First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1235 - The Descendant of an Old Friend

Meng Changyun was stunned. An Imperial Apex cultivator is trying to make us leave?

In the past, he would have long since sent this uppity Emperor flying with a flick of his fingers!

However, he was well aware that he was now a servant, and he considerately remained silent, looking down at his nose.

In truth, he couldn’t blame the long-robed elder for this oversight. Su Yi’s aura was so reserved that even World Kings couldn’t discern his true cultivation.

And Meng Changyun was a servant. How could he dare draw attention to himself?

Even standing, he dared not stand shoulder to shoulder with Su Yi. Rather, he stood behind him and off to the side, looking servile and humble all the while.

Given the circumstances, the old man in long robes naturally had no way of knowing how terrifying these two were.

Su Yi looked the long-robed old man up and down, his expression a bit strange. “Are you from the Shang Family?”

The old man in long robes froze, stunned. “How could you tell?”

Su Yi’s gaze shifted inscrutably and muttered to himself, “So you are.”

He’d wondered how someone had found this place, but now, he understood. The old man was from the Shang Family, so he was one of Shang Jianlou’s clansmen!

For a moment, Su Yi’s mood was a bit strange. “I just so happen to know about the Shang Family’s supreme legacy, the Great Yin Nine Revolutions Sutra. Thus, I recognized your origins at a glance.”

“You’ve got good eyes, sir!” The old man in long robes looked impressed.

Meng Changyun suddenly realized that this was one of the Nine-Yin Sword Demon’s descendants, and he couldn’t help but feel surprised.

Suddenly, Su Yi asked, “Don’t tell me someone else with the Nine-Yin Profound Meridians has appeared within your clan?”

The long-robed old man’s pupils silently constricted. He was obviously bewildered.

Instead of answering, he clasped his fist. “Might I ask your honorable name and surname?”

“Shen Mu,” Su Yi said casually. “Relax; I have no ill intentions. I just know that the Serene Profound Ambrosia here is inestimably beneficial to those Shang clansmen with Nine-Yin Profound Meridians.”

He paused, then said with the utmost seriousness, “If possible, I’d like to meet with this person.”

Inwardly, he was a bit excited.

Even in the Shang Family, Nine-Yin Profound Meridians were extremely rare. Tens of thousands of years might pass without one such person being born.

When Shang Jianlou was still alive, he said that in the nineteen thousand years before his birth, the Shang Family had never once given rise to anyone with Nine-Yin Profound Meridians.

In the thirty thousand years after his birth, only one other was born. Alas, that Shang clansman's bloodline was imperfect and incomplete.

From this, it was easy to imagine how rare the Nine-Yin Profound Meridians were. They could only be happened upon by chance, found but not sought.

For the Shang Family to appear here now obviously implied that someone was refining the Serene Profound Ambrosia to temper themselves and excavate the potential of their Nine-Yin Profound Meridians.

Su Yi naturally found this exciting.

Shang Jianlou’s death was one of the greatest regrets of his life as the Temple Master.

It would naturally be wonderful if he could make it up in this lifetime.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” The long-robed old man shook his head. “Our young leader is currently in a crucial stage of seclusion and absolutely must not be disturbed.”

“Your young leader?” said Su Yi. “What’s his name?”

“Her name is Shang Qingping,” said the long-robed old man.

Su Yi exclaimed, “A woman?”

The old man in long robes found this baffling. “Sir, you recognized my origins at a glance, so how could you not know of our young leader? She’s the proud daughter of heaven of her generation of the Shang Family.”

Su Yi laughed. “I’ve left the stars for far too long. I know almost nothing of your clan’s current circumstances.”

Suddenly, a cold, clear voice emanated from within the valley.

“Uncle Hong, what’s going on?”

A tall, slender woman emerged from the misty valley accompanying this voice.

She was dressed in purple, with bright eyes and pearly teeth. Her skin was snowy and lustrous, and her black hair was tied into a bun. She was a moving beauty.

The long-robed old man subtly bowed in greeting, then transmitted a message describing everything that had happened.

After hearing the full story, a playful smile tugged at the woman’s lips. “Uncle Hong, I know what’s going on here. Step aside for now.”

She then walked up to Su Yi, her beautiful phoenix eyes looking him up and down. A moment later, she crossed her arms and raised her snowy lower jaw, a faint smile on her face. “You actually are a rare talent, and it’s impressive that you found this place. You’re quite capable.

“But let’s not make things difficult for each other. I hope you can stop here, and that you can give up all thoughts of Qingping.” The woman in purple then issued a solemn warning. “Pushing too hard will only make her look down on you.”

Meng Changyun was stunned, his gaze strange. Does this girl think the Temple Master is trying to woo Shang Qingping?

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “What’s your relationship with Shang Qingping?”

The old man in long robes approached and introduced her. “Fellow Daoist, this is Miss Yao Xue, a main-branch descendant of the Cold Frost Star Realm’s ancient Yao Family. She’s also a close friend of our young leader.”

Yao? I don't know of any ancient family by that surname. Su Yi racked his brains but couldn’t recall anything about this particular clan.

“I’d like to ask you to leave now,” Yao Xue said softly. She spoke coolly, with no anger or fire, and she was calm and reserved.

Su Yi smiled, disregarding this superficially reserved but secretly prideful young woman.

Instead, he turned his head to look at the old man in long robes. “Did your young leader refine Extreme Yang Immortal Dew before coming here?”

The long-robed old man asked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Yao Xue, meanwhile, looked displeased. Does this guy seriously plan to keep pestering her? He... really doesn’t know when to give up!

