First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2522 – Ling Ran’s Invitation

Beyond the celestial gate, the Ancient Aberrant’s expression was contorted and hideous with agony.

Countless figures identical to him devoured his face like mad, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t break free.

There was no doubt about it. These were the incarnations of his negative karma, like tens of thousands of external manifestations!

When Su Yi saw this, he didn’t hesitate. He leaped into the air and swung his arm.

Boom!

Countless streaks of sword qi gathered at the cuff of his sleeve.

When Su Yi swung his arm, the countless streaks of sword qi whooshed forth, like a wave assailing the celestial gate. They cleaved into the massive face of the Ancient Aberrant.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wherever the sword qi reached, the power of reincarnation burst forth, exploding one incarnation of negative karma after another. All of them vanished into nothingness.

It was like a wind sweeping away remnants of cloud. Most of the incarnations of negative karma were destroyed in a flash.

Some of them seemed to have sensed the danger. These had fled.

The Ancient Aberrant bellowed, his voice booming like spring thunder. Countless strange blood markings of the Aberrant Dao rose from his massive face, like a net of the natural order sealing off the fleeing negative karma’s escape routes.

Su Yi seized the opportunity to swing his sleeve and send another round of sword qi flying past the celestial gate. This time, he slew every last incarnation of negative karma.

All the while, he was calm and at ease. It barely took any effort at all.

But the Goddess of Silent Goddess’s heart shook. Chills coursed down her spine just watching it. As powerful as the Ancient Aberrant is, even he was beset by a Karmic Tribulation, leaving him no choice but to do his utmost to show his sincerity and ask Su Yi for help. It’s obvious how terrifying the Karmic Tribulations of the Path of Eternity are.

What if such a tribulation befalls me after I’ve stepped into Eternity? What will I do then?

She instinctively glanced at Su Yi. Something occurred to her. If the Ancient Aberrant cast his reservations aside and asked Su Yi for help, why can’t I?

“Many thanks for your assistance in breaking my Karmic Tribulation, Fellow Daoist. I, Xuan Ming, will carve this benevolence into my heart. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life!” the Ancient Aberrant said with gratitude written all over his massive face.

His Karmic Tribulation was no more. This was utterly delightful.

Even as his voice rang out, it was as if his shackles shattered. His massive face shrank countless times over.

In the end, he transformed into a coppery skinned old man in plain, old-fashioned beast skin robes. His eyes blazed like twin suns, and he carried stars on his shoulders. His whole body flowed with mystical blood markings of the Aberrant Dao that manifested strange, striking, blood-red stars.

This was Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming’s true appearance!

It might have seemed as if he’d shrunk countless times over, but he still shook the starry void with every breath he took. He still had the terrifying, ferocious majesty of an Eternal, and he was still extraordinarily imposing.

“No need to be so polite. Our enmity might have ended, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to accept you as a friend,” Su Yi said calmly.

“I understand.” Xuan Ming inclined his head. “The way you see it, Fellow Daoist, I showed you my sincerity and paid a heavy price because I had no other choice if I wanted you to save my life, but…”

He clasped his fist, then bent at the waist, giving Su Yi a proper bow. “True gold does not fear authentication. One day, you’ll understand just what kind of person I, Xuan Ming, am.”

His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the nine heavens and resounding throughout the starry void. Even the celestial portal trembled.

Su Yi rubbed his ears and teased, “Is every practitioner of the Aberrant Dao as loud as you?”

The Ancient Aberrant fell silent.

But Su Yi had already set the question aside, as something else had occurred to him. “How does your cultivation base compare to the Heavenly Sovereigns?”

Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming pondered briefly, then said, “In terms of strength, I cannot compare, but I’m not that far from some of them.”

He paused, then sighed. “But even if my cultivation base were comparable to them, I couldn’t possibly be a match for them.”

“Because of their Eternal Thrones?”

“That’s right,” said the Ancient Aberrant.

“Not counting other Heavenly Sovereigns, is it true that no one in the Eternal Heavens Domain’s long history has ever defeated someone with an Eternal Throne?” asked Su Yi.

“Most likely… yes! I’ve never even heard rumors of such a thing,” said Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming. “Controlling an Eternal Throne means controlling one of the strongest Laws of the Eternal Heavens Domain and becoming like an incarnation of heaven’s will, an Eternal ruler.

“Only a Heavenly Sovereign can defeat another Heavenly Sovereign. This is an ironclad rule; no one has ever shaken it.”

He paused, then added, “That includes your past life, Fellow Daoist. He attempted to break this ironclad rule on numerous occasions, and others saw him as the man with the greatest hope of one day defeating a Heavenly Sovereign. Unfortunately… in the end, he still couldn’t do it. That’s why we called him the Greatest of the Unthroned.”

“In that case, if someone gave you an Eternal Throne, you’d be capable of defeating Heavenly Sovereigns?” asked Su Yi.

The Ancient Aberrant laughed bitterly. “In theory, yes, but Eternal Thrones are extremely limited in number. I’ve poured immeasurable effort and made countless sacrifices to acquire an Eternal Throne, but in the end, I still failed to realize this desire. By now… I no longer have hope of acquiring an Eternal Throne of my own.”

