First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1466 - Cuddling by the Light of a Jade Lamp

Chapter 1466 - Cuddling by the Light of a Jade Lamp

The Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains.

Within that ancient palace.

Qing Wan’s long, delicate eyebrows fluttered as she awakened from deep slumber. When she opened her eyes, she saw Su Yi seated to the side in his wicker chair, reading a beast skin scroll.

“Mystic Master, just now, I…” Qing Wan’s eyes shone with bewilderment.

Su Yi said gently, “I just helped you erase your soul birthmark, and I used a secret art to merge your soul with Heavenly Prayer’s. The two of you are now one. From this day forth, Heavenly Prayer no longer exists, and your life will no longer be bound to another.”

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “The only downside is that your memories of your past are gone forever. When your soul birthmark disappeared, they disappeared with it.”

Qing Wan and Heavenly Prayer were originally the same person, Lady Snowjade’s closed-door disciple.

A long, long time ago, she and the Tailor attempted to reuse an old trap. They wanted him to follow in Shen Mu’s footsteps. Thus, they made Qing Wan their pawn.

Furthermore, Heavenly Prayer’s existence determined Qing Wan’s life or death.

Most troublesome of all, as Qing Wan’s cultivation increased, she’d inevitably refine her soul birthmark and awaken the memories of her past life. When that happened, it was highly likely that Qing Wan’s memories would influence her, and that she’d seek true heartlessness just like her teacher had before her!

When that happened, Qing Wan was sure to turn against him!

Lady Snowjade and Shen Mu’s relationship would repeat itself.

Su Yi figured out their plot a long time ago, during his time in the Wilds. However, due to the limitations of his cultivation base, he hadn’t been able to resolve it.

But now, Su Yi had his sixth lifetime’s memories. Resolving Qing Wan’s problems was a trivial matter.

Su Yi’s words left Qing Wan unwittingly stunned.

Her dress was as red as fire, and her skin was as fair as snow. She was as pretty as a painting, with a profound, clear gaze. She was as pure as a sheet of white paper, yet she had a startling charm about her.

And when she was with Su Yi, she was reserved and obedient, just as before.

Gradually, she seemed to grasp the meaning of Su Yi’s words. Undisguised relief and delight appeared on her face as she murmured, “That’s… that’s wonderful….”

“What’s so good about it?” laughed Su Yi.

Qing Wan’s eyes sparkled like stars, and she said softly, “Mystic Master, all I know is that you kept me by your side and guided my cultivation, and that you’ve saved my life over and over again….”

Her eyes shone with reminiscence, as if she were replaying it all in her head.

Then, she seemed to work up her courage. Her bright eyes stared intently at Su Yi, and she said with the utmost seriousness, “I don’t need the memories of my past. All I want… is to spend my life with you. So long as you don’t despise me or cast me away… that’s enough for me…”

As her voice trailed off, her eyelashes fluttered with embarrassment, and her face flushed red. She averted her gaze, her jade-like hands clenching the hems of her clothes.

Mystic Master?

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh, but inwardly, he was a bit rueful.

Only Qing Wan called him that.

He recalled when he’d first met her in the Great Zhou’s Guangling City, shortly after taking up residence in Apricot Cottage. Qing Wan had been no more than a yin spirit, and Su Yi took her in and trained her as a vessel for dual cultivation…

At the time, Qing Wan was already a striking beauty, but whenever she faced him, she quivered like a leaf.

Qing Wan had been by his side ever since.

Years had passed.

When Su Yi looked at Qing Wan, it was as if he were looking at everything he’d experienced over the years. How could he not be rueful?

He picked his cup of wine off the nearby table and drained it.

Qing Wan rose, then took a jug of wine and refilled his cup.

The fiery lamplight illuminated her slender, pride-worthy figure, casting a gorgeous shadow.

“A toast to you, Mystic Master.”  Qing Wan raised a cup, bent at the waist, and offered it to the reclining Su Yi.

She was right above him, and Su Yi had a clear view of the two ample curves beneath her dress. Her soft, beautiful features had an additional, extraordinary allure beneath the lamplight.

The hall was empty, save for the flickering of the lamplight.

A man and a woman, alone at close quarters. Even rarer, she was a natural, unparalleled beauty, and she was offering him a toast. She couldn’t have been any more stunning.

It was as if a vivid painting were unfurling before him, striking and enticing.

Su Yi accepted the cup, then drained it.

Qing Wan was just about to step aside when a hand pulled her close. Her fair, delicate frame shook, and she looked up to meet Su Yi’s gaze.

His eyes contained a hint of a smile, as well as a raging fire. It was as if he wanted to devour her, body and soul.

A gentle tug, and she fell fully into his embrace.

“Mystic Master…” said Qing Wan, her voice as soft as a gnat. She was just about to say something when something blocked her shiny red lips.

It was like a poem:

A spot of wine, cuddling by the light of the jade lamp. Eyes meet, and lovers embrace. Love is sweet agony, agony, agony. A gentle push, a trembling voice. A startled face flushes red.

Again and again, without seams or breaks. The memories stir up madness, and movement, movement, movement. Limbs intertwine, lips meet, and tongues intermingle.

……

After a night of insatiable revelry, it was mid-morning by the time Su Yi woke up.

He was in high spirits.

Qing Wan was sleeping soundly within the Divine Replenishment Furnace.

