First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1678 - A Great Realm Treasure

The Immortal Lords’ expressions weren’t the least bit friendly. All of them were completely exasperated.

Su Yi’s suggestion just seemed like an attempt to make trouble. There’s something wrong with this guy!

Tang Yuyan hesitated, then fixed her beautiful gaze on Su Yi. “What makes you think there’s good fortune hidden there?”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. This is why I don’t like traveling with other people! It’s so much extra trouble and unnecessary disagreements!

Su Yi couldn’t be bothered to explain, so he just said directly, “If you don’t want to go, I’ll go by myself.”

With that, he turned and headed toward the distant mountain.

“Shen Mu! Can you please just behave?” said Tang Yuyan in vexation.

Su Yi ignored her.

When the other Immortal Lords saw this, all of them started talking at once. 

“If he wants to throw his life away, let him! There’s no dissuading someone like him!”

“Good riddance! I’ve been sick of him for a long time!”

“How dangerous are the Divine Abomination Grounds? Yet here he is, going off on his own. How does that make any sense? We can’t let him drag us down with him!”

But then, Tang Yuyan frowned and said, “Enough. I’ll have no more of such talk. Come with me; we’re going after him.”

Her allies almost dared not believe their ears. Why is she so fixated on that Shen Mu guy’s safety even now?

“I’m going, whether you all come with me or not,” Tang Yuyan said coldly. She then turned and left without another word.

The other Immortal Lords were instantly frantic. They exchanged glances, and although they were completely frustrated, there was nothing they could do. They had little choice but to follow her.

The Divine Abomination Grounds were so dangerous that without Tang Yuyan, they’d find themselves in grave peril.

They’d either wash out, or… die!

Neither outcome was acceptable to them.

“Shen Mu, I’ll trust your judgment just this once,” said Tang Yuyan after she caught up to Su Yi. She said slowly and clearly, “I just hope you aren’t leading us into danger. If you are, I’ll be completely disappointed in you.”

Su Yi could tell that she was holding back her anger, but even so, she’d chosen to come with him. Su Yi hadn’t anticipated that.

He couldn’t help but be curious, “I can tell you’re displeased with my behavior, so why did you come with me?”

Tang Yuyan glared at him. “I want to see you fall flat on your face, then learn your lesson! Maybe then you won’t cause so much trouble and refuse to follow my orders!”

Su Yi smiled. She was, of course, just saying that in anger.

“You’re laughing? If not for.. Ugh, forget it!” Tang Yuyan suppressed the impulse to vent her displeasure. “On the road ahead, I’ll be happy if you just quit making me worry about you so much!”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “Many thanks.”

On their way here, Tang Yuyan had been different from her companions. She was cold and ferocious on the surface, and she criticized him frequently.

But in her own way, she’d been looking out for him. Su Yi didn’t need her to look out for him, but such consideration was still a rare and precious thing.

Tang Yuyan couldn’t help but be stunned. She suddenly fell silent. She wouldn’t have guessed that Shen Mu would thank her out of nowhere, and she didn’t quite know what to say.

Still, deep within her heart, she appreciated his gratitude, and much of her displeasure dissipated.

At least he’s got a conscience. I insisted on bringing him with us despite the others’ objections, and it seems my efforts weren’t in vain after all, thought Tang Yuyan.

Before long, the group had almost reached the mountain.

Boom!

Baleful fog swept forth like waters at high tide, accompanied by the low rumbling of thunder.

The black mountain seemed to connect heaven and earth. Its slopes were extraordinarily steep.

Halfway up the mountain, there stood a worn-out altar completely swathed in fog. There was something glittering and golden placed atop it.

Upon closer inspection, it was a golden beast skin!

The hide emanated endless misty light, the dazzling radiance of the Dao. It blazed like the sun as it floated above the fog-enshrouded altar. It couldn’t have been any more eye-catching.

Tang Hanfeng and the other Immortal Lords initially resented this detour. They thought Su Yi was just pushing them into the fire pit.

But when they saw the golden beast skin, their eyes widened, and they stared at it, completely transfixed.

“What… what kind of treasure is that?” someone said in a quavering voice.

Even just gazing upon it from afar, they felt a sacred, immeasurable power emanating from the golden beast skin.

It was far too mystical. The power of the Laws emanating from it took on the form of a colorful rain of light.

“Is that a treasure from the Primeval era?”

“That looks like a mysterious Daoist canon!”

The Immortal Lords’ gazes heated up. Their breathing was even a bit hurried.

There was no need to even question it. That golden beast skin was surely an extraordinary stroke of good fortune!

Tang Yuyan couldn’t help but take another look at Su Yi. “Hey... How could you sense this thing from so far away?”

“I just sensed a wisp of its aura,” said Su Yi. He looked at the golden beast skin and the run-down altar and continued, “But not even I realized that I’d discovered a Great Realm treasure.”

A Great Realm treasure!

The group’s hearts shook, and their faces filled with disbelief.

The Immortal Dao consisted of four realms: the Universe Realm, the Void Realm, the Saint Realm, and the Miracle Realm.