He let out a deep sigh full of frustration and desolation.

Suddenly, the celestial portal shook violently, and numerous spacetime cracks appeared.

The Ancient Aberrant’s heart shook. “Fellow Daoist, the portal will soon collapse. My Karmic Tribulation has been resolved, and I’ll soon return to the Eternal Heavens Domain. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Lots of possibilities occurred to Su Yi. He thought of the Malevolent Sword Venerate, and of the Limitless Palace.

But in the end, he shook his head. “There isn’t.”

“Silent Darkness is an inheritor of my Aberrant Dao,” said the Ancient Aberrant. “She opposed you in the past, but she did so at my behest. She naturally won’t oppose you any longer. If you need anything, you can contact her, and she can make contact with me. If I receive a request from you, I won’t refuse!”

He looked at the Goddess of Silent Darkness. “Do you understand, Silent Darkness?”

The Goddess of Silent darkness quivered, lowered her head, and clasped her fist. “I shall assiduously carry out your orders, Ancient Aberrant!”

Su Yi said nothing. On the surface, this was a wholehearted expression of willingness to help him, but in truth, the Ancient Aberrant was really helping the Goddess of Silent Darkness!

After all, with this arrangement in place, how could he possibly try to settle the score with her?

Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming said, “Right, tell Fellow Daoist Ling Ran that this situation has been resolved, and that she shouldn’t provoke Fellow Daoist Su going forward.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness hesitated. “Your Excellency, Ling Ran is backed by an expert of the River of Destiny, just like I am. If she’s really set on trying something, I’m afraid she won’t heed your command.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this strange. Ling Ran? Who’s that? Don’t tell me she’s the master of the Ruins of Supreme Simplicity?

He suddenly recalled the blue-gray divine fowl who’d led him to Heavenly Aberrant Mountain.

There was no doubt about it. Ling Ran and the bird were in the same camp. Furthermore, Ling Ran had helped the Goddess of Silent Darkness arrange their meeting today.

“If she won’t listen, then she’ll be our enemy going forward. She can naturally weigh the advantages and disadvantages for herself,” the Ancient Aberrant said gravely.

He’d only just said this when the celestial gate collapsed with a bang. Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming and the stretch of stars he stood in both vanished without a trace. All that remained was a receding tide of spacetime power.

The Goddess of Silent Darkness turned and clasped her fist at Su Yi. “I’ve set aside all of our former enmities. Going forward, I’ll be sure to respect the Ancient Aberrant’s orders and cooperate with you to the full extent of my ability.”

She paused, a complicated look on her beautiful face. “But I don’t know whether or not you still carry a grudge. All I want is to show you my sincerity to make up for…”

Before she could finish, Su Yi said, “I’ll speak directly. Words alone cannot possibly resolve what happened between us.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness froze, then lowered her head. “If there’s anything you want, please say it. If it’s within my ability, I won’t refuse.”

Su Yi walked over to the bone altar and took the jade box containing the Eternal Key. He looked it over and said casually, “Ancient Aberrant Xuan Ming took responsibility for everything you did. How could I possibly make trouble for someone who was just following orders? But you’d best not hope to seize this opportunity to improve our relationship. There’s no need to even try it.”

With that, he put the Eternal Key away and descended Heavenly Aberrant Mountain.

The look on the Goddess of Silent Darkness’s face shifted. She had indeed hoped to transform disaster into good fortune and seize this opportunity to improve her relationship with Su Yi.

Unfortunately, Su Yi saw through her at a glance. He wouldn’t give her that kind of opportunity.

She took a deep breath, then caught up to Su Yi and passed him a black talisman. “The Ancient Aberrant commanded me to follow your orders. If there’s anything I can do for you, use this talisman to command me. I’ll also pass on any requests you have for the Ancient Aberrant exactly as you made them.”

Her attitude toward Su Yi had changed; she’d humbled herself considerably, and now, she spoke with the utmost respect, like a servant requesting orders from her master.

But she didn’t feel frustrated or aggrieved. Even the Ancient Aberrant had gone all out to request Su Yi’s aid, so how could she possibly keep putting on airs?

Su Yi glanced at her, then put the black talisman away without a word.

He didn’t say anything, but the mere fact that he’d taken the talisman filled the Goddess of Silent Darkness’s heart with inexplicable delight.

Her thoughts raced. How should I gradually go about resolving his distaste for me?

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the distance. “Your Excellency Silent Darkness, my mistress has sent me to invite you and Fellow Daoist Su to visit her.”

A blue-gray divine fowl appeared in the distant skies, seemingly out of nowhere. He was looking at Su Yi and the Goddess of Silent Darkness, who’d only just stepped off the mountain.

“Qing Chi, what is your mistress trying to do?” The Goddess of Silent Darkness frowned.

“I don’t know.” Qing Chi shook his head.

The Goddess of Silent Darkness pondered briefly, then looked at Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist, how about you leave first, and I go meet with Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran?”

But before Su Yi could respond, the bird said, “My mistress wants to see you both. If Fellow Daoist Su leaves, I won’t be able to complete my mission.”

This sounded polite enough, but in truth, the implied threat was readily apparent!

The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s gaze focused.