First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2504 – The Awakening of the Insects, All Is Revitalized

People flowed through the city streets in a neverending stream.

The man in blue robes and Elder Weng stood there, just three feet apart.

Strangely, it was as if those around them couldn’t sense their existence; they treated them as if they weren’t even there.

“Most people in this world are mediocre. How many are truly capable of seeing through my identity?” Elder Weng shook his head. He obviously didn’t understand. “Especially since my current identity is that of an informant I planted long ago. Aside from me, no one in this world should have known about it, so how…”

The blue-robed man laughed and interrupted him. “Is there any point in saying all that now?”

Elder Weng fell silent.

“Come on, let’s leave the city. I’ll give you a chance to fight back.” The man in blue put his hands behind his back and gazed into the firmament. “Today just so happens to be the Awakening of the Insects, the day of new life. All we’re missing is a bout of spring thunder.”

He’d only just said this when dark clouds suddenly gathered beneath the clear blue skies, followed by the low rumble of thunder!

As the thunder boomed overhead, it brought with it a restless energy that enlived all living beings. Those tiny lives dormant beneath the ground all seemed to awaken.

Along the walls and in patches of dirt, there arose sounds of quiet splitting and breaking as new sprouts broke through the surface of the earth.

Vibrant life force permeated the sky. The city’s willow leaves were new, vibrant green, and tender.

Elder Weng’s pupils constricted.

The rumbling of spring thunder awakened the hibernating insects, and everything else lying dormant. Ordinary people couldn’t sense these subtle changes, but they naturally couldn’t escape Elder Weng’s notice.

It was a sudden clap of thunder in a silent place!

Su Yi’s comment that all they were missing was a little thunder was like a magic spell. Heaven hastened to answer his call!

The most wondrous part was that it all seemed so natural. Su Yi didn’t reveal any sign of his cultivation base.

That was what startled Elder Weng the most.

“You… don’t tell me you’ve broken past the Undying Realm and achieved Eternity?” Elder Weng couldn’t help but ask.

“I haven’t.” The man in blue shook his head and sighed. “I’m still far from reaching that level.”

Elder Weng’s gaze grew complicated. He’s still far from reaching that level?

If he’s this terrifying despite not even being close to achieving Eternity, how strong will he become when he reaches the River of Destiny?

“Come on, let’s chat as we walk,” said the man in blue, placing his hands behind his back as he headed for the exit.

He looked as if he were out for a stroll.

Elder Weng fell briefly silent, then followed.

They’d only just left the city gates when it started to drizzle. Mist rose, permeating the entire landscape. It looked like an inkwash painting.

The wild apricot trees were in full bloom, and the moist air carried the smell of earth and vegetation. It was soothing to the heart and the senses.

It was like a poem. “Just as the rain of apricot blossoms does not dampen the clothing, the soft breeze blowing through the willows does not chill the face.”

Su Yi whispered, “Only those who endure the bitter cold of winter can experience its reversal, the reawakening of all life.”

He took a sip of wine. “Unfortunately, most people in this world are no different from the insects.”

Elder Weng was stunned. A sentence rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind. “Insects spend their whole lives in song, but they cannot sing past autumn!”

No matter how much an insect jumped about, it couldn’t survive the autumn, let alone the winter.

Elder Weng’s eyelids twitched. “Are you saying that in your eyes, I’m now no different from an insect?”

“No,” said Su Yi, chatting casually as they walked. “I’ve spent the past year hunting down my enemies. None of them lived to see the awakening of insects.”

Elder Weng’s expression shifted erratically.

He understood.

When spring thunders boomed, life reawakened.

The way Su Yi saw it, he controlled the spring thunder, while Elder Weng was the dormant insect he’d “awakened.”

No matter what Su Yi said, ultimately, Elder Weng was playing the role of “insect.” He was just one that happened to last long enough to emerge from hibernation in the spring.

“This is a lovely place. How about I send you off here?” said Su Yi, stopping in a ridge full of apricot blossoms. He smiled at his companion.

Elder Weng’s heart shook. He sighed. “It’s rare that you’d be in the mood to arrange such a picturesque place first.”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “The enmities of my past lives are like fetters restricting my advance. My heart will not know peace until I’ve severed them.”

He looked at Elder Weng and said softly, “If you please.”

The air was permeated with mist, and radiant apricot blossoms fell like snow, blanketing the mountains.

It was a picturesque scene, but austere murderous intent permeated the mists and drizzling rain.

Elder Weng suddenly felt a chill course through him.

It wasn’t that the spring breeze was too cold, nor was it due to the rain. Rather, icy murderous intent had permeated his bones, chilling his heart.

He took a deep breath, then said, “I know where Hua Hongzhen is hiding.”

Su Yi was briefly stunned. “That won’t be enough to change your fate.”

Elder Weng sighed. “I understand. How could I not? Once you’ve made up your mind, nothing will change it.”

“Alright, then,” said Su Yi. “What do you want in exchange for that information?”

Elder Weng fell briefly silent. Then, he said solemnly, “I just hope that you can give the Severed Heavens Demon Court a chance to carry on existing.”

“You’re doing this for your sect?”

“That’s right.”

Su Yi inclined his head. “Very well.”

Elder Weng—or rather, the Severed Heavens Demon Master—visibly sighed in relief. A massive weight lifted from his shoulders.

As if he’d untied a mental knot.

