First Immortal of the Sword

Flurries danced through the air like goose feathers over water encased in layers of ice.

Su Yi sat cross-legged on the ground, the blood covering his body instantly hardening into red ice. As he tended to his wounds, he gazed at the boat not far away. Chaos mist emanated from it, and it seemed utterly mysterious.

A tall, thin, male figure still stood at the bow. He showed no sign of disembarking. Now that they were at close quarters, Su Yi could finally confirm that the man was in fact just a soul body.

He looked like a handsyouth, except his temples were flecked with gray. His eyes were profound and sharp, as imposing as the sharp edge of a sword. He stood there with his hands behind his back, his entire body emanating unbridled pride.

But Su Yi quickly noticed something unusual about him. His aura had melded with the Fuyou Boat; it was as if the two of them were one.

“Are you… perhaps the spirit of the Fuyou Boat?” exclaimed Su Yi.

But to his surprise, the question left the man flabbergasted, and his frown deepened. Instead of answering, he asked, “You… really don’t recognize me?”

Su Yi shook his head.

But the man seemed to understand. He whispered, “No wonder. I guessed that this was the case, but now, I’m finally convinced. You really aren’t Master…”

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. Master?

The realization struck like lightning as he recalled what he’d learned from the sword-bearing ape.

“Are you one of Li Fuyou’s disciples?” he asked.

The sword-bearing ape had told him that in the Primeval Era, Li Fuyou had trained four unparalleled Immortal Sovereigns of the Dao of the Sword: Sword Sovereign Luo Changning, Sword Sovereign Lin Feng, Sword Sovereign Ning Xiu, and Sword Sovereign Dong Xuan.

According to the sword-bearing ape, the four Sword Sovereigns were each unparalleled figures even among Great Realm experts, as brilliant as the midday sun shining overhead.

When Su Yi first heard about them, he was astonished. He couldn’t even imagine how extraordinary Li Fuyou had to have been to have trained four such unparalleled disciples.

It was simply unbelievable!

After all, Great Realm experts worthy of the title “unparalleled” were extraordinarily rare in any age, but Li Fuyou had trained four of them.

“That’s right.” The man nodded, his eyes shining with pride. “My nis Lin Feng, and I am Master’s third disciple. In the Primeval Era, they calledSword Sovereign Lin Feng!”

“Ah, so you’re Luo Changning’s junior apprentice brother,” said Su Yi. He took out the golden beast skin. “Do you recognize this?”

Li Feng’s pupils constricted. “The Radiant Void Beast skin! How did you get your hands on that?”

Su Yi passed it to him. “Have a look for yourself.”

The beast skin recorded the secrets of achieving divinity, but it was also emblazoned with visions of Luo Changning’s life.

After viewing them, Lin Feng’s expression filled with joy and sorrow. He sank into a daze, deeply conflicted.

A long tpassed before he let out a deep breath and said, “Just as I thought. In the end, Senior Apprentice Brother really did decide to take the next step!”

“Do you think he survived his attempt to beca god?” asked Su Yi.

In the visions saved on the golden beast skin, he saw that Luo Changning was unwilling to submit and beca servant of the gods. He was instead staunchly determined to walk the path of divinity for himself.

However, that was all Su Yi knew. He had no idea whether Luo Changning had lived or died in the end.

After a moment’s silence, Lin Feng said, “I don’t know either, but…I doubt he succeeded.”

His tone was grim.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “Why do you say that?”

Lin Feng gestured to himself. “I’m a living example of what happens to people who go against the gods.”

Su Yi’s gaze focused. “You tried to beca god too?” 

“That’s right,” said Lin Feng despondently. “When Master left the Immortal Realm, he left four of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos behind, one for each of his disciples. Eldest Apprentice Brother acquired the Sword of Proximity. Second Apprentice Sister acquired the Yin-Yang Diagram, Fourth Apprentice Brother got the Realm-Demarcating Ruler, and I got the Sky-Covering Boat.

"That’s the boat you see now. In the Primeval Era, Master left it in the Eastern Sea to guide those chosen by fate, so it cto be known as the Fuyou Boat.”

Only then did Su Yi understand. So, its true nis the Sky-Covering Boat! 

It was the eighth of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos. So, that’s why the Book of Karma called it ‘Brother Boat.’ What a tacky name….n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But that wasn’t important. What really surprised Su Yi was that Li Fuyou, one of his past lives, had acquired a full four of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos!

Lin Feng let out a long sigh. “I tried to grasp the Epoch Laws within the Sky-Covering Boat and beca god, only to fail in the end. All that remains ofis my soul, and it’s only by attaching myself to the boat that I’ve managed to cling to life all this time.”

Su Yi frowned. “You failed?” 

The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth twitched. “What of it? Do you think I’m incompetent?”

“That's not what I mean,” said Su Yi. “I just don't quite understand.”

After all, Ao Chiting of the Eastern Sea’s Dragon Palace had used the Book of Karma to beca god, so why did Lin Feng fail? He was an unparalleled Sword Sovereign and one of Li Fuyou’s disciples!

