First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 730: Meng Po Palace’s Intentions

Chapter 730: Meng Po Palace’s Intentions

It was a spring night, mellow with hints of vital warmth.

Everyone already knew that when the Radiant Epoch arrived, this rare peace would break, and the world would descend into upheaval and turmoil.

Thus, many people had startled indulging in unbridled hedonism. Nine Tripod City was increasingly lively, and even brothels like the Song of the Sandy Creek saw an explosive increase in business.

After all, once the world descended into chaos, it would be difficult to enjoy such an abundance of delights.

Azurecloud Court.

The moon was faint and the stars were sparse. A night breeze blew past.

Su Yi tossed two Yellow Springs Spirit-Condensing Pills to the old blind man. “From the girl. This is your compensation. Take it.”

Yellow Springs Spirit-Condensing Pills!

The old blind man was unwittingly stunned. These were among the most precious medicines produced in Meng Po Palace. Even one such pill was worth cities!

“Many thanks, Your Excellency Su!” the old blind man said gratefully.

Su Yi picked up a jug of wine and took a sip. “No need to thank me. I just hope you won’t bear a grudge against that girl. Hm…. She’s one of Cui Longxiang’s descendants.”

The old blind man was instantly stunned.

Cui Longxiang!

He was one of the Six Sovereigns of the Netherworld, an old fossil of the Cui Family, the Overseers of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. He was known as the Adjudicator of the Netherworld, and he was a legendary figure!

“No wonder that girl was so strong, and no wonder she discerned my origins at a glance. So, she wasn’t just another disciple of Meng Po Palace,” muttered the old blind man.

He had indeed nursed a grudge over the wound she’d inflicted, but he instantly let it go. As a former denizen of the Netherworld, he was naturally well aware of how terrifying Cui Longxiang was.

“I wouldn’t have thought I’d run into one of that old fox Cui Longxiang’s descendants here,” murmured Su Yi.

His seventh disciple, Xuan Ning, told him that he’d made it to the Azure Continent from the Netherworld largely thanks to Cui Longxiang’s assistance.

So few in the Netherworld understood the secrets of reincarnation that you could count them on your fingers.

Cui Longxiang was one of them.

Cui Longxiang had called upon his clan’s Xiantian Divine Lifeform, the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos, to open a path between worlds for Xuan Ning. This enabled Xuan Ning to use the wisp of aura in his True Xuanwu Sword to arrive in the Azure Continent!

In other words, Cui Longxiang had most likely already guessed that Su Xuanjun hadn’t really died, and that he’d instead chosen to reincarnate!

Seeing a young woman of the Cui Family made Su Yi realize a certain problem: when she came to the Azure Continent, did she receive Cui Longxiang’s tacit approval?

Su Yi thought back to when they met, and to the jade pendant hanging from her waist.

Others might not recognize its origins, but they couldn’t escape Su Yi’s notice!

The jade pendant was made from a piece of the source of the Tree of Ten Thousand Daos, a divine material. It was refined through an extremely fastidious method, the “Celestial Net Capturing the Heavens.”

And no one was better at this particular technique than that old fox, Cui Longxiang!

In other words, only Cui Longxiang could have made that pendant. Not even the other experts of the Cui Family could have done it!

The old blind man couldn’t help but ask, “Your Excellency, don’t tell me you know the Adjudicator of the Netherworld?”

Su Yi laughed, his expression playful. “I’m the debt collector of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers, and I’m that old fox Cui Longxiang’s creditor too. It’s just that what he owes me is an opportunity?of the?Grand Dao.”

“.....”

An indescribable shock coursed relentlessly through the old man’s heart.

And here he’d assumed Su Yi was the debt collector’s descendant! Now it seemed that Su Yi’s identity was far more mysterious than he’d realized!

Even the Adjudicator of the Netherworld owed him a favor; this was simply unbelievable!

“Tell me what you discovered about Meng Po Palace,” Su Yi said casually.

It was an uproarious night in Nine Tripod City. Even in Azurecloud Court, they heard waves of noise emanate from afar.

Su Yi felt a bit strange about it; before long, such liveliness and prosperity would be rare.

The old blind man cleared his throat and revealed everything he’d discovered.

It turned out that Meng Po Palace had already occupied all of the Dark Immortal Grounds, and that there was no way for outsiders to enter.

According to the old blind man, over thirty of their experts had come, and practically all of them were in the Spirit Dao.

The three strongest were in the Spiritual Revolution Realm.

There were three Spiritual Revolution cultivators responsible for their operations here. One was called the Ninth Libationer.

When Su Yi heard that, he couldn’t help but nod.

Meng Po Palace was an ancient orthodoxy with a strict hierarchy. Every libationer had to have Spiritual Revolution Realm cultivation.

Beneath the libationers were the dharma protectors, deacons, and disciples.

Above the libationers were the palace master and the Emissaries of the River.

The?Emissaries of the River?occupied the highest position of all, and this position had always been reserved for Emperors.

The “river” referred to “guiding the souls of the dead back to the River of Forgetfulness.”

Libationers?were already second only to the palace master and the Emissaries of the River. Their position was comparable to the elders of other factions.

“I still don’t know what they’ve come to the Azure Continent for, but I’m sure they’re after some unmatched grand stroke of fortune.

“Do you still remember, Your Excellency? When you cut down the forces of those ancient factions outside Nine Tripod City, a suspected disciple of Meng Po Palace was mixed into the crowd,” said the old blind man at top speed. “I learned that his name is Wei Fang, and although he looks young, he’s one of the three Spiritual Revolution cultivators Meng Po Palace sent to the Azure Continent.”