Last night had been like a raging storm. The young woman had fought valiantly, but eventually, she had to raise a white flag and give in to exhaustion.

As she rested, Su Yi called Wu Meng, Bai Tuo over. He planned to set off and return to the stars, but first, there were things he needed to know.

“All these years have passed. Why haven’t you attempted to cross the Path Heaven Forbids?” asked Su Yi.

He sat at his desk and scanned the group.

Wu Meng sighed deeply. “Your Eminence, a lot has changed in your absence. The Path Heaven Forbids hasn’t been crossable in a long time. They say catastrophe befell the Immortal Realm, and the Path Heaven Forbids took damage too. Now, anyone who attempts to cross it will die beyond a doubt.”

Bai Tuo said gravely, “Meng Zhen and the old mule joined forces and tried to cross the Path Heaven Forbids a while back, but… both of them died in the attempt. With their last remaining strength, they sent us a message warning us never to risk ourselves there. They said it was a path to certain doom!”

A hint of melancholy appeared on the other old monsters’ expressions.

The old mule and Meng Zhen had served Wang Ye back then, just as they had.

“So the Immortal Realm’s catastrophe affected the Epoch of Demonism too…” Su Yi furrowed his brow.

The Epoch of Demonism was unique. Throughout the ages, anyone who stepped into immortality here had to overcome the Path Heaven Forbids to reach the Immortal Realm.

The so-called Path Heaven Forbids was a path between planes, but it was like a forbidden zone. Unpredictable peril lurked at every step of the way.

Thus, throughout the ages, only a handful of those who achieved immortality in the Epoch of Demonism dared attempt the Path Heaven Forbids.

When Wang Ye left the Epoch of Demonism, he left Wu Meng and the others secret methods and treasures, and he instructed them how best to overcome the Path Heaven Forbids.

Only now did Su Yi learn that the Immortal Realm’s catastrophe had rendered it uncrossable!

All of a sudden, Su Yi recalled numerous similar developments.

It hadn’t been long since Mi Zhen, a servant of the Dipankara Buddha, told him what the gods had done in the name of destroying reincarnation!

Like the catastrophe that befell the Immortal Realm, the Human Realm’s End of the Dharma, and even the cataclysm that severed the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s access to the Path of Heaven’s Ascension…

The shadow of the gods was behind it all!

Admittedly, due to the restrictions of the Laws and the natural order, the gods couldn’t interfere in the affairs of the Human Realm, and it was difficult for them to find Su Yi, the one they called the “Reincarnator.”

But they could block his way ahead and prevent him from growing stronger!

This was the primary reason that Su Yi’s cultivation dropped with each cycle of reincarnation. 

Furthermore, the gods could send their servants into the world to seek Su Yi out on their behalf.

Take Qin Chongxu, the divine servant who’d destroyed the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s Path of Heaven’s Ascension, or Mi Zhen, that follower of the Dipankara Buddha, or even the Tailor, who’d secretly served the Goddess of Silent Darkness all along!

The Epoch of Demonism’s road to the Immortal Realm, the Path Heaven Forbids, was affected too. As a result, even old-timers like Wu Meng and Bai Tuo dared not venture there.

How could Su Yi fail to realize that this was targeting him?

“Back then, the Blood Firmament Immortal Sovereign led a group of immortal experts to the Epoch of Demonism to search for Wang Ye.

“When Wang Ye reincarnated into Shen Mu, he appeared here, in the Epoch of Demonism…

“It seems that the effects on the Path Heaven Forbids were the work of the gods, too.” Su Yi rubbed his forehead.

It all sounded complicated, but in truth, it was simple. The gods couldn’t find him, but they could use the forces at their disposal to find and defeat his reincarnations, and they could make it harder for him to grow strong!

It wasn’t long before Su Yi learned from Wu Meng that ever since the Path Heaven Forbids was destroyed, fewer and fewer Transcendents had broken into immortality. As for Wu Meng, Bai Tuo, and the other old monsters? They were subject to the restriction of the Laws. Their cultivations couldn’t advance any further. Moreover, as time passed, it grew harder and harder to find suitable cultivation resources. If things went on like this, their cultivation bases were at risk of dropping!

This was one of the primary reasons they’d hidden themselves away all this time.

“Your Eminence, might you… point us toward the right path?” Black Toad couldn’t help but ask.

The other old monsters all looked at Su Yi, their eyes shining with eagerness.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then said, “Once I’ve returned to the Immortal Realm, I’ll find a suitable opportunity to bring you over as well.”

All of them were delighted, and all of them hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

The cultivation civilizations of different epochs developed under starkly different Laws. That meant that even if Su Yi remained in the Epoch of Demonism, it would be difficult for him to prove his Dao and advance here. Well, that was unless he cast aside his cultivation base and began anew.

By the same logic, if Wu Meng and the other old monsters followed Su Yi back to the stars, they’d struggle to rise into the Immortal Realm.

As Su Yi, Wu Meng, and the others conversed——

A stalwart man with long, disheveled hair silently appeared in the skies just outside the Ancient Wilds Demon Mountains.

“If I don’t find your ‘eminence’ this time, I’ll kill you,” the man in blue said slowly.

He held a golden lamp in the palm of his right hand.

A figure was confined within it.

Flames exuding wisps of mysterious immortal light swayed within the lamp, burning the captive, who shrieked in agony.