Does he think my attitude wasn’t firm enough?

Then, she watched as Su Yi rubbed his forehead and sighed. “That’s going to be trouble.”

He’d only just said this when an intense energy fluctuation emanated from within the valley. Immediately afterward, an agonized, muffled grunt emanated from afar.

The old man in long robes and Yao Xue’s expressions shifted. They cast all other thoughts aside and rushed toward the valley.

“Ol’ Meng, you wait here,” said Su Yi. Then, he too rushed toward the valley.

Meng Changyun stood there and sank into thought.

He’d been working alongside Su Yi for quite some time now, but this was his first time seeing His Excellency the Temple Master take such initiative. It seems he and the Nine-Yin Sword Demon had no ordinary bond.

They say that when you love a house, you love even the crows on its roof. That must be why he’s so concerned about this, thought Meng Changyun.

Within the misty valley, resplendent divine radiance hung in the air.

Water sprayed out of a spring.

The spring water was extraordinarily wondrous, like scattering radiant pearls. Each droplet was pale blue, and the liquid emanated an air of divinity.

This was Serene Profound Ambrosia!

A divine object that could only be found, not sought, even out amongst the stars!

A woman in a black skirt sat beside the spring.

She was extraordinarily beautiful, with clear, fair skin and a cold, prideful disposition.

But now, her face was unnaturally pallid, and her expression was full of unconcealable pain. Her curvy, slender figure was quivering slightly.

There was even blood gushing from the corners of her lips.

“Young Leader!” The long-robed old man’s heart clenched. He immediately took out a bottle of recovery medicine and handed it to her.”

“Big Sister Qingping, what happened?” Yao Xue said with obvious concern.

The young woman in the ink-black skirt was none other than Shang Qingping.

She wiped the blood from her lips, accepted the bottle of recovery medicine, and grimaced. “I failed...”

The old man in long robes let out a deep sigh.

Yao Xue, meanwhile, immediately tried to comfort her. She said softly, “Everything is fine so long as you’re alive and well. Don’t lose heart. You’ll find an opportunity to break through sooner or later.”

“She didn’t just fail to break through,” said Su Yi. He walked over from afar, his gaze inscrutable. “The power of the Serene Profound Ambrosia has corroded her Nine-Yin Profound Meridians. If we don’t resolve this, her natural talent will be ruined.”

Shang Qingping really did possess the same talent Shang Jianlou once had!

But her cultivation base wasn’t exactly impressive. She was still only in the Profound Serenity Realm.

There was no doubt about it. She’d planned to use the power of Serene Profound Ambrosia to force a breakthrough into Profound Unity.

“How can you say something like that?” Yao Xue’s brow furrowed as she coldly rebuked Su Yi.

The long-robed old man was inwardly displeased too. Can’t you tell that our young leader’s been hurt? How could you say something so cold? It’s simply detestable!

“He’s right, though,” Shang Qingping said bleakly before letting out a low sigh. “I have only my own greed to blame for this. I was in too much of a rush. I wanted to step into Profound Unity before the Cold Mountain Night Banquet, but instead...”

She trailed off, the light in her eyes dimming.

The long-robed old man and Yao Xue looked at each other. That guy was actually right!?

Suddenly, Shang Qingping seemed to calm down. She looked at Su Yi in mild confusion. “Who might you be, fellow Daoist?”

Yao Xue exclaimed, “He’s not one of your suitors?”

Shang Qingping facepalmed and grimaced. “Yao Xue, this is no time for jokes. I’ve never met this fellow Daoist before.”

“But he came all the way here,” Yao Xue said seriously. “And he knows your affairs like the back of his hand. Why would he go to all that effort if he wasn’t interested in you?”

“????” Shang Qingping was baffled.

Meanwhile, Su Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This woman sure knows how to let her imagination run wild.

The long-robed old man coughed dryly. “Young Leader, this is Fellow Daoist Shen Mu. Earlier, he recognized my origins at a glance, and it seems he has some understanding of Serene Profound Ambrosia.”

Shang Qingping couldn’t help but be surprised. She picked herself off the ground and bowed in greeting. “Shang Qingping of the Shang Family greets you, Fellow Daoist. Might I ask how you discerned the nature of my injuries?”

Su Yi said casually, “You haven’t taken Extreme Yang Immortal Dew. Given your cultivation base, it was inevitable that refining a divine material like Serene Profound Ambrosia would lead to backlash.”

“Extreme Yang Immortal Dew...” Shang Qingping looked dazed. She muttered to herself, “I vaguely recall my father mentioning it. Apparently, my great-grandfather gathered it before preparing for his breakthrough into the World King Realm. It’s just... none of my elders said anything about me needing to swallow it before refining Serene Profound Ambrosia...”

The long-robed elder’s heart stirred, and he hurriedly said to Su Yi, “Fellow Daoist, since you recognized the nature of our young leader’s wounds, might you perhaps know how to treat them?”

“Right!” Yao Xue’s starry eyes lit up, and she looked at Su Yi. “Shen Mu, this is a rare opportunity. If you treat Shang Qingping’s wounds, you might well be able to capture her heart.”

“....” Shang Qingping was at a loss for words, and she felt a headache coming on. She glared at her friend. “Yao Xue, don’t talk nonsense!”

Here, she faced Su Yi and said apologetically, “Fellow Daoist, please don’t take offense. Yao Xue...”

Su Yi laughed and waved the apology away. “Alright, alright, stop it. I can take a joke.”

He then took out a jade bottle and walked over to the spring. All eyes were instantly upon him.