First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1224 - The Nightmare Winds Belt

The cold, vast void of outer space.

A flat boat was shuttling through the stars.

Su Yi sat languidly at the tail end, drinking alone.

Qing Wan sat obediently beside him, her clear, beautiful eyes curiously examining the scenery along the way.

This was her first time wandering among the stars, and the boundlessness of space brought her enormous astonishment.

Meng Changyun stood at the head of the boat, circulating his cultivation base to direct its flight.

“Your Excellency, at this speed, we’ll arrive in the Dark Nightmare Realm within the month,” Meng Changyun said with a laugh.

The Dark Nightmare Realm.

A world located at the edge of this forbidden ground, a “harbor” leading to the stars beyond.

After departing the Dark Nightmare Realm and passing that forbidden zone, you’d effectively have entered the bounds of the starry skies.

“On the road ahead, just call me ‘young lord,’” Su Yi casually ordered. He’d decided to conceal his identity and keep a low profile.

His reasoning was simple.

During the battle on the Sea of Falling Stars, he’d swept through their enemies from the stars beyond, killing numerous World Kings from the Studio of the Heart, Church of the River of Stars, Nine Heavens Pavilion, and Primordial Unity Daoist Sect.

Now, Su Yi dared say with certainty that these peak factions already knew that he was the Temple Master’s reincarnation!

Furthermore, he was in possession of the secrets of reincarnation, something even peak factions slavered at the mouth over!

Given the circumstances, if he proceeded into space under his true identity, he was sure to draw a lot of attention and invite endless trouble.

Su Yi didn’t want to bring all that trouble to his doorstep.

“Going forward, I’m called Shen Mu,” he muttered to himself.

Shen Mu.

His seventh lifetime, a peerless genius whose heaven-defying foundations and aptitude made even the Temple Master sigh over his own inferiority.

Despite countless years traversing the boundless void of space, the Temple Master had never seen Shen Mu’s equal when it came to talent and comprehension of the Dao of the Sword!

He was like a natural-born sword cultivator, the chosen son of heaven. Millions of years might pass without seeing anyone like him.

At just fifteen years old, he contemplated for ten days and ten nights, smoothly proving his Dao and becoming an Emperor.

At just seventeen years of age, he overcame a trial of life and death and broke into the World King Realm.

At twenty-three years of age, he established himself in the Cosmic Enlightenment Realm, his sword suppressing all on the Path of Heaven’s Ascension!

But it was in that very year that Shen Mu, a peerless genius, had his heart shattered by a woman, leading to his death!

All the Temple Master knew was that Shen Mu had already grasped the threshold of a higher path when his heart shattered and he died suddenly.

Perhaps only Shen Mu himself knew exactly what had led to his death.

Still, the Temple Master suspected that the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion knew something. Furthermore, he’d also most likely long since realized that the Temple Master was Shen Mu’s reincarnation!

Su Yi had brought Qing Wan with him to investigate and uncover these truths.

No matter what, Su Yi felt that he had to pay the Nine Heavens Pavilion a visit.

First, Qing Wan and Little Heavenly Prayer were the same person, and there were almost certainly secrets behind her identity.

This was the karma the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion had “given” him!

He had no choice but to resolve it unless he could completely disregard Qing Wan’s life.

Second, the Supreme Leader most likely knew some of Shen Mu’s past. Shen Mu was his seventh incarnation, so he was involved in this too.

Third, not long ago, the Supreme Leader sent someone to take the Netherworld King away. The Supreme Leader also insisted on meeting with Su Yi within a year.

But Su Yi wasn’t in a hurry.

He could already guess that the Supreme Leader of the Nine Heavens Pavilion had run into trouble, and he obviously couldn’t keep his cool. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have arranged to meet with him on just a year’s notice.

“Shen Mu? Young lord, might I ask if there’s a reason behind the name?” Meng Changyun earnestly requested guidance.

“It’s just a name,” said Su Yi. “There’s nothing about it you can use to flatter me.”

“....” Meng Changyun’s face reddened, and he coughed dryly.

“Master, is there really another me out there?” Qing Wan couldn’t help but ask.

Su Yi subtly inclined his head. “Don’t worry. No matter your origins or karmic ties, I’ll naturally help you resolve them.”

“Mm!” Qing Wan grunted obediently.

“When we get to the Dark Nightmare Realm, you’d best hide within the Soul-Nurturing Gourd.”

The young woman didn’t ask why. She just nodded her assent. This was Qing Wan: well-behaved to the extreme.

Boom!

A temporal windstorm surged in the distant void. Wherever it passed, stars split and crumbled into meteorites.

The sight was enough to strike terror into the hearts of any Emperor.

These were the dangers of interstellar travel.

It might have seemed as if Su Yi and company were simply drifting through the stars, free and at ease, but in truth, they’d encountered numerous unforeseen perils already.

Like temporal windstorms, spatial divides, and turbulent celestial currents.

That aside, they encountered celestial spirit beasts that saw travelers as prey. Some were as enormous as divine mountains and capable of devouring the stars. Others formed groups and swarmed like hornets.

But none of this could threaten Su Yi.

