First Immortal of the Sword

The following morning, Su Yi left the inn alone and ventured into the Black Dragon Market to buy medicinal ingredients.

Qing Wei planned to follow him, but Su Yi told her to focus on contemplating the wondrous technique he’d given her and to prepare for tomorrow’s assembly instead.

I need medicine to satisfy my Cloud Soaring Realm cultivation, and to prepare for my breakthrough into immortality. I’ll need to be ready to temper my foundations. As Su Yi pondered, he strolled through the streets and alleyways.

Proving his Dao and becoming an immortal meant stepping onto an all-new path.

And the Universe Realm was the first realm of the Immortal Dao!

Even the tallest of trees started as a seed, and even a nine-story tower had its foundations in the earth.

His foundations in the Universe Realm would determine how far he could go down his path of cultivation.

And Su Yi was different from other people. The Dao he sought was unique and unprecedented, and his foundations in the Universe Realm would play a crucial role.

Su Yi had long since made up his mind. No matter what, I have to refine a Goldenmist Aperture-Cleansing Pill!

Of them, the Goldenmist Aperture-Cleansing Pill was the best for establishing one’s foundations in the Immortal Dao!

It was to the point that it seemed to violate a taboo; when the pill took shape, it triggered a terrifying pill tribulation!

Furthermore, it required an absolutely enormous quantity of medicinal ingredients, all of them rare and precious.

Thus, few could produce such a pill even among the greatest pill refiners of the Immortal Realm.

But to Su Yi, refining the pill would be no trouble at all. With a treasure like the Divine Replenishment Furnace on hand, the pill would be fine even if it triggered a pill tribulation.

“I need immortal medicinal ingredients, and I'm willing to pay generously for them.” Su Yi walked right into a medicine shop and stated his intentions directly.

By the time he’d left the medicine shop, he’d spent nine hundred immortal jades and acquired thirty-nine stalks of rare and precious medicine.

But this was far from enough.

Su Yi proceeded to visit several other medicine companies, one after another.

By nightfall, Su Yi had spent seven thousand immortal jades in total, and purchased close to two hundred types of immortal medicine.

The most expensive of them was the Thousand Tribulations Lightning Bamboo. It alone cost a thousand immortal jades, the equivalent of one hundred thousand immortal stones!

Alas, despite all his effort, he’d yet to assemble everything he needed to refine the Goldenmist Aperture-Cleansing Pill.

All that’s left is Golden Toad Shed Skin, Concentrated Profound Chill Dew, Auspicious Ivory Powder, Phoenix Marrow Leaf, and a Five Elements Treasure Lotus. Just five ingredients…

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. None of the five remaining ingredients were all that expensive, but they were extremely rare, to the point that they could only be happened upon by chance.

Earlier, Su Yi found a vendor who specialized in information, only to be told that of late, these five ingredients had seldom appeared in the Black Dragon Market.

Su Yi could only pause his search for now.

Still, he’d purchased an abundance of medicine suited to his current Cloud Soaring Realm cultivation, and that quite pleased him. He wouldn’t need to worry about fuelling his cultivation for the near future.

Suddenly, a shout drew Su Yi’s attention.

“Everyone, it’s time for the grand finale! Our last slave is top quality, and I’m looking for a high price. Get what I’m saying?”

“Is that kid really a descendant of the Bi’an Spirit Race?

……

Not far away, in a spacious square, there stood densely packed cages, each confining a slave awaiting sale.

A group of cultivators was currently clustered around one such cage and the youth confined inside.

The boy was covered in blood, and his hair was disheveled. Thin chains bound his neck, wrists, and ankles.

He looked like he was in his early teens at most. His clothes were ragged, and he sat there motionlessly, his head drooped. No one could see his features.

A mustached man in golden robes stood to the side and laughed. “If this little slave isn’t a descendant of the Bi’an Spirit Race, you can have my head!”

He paused, then said, “Everyone, you can go ahead and bid now.”

“Thirty immortal jades,” someone said to test the waters.

The price rapidly rose. At first, they were restrained, and their offers weren’t at all high.

But as the competition grew fiercer, the bidding soared to astronomical heights. Five hundred immortal jades, and the bidding wasn’t over.

The golden-robed man was smiling so broadly he couldn’t even close his mouth.

Meanwhile, Su Yi silently approached the cage.

The youth just sat there, head lowered, unmoving and listless. He was covered in wounds and smeared with blood.

When Su Yi sensed a familiar bloodline power emanating from him, his heart shook. An explosion went off in his mind, and a scene floated into view.

Beyond the Seventh Gate of Heaven, there was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Smoke and fire filled the air, and the relentless sound of combat shook both heaven and earth.

Countless cultivators fought, bathed in blood, locked in fierce combat with the forces of the demons of the Beyond.

A battered, bleeding old man stood atop the towering walls of the Seventh Gate of Heaven. He tightly held Wang Ye’s hand, and he spoke with great difficulty. “Sovereign, your subordinate has brought shame upon you…”

The old man’s expression was bleak, and his eyes were dim. “I wanted to fight by your side until every last one of those demon scum was dead and we’d secured the peace of the Immortal Realm, but…”

The old man laughed bitterly. “I’m not fated to see that day!!”

The rims of Wang Ye’s eyes reddened, and his heart filled with grief. He gnashed his teeth and said, “Ol’ Fang, I promise you I’ll kill every last one of those demon scum!”

The old man grinned. “Sovereign, in all my years of life, there’s nothing I take more pride in than my time fighting alongside you to protect the people of the Immortal Realm. To the Bi’an Spirit Race, whether young or old, men or women, it's an honor to die in battle!”

