First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1567 - Taking Trials

The Palace of Trials.

Experts of factions from all across the Immortal Realm were waiting patiently. By now, only the six greatest chosen of the Universe Realm had yet to wash out.

When Xing Yu arrived with Su Yi, they instantly drew the crowd’s attention.

“Ol’ Brother Xing Yu, what are you doing here?” High Elder Li Songfu of the Six Directions Daoist Temple greeted him with a smile.

He was dressed in apricot-yellow Daoist robes, and he had the air of a celestial being. He and Xing Yu were good friends.

“I’m here to accompany this young lord,” Xing Yu explained with a smile.

Numerous curious gazes instantly landed on Su Yi. Just who was he, for a commander of the Black Dragon Guards to guide him here personally?

Alas, Su Yi’s face was entirely unfamiliar, and he showed no sign of a cultivation base. No one recognized him.

Madam Yun Ning smiled and said, “Since Fellow Daoist Xing Yu guided you here personally, I’m sure you’re an extraordinary figure among Universe Realm Immortals, my young friend.”

She was from one of the three pure lands of Mount Buzhou, the Divine Jade Pure Lands. She was beautiful and dignified, and she had a lofty status.

Many others proceeded to chime in their agreement.

A Universe Realm Immortal? Xing Yu’s expression turned a bit strange, and he didn’t quite know what to say.

Su Yi, however, was perfectly forthright. “I’m in the Cloud Soaring Realm.”

The crowd was stunned, and the atmosphere grew strange.

He’s yet to become an immortal, yet he dares attempt the Cave of Trials?

The Cave of Trials was a cultivation ground prepared specifically for Universe Realm Immortals.

Furthermore, not just any old Universe Realm Immortal was qualified to enter! The factions gathered here had all paid a considerable price to gain entry for their disciples.

Yet now, a young man in the Cloud Soaring Realm wanted to test himself in the Cave of Trials. Who’d dare believe such a thing?

Madam Yun Ning felt a bit awkward. She was an Immortal Lady, yet she’d mistaken a little cultivator of the Cloud Soaring Realm for a Universe Realm Immortal. She’d undoubtedy made a fool of herself.

Meanwhile, Xing Yu had already led Su Yi to the far end of the hall. A massive, whirlpool-like portal floated over the wall.

The entrance to the Cave of Trials!

Xing Yu gestured to the stone stele beside it. “Young Lord, press your palm on the stele, and you’ll receive a token. When you want to leave, all you need to do is crush it.”

Su Yi nodded, then pressed his palm upon the stele.

Weng!

The stone surface lit up, and a resplendent rain of the Laws surged forth before condensing into a palm-sized purple token.

“Young Lord, do you need me to explain the rules of the Cave of Trials?” Xing Yu asked with a smile.

“No need.” Su Yi shook his head, gripped the purple talisman, and walked into the massive whirlpool. The blink of an eye later, he’d disappeared.

“Fellow Daoist Xing Yu, who was that young man, for you to have led him here personally?” Li Songfu couldn’t help but ask.

The others looked over as well. A trivial cultivator of the cloud Soaring Realm had come here alongside an Immortal Lord of the Black Dragon Market. This was simply unbelievable, and it piqued the crowd’s curiosity.

Xing Yu said solemnly, “Young Lord Su is the most distinguished of distinguished guests of the Black Dragon Market.”

He swept his gaze across the crowd and said, “You are not to be remiss in your manners.”

The crowd was instantly solemn. They were increasingly aware that this "Young Lord Su" wasn’t simple.

Li Songfu was itching with curiosity. He couldn’t help but say, “Ol’ Brother Xing Yu, might you give me more details?”

Xing Yu shook his head. “Better not to ask any further questions.”

With that, he turned and left.

Li Songfu frowned and muttered, “Could he perhaps be the descendant of an Immortal King?”

Madam Yun Ning said softly, “I’ve never heard of an Immortal King surnamed Su, but no matter. I’m afraid Young Lord Su’s origins are more terrifying than we can imagine.”

Everyone reacted strongly to that.

Someone said gravely, “But he’s ultimately just in the Cloud Soaring Realm. I wonder how far he’ll make it through the Cave of Trials like that.”

The Cave of Trials had nine floors, each more perilous than the one before.

In the long years since the Age of Fallen Immortals, not one Universe Realm Immortal had passed the ninth trial.

Yet now, a Cloud Soaring Realm cultivator was making the attempt. No matter how extraordinary and lofty his status, the crowd thought poorly of his chances.

Someone said with a laugh, “Perhaps he’s just here for fun, and he isn’t really here to temper himself.”

Before long, the crowd set the topic aside. A Cloud Soaring Transcendent, that was all. At most, they were curious about his origins. As for how far he’d make it through the Cave of Trials? Practically no one really cared.

......

The first floor of the Cave of Trials.

Su Yi first appeared in a grand, empty hall. There was nothing here save for a massive black stele covered in a strange, inscrutable power of the Laws of the Immortal Dao.

The Dao-Measuring Stone!

When one stood atop this stone, it could measure their strength. Then, in the trials that followed, it would create opponents of comparable ability!

