First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1863 - Divining All Daos

Su Yi’s decision was simple: he was going to go into seclusion on Spiritual Desolation Mountain!

“The treasures here have already landed in my hands, the Dao Manifestation Chaos Stele can help me divine the mysteries of the Grand Dao, and I can use the captive divine emissaries as whetstones. That might even give me the opportunity I need to break into the Great Realm!"

That was Su Yi’s plan.

However, Lin Feng immediately voiced his objections. “As much as I look down on Divine Venerate Tian Huang’s dogs, they were once the top Great Realm experts of the Primeval Era. Were that not the case, how could they possibly have killed my fourth junior apprentice brother? I urge you to be cautious. Whatever you do, don’t play with fire.”

Su Yi smiled noncommittally. 

At this point, he could Great Martial Stage experts in a single blow, and Great Unity experts were no longer a threat. Only Great Profound Stage experts could temper his Dao of the Sword!

Admittedly, some Great Profound experts were stronger than others. The captive divine emissaries were undoubtedly the cream of the crop, the top experts of the Primeval Era. Fighting them would indeed be incomparably perilous.

But that’s just what Su Yi wanted!

“You… really can’t sense any sign of Master’s Dao Imprint awakening?” asked Lin Feng. This was what he was most concerned about.

Su Yi shook his head. “Perhaps my cultivation base is insufficient, or perhaps, some other trigger is needed. In any event, I haven’t sensed any changes since entering Spiritual Desolation Mountain.”

Lin Feng fell silent, apparently disappointed.

Eventually, he said, “Then let’s try again after your breakthrough. I won’t acknowledge you until you’ve reawakened all of Master’s memories! Until then, to me, you’re… just another Immortal King.”

Su Yi laughed. 

He’d known Lin Feng for several days now, and he understood that his fifth incarnation’s third disciple was wantonly prideful, his sharpness always on full display. His words were barbed, and he said whatever was on his mind, holding nothing back. His personality was indeed perfectly suited to cultivating the Dao of the Sword.

Without any further delays, Su Yi turned and left the bronze palace.

……

Halfway up Spiritual Desolation Mountain, before the Dao Manifestation Chaos Stele.

Su Yi sat cross-legged and circulated his qi. Wisps of chaos power instantly rose from the stele like mist and enveloped him completely.

Su Yi suddenly felt as if he’d been transported to outer space. Countless stars shone around him like scattered pearls, flickering in and out of view. A curtain of gray chaos mist surrounded the entire starry void.

There was no need to think. Su Yi quickly understood that the “stars” were, in truth, manifestations of the most fundamental power of the Grand Dao. They were full of profound, wondrous charm.

When he started cultivating and combing through his cultivation base, the stars slowly started revolving. They whooshed through the air, leaving behind wondrous trails, like countless interwoven threads. They underwent all manner of transformations in a continuous and self-perpetuating, never-ending cycle.

Su Yi, meanwhile, sank into a wondrous state of enlightenment. Countless revelations arose in his heart, like churning waves gathering into streams, then rivers, and oceans…

Su Yi’s heart and mind went completely blank. He was completely fixated on combing through his power of the Grand Dao, concentrating and steadying it.

He completely forgot himself.

Less than half a year had passed since he proved his Dao in the Corpse-Strewn Ruins and became an Immortal King, but he’d already reached the peak of the Miracle Realm. His rate of improvement was unparalleled.

Although he steadied his foundations at every step of the way, leaving no flaws behind, they lacked the quality of accumulations slowly built up over time. After all, if you moved too quickly, there was no way to fully process many of your revelations. This type of comprehension required combat, as well as experience, and even… matters of the mental state.

During Su Yi’s enlightened state, he combed through his experiences, thoroughly summarizing, organizing, and fusing his experiences. It was only by knowing the past and seeing the present that he could divine his future path!

An unknown amount of time passed. Su Yi felt as if he’d arrived deep in space. Endless stars stretched as far as the eye could see, like countless starkly different paths, manifesting in endless variations.

Variations of the Dao were as immeasurably numerous as the grains of sand of a riverbank!

As Su Yi’s thoughts shifted, the countless stars seemed to fuse with him, and his ability to divine his own powers of the Grand Dao rapidly accelerated. In his divinations, Su Yi saw the countless possibilities hidden within his path.

However, the vast majority were not what he needed. Thus, he continued without pausing to rest.

It was as if months had passed in the blink of an eye, or as if time had slowed to a crawl. Nothing changed. Until, suddenly, an incomparable sense of exhaustion coursed through Su Yi’s entire body, abruptly awakening him from his wondrous state of enlightenment.

It was only then that he discovered that his cultivation base was on the verge of running dry, and his soul power was all but depleted. He was mentally exhausted, too.

How is this possible? Su Yi was confused.

Practically simultaneously, Lin Feng called out urgently, “Were you perhaps using the Dao Manifestation Chaos Stele to divine the endless permutations of the Grand Dao just now?”

His voice was tinged with unconcealable nervousness.

