark grew from a seed to a seedling, but now that Su Yi had broken into the Heavenly Fate Realm, it shot up. It was now a towering tree!

Its roots extended into his Sea of Chaos, its branches so enormous as to blanket the sky and blot out the sun. Its trunk and leaves flowed with a rain of chaos light, like a galaxy pouring down from above.

Every leaf was like the nascent outline of a new epoch civilization, wondrous and unfathomable.

And the tree’s roots had fused fully with Su Yi’s foundations in the Heavenly Fate Realm, to the point that there was no way of differentiating the two.

His soul avatar stood tall within his soul. All manner of Grand Daos manifested arcs of the natural order, revolving around it on all sides and illuminating his sea of consciousness!

Now that he’d reached the Heavenly Fate Realm, his soul avatar was like a supreme ruler presiding over Eternity.

Even the Sword of the Nine Hells had changed. It now hovered before his soul avatar, inscrutable, mysterious power emanating from its blade. It connected with the avatar in a wondrous, rhythmic resonance.

This meant Su Yi could now use the Sword of the Nine Hells with ease, simply by willing it.

The changes to his physical body were shocking, too.

His flesh and blood gave rise to a misty, inextinguishable aura, while all of his acupoints and meridians were now interconnected, miniature blessed grounds. His organs and viscera were now each practically a chaos source in their own right.

As his essence, qi, and spirit coursed through him, they circulated through countless blessed grounds, each like a miniature world, rumbling with the sound of the Grand Dao.

If Su Yi’s body was like a universe, each of the worlds of his meridians and acupoints was like a vast planet!

But it wasn’t just his cultivation base, soul, and body. Breaking into the Heavenly Fate Realm had transformed Su Yi’s heart, too.

His Natal Heart Lamp blazed like the sun, illuminating the Sea of the Heart.

His Heart Soul was increasingly dense, and it was now identical to Su Yi. It held the Contented Heart Scepter aloft in one hand, his Natal Heart Lamp hovering above its head with enough radiance to illuminate ages past and present.

This meant that his heart soul was already nearing its next breakthrough!

Cultivating the heart took place in stages. First came the Heart Soul, then the Light of the Heart, then the Natal Heart Lamp. The next stage was the Destiny Heart Avatar.

That was the stage Su Yi would reach when his heart next broke through.

The Destiny Heart Avatar fused the Heart Soul, Light of the Heart, and Natal Heart Lamp into one to create an avatar like one’s fundamental nature.

When the heart reached this level of attainment, it could wander freely throughout space, and one’s thoughts could extend throughout the ages. It was wondrous beyond measure.

Notably, cultivating a Destiny Heart Avatar required Nirvanic Power!

And the Nirvanic Destiny Lands on the third page of the Book of Destiny contained the Nirvanic Pool, which gave rise to Nirvanic Power.

The third section of the Spirit Platform Chapter was also in the Nirvanic Destiny Lands of the third page of the Book of Destiny.

All of this meant that when Su Yi next achieved a breakthrough in his cultivation of the heart, he’d be able to open the third page of the Book of Destiny with ease and glean insight into its secrets.

However, from Su Yi’s perspective, it was his combat strength that had undergone the greatest, most earth-shaking transformation.

Treasures he couldn’t fully use in the past were now suddenly useful to him, like the wooden sword, Nine in Third.

Now, when Su Yi submerged himself in the lake of destiny source power and entered a wondrous state of enlightenment, his vital source, the foundations of his life, transformed.

Life was the root of one’s existence!

When his vital source energies transformed, they nourished and strengthened Su Yi’s newly broken-through cultivation base.

It was a revelation too wondrous for words, a cleansing and evolution emanating from the very core of his being.

Time slipped by as Su Yi sat there, unmoving. Innumerable strange visions of the Grand Dao appeared around him.

Eventually, the Book of Destiny, Contented Heart Scepter, and Cauldron of Fate “ate their fill.” All of them fell dormant.

Only Su Yi was like a bottomless pit, absorbing destiny source power in an endless flow.

Half a month passed before Su Yi suddenly opened his eyes and vanished from the pool.

With a wave of his sleeves, the Book of Destiny, Contented Heart Scepter, and Cauldron of Fate flew into his sleeves.

He’d only just done this when the lake underwent a shocking transformation. Its lava-like currents suddenly spun, forming a massive, chaotic whirlpool.

Light and flame interwove at its base, and the aura of destiny flowed, creating a mysterious, void-like portal.

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. During his previous meditation, he’d sensed all manner of mysteries of destiny, repeatedly tempering and strengthening his vital source energy in the process.

But just now, his heart palpitated with fright, startling him out of his enlightenment. He immediately left the lake.

Then, this happened. Had he been even a little later, he’d have been swept into the whirlpool!

Before Su Yi could wrap his head around what had happened, an aged voice emanated from the whirlpool’s depths. “Xiao Jian, it’s been a long time since you left with the Book of Destiny. Have you grasped the mysteries of nirvana?”

