First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 1474: The Handsome Young Man’s Origins
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- Chapter 1474: The Handsome Young Man’s Origins
Buddhist chanting echoed throughout the surrounding space.
The distant onlookers’ hearts quivered, and they instinctively prostrated themselves, like a flock of pious devotees lowering their heads in obeisance.
Su Yi’s brow furrowed.
You’ve seen the future, so why haven’t you bowed before me?
It was just one short sentence, but it was like the decree of heaven, with a power that touched the human heart. Even more terrifyingly, the Buddha’s voice contained a power of the natural order that intimidated the soul!
It affected Su Yi’s heart and mind too, but a moment later, he neutralized it. After all, he’d overcome too many mental battles to count. He was still locked in combat with the power of Wang Ye’s Dao Imprint, too.
As terrifying as that Buddhist chanting was, it was difficult for it to affect Su Yi.
Su Yi swung his sleeves, placing Qing Tang safely into the Divine Replenishment Furnace.
That handsome young man obviously couldn’t sit still. His expression shifted, and he shot right up to Su Yi, gnashed his teeth, and said, “Uncle, that old bald donkey’s terrible! He’s targeting our minds!”
The corners of Su Yi’s lips twitched.
Someone had popped out of nowhere, only to call him “Uncle” every time he opened his mouth. Su Yi evenfelt the urge to smack him.
But he resisted.
The distant, illusory Buddha’s momentum was far too terrifying. His every word and movement made the surrounding area tremble. This was far, far more terrifying than that wisp of the will of the Goddess of Silent Darkness he’d encountered in the Epoch of Demonism.
“Just watch,” said Su Yi. With that, he took a sudden step forward.
Clang!
The aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells surged from his fingertips, expanding inch by inch into a gray sword.
This was Su Yi’s first time using the Sword of the Nine Hells to do this.
In the past, he couldn’t have done it even if he wanted to, but this time was different. The Sword of the Nine Hells was acting like it had encountered its most hated enemy. It was unusually eager; there was no need for Su Yi to exert himself. He could wield the sword’s power effortlessly!
The distant illusory Buddha suddenly raised his right hand and pressed down on Su Yi from afar. “Those who refuse to bow have no future!”
Boom!
Endless Buddhist light surged forth, transforming into a giant hand, as if he were intent on enveloping the entire stretch of stars within his palm. His hand burst with endless power.
Su Yi snorted calmly and attacked, flashing through the void with his sword held in front of him.
Crunch!
A massive impact rang out as Su Yi’s sword bore a hole right through the giant hand, almost as if it were made of rotten wood.
A moment later, Su Yi was already swinging his sword at the figure seated on the lotus platform.
The illusory Buddha seemed endlessly tall and grand, and Su Yi seemed extraordinarily paltry and insignificant.
But when he leaped through the air and swung his sword, his slash was like a beam of light cleaving through the ages, parting heaven and earth.
“Go!”
The illusory seated Buddha pushed with his palms.
The entire stretch of void collapsed instantaneously. Countless streaks of nirvanic flames and Buddhist light condensed to form a swastika.
The seal bore down, so terrifyingly strong that it frittered Su Yi’s attack to nothingness.
Bang!
Although Su Yi managed to dodge in time, the swastika’s power brushed past him, sending him flying.
“Fuck!” The handsome young man cursed. He could tell at a glance that the Buddha of the Future’s power was strange, and terrifying beyond imagination.
“Everything that happened here today was in accordance with this lofty one’s divinations. There are only two possible endings for you: either I capture you alive, or you perish, and your Dao vanishes from this world forever,” said the illusory Buddha seated on the resplendent lotus platform. “There is no third possibility. When a flower blooms, it is doomed to one day wither. Everything happens in accordance with cause and effect.”
His grand voice boomed throughout the stars.
Su Yi said with cold indifference, “Karma? The future? Destiny? I can cut through them all!”
