First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 1566: The Palace of Trials

The young woman fell briefly silent. Finally, she said, “I’m not stupid. I naturally understand my foster father and the Divine Fortune Teller’s good intentions, but…”

She raised her head and solemnly fixed her dark golden eyes on Su Yi. “Senior, he killed my father. How could I possibly just let a grudge like that go?”

“I can’t let it go!” she said, answering her own question. “I can endure, I can wait, but I absolutely must get my revenge!”

Su Yi mulled this over. “Did that old scoundrel of a fortune teller say I could help you?”

She inclined her head. “The Divine Fortune Teller once performed a divination on my behalf, damaging his vitality in the process. His wounds are only getting worse and worse…”

She paused, a hint of obvious concern on her face.

Su Yi laughed dryly. “They say the good die young, while disasters last for millennia. If that old bastard said he was the second oldest around, absolutely no one would dare claim first place. You don’t need to worry about him.”

The girl was stunned, and her gaze was a bit strange. It hadn’t been long since the Divine Fortune Teller smugly told her the exact same thing.

“What did he divine for you?” asked Su Yi.

The girl said solemnly, “When you see a dragon in the fields, a great man shall soon appear!”

Su Yi instantly understood. The old scoundrel saw him as the Red Dragon Dao Monarch’s opportunity to get revenge!

In other words, the old-timer had most likely long since known that Wang Ye wasn’t really dead.

And the old scoundrel knew that throughout the Immortal Realm, only Wang Ye’s reincarnation was capable of helping the Red Dragon Dao Monarch take down Jiang Tai’e!

After a moment’s thought, Su Yi said directly, “To tell the truth, even if I undo your seal and help you transform into a true dragon, your hope of killing Jiang Tai’e is basically zero.”

The girl couldn’t help but say, “Even if I step into the three stages of the Great Realm?”

“As you ought to know, they call the Great Realm a legend for a reason,” said Su Yi. “Your foster father was a peak Immortal King. It’s fair to say he was among the greatest of experts beneath the Great Realm. Yet despite struggling bitterly for countless years, he never managed to take the next step.”

Reality was cruel.

Throughout its long history, the Immortal Realm had given rise to trillions of cultivators and countless dazzling geniuses.

In the end, less than one in ten thousand ever became immortals.

Even among immortals, less than one in ten thousand ever became Void Realm True Immortals.

As for breaking into the Saint Realm to become an Immortal Lord? “Less than one in ten thousand” was insufficient to describe it. It required seizing a rare and fleeting opportunity, a stroke of fortune!

Without the right opportunity, you had no hope of becoming a Saint Realm Immortal Lord. Hard work and strong foundations weren’t enough.

It was for this reason that Immortal Lord factions were considered top-class even by the standards of the forty-nine provinces as a whole.

As for breaking into the Miracle Realm to become an Immortal King? That was even harder. There was no guarantee that even one in a thousand Immortal Lords would ever reach that level!

As for the Great Realm of legends? It was called a legend because despite the passage of countless years, those who successfully reached the Great Realm were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!

These were the experts who stood at the very pinnacle of the Immortal Dao, the top powerhouses of the Immortal Realm!

As if worried his words had hurt her, Su Yi said, “Of course, it’s all a matter of effort. The Immortal Realm is not what it was, and it’s in the process of welcoming enormous changes. It would be no exaggeration to say that after a long period of dormancy, a new golden age is imminent. Thus, your odds of reaching the Great Realm are somewhat higher than they would be otherwise.”

Su Yi looked at the young woman. “I can give you an opportunity, but you must follow my arrangements. Agree to my terms, and before I leave the Black Dragon Market, I’ll help you undo your seal.”

The young woman shook, then rose to her feet and spoke without even pausing to think. “I agree!”

Su Yi laughed. “Aren’t you going to ask what my arrangements are?”

The young woman shook her head. “If I can get revenge for my foster father, I’ll do anything!”

Su Yi sighed with pity. “Honestly, you don’t need to do anything at all. I’d kill Jiang Tai’e one day either way.”

Jiang Tai’e was among the top powerhouses who’d ambushed Wang Ye. There was no way Su Yi would let that grudge go.

The young woman pursed her lips and said with staunch determination, “This junior wants to kill him herself!”

Su Yi nodded, but said nothing.

Wang Ye had once seen Jiang Tai’e as one of his greatest enemies. It naturally wouldn’t do to underestimate him. But that didn’t mean he was undefeatable!

The young woman before him had been sealed by the Dragon-Marked Blood Chains for countless years, and she’d yet to undergo metamorphosis to become a true dragon, but she was already an Immortal Queen.

When she became a true dragon, she really did have a shot at breaking into the Great Realm. If she succeeded, she might well be capable of killing Jiang Tai’e.

Of course, the road would be difficult, and her hope was fleeting.

But Su Yi was willing to give her the chance!

“I’m going to cultivate here for a while. In the meantime, I’m going to share some ancient texts of the Grand Dao. If you run into anything you cannot understand, ponder it on your own first before asking for my help,” said Su Yi. “Once you’ve grasped everything I’ve transmitted to you, I’ll tell you what you need to do next.”

With that, Su Yi took out a jade slip and passed it to her. “Take it.”

The young woman hurriedly accepted it with both hands, her face full of gratitude. “Many thanks, Senior!”

