The sword-bearing ape pondered momentarily, then said, “The Endless Swords Immortal Sect has most likely guessed your identity, yet they still chose to participate in this operation. It seems something had gone deeply awry within the sect.”
Su Yi rubbed his forehead. “Their founder, Xu Fushi, was once one of my closest friends. I truly cannot imagine why they’d target me, unless…”
“Unless something about the sect changed dramatically in the long years following your reincarnation,” said the ape.
“That’s most likely it,” said Su Yi. His eyes flashed. “I’ll just have to pay them a visit personally and get to the bottom of this myself.”
“That guy only just used his death to prove his sincerity,” said the sword-bearing ape. “According to him, you’ll be doomed beyond a doubt if you go there.”
Su Yi laughed. “Do you believe that?”
The ape laughed too. “If you go, they’re the ones I’ll worry about.”
“I can say with certainty that they view me with the utmost enmity. After failing to kill me this time, they’re likely to make ample preparations. If I go, I’m sure to face unfathomable peril,” said Su Yi casually. “But that’s fine. Let them prepare.”
Su Yi took up residence in the Abyss of Dark Fog that day. He spent his time immersed in cultivation and tempering his powers of the Grand Dao, but he also took some time to help the sword-bearing ape neutralize his divine tribulation.
……Time slipped by. Before long, seven days had passed.
Outside the Abyss of Dark Fog.
“Why hasn’t anyone come out yet?”
“The entrance has vanished. There’s no way to go inside to investigate.”
“Don’t tell me all the Immortal Kings who chased Shen Mu are already…”
……Numerous cultivators were waiting outside the Abyss of Dark Fog. All of them looked frantic.
Word that nine great orthodoxies had sent groups of Immortal Kings after Shen Mu had long since spread throughout the Immortal Realm, taking the world by storm and causing widespread uproar.
Everyone beneath the heavens was shaken. Everyone was nervously following every development in this unprecedented chase.
Right from the start, no one would have anticipated that the "Immortal Lord" who’d soared to prominence during the Divine Hunt would soon find himself targeted by nine top orthodoxies!
It was far too unbelievable. Nothing of the sort had ever happened before!
It would have been strange if the Immortal Realm’s orthodoxies weren’t paying attention to an incident of this magnitude.
At first, practically no one thought highly of Shen Mu’s chances. They figured there was no way he’d wriggle his way out of this one.
But against all expectations, they’d already confirmed that all five participating Immortal Kings from the Church of the Exquisite Goddess had perished!
This instantly triggered uproar throughout the Immortal Realm.
However, there’d been no word from any of the Immortal Kings since Su Yi and his pursuers entered the Abyss of Dark Fog. The exit had vanished, and no one knew what had happened inside. Ṙ𝘈Nọ𝐛Εş
This situation had lasted for seven days already.
“Don’t tell me that both Shen Mu and his pursuers have met with disaster?”
“Don’t forget that the Abyss of Dark Fog is the most dangerous place in the Dark Province, and one of the greatest danger zones in the entire Immortal Realm. People have always said that it’s a land of no return, even for immortals. It wouldn’t be at all strange if those Immortal Kings had died in there.”
“Perhaps that’s why Shen Mu chose to flee into the abyss. He must have wanted to take them down with him…”
…The crowd discussed the situation. Everyone had their own best guess as to what had happened, but no one had definite answers.
The factions involved had long since sent their experts to investigate, but they hadn’t learned anything either. This filled their hearts with a strong sense of foreboding.
“Wait a while longer. Perhaps all will become clear once the entrance reappears!” someone whispered.
……
Before long, a full month had passed.
Deep within the Abyss of Dark Fog, near the ruins of the ancient battlefield, Su Yi slowly reopened his eyes.
This had been a peaceful but productive, fruitful time for him. When he wasn’t cultivating, he was helping the sword-bearing ape neutralize his divine tribulation. From time to time, he took a break to refine medicine and treasures.
His cultivation base had already reached the pinnacle of the Void Realm.
“That furnace is quite something. It really is a spirit treasure born of chaos,” exclaimed the sword-bearing ape.
The Divine Replenishment Furnace was currently refining a batch of pills. Purple light rose from within the furnace, and immortal radiance filled the air. It was an almost holy sight.
Over the past month, Su Yi had given all of the trophies he’d acquired from the Immortal Kings to the Divine Replenishment Furnace to refine. Countless immortal herbs were now bottles upon bottles of immortal pills.
As for the immortal materials and treasures? They’d been melted down and used to enhance the Sword of the Human Realm.
The Divine Replenishment Furnace had benefited considerably from this process too. In just one short month, its quality had improved, and it was now starkly different from before.
Su Yi estimated that the Divine Replenishment Furnace could now easily shatter all Immortal Lord-level treasures, and even contending with mighty Immortal King treasures was within the bounds of possibility.
Of course, the Sword of the Human Realm’s transformation was even more astonishing!
After all, the trophies looted from the Immortal Kings’ corpses were practically all Immortal King-level treasures. Su Yi used more than half of them to temper the Sword of the Human Realm. Both its quality and its power were nothing like before. It had more than doubled in strength.
Ordinary Immortal King treasures couldn’t even take a single hit from it!
Most of the pills the Divine Replenishment Furnace refined were intended to fuel Su Yi’s cultivation, but some were prepared to mend Lei Ze’s soul.
According to the sword-bearing ape, at his peak, Lei Ze had been comparable to Great Unity experts, powerhouses at the second stage of the Great Realm.
But Lei Ze’s divine tribulation had damaged him badly. Both his body and soul were affected, and even his source power was on the verge of running dry.
