First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 1450: Truths Revealed!
High up beneath the dome of heaven.
The River of Spacetime surged at the far end of the mysterious tunnel. It was manifested completely out of a lofty, unsurpassed power of the Laws.
The surging river was condensed out of the Laws of the natural order. Every wave was full of mysterious, unfathomable power.
Suddenly, a terrifying figure appeared within the depths of the River of Spacetime. He stood atop the river, walking along the surface of the water. His entire body blazed as if he were on fire, and endless light shone around him. When he moved, he was like a sun shifting through the sky, illuminating the River of Spacetime.
As majestic as a god of light!
But his features were incomparably indistinct and ethereal, as if he were condensed out of countless Laws of the natural order and impossible to view directly.
And this ethereal figure was approaching through the tunnel!
Boom!
Heaven and earth trembled.
This hidden realm they called the Abandoned Monument seemed unable to withstand the pressure. Signs of collapse appeared all over the place.
At the top of the Path of Endless Tribulations, the ancient altar rumbled and boomed, shining with dazzling tribulation light. The light transformed into a cage-like barrier, trapping Su Yi inside.
Su Yi solemnly gazed down that mysterious tunnel. He could sense a terrifying presence approaching from the far end. It was so strong that the tunnel shook violently, and it seemed it wouldn’t last much longer. His heart shook.
The power of the gods!
Long, long ago, his sixth incarnation had fought throughout the Immortal Realm. Once, he used an unsurpassed divine skill to cross the River of Epochs and investigate the secrets behind the legends. He’d hoped to uncover information on the path of the gods. Yet in the end, a strange, mysterious disaster befell him. A tribulation manifested of the power of the natural order almost killed him.
In the Immortal Realm, there had long been records of such tribulations. They were called the Prohibition of the Gods.
The Prohibition of the Gods was an unsurpassed natural order distributed throughout the River of Epochs. It influenced the past, the present, and the future.
Those who attempted to uncover the secrets of godhood were seen as heretics. Such attempts violated the Prohibition of the Gods, which in turn annihilated them!
Wang Ye had survived the Prohibition of the Gods, but it had nothing to do with his lofty cultivation base. Rather, when he sensed the danger, he immediately drew upon the Sword of the Nine Hells’ power to escape the River of Epochs in time.
Only then did he manage to escape death!
The terrifying power that had appeared at the far end of the tunnel was startlingly similar to the Prohibition of the Gods that Wang Ye had encountered. This too was obviously the work of the gods!
It was unquestionably just as the bald old man had said. The gods forbade his power of reincarnation!
Su Yi no longer hesitated.
“Rise!” Su Yi stretched out his hand, and the mysteries of reincarnation condensed into a streak of sword qi, which he gripped as he might a real sword.
Within his sea of consciousness, the Sword of the Nine Hells rumbled and boomed. Its vast, mysterious power flooded into that streak of sword qi.
The sword qi in Su Yi’s hand shone with dusky yellow light, and a strange, inscrutable sword force spread around it.
Bang!!
The sword force alone was enough to shatter the entire stretch of sky.
The cagelike barrier of tribulation light suffered a terrifying impact, and spider web-like cracks spread across its surface.
When Su Yi’s sword qi landed, the barrier exploded into bits.
The nearby ancient altar broke and split into pieces on impact, and the Path of Endless Tribulations swayed beneath Su Yi’s feet.
“This is bad!” The old bald man’s expression instantly shifted.
But it was then that that grand voice boomed at the end of that mysterious tunnel like the sound of the Dao.
“Restrict!”
Boom!
The mysterious tunnel rumbled, and a streak of divine light manifested of the Laws of the natural order shot forth, condensing into a magic seal that ruthlessly bore down on Su Yi.
Su Yi swung his sword and clashed with it head-on.
Although he blocked the seal in the end, the sword qi in his hands shattered, inch by inch!
He was sent flying back, coughing up blood. The impact left him injured, and his handsome face paled.
“It really is the power of the gods!” Su Yi’s gaze was increasingly cold and indifferent. Murderous intent welled in his heart.
That seal was manifested of the power of the natural order. It was full of restrictive power far beyond the might of the heavens.
However, Su Yi could tell that this power of the gods was far, far weaker than what Wang Ye had faced on the River of Epochs.
It seems that although the power of the gods can manifest in the Human Realm, it’s severely weakened and suppressed, thought Su Yi.
The gods wielded the Contract of the Gods and the Laws of the natural order. Their divine abilities were unsurpassed.
But at the same time, they too were subject to the influence of the Laws and the natural order.
Otherwise, the world would have long since descended into complete chaos. After all, if the gods could act on their whims, heaven and earth would have long since crumbled into nothingness.
There was no doubt about it. The restrictions of the Laws of the natural order meant that although the power of the gods could appear in the Human Realm, it was severely restricted. At the very least, it was far weaker than what Wang Ye had faced.
“I am Mi Zhen, an attendant of the gods. God slave, where are you? Hurry up and usher me in!”
A grand voice resounded from within the tunnel, like the voices of the gods echoing throughout the nine heavens.
“Yes, sir!” The old bald man solemnly assented. His gaze was zealous and pious as his hands formed a mysterious seal. A gray prayer bead floated above his head.
The bead lit up, and an arc of tribulation light shot forth, straight into the tunnel.
The attendant of the gods, Mi Zhen?
‘God slave?’
‘Ushering?’
Su Yi’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly rose to his full height and attacked the old bald man. His entire cultivation base circulated to unprecedented heights.
Sword qi manifested of the mysteries of reincarnation formed in his grip once more. It was full of the mysterious aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells.
