First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1012 - Only Now Do I Realize Who I Am

Chapter 1012 - Only Now Do I Realize Who I Am

The banks of the Reincarnation Pool.

After a lengthy silence, Su Yi muttered to himself, “The Sword of the Nine Hells most likely suppresses the divine chains to prevent my past incarnations from replacing my current self.”

He was well aware that if something like that really happened, it’d be little different from a possession.

The only real difference was that it’d be his past self replacing his current self.

If that happened, the current him would dissipate, and his past self would seize control over everything he had!

In my past life, I actively sought out the secrets of reincarnation and underwent rebirth. That’s why I didn’t need to worry about that in this particular incarnation. I am the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force, and my Dao includes both this life and my last. I just happened to restart along the way, that’s all.

But if I fuse with the memories of past lives like the Temple Master, their experiences, and even their personalities and will could replace mine. If that happened, how could I still be me? I’d just become a new Temple Master…

Su Yi’s mood shifted subtly.

This feeling really was strange. All of his past lives were him, but all of them had independent personalities, dispositions, experiences, and memories.

He didn’t know whether his past incarnations were peerless experts or unmatched fiends.

Thus, he could say with certainty that the very thing the Temple Master had warned him about—his past selves replacing him after he fused with their Dao imprints—was a very real possibility.

Like a turtledove taking over a magpie’s nest!

His past lives were also him, but even so, Su Yi felt utterly repulsed by the thought of being possessed in such a way.

I am Su Xuanjun. I am Su Yi. Regardless of who my past incarnations were, they’re all mine to use!

I’d rather destroy them than let them replace me!

Su Yi took a deep breath, then made up his mind.

Sword cultivators killed decisively.

He refused to believe that he couldn’t surpass his various past lives!

Besides, they were all his past incarnations. That meant that each of his past lives had encountered a bottleneck! One that left them no choice but to resort to rebirth in order to break through!

But he was different from them. He’d used the secrets of reincarnation to achieve rebirth, and after his conversation with the Temple Master, he realized that his current path was the correct one.

Just how high had the Temple Master’s cultivation been?

Su Yi still didn’t know, but he dared say with certainty that the flaws in the Temple Master’s path appeared in the Imperial Apex Realm. When Su Yi reached the Imperial Apex Realm, all he had to do was achieve supreme strength within that realm. If he did, he’d have an opportunity to surpass the Temple Master in his future cultivation!

And if he continued like that, surpassing all of his past lives wouldn’t be impossible either!

Su Yi felt enlightened, and as if there was nothing else holding him back.

As if he only now realized just who he was.

But Su Yi hadn’t forgotten the three instructions the Temple Master had given him.

Boom!

The black ship at the center of the Reincarnation Pool swayed and rose slowly, as if intent on flying away.

The Sword of the Human Realm flashed and suppressed it once more. The ship rumbled violently, as if resisting.

But in the end, the Ship of Ten Thousand Stars failed to break free of the sword’s suppression.

Before long, a whole group of figures shot out of the vessel, then plopped onto the shore like dumplings. There were about thirty of them.

Including Cui Longxiang!

There was no doubt about it. These were the people who’d been confined within the black ship, the Prison of the River of Stars!

Su Yi wasn’t sure exactly what they’d experienced, but even though they’d been saved, all of them had fallen unconscious.

Once he confirmed that they were unharmed, Su Yi instantly relaxed.

Then, beneath Su Yi’s attentive gaze, the black ship let out sounds reminiscent of wailing, then cut through the skies and disappeared.

Su Yi made no attempt to stop it.

This ship belonged to the Fisherman, and it was mysterious and inscrutable. Still, with the Sword of the Human Realm to suppress it, it wouldn’t cause any trouble even if it returned to the Fisherman’s side.

“Old Monster Su, I knew you’d come.” A series of hacking coughs rang out, and a battered, bloodied figure staggered out of the Reincarnation Pool.

This was none other than Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer!

He was the founder of the Ghost Lantern Sarcophagus Bearers, as well as one of the Netherworld’s most mysterious, legendary figures.

He ran his fingers through his bloodied long hair, but when he saw that Su Yi was similarly battered, he couldn’t help but grin. He looked utterly delighted.

“Is it that funny?” Su Yi took out his wicker chair, sprawled out comfortably, then poured a bottle of medicine into his mouth.

His battle with the Fisherman really had left him with heavy wounds, and his body was on the verge of giving out. He was only holding on thanks to his ironclad willpower.

“I can’t help but find it funny. I’ve never seen you look so pathetic before.” Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer plopped onto the ground and exhaled. He looked thoroughly satisfied. “Life is truly intoxicating. No wonder they say the longer you live, the more you fear death. That bastard kept me trapped there for years, and my body and soul were both on the verge of collapse. If I hadn’t stubbornly clung to life, I’m afraid we would never have met again.”

Su Yi tossed over a bottle of recovery medicine he’d been keeping in reserve. “Since you’re alive, you should treat your wounds.”

Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer didn’t refuse out of politeness. He swallowed the pills one by one, calmed his heart, and sat down to meditate.