It was to the point that he didn’t even need to intervene; the experienced Meng Changyun could naturally handle all of this.

This incident was no exception.

Meng Changyun steered the boat, and in a few blinks of an eye, the rampaging temporal windstorm flew past them and into the boundless void of outer space.

A month later.

The Dark Nightmare Realm, an extremely ancient plane.

It was just a few tens of thousands of miles from a forbidden zone of the starry skies, the Nightmare Winds Belt.

Gazed upon from afar, the Nightmare Winds Belt blanketed space like an enormous black curtain. It rose and fell in waves, obscuring that stretch of stars completely.

It was a naturally formed forbidden zone. Emperors who attempted to cross it had absolutely no hope of survival!

In addition to the Nightmare Winds that corroded the cultivation base, its numerous danger zones and disasters appeared erratically. It was a zone of endless calamity.

It was even inhabited by extremely dangerous interstellar beasts. They wandered the Nightmare Winds belt like packs of ravening wolves.

Even World Kings wouldn’t cross the Nightmare Winds Belt lightly.

After all, it was utterly enormous. It covered several star realms worth of space. Even if a World King was extremely powerful, entering the Nightmare Winds Belt meant facing endless disasters, and their odds of survival were poor.

Fortunately, every once in a while, the Nightmare Winds Belt entered a stagnant period, and all of its perils went dormant.

So long as you had an experienced expert to guide you, it was safe to cross.

The Dark Nightmare Realm bordered the Nightmare Winds Belt, and it was famous throughout the stars as a “harbor.”

Over the years, countless cultivators from other star realms wanted to venture further into the stars. All of them had to pass through the Dark Nightmare Realm.

Simply put, it was a true interstellar outpost.

Countless cultivation factions and rogue cultivators gathered here, as well as numerous trading companies. They brought resources from all across the Eastern Profound Star Domain to trade here in the Dark Nightmare Realm.

This was what made the Dark Nightmare Realm so incomparably lively and prosperous.

On that very day, Su Yi and company rode in on a flat boat and reached Skyblue City, the greatest city in the Dark Nightmare Realm.

The city alone covered eight thousand miles!

Its sheer enormity made it comparable to the larger nations of the Azure Continent. Here, sects were as numerous as the trees in a forest, and there were numerous trading companies. It was incomparably prosperous.

Rumor had it that prominent factions of the stars stood behind Skyblue City’s top factions. It was for this reason that Skyblue City was relatively orderly; typically, no one dared cause trouble here.

But where there were people, there was conflict. Bloodshed in Skyblue City wasn’t unheard of. There was no avoiding bloodshed completely.

In other parts of the Dark Nightmare Realm, there were no rules and order to speak of. All kinds of bloodshed took place around the clock.

Thus, relatively speaking, Skyblue City was still a rare safe zone.

“Ten Star Vein Spirit Crystals per person!” A group of cultivators stood guard outside the gates. The first time someone entered the city, they had to buy a certificate of entry. With it, they could come and go freely.

Star Vein Spirit Crystals were refined from the peak spirit veins of star realms.

These treasures were used as coins to do business out amongst the stars, much like the gold of mundane nations.

Similar treasures existed in the Wilds, but they were rarely used as currency, as they were necessary resources for an Emperor’s cultivation.

“Ten Star Vein Spirit Crystals? That’s comparable to a peak Imperial Realm medicine,” Qing Wan grumbled. The price seemed excessive.

Qing Wan couldn’t even imagine how just entering a city could cost so much.

“It’s a way of weeding people out. They refuse ordinary cultivators at the door. Only those of extraordinary status and origins can enter the city,” Meng Changyun chuckled and explained. “Otherwise, no matter how big Skyblue City was, it couldn’t possibly hold the endless stream of cultivators arriving from other star realms.”

As he spoke, he knowingly took out the Star Vein Spirit Crystals and traded them for three certificates of entry.

“Come on, let’s find an inn to rest our feet in first.” Su Yi put his hands behind his back and strolled through the city gates.

On the way here, he checked, and he knew that the Nightmare Winds belt was still circulating, and that it showed no sign of stopping.

They could only wait in the Dark Nightmare Realm for now.

After proving his Dao and becoming a World King, his aura was as obscure as a divine treasure’s, completely reserved. Unless he attacked or deliberately released his aura, people would take him for an ordinary mortal with no cultivation to speak of. Even other World Kings could easily overlook him.

But to prevent blind, foolish, trivial characters from causing trouble, Su Yi deliberately released the aura of an Imperial Realm cultivator. That was enough to intimidate small fries.

Meng Changyun kept an even lower profile, withdrawing his aura completely and following Su Yi like an elderly servant. He stuck close, averting his gaze, as if he feared nothing more than drawing attention to himself.

Qing Wan was an Empress to begin with, so she naturally didn’t need to hide anything.

Thus, although they drew numerous glances as they passed through the city gates, the onlookers quickly looked away after sensing Su Yi and Qing Wan’s cultivations.

“Look, Young Lord.” Qing Wan exclaimed as soon as they passed through the city gates. Her bright, clear eyes widened.

Su Yi looked over, and despite himself, his eyebrows rose.