Chapter 2751 - A Bounty

Su Yi closed his hand, and the lightning filling heaven and earth faded away without a trace.

The countless hovering rocks, trees, and grasses fell back down to earth.

The warhorses prostrated themselves on the ground, quivering from head to toe. The soldiers of Southern Currents City knelt in terror, too.

Five people in the Huaihuang Empire had greater martial prowess than all the rest. These were State Preceptor Lu Yuan, Manor Lord Yun Zhao’an of Divine Stratagems Manor, the leader of the Red Lotus Sect, Shen Duqiu, and the mightiest expert of the Jianghu, the man whose sword could supposedly overturn seas, Xiao Zhixuan.

The four of them were considered legends at the peak of the Huaihuang Empire’s Martial Dao. Every one of them had a long record of glorious accomplishments, and the commonfolk revered them as they did gods and immortals!

The four supreme experts aside, the Huaihuang Empire had several other prominent experts. However, their prestige and strength paled in comparison to the four “gods and immortals.”

Of course, true martial artists knew that gods and immortals didn’t exist in the Huaihuang Empire. The four supreme experts were sometimes referred to that way, but those were simply words of lavish praise.

Furthermore, those who understood the inside story knew that only those who shattered the skies and ascended were truly gods and immortals!

But no one knew where those who ascended went, or why none of them ever returned to the Huaihuang Empire.

They just knew that mortals and immortals lived apart.

Legends of immortals circulated throughout the Huaihuang Empire, but... no one had ever seen a real one!

Yet now, Ma Yu and his soldiers were completely gobsmacked, because... they’d just seen a real immortal!

This was someone who could shake heaven and earth with lightning with a swing of his hand, lifting the trees and grasses into the air! It seemed as if the entire stretch of mountains and rivers was under his control.

This was no different from the legends of gods and immortals! If this wasn’t an immortal, what was he?

“Venerable Immortal! Forgive us, and we’ll give you everything we have!” Ma Yu said with fright.

Pu Xuan had long since noticed that the soldiers carried a big leather bag. He promptly walked up and cut it open.

Its contents spilled out of the opening, forming a pile on the ground.

Pu Xuan examined them briefly, then shook his head. Practically all of them were just immortal treasures, and given the suppression of the Laws, they had no spirituality whatsoever. Here, they were basically just scrap iron.

“Who told you to gather these?” asked Pu Xuan.

“The imperial preceptor and Divine Stratagems Manor!” said Ma Yu, not even pausing to think. “With these spoils, we can acquire an abundance of merit. People are hunting sky devils throughout the Huaihuang Empire to gather these treasures.”

Pu Xuan said thoughtfully, “It seems that the imperial preceptor and Divine Stratagems Manor are colluding with the outside world. Otherwise, why gather these?”

Su Yi walked up and selected a sheathed longsword from the pile of treasure.

When he drew it, the blade lit up with dazzling light. The name “Red Star” was carved on the hilt in immortal glyphs.

When Su Yi tightened his grip, Red Star suddenly scattered an undulating tide of snow-white sword qi. Cold, sharp sword force spread throughout heaven and earth.

The nearby trees, rocks, and grasses silently crumbled into ash, and a layer of frost formed over the ground.

The battlehorses whinnied in terror. Ma Yu and the others panicked.

Fortunately, Su Yi quickly returned the sword to its sheath, and that terrifying sword force faded away.

Pu Xuan’s spirits soared. “In the eyes of a mortal, it’s nothing but scrap iron, but in your hands, it’s incredible indeed!”

Su Yi shook his head slightly. “My cultivation base has been suppressed, too. Using immortal treasures is pushing it a bit.”

He then placed Red Star onto his back and waved his sleeve. All of the treasures vanished into thin air, including the leather bag.

This inadvertent display of “a world in his sleeves” made the soldiers’ hearts quake. They were increasingly convinced that this was indeed a true immortal!

“Get up,” said Su Yi. “I have questions for you.”

Ma Yu said hurriedly, “Please, go ahead and ask, Venerable Immortal. We’ll remain on our knees. It’s comfortable and reassuring.”

The other soldiers nodded hurriedly.

Pu Xuan’s gaze was strange, but he had no desire to make fun of them. He just thought that even true cultivators wouldn’t necessarily show such awareness in the face of death.

These mortals knew the rules far better.

But Su Yi refused. “No, you aren’t allowed to kneel. Get up!”

He was once a mortal too, and he’d struggled and climbed to prominence amidst its red dust. No matter how high his cultivation was, he’d never fully separated himself from mortals.

Ma Yu and the others couldn’t help but hesitate.

“Get up or die,” said Pu Xuan. “Decide for yourselves.”

The group instantly shot to their feet.

Then, Su Yi proceeded to drink and ask questions. Ma Yu told him everything he knew.

After enough time to burn a stick of incense, Su Yi had learned everything he wanted to know.

The Huaihuang Empire was indeed a mundane nation. Even its four supreme experts were still just martial artists of the Martial Dao.

Most of Su Yi’s questions were actually about cultivating within the Martial Dao. In the end, he reached a conclusion. The Martial Dao of the Huaihuang Empire was similar to the one he was familiar with; the main differences lay in the specific terminology.

Pu Xuan found his interest strange.

Why would an Eternal like him ask so many questions about how mundane martial artists cultivate?

Su Yi didn’t explain.

Back in the God Domain, he could have brought order to the world, but in the end, he chose not to, as he’d yet to divine a set of Laws he was truly happy with.

And the Laws of the natural order were inextricably connected to the path of cultivation.

