First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1210 - Venerate Flooding Heavens!

The Mountain of Wondrous Fortune was in chaos.

The legendary experts of the lost era were arguing with increasing intensity.

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but find this strange.

As for the dark-robed man and spirit sparrow? Both were dazed and rooted to the spot. How could they... possibly be so unreserved?

Suddenly, a white-haired, white-bearded elder in red robes said, “Don’t fight, everyone. How about all of us reveal our strongest inheritances and we let our fellow Daoist choose for himself?”

This declaration immediately won many of the others’ approval.

But it was then that Su Yi spoke up. “Everyone, might you let me say something first?”

The conversation came to an abrupt halt. All eyes were instantly on Su Yi.

“Please go right ahead, Fellow Daoist,” the red-robed elder said with an amiable, approachable smile.

The dark-robed man’s eyes widened. In ancient times, that red-robed elder had been a first-rate, unparalleled demonic sovereign, the type to kill a man without so much as batting his eye. His ferocity shook the world.

Yet now, he seemed amiable, benevolent, and modest!

Su Yi raised his jug of wine and said softly, “Pardon me for being direct, but I was never interested in your legacies in the first place.”

The crowd looked at each other, all of them caught off guard.

The two Officiants were unwittingly dumbstruck. They couldn’t help but take another look at Su Yi.

Any other trial-taker would have gone mad with joy at receiving such favor, but it seemed Su Yi really wasn’t interested!

The atmosphere silently turned stifled.

“I have my own path, and I know what I want. I don’t need anything, but I appreciate your good intentions,” said Su Yi. As he spoke, he subtly clasped his fist in gratitude.

A sigh rang out.

Someone couldn’t help but say, “Fellow Daoist, if you think our legacies aren’t worthy of your attention, would Venerate Flooding Heavens’ legacy be enough to move you?”

Su Yi shook his head without so much as pausing to think. “Please don't misunderstand. It’s not that your legacies are unworthy of my notice, but that I seek my own path. This has nothing to do with the quality of your legacies.”

The legendary experts’ expressions were all conflicted.

Who could have anticipated this? They’d taken such initiative, only to be given the cold shoulder. They felt as if their warm smiles had collided with a cold hard ass.

Only now did the two Officiants dare believe that Su Yi really wasn’t interested in the legendary experts’ legacies. He wasn’t just putting on airs after all!

Both of them were dazed, and their hearts churned.

Especially the old man in hemp. Indescribable bitterness arose in his heart, as if... he’d encountered the greatest setback of his life. His expression was instantly overcast.

“Everyone, after his performance in the trials, do you really think Fellow Daoist Su needs your legacies?

The Mountain of Wondrous Fate shook accompanying this voice. The Laws interwove like arcs of electricity, and a rain of colorful light circulated, outlining a gaunt figure.

He was dressed in long, wide-sleeved robes. His long hair hung loose, and his features were thin and elegant. Even just standing there casually, he seemed to control heaven and earth, like a sovereign presiding over the sun and moon.

“Venerate Flooding Heavens!” The dark-robed man trembled from head to toe and cried out in a rare loss of composure.

The old man in hemp reacted as if he’d been struck by lightning. His aged face filled with utter astonishment.

A moment later, both Officiants bowed!

Even the spirit sparrow beat its wings excitedly and cried out, “Wonderful, wonderful! Venerate Flooding Heavens’ will has reawakened!”

“Greetings, Fellow Daoist.” Throughout the Mountain of Wondrous Fate, the thirty-six legendary experts’ avatars of will bowed in greeting.

Venerate Flooding Heavens!

Su Yi recognized him at a glance.

He’d seen him earlier, in the visions granted to him by that mysterious skeletal hand.

Except that then, Venerate Flooding Heavens was severely injured, his body in tatters. He’d looked utterly wretched and forlorn.

The current him was obviously a manifestation of his will, with the appearance and disposition he’d had in life on full display.

“No need for excessive formality. First, clear your heads and consider my words,” said Venerate Flooding Heavens.

The legendary experts sank into silence.

Meanwhile, Venerate Flooding Heavens turned toward Su Yi, smiled, and clasped his fist. “Fellow Daoist, you surely know who I am. Alas, I cannot greet you in the flesh. Please forgive this lapse in etiquette.”

He was treating Su Yi like a member of the same generation, and furthermore, he spoke extremely politely!

This left both Officiants increasingly baffled. Given Venerate Flooding Heavens’ status, why was this necessary?

“A lapse in etiquette? I wouldn’t call it that. I have a rough understanding of what happened to you, and I quite admire you,” said Su Yi. He clasped his fist and returned the greeting.

Venerate Flooding Heavens had been the most dazzling, unparalleled legend of that lost era, the first Cosmic Enlightenment World King of the Dark and Gold Star Realm to attempt to break into a higher path.

More importantly, he’d led a group of experts in contending with that mysterious catastrophe!

This alone was enough to earn him Su Yi’s respect.

“Haha, I’m delighted to have received your admiration, Fellow Daoist.” Venerate Flooding Heavens let out a bust of hearty laughter.

“Fellow Daoist, we’ve understood,” a legendary expert spoke up. He sighed, “When we were in the Profound Unity Realm, the paths we sought were far inferior to our Fellow Daoist Su’s.

