First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1583 - The Sword-Bearing Ape

Mo Canqiu and the other Immortal Lords were stunned but delighted.

It was as if Su Yi’s words were replaying through his mind.

“How about this? I’ll give you something that might well come in handy in the Abyss of Dark Fog. If you run into life-or-death danger in the Abyss of Dark Fog, take out this jade slip.”

At the time, the Immortal Lords were curious about the secrets hidden inside, but they didn’t really take it into account. After all, it was just a jade slip.

Yet now, that very jade slip had saved them from the brink of despair!

“Fellow Daoist Su’s abilities are indeed greater than we ever imagined,” sighed one of the Immortal Lords.

The others felt much the same, but they still didn’t dare to relax. The crisis at hand was not yet resolved.

Heaven and earth swayed. That towering, terrifying figure akin to a primordial demon god clasped his fists and trembled in fright.

All the while, his helpless, terrified roars shook both heaven and earth.

The jade talisman shone in front of Mo Canqiu. The word “restrict” blazed with intense light. Its power was mystical, yet somehow reassuring.

Suddenly, the hum of a sword resounded from within the distant fog.

A dazzling sword arc cleaved through the firmament. It was whooshing right toward them.

In the blink of an eye, it landed on the shoulder of that terrifying figure and transformed into an ape in undyed robes. He was big-boned, with a furry face and a black sword case on his back.

He was fully ten feet tall, and his eyes glinted like cold lightning. Imposing sword qi flowed around him, as if he were an unrivaled god of the sword.

When the sword-bearing ape appeared, the terrifying figure relaxed, as if he’d found his pillar of support.

In contrast, Mo Canqiu and the others’ hearts palpated with fright.

The reason for this was simple: the ape’s presence was far too forceful and terrifying. Even just gazing upon him from afar made the Immortal Lords feel rending pain in their souls!

“Huang Tuo, why are you panicking?” said the ape, his voice like the clanging hum of a sword.

As he spoke, he swept his gaze across Mo Canqiu and the others. When he saw the hovering character “restrict,” he was unwittingly stunned.

As if dazed, and astonished, too. His expression shifted erratically.

Mo Canqiu and the others’ bodies went taut, and they prepared to face a powerful foe. They sensed that the ape could destroy them with ease with a single thought. He was far too terrifying!

Whoosh!

The ape stretched out his hand, and the jade slip whooshed into his palm. When he examined it, he saw just three words: “Give me face.”

Every word was unbridled and unrestrained, as forceful as the edge of a sword!

The ape fell silent for a while. Finally, he put the slip away and said, “Huang Tuo, lead the others away.”

He then leaped from the terrifying figure’s shoulders.

The massive, terrifying Huang Tuo turned to leave. The nearby malevolent creatures left with him.

“You dared come here despite your piddling cultivation bases, but you had reason to be confident after all.” The sword-bearing ape walked toward Mo Canqiu and the others. When he saw how tense they were, he couldn’t help but shake his head. “What are you afraid of? With his jade slip, it’d be hard for you to die even if you wanted to.”

Mo Canqiu and the others exchanged glances. Inwardly, they said bitterly, Who wouldn't be nervous in this situation?

“What did you come here for?” said the ape, stopping a hundred feet away.

Mo Canqiu took a deep breath, then bowed respectfully before saying, “Senior, to tell the truth, we’re here for Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits.”

The sword-bearing ape was stunned. “Your goal... is really that trivial?”

Trivial? Mo Canqiu and the others exchanged glances. They were all a bit bewildered. This is our chance to become Immortal Kings. How could you call that trivial?

“Don’t misunderstand,” the ape said with self-deprecating laughter. “When I saw that jade slip, I figured it was something urgent. After all, he personally carved that sword order, but... it turns out you're just here for a bunch of Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits...”

But then, he let out a long breath. “But that’s good too. If you’d asked for something excessive, it would have been a real headache.”

Mo Canqiu and the others immediately realized the problem. The jade slip Su Yi had given them was obviously incomparably precious, to the point that the sword-bearing ape dared not be negligent. It was obvious that in the ape’s eyes, using it to acquire Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits was overkill; they were practically desecrating a treasure...

Waves of emotion coursed through their hearts. None of them could have imagined that the jade slip Su Yi had given them casually would have such unbelievable power!

One of the Immortal Lords couldn’t repress his curiosity. He asked, “Might this junior be so bold as to inquire what kind of request you’d consider excessive?”

The sword-bearing ape asked right back, “He didn’t tell you about this place, did he?”

The Immortal Lords shook their heads.

The ape seemed unwilling to accept this. “Did he say anything about me?”

The group shook their heads once more.

“He didn’t even bring me up....”

The ape seemed stricken, as if this reality came as a massive shock. He sank into silence for a while, then shook his head. “He didn’t say anything, so I won’t say anything unnecessary either. You can just wait here.”