Su Yi nodded. “That’s right.”

Lin Feng’s eyes widened in astonishment, and he murmured, “Now, I’m… finally starting to believe that you’re Master’s reincarnation…”

“What do you mean?” asked Su Yi as he took out and swallowed a rare Great Realm immortal pill.

Lin Feng fell briefly silent before explaining, “When Master brought the Dao Manifestation Chaos Stele back to Spiritual Desolation Mountain, he told us that if we used it to grasp the vestiges and transformations of ten thousand Daos, we could effortlessly forge our own all-powerful Daos of the Sword!”

That meant creating a new, unprecedented path wholly one’s own. Su Yi naturally understood the implications. However, he’d long since started fusing Reincarnation and Profound Ruin into his Dao of the Sword, using his swordsmanship as a furnace to fuse all other Daos into one. He’d begun striving for his own unique Dao of the Sword already. Thus, he wasn’t overly surprised by this.

But Lin Feng was obviously astonished.

Su Yi couldn’t help but exclaim, “You mean you never gained enlightenment here?”

“No, and I’m not the only one,” said Lin Feng. “Of the four of us, only Second Senior Apprentice Sister ever managed it, and even she only did it once.”

Su Yi didn’t know what to say.

Were Luo Changning, Lin Feng, and Dong Xuan weak? Impossible. Had they been weak, how could they have possibly become unparalleled Sword Sovereigns of the Primeval Era?

“I understand. Divining ten thousand Daos isn’t about how powerful your cultivation base is. It’s about your perception and understanding of the Grand Dao, and you… Well, it must be because you’re Master’s reincarnation. That’s how you pulled it off so easily,” muttered Lin Feng.

So, this is why he’s starting to believe I’m his master’s reincarnation, huh? Su Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn’t fused with his fifth incarnation’s Dao Imprint left, so how could Li Fuyou possibly be involved?

But Lin Feng’s view made a certain degree of sense. No matter the era, in terms of perception and understanding of the Grand Dao, almost no one was comparable to him.  After all, over the past few years, Su Yi had fused with several of his past lives’ Dao Imprints.

Some of his past lives were stronger than others, but all of their comprehension and knowledge of the Grand Dao served as rare and precious experience. It formed a strong foundation for Su Yi’s current path.

The main difference was that in this lifetime, his swordsmanship surpassed his past selves’, one after another! This was why he could use the Dao Manifestation Chaos Stele to enter a state of enlightenment.

Lin Feng’s explanation was a bit one-sided, but Su Yi didn’t argue. Instead, he asked, “How much time passed?”

“Four hours.”

“That’s all? That was enough to make me this exhausted… My soul power and cultivation base have practically run dry…” Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising.

“...” Lin Feng suddenly felt the urge to pummel him.

Back in the day, Second Senior Apprentice Sister’s state of enlightenment lasted mere moments, but that was enough to draw their master’s attention. He even broke precedent and complimented her. All he said was “not bad,” but Second Senior Apprentice Sister had delighted in those two simple words of praise for a long, long time. All of her apprentice brothers were jealous! How could they not be?

Yet Su Yi’s state of enlightenment had lasted a full four hours. That was unbelievable enough already, yet now, he seemed to think it too little…

Despite his displeasure, Lin Feng patiently explained, “An opportunity like this is incomparably precious. You can only happen upon it by chance. Can you…”

Before he could finish, Su Yi shook his head. “‘You can only happen upon it by chance?’ No, I wouldn’t go that far. It wasn’t difficult. If it didn’t drain my cultivation base so quickly, I could have gone longer. I will, of course, continue as soon as I’ve recovered.”

“...” Lin Feng didn’t know what to say. 

The Book of Karma wrote gleefully, “Sometimes, an inadvertent strike is the most lethal of all!”

Indeed, as soon as Su Yi recovered, he effortlessly re-entered that state of enlightenment, encountering no difficulty whatsoever.

Lin Feng fell completely silent. It just didn’t make sense. The only way he could explain it was, “Well, I suppose he’s my master’s reincarnation, after all!”

……

Three days passed in a flash, but to Su Yi, it felt like years.

He’d spent practically the whole time divining ten thousand Daos. It was only when his cultivation base was on the verge of drying up that he’d pause to take medicine and replenish his strength. And as he divined ten thousand Daos, his cultivation base stabilized and sublimated.

Although he made no breakthroughs, his perception and comprehension of the Grand Dao underwent an earth-shaking transformation. And these changes had strengthened him considerably!

Su Yi suddenly realized that he’d been right not to rush to break into the Great Realm.

He might well have tempered his cultivation to unprecedented heights, and his powers of the Grand Dao might well have been flawless, but… his strength hadn’t reached the limit of what was possible at his current level. He still had room for improvement.

It was only by taking his time to steady his heart and sift through past revelations that he could further temper and enhance his strength.

“Time to go visit the dogs’ kennel…” After all that time in meditation, Su Yi was raring to go. He wanted to see just how strong he’d become, so he got up and headed straight for the bronze palace on the peak.