First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2524 – A Change in the Lake of the Heart

The jujube was crisp and sweet, and as he chewed it, a soothing fragrance permeated his mouth.

It was just as Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran described: a natural fragrance of the Grand Dao, as clear and sweet as a spirit spring, and as fragrant as a new lotus blossom. It was starkly different from the world’s other delicacies.

When he swallowed the fruit’s flesh, it transformed into a steam of energy and merged with his essence, qi, and spirit.

Su Yi could instantly sense ripples coursing through his Dao Heart.

If he compared his Dao Heart to a lake, then this feeling was like the first rain of a new spring. The droplets assailed the surface of the lake, creating ripples that stirred and awakened the entire body of water.

The whole “lake” burst with newfound vitality.

Su Yi quietly sensed the change. He could clearly sense the “spring rains” cleansing his Dao Heart. It wasn’t just brighter and cleaner; it had been silently nourished and tempered.

He couldn’t help but find this surprising. The heart was full of profundities upon profundities. Who could have imagined that a single bite of fruit could produce such a wondrous transformation?

Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran’s voice suddenly rang out. “Fellow Daoist, can you feel thunder and flames quenching your heart?”

Su Yi was stunned. He shook his head slightly. “Not yet. Let’s see if I feel it after I’ve eaten the whole fruit.”

With that, he devoured the rest of the fruit in just two more bites.

A wind instantly rose over the lake of his heart, stirring up ripples. The surface of the lake churned, and as the spring rains poured down, its waters rose.

It was as if he’d eaten a sumptuous delicacy that nourished and strengthened his heart.

But… he didn’t sense anything resembling “thunder and flames.”

“What do you mean by ‘thunder and flames quenching my heart?’” Su Yi asked.

“The Fire Jujube contains a wisp of hellfire, like the new vitality born of lightning. It quenches the Dao Heart, priming it to absorb the fruits wondrous Heart Soul Power. This strengthens the Dao Heart and elevates it to new heights,” explained Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. “Don’t tell me you still haven’t felt it?”

Su Yi nodded. “I haven’t.”

Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran pondered briefly. “I understand. You’ve reincarnated many times over. The strength of your Dao Heart is far from ordinary. You can safely eat another fruit.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness was unwittingly stunned. Earlier, she said you could only eat one, and that if you ate more, it would damage the heart and soul. She insisted that not even peak Nine-Tribulation Master Gods were exempt!

Yet now, the fruit had almost no effect on Su Yi at all. Does that mean that the strength of his heart is beyond that of even Nine-Tribulation Master Gods?

As she pondered, a Fire Jujube formerly hidden amongst the tree’s verdant leaves silently fell, then hovered before Su Yi.

Su Yi smiled. “This is a rare, precious treasure. I’m afraid that eating more would be a waste.”

“You needn’t concern yourself with that, Fellow Daoist,” said Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. “As precious as the fruit is, external treasures are ultimately just external treasures. I wish for you to experience these wonders and profundities for yourself—that’s how I show my hospitality.”

Su Yi didn’t refuse again. He ate the second fruit, then washed it down with a sip of wine.

As if it were a snack accompanying his drink.

“How do you feel?” asked Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran.

Su Yi calmed his heart, sensed the changes, and said, “The lake of my heart is rippling, and the rain is pouring. It’s indistinct, but I can hear the rumbling of spring thunder. However, there’s still no sign of thunder and flame quenching my heart.”

Two fruits weren’t enough? The Goddess of Silent Darkness couldn’t help but feel stunned.

A moment later, Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran said, “On the River of Destiny, even Limitless Dao Lords will only serve Hellfire Heart Jujubes to guests at discussions of the Dao, and even then, only in small numbers. Each guest can consume three jujubes at most.

“I would never have guessed that your heart was already this strong, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. She speaks of the River of Destiny so casually, and she even knows the details of Eternal Dao Lord’s gatherings. She really isn’t simple!

“Would you be interested in eating another fruit, Fellow Daoist?” asked Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. It seemed he’d piqued her curiosity, and she wanted to test his limits.

Su Yi smiled. “Then I’ll just have to thank you in advance.”’

This was an opportunity delivered to him on a silver platter. He naturally wouldn’t pass it up.

The Goddess of Silent Darkness was stunned. This Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran really is throwing her money around. That jujube is an unparalleled treasure; such a plant could never have arisen in the God Domain, but it seems… she doesn’t care about it at all!

The way she looked at Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran shifted, as if… she were looking at a moneybags shining from head to toe with treasure light!

Soon, Su Yi had eaten a third jujube.

This time, a fierce storm rocked the lake of his heart. Thunder surged, and towering waves swept across the surface of the lake. Deep within its waters, irrepressible vitality surged forth, as if a volcano was hidden beneath its surface, soon to erupt!

But in the end… the eruption never came. Neither fire nor thunder fell. It was as if these changes had reached a sort of bottleneck.

Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh to himself. I’m still one step away!

It was obvious that the Hellfire Heart Jujube’s couldn’t shatter the barrier standing in the way of his next breakthrough.

