First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1757 - Demanding an Explanation

Play... play a tune? Lu Yang was gobsmacked.

Here he was, in the throes of terror and despair. Even if you’d hit him over the head, he would never have guessed that Su Yi would request such a thing at a time like this!

What’s the meaning of this? Is he trying to humiliate me? Surely he doesn’t just want to experience my attainments in the Dao of Music?

Lu Yang felt as if his heart were tied up in knots.

“Play, you idiot!” bellowed the Zhuyou Great Peng.

Lu Yang shuddered, then cast aside his reservations, sat cross-legged, placed his ancient zither on his knees, and rested his hands on its strings.

He closed his eyes, forced himself to calm down, then started strumming. Before long, music filled the air. It was full of panic and confusion, as if the zither were weeping and wailing, and it carried hints of grief and despair.

The Zhuyou Great Peng sneered. Still not as pleasant as the whistling of a lady Great Peng!

Suddenly, one of the strings snapped with an unpleasant splitting noise.

It was then that Su Yi said, “Thank you.”

Lu Yang was completely flummoxed. He had no idea what Su Yi was thinking.

Su Yi patiently explained, “I ought to thank you for pausing to leisurely play your zither here. If you hadn’t, I would've never made it in time.”

Lu Yang finally understood, but the realization was like a knife to the chest. He’s right! If I hadn’t wasted time here, how could this disaster have happened?

The more Lu Yang thought, the more stifled he felt. He was completely overcome.

The Zhuyou Great Peng burst into sputtering laughter. Indeed, when you kill someone, you have to kill their heart first! The Sovereign really is capable!

“I let you play one last song before your death. Take it as an expression of my thanks,” Su Yi said gently.

Lu Yang looked stricken. When he realized he wouldn’t escape disaster this time, he cast all reservations aside and roared, “We chased Qi Fufeng on our sect leader’s orders. You think you’re so bold, but do you dare to fight your way into the Endless Swords Immortal Sect?”

“Yes,” said Su Yi with a nod.

“....”

“I'm heading there right now, in fact. And if your Endless Swords Immortal Sect can’t give me a satisfactory explanation, I promise that the ground will run red with rivers of blood,” whispered Su Yi.

Qi Fufeng had been investigating the Bi’an Spirit Race’s demise, only for the Endless Swords Immortal Sect to chase him. Moreover, not long ago, they’d sent several of their Immortal Kings after Su Yi as well. How could Su Yi not be furious after all that?

“Just... who are you?” stammered Lu Yang.

“Su Yi.”

Boom!

Lu Yang felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. An explosion went off in his head.

Su Yi! So, it’s him!!

He finally understood. But before he could respond, a streak of sword qi flashed into being and pierced his skull. The ninth inner sect elder of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect died on the spot.

......

A bonfire blazed by the side of a cliff. Su Yi sat on the ground drinking and conversing with Qi Fufeng.

Qi Fufeng had arrived in the Wen Province a month prior, but after he started asking questions about the Bi’an Spirit Race, he inexplicably found himself targeted by experts of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect. They wanted to bring him to the sect for interrogation.

Naturally, Qi Fufeng didn’t agree to that, and conflict broke out.

Qi Fufeng fought with everything he had, getting injured in the process. After killing several of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect’s experts, he managed to flee.

Alas, the entire Wen Province was Endless Swords Immortal Sect territory. Qi Fufeng was surrounded and intercepted numerous times. He escaped repeatedly, only to be captured alive the night before outside Yellow Cloud Immortal City.

Not even Qi Fufeng understood why investigating the demise of the Bi’an Spirit Race had provoked the Endless Swords Immortal Sect.

“They must have a guilty conscience! They were afraid you’d uncover something!” cried the Zhuyou Great Peng. “In other words, the Endless Swords Immortal Sect was somehow involved in the Bi’an Spirit Race’s destruction!”

It was easy to reach this conclusion. After all, how could the Endless Swords Immortal Sect have attacked Qi Fufeng without good reason?

Su Yi silently took a sip of wine and looked Qi Fufeng up and down. “Tomorrow at dawn, I’ll bring you to the Endless Swords Immortal Sect and demand an explanation.”

With that, he rose, approached the cliffside, and gazed into the distant night sky with his hands behind his back.

Out of consideration for Xu Fushi, his dear friend from his past life, Su Yi wouldn’t lay hands on the Endless Swords Immortal Sect if there were any other options. But now, he had no choice. It wasn’t just about helping Qi Fufeng vent; he needed an explanation!

Even the Zhuyou Great Peng could tell that Su Yi was in a terrible mood.

......

Daybreak.

The Endless Swords Immortal Sect.

The Blue Firmament Divine Mountains were a row of thirty-six peaks linked by white jade bridges. The sect’s almost thirty thousand disciples had already begun their early morning sword practice.

Sword qi crisscrossed through the air like bolts of lightning.

The sect’s grand hall was built on its centermost peak.

Sect Leader Lei Yunting sat alone in the centermost seat, brow tightly furrowed; he’d been there for a full day and night.

When the first light of a new day poured into the hall, Lei Yunting suddenly realized that a whole night had passed.

“To me! Summon every high elder in the sect for a meeting!” Lei Yunting took a moment to steady himself, then issued orders.

About ten minutes later, thirteen high elders had gathered in the hall.