“Even though we’ve stepped into Cosmic Enlightenment, our legacies are ultimately inferior to Fellow Daoist Su’s current path.”

The other legendary experts nodded.

At just twenty-or-so years of age, the trial of the heart had never once affected him. He had made it to the top of the Divine Peak of Perceiving the Profound, grasping the mysteries of all three thousand steles.

In a clash of the Dao, he had illuminated all one hundred and eight stars.

And here, before the slopes of the Mountain of Wondrous Fate, he had forced back a Cosmic Enlightenment sword cultivator!

Even in ancient times, who could have matched him? Who was even comparable?

This was simply unprecedented and unparalleled!

A woman in a feather dress said admiringly, “All of us believe that Fellow Daoist Su’s achievements will surpass ours.”

The others smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, that red-robed old man said solemnly, “Fellow Daoist Su, this old man has an unreasonable request I hope you can grant.”

“Say it,” said Su Yi.

The old man continued, “I wish for the legacy I spent my life creating to see the light of day once more. I would hate to see it disappear into the long river of history. Please, help me, Fellow Daoist. Take my legacy with you so that it isn’t lost forever.”

Having made his request, he solemnly bowed to Su Yi.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Very well. I can agree to that.”

The other legendary experts were instantly excited. All of them spoke up, expressing their hope that Su Yi could take their legacies with him too.

This left the two Officiants tongue-tied once more. This is possible!?

In the end, Su Yi didn’t refuse. He was just helping pass on their legacies; it wasn’t overly difficult.

Besides, bringing these legendary experts’ legacies back into the world would benefit the Wilds enormously.

“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist!”

“Many thanks!”

...One grateful voice after another echoed throughout heaven and earth. The legendary experts smiled straight from the heart, as if they’d found release. Their figures disappeared without a trace.

And bundles of the light of the Grand Dao arose from their stone steles. These were the accumulated legacies of their lifetimes!

Venerate Flooding Heavens swooshed his sleeves, and all thirty-six bundles of light flew toward Su Yi as if they’d grown wings.

Su Yi raised his hand and collected them.

“Kong Shen.” Venerate Flooding Heavens turned to look at the old man in hemp clothing.

The old man knelt on the ground. “Venerate, I know what you’re about to say, and I’m willing to accept my punishment!”

Venerate Flooding Heavens let out a long sigh. “You never once violated the rules I left behind. How could I chastise you? It’s just that what you did today was truly uncalled for.”

The old man in hemp kowtowed, his voice raspy. “Venerate, I know what I did was wrong, but... I don’t regret it.”

“You said it yourself. Just one Law was missing from the Dark and Gold Star Realm: Reincarnation! Had the star realm’s laws been complete, we’d have had hope of resisting that catastrophe.”

“But... even though he was your dear friend, and even though he’d already promised to help, when it came time to resist that mysterious catastrophe, the Infernal Monarch... never came to our aid!”

Here, the old man’s voice filled with agitation. “Had he kept his promise... How could that catastrophe have killed you? How could so many inhabitants of the Dark and Gold Star Realm, including its countless cultivators and factions, have... disappeared from the face of the earth?”

His voice contained unconcealed hatred and resentment.

When the man in dark robes saw this, his expression turned conflicted. This... is the grudge the old peacock’s been carrying all this time!

Su Yi finally understood why the old man in hemp viewed him with such enmity. It was all connected to reincarnation!

“You’re wrong,” sighed Venerate Flooding Heavens. “You didn’t participate in the struggle against that catastrophe, so you don’t know the truth.”

“Truly?” The old man in hemp was stunned.

“Truly. This was originally top secret, as it involves a powerful senior. That’s why I kept it from you,” Venerate Flooding Heavens said softly, his eyes shining with remembrance.

Su Yi’s heart shook. A senior? Does he mean the owner of that skeletal hand?

But Venerate Flooding Heavens was already continuing. “That dark era of history has been over for a long, long time. There’s no longer any need to hide it.”

Su Yi, both Officiants, and the spirit sparrow all looked attentive.

“It was a prominent figure not of this epoch who launched that mysterious catastrophe. His goal wasn’t to destroy the Laws of the Dark and Gold Star Realm, nor was the catastrophe directed at me, Hong Yulou.” Venerate Flooding Heavens’ expressions as grave. “All of it was for reincarnation! If he couldn’t take it, he wanted to destroy it!”

Uproar ensued.

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

“That was why, at that senior’s behest, I informed the Infernal Monarch before the catastrophe befell us. I asked him to take the Disc of the Six Paths and over forbidden divine artifacts away from the Dark and Gold Star Realm for safekeeping.”

Venerate Flooding Heavens let out a breath of turbid air. “And it’s good we made those preparations. Otherwise, the catastrophe wouldn’t just have destroyed the Laws of the Dark and Gold Star Realm. I’m afraid that even reincarnation... would have been destroyed.”

Everyone was stunned, their hearts churning with emotion. The reality of the situation wasn’t all that complicated, but it was completely unexpected.

None of them had ever guessed that the catastrophe that had practically obliterated the Laws of the entire star realm, leading to its fall into obscurity and ruin, had been targeting reincarnation all along!