First Immortal of the Sword

White Bone Swamp.

This was one of the most dangerous places in the Luo River Forbidden Zone; even Immortal Lords paled at the mention of its name.

The swamp was enormous and shrouded in perpetual murky gray mists. Its waters were full of skeletons and rotting corpses.

Moreover, countless terrifying departed souls lurked within the swamp!

“He managed to cross those danger zones all on his own to arrive safely at White Bone Swamp? Truly impressive!” exclaimed the young woman. She’d come here alongside her great uncle; she’d never have made it this far into the Midsummer Mountains otherwise.

She couldn’t even imagine how Su Yi had managed it.

“I can tell he came prepared. He’s no ordinary person.” The old man was surprised too. “But he has no hope of crossing White Bone Swamp.”

The girl couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”

“Because strange departed souls capable of threatening even Immortal Lords lurk within White Bone Swamp. Never mind a Universe Realm Immortal; even Void Realm True Immortals would face certain doom if they were foolish enough to enter,” the old man explained patiently. “That aside, the mist hovering over the swamp is called Spirit-Restricting Baleful Fog. It can suppress and restrict all types of treasures; it’s like a formation. That means that even if he has numerous cards up his sleeves, he won’t be able to use them in the swamp.”

The old man mulled it over, then nodded. “Very well.”

He’d long since realized that the young man in blue wasn’t simple. He was obviously an extraordinary genius. Furthermore, he’d crossed numerous danger zones alive to reach the swamp. That more than proved how impressive he was.

Furthermore, fate had let them cross paths several times over. The old man didn’t mind approaching him; he could just take it as establishing positive karma.

The girl walked over with a smile, her gait light and airy. “Hey, Handsome. We meet again!”

Isn’t she a bit too eager?! The old man hurried after her. He was at a loss for words.

Su Yi stood by the shore of the swamp, beside a withered tree. He turned to look at them and laughed. “Quite the coincidence.”

The girl giggled. “How about you come with us? White Bone Swamp is dangerous.”

The old man smiled too. “Meeting once is a coincidence, but meeting repeatedly is an act of fate. If you’re not opposed, you’re welcome to travel with us.”

Su Yi mulled it over, then nodded his agreement. He’d long since realized that these two were from the ancient Tang Family, one of the strongest factions of the modern-day Immortal Realm. Their foundations were firm enough to compete with the Church of the Pure One, Lotus Temple, the Church of Supreme Oneness, and other top orthodoxies.

“Let’s go.” The old man slipped a diagram from his sleeves and tossed it into the air. It instantly transformed into a glittering golden magic cloud that hovered over the group’s heads.”

A Golden Four Beasts Diagram. Su Yi recognized the diagram at a glance. It was an Immortal King-level treasure, wondrous and unfathomable. It could block and neutralize strange, inauspicious, and calamitous powers.

The old man then flew into the air and led the way over the swamp.

Whoosh~

Pale gray fog churned over the swamp, emanating a strange suppressive force. It tried to suppress the magic cloud hovering over the old man’s head.

However, when the baleful mists drew near, images of the four beasts—the Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon—surged forth with holy immortal light, dispersing the fog!

“Grand Uncle, I understand now. So, you brought the Golden Four Beasts Diagram along to help us cross the swamp,” said the girl.

The old man said casually, “The Midsummer Mountains are perilous and unpredictable. Even I wouldn’t dare come here without making ample preparations.”

“Oh,” said the girl. She turned to look at Su Yi. “What did you come to the Luo River Forbidden Zone for?”

The old man instantly pricked up his ears.

Su Yi said casually, “I want to have a look around the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night.”

“Ha, I knew it!” The girl giggled. “You’re after the academy’s good fortune too.”

When she shook her head, her twin buns shook. It was an adorable sight.

Su Yi laughed. “Good fortune is secondary. I’m more curious to know how and why the academy fell during the Age of Fallen Immortals and what happened to its experts.”

“All of that happened a long, long time ago,” the girl said dismissively. “The details have been lost to history. Even if clues remain, I’m afraid you won’t be able to learn anything.”

She paused. “Right. Why investigate all that?”

“Because I refuse to believe that the catastrophe of the Age of Fallen Immortals was enough to destroy the Academy of Eternal Night,” said Su Yi. “There’ve got to be secrets behind it all.”

When he heard that, the old man couldn’t help but be surprised. He took another look at Su Yi. He’s only in his twenties. Why is he so interested in such ancient history?

The girl was confused too. “Even if there are secrets to be uncovered, what would they have to do with you?”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. He laughed, “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you, so I won’t bother.”

“....” The girl pursed her lips and grumbled, “If you don’t want to tell us, fine. I’m not interested anyway.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. She’s quite lively, with the mischievous charm of a girl next door. It’s hard not to like her.

The old man suddenly furrowed his brow. “It’s strange. We’ve ventured this far into the swamp, but aside from the Spirit-Restricting Baleful Fog, we haven’t encountered any danger.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “Grand Uncle, isn’t that a good thing? Don’t tell me you won’t feel assured until the souls of the dead emerge from the swamp to attack us?”