Over the past month, the Divine Replenishment Furnace had produced an enormous quantity of pills used to repair the body and soul, but Lei Ze’s injuries were so bad that it was like trying to put out a fire with glasses of water!
By now, Lei Ze had only recovered a small portion of his source power. His body and soul were on the mend, but the difference was subtle.
Su Yi had the troublesome realization that Lei Ze would need Great Realm medicines—and lots of them—if he was going to make a full recovery.
The same was true for the sword-bearing ape. Although Su Yi had neutralized his divine tribulation, his injuries were severe, and his cultivation base was still on the verge of falling from the Great Realm.
There was no way he could recover his former strength overnight.
The Divine Replenishment Furnace’s pills were all top-quality goods within the Immortal King level, but they weren’t much use for treating the ape’s injuries.
Ultimately, both Lei Ze and the sword-bearing ape were Great Realm existences, and they needed treasures of the same level to recover!
Alas, such treasures were not to be found in the Abyss of Dark Fog.
Great Realm treasures were rare throughout the Immortal Realm; they were only found in the most powerful, ancient of orthodoxies.
“At its peak, the Divine Replenishment Furnace was a Great Realm treasure. It was the prized possession of a Sovereign-level pill refiner.” Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “He was quite famous prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals. They called him Pill Sovereign Wanqian. He stepped into the Great Realm before I did. Alas, he disappeared inexplicably a long time ago, and I have no idea where he went.
“The Divine Replenishment Furnace disappeared along with him. Even I could never have guessed that this treasure would survive the cataclysm of the Age of Fallen Immortals and flee the Immortal Realm, much less that I’d get my hands on it in the Eastern Profound Star Domain.”
Purple light interwove within the furnace, forming a line of text. “That’s what they call destiny. Fate led you to me.”
Su Yi couldn’t help but chuckle. There’s no denying it. The furnace’s spirituality is growing stronger.
The sword-bearing ape said, “There’s a reason for everything, but I’m afraid that if the long-vanished Pill Sovereign Wanqian reappears, this treasure will leave you.”
Su Yi’s gaze focused, but a moment later, he shrugged. “A treasure returning to its rightful owner, that’s all.”
The Divine Replenishment Furnace shook violently, and a line of text arose within it. “Pill Sovereign Wanqian died over the River of Epochs a long time ago.”
Su Yi couldn’t help but find this shocking. He died over the River of Epochs?
“Do you know what happened to him?” asked Su Yi.
“I don’t know,” wrote the furnace. “But I’m sure the gods were involved. Pill Sovereign Wanqian’s lifelong ambition was to refine a batch of true divine pills. In doing so, he hoped to prove his Dao and become a god. Alas, in the end, he failed to realize his dream.”
Su Yi nodded. Wang Ye had explored the River of Epochs too, and he too had been attacked by the gods, leaving him no choice but to flee for his life.
From this, he surmised that something similar had happened to Pill Sovereign Wanqian. The only difference was that unlike Wang Ye, Pill Sovereign Wanqian never made it back.
The furnace continued, “I have a pill recipe Pill Sovereign Wanqian left behind. It records a secret method to refine divine pills. Once I’ve fully recovered my vitality, I’ll give it to you.”
A recipe for divine pills!!
Su Yi and the sword-bearing ape exchanged glances. Both of them couldn’t help but be impressed. If word got out, even Great Realm experts would drool over such a recipe!
Suddenly, heavy footsteps resounded from afar, each footfall going off like a thunderclap. The enormous Huang Tuo had arrived.
“Your Excellency, the restriction sealing the entrance to the Abyss of Dark Fog will dissipate within one day’s time,” Huang Tuo said gravely. “When the time comes, numerous outsiders will likely swarm into the abyss. Please tell me how I should handle this.”
Huang Tuo was a true natural-born giant devil!
During the Primeval Era, he and the sword-bearing ape fought side-by-side. He fought fiercely against the divine emissaries, only for a deity to suppress him, leaving him bound in strange black chains.
They too were manifestations of an Epoch Law, and they’d restricted him for countless years!
Over the past month, Su Yi had used some of his free time to help Huang Tuo shatter the mountain-range-like chains binding him. By now, Huang Tuo had been fully freed from captivity.
“Fellow Daoist, what do you think we should do?” The ape turned to look at Su Yi.
Su Yi mulled it over, then said, “It’s about time I get going anyway.”
Less than half a year remained until the Church of All Spirits held the Immortal King Night Banquet.
The Buzhou Mountains were extremely far away. Su Yi would have to leave well in advance to ensure that any mishaps along the way didn’t make him late.
Seth's Thoughts
Hey, FYI, I'm changing Mount Buzhou to the Buzhou Mountains. Sorry for any confusion. Gonna go in and change it retroactively after I proofread this chapter.
Long-winded explanation below. I encourage you to skip it if you're not interested.
Chinese isn't big on plurals, and Xiao Jinyu, much to my chagrin, almost never uses the word "mountain range.“ （山峦 or 山脉）
He just says 山, which is usually but not always singular. It's ambiguous, so I rely on context clues to translate mountain(s') names.
This has been an issue for the entire novel, and I usually solve it by closely examining future chapters for context. Simply reading ahead isn't enough; the lack of plurals is so normal in Chinese that I don't register it in my brain's "reader mode." I have to switch to "translation brain."
In this case, I didn't bother doing that close examination because Mount Buzhou is a famous, decidedly singular mountain. I thought "surely there was no way Mount Buzhou of all places could possibly be a mountain range" but...
Future chapters indicate that, yes, it's definitely a mountain range. Sorry for any confusion. I should have known better.
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