First Immortal of the Sword - Chapter 2854 - Preordained
Chapter 2854 – Preordained
The peacock was indeed unique, with resplendent, dazzling plumage. Its tail feathers blotted out all of creation, and its aura wasn’t any weaker than the monk’s!
“Who is that?” transmitted Su Yi.
The white toad hurriedly transmitted back, “Destiny’s Chosen, that old peacock is the emperor of the surrounding ninety thousand miles of river. The ol’ peacock is famous throughout the River of Destiny. I’m a River King, but the ol’ peacock is a level above that.”
Su Yi subtly inclined his head, but he found it strange. A River Emperor, then? Why would the peacock ask the monk a question like that as soon as it arrived?
Meanwhile, the monk looked at the peacock, his gaze strange. “If I didn’t believe in fate, how could I speak of Heavenly Fate? Long time no see, Senior.”
Everyone was stunned. They wouldn’t have expected that the monk—a Heavenly Sovereign—would address a peacock as “senior.”
The Star Toad was stunned, too. Since when was the ol’ peacock that monk’s senior?
The peacock floated atop the current, gazing calmly at the monk in white. “Every cause has an effect, and everything is determined by destiny. The first time we met, I saved your life. Now, we meet again. It seems fate has brought us together once more. How about you repay my act of life-saving benevolence now?”
The monk furrowed his brow. “Are you acquainted with Su Yi?”
The peacock shook its head. “I’ve never seen him before.”
The monk’s frown deepened. “You’ve never met him before, and there’s no bond between you. Why waste the favor I owe you on him?”
The onlookers were bewildered, too, but River Empress Peacock didn’t explain. It just said calmly, “You just need to make a decision.”
The monk fell silent. The atmosphere was stifling and oppressive.
After a while, he sighed softly. “I truly wouldn’t have guessed that you’d come to collect the karmic debt I owe you now of all times. Perhaps… this is what they mean when they say that destiny is capricious, and fortune plays tricks upon us all.”
A long, long time ago, three Buddhas traversed the River of Destiny, trying to grasp the secrets of the mysteries of “permanence and impermanence.”
However, much to their dismay, they encountered a windstorm on the River of Destiny. All three Buddhas were swept into it, their golden bodies withering and their lives hanging in the balance.
At a critical juncture, a swath of five-colored divine radiance appeared, lifting the Buddhas and delivering them from the River of Destiny.
It was this very peacock who’d intervened on their behalf.
It was just that at the time, the peacock was not yet particularly powerful. Practically all of its feathers were destroyed in the process of saving the three Buddhas, and its vital source energy was badly damaged.
The three Buddhas swore to repay it one day out of gratitude for this act of benevolence.
However, they met with a Karmic Tribulation shortly after, plummeting out of Eternity. They naturally had no opportunity to repay the peacock’s benevolence.
Now, the three Buddhas had fused, giving rise to the monk in white. It had only been a few years since he’d returned to the River of Destiny.
Not even he had anticipated that he would reunite with his benefactor here today, and he certainly hadn’t anticipated that such a variable would appear just as he was about to clinch what should have been a certain victory!
It seemed utterly inexplicable, too, unlikely to be a coincidence, but the monk wasn’t a simple sort. After thinking it over briefly, he picked up a few hints.
He looked at the peacock. “Earlier, that toad called Su Yi Destiny’s Chosen. Does that title have anything to do with your decision to help him?”
The peacock had nothing to say to that. The peacock had always been like this; when it didn’t want to talk, no one could force it.
“I owe you a debt,” said the monk in white. “I naturally have to repay you. But you do realize that you’ve ruined my plans?”
The peacock said nothing. It just looked at the monk in silence.
“If I attack, you cannot stop me. After all, you do not yet have the strength of a Heavenly Sovereign,” said the monk.
The white toad tensed. If even the ol’ peacock can’t cut it, the situation is dire!
This time, River Empress Peacock finally spoke up. “In that case, it would have been better if I’d never saved you.”
The white-robed monk gazed intently at the peacock for a moment, then looked at Su Yi. “Do you believe in fate, Fellow Daoist?”
“I believe that man can triumph over the heavens,” said Su Yi. “I’ve never believed that the heavens determined my destiny.”
The monk smiled. “Believing in destiny isn’t the same as submitting to it. Rather, those who wish to break free of the River of Destiny must first believe in destiny, then get to know it. Only then can they break free of the shackles of Destiny and reach its Far Shore.”
He paused, then continued, “In this, you and I are similar. I, too, believe that man can triumph over the heavens.”
“Oh?” said Su Yi. “Does that mean you don’t plan to let things end here today?”
The monk inclined his head. “I owe Senior Peacock my life, and I must naturally repay such acts of benevolence, but… your life isn’t on the table.”
Before his voice had even finished echoing through the air, he raised a hand, and… Boom!
Buddhist flames descended from the heavens in a boundless flood brimming with the terrifying power to purify all things. This attack was far, far stronger than before.