Beyond that lay the Great Realm, a level that was practically a legend at this point!

Throughout the ages, those mighty experts who stepped into the Great Realm stood above the Immortal Dao. In this world, they were all-powerful.

Just like Great Realm experts, who hadn't made an appearance in who knew how many years, Great Realm treasures were something the average Immortal only heard of.

Several months prior, outside Blazing Firmament Immortal City, Su Yi borrowed Immortal Queen Liu Yun’s Great Realm treasure, the World-Suppressing Seal, to suppress and kill Chief Libationer Ming Xing, an Immortal King expert of the Church of All Spirits!

In the present-day Immortal Realm, practically every Great Realm treasure in existence belonged to a secluded Great Realm expert. They were all but impossible to find in the outside world. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Yet now, a suspected Great Realm treasure had appeared on this black mountain in the Divine Abomination Grounds. Who wouldn’t have been shocked and red-eyed with greed?

“Is that… really a Great Realm treasure?” Tang Yuyan couldn’t help but be astonished, and a bit ashamed. She was an unrivaled Immortal Lord of the ancient Tang family, but she’d never seen a Great Realm treasure before, so she couldn’t confirm the golden beast skin’s level.

“It is,” said Su Yi. “That’s most likely the tanned hide of a Great Realm beast. If it’s as I suspect, that treasure hides enormous secrets. Perhaps it records a Daoist canon, or perhaps it's emblazoned with other extraordinary secrets.”

The crowd’s emotions churned just listening to him. The hide of a Great Realm beast is an extraordinary treasure, but someone used it just to record a Daoist canon or write down secrets? What kind of Daoist canon is this, to merit such treatment? Or what kind of secrets are they, that someone thought it worth emblazoning them on a Great Realm treasure?

Their hearts shook just thinking about it, and the way they looked at Su Yi shifted. There’s no doubt about it. This guy’s seen Great Realm treasures before, perhaps more than one. Otherwise, how could he recognize the golden beast skin’s secrets at a glance?

This silkpants might be inept and cowardly, but due to his status, his horizons are extraordinarily broad. He might well be the descendant of a Great Realm expert. Otherwise, how could he possibly know all that?

Tang Hanfeng and the other Immortal Lords grumbled inwardly.

“In that case, we’ve really found a unique and enormous stroke of good fortune this time!” One of the Immortal Lord’s gaze heated up with eagerness. “Miss Yuyan, let’s move quickly!”

“Wait!” said Tang Yuyan. “Look over there!”

Her companions followed her gaze, and to their horror, they discovered fragmented treasures and severed limbs scattered across the foot of the fog-shrouded black mountain.

When they examined the rest of their surroundings, they discovered the scars of numerous battles, as well as scattered puddles of blood.

There was no doubt about it. Other Immortal Lords had come here and tried to claim this treasure, but all of their attempts ended in failure!

Had anyone succeeded, the beast skin would have disappeared a long time ago.

The group suddenly felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over their heads, extinguishing much of their greed.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Yuyan made up her mind. “I’ll try it first.”

But Su Yi shook his head. “You’d best not. If you do, you’ll only suffer.”

He then pointed at the fog enveloping the entire black mountain. “That fog is full of strange spatial Laws. Anyone who draws near will be swept into a turbulent spatial storm.”

The group broke out in cold sweats. All of them looked startled.

Su Yi continued, “That aside, the altar beneath that beast skin is a bit strange. If it’s as I suspect, the strange spatial Laws covering this place originate from the altar. That means that even if we could approach, we’d have to overcome the ancient altar’s attacks.”

The group exchanged glances. They were instantly solemn. Indeed, this is a rare, unrivaled stroke of good fortune. If it were so easy to take, any idiot could've done it.

“All that talk, but do you have a way of handling this?” Tang Hanfeng couldn’t help but ask. 

The others immediately came to their senses. That’s right! Shen Mu was the one who insisted on coming here! And he was the one who saw through that golden beast skin’s secrets at a glance. He even analyzed the dangers lying in wait here!

The group found all of his strange, but they couldn’t help but feel a bit eager. The silkpants might be useless, but due to his extraordinary status, he’s obviously seen Great Realm treasures before, and he might well know how to retrieve that golden beast skin safely!

“You all should just wait here,” said Su Yi. As he spoke, he approached the black mountain.

The group’s spirits soared. He really does have a way to handle this!

Tang Yuyan couldn’t help but say, “Don’t… Don’t do anything reckless. You have to be careful. Whatever you do, don’t act tough!”

Su Yi smiled and waved without so much as a second look. “You’re the ones who ought to be worried. There are plenty of people lurking around here, hoping to reap unearned benefits.”

Tang Yuyan was instantly solemn. Her bright eyes suddenly scanned her surroundings, and indeed, when she focused her senses, she discovered numerous well-hidden presences nearby!

Her eyelids twitched, and she gasped. Her nerves silently went taut, and she prepared herself to face powerful foes.

If Su Yi hadn’t warned her, she wouldn’t have realized how much danger lurked nearby!