First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1069 - Giving Master a Delightful Surprise

All of Heavenly Shepherd Spirit Mountain was in upheaval. Everywhere you looked, there were cultivators scampering to safety.

This grand battle had begun just as quickly as it ended, but the resulting disturbance was enough to startle and terrify the heavens.

The cultivators of the Levitating Sword Hall had just watched their sect’s higher-ups get cut down like mustard grass. All of them were as frantic as dogs who’d lost their masters.

Su Yi paid these small fries no heed.

Now that Hong Shanfeng and the other Levitating Sword Hall old-timers had been executed, the Levitating Sword Hall, one of the Six Great Daoist Sects of the Wilds, had crumbled!

“Back then, Hong Shanfeng led those old-timers into the Grotto of Abstruse Force, and he publicly slandered me. How could Pi Mo let them join the Abstruse Force Alliance?” Su Yi put away Moonlit Shadow and looked at Ye Luo.

After all, the Abstruse Force Alliance was founded in Su Xuanjun’s name, but the Levitating Sword Hall’s invasion and accusations were blatantly disrespectful to him.

Ye Luo sighed. “Master, Pi Mo pushed the blame for everything the Levitating Sword Hall did onto Qing Tang. He said she pretended to be acting in your name as she killed members of the Levitating Sword Hall and stole the Ten Directions Sword Sutra…”

Here, he stopped to mock himself. “I found it a bit suspicious too, but I just took it as Qing Tang being crafty and despicable enough to commit heinous acts in your name. Only now do I realize that Pi Mo was deceiving me the entire time.”

Su Yi nodded, then suddenly asked, “Then do you know if Qing Tang has ever truly committed any betrayals over the years?”

“I…” Ye Luo thought for a moment, then said, “Over the years, Pi Mo has insisted on numerous occasions that Qing Tang occupied the Grotto of Abstruse Force and monopolized everything you left behind. He even said that she was ruthless and ambitious, and that she’d attempted to destroy the Abstruse Force Alliance and her senior apprentice brothers and sisters on numerous occasions.

“But now that I’m really thinking about it, aside from stating her intention to destroy the Abstruse Force Alliance, she hasn’t really done anything out of the ordinary over the years.”

Here, Ye Luo’s expression grew complicated. “Master, aside from you, it’s hard for me to trust anyone now. I just… it seems like both Pi Mo and Qing Tang have hidden their true intentions so deeply. They seem completely different from before.”

Ye Luo sounded utterly despondent and melancholy.

Su Yi patted him on the shoulder. “I trust that Pi Mo and Qing Tang are in the minority, and that most of your apprentice brothers and sisters were deceived just like you were.”

“Come on, let’s go to the Ten Directions Yao Mountains.” As he said this, Su Yi turned and walked off.

Ye Luo sighed to himself. But being kept in the dark is the worst feeling of all…

Then, without giving it any further thought, he caught up to his master.

On that night, the Levitating Sword Hall met with disaster. A whole group of their Emperors fell in battle!

When news spread, it first sent waves of uproar throughout the Northern Snow Province before spreading to the rest of the Wilds. Widespread shock and astonishment followed.

“The disciples of the Levitating Sword Hall heard that it was the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force himself who cut all those Emperors down in a flash!”

“My heavens! Is the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force really still alive?”

“No, it was definitely Su Yi, the one impersonating him! He’s getting revenge against the Abstruse Force Alliance!”

“Who knows the truth?”

……

Martial Heaven Peak, the Abstruse Force Alliance.

When Pi Mo heard the news, he sank into a lengthy silence, then shook his head and laughed.

“Master, oh, Master. You were once as lofty as a god gazing down upon the heavens. A faction like the Levitating Sword Hall was completely unworthy of your notice. Why is it that now that you’ve reincarnated, you’ve chosen to target such ‘soft persimmons?’”

His voice contained a hint of mockery.

A moment later, he stroked his lower jaw. “Master, it seems your cultivation is nowhere near what it was at your former peak. That’s absolutely wonderful news…”

Pi Mo visibly relaxed.

He made the first move to see whether or not Su Yi dared fight his way directly into the Abstruse Force Alliance’s base.

He’d even prepared numerous countermeasures just in case. He was waiting vigilantly, not daring to be even the slightest bit negligent.

But after learning what Su Yi had done at the Levitating Sword Hall, Pi Mo felt much calmer.

But he didn’t relax completely.

As Su Yi’s first and eldest disciple, he’d spent the longest time with his master. He knew better than anyone how terrifying of an existence his master was!

“Junior Apprentice Sister Song Chai will leave seclusion within a year. Until then, I’ll use every means at my disposal to play with you, Master,” Pi Mo muttered to himself. “Alas, that little bitch Qing Tang managed to keep her cool, and she hasn’t taken action against you. Still, I'm sure she’s preparing to deal you a lethal blow! Otherwise, how can she report to the mysterious faction backing her?”

……

The Grotto of Abstruse Force.

The bank of a blue-green lake.

Qing Tang sat in a wicker chair, her beautiful eyes as bright as stars as she gazed intently at the golden spirit fish frolicking about the water.

The spirit fish had dragon-like whiskers, and it was two feet long. Its entire body shone with spiritual luster, but it was extremely fat.

