First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 6 - A Chance Encounter on the Riverbank

A vast river flowed swiftly outside of Guangling City, its waters ten thousand feet across.

This was the Great Azure River, the longest river in Cloudriver Prefecture, which twisted and turned across thousands of miles. 

It was currently early in the morning. 

Su Yi was clad in blue cloth, traveling north along the banks of the Great Azure. 

As he walked, he sensed the changes in the ambient spiritual energy. He surveyed the landscape and inspected the heavenly and earthly phenomena. 

This was the geomancy of wind and water, “Feng shui.” 

Although Su Yi currently had no cultivation, he still had the experience and outlook of his past life. 

Thus, as he strolled past mountains and rivers, he could discern the shifts in spiritual energy distribution. It differed everywhere you went.

He walked over ten miles along the river. Finally, he stopped in place, a hint of satisfaction in his gaze.

Before him stood an enormous stretch of mountains, the peaks closely clustered together and shrouded in mist year-round. 

The Azurecloud Mountains. 

They stretched for eight hundred miles along the banks of the Great Azure.

If I go any further, I’ll enter the Azurecloud Mountains’ ‘Mother Ghost Ridge’, the place the people of Guangling City tremble whenever they speak of…. Su Yi stood with his hands behind his back and gazed into the distance. 

Mother Ghost Ridge had been seen as a land of mysterious dangers for years. 

Rumor had it that, a long time ago, it had been the site of a brutal battle. The malevolent yin energy was so dense that, apparently, vicious apparitions emerged from its forests on a regular basis.

Most of the ghost stories circulated throughout Guangling City involved Mother Ghost Ridge.

The mountains are locked in yin energies, and the malevolent fog cannot disperse. This really is a ‘blessed land’ for producing violent ghosts.

After a moment, Su Yi retracted his gaze and sighed to himself, It’s a pity that I still don’t have any cultivation. Otherwise, I could go in, look around, and grab a few vicious ghosts to help me search the mountains for spiritual medicines. Then, I wouldn’t have to go to all this trouble to find a secluded cultivation site outside city limits…

This world really did have ghosts! 

Furthermore, Su Yi knew that ghosts were divided into categories: yin spirits, haunts, specters, and phantasms. 

In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, the “Ghost Emperor of the Western Seas” was the most mysterious ghost of all. He started out as an ordinary ghost born on an ancient battlefield, only to become a legend among ghost cultivators. 

Although the spiritual energy here is still rather sparse, at my current level, it’s plenty. In the end, Su Yi decided to cultivate here.

This was a mulberry grove adjacent to the Great Azure riverbed. The Azurecloud Mountains stood before him. Both the winds and waters flowed into the mountains, a place where rivers converged. It was, albeit barely, a “spiritual ground.” 

Wind drifted by. The flow of spiritual energy in the air was pleasant and relaxing. 

Haaah~! Su Li let out a long breath of turbid air. His mind and body gradually turned clear and ethereal, like a full moon against blue skies.

Then, he gradually took up his stance and began practicing the Pine and Crane Body Refining art. 

It really is different from cultivating in the Wen Family estate…. Just a few seconds later, Su Yi noticed that within a hundred meters around him, wisp after wisp of sparse spiritual energy was flowing towards him and fusing into his body.

It was as silent and nourishing as a spring breeze and gentle rain.

His blood and energy mellowed, yet they felt full and vibrant, as if they were rejoicing. He felt an abundance of vitality. 

Su Yi cast aside his scattered thoughts and immersed himself in his cultivation, forgetting himself completely.

Before long, the sun was high in the sky. It was already noon.

Su Yi had cultivated for a full six hours!

Fortunately, this mulberry grove was extremely remote, and due to its close proximity to Mother Ghost Ridge, people rarely visited. No one had disrupted Su Yi’s cultivation.

Pop!

Suddenly, a crisp sound emanated from Su Yi’s bones and tendons, as if he were chiseling out the barriers within his physical form. His blood and qi coursed through him like a surging river.

His body now resembled an ancient pine, towering into the heavens!

And his boiling, vibrant blood and qi resembled an immortal crane beating its wings, roaming about the blue skies utterly at ease. He brimmed with profound, indescribable charm. 

The pine and crane, suitable in stillness and movement. Truth and illusion mutually interconnected, both form and meaning!

