First Immortal of the Sword

A simple, elegant, and grand palace was built over the blue-green lake.
It was formed out of cut white jade and thoroughly lit with lanterns, a beautiful sight.

This was Cloudwater Stream.

There were nine such secretive locations in the Song of the Sandy Creek.
They were reserved for entertaining the brothel’s most distinguished guests.

Currently, the beautiful songstresses and slender, graceful dancers had already dispersed. 

Gu Cangning was seated inside, drinking contentedly.
However, whenever he glanced at his companions, his spirits soured slightly.

“Over the past ten years, the first group of survivors of the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness has reawakened.
However, the way I see it, only a few will stand out during the Radiant Epoch.
Less than ten have such potential, and of them, I admire you the most, Brother Gu.” 

The speaker was the man at the head of the table.
He was young, handsome, dressed in crimson robes, and completely bald.

As he spoke, he looked at Gu Cangning.
His gaze was unearthly and sharp as a knife, with an intimidating presence.

Gu Cangning shook his head.
“Brother Sikong, you exaggerate.
I’m far from comparable to you.”

The bald, red-robed young man was called Sikong Bao.
He, too, was a monster of the ancient era.

Thirty thousand years ago, he was a core inheritor of one of the Azure Continent’s top demonic factions, the Heavenly Annihilation Demonic Gate.
Even then, he was a world-famous genius of the demonic path.

“Gu Cangning, you’re good in every way, but you’re too modest!” Sikong Bao burst into laughter.
“Everyone knows that your grandfather was one of the Nine Emperors of the Azure Continent, the Sky-Dominating War Emperor! Besides, the Gu Family was one of the continent’s three Imperial-level clans thirty thousand years ago.
Your foundations and origins aren’t one whit inferior to mine.
If anything, they’re superior!

Gu Cangning let out a melancholy sigh.
“My past glory has long since disappeared into the river of time.
As of today… I’m nothing but a rootless drifter.
I’m nothing like you; you’re surrounded by experts as numerous as the clouds in the sky, and you’re now the honored guest of the Great Xia’s imperial family.
You’re a role model for your generation!”

This was flattery mixed with polite small talk, but he wasn’t exaggerating.

The others currently seated in the banquet hall were almost all among Sikong Bao’s most competent subordinates.
Even the weakest was in the late-stage Origin Palace Realm.

The strongest was only one step away from entering the Spiritual Manifestation Realm.

But Sikong Bao was only revealing a tiny portion of his power; rumor had it that he had numerous Spiritual Manifestation Realm protectors standing behind him too!

His subordinates aside and Gu Cangning aside, there were two others seated here, a man and a woman.

The man wore bright yellow robes embroidered with dragons.
He had a jade crown on his head and a prideful look on his face.
His name was Xia Jingyu, and he was a descendant of the Great Xia’s imperial family.

His father was a junior clansman of the current emperor.
His name was Xia Changchuan, and his title was ”King Yong. ”

The woman wore Daoist robes, and she wore her hair up in a Daoist topknot.
She was an unsmiling woman of about thirty, and she looked as stiff as a board.
Her name was Feng Ning, but others called her “Daoist Nun Feng.”

She was fifth amongst the ten greatest Gathering Stars experts in Nine Tripod City. 

Nine Tripod City was a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons; experts were as numerous as trees in the forest.
Their ranks included no small number of extraordinary figures.

It was easy to imagine just how incredible Daoist Nun Feng’s cultivation was for her to rank fifth amongst the city’s Gathering Stars Realm experts.

She was one of the world’s greatest experts beneath the Spirit Dao level! Yet tonight, she was just Xia Jingyu’s attendant. 

“Hahaha, there ’s no need for such pleasantries between us, and you needn’t probe for information.
You ought to know why I invited you here tonight.” Sikong Bao laughed, but his eyes were sharp as swords.

He stared directly at Gu Cangning and said, “Now, all I want from you is a definite answer.”

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All eyes turned toward Gu Cangning, who furrowed his brow before saying flatly, “I appreciate your good intentions, but I’ve never liked subordinating myself to another.
I humbly request your understanding.”

He naturally knew what Sikong Bao was after; he wanted to recruit him to work by his side.

Sikong Bao’s expression darkened, and the atmosphere in the banquet hall was instantly oppressive.

Xia Jingyu snorted coldly.
“Brother Gu, Brother Sikong and I have already displayed sufficient sincerity, yet you’ve repeatedly refused us.
We can’t help but feel disappointed.”

He paused, then said, “I might as well speak clearly.
Before long, the Great Xia plans to publicize the List of Ancient Monsters, and according to my father’s analysis, anyone on the list who refuses to serve the Great Xia shall become our enemy!”

He looked directly at Gu Cangning.
“Brother Gu, surely you don’t… want to become enemies with the Great Xia?”

This was a blatant threat.

Gu Cangning took a sip of wine, then laughed.
“You’re merely an imperial relative; you cannot speak on behalf of the entire Great Xia.
Besides, to the best of my knowledge, the Xia Emperor most certainly is not publishing the List of Ancient Monsters in hopes of taking them all out in one fell swoop.”

He set down his cup, a clear hint of disdain in his eyes.
“If you’ll permit my rudeness, you’re merely a scion of the imperial clan.
If you think your status is enough for you to act without reservation, one of these days, you’ll bring disaster upon yourself!”

Xia Jingyu’s expression darkened, and he suddenly slammed the table.
“Do you insist on doing this the hard way?!”