The Grotto of Abstruse Force had kept it in the lake for a long time. It had lived for countless years and consumed too many heavenly materials and earthly treasures to count. Its entire body was a treasure.

Qing Tang remembered that when she first joined the sect, her master mentioned the fish. He said he’d brought it back from the Little Western Paradise, where it had lived in the lotus pond next to the bodhi tree. There, it listened to the chanting of Buddhist scriptures year round. Her master thought it might well one day leap over the dragon’s gate and become a true dragon!

Qing Tang had kept tabs on the fish ever since.

Unfortunately, after all these years, the fish had only gotten fatter. It showed no signs of transforming into a dragon.

“If you haven’t undergone metamorphosis by the time I leave the Wilds, I’ll make you into soup and drink you,” said Qing Tang. A faint smile tugged at her lips.

The fish seemed to sense her intentions. It jumped in fright and dove to the bottom of the lake.

“Miss Qing Tang.” The jade-robed Qin Feng walked over in high spirits. “Did you hear? That Su Yi person killed a group of old farts at the Levitating Sword Hall two days ago!”

This emissary of the Solar Palace was obviously excited.

Qing Tang’s exquisite eyebrows furrowed, but she didn’t so much as spare Qin Feng a glance. Her eyes remained focused on the lake, and she said distractedly, “A trivial disturbance, that’s all. It’s not worth paying attention to.”

Qin Feng froze. He couldn’t help but say, “But outside, they’re saying that if Su Yi is allowed to carry on like this, it won’t be long before he kills his way into the Grotto of Abstrue Force! After all, he’s pretending to be the reincarnation of none other than the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force!”

He paused, but when he saw that Qing Tang wasn’t responding, he continued, “It seems to me that we shouldn’t just wait for him to show up, and that we should capture him first instead. That way, we can learn his origins and get a handle on his abilities. It’ll change the populace’s opinion of you, too, Miss Qing Tang. Two birds, one stone!”

Qing Tang slowly looked up, and her starry eyes glanced indifferently at Qin Feng. “First, tell me: why are you so interested in this Su Yi person?”

Qin Feng’s eyes flashed, and he laughed, “I’m just trying to help you, Miss Qing Tang.”

Qing Tang stretched out her slender, snowy hand and pointed into the distance. “You can leave.”

Qin Feng’s smile froze in place, and he frowned. “Miss Qing Tang, I’m wholeheartedly trying to help you, but it seems… you don’t like me very much!”

His expression darkened.action

Qing Tang waved her finger through the air, and a massive wave arose from the lake, catching Qin Feng off guard and sending him flying.

He landed several hundred feet away, and although he wasn’t injured, he was drenched, and he cut a sorry figure.

“Listen up! I don’t need you to tell me how to conduct my affairs. If your Church of the River of Stars is really so capable, you’re welcome to seek out Dark and Gold Essence on your own.” Qing Tang sat leisurely in the wicker chair, then gazed back at the lake. She said coolly, “I, Qing Tang, could protect the Grotto of Abstruse Force even without the Church of the River of Stars.”

Qin Feng stood in the distance, looking like a drenched rat. He was visibly enraged.

But just as he was about to say something, a dignified, raspy voice rang out.

“Qin Feng, we’re guests. Don’t be rude to our host.” A yellow-robed old man appeared out of nowhere.

Qin Feng’s expression abruptly changed, and he bowed in greeting. “Yes, sir!”

The yellow-robed old man clasped his fists at the distant Qing Tang. “If we offended you, we humbly request your forgiveness."

Qing Tang subtly inclined her head. “I naturally won’t take a petty disagreement like this to heart.”

The yellow-robed elder smiled. “If possible, I’d appreciate it if you could gather Dark and Gold Essence as soon as possible. If we don’t have enough by the time our leader returns from the Netherworld, it’ll be difficult for us to deliver our progress report.”

He spoke gently, but his words contained a subtle hint of a threat.

Qing Tang naturally picked up on it, and she said calmly, “Rest assured. When your leader’s clone arrives, I’ll naturally give him an explanation.”

The yellow-robed elder said no more on the matter. He simply turned and led Qin Feng away.

After they both faded from view, Qing Tang’s fair, jade-like hands clenched on the armrests of the wicker chair, and her clear, peerlessly beautiful face frosted over.

The yellow-robed elder was called Shang Tianqi, and he was the Grand Libationer of the Solar Palace of the Church of the River of Stars. He was second only to the Palace Leader!

His rank and cultivation far surpassed that of an emissary like Qin Feng.

“Shang Tianqi, how dare you use the Fisherman’s clone to threaten me? If I didn’t need the Church of the River of Stars to suppress that woman from the Studio of the Heart, I’d kill you without pity for that!”

Her gaze was utterly cold.

A moment later, she relaxed completely and stared at the golden carp in the pond. She whispered, “Whenever the wind rises, widespread chaos is sure to follow. Alas, this wind isn’t strong enough to change the world, so… we might as well wait a little longer. Don’t you think so?”

The golden carp darted about in apparent delight, stirring up waves. It was unclear if it understood or not.

“Master, when the time comes, I’ll naturally give you a…delightful surprise!”

Qing Tang then raised her jug of wine and drank with relish.

As she sprawled out languidly in the wicker chair, her starry eyes shone with a thought-provoking light.