Boom!
Sword qi burst forth, slicing the sky.
The old bald man neither dodged nor fled. A strange smile appeared on his face. “It’s too late!”
The words had only just left his mouth when the slash slew the old bald man on the spot, splitting his body into chunks.
But Su Yi furrowed his brow.
He then watched as a light rain of the Laws of the natural order fell within that mysterious tunnel, outlining an indistinct figure.
Upon closer inspection, this was none other than the old bald man.
But his presence had transformed completely!
Endless light spread out around him, like a god of light. He was majestic and contemptuous, and his imposing aura bore down on his surroundings, making heaven and earth wail.
There was no doubt about it. The old bald man was using his body as a vessel to summon the so-called Attendant of the Gods, Mi Zhen!
This implied that the power of the gods couldn’t really enter the Human Realm. If the gods could come directly, why send an attendant?
And why would they need a self-proclaimed “Divine Emissary”—in truth, a mere slave—to offer his body as a vessel?
“Reincarnator, I’ve finally found you again!”
A dignified voice left the old bald man’s mouth, and his eyes flashed like twin suns. Countless bright lamps floated around him, illuminating the entire stretch of heaven and earth.
Strictly speaking, this was no longer the old bald man, but rather, an attendant of the gods, Mi Zhen!
“You found me again?” Su Yi’s eyebrows rose in mild surprise. He didn’t act recklessly. Instead, he asked, “Does that mean we’ve met before?”
“That’s right,” Mi Zhen said, his eyes full of entirely unconcealed, icy, murderous intent. “I’ve watched you die beneath the joint power of the gods twice! We killed you once over the River of Epochs, and once in the Heavenly Fate God Domain. Compared to your previous lives, you are pathetically weak!”
His voice dripped with disdain.
Su Yi’s eyes narrowed, but he was inwardly quite surprised.
I… was killed by an alliance of gods twice!? This guy met two of my past lives!
This revelation left Su Yi astonished. Furthermore, he realized that if this were true, even though the gods had joined forces to kill him, they hadn’t really been able to destroy him!
This was naturally connected to the Sword of the Nine Hells!
Meanwhile, Mi Zhen continued, “But then, your weakness isn’t surprising. Over the years, the gods have made arrangements to eradicate you completely, heretic. They once joined forces to restrict the natural order of the Immortal Realm and destroy all potential suspects.
“And they once directed the Laws of the natural order to make a cataclysm sweep across the Human Realm, destroying the Path of Transcendence and separating the mortal and immortal completely.
“And they once sent Divine Emissaries into the Human Realm to seek out the power of reincarnation…
“Everything the gods have done has been for the sake of blocking your path of rebirth and reincarnation, Reincarnator!”
“As expected, the gods’ planning and effort hasn’t been in vain. Back then, you were strong enough to contend with the gods, but now… you’re so weak I can’t help but pity you.”
Mi Zhen sighed, as if in reminiscence.
Su Yi’s brow furrowed as he thought back to the past.
Long ago, the Dark and Gold Star Realm’s connection to the Path of Heaven’s Ascension had been severed. Even longer ago, the catastrophe known as the End of the Dharma destroyed the stars’ connection to the Path of Transcendence. And a similar cataclysm, the Age of Fallen Immortals, had befallen the Immortal Realm!
Now, he found out that all of these catastrophes were the work of these gods. And it appeared that these far-reaching cataclysms had all been targeting… him?
All for the sake of stopping him from undergoing rebirth and cultivating anew? All of this was to trap him completely?
This revelation sent a chill down Su Yi’s spine.
A moment later, he let out a dry, derisive laugh and said with emotion, “The gods you speak of… are truly inept!”
His tone was rife with disdain.
Off in the distance, Mi Zhen said coldly, “Should I interpret that as the helpless ravings of a man about to die?”
Su Yi’s gaze was calm and distant, and he made no attempt to disguise his disdain. “If the gods are omnipotent, why haven’t they found me after all this time? Why bother setting a trap?”
Mi Zhen’s gaze shifted erratically, but just as he was about to respond, Su Yi said coldly, “All these years, they’ve longed to kill me, but they’ve never succeeded. They had no choice but to besiege the world with cataclysms, destroying cultivators’ paths, all to restrict my efforts at re-cultivating the Grand Dao. Gods like that aren’t just inept. No, they’re simply… a joke!”
Seth’s Thoughts
Author note:
ps: This chapter was too difficult to write~ I tweaked and rewrote it over and over again. Part of the initial setting and some of the later truths have already been revealed.
Readers keep commenting that Su Yi gets weaker every time he reincarnates. Some of these truths are revealed here.
Also, this chapter has foreshadowing for future events. Enjoy, everyone~
Translator note:
Okay, so. We have four rivers corresponding to abstract concepts in this novel.
时光长河= The River of Time
时空长河= The River of Spacetime
纪元长河= The River of Epochs
命运长河= The River of Destiny
I spent… a long time trying searching future chapters to figure out if the Rivers of Time and Spacetime were really different or just a terminology error, and I’m still not certain. I only tweak the novel for consistency when I’m certain something is an error. In this case, I’m just going to translate it as I see it.
“The River of Epochs” is a new phrase. It never appeared in earlier chapters, but it’s a recurring term in later chapters. Wang Ye didn’t say anything about the River of Epochs earlier, but then, he didn’t go into detail about his interactions with the gods.
The Prohibition of the Gods is a new phrase too. It should be referring to the “backlash from the contract of the Gods” Wang Ye describes in chapter 1417.