Xiao Jian? Su Yi blinked in surprise. Don’t tell me that this was where Xiao Jian acquired the Book of Destiny?

He took a moment to steady himself, then asked, “Who are you?”

“Eh? You aren’t Xiao Jian? Then how did you earn the Book of Destiny’s recognition? No, I sense Xiao Jian’s presence on your person, and there’s no faking that.” The voice emanated from the depths once more, and a mysterious figure appeared within the void-like portal. He was peering at Su Yi.

Only now did Su Yi see the man clearly. He was tall and gaunt, and both his hair and beard reached his waist.

However, his eyes were as bright and clear as an infant’s, without the slightest contaminant. It was as if they could peer into the subtlest, deepest recesses of the human heart.

Who is this? Su Yi’s brow furrowed. Even if you’d hit him over the head, he would never have guessed that he’d encounter a mysterious person here, where the destiny source energies were hidden.

“Are you... Xiao Jian’s reincarnation?” asked the man.

Su Yi nodded, inwardly stunned. Just who is this guy? How did he figure out who I am?

The figure said softly, “That must mean that Xiao Jian never managed to gain enlightenment into the mysteries of nirvana, and he’s vanished completely...”

Su Yi nodded once more. Inwardly, he wasn’t the least bit calm. It seems he knows a lot of Xiao Jian’s secrets!

“It’s no wonder.” The figure sighed softly, then sank back into silence.

Su Yi couldn’t help but ask, “Were you and Xiao Jian familiar?”

“Of course!” said the figure without even pausing to think. “It was with my help that Xiao Jian acquired the Book of Destiny in the first place. Moreover, he promised to come back and save me once he’d fully grasped the book’s secrets!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but feel stunned. This information was far too startling.

The figure said, “Strange. If you’re Xiao Jian’s reincarnation, why don’t you know all this already?”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then decided not to hide it. “I’ve yet to fuse with his Dao Imprint and inherit his memories, as I hope to one day bring Xiao Jian back.”

The figure shook his head. “Ludicrous! Only one of you can live, so why speak of saving him? You cannot succeed, not even with the Book of Destiny!”

Su Yi said calmly, “The Book of Destiny might not be enough, but what of reincarnation?”

The figure fell silent. A long time passed before he finally said, “I don’t understand reincarnation, but I know that if you accept Xiao Jian’s Dao Imprint, you’ll be Xiao Jian. That would effectively grant Xiao Jian a second chance at life!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but feel disappointed. This mysterious figure obviously agreed that he had no hope of ever bringing Xiao Jian back.

Su Yi pondered briefly, then said directly, “I might be able to fulfill Xiao Jian’s promise to you on his behalf, but first, I’ll need you to help me understand a few things.”

The man said, “To tell the truth, you might be his reincarnation, but I’m not impressed. You’re far, far weaker than the Xiao Jian I knew back then.”

Su Yi said calmly, “I’m naturally different from Xiao Jian, but I possess powers he didn’t. Moreover, if I’m ever in a situation where I have no other choice, I can fuse with Xiao Jian’s Dao Imprint at any moment.”

He paused, then added, “Of course, if you refuse, that’s fine. Ultimately, this is between you and Xiao Jian.”

The figure fell silent for a while before saying, “Should the day come that you can grasp the secrets of nirvana on the Book of Destiny’s third page, I’ll naturally tell you everything you want to know.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. He could tell that the mysterious man didn’t trust him.

In the end, he just said, “Never mind that, then. Might you tell me your name and a little about this lake of destiny source power?”

The man sighed. “I’m trapped amidst endless tribulations, unable to escape, so why not... just call me ‘Prisoner’? That’s what Xiao Jian called me back then.”

He paused, then added, “The destiny source energy in the Abyss of Endless Tribulations is from the Source of the River of Destiny, the Sea of Chaos Tribulations.

“Beneath this lake lies an ancient spacetime portal to the Sea of Chaos Tribulations. That’s where I’m really trapped.

“There’s nothing but a single portal between us. At least, that’s how it looks. In truth, the portal is an incomparably taboo natural barrier. Only someone who’s grasped Destiny in its entirety can open it.

“But the Sea of Chaos Tribulations’ calamitous power can pass through the portal to enter the Abyss of Endless Tribulations.”

Su Yi finally understood. So that’s why the Abyss of Endless Tribulations is seen as the source of all calamities. In truth, its calamitous power comes from the Sea of Chaos Tribulations in the Source of the River of Destiny!

That’s what’s on the other side of the portal at the bottom of the lake!

Su Yi didn’t know what kind of place the Sea of Chaos Tribulations was, but he did know that if it was located in the Source of the River of Destiny, it had to be incomparably taboo.

The man who called himself “Prisoner” was imprisoned there. His origins were naturally terrifying, too!

After all, he’d been trapped there for countless years, yet here he was, still alive and waiting for Xiao Jian to save him. That was unbelievable in its own right.

As Su Yi’s thoughts raced, he asked a critical question. “Does that mean that the Book of Destiny originated in the Sea of Chaos Tribulations?”