First Immortal of the Sword

Blood fell like rain, and agonized cries shook the heavens.

The entire stretch of wilderness was a vision of chaos and upheaval. Divine light swept through the sky, and the radiance of immortal treasures illuminated the mountains and rivers.

Less than ten minutes later, everyone in the Church of the Pure One had been annihilated, and the commotion died down.

The Sword-Bearing Ape stood in the air and waved his hand. “Withdraw!”

Boom!

He shot through the air, leading his army of over ten thousand immortals. Before long, they’d disappeared over the horizon.

……

That same day, similar massacres took place in the hidden outposts of the Church of Supreme Oneness, the Church of Divine Flame, Qianyuan Sword House, and other top factions. They were wiped out down to the last man, pulled up by the roots.

......

The Blood Cloud Daoist Sect was a second-rate, little immortal faction, but a locally famous, prominent expert had emerged from its ranks: Xie Kuijing.

He was a high elder of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect and a Void Realm True Immortal. He'd defended the Fifth Gate of Heaven for years, and he’d achieved numerous dazzling feats.

It was noon, and thousands of displaced people were gathered outside the sect’s gates, disheveled, dressed in rags, and bony from a long period of being near starvation.

Wooden sheds were built at the foot of the mountain, each piled high with grain. Cultivators of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect were distributing grain to the displaced civilians, now essentially beggars.

“Don’t push. Stay in line and wait your turn!”

“The high elder commanded that no matter how many of you come, you’ll each receive ten catties of spirit grain!” someone bellowed.

“Thank you, immortals! Thank you!”

The people who received the grain were visibly overcome with delight and gratitude, and they thanked their benefactors repeatedly.

“The immortals of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect are truly compassionate! Everyone within ten thousand miles can receive their generous support!”

“So many of us had to leave our homes during the war. If not for the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect’s help, I’m afraid we’d have starved to death a long time ago.”

“It’s true. I heard that in other places, lots of people have starved to death already!”

……As the crowd conversed, they spoke of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect with gratitude and praise.

Half a year ago, the demons of the Beyond invaded the Immortal Realm, plunging the world into chaos. It was the lowliest denizens of the Immortal Realm, the ordinary mortals, who’d suffered the most.

Many of them had been forced to leave their homes and wander aimlessly, reduced to beggars and vagrants. They were cold and hungry.

Even now, half a year later, there were wanderers with no place to return all over the Immortal Realm.

Not long ago, High Elder Xie Kuijing of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect commanded that they open their granaries and save the refugees from disaster. A massive uproar ensued.

Over the past few days, tens of thousands of refugees had come to receive food relief.

This generosity had won the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect widespread praise and protection.

Suddenly, a cold, clear voice resounded throughout the dome of heaven. “Where is Xie Kuijing?”

It was like the roar of a dragon booming throughout the firmament.

When the crowd looked up, they saw a petite young woman in long dark robes standing proudly beneath the dome of heaven and emanating a contemptuous, majestic aura.

All who looked upon her felt a piercing pain in their eyes. Their hearts quivered, and they felt suffocated, as if they were ants gazing upon a god!

“Senior, might I ask why you’re looking for our high elder?” a cultivator of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect asked in a quavering voice.

“To settle the score.” The young woman in black fixed her golden eyes on him and said with cold indifference, “If I don’t see Xie Kuijing within three snaps of the fingers, I’ll flatten this place on the spot!”

The crowd was in uproar. A commotion arose on all sides.

An old man took a deep breath, then seemed to rally his courage. He knelt and said, “Immortal, you must be mistaken. The immortals of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect are like saints. They couldn’t bear to see the world’s suffering, and they’ve been helping refugees like this old man for the past several months. Each is kinder than the one before. They’re no villains!”

Many others chimed in on the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect’s behalf.

The young woman in black said icily, “At the Fifth Gate of Heaven, Xie Kuijing colluded with the demons of the Beyond alongside other traitors to the Immortal Realm. It’s because of double agents like him that the Fifth Gate of Heaven fell to our enemies so easily. They’re responsible for the catastrophe that befell the Immortal Realm. Don’t double agents like him deserve to die?”

Her voice boomed throughout the surrounding area. Everyone was dumbstruck. Even the cultivators of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect were flabbergasted and visibly overcome with disbelief. Why is someone suddenly accusing the high elder of treason!?

“That’s impossible!”

“That’s nothing but baseless slander!”

Enraged shouts rang out.

Boom!

The young woman in black raised her hand and pressed down on the air. Heaven and earth swayed, and the sky trembled. Terrifying majesty enveloped the entire sect, locking the cultivators in place. They were completely suppressed, to the point that they couldn’t even move a muscle.

At the same time, a powerful divine sense swept through the sect’s gates like a windstorm, breaking open its defensive formations and enveloping the entire premises.

A moment later——

“Xie Kuijing, I found you!” The woman in black stretched out her hand and grabbed.

A terrifying shriek rang out. “Please, spare me, Your Excellency!”

Beneath countless gazes, a figure shot out of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect, flying uncontrollably to the woman in black.

This was none other than High Elder Xie Kuijing of the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect!