Su yi stepped onto the Dao-Measuring Stone. The Laws instantly rumbled and boomed, and a rain of light interwove. The pressure on Su Yi relentlessly increased.

In the end, he had no choice but to circulate his cultivation base to ward off this omnipresent, oppressive pressure.

A long time passed.

Only when Su Yi was practically circulating his cultivation base to its limit did the pressure abruptly disappear.

Su Yi disappeared from the grand hall too. A moment later, he found himself in a boundless world.

Su Yi couldn’t sense any of the usual energies of heaven and earth, nor were there any spiritual energy fluctuations. It was utterly barren, a dead world.

This meant that when the fighting began, trial-takers couldn’t borrow any power from heaven and earth. They’d have to rely purely on their own cultivation bases.

Furthermore, the moment they relied on external treasures, the Laws covering this place would expel them, and they’d fail their trial!

“Not bad.” Su Yi muttered to himself, “Only a setup like this can really measure the full extent of your personal might!”

Weng!

The Laws suddenly fluctuated, and a rain of light fell from the heavens, condensing into a tall, upright figure in blue robes.

He and Su Yi were completely identical!

However, the second Su Yi was condensed from the Laws, and he showed no sign of life force. What he did have was a powerful cultivation base comparable to Su Yi’s own!

This was a trial guardian!

Fighting them was like fighting a clone of yourself. You had to kill the trial guardian before you could attempt the next trial.

Clang!

The trial guardian stretched out his hand, condensing a sword. He then shot through the air, right at Su Yi!

Su Yi’s eyes lit up. This was just the first trial, but the trial guardian’s power was comparable to his own!

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Yi stretched out his hand, condensed a sword out of his cultivation base, and met the trial guardian head-on.

Boom!

A grand battle broke out and raged with great ferocity.

It wasn’t just the trial guardian’s strength. Even his combat experience, skills, and attainments in the Dao of the Sword were extraordinary!

Aside from lacking life force, his abilities were all but identical to Su Yi’s. They were like twin brothers.

This was what made the Cave of Trials so unique. Overcoming the trials was like facing another version of yourself.

It was only by fighting such a battle that trial-takers could clearly discern their own inadequacies!

Wonderful! No wonder the Black Dragon Dao Monarch bragged that throughout the Immortal Realm, there was nowhere else like the Cave of Trials! This really is a rare, first-rate blessed ground for cultivation!

As Su Yi fought, his blood boiled, and his will to fight coursed through him. The fierce combat was utterly satisfying.

He fought with all his might, entirely unrestrained, his cultivation base on full display. Sword qi slashed through the air, shaking the nine heavens and the ten earths.

But his opponent was no slouch either. They fought and fought, but it was hard to determine a victor.

Su Yi hadn’t fought such an evenly matched duel in a long, long time.

“I am at war with myself in a battle of the heart. Now, aren’t I fighting yet another version of me here in the Cave of Trials?” Su Yi sighed.

About fifteen minutes later.

Bang!

Su Yi seized an opportunity to cut the trial guardian into pieces. He scattered into a rain of light and fused into Su Yi’s body, rapidly replenishing his depleted energy.

At the same time, Su Yi clearly sensed that after refining the rain of light, his physical body, soul, cultivation base, and even his essence, qi, and spirit, had undergone a subtle, silent baptism!

This was the advantage of overcoming a trial.

The colorful rain of light was manifested of the ancient origin power of the Grand Dao. It was enormously beneficial to cultivators!

Before long, the power of the Laws surged forth, bringing Su Yi away.

...

The second floor of the Cave of Trials.

This too had a grand hall. It was empty save for a golden stele.

When Su Yi arrived, the stone surface surged with a rain of light, and a ranking appeared.

Thirty-nine thousand, eight hundred and fifty-fifth place!

“.....”

But Su Yi knew that his results reflected no more than the time he’d taken to overcome this trial. The guardians’ strength never varied, so the time it took a challenger to overcome them served as proof of their power and latent potential.

Similarly, assuming similar levels of power, the combatant who burst forth with greater latent potential in a pinch was the more terrifying one.

A moment later, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh.

He wasn’t attempting the trials for a ranking.

Without any further thought, he proceeded beyond the second-floor hall.

As soon as he passed through the portal, he arrived in a separate heaven and earth almost identical to the boundless world he’d seen on the first floor.

The only difference was that this time, the boundless world was permeated with blood-colored baleful mists strong enough to disrupt a cultivator’s heart!

In other words, challengers had to engage in fierce combat with trial guardians while also fending off the blood-colored baleful mists and avoiding their mental influence!

That aside, the trial guardians were stronger than on the first floor!

Weng!

A rain of light fell from the heavens, forming a figure identical to Su Yi, but his aura was even stronger!

The trial guardians aren’t living things, and they naturally have no latent potential. If trial-takers want to overcome their opponents, they have to rely on their combat skills and intelligence. This is also a test of will and latent potential, thought Su Yi.

Clang!

Off in the distance, the trial guardian condensed a Dao Sword and attacked from afar.

Meanwhile, the bloody, baleful, mind-altering mists surged toward Su Yi like mad.