First Immortal of the Sword

Barrenwood Island.

A massive island in the far reaches of the Eastern Sea.

Churning waves surged over from afar, slamming the surrounding reef and spraying snow-white droplets. The sound was like the low rumble of thunder.

Numerous groups were clustered on the shore. The various camps were distributed throughout the area.

Their ranks included numerous Immortal Kings of Jade Firmament Immortal Palace, Floating Mountain, and Penglai Immortal Island.

Them aside, there were members of the ancient races that made the Eastern Sea their home, like the Kui Ox and Ba Serpents. Even the weakest of these experts was an early-stage Immortal King.

It was no exaggeration to say that you could pick anyone here at random and find someone capable of shaking the Eastern Sea with a stomp of their foot.

But now, all of these prominent experts had withdrawn their auras, and all of them were perfectly polite. Rather, they drew no attention to themselves whatsoever.

This was because the true stars of the show, the ones who really drew attention, were the divine children who’d come here from the God Domain!

Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, Gongyang Yu, and the others were each surrounded by the Immortal Kings of prominent factions.

The Immortal Kings were like stars clustered around the moon. This only made the divine children seem all the more extraordinary.

In truth, by now, the divine children’s identities were no longer a secret. The prominent experts and top factions of the Eastern Sea knew them already; there was no keeping something like this under wraps.

The reason was simple. All of the divine children had been ushered into the Immortal Realm by prominent factions. Even if they tried to prevent word from spreading, there was no hiding it from those prominent experts in the know.

……

Two experts of the Giant Whale Spirit Race were there too: the Great Martial Stage Jing Cheng and Immortal King Jing Hongyu.

“High Elder, are preparations complete on your end?” Jing Hongyu solemnly transmitted.

They’d invited several prominent experts of the Immortal Realm in addition to peak experts of the Eastern Sea’s top factions!

However, when they set off for the ruins of the Dragon Palace, the factions of the Eastern Seas and the factions of the Immortal Realm would act separately. Jing Cheng and Jing Hongyu would only be responsible for leading the experts of the Eastern Seas to the Dragon Palace.

“Rest assured,” said Jing Cheng, but he didn’t explain.

Men died for wealth, and birds died for food. That wasn’t just true among ordinary mortals. It was true among cultivators too, wasn’t it?

The good fortune of the Dragon Palace had stirred countless hearts and invited countless covetous glances, but when they reached the ruins, a bloody catastrophe was inevitable.

Jing Cheng knew this full well, and he dared say with certainty that the experts of the other participating factions knew it too.

Even so, no one wanted to give up. This was a battle for good fortune... and fortune and disaster went hand in hand!

As the leaders of this expedition, the Giant Whale Spirit Race had long since begun preparations. They were confident that they wouldn’t be the ones reduced to mere cannon fodder!

“Fellow Daoist Jing Cheng, how much longer until we set off?” someone asked.

You’re really in a rush to die, huh? Jing Cheng laughed to himself, but out loud, he said, “Fellow Daoists Xi Ning and Li Xuanjun have yet to arrive. We’ll set off as soon as they get here.”

……

Meanwhile, Qing Xiao, Jin Zhuliu, Gongyang Yu, Qing Wu, and Qin Jianshu had clustered together.

“Once we’ve entered the ruins, we have to seize control of Jing Cheng and Jing Hongyu before we do anything else,” transmitted Qing Xiao, his hands behind his back as he swept his gaze across the group. “That way, even if they’re up to something, they’ll have no choice but to be good and cooperate.”

The others nodded.

The Giant Whale Spirit Race had ventured into the ruins in search of good fortune numerous times already. They understood the ruins better than any of them.

If the Giant Whales had ill intentions for them on this operation, it really would be troublesome.

Conversely, if they seized control of the two Giant Whale experts immediately, that would benefit them enormously. At the very least, it would give them an edge over the competition!

“I’ll leave that up to you, Brother Jin. Is that alright?” Qing Xiao looked at Jin Zhuliu.

“A trivial matter,” Jin Zhuliu said with a smile.

Qin Xiao then moved on to the next item on the agenda. “That aside, we have to capture that Li Xuanjun person as soon as possible. He’s the only one capable of deciphering the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace. With him under our control, we’ll be able to learn many of the Dragon Palace’s secrets.”

Gongyang Yu frowned. “But he’s Xi Ning’s subordinate. I’m afraid capturing him won’t be easy.”

He instinctively glanced at the silent, sullen Qin Jianshu.

Just a few days prior, they’d worked with Qing Xiao to restrict Xi Ning’s movements, all for the sake of giving Qin Juanshu an opportunity to go to the Blood Whirlpool Zone and capture Li Xuanjun.

None of them would have guessed that Qin Jianshu would fail, much less that his servant, Xue Kuiyun, would die because of divine misfortune.

All of them were displeased with this result, but they could see that it had taken a heavy toll on Qin Jianshu. He’d been sullen and silent ever since.

They’d tried asking what had happened to him, but Qin Jianshu didn’t have much to say. All he said was that Li Xuanjun was not to be underestimated, and that even Great Martial Stage experts would struggle to take him down.

After all, how could Qin Jianshu willingly tell others about something so humiliating?