Mortal martial artists practiced the Four Realms of the Martial Dao.

Cultivators passed through the Three Realms of the Origin Dao, the Three Realms of the Spirit Dao, the Three Realms of the Profound Dao, the Path of Heaven’s Ascension, and the Path of Transcendence.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Above that lay the Immortal Dao, the Divine Dao, the Undying Realm, and Eternity.

Every stage of every realm involved striving for the truths of the Grand Dao and contemplating the Laws of Heaven’s Will.

Yet every epoch of civilization had a starkly different system of cultivation.

What Su Yi wanted was to bring order to the entire River of Epochs, encompassing the past, present, and future!

That was why he was so interested in the differences between paths of cultivation.

That was also why he’d requested copies of the books in the imperial family’s library before leaving the Great Qin. Everything was in preparation for Bringing Order.

“You can leave,” Su Yi said with a wave.

Ma Yu and the others still didn’t dare to believe it. The general said in a quavering voice, “Are you really going to let us go, Venerable Immortal?”

The immortals of legend all had bad tempers. When angered, they’d boil seas, burn mountains, and kill without batting an eye.

The way Ma Yu and the soldiers saw it, this seemingly youthful immortal was far too agreeable.

“What, do you want to die?” Pu Xuan said with a laugh.

Ma Yu and his soldiers shook their heads repeatedly. Only then did they dare to lead their horses away.

Even then, their hearts quivered with delayed terror. They were afraid that they’d be reduced to ash before they knew what hit them.

But nothing of the sort occurred.

“And here I was worried about what we’d do if we got beaten up by mortal martial artists. Now, I’m not worried in the slightest,” Pu Xuan said with a hearty laugh.

“Aren’t you curious?” asked Su Yi.

Pu Xuan waved dismissively. “Fellow Daoist, no feat, no matter how unbelievable or inexplicable, seems all that strange. Even if you told me you could kill a Heavenly Sovereign here, and now, I’d see no reason not to believe you.”

Su Yi laughed. “That’s how you kiss up to someone! You made it sound perfectly natural, as if you’re simply stating facts, with no sign of artifice. Just listening to it is relaxing.”

Pu Xuan instantly decided to strike while the iron was hot. “In the pursuit of the Grand Dao, the strong are revered, and the capable are honored. I honor you like a father, so why not just accept me as your foster son?”

Su Yi didn’t even know what to say.

This is what they mean when they say that if you smack a snake, it’ll seize the opportunity to climb up your staff!

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it for tacit acknowledgment,” said Pu Xuan with a broad grin.

In the end, Su Yi sent him flying with a kick. He flew several hundred feet before landing on his butt.

But then, he gave Su Yi a big thumbs up and said with deep admiration, “Foster Father, what a skillful kick! You obviously could have kicked me to death, but you made sure I didn’t suffer the slightest harm. Wondrous! Truly wondrous!”

Su Yi barely resisted the urge to draw his sword and cut him down.

He looks so handsome and elegant, and he’s a Buddhist sword cultivator on top of all that. How could he be so shameless?

There’s got to be something wrong with his brain!

“Come on, let’s go to Southern Currents City. Let’s see the mundane world of the Huaihuang Empire for ourselves,” said Su Yi, putting his hands behind his back and sauntering off.

With Red Star on his back and his characteristic flowing blue robes, he looked utterly dashing and elegant.

Pu Xuan followed him. When he looked at Su Yi’s back, he thought,

I’m the youngest disciple of Jiang Wuchen, while you’ve got to be an expert of the same generation as him. What could be more natural than acknowledging you as my father? What could be more appropriate?

How could you call that shameless or toadyish?

Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats emanated from afar. General Ma Yu had returned with two scrolls.

He stopped in the distance, leaped off his horse, and got down on one knee. “Venerable Immortal, I just received important news. I dared not delay, so I rushed back to deliver it to you.”

He proffered two scrolls. “Please, have a look. Then you’ll understand.”

Su Yi stretched out his hand, and both scrolls flew toward him. When he unfurled them, he saw portraits of himself and Pu Xuan.

After reading the accompanying text, he learned that he and Pu Xuan were wanted by the Huaihuang Empire!

The ones who’d posted the bounty were the imperial court, Imperial Preceptor Lu Yuan, and Yun Zhao’an of Divine Stratagems Manor!

There were three vermillion seals at the base of each scroll, representing the imperial court, preceptor, and Divine Stratagems Manor, respectively.

The part Su Yi found most amusing was that the bounty described them as irredeemable villains worthy of universal scorn. They said anyone who saw them should strike them down!

Pu Xuan instantly realized what was going on. “The Huaihuang Empire is colluding with outsiders!”

Su Yi nodded.

Those lying in wait outside the empire’s borders knew that he and Pu Xuan had gone inside.

Now, they’d barely arrived, but they were already wanted by the empire. There was no way that could be a coincidence. Someone in the outside world had pulled some strings!

Whoever they were had undoubtedly long since started colluding with the empire. They couldn’t have arranged such bounty posters so quickly otherwise!

“Strange. Why target us like this?” asked Su Yi.

Pu Xuan mulled it over. “There’s only one possible explanation. Whoever it is has a grudge against True Martial Sword Court! Otherwise, why target just us, and not all of the other cultivators, too?”

Su Yi nodded. “A reasonable explanation.”

Pu Xuan laughed. “But I’m sure they couldn’t possibly guess that you’d still have some of your cultivation base, Foster Father! Their attempts to hunt you down are sure to come to naught!”