Su Yi remembered the black-robed young man in question, the one with eyes like frozen whirlpools. Based on that, he ascertained that the man was indeed a disciple of Meng Po Palace.

Anyone who practiced the Classic of Nightmares and Comprehending the Profound would wind up with eyes like that.

The old blind man continued, “But what’s strange is that although Meng Po Palace has occupied the Dark Immortal Grounds for quite some time now, almost no one knows they exist.”

“There's nothing strange about that,” Su Yi said calmly. “The disciples of Meng Po Palace are best at erasing memories, manipulating the heart, and other such sinister abilities. If they want to erase all traces of their presence, they just have to make sure that everyone who saw them forgets about it.”

The old blind man froze, then laughed. “I actually forgot about that.”

“The Radiant Epoch will arrive in just three days. You should stay here for now,” said Su Yi. “When the time comes, I’ll guide the Grand Dao source power manifested?of the?Origins of the Azure. That will be extremely helpful toward your recovery.”

The old blind man’s heart shook, and he nodded his agreement.

……

The Dark Immortal Grounds was once one of the Great Xia’s three forbidden zones.

However, these forbidden grounds had already been occupied by the forces of Meng Po Palace.

Sandstorms swept through the Dark Immortal Grounds year-round. It was a muddled, overcast landscape without the slightest greenery. Everywhere you looked, there was nothing but barren mountains and sandy terrain.

But now, a palace stood here. It had been built before a boundless mountain range.

There was a ten-thousand-foot rift in the sky not far from the mountains, as if the heavens had been ripped asunder. It was like a startling wound.

Spatial storms surged within the tear, and the air of danger emanating from the rift was enough to terrify just about any cultivator.

Upon closer inspection, a black altar hovered within the spatial storm. It was only about ten feet across, but it was as steady as a boulder. No matter how the spatial storm buffeted it, it remained upright.

This was an altar of transmission. The experts of Meng Po Palace had arrived through this very rift!

“Junior Apprentice Sister Cui, did everything go smoothly?” Wei Fang was within a grand palace built of large black stones, and when he saw the young woman in black return, he greeted her with a smile.

The young woman glanced at him and said irritably, “You just had to bring that up, huh? Hurry up and get out of my way. I’m going to see the Ninth Libationer.”

Her tone wasn’t the least bit polite. However, Wei Fang wasn’t at all angry. He smiled and stepped aside, then gently warned her. “The Ninth Libationer and Dharma Protector Xue Ye are in the middle of a discussion, and none are permitted to…”

Before he’d even finished speaking, the young woman in black left.

“It seems Junior Apprentice Sister Cui fell flat on her face this time….” Wei Fang said thoughtfully.

A secret room enveloped in a formation. It was dimly lit, with only lamps for light.

A bony, gray-robed elder with sparse hair sat cross-legged on the floor.

His face was covered in dense wrinkles, and as his eyes moved, they shone with the vicissitudes of the years.

“Xue Ye, whether or not we can seize the Seed of the Azure on this expedition is all up to you,” said the gray-robed elder in a low, muddled voice.

“Ninth Libationer, please rest assured. The Spiritual Revolution cultivators of the Azure Continent have all suffered the effects of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness, and they are far from a match for us. The only ones worthy of our attention are the experts from other planes, but I naturally have means of countering them.”

The speaker was a young man in hemp who stood by the elder’s side. As he spoke, he gently inclined his head.

Xue Ye.

He was in the Spiritual Revolution Realm just like Wei Fang, but they were both just dharma protectors; their position was incomparable to the Ninth Libationer.

Xue Ye had a head of soft, flowing white hair, with dust-colored eyes. He was handsome, but slightly unearthly.

“I’m quite confident in your abilities,” said the Ninth Libationer with a laugh. “Once we’ve seized the Seed of the Azure and reported to the palace master, I’ll recommend you as the Meng Po Palace’s thirteenth libationer. Furthermore, when you attempt to prove your Dao and become an Emperor, I’ll permit you to enter the source of the River of Forgetfulness to glean enlightenment into the Grand Dao.”

The source of the River of Forgetfulness!

This was the most mysterious, ancestral forbidden ground of Meng Po Palace. Rumor?had?it throughout its long history, every one of the palace’s Emperors had left the distinctive mark of their Grand Dao in the source of the River of Forgetfulness.

To those hoping to prove their Daos and become Emperors, contemplating these marks would be unimaginably beneficial.

Xue Ye couldn’t help but look eager, and he smiled. “Ninth Libationer, now that you’ve said that, I can rest assured.”

Meng Po Palace had come here with just one goal in mind—

Seizing the Seed of the Azure!

This was the source of vitality of the Azure Continent, the seed of the entire continent. It was unique, and its value was inestimable.

Bang!

It was then that someone pushed open the door to the secret room from outside. The Ninth Libationer and Xue Ye were briefly stunned. Then, they looked at each other. Both couldn’t help but look a bit frustrated.

Throughout this entire encampment, there was only one person who would dare barge in without so much as announcing themselves first.

Cui Jingyan.

Her name meant “glittering jewels” or “fine jade.”

When the two of them looked up, they indeed saw a familiar, graceful figure walking inside.

This was none other than the young woman in black.

Her bright eyes swept across the Ninth Libationer and Xue Ye, and she feigned surprise. “Ee? And here I thought there’d be no one here. I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

Although she sat there, she took a seat on a nearby mat as if it were perfectly natural, and she grabbed the teapot, poured herself a cup, threw back her head, and drained it without the slightest politeness.

When they saw this, the Ninth Libationer and Xue Ye shook their heads and laughed bitterly.

What could they say? Of course they forgave her…