First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1598 - The Bodhi Bell

Sword light shot in all directions, its scattered radiance completely illuminating the night sky.

The lady sword cultivator gripped a sword with pinewood grain as radiant as the light of dawn. With every slash, a waterfall of sword light burst forth.

She was beautiful to the extreme, pure as ice or jade, with an extraordinary, ethereal air about her.

But when she struck, she was forceful and tyrannical. She repeatedly forced that heretical Immortal Lord back, and his injuries rapidly piled on.

“That lady sword immortal is incredible!” Fang Han gasped. Fang Yourong and Liang Wenyu were beside themselves with astonishment too.

Despite her Void Realm cultivation, she fought so ferociously that an Immortal Lord almost couldn’t take it. She was sure to have extraordinary origins!

“I know who that is! That’s the greatest True Immortal of Mount Buzhou’s Jadelight Pure Lands, Ying Xiu. She’s the unrivaled genius in first place on the Void Realm True Immortal Rankings!” exclaimed Xue Hongfeng.

Ying Xiu!

An immortal maiden famous throughout the forty-nine provinces of the Immortal Realm. Her talent would have shone in any era, and she was one of the few Holy Maidens of the Jadelight Pure Lands!

“So, that’s her.” Liang Wenyu looked enlightened. There was no doubt about it; he’d heard of her before.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. He looked a bit dazed.

The moment he saw Ying Xiu swing her sword beneath the night sky, he recalled an old friend.

Ying Shanxue!

She was once a top expert comparable to Immortal Sovereign Xing Zhao, a woman who’d reached the very pinnacle of the Immortal Dao!

The Jadelight Heaven-Reflecting Incantation, a Nine Purities Combat Physique, the Ancient Pinecloud Sword.... Indeed, it’s just as I thought. She’s got to be a junior of Ying Shanxue’s clan, thought Su Yi.

When he first read through the names and backgrounds of the top hundred experts of the Void Realm True Immortal Ranking, he guessed that Ying Xiu was related to Ying Shanxue.

Now that he saw her in person, he was certain of it.

But Su Yi was also certain that it was no coincidence that he’d bumped into her and that heretical cultivator here tonight.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the heretical cultivator Ying Xie was forcing back retreated and charged at Su Yi and company instead.

“Chase me, and I’ll kill those people!” the man in blood-colored robes bellowed.

There was no doubt about it; he had no tricks left. When he saw Su Yi and the others watching from afar, he decided to use them as leverage to threaten his opponent.

Ying Xiu immediately gave chase and shouted a warning. “Hurry and get out of the way!”

But Su Yi didn’t retreat. Xue Hongfeng, Fang Han, and the others were calm too. If anything, when they looked at their would-be assailant, their gazes were a bit pitying.

Whoosh!

The heretical cultivator appeared out of nowhere and charged at Su Yi, who was standing at the head of the treasure ship.

“Be careful!” Ying Xiu cried out.

But a moment later, she was dumbstruck.

The man in blue just stretched out his hand and grabbed the heretical cultivator by the throat, then held him aloft as he might a chicken.

“This...” Ying Xiu’s bright eyes widened.

And the heretical cultivator in blood-colored robes panicked. He would never have thought srandom passerby, a young man in his twenties, would be a deeply hidden expert!

Crunch!

Before he could wrap his head around it, Su Yi snapped his neck. The man’s body crumbled into pieces, and his ashes scattered to the wind.

Su Yi then turned to look at Ying Xiu. “When you fight, you ought to strike with full force and eradicate your foe. Just now, you were overly defensive and insufficiently aggressive. Although you were on guard against his death throes, you left him an opportunity to escape. You really shouldn’t have.”

Ying Xiu was stunned. A moment passed before she realized that the young man in blue was rebuking her, and she couldn't help but look a bit uncomfortable.

After taking a moment to steady herself, she clasped her fist in greeting. “Many thanks for helpingkill that scoundrel, fellow Daoist.”

Her voice was music to the ears, like the burbling of a clear stream.

Ying Xiu was a full-on stunner to begin with, as pretty as a picture. Despite her simple white clothing, and despite just standing there casually, her delicate figure and extraordinary looks let her outshine everything around her.

Xue Hongfeng could no longer suppress his excitement. “Celestial Ying Xiu, I’m your biggest fan! I’ve admired you for a long time, but alas, fate never let us cross paths until today. I’m overcwith delight that I finally got the chance to see your magnificence for myself.”

“....” Xue Hongfeng's companions were stunned.

Ying Xiu was a bit stunned too. She looked Xue Hongfeng over and said, “Empty titles, that’s all. I’m afraid your praise is exaggerated.”

Xue Hongfeng shook his head. “Don’t be modest. Who in the Immortal Realm doesn’t know that you’re the greatest expert of the Void Realm True Immortal Rankings? And who doesn’t know of your extraordinary talent for the Dao of the Sword?”

His expression was full of fervent admiration, and he wasn’t at all stingy with his praises.

Ying Xiu was a bit uncomfortable. Who is this guy? We just bumped into each other by chance. Isn’t this a bit much?

A moment later, she was stunned.

The crisp sound of a bell emanated from her wrist.

There was indeed a bell there. It was only about the size of an apricot pit, and it was pitch black throughout and held in place by a red string bracelet.

The black bell was swaying and emanating ripple-like Dao Markings.