They were like brothers in adversity. Both cut sorry figures, but both seemed calm and composed.

After overcoming so many life-or-death trials, there was no way they’d concern themselves with this.

Meanwhile, the Netherworld King walked over and said gently, “Is there anything you need me to do?”

She hadn’t sensed any of Su Yi’s conversation with the Temple Master, but after the Temple Master disappeared, she regained her six senses.

“If possible, please pick up those unconscious people. Just leave Cui Longxiang,” said Su Yi.

“Got it.” The Netherworld King nodded without hesitation.

Before long the Netherworld King had placed all the experts they’d saved from the Prison of the River of Stars into the space within the Buddha’s Seal of Life and Death.

Then, she crouched and examined Cui Longxiang. “He’s taken a shock to the soul, but he isn’t injured. He’s just unconscious. It won’t be long before he wakes up.”

“Mm,” said Su Yi. He was focused on his recovery, and he had no energy to spare on anything else.

When the Netherworld King saw this, she sat quietly on a boulder beside the Reincarnation Pool.

Heaven and earth were still and silent. After that fierce battle, the withered, battered landscape seemed even more desolate than before.

The Sacred Tree of Samsara stood in the distance. The leaves of its towering branches rustled.

The Netherworld King gently twirled the blue hair growing from her temples. Her unmatched, beautiful face was a bit pallid, and she lacked her characteristic contemptuous air of a sovereign. Worry and melancholy had taken its place.

The man in the conical hat had displayed enough power to make one give in to despair, but he was ultimately just a clone!

This was truly astonishing.

But they said there was always a higher mountain out there somewhere, and indeed, the man in the conical hat crumbled like a porcelain dog against the Temple Master’s remnant will. He could only let himself be trampled and humiliated, and he had no power to fight back whatsoever.

Although the Netherworld King couldn’t guess why the Temple Master and the Sword of the Human Realm had intervened, she was certain it had something to do with Su Yi!

This Su Xuanjun has far, far too many secrets… The Netherworld King sighed to herself.

Setting aside his mastery of the secrets of reincarnation, he still had that mysterious power that countered the Laws of Cosmic Silence and Heavenly Prayer. Now, when he found himself in an otherwise inescapable predicament, the Master of the Temple of the Human Realm stepped in to avert calamity.

That aside, there was the strange, grand tribulation Su Yi had undergone atop the Platform of Rebirth, and all of his unbelievable abilities…

The Netherworld King was so shocked that she was starting to feel numb.

She was starting to worry that if she let herself be curious about Su Yi any longer, she’d find herself trapped and unable to free herself.

Time slipped by.

The Reincarnation Grounds were silent and still.

Su Yi was the first to awaken from his meditation. He glanced at the Netherworld King. “Many thanks.”

The Netherworld King was stunned, then caught off guard. “If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time you’ve ever thanked me.”

Su Yi laughed. “Although your desperate, reckless attempts to save me earlier amounted to little more than an ant attempting to shake a tree, how could I possibly ignore your kind intentions?”

The Netherworld King was instantly furious. “What do you mean, an ant trying to shake a tree? Is that any way to thank someone?”

Su Yi waved this away. “Don’t be angry. Now, I can agree to accompany your true body to the Nine Heavens Pavilion once you escape the City of the Wrongfully Dead.”

The Netherworld King’s delicate frame quivered, and her red lips pursed. “If it’s just to repay a debt, you needn’t bother.”

Su Yi shook his head. “I said earlier that as soon as I trusted you, I’d be willing to cooperate with you. It’s not just about repaying a kindness.”

The Netherworld King was stunned, and her charming, starry eyes stared intently at Su Yi’s handsome face. Waves of emotion swept through her heart, and she sighed, “Su Xuanjun, obtaining your trust truly isn’t easy.”

But then, a smile so radiant that heaven and earth dimmed by comparison bloomed on her face. “But this is truly a good feeling. Of course, you shouldn’t let your imagination run away with you. I’m not moved or anything. Don’t think a few words are enough to coax me into relying on you.”

Her smile was charming, and her beautiful eyes shone. It was obvious that she really was in high spirits.

Su Yi smiled. “When I, Su Xuanjun, conduct my affairs, I value actions over words. Time reveals a person’s heart. You’ll understand eventually.”

The Netherworld King’s red lips parted, and she batted her beautiful eyes as she laughed, “Eventually? No one can predict the future with certainty, but for now, I’ll trust you just this once.”

She was a peerless beauty with an impressive figure. Even seated casually atop a nearby boulder, the sheer amorousness of each smile and frown was enough to bring disaster to the populace.

Especially when her slender legs waved gently in the air, giving her a soul-stirring, sultry charm.

Su Yi’s heart shook, and he was just about to say something when Old Ghost Coffin-Bearer awakened from his meditation too.

Then, he grinned and clicked his tongue. “I wouldn’t have guessed you were this capable, Old Monster Su! So, even the Netherworld King has fallen into your clutches!”

“.....”

“.....”

Both Su Yi and the Netherworld King were at a loss for words!