Over at the head of the table, Sikong Bao laughed and waved.
“Don’t argue, you two.
I understand Brother Gu’s feelings, and I naturally won’t make this difficult on him.”

He suddenly straightened up his spine, his entire body emanating an imposing pressure.
His knife-like gaze locked onto Gu Cangning, and he said, “But allow me to get these unpleasant words out of the way first: when the curtain falls on the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly and we proceed to Sumeru Immortal Island, you’d best be careful to avoid conflict with us.
Otherwise… I’ll have no choice but to view you as my enemy.”

His tone was icy, and his words contained an unconcealed threat.

“Oh?” said Gu Cangning.
“All of that’s in the future.
Let’s worry about that later.”

Sikong Bao couldn’t help but burst into uproarious laughter.
“Brother Gu, do you want to know how I treat my enemies?”

Gu Cangning’s eyes flashed.
“Brother Sikong, what do you mean by that?”

“I’ll be direct with you.
Tonight, in addition to inviting you here for a banquet, I have a disobedient little girl to discipline.
I might as well seize the opportunity to open your eyes.” Sikong Bao waved.
“Bring her in.”

A sultry, charming woman in black pushed open the gates and entered, carrying an unconscious young woman in white.

When the woman in black reached the center of the hall, she tossed the woman in white to the floor.

All eyes were instantly upon the unconscious girl.

Beautiful!

Everyone felt an unprecedented sense of amazement.

The young woman in white was as pretty as a painting, with the figure of an immortal.
She was truly a rare, matchless beauty of her generation; the sight of her was enough to shake the heart.

Even Gu Cangning couldn’t help but find it a pity. How could such a stunning young woman fall into the hands of a ruthless, unreasonable person like Sikong Bao?

“Brother Gu, this woman is called Yue Shichan.
A month ago, two of my subordinates admired her talent and invited her to become one of my subordinates, only for her to draw her sword and kill them both.”

Sikong Bao’s sharp eyes looked Yue Shichan up and down without the slightest reservations.
His gaze surged with icy hatred, as well as a faint hint of greed and desire.

Gu Cangning laughed coldly to himself. What do you mean, they ‘admired her talent’? They obviously just coveted her beauty!

Sikong Bao’s subordinates were a pack of thugs.
All of them acted without reservation, and their hands were stained with blood.
Even if you killed every last one of them, you’d have no need to fear inadvertently killing someone innocent.

“Fortunately, she arrived in Nine Tripod City a week ago, I captured her immediately.” Sikong paused here and sighed.
“To tell the truth, the woman’s sword heart is pure and resolute, and she has the rare and unparalleled Profound Illumination Spiritual Body.
Although she’s only in the mid-stage Origin Palace Realm, her combat prowess is sufficient to kill even ordinary Gathering Stars cultivators with ease.
Thirty thousand years ago, only the core inheritors of ancient orthodoxies could compare with her.”

Gu Cangning was visibly stunned. 

“Brother Sikong is right.
I’ve heard of this Yue Shichan.
If I’m not mistaken, her name is on the List of Modern Geniuses,” added Xia Jingyu.
“Alas, she’s nothing but a rogue cultivator from the Great Zhou, a rootless drifter.
Worse, she offended Brother Sikong.
Even if she’s a genius of the modern era, she has to pay for this!”

“Yue Shichan is from the Great Zhou?” Gu Cangning’s heart shook, and he felt a bit dumbstruck.
He immediately recalled Su Yi. He’s from the Great Zhou too!

“That’s right, the Great Zhou, a tiny backwater.” Sikong Bao revealed an icy grin.
“Brother Gu, how about you guess just what I plan to do to the little bitch?”

Before Gu Cangning could respond, Sikong Bao said leisurely, “Killing her would be a pity, but if I let her go, I’ll feel dissatisfied.
Thus, the day I captured her, I placed a Shamanic Venom Devilworm inside her.
It won’t hurt her in the slightest, but it will seize control of her consciousness and turn her into a helpless puppet.
This way, she’ll obey my every word.”

Having said this, he looked at Gu Cangning and laughed heartily.
“Of course, ordinary enemies cannot enjoy such treatment.
After all, Shamanic Venom Devilworms are incomparably rare and extremely difficult to produce.
If possible, I hope you ’ll never have to experience such a poison for yourself, Brother Gu.”

His words were a blatant threat.

Gu Cangning’s expression shifted.
After a moment’s silence, he took a deep breath and said, “Could you do me a favor and let her go?”

Everyone was stunned.
It seemed they hadn’t anticipated that Gu Cangning would make such a request.

Sikong Bao looked at him strangely.
“Don’t tell me the little bitch has caught your eye?”

Gu Cangning furrowed his brow.
“If you’re willing to show mercy, I’ll be sure to repay you in the future.”

Sikong Bao slapped his thigh and laughed.
“No need to repay me.
So long as you pledge yourself to my cause, I’ll let her go right this second! Otherwise, even if you get on your knees and kowtow, I’ll never let the pretty little thing go!”

Gu Cangning’s expression instantly darkened.
“Sikong Bao, are you sure you want to shed all pretense of cordiality?”

The atmosphere was instantly tense and oppressive.

“Shed all pretense of cordiality?” Sikong Bao sneered, then got up and walked toward Yue Shichan.

“Brother Gu, I just said I’d show you how I planned to punish her.
Open your eyes wide and have a good look!”

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and reached for Yue Shichan.

“How dare you?” Gu Cangning slammed the table and shot to his feet.

However, before he could take so much as a single step, the tightly shut door swung open with a bang; someone had kicked it in!