“It didn’t work,” said Su Yi, answering Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran’s question before she even got the chance to answer it.

“That still… wasn’t enough?” The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s beautiful face filled with disbelief. She grabbed the remaining fruit on the plate. “Let me try.”

As soon as she finished it, her delicate frame quivered, an an extraordinary look appeared on her face.

Su Yi noticed that her qi was transforming, surging like tidewaters.

Within just a few blinks of an eye, she seemed to awaken from a dream. She let out a deep breath and exclaimed, “So, this is what it means for thunder and flame to quench the Dao Heart. It’s indeed too wondrous for words. I can sense that my Dao Heart has received indescribable nourishment and tempering.”

She sighed. “Even my scattered thoughts, obsessions, and desires have been eradicated. Its as if the fetters of my heart and mind have been cut, granting me a sort of… release!”

“Release?” asked Su Yi.

“That’s right. Release!” The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s eyes sparkled with obvious delight. “I can even sense that, so long as I will it, I could start striving for the mysteries of Eternity here and now. I can now begin preparing to prove my Dao and break through!”

It was obvious that consuming the jujube had benefited her enormously. Her delight was too great for words!

But then, she looked at Su Yi, and much of her delight inexplicably died down.

She was someone who’d long since touched the threshold of the River of Destiny, but she felt the “tempering of thunder and flame” after a single fruit.

Yet Su Yi had eaten three, and they’d had no significant effect. The comparison proved that the strength of his heart was far beyond hers!

“The Dao gave rise to one. One gave rise to two, two gave rise to three, and three gave rise to all things,” said Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. “This is the rule of the myriad facets of the Grand Dao, and it hides the mysteries of the transformations of the Laws of creation.

“Similarly, even Limitless Dao Lords of the River of Destiny can at most eat three Hellfire Heart Jujubes at once. More than that, and their hearts cannot possibly withstand it.

“But it’s obvious that you’re different, Fellow Daoist. The strength of your heart is far beyond the bounds of your cultivation base. You’ve reached unbelievable heights. Naturally, we cannot judge you with common sense.”

There was no disguising the hint of surprise in her voice.

Then, she asked, “Are you interesting in eating another?”

“No need,” said Su Yi. He shook his head slightly. “No matter how many I eat, it won’t help my heart break through. It’d be a waste of precious treasure.”

“A mental barrier?” Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran murmured thoughtfully.

“Fellow Daoist, what did you invite us here to discuss?” Su Yi sat beneath the tree and gazed into the hall where Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran was sitting. He got straight to the point.

“First, I wanted to see you with my own eyes, Fellow Daoist,” said Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. “Second, I wanted to make my position clear.”

“Now you’ve seen me,” said Su Yi. “But what position is it that you wish to make clear?”

This time, Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran finally put down her needle and thread to look at Su Yi. Her eyes were bright and clear, and they sparkled like stars.

The moment her gaze landed on Su Yi, his instincts screamed, “This woman is terrifying!”

But this feeling only lasted a moment, as she quickly retracted her gaze. “When the Dark Days of Legend arrive, you and I must do battle.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness’s heart clenched, but Su Yi smiled. “Why not fight now?”

“The time is not yet right,” said Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran. “But you needn’t overthink this. Our battle is not one of hatred or enmity, and I’m not a member of anyone else’s camp.”

“So it’ll be a clash of the Grand Dao?” Su Yi’s eyebrows rose.

Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran thought that over, then said, “Strictly speaking, it’ll be a Battle for Order. We must determine a victor, and I absolutely will not back down.”

She said this with that calm, tranquil voice of hers, as if this were all perfectly naturally.

But the Goddess of Silent Darkness could sense intense pressure bearing down on her! “Why must it be this way?” asked Su Yi, a bit confused.

Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran lowered her head, picked her needle and thread back up, and resumed mending. “Long ago, one of my seniors told me that reincarnation wasn’t invincible, and that Epoch Sparks weren’t undefeatable.

“On the Path of Eternity, any Laws of the natural order imbued with supreme mysteries of Destiny has the potential to break reincarnation.

“And I seek one such path.”

The Goddess of Silent Darkness gasped. If the Laws of Reincarnation were so easily defeated, why would all those old-timers of the River of Destiny be targeting Su Yi?

But from the sound of things, she isn’t at all interested in reincarnation. Rather, she’s interested in defeating it!

She sounds quite confident, too. Does that mean she’s really mastered a supreme power of the Grand Dao connected to Destiny?

And that such powers are rare even on the River of Destiny? After all, not just anything is worthy of the title ‘supreme!’

Su Yi mulled this over, too. He couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

For a moment, he couldn’t help but suspect that Sovereign Venerate Ling Ran wasn’t the sole ruler of the God Domain’s Age of Supreme Simplicity, but rather, an expert from the River of Destiny!

The reason for this was simple. She didn’t just know secrets that only such experts should have been privy too, and she didn’t just have a close relationship with several Limitless Dao Lords of the Path of Eternity.

She’d even mastered a supreme Power of the Grand Dao connected to Destiny!