At this moment, Su Yi fully grasped the essence and charm of the Pine and Crane Body Refining Technique.

This also marked his entrance into the early stage of the Blood Circulation Realm!

Blood Circulation was the first realm of the Martial Dao, the beginning of cultivation, the foundation of the Great Dao. It was subdivided into four layers: Refining Skin, Refining Muscle, Refining Sinew, and Refining Bone.

Now, one year after losing everything, Su Yi had a cultivation once more!

Clang!

A familiar sword hum reverberated through Su Yi’s sea of consciousness, revealing delight and excitement. 

The Sword of the Nine Hells!

“Are you happy for me too…..?” Su Yi’s expression subtly shifted. 

In his past life, the Sword of the Nine Hells had accompanied him from the moment he first started cultivating. It was by his side as he fought grand battles and pursued the Dao.

But even just before his reincarnation and with the terrifying “Profound Unity Realm” cultivation that struck terror into the hearts of the Wilds, he couldn’t see through the Sword of the Nine Hells’ true nature or discern its secrets.

Its origin.

Its nine seals, its divine shackles.

Its mysterious hues.

Su Yi could set aside the fame and vast wealth he’d accumulated over the course of his lifetime.

The only thing he couldn’t give up was the Sword of the Nine Hells!

Thus, before his reincarnation, Su Yi didn’t hesitate to seal his lifetime of memories within the blade and have it reincarnate alongside him.

His sword was his life; he couldn’t part from it!

Before long, Su Yi shook his head, calmed his heart, and examined his changes. “Breathing in spiritual energy as I cultivate really makes an enormous difference.”

After reawakening his memories, he’d spent three days bitterly cultivating within the Wen Family estate.

But even added together, his three full days of work paled in comparison to the six hours he’d spent cultivating by the banks of the Great Azure. 

The difference was night and day!

“If I cultivate here, it’ll only take me three days to reach the pinnacle of the ‘Refining Skin’ stage.” 

As soon as this thought occurred to him, Su Yi shook his head. If all I have to do is increase my cultivation boundary, it’ll be as easy as turning over my palm. But I reincarnated to cultivate afresh in pursuit of a dao that transcends my past life!

With every step I take, I have to ensure that my cultivation is solid and stable. I have to strengthen my foundations.

Su Yi warned himself, Whatever I do, I cannot be impatient.

Blood Circulation was the first realm of the Martial Dao.

This was the most fundamental realm, as well as the most important. The foundation he established here would influence his future path and determine how far down it he could walk.

He was using the Pine and Crane Body Refining Art to ensure that, in the Four Realms of the Martial Dao, he hammered out a foundation that far surpassed his former self at the same stage!

Unfortunately, I don’t have a penny to my name. If I had enough money, I could buy some herbal medicines. Then, after a day’s cultivation, I could soak in a medicinal bath and refine the medicines’ essences. That would improve and enhance my physique even further.

Going forward, I’ll have to find an opportunity to earn a little money….

Just as Su Yi was mulling over his future cultivation, he heard a burst of violent coughing drift in on the wind. 

Su Yi turned towards Mother Ghost Ridge and saw two distant figures walking towards him, an old man in long robes, and a young woman clad in purple. 

The long-robed elder’s steps were weak, and his gaunt face was pallid. As he walked, he coughed so violently, he could barely breathe.

The young woman in purple walked by his side, her radiant, egg-shaped face fraught with concern. 

Her purple clothes fluttered about, and a white jade belt wrapped around her waist. She was tall and slender, with an exceptional figure.

Even more unusual, she had an uncommon, distinct air of nobility.

Both the old man and the girl are clearly long-accustomed to rank and power. Su Yi glanced at them, then looked away.

However, just as he was about to leave, he paused, then turned to look at the long-robed elder once more. 

He instantly discovered something, and despite himself, a hint of bewilderment flashed through his eyes. 

Both the elder and the girl had long since noticed Su Yi. At first, neither of them paid him any heed.

But when Su Yi turned back around to re-examine the elder, the girl couldn’t help but frown. A gloomy look came over her beautiful face. “Sly and shifty. One look, and I can tell he’s no good!”

Her pretty features frosted over, and she glared at Su Yi.

He was stunned. This girl’s got quite the temper!