Su Yi said warmly, “Your foster father and I were close. Even without the plans of that old fortune teller scammer, I would have helped you.”

The young woman’s heart churned with emotion, and she said with the utmost seriousness, “I won’t let you down, Senior!”

That very day, the Red Dragon Dao Monarch ordered Commander Xing Yu to personally arrange for Su Yi, Qing Wei, and Fang Han to take up residence in an old-fashioned home halfway up the Dragon’s Retreat.

The courtyard was under the shade of ancient trees, and the air brimmed with immortal qi. It was a first-rate blessed ground for cultivation.

After they’d settled in, Xing Yu smiled and said, “Young Lord, the Monarch has commanded me to obey your orders during your stay here. If you need anything at all, please go right ahead and command me!”

Su Yi nodded. “I’ll have to trouble you, then.”

Xing Yu hurriedly waved. “It’s my honor!”

After briefly exchanging a few pleasantries, Xing Yu bade farewell.

Now that they had some spare time, Su Yi told his companions his plans.

“Qing Wei, for now, guide that little fellow’s cultivation. Help him build his foundations,” said Su Yi. He took out a jade slip he’d prepared and passed it to her. “This is the Bi’an Spirit Race’s secret legacy, Eight Methods to Refine the Body. Teach it to him.”

“Got it!” Qing Wei accepted the jade slip.

Fang Han couldn’t help but interject, “My big sister said that our clan met with catastrophe during the Age of Fallen Immortals, and that our ancestral legacy was lost a long time ago. How… How could you possibly have it?”

Disbelief was written all over the youth’s face.

“You’ll understand later,” said Su Yi. With one light, airy sentence, he fobbed Fang Han off.

“Seems to me that although Immortal Queen Liu Yun cannot resolve her divine misfortune on her own, she should be fine in the short run,” said Su Yi. “Don’t panic. When we leave the Black Dragon Market, investigate for further details. When you need my help, I absolutely won’t remain a bystander.”

Qing Wei’s beautiful eyes filled with gratitude. “Many thanks, Young Lord!”

Earlier, in Auspicious Cloud Palace, the Church of All Spirits tried using Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s divine misfortune to coerce her into becoming Zhong Qi’s Dao Partner.

Although this problem had already been resolved, Qing Wei had been worrying about her master ever since. Su Yi’s promise finally reassured her, and she felt much calmer.

“Take this Qilin True Blood and refine it,” said Su Yi, taking out that bundle of fiery blood. “When you help the kid establish his foundations, give him a little to use as well.”

“This…” Qing Wei was unwittingly stunned, and flattered, too.

Qilin True Blood!

This was a rare, supreme treasure, the type that could only be happened upon by chance!

“Go on, take it.” Su Yi passed her the Qilin True Blood.

Qing Wei was a descendant of the Bai’ze Spirit Race, and Bai’ze were Xiantian True Spirits. As for Fang Han, he was a descendant of the Bi’an Spirit Race; his origins were even grander. Refining the Qilin True Blood could make their latent potential undergo an unbelievable transformation!

But the Qilin True Blood was of little use to Su Yi. If he refined it, he’d effectively be desecrating a divine treasure.

After finishing this, Su Yi promptly got up and headed outside. He planned to attempt the Cave of Trials!

After watching Su Yi fade from view, Qing Wei reacted as if awakening from a dream. She murmured, “This benevolence is so enormous that I could spend the rest of my life repaying it and it still might not be enough….”

When she first met Su Yi in Sky Tripod Immortal City, he taught her a method that helped her break through her bottleneck. Later, he gave her a Saint-level immortal herb, and now, he’d given her Qilin True Blood too.

He’d even agreed to help her master, Immortal Queen Liu Yun, avert her divine misfortune.

All of this combined made even an Immortal Lady like Qing Wei feel as if she were dreaming.

“Senior, might you show me the Eight Methods to Refine the Body?” Fang Han couldn’t help but ask. He couldn’t bear his curiosity any longer.

Qing Wei smiled. “Very well.”

……

The mountaintop palace built on the peak of the Dragon’s Retreat.

The seemingly youthful Red Dragon Dao Monarch read the jade slip Su Yi had given her.

Its contents quickly left her dazed.

It recorded no fewer than nine Daoist canons, all of them first-rate treasures of the Immortal Dao!

After a cursory examination, the Red Dragon Dao Monarch realized that they were carefully selected. He’d obviously chosen them just for her!

“No wonder my foster father revered the Eternal Night Immortal Sovereign, and no wonder the Divine Fortune Teller said that the Sovereign made him feel that his horizons were too narrow…” the young woman muttered to herself, her heart full of emotion.

……

On the way to the Palace of Trials at the foot of the mountain, Su Yi encountered Immortal Lord Xing Yu. Something occurred to him, and he said, “If possible, I’d like you to do me a favor.”

Xing Yu smiled. “Please command me, Young Lord.”

“I need five types of medicinal ingredients: Golden Toad Shed Skin, Concentrated Profound Chill Dew, Auspicious Ivory Powder, Phoenix Marrow Leaf, and a Five Elements Treasure Lotus….”

Xing Yu didn’t even pause to think. “Rest assured and leave it to me, Young Lord!”

Su Yi nodded. “For now, guide me to the Palace of Trials.”

Xing Yu smiled and agreed.