With that, he turned and left. When he returned, he carried a ten-foot tree branch across his shoulders. It looked as if it had been forged out of bronze, and it sprouted clusters of fiery leaves. It was laden with black spirit fruits each the size of an infant’s fist.

Every fruit was swathed in mysterious flames, and Dao Light rose around them.

Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits! At least twenty of them!

The sword-bearing Ape passed the branch to Mo Canqiu. “That ought to be enough, right?”

Mo Canqiu and the others nodded hurriedly. All of their eyes widened with astonishment. This wasn’t just “enough.” It was a ludicrous super-abundance!

The ape nodded, then snapped his fingers.

Bang!

The old man in hemp clothing had been bitten by a blood mosquito earlier, and strange, corrosive power had invaded his body. Now, it instantly disappeared without a trace.

Even his severe wounds rapidly knit together!

This left the old man in hemp clothing both stunned and delighted. He repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

The ape’s abilities stunned the others, too. They couldn’t even imagine what kind of an existence he was, to possess such unbelievable divine abilities.

“What’s your connection to him?” asked the sword-bearing ape.

Mo Canqiu dared not be negligent. He immediately explained how they’d gotten acquainted with Su Yi.

After hearing the full story, the ape couldn’t help but murmur, “So, he went to the White Reed Province... that’s indeed his old territory...”

He let out a long sigh, then looked at the Immortal Lords. “You can leave.”

With that, be blurred into an arc of sword light, shot through the air, and vanished back into the black fog in the blink of an eye.

Mo Canqiu and the others were still dazed. All of them felt as if they were dreaming. It just didn’t seem real.

“Could any of you tell how high that senior’s cultivation base was?”

“I’m not sure, but he’s got to be an Immortal King at the very least, right?”

“An Immortal King? What Immortal King has such a terrifying aura?”

Someone couldn’t help but say, “But don’t you think Fellow Daoist Su is the most mysterious one of all?”

The others nodded. It was true. A mere jade slip hadn’t just saved them from certain doom. No, they’d easily acquired the Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits they were after. This was a stroke of good fortune as great as the heavens themselves!

Who could fail to realize how extraordinary Su Yi’s identity was?

“In the Black Dragon Market, he effortlessly cracked the Nine Steles of the Primeval Era. Now, with a single jade slip, he averted a crisis deep within the Abyss of Dark Fog... If I didn’t know that Fellow Daoist Su was in his twenties, I’d suspect he was a legendary expert at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao,” sighed Mo Canqiu.

The others agreed completely.

They encountered no further danger on the journey back; even the strangest and most terrifying of lifeforms had long since been scared off.

Deep within the Abyss of Dark Fog, the sword-bearing ape drifted onto a collapsed Buddha statue and gazed at the peak of a mountain hanging upside down beneath the foggy skies.

After a moment’s silence, the ape whispered, “He’s returned.”

Then, he threw back his head and laughed uproariously. His delighted laughter resounded throughout the surrounding area.

......

Meanwhile, on board the cloud ship.

Su Yi sat cross legged near the railing. The ship parted the endless sea of clouds, like scissors through cloth, and the resplendent light of the heavens rippled like molten gold.

It was a magnificent sight, too beautiful for words.

I just gave them a jade slip. The ol’ ape is sure to be unhappy with me, thought Su Yi. But they’re just after a few Darkflame Dao Embryo Fruits. There’s no way he’ll be stingy. Once I’ve proven my Dao and entered the Void Realm, I’ll just go see him.

The depths of the Abyss of Dark Fog contained a battlefield from the Primeval Era’s War of Gods and Demons.

Back then, Wang Ye visited the ruins, sword in hand, and sought out the secrets of the Primeval Era’s War of Gods and Demons. It was then that he and the sword-bearing ape protecting the battlefield first fought and became friends.

Alas, a taboo power bound the ape, preventing him from ever leaving the battlefield.

Now that I’ve mastered the power of reincarnation, I can surpass my past lives. I ought to be able to figure out a way to help the old ape leave the battlefield, thought Su Yi.

Long ago, Wang Ye promised to do everything in his power to help the ape escape confinement, but he reincarnated without ever realizing this goal.

This was undeniably one of Wang Ye’s lingering regrets.

Suddenly, a clamor of voices rang out on board the cloud ship.

“Look! That’s the Mirror Lake up ahead!”

“I just wonder whether we made it in time for the Divine Mysteries Pavillion’s Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly.”

“We’ll find out soon!”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the monsters in the top ten discuss the Dao!”

...A wave of voices swept through the cloud ship, all of them tinged with eagerness and excitement.

Even Fang Han was startled into action. He dashed over to Su Yi’s side and said, “Do you want to go have a look?”

The boy looked eager.

Su Yi put away his jug of wine, rose from his chair, and said, “Sure.”

Fang Han was instantly delighted.

Meanwhile, the massive, city-sized cloud ship had already begun its descent.