Ying Xiu abruptly raised her head and examined the group before locking onto Su Yi. Her fair, picturesque face filled with astonishment.

“You...” She was just about to say something, but before she could finish her question, Su Yi told the others to give them privacy.

The group considerately moved further away.

“Let’s chat on the ship.” Su Yi took out his wicker chair and sprawled out.

Ying Xiu’s beautiful face shifted erratically, as if she were astonished and delighted, yet too afraid to believe her senses. Her emotions were completely in disarray.

A little while later, she took a deep breath, apologized for the disruption, and stepped on board.

Her skin was smooth and fair, and her eyebrows were delicate. Her dark hair was casually tied up, further emphasizing the moving beauty of her face. Even rarer, she had an extraordinary, ethereal quality and a tall, slender figure. Her every gesture made her seem as if she’d walked out of a painting.

But when Su Yi saw this unrivaled beauty, he couldn’t help but recall that phoenix-like beauty who’d once stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao: Ying Shanxue!

Ying Xiu bore a striking resemblance to her, yet she was completely distinctive, too.

Ying Shanxue was aloof and cold as ice, as sharp and imposing as her sword, but Ying Xue was ethereal and elegant, like the pure, radiant moon shining far above the masses.

“Who sent you to find me?” Su Yi stroked his jaw, his bearing leisurely.

“It was...” Ying Xiu was about to answer when she paused, stunned, as if she still couldn’t quite believe it. “Don’t tellyou’re really...”

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re one of Ying Shanxue’s juniors, yet you don’t dare admit who I am?”

He looked at the black bell hanging from her wrist and sighed. “Besides, after she proved her Dao and entered the Great Realm, she used a Bodhi seed to refine that Bodhi Bell. It’s even sensed my aura.”

The Bodhi Bell.

This was a wondrous treasure Ying Shanxue had refined personally. It could wipe away all scattered thoughts, strengthening the heart and suppressing heart devils and other malevolent forces.

When cultivating, the Bodhi Bell could help cultivators enter a wondrous state of deep enlightenment with ease. It was too wondrous for words.

And the Bodhi seed Ying Shanxue had used to refine the bell had been given to her by Wang Ye!

Ying Xiu exclaimed, “You really are the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!?”

Su Yi laughed dryly. “Didn’t you cto the White Reed Province with the Bodhi Bell on your wrist to find me? Why act so surprised?”

Ying Xiu sheepishly lowered her head. “Don’t fault me, Senior. I dare say with certainty that anyone of the present day would lose their composure upon realizing your identity.”

The Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign!

The greatest expert of the Dao of the Sword, the man who’d stood at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm! One of the greatest experts at the peak of the Immortal Dao!

There were far, far too many stories about him.

The long Age of Fallen Immortals had transformed the Immortal Realm, but legends of the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign still circulated to this day!

Who could possibly have remained truly calm and composed in the face of such a legend?

A little while passed before Ying Xiu started to clear her head.

Even so, when she looked at Su Yi, this beauty at the pinnacle of the Void Realm True Immortal Rankings couldn’t help but look reserved and reverent.

“It’s as you say, Senior. I was ordered to chere to look for you,” said Ying Xiu in her pleasant voice.

Before long, Su Yi understood the full story.

When he first ascended to the Immortal Realm, Qi Fufeng told him that he wouldn’t be able to seal off word of what had happened at the Ascension Grounds, not even if he killed every last expert loyal to the Church of the Pure One.

The reason for this was simple. The Jadelight Pure Lands of Mount Buzhou had a secret art known as Mind Calling. With it, they’d be able to recreate and manifest everything that had happened from the traces the battle had left behind.

And indeed, Qi Fufeng’s warning had beca reality.

Not long after word of what had happened at White Deer Mountain’s Ascension Pool spread, the Jadelight Pure Lands sent Ying Xiu to investigate. She’d used Mind Calling to recreate the battle.

However, the scenery was indistinct.

Still, she learned enough that her master, Immortal King Kong Ye, realized that the “ascendant” the Church of the Pure One was looking for was almost certainly Wang Ye’s reincarnation!

Immortal King Kong Ye didn’t reveal this publicly because it was still just a guess, and there was no way to confirm it.

Furthermore, everything related to the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign was like a taboo; Immortal King Kong Ye dared not divulge this lightly.

Thus, he sent his closed-door disciple, Ying Xiu, to investigate with her clan’s ancestral treasure, the Bodhi Bell.

Ying Xiu went on to visit the Jing Province’s Sky Tripod Immortal City. After learning the details of what had happened at the Seven Stars Immortal Assembly, she visited the Mirror Lake, where she learned that Su Yi had killed the Formless Demon Li Fenghan.

After gathering these leads, Ying Xiu picked up on Su Yi’s trail and followed him here, leading to this encounter.

But it was ultimately thanks to the Bodhi Bell that she’d been able to find him; she’d sensed a thread of a premonition that guided her to the right spot!

Su Yi didn’t find any of this surprising.

The Bodhi tree seed the bells were crafted from was a Xiantian divine lifeform born of chaos. It was full of wondrous fortune and karmic power.

When Wang Ye obtained the seed, its power of fortune and karma touched him. Even after Ying Shanxue refined it into a finished Bodhi Bell, it could still somehow sense Wang Ye’s presence!