There had originally been sixteen of them, but not long ago, Yu Wenqi and two others left in pursuit of Su Yi, only to disappear into the Abyss of Dark Fog. There’d been no word of them since.

No one was optimistic about the possibility of their return.

“Three days prior, something big happened in the Buzhou Mountains. I’m sure you all heard the news,” Lei Yunting said gravely. “I want to know how you view the situation.”

He was short and scrawny, but his voice boomed throughout the hall. It was enough to intimidate the souls of all who heard it.

The high elders’ expressions filled with uncertainty. They naturally knew what the sect leader was referring to.

Over the past three days, the entire Immortal Realm had been in uproar over that very incident. It had caused unprecedented, enormous waves.

“Su Yi is still alive, but the Immortal Kings who chased him into the Abyss of Dark Fog have disappeared. This is unquestionable proof that the recent pursuit ended in failure. All nine participating factions’ Immortal Kings died in the attempt!” someone said gravely.

“The Church of All Spirits had a divine backer and several dozen Immortal Kings to oversee things. Their leader even had numerous treasures granted to him by his god. Nonetheless, Su Yi crushed them single-handedly. He might just be an Immortal Lord, but he’s obviously strong enough to kill Immortal Kings without difficulty!”

“That aside, I’m certain he has unknown cards up his sleeves. Whatever they are, they’re enough to contend with treasures bequeathed by a god. Otherwise, the Church of All Spirits could never have lost so badly.”

“Su Yi is just one person, but while Great Realm experts cannot enter the world, his strength is already sufficient to threaten any immortal faction around!”

“Terrifying! Truly terrifying!”

...Everyone was talking about what Su Yi had done over the past few months, and all of them looked solemn.

Suddenly, someone couldn’t help but ask, “How do you see this matter, Sect Leader?”

All eyes were instantly upon Lei Yunting.

Lei Yunting had remained silent this whole time, but now, it seemed he’d made his choice. “By this point, there’s no need to keep it from you. Su Yi.... is the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!”

The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!

The hall abruptly fell silent. Everyone felt as if someone had reached into their chests and squeezed their still-beating hearts.

All of them visibly lost their composure!!

“He... he really returned through reincarnation?” someone said in a quavering voice.

Another higher-up had an unsightly look on his face as he muttered, “But if he finds out about what we’ve done, I’m afraid...”

He left the rest unsaid, but many of his companions were nonetheless unable to stay calm!

When Lei Yunting saw this, he couldn’t help but feel a complicated mix of emotions. “The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign” was just a title, but the old-timers in attendance couldn’t stay calm after hearing it!

This was Wang Ye’s prestige. Even after disappearing for hundreds of thousands of years, the moment word of him appeared, the entire Immortal Realm shook. Even now, people paled at the mere mention of his name!

Lei Yunting took a deep breath and said gravely, “Everyone rest assured. I thoroughly prepared for this a long time ago!”

His eyes surged with murderous intent, and he was suddenly contemptuous and prideful. “Even if he single-handedly crushed the Church of All Spirits, even if he’s capable of killing Immortal Kings, and even if he’s the reincarnation of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign... if he dare step foot in the Endless Swords Immortal Sect, he’ll die beyond a doubt!”

Lei Yunting spoke with firm conviction and incontrovertible force.

The gathered higher-ups’ hearts shook. Lei Yunting’s confidence was infectious, and they felt much calmer.

“A reincarnation, that’s all. He isn’t what he once was. There’s truly no need for undue dread!” someone said solemnly. “After all, at his peak, what need would he have had to change his name and appearance? And why is it that even now, he dares not act as the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign?

“Many of the world’s top factions are his mortal enemies. Why hasn’t he sought revenge against them? Ultimately, it’s because now that he’s reincarnated, he just isn’t strong enough!”

The crowd was increasingly calm after hearing that. For all the weight of Wang Ye’s name, Su Yi was just his reincarnation. He might well be terrifying, but he wasn’t enough to make them panic.

“I suspect that even if he learns what we’ve done, he still won’t dare come here recklessly,” someone said with a cold laugh.

“I called you here today simply to tell you to prepare. Better to mend any holes in the roof before it rains. Only then can we eliminate all possibility of anything going awry,” Lei Yunting said gravely. “I’m going to take a trip to the hidden ground on the back mountain, visit Ancestor Shen Shang, and report what has happened. With him to oversee things, we have nothing to worry about!”

The crowd’s spirits soared.

Ancestor Shen Shang! A legend of the Dao of the Sword famous even prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals!

He was the pillar of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect. Over the past hundreds of thousands of years, his presence had enabled them to hold onto their spot as the greatest orthodoxy in the Wen Province. No one could shake their position!

......

Meanwhile, a few thousand miles away from the Endless Swords Immortal Sect.

The Zhuyou Great Peng began its descent and landed gently on the ground.

Su Yi hopped off its back and said, “When we arrive, take Qi Fufeng and wait for me outside the sect.”

“Got it!” said the Zhuyou Great Peng. A moment later, it said with eagerness, “Your Excellency, are you going to crush the Endless Swords Immortal Sect like you did the Church of All Spirits?”

“I’m here for an explanation, not to massacre the innocent,” said Su Yi. He shook his head. “Of course, if I’m displeased with their explanation, the Endless Swords Immortal Sect will pay a price greater than they can bear.”

As he spoke, he was already walking off. His blue robes fluttered in the wind, making him seem all the more extraordinary.