The old man paused, then snapped, “You don’t understand anything! I just think it’s strange. It’s not at all that I want to encounter danger!”

Su Yi chuckled as he took this in. Was this strange? No, not at all. With him here, how could any of the strange departed spirits dare to attack?

But he didn’t explain. There was no need.

When the group reached the heart of the swamp, a sharp noise whooshed toward them from behind. The air split as a bronze spear hurtled toward them.

The old man stiffened, then immediately moved Su Yi and the girl out of its path.

Boom!

The surface of the swamp exploded. Countless bones rose within its churning waters, and the entire area shook violently.

The old man’s expression was unsightly. He gnashed his teeth. “Those bastards! Are they trying to use the spirits to kill us?”

He whipped around and gazed into the distance, his eyes flashing like cold lightning.

But he discovered nothing at all.

The girl said in bewilderment, “Grand Uncle, do you mean that that spear wasn’t targeting us, and that it was intended to break the swamp’s peace and lure the evil spirits out of hiding so that they could deal with us instead?”

“That’s right.” The old man nodded. He was seething with murderous intent.

“That’s despicable!” the girl shouted in fury.

Su Yi, meanwhile, gazed into the swamp’s depths, the light in his eyes distant and inscrutable. A subtle hint of a mysterious marking appeared.

At his waist, a black jade pendant swayed.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the enormous swamp, dark, shadowy figures quivered with fright and unease.

They came in all shapes and sizes. Some were humanoid, others bestial or shaped like trees and grasses. All of them emanated a dense aura of death.

However, these strange, departed spirits were all too terrified to show themselves.

It was only after confirming this that Su Yi retracted his gaze.

The girl quickly realized that something was amiss. “Uh, Grand Uncle, why aren’t there any spirits even after all that commotion? It’s just too strange. Are they fast asleep? Or are we just ridiculously lucky?”

The old man was quite surprised. He was completely on guard and ready for battle, terrified that hordes of strange departed spirits could attack at any moment.

Who’d have thought no such thing would happen?

Boom!

Suddenly, yet another bronze spear whooshed over from afar, like a glittering meteorite. It slammed into White Bone Swamp, stirring up massive waves.

There was no doubt about it. The one hiding in the shadows had obviously realized that something wasn’t right here, and he’d decided to attack again.

Alas, neither the old man nor the young woman could figure out who the culprit was.

“Come on, let’s get out of here before we do anything else.” The old man’s face was overcast as he led the girl and Su Yi out of the swamp in a hurry.

Along the way, he was jumpy and alert. However, they made it out of the swamp without encountering any danger whatsoever.

The old man couldn’t help but feel bewildered. Don’t tell me the strange departed souls have all been destroyed?

Meanwhile, the girl gnashed her teeth. “Grand Uncle, let’s wait here and see just who was so despicable as to ambush us from the shadows!”

The old man didn’t even pause to think. “Let’s!”

He had a bellyful of fire too. Earlier, at the White Bone Swamp, they’d been tricked twice. If not for those strange departed spirits never revealing themselves, the consequences would have been unimaginable!

But now, they’d already crossed the White Bone Swamp. There was no further need to worry about any of that.

Su Yi said nothing. He just gazed into the distance.

Meanwhile——

Two figures appeared on the banks of the White Bone Swamp. The leader was a thin old man in black with sunken eyes glinting with unearthly light. His entire body emanated sinister, terrifying Immortal Lord energy.

A youth was accompanying him.

“Have all of those departed souls been destroyed? I can’t believe they didn’t even try to intercept Tang Lingqi,” the old man in black said with a frown.

The youth couldn’t help but interject, “Elder, since the swamp is no longer dangerous, let’s hurry! If we arrive late, others will beat us to the legacies of the Academy of Eternal Night!”

“Don’t you think Tang Lingqi will be waiting for us on the far shore?” the old man in black laughed. “After all, if anything unexpected happened, they’d have been doomed. After such a shock, I’m sure the old man’s furious!”

The youth couldn’t help but laugh.

“But you’re right. The most important item on the agenda is crossing the White Bone Swamp as quickly as possible.”

The old man in black made a decision, then led the youth straight into the air over White Bone Swamp. They encountered no danger along the way.

Well, that was until they arrived at the heart of the swamp, and something unexpected happened.

Seth's Thoughts

Tang Bao'er calls Su Yi "小哥" or "little older brother." There's no real English equivalent, and the meaning is somewhat context-dependent. Parents use it to refer to kids a bit older than their kid, ie "go play with your little older brother."

Young people use it to "refer to a handsome man about their age." Or a "beautiful woman" about their age if you swap 小哥(哥) for 小姐姐. It's kinda nuanced. If you care, you can read more about it on quora.

I considered going with "brother" but went with "handsome" to differentiate it from everyone else who calls Su Yi some variant of "brother."

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