“Zi Jin, don’t be rude. No matter how worried you are about my injuries, you can’t vent your anger on the innocent.” The long-robed elder’s voice was gentle and kindly. “As you conduct your affairs, subdue yourself and observe propriety. If it’s not proper, don’t say it. Only then can your spirit remain calm, and only then can you avoid the pitfalls of the heart’s six thieves.”

The girl he called Zi Jin grimaced. “Grandpa, your wounds are so severe, yet you’re still lecturing me? How could I possibly be in the mood to listen?”

The elder couldn’t help but laugh. Then, he turned to Su Yi and briefly cupped his fist. “My young friend, if we offended you, I humbly request your forgiveness.”

As he spoke, he suddenly broke into another violent bout of coughing. The veins bulged on his forehead; it was as if he were about to hack up a lung. 

“Grandpa, you shouldn’t talk anymore!” Zi Jin’s pretty face was frantic and fraught with worry. She carefully took her grandfather’s arm and helped him up. “Once we get back to the city, I’ll find the best physician around to treat your wounds.”

It was then that Su Yi interjected, “With wounds like that, an ordinary physician won’t be able to save you. If you delay any longer, you’re certain to succumb to your injuries within three days.”

Zi Jin was so mad, her eyes bulged, and she roared, “What gall! Are you cursing my grandfather to die?”

The elder, however, merely grimaced. “Zi Jin, he’s right. My wounds are all but untreatable.”

“That….” It was as if she’d been struck by lightning. Zi Jin sunk into despair, and her voice quivered, “Grandpa, there’s no way I’ll let anything happen to you! I’ll take you back to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital right away!”

“Don’t panic,” said the long-robed elder with a smile. “The heavens determine our fate. I spent my life on the battlefield, and I’ve long since lost my fear of death.”

Then, the elder’s gaze returned to Su Yi, and he asked in mild bewilderment, “My young friend, might I be so bold as to ask how you determined the severity of this old man’s injuries?”

Su Yi’s impression of him was rather decent, so he didn’t hide anything. “A scarlet flush between the brows, a pallid, bloodless complexion. Yin poison has invaded your lungs. Combine that with a lingering air of death, and if I’m not mistaken, you encountered a ‘Six Severings Yin Corpse’ in Mother Ghost Ridge.”

The long-robed elder was visibly moved. “Good eyes!”

Zu Jin couldn’t help but chime in, “Something’s not right! Grandpa, didn’t you say that in Cloudriver Prefecture, very few people know that the Azurecloud Mountains’ Mother Ghost Ridge can give rise to Six Severing Yin Corpses?”

She was right; that was precisely why her grandfather was so surprised.

Never mind Guangling City; throughout all of Cloudriver Pefecture, practically no one knew this secret.

Yet the youth before them had, after one look at his injuries, seen through their source!

Su Yi said flatly, “Discerning that isn’t much. I can even say with certainty that you came here to pluck ‘Six Yin Grass’ and ‘Extreme Yang Flowers.’”

Zi Jin’s eyes widened, and she asked without thinking, “How could you possibly know that?” 

The long-robed elder’s expression changed too. Tidal waves of astonishment rose within his heart.

A youth he’d bumped into by chance had, just by looking, determined both the nature of his wounds and the purpose of this expedition.

Wasn’t that a bit too terrifying!?

“How could I possibly know that?” Su Yi shook his head with a faint sneer. “Girl, don’t tell me you don’t know that anywhere capable of giving rise to Six Severing Yin Corpses is sure to grow Six Yin Grass? It’s a spiritual medicine of extreme yin and extreme chill. And you know what they say; Yin cannot exist without Yang, and Yang cannot grow without Yin. Wherever Six Yin Grass grows, Extreme Yang Flowers are sure to follow.”

In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, this sort of thing was common knowledge!

Yet it was obvious that Zi Jin was too stunned to even speak.

Even the long-robed elder’s expression filled with unconcealed shock.

In their eyes, the tall, gaunt youth before them suddenly had a newfound, inscrutable air about him. 

Seth's Thoughts

The Six Thieves is a Buddhist term. Sometimes, it’s Five Thieves instead. It seems similar terms are used in Sikhism and other religions. The phrase refers to human weaknesses, called “thieves” because they steal a person’s common sense. I suggest consulting the Wikipedia page if you want to know more.