“I founded the Severed Heavens Demon Court myself, and a poured a lifetime of effort into it,” the Severed Heavens Demon Master said softly. “You might not believe me, but I once made a solemn vow to enlighten the masses, to spread my teachings throughout the world and guide the world’s cultivators toward the Grand Dao…”

He shook his head in self-deprecation. “It’s a pity, but I never managed to achieve my goal.”

He took a deep breath, then said calmly, “But so long as the lamp I built remains lit, it can guide others’ paths. That way, the Grand Dao I spent my life pursuing… has hope of being passed on to future generations.”

“Why tell me all this?” asked Su Yi.

The Severed Heavens Demon Master laughed. “In my eyes, you’re worthy of respect and admiration as well as enmity and hatred. But more than that… I know that only you will understand what I’m trying to say.”

Su Yi took a sip of wine and nodded. Your enemies often understood you best of all.

You couldn’t label people like the Severed Heavens Demon Master, the Dipankara Buddha, or the Angler as purely good or purely evil.

Were they so one dimensional, they could never have reached the pinnacle of the God Domain or held onto power for so long.

It was even fair to say that all of them were peerless existences, each in pursuit of their own Dao, and each with grand aspirations. All of them were extraordinary.

Take the Severed Heavens Demon Master. It might have seemed like he’d spent his time in hiding visiting brothels and listening to stories like an old lecher, but in truth, all of that was just a way to disguise his identity.

He’d tarnished himself amidst the world’s filth, obscuring his radiance in mortal dust.

Once the Severed Heavens Demon Master started talking, he didn’t stop. He shared his aspirations, his regrets, his failures, and his successes.

Su Yi just stood there amidst the mist and rain, listening in silence. He didn’t interrupt.

He’d spent the past year fighting all across the God Domain, ending one blood debt from his past lives after another. In doing so, he’d shattered his heart’s fetters and cleared the mental obstacles in his path.

His cultivation base had advanced considerably. Killing even the mightiest of Nine-Tribulation Master Gods was no longer out of the question.

But Su Yi’s mental transformation was even greater. He’d become calmer and more transcendent.

It wasn’t like before, when he’d needed to meticulously prepare to face the threat of his powerful enemies. He no longer needed to rack his brain or take things one step at a time.

He could now defeat his enemies single-handedly, even outnumbered. There was no need for thought. All he had to do was cut them down.

Take now, for instance. Perhaps the Severed Heavens Demon Master just had a lot to express before he died, or perhaps he was just stalling for time. Su Yi didn’t care either way.

“If there’s another life, I hope to be your enemy again.” Suddenly, the Severed Heavens Demon Master looked at Su Yi and said solemnly, “Only then will I know the joys of competition and the satisfaction of a life-or-death struggle.”

Su Yi was briefly stunned. He inclined his head. “Your words resonate with me deeply.”

“If you please.” The Severed Heavens Demon Master raised his hand and beckoned to Su Yi, starting the battle.

Su Yi put away his jug of wine. “Let us begin.”

The drizzle, the mist, and the rumbling thunder suddenly rose. The sky filled with a rain of apricot blossoms, dazing through the air like flurries of snow.

A little less than ten minutes later, the Severed Heavens Demon Master was dead.

He died without any regrets. This sort of passing was akin to finding release.

Insects sang their whole lives without ever living to see the winter, but he’d lived to see the new spring, to converse with Su Yi, to express the emotions pent-up in his heart, and die beneath Su Yi’s sword in a clash of the Grand Dao.

There was indeed nothing to regret.

The apricot blossoms fell, then withered. The drizzle continued in silence.

Su Yi poured out the rest of his jug of wine and said, “I wouldn’t have guessed it, but the way you handled your last moments actually improved my opinion of you. Farewell.”

……

Half a month later.

Outside an ancient city in the Southern Flame Divine Continent.

The spring sun wandered through the sky, and a breeze rustled the apricot blossoms.

Promising youths walked through the wilderness. Were others there to see them, they might have asked, “Who raised such splendid young men and women?”

They walked shoulder to shoulder, on a springtime outing, full of youthful spirit and endless liveliness.

“Sword Venerate Su really is worthy of respect and admiration, but we have our aspirations, too. There’s no guarantee that we cannot one day stand atop the world as he has, intimidating everyone on all sides!” a young man in white said with the utmost confidence and ambition.

“That’s right. To see who’s truly great, you must look to the present! The legends of the past will all ultimately be surpassed. That’s the meaning of pursuing the Grand Dao!” said a beautiful young woman.

“Indeed. How dull would pursuing the Grand Dao be if we couldn’t surpass those who came before us?”

“Hahaha! Well said! Come on, let’s drink!”

The young men and women laughed and chatted, all of them brimming with the lively air that youths ought to have.

Off in the distance, a man in blue smiled and retracted his gaze. The young have the ambition to soar into the clouds. The long river of history has not flowed in vain.

This is how the young ought to be.It’s fine if they’re wantonly arrogant, or if they overestimate themselves a little.

After all, is a youth without spirit truly young?

“Hello, friend! Care to join us for a drink?” The young man in white smiled and invited the stranger to join them.

Su Yi was stunned. He pointed to himself. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Come on! Chance encounters are strokes of fate. Le’ts not waste our precious youths or this endlessly radiant spring day!” said the young man in white.

Su Yi smiled and shook his head. “You have fun. I… still have something to resolve in the city.

With that, the put his hands behind his back and sauntered toward the city in the distance.

Hua Hongzhen was hidden inside.

The sound of the youths’ laughter and conversation emanated from behind him.

A slightly dazed looked appeared on his face.

I might long to buy osmanthus blossoms and share a spot of wine, but ultimately, I can never return to the carefree days of my youth.