First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 659: The Heavens Shift!

The second day of the second lunar month, the beginning of the second month of spring. action

To Su Yi, who’d reincarnated to cultivate anew, this day had an extraordinary meaning.

Eighteen years ago today, he was born into this world.

Fourteen years ago today, his mother, Ye Yufei, died of disease and left this world.

And exactly one year ago, shortly after recovering memories of his past life, he shocked the audience at Guangling City’s Dragon Gate Banquet, becoming the man of the hour.

Today, it was the second day of the second lunar month once more!

Memories of the past flooded into Su Yi’s mind.

“A year…” Su Yi rose, then left the building.

These were the wee hours of the night, or rather, very early in the morning. The winds howled.

Although a formation protected the ruins, he could still clearly see the stars shining overhead.

Su Yi took out his wicker chair and leaned into it, gazing into the dome of heaven. He felt an indescribable calm.

A year.

He’d cleaved countless karmic bonds and severed countless grudges. At every realm, he’d tempered foundations far beyond his past self.

When he thought back to everything that had happened over the past year, he wasn’t overly emotional.

It was just a pity that he still felt little sense of belonging to the Azure Continent. A handful of people aside, there was nothing here he cared about.

“Where I am at peace, I am at home. Going forward… what does it matter where I am?” Su Yi picked up his jug of wine and took a sip.

Qing Wan approached, then seemed to work up all of her courage. “Master, shall I sing for you?”

Su Yi was briefly stunned. He thought back to last year; Qing Wan had sung for them too. He couldn’t help but smile. “Alright.”

Qing Wan broke into a sweet smile, straightened out her dress, and parted her pink lips. A clear, ethereal song rang out, like the music of the heavens.

“The Mystic Master, long-lived as the moon, rising like the sun, towering like the southern mountains, never to fall or crumble, flourishing like the pines….”

Her voice was soft and gentle, like the burbling of a spring through a secluded valley.

This was an ancient birthday song. Qing Wan had sung it last year too.

Hearing it again as he thought back to the past year was an extraordinary feeling.

As the song reached its end, Su Yi suddenly sensed something. He suddenly looked up.

Far away, in the distant night skies, a vast, boundless presence surged. Pure qi sank, while turbid qi rose. Purity and filth, Yin and Yang, intermingled, creating a vision of chaos beneath the dome of heaven.

A moment later, the low rumbling of thunder reverberated throughout the skies.

It looked similar to an ordinary springtime thunderstorm, but in Su Yi’s ears, the low rumbling of thunder was the sound of imminent change and a collision with the power of the Dao of Heaven.

“The Awakening of Insects, the season in which all life awakens.” Su Yi’s gaze was distant and profound. “In the past, when this day arrived, Yin qi nourished all life. The world was vibrant, and its creatures flourished. But this time…”

Boom!

Thunder boomed, the sound shaking the nine heavens.

Su Yi’s Dao Heart was as firm as a boulder and as clear as the surface of a mirror, yet at that moment, it trembled.

Within his Origin Palace, the Seed of the Azure quivered, seemingly with delight and excitement, or perhaps, as if longing for something.

Su Yi’s gaze shifted inscrutably. “This Waking of the Insects is indeed different than in the past…”

“Fellow Daoist, what’s happening?”

There was a commotion off in the distance as Ying Que, Yuan Heng, Wen Lingxue, Cha Jin, and the others rushed over.

There was no doubt about it; the changes transpiring overhead had alerted them.

“This is a grand opportunity,” said Su Yi. He rose from his wicker chair and swept his gaze across the group. “That’s true for you too, as well as for every other living thing on the Azure Continent. Come on, let’s go outside the ruins.”

He carried his wine jug in one hand as he strode toward the exit.

Although the others had no idea what was going on, they instinctively followed him.

……

This night was destined not to be peaceful.

The Ninth Star Ruin.

The tree densely laden with the fragmented corpses of stars was so boundlessly massive that every branch was the size of a mountain range.

Suddenly, one of its enormous branches snapped and fell.

Crunch!!

A massive, thunderous boom reverberated throughout the boundless skies.

A moment later, the entire world swayed and shook violently.

“A’Cang, this is bad! This is really bad!” A little gray sparrow shot into the air, crying out in alarm. “One of the tree’s main branches broke! Doesn’t that mean the Origins of the Azure are on the verge of dissipating completely?“

“Don’t panic. This was sure to happen sooner or later,” said a cool, clear voice. Misty light?interwove?above the tree laden with corpses, then condensed into an ethereal female figure.

The young woman wore cloud-patterned skirts, and her absolutely beautiful face flickered in and out of view. However, her jade-like feet were uncovered.

She stood in midair, and a perfectly round, smooth, illusory ice wheel appeared behind her.

This was none other than the Ice Soul Xiantian Spirit born of the Origins of the Azure, A’Cang!

“But this has caused far too great a disturbance to ignore!” shrieked the sparrow in obvious agitation.

“We’ve both long since predicted that the Origins of the Azure would collapse, transform into the boundless energy of the Grand Dao, and feed back into the Azure Continent. This is what will lead to the age of prosperity known as the Radiant Epoch,” muttered A’Cang.

“Although what we’re seeing comes as a surprise, it isn’t a bad thing. It just means that we’ll have to adjust our predictions again. The Radiant Epoch will arrive a bit earlier than expected.”