Clang!
He didn’t hesitate to circulate the full extent of his cultivation base, transforming the power of reincarnation into a sword that madly absorbed the power of the Sword of the Nine Hells.
“You stubbornly refuse to see the light. You deserve death!” shouted the illusory Buddha.
Boom!
The resplendent, dazzling swastika suddenly transformed into a Buddhist mountain and bore down on Su Yi.
The mountain seemed endlessly tall and grand, and it shone with radiant light, making it seem as if there were nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
Su Yi was under unprecedented pressure.
There really was no dodging or fleeing from this strike. It was terrifying beyond imagination, even stronger than the power Mi Zhen had borrowed from the Dipankara Buddha!
Su Yi even felt as if he’d sunk into the mud. His entire body felt suppressed, as if he were utterly helpless.
His brow furrowed, and he no longer hesitated. This time, he held nothing back.
This time, the power of reincarnation was on full display, and his slash was full of the aura of the Sword of the Nine Hells. It was as if the entire stretch of stars had been plunged into the cycle of reincarnation.
When this slash slammed into that Buddhist mountain…
Boom——!
The entire stretch of space collapsed, enveloped in a boundless white current of destructive power.
The handsome young man’s heart clenched.
But when the smoke and radiance dispersed, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.
That Buddhist mountain had disappeared. But that tall, upright figure stood there still, like a sword supporting the weight of the heavens.
Eternal and unmovable!
This was none other than Su Yi. His blue robes were in tatters, and blood poured from his skin. His hair was disheveled, and he was obviously badly injured, yet he hadn’t perished beneath that strike!
“Hm?”
The illusory Buddha seated on the lotus platform seemed stunned. “You actually blocked it?”
“Surprises are variables, and if there are variables at play, why speak of karma and fate? So, that’s all your so-called powers of divination amount to,” said Su Yi, a jeer tugging at his lips.
“Variables are hidden within the flow of cause and effect. No matter how many variables there are along the way, the ultimate conclusion does not change,” said that illusory Buddha.
He suddenly rose, the lotus platform igniting beneath his feet. “I control the Dharma of the Future, and I proved my Dao through mastery of karma. I’ve long since ensured your inevitable defeat today!”
Boom!
He clasped his palms together, and endless divine light surged around him. Countless flames of the natural order swept outward like a windstorm, whooshing toward Su Yi.
This strike was even more terrifying than the swastika had been!
The handsome young man’s expression shifted dramatically. He gnashed his teeth, took out an old-fashioned little tripod cauldron, and was just about to use it when he stiffened. Terrifying sword force was suppressing him completely, inside and out!
Even the little tripod cauldron was trembling violently.
This is… The handsome young man’s eyes widened.
The windstorm manifested of the divine flames of the natural order was now under some kind of invisible restriction, frozen in place. Countless bursts of flame were locked in position.
Time, the void, everything in this stretch of stars seemed to freeze, locked in absolute stillness.
The Buddha atop the resplendent lotus platform was dumbstruck, as if he found this difficult to believe.
He could see the mysterious Dao Sword floating above Su Yi’s head. But before he could get a clear look at it, it slashed at him from afar.
Boom!
The flames of the natural order collapsed.
A long, perfectly straight rift appeared in the void, exploding the lotus platform at its far end. Even the illusory Buddha seated upon it was reduced to countless pieces!
Only his voice remained, echoing through the surrounding space.
“It’s… It’s that sword again…” His voice was tinged with astonishment, unwillingness, dread, and fury.
The surrounding stars suddenly seemed to boil over, thrown into turmoil and chaos.
That Dao Sword had already disappeared without a trace.
Su Yi’s gaze was conflicted.
At first, he’d kept the Sword of the Nine Hells suppressed. He wanted to see if he could combine the sword’s aura with his personal strength to defeat the avatar of the so-called Buddha the Future.