“I didn’t think I’d fail either.” Lin Feng’s sharp eyes silently filled with irrepressible murderous intent. “But heaven’s plans supersede the plans of men. Just as I ignited my Divine Fland was about to condense my Godhead, I was ambushed!”

“Ambushed?”

“That’s right,” said Lin Feng. “During the Primeval Era, many Great Realm experts chose to becthe gods’ dogs. They called themselves divine emissaries, and they carried out the gods’ will in the Immortal Realm. Just as I was about to prove my Dao and achieve divinity, a group of the gods’ dogs attacked me.”

His voice was tinged with deep bitterness and hatred.

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “Why did they target you?”

“They didn't targetspecifically. They were targeting every Great Realm expert in the Immortal Realm!” said Lin Feng. “The gods do not tolerate those who refuse to lower their heads, no matter who they are! Those who refused to submit back then weren’t just prevented from becoming gods. They were chased, suppressed, and attacked!”

He paused, then laughed coldly. “It’s just as Master said. Divine Thrones are limited, and those who’ve acquired them want to hold onto them. They cannot possibly accept others seizing their positions!

“Thus, Great Realm experts had only two choices. They could either becthe gods’ dogs, or they could seek out divinity despite the gods’ inevitable punishment!”

Su Yi nodded. He knew that much already.

Throughout the ages, no matter which epoch you were in, Epoch Laws were extremely few in number. That meant that opportunities to refine Epoch Laws and beca god were highly limited, too. 

It was like climbing a mountain; there was only so much space at the peak, but countless people were climbing the slopes and striving to reach the top.

How could the gods, those who’d already reached the top, possibly tolerate others trying to seize their spot?

“Actually, I know full well why I was ambushed. It's not because I was a particularly great threat to the gods, but because of the Sky-Covering Boat!” Lin Feng sighed. “After all, in the Primeval Era, opportunities to beca god had already all but dried up. Even though I stood at the pinnacle of the Great Realm, without an Epoch Law, I couldn’t condense my Godhead and beca god!

“But the Sky-Covering Boat gavethe opportunity I needed! That’s why the gods targeted me, and why their dogs attacked like mad! Their goal was to stopfrom becoming a god and seize the Sky-Covering Boat!”

Su Yi couldn’t help but recall what had happened to Ao Chiting after he used the Book of Karma to achieve divinity. His outchad been miserable too.

Su Yi also recalled Luo Changning. There was no doubt about it. With the Sword of Proximity, Luo Changning had had a real chance at divinity, but the gods’ servants intercepted him!

During the Primeval Era, most opportunities to beca god had already been snapped up. If a Great Realm cultivator wanted to prove their Dao and achieve divinity, their only hope was to find one of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos.

Each of the Nine Mysteries of Chaos represented a path to divinity!

Ao Chiting, Luo Changning, and Lin Feng had each had such an opportunity. But it was because of these opportunities that they’d invited disaster upon themselves. Each met with a more wretched fate than the one before.

Ao Chiting’s Book of Karma had drawn the Dipankara Buddha, leading to Ao Chiting’s death, as well as the destruction of his entire lineage of dragons.

Luo Changning had stubbornly insisted on striving for divinity, only to be attacked. It was unclear whether he was alive or dead.

Lin Feng had been ambushed during his attempt to beca god, and all that remained of him was his soul.

All of this had happened precisely because they’d had opportunities to becgods!

Su Yi couldn’t help but ask, “What about your senior apprentice sister and fourth apprentice brother?”

Lin Feng had said that his second senior apprentice sister, Sword Sovereign Ning Xiu, had been given the Yin-Yang Diagram, while his fourth junior apprentice brother, Dong Xuan, had been given the Realm-Demarcating Ruler!

After a moment’s silence, Lin Feng said, “Back then, Second Senior Apprentice Sister Ning Xiu took the Yin-Yang Diagram and left the Immortal Realm in search of Master. There’s been no word from her since. As for Fourth Junior Apprentice Brother…”

A look of grief and self-recrimination appeared on his face. He said bitterly, “He tried to avenge me, and he killed many of the gods’ dogs, but in the end, he paid for his revenge with his life.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed. “He’s dead?”

Li Feng nodded, his expression bleak. It was like a mental knot. Even now, he was plagued with regret and self-blame.

“Who killed him?” asked Su Yi.

Lin Feng’s fourth junior apprentice brother, Sword Sovereign Dong Xuan, was Su Yi’s disciple, albeit in a past life. Su Yi naturally attached great importance to him.

Li Feng’s handsome, youthful face contorted, ashen and hideous, and he said slowly and clearly, “The dogs of Divine Venerate Tian Huang!”

Divine Venerate Tian Huang? Su Yi had never heard the nbefore. I’ll have to ask Xi Ning about him next tI see her.

But then, Lin Feng gnashed his teeth and said, “Even now, many of Divine Venerate Tian Huang’s dogs are imprisoned on Spiritual Desolation Mountain!”