The old man suddenly coughed up blood. His entire body shook, and with the last of his strength, he rasped, “If possible, please scatter my ashes atop the Seventh Gate of Heaven. I want to protect this place even in death!”

Those were the old man’s last words.

He was a member of the Bi’an Spirit Race, and he’d followed Wang Ye in battle for thirty-nine thousand years, slaying countless enemies.

His name was Fang Xiu. His name came from the phrase, “I won't rest until I'm dead!”

Fang Xiu’s death was one of Wang Ye’s greatest regrets, and he’d carved it deep into his heart. Even years later, whenever he thought of how Fang Xiu had died protecting the Seventh Gate of Heaven, Wang Ye’s heart filled with grief.

Now, Wang Ye’s grief coursed through Su Yi’s heart like a tidal wave!

The sight of the youth in the cage was like a knife to the heart. Indescribable fury filled Su Yi’s chest, and the depths of his gaze ignited.

Under Fang Xiu’s leadership, the experts of the Bi’an Spirit Race had fought and died protecting the Seventh Gate of Heaven, braving untold danger to protect the peace of the Immortal Realm.

Yet now, one of their descendants was a slave in a cage, the lowest of the low, and someone was casually auctioning him off!

How ironic!

How absurd!

And…how humiliating!

“Eight hundred immortal jades! Anyone want to increase their bid?”

The competition was nearing its end, but the man in golden robes was delighted. This price was already more than he’d expected.

He scanned the surrounding area. When he saw Su Yi standing by the cage, he noticed that his expression was a bit off!

“Sir, if you’ve taken a fancy to the little slave, go ahead and bid,” laughed the golden-robed man. “Of course, that’s only if you can offer more than eight hundred immortal jades.”

Su Yi disregarded him. He just pressed his hand on the cage and pushed.

Weng!

The cage interior burst with radiant formation markings, stinging the eyes. A moment later, the bars exploded into pieces.

The unmoving, bloodied youth suddenly looked up. His eyes flashed with unearthly light, sharp as sabers leaving the scabbard. His gaze revealed deep-seated bloodlust and hatred, as if he were searching for someone to devour!

“What are you doing?” The golden-robed man was furious, and he immediately tried to intercept Su Yi.

Su Yi didn’t even look at him. He just shook his sleeves and sent the man in golden robes flying backward. He slammed to the ground several hundred feet away.

This development triggered an uproar throughout the surrounding area. A clamor of voices rose on all sides.

Countless bewildered gazes focused on Su Yi.

When the cage broke, the youth in tattered clothes shot to his feet and tried to scamper away.

But before he got far, Su Yi grabbed him by the shoulder.

His eyes filled with murderous intent, and he roared, “Let go of me!”

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here,” Su Yi said softly. “With your strength, you have no hope of escaping, so you might as well trust me.”

The youth’s expression shifted erratically, but in the end, he stopped struggling.

It wasn’t actually that he trusted Su Yi, but that he’d realized that he couldn’t escape Su Yi’s grasp.

“Bastard! Are you stealing my wares? Kill him!”

The golden-robed man bellowed, his expression hideously contorted.

Whoosh!

A group of experts shot over and charged directly at Su Yi. All of them seethed with murderous intent, and all of them were Cloud Soaring Realm Transcendents.

Su Yi’s eyes glinted with cold light, and his heart blazed with irrepressible fury. How could he possibly hold back?

The onlookers watched as he raised his hand and pressed down on the air.

Boom!

The sword qi filling the sky exploded and shot toward the charging Cloud Soaring Realm cultivators. Their bodies instantly exploded, staining the sky red.

A series of gasps rang out as this bloody, tyrannical scene left the onlookers stunned.

The blood-covered youth was stunned too. He silently tensed. After seeing this, he was even less willing to act recklessly

“You….” The golden-robed man was so stunned that his eyes practically popped out of their sockets. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Ol’ Huo, someone’s ruining the auction! And he killed our men!!”

Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, the imposing pressure of an immortal and a tall stalwart figure appeared out of nowhere.

A Universe Realm Immortal!

“Young man, this is the Black Dragon Market! You’ve already broken the rules. You no longer have a path to life!”

The tall man’s voice boomed like thunder as he attacked. A wave of murderous intent swept forth.

The bloodied youth instinctively tried to dodge, but the imposing pressure of an immortal was almost suffocating.

But then, he watched as a large, slender hand reached forward and grabbed.

Bang!!

The ferociously attacking Universe Realm Immortal exploded into pieces, offering no more resistance than paper window paneling.

The youth’s heart shook, and he fell into a daze.

The onlookers were left wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

Meanwhile, Su Yi turned and patted the bloodied youth on the shoulder. “Once I’ve asked a few questions, I’ll get you out of here.”

Seth's Thoughts

The Bi'an is one of the nine sons of the dragon king. From this article:

Bi’an (狴犴, pinyin: Bì Àn), the fourth son of the Dragon King, the guardian of justice and righteousness. He can be sometimes mistaken for a tiger, as his mouth seems to combine features of both, the dragon and the tiger. Courts and various justice related institutions often have his image carved over the entrances to remind all who enter of his watchful presence

Fang Xiu (方休) has the surname 方, which in literary Chinese, can mean "when a certain condition is met." You wouldn't use it that way in a normal sentence, but you'll see phrases like 一醉方休 (I won't stop until I'm drunk) or in this case, 至死方休 (I won't stop until I'm dead.)

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