“Do you know what you’ve done wrong?” asked the young woman.

Xie Kuijing was completely restricted. He knelt in midair, visibly overcome with terror and despair. “It’s because this junior understands the weight of his crimes that I’ve spent the past few months doing everything I could to aid the populace. I cannot undo what I have done, but I want to make amends. Please, show mercy…”

His voice was full of regret and self-recrimination.

The crowd was dumbstruck. Only now did they realize that the young woman was right; the high elder they revered really had betrayed the Immortal Realm!

“If not for your penance, I would have destroyed you and the entire Blood Cloud Daoist Sect already,” the young woman in black said coldly. “I’ll give you an opportunity. End your own life, and I’ll spare the lives of your sectmates.”

Xie Kuijing was briefly stunned. His eyes were vacant, his expression bleak. Finally, he said with bitterness, “This junior… accepts his punishment! Thank you for showing the Blood Cloud Daoist Sect mercy!”

Boom!

His entire body caught ablaze, and he was instantly reduced to ash.

The crowd was instantly despondent.

“Heaven’s net is wide, but it has a fine mesh. None shall escape punishment. The Sovereign Venerate has commanded the traitor Xie Kuijing’s death as a warning to the rest!”

With that, the young woman in black turned to leave.

That very day, the double agents, traitors, spies, and those who’d served as the demons' minions were all executed. Rumor had it that the death count exceeded three hundred and ninety thousand!

……

The Spirit Province.

Goldenlight Divine Mountain, the territory of one of the Divine Cloud Immortal Sect, one of the province’s top factions.

Experts of thirteen of the province’s factions had gathered together to discuss something of the utmost importance——a redistribution of territory!

Half a year ago, when the demons invaded the Immortal Realm, many of the Spirit Province’s factions were destroyed in the flames of war. Naturally, the surviving factions were eyeing their territories hungrily.

Today, the higher-ups of these thirteen factions had gathered to divvy these lands up.

Suddenly, an enraged shout resounded from beyond Goldenlight Divine Mountain. “My Spirit Stream Sword Sect hasn’t been destroyed. I’d like to see just who dares to redistribute its territories!”

An old man in battered warrior’s robes appeared outside the mountain, drawing widespread astonishment. The experts of the thirteen sects were startled. All of them stopped what they were doing to look.

The reason for this astonishment was simple. The old man’s status wasn’t simple. He was the leader of the Spirit Stream Sword Sect, Wang Fuzhi! A powerful Immortal King!

But when most of the prominent immortal experts saw him, they looked at him with mockery, or at best, pity.

Half a year ago, Wang Fuzhi led thirty thousand sword cultivators into battle. They fought bravely at the Third Gate of Heaven.

In the end, practically all of them died in battle. Only Wang Fuzhi and a hundred or so others survived.

Wang Fuzhi lived, but he was badly injured, and his foundations in the Grand Dao were badly damaged. He was once a peak Immortal King, but his cultivation had plummeted, and he was nowhere near as strong as before.

“Wang Fuzhi, the Spirit Stream Sword Sect exists in name only. You alone cannot defend its territories. I urge you to accept reality sooner rather than later,” one of the higher-ups said with cold indifference. “If you don’t, you’ll only invite your own humiliation!”

“Wang Fuzhi, look at yourself! Even if the thirteen of us do nothing, the Spirit Stream Sword Sect’s former territories are effectively ownerless. Anyone can just swoop on in and take a bite whenever they please!” someone said with a cold, disdainful laugh. “If I were you, I wouldn’t bother putting up this ineffectual resistance. You’re like a mantis trying to block a chariot. It’s foolish!"

The shabbily dressed Wang Fuzhi roared, “Half a year ago, when the demons of the Beyond invaded the Spirit Province, your thirteen factions were too scared to fight, and all of you fled from battle. Now that peace has returned, you want to expand your territories and assimilate our lands. You’re simply shameless!”

His voice boomed throughout heaven and earth. The higher-ups of the thirteen factions visibly soured; he’d hit them right where it hurt.

“Wang Fuzhi, any more nonsense out of you, and we’ll kill you where you stand!” someone bellowed.

“Scram!” someone roared with seething murderous intent.

Wang Fuzhi was so angry that he laughed. His face was full of grief and indignation. He was just about to object when the humming of a sword boomed throughout heaven and earth.

Everyone instinctively gazed into the dome of heaven. There, they saw countless arcs of resplendent sword qi pouring from the sky like rain.

As if the river of stars were pouring down from the nine heavens.

“No——!”

The higher-ups’ faces filled with terror and despair. In the blink of an eye, endless sword qi ripped them to shreds.

A moment later, the torrential sword rain enveloped Goldenlight Divine Mountain entirely. Everything was shrouded in white.

Wang Fuzhi watched in a daze from the distance, his eyes wide. What level of swordsmanship is this? Don’t tell me that this is the power of a Great Realm Sword Sovereign?

A figure rode in from the distance on board the Sky-Covering Boat. An aloof, handsome young man in long robes stood on board.

“My name is Lin Feng, and I’ve come on my master’s orders to reward the Spirit Stream Sword Sect!”