Qin Jianshu took a deep breath, suppressed his frustration and hatred, and said solemnly, “If you want to capture Li Xuanjun, you’d best be careful.”

Qing Xiao nodded. “After we’ve entered the ruins of the Dragon Palace, Miss Qing Wu and I will work together to restrict Xi Ning. You go with Brother Gongyang to capture Li Xuanjun.”

He patted Qin Jianshu on the shoulder and said, “When the time comes, please don’t act willfully and take Li Xuanjun’s life. He’s going to be enormously useful during this operation. You can do with him as you please once this is over.”

Qin Jianshu hadn't told the others how terrifying and troublesome of an opponent Li Xuanjun was, nor did he describe how frustrating and infuriating their battle had been. He hadn't even told them that it was Li Xuanjun, not divine misfortune, who'd struck the final blow against Xue Kuiyin.

Thus, when he heard Qing Xiao casually ask him to fight Li Xuanjun with Gongyang Yu, Qin Jianshu’s first impulse was to refuse.

He sighed, and said, “Brother Qing, I’m afraid I cannot control my hatred. I might well kill Li Xuanjun out of fury. Better to have someone else help Brother Gongyang fight him.”

Although he said this, he wasn’t at all pleased with himself. He was a lofty and distinguished divine son, yet here he was, too afraid to battle. This was unquestionably an enormous humiliation.

But rationality told him that he had to refuse Qing Xiao’s orders. Otherwise…

Qin Jianshu shook his head and gave the matter no further thought.

Qing Xiao seemed to understand. “Very well. You and I can hold back Xi Ning. Miss Qing Wu and Brother Gongyang Yu can take down Li Xuanjun.”

Qing Wu and Gongyang Yu nodded in agreement.

Qin Jianshu inexplicably sighed in relief, but a moment later, his heart filled with shame. What the hell is wrong with me? Why did hearing that soothe my nerves? This is… just too humiliating!!

Qin Jianshu felt like his heart was tied in knots, and he sank into a stifled silence.

But none of the others could sense his shifting emotions.

Qing Xiao then moved on to the third item on the agenda. “There will be others like us on this expedition. They’re working with prominent factions of the Immortal Realm, and we’ll inevitably run into them in the ruins. We have to take precautions…

He’d only just said this when the area exploded into uproar, interrupting what he was about to say.

“Divine Daughter Xi Ning is here!”

“Is the young man accompanying her perhaps Li Xuanjun, the one who can read the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace?”

…Everyone on Barrenwood Island was looking in the same place.

A little boat rode in on the waves. Three figures stood on board.

Su Yi, Xi Ning, and Fan Zhui.

Jing Cheng of the Giant Whale Spirit Race approached and greeted them with a smile. “We’ve been waiting for you, Fellow Daoists!”

Before long, Su Yi and his companions disembarked on Barrenwood Island.

Perhaps because he could decipher the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace, Su Yi kept a low profile, but he still attracted a lot of attention.

“Li Xuanjun!” Qin Jianshu’s expression darkened, and his old grudge rose to the surface. He longed for nothing more than to skin Li Xuanjun and devour him alive, here and now.

Qing Wu’s beautiful eyes flashed, and she said gently, “Early-stage Miracle Realm cultivation? It seems Li Xuanjun hasn’t just hidden his appearance. He’s hiding his cultivation base, too!”

“I’m sure that’s the case,” said Jin Zhuliu. “Otherwise, how could Brother Qin’s servant have been forced to use her Great Unity stage cultivation, resulting in her brutal death by divine misfortune?”

Qin Jianshu felt as if someone had stabbed him in the gut, and he barely resisted the urge to curse. Can you please stop bringing that up?

Qing Jianshu frowned. “Strange. Why does that guy seem somehow… familiar?”

Familiar? The others were stunned. They had no idea what to make of that.

Gongyang Yu smiled. “It’s simple. I’ll have a look at his true appearance. Perhaps that will give us a few hints to work with.”

As he spoke, his eyes silently transformed into twin whirlpools and surged with strange wisps of purple talisman markings. Then, he fixed his gaze on the distant Su Yi.

The Purple Void Heaven-Spying Technique!

This was a supremely wondrous and taboo divine ability. Gongyang Yu used the power of his bloodline to activate it. With it, he could see through all falsehoods and disguises!

But the distant Su Yi immediately looked over, as if he had precognition, and a cold, clear voice rang out.

“Impudent!”

It was just one word, but it was full of the imposing power of the Grand Dao. When the crowd heard it, they didn’t sense anything in particular, but when it reached Gongyang Yu’s ears, his soul shook, and a splitting pain in his skull left him seeing stars.

He was affected precisely because he’d only just used the Purple Void Heaven-Spying Technique.

“Gongyang Yu, who gave you the gall to spy on my companion?” Xi Ning said icily. Her ethereal, extraordinary aura was full of imposing majesty.

Su Yi couldn’t help but take another look at her. I wouldn’t have guessed that this seemingly tranquil woman would be so imposing and majestic when she's angry. Furthermore, she immediately shut down Gongyang Yu’s attempts to spy on me.

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh over her sheer domineeringness.

This woman really knows how to rise to the occasion!

He truly couldn’t help but admire her.