“Earlier…” the sparrow muttered in a daze, looking conflicted. “True. Even the main branches are falling apart. Of course the Radiant Epoch will arrive early!”

“In three months at most, the Origins of the Azure will dissipate completely, and all of its power will feed back into the Azure Continent,” said A’Cang. “We ought to prepare and leave this place before that happens.”

After a lengthy silence, the sparrow muttered, “If only we’d known. We should never have let that Su kid leave with the Seed of the Azure!”

A’Cang couldn’t help but smile. “Little sparrow, I know you’re angry, but don’t talk nonsense. If anything, we ought to thank Fellow Daoist Su.”

As she spoke, she looked up at the tree still laden with the corpses of stars. It was damaged and already showing signs of cracking.

“Besides,” she added, “So long as the Seed of the Azure remains, the Azure Continent has hope of lasting in perpetuity…”

……

Outside Sumeru Immortal Island, the skies above the boundlessly deep Meteor Abyss.

Suddenly, wisps of cryptic mist?interwove, forming a pair of icy, indifferent eyes.

They peered into the night sky.

Before long, an excited, hoarse voice arose from the depths of Meteor Abyss. “The Origins of the Azure won’t last much longer! When this lofty one escapes confinement, I’ll go kill that ant and reclaim the Seed of the Azure!”

……

The Great Xia, Nine Tripod City.

The peak of Mount Heavenbristle.

The Xia Emperor was dressed in simple cloth as he peered into the night sky. Irrepressible astonishment appeared on his face, as well as unconcealable worry.

“The heavens are shifting, and the world is changing. Even the Radiant Epoch is arriving sooner than anticipated,” he muttered to himself.

They’d initially estimated that the true Radiant Epoch would arrive half a year from now.

Yet tonight’s sudden changes meant that the Radiant Epoch would arrive even sooner than that!

“My Lord, whatever comes, we’ll adapt. What happened tonight presents an enormous opportunity for us, too,” Weng Jiu said gravely.

The Xia Emperor silently nodded, and his eyes shone with determination. “Activate the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier and seize as much of this good fortune as you can!”

“Yes, sir!” Weng Jiu hurried off to carry out his orders.

……

The ancestral grounds of the Demonic Huan Family.

Beneath the same night sky, a barefoot elder clad in hemp stood in the air, his eyes shining with mad delight. He threw back his head and laughed. “ Haha! Tonight’s fortune is enough to give us several new Spiritual Revolution experts!!”

His laughter spread far and wide, reverberating throughout the night skies.

The shifting heavens had long since alerted the clan’s other experts, and all of them looked excited.

They’d seen signs of the ambient spiritual energy’s recovery for months now. Collectively, these changes had altered the Azure Continent until it was completely different from before.

However, tonight’s changes were nonetheless unquestionably shocking!

It was as if the Grand Dao were a flood bursting through a dam. Its power was vast, boundless, and chaotic!

Never mind Spirit Dao cultivators; even the weakest of Grain Avoidance cultivators could clearly sense the aura of the Grand Dao surging within the distant dome of the night sky!

“Quick, prepare a formation. Gather as much Grand Dao source energy as you can!” bellowed a bare-footed elder in hemp clothing.

Similar scenes played out in numerous ancient orthodoxies scattered throughout the Azure Continent, including Tianji Dao Mountain, the Deathbringer’s Netherworld Palace, and the Burning Sun Sect.

Thirty thousand years ago, these ancient factions already stood at the pinnacle of the Azure Continent, and their names shook the world. After thirty thousand years under the suppression of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, their power was far from its former peak.

However, they still had their accumulated knowledge and foundations!

In response to this sudden development, the ancient factions were as frenzied as sharks who’d caught a whiff of blood. They immediately launched into action.

……

Similarly, numerous otherworld factions left their bases en masse to seize as much of this heaven-sent good fortune as they could!

……

“Master, what are you looking at?”

In a hidden world, Chi Jiansu looked at the old blind man in confusion.

“The heavens have shifted… Within less than three months, the Radiant Epoch will be upon us. However, at the same time, unpredictable turmoil and tribulations will sweep across this world…” muttered the old blind man, his expression shifting. “Lass, going forward, keep tabs on all information regarding His Excellency Su Yi for me.”

“Su Yi?” exclaimed Chi Jiansu. “Master, what do you want me to?do that for?”

The old blind man shook his head. “Even I don’t understand what’s happening, so there’s no use discussing it with you. Perhaps only someone like His Excellency Su Yi has hope of comprehending these mysteries.”

“.....” Chi Jiansu had nothing to say to that.

Her master was good in almost every way, but whenever Su Yi entered the conversation, he was as humble and pious as a religious devotee, and he spoke with borderline blind fervor and admiration.

Chi Jiansu had always found this difficult to understand. Even if Su Yi were far more heaven-defying, he was ultimately just a teenager. Was he really worth such fervent worship?

……

“Dammit! This change came too suddenly!”

Near the shores of the Great Qin’s eastern seas, a disheveled, elderly Daoist shuddered, his expression shifting erratically.

After a while, the unseemly old Daoist gnashed his teeth and shot toward the Sea of Chaotic Spirits.

“No, I cannot hesitate any longer. I have to see that Su person as quickly as possible! Otherwise, if I miss the opportunity the Radiant Epoch presents, I’ll be really, truly screwed!”