But in the end, he couldn’t do it. Instead, the Sword of the Nine Hells took action, defeating this powerful foe with ease!
“Ultimately, the issue is that I’m still too weak…” Su Yi rubbed his forehead.
He wasn’t exactly disappointed, nor was he frustrated.
His cultivation base wasn’t even remotely comparable to his sixth incarnation’s, let alone to the gods’. But just because he couldn’t do it now didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to do it later!
It had been just a little over twenty years since he started cultivating in this lifetime, but he’d already surpassed Su Xuanjun, the Temple Master, and Shen Mu.
He’d naturally surpass Wang Ye sooner or later, and his other past lives too!
……
The stars gradually returned to stillness. The entire area lay in ruin.
The distant cultivators were still prostrating like pious worshippers. It was only after Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, disappeared that they awakened from their daze, their hearts full of lingering terror.
When they next looked at the distant Su Yi, their hearts churned. The Temple Master had actually single-handedly cut down five divine emissaries!
His abilities completely overturned everyone’s perception of reality. There was no need to even think to know that once word of this battle reached the stars beyond, it would cause an enormous uproar.
“How satisfying! That was magnificent, Uncle! That was enough to make even gods and Buddhas tremble!”
That handsome young man walked over and said wistfully, “Alas, this avatar of will won’t last much longer. Otherwise, I’d be sure to treat you to a drink as an expression of my respect!”
Su Yi glanced at this flippant youth and said, “In that case, take this time before your avatar of will fully dissipates to tell me what the hell is going on here.”
But the handsome young man shook his head. “I won’t lie to you, Uncle. Your nephew’s origins aren’t a secret, and you’ll one day understand fully. That said, I can’t divulge them now. Doing so would only provoke unnecessary trouble.”
Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “So, you’ve got a unique background?”
The handsome young man let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Nah, I’m just basking in my father’s light. And of course, I’m only a junior in front of you.”
“You can’t even tell me your name?” asked Su Yi.
“Uh….” The young man hesitated. “When I left, my seniors told me not to reveal anything at all. They said doing so would only cause you unnecessary trouble, and that it might influence your cultivation. But…”
Here, he gnashed his teeth and said solemnly, “Since you asked, how can I not tell you?”
He took a deep breath, clasped his fist, and solemnly inclined his head. “Uncle, your nephew, Chen Pu, greets you!”
Chen Pu?
Su Yi racked his brains, but he couldn’t come up with anything. All he knew was that this Chen Pu person had to be one of his past lives’ juniors.
Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to give the matter any further thought. He’d find out sooner or later.
Instead, he decided to ask about the chaos barrier covering the Dark and Gold Star Realm. “Tell me, what exactly is going on here?”
Seth’s Thoughts
The Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future are not something Xiao Jinyu made up. He’s probably assuming his readers are familiar with the concept, hence the relative lack of explanations.
From Wikipedia:
“Generally, Buddhists believe that there has been a succession of many Buddhas in the distant past and that many more will appear in the future. Dipankara was one of these previous Buddhas, while Gautama Buddha was the current and most recent Enlightened one, and Maitreya will be the next Buddha in the distant future.”
_______
Author note:
P.S. Those who’ve read Talisman Emperor know that its main character, Chen Xi, had three sons. Chen Ping’an, Chen Pu, and Chen Lan.
Those who’ve read the Prodigies War know (Redacted! TPW spoilers available upon request on the novel’s discord server!)
This isn’t foreshadowing, and it isn’t a secret. I know many of my readers haven’t read Talisman Emperor or the Prodigies War, so I’m just explaining briefly. It’s fine if you haven’t read my prior works, as this won’t affect the plot of First Immortal of the Sword.
As for the name Chen Ping’an? It really has nothing to do with Unsheathed.
I started writing Talisman Emperor in ‘13, and I finished writing it in ‘15. Unsheathed didn’t start until ‘17. I just thought I’d mention it to avoid misunderstandings.