Even the Heavenly Monarchs’ hair stood on end. Their hearts filled with terror.
The peacock snorted coldly. Its feathers clanged like countless all-powerful divine swords, cleaving into the descending Buddhist light.
Light and sword clashed with a heaven-shaking boom. Flames scattered, and divine radiance swept outward.
Most startling of all, the peacock’s attempts to block had been squashed!
“Senior, don’t make this difficult for me. You saved my life, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to pressure me like this,” the monk in white said gently.
As he spoke, his expression suddenly shifted.
He’d just watched as Su Yi blurred into a beam of light and shot into the River of Destiny’s depths. In the blink of an eye, he’d vanished into the current, gone without a trace.
The monk took a step forward, another lotus blooming beneath his feet, and pressed down.
Boom!
The surrounding several hundred thousand feet of water split as a massive palm imprint formed on the river’s surface, pushing deeper and deeper. The resulting tidal waves sent the distant onlookers flying. All of them scampered off in panic.
But when the waves quelled, the monk still hadn’t captured Su Yi. He frowned, then leaped into the River of Destiny.
The peacock said suddenly, “You might be a Heavenly Sovereign, but beneath the water’s surface, you’re still no match for me.”
The monk stopped in place, his expression shifting erratically. It would have been obvious to anyone that he wasn’t willing to accept this!
“I’m a Heavenly Sovereign, but not even I dare to venture into the River of Destiny lightly. He’s just a Divine Wandering Realm Dao Lord. How long can he last down there?” said the white-robed monk. “I refuse to believe he can stay hidden down there without you rushing to his aid!”
Every cultivator knew that those who fell into the River of Destiny would be assailed by its boundless, powerful current. Even mighty Heavenly Sovereigns could only withstand it for a little while.
Those beneath that level were completely doomed!
“There’s no need for me to save him,” said the peacock. “He’ll be fine.”
The peacock’s eyes were calm, but it looked at the white-robed monk with the utmost disappointment.
“What do you mean, he’ll be fine?” The monk furrowed his brow.
“How could a bald donkey like you possibly comprehend the abilities of Destiny’s Chosen?” the toad said with a cold laugh, then dove into the current.
The white-robed monk looked at the peacock. “Senior, might you clear up my doubts?”
The peacock said firmly, “This is destiny.”
The monk sighed. “Do you regret saving my life back then?”
The peacock said calmly, “You’re the ungrateful one, not me. What do I have to regret?”
The white-robed monk fell silent.
After a while, he clasped his palms and bowed to the peacock. “Karmic connections begin, and karmic connections end. I’ve carved your benevolence into my heart, but I won’t let it influence my plans. Please understand.”
With that, he turned and walked off, leaving a trail of lotuses in his wake. In the blink of an eye, he’d vanished.
The peacock’s gaze didn’t shift in the slightest. It just closed its wings and silently sank into the river’s depths.
All that remained on the surface was the surging waves. The current flowed in perpetuity.
The remaining experts of the Heavenly Sovereign factions and the Heart-Tempering Sword Court had long since fled.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
……
The coursing river water was full of the unsurpassed power of the Laws of Destiny. It could eradicate any cultivator with ease.
Su Yi gripped the yellowed tome and swam like a fish, diving deeper into the river’s depths.
Xiao Jian had left him the tome, and it underwent a wondrous change as it entered the current. It was as if the tome were a candle and its wick had silently ignited. A barrier of “candlelight” enveloped Su Yi, protecting him from the current’s power.
This was Su Yi’s first time in the River of Destiny. Aside from the coursing river water, he saw numerous strange beings and phenomena.
Like Laws of Electricity floating like aquatic plants, glowing with terrifying luster, and all manner of strangely shaped rocks and fragments of treasures. All were swept along the current.
Su Yi even spotted a few mangled, barely recognizable corpses!
That aside, he saw some shifting amidst the turbid darkness of the riverbed, but it was difficult to discern what went on down there.
Suddenly, the white toad shot toward him and said respectfully, “Are you alright, Destiny’s Chosen?”
It glanced imperceptibly at the yellowed tome in Su Yi’s hands, its gaze instantly even more awed, fervent, and respectful.
“What are you doing here?” asked Su Yi.
The white toad hurriedly answered, not daring to hide anything. It turned out that after Su Yi left the Blue Peak Continent, the toad traveled along the river, all for the sake of seeing him once more. When it arrived in the waters near the Literati Continent, it became River Empress Peacock’s distinguished guest.
The toad then went on to describe the situation with River Empress Peacock.
The peacock was quite the eccentric. The peacock loved peace and quiet, and it lived beneath the River of Destiny, spending its days in seclusion in the Five-Colored Palace. It was rare for it to leave seclusion even once in a thousand years.
The peacock was the ruler of these waters, but it was famed for its solitary, aloof nature. It lived alone, save for a handful of attendants.
The white toad was acquainted with the peacock because they’d once cultivated in the same stretch of water. At the time, the two of them were still young and weak, and they’d faced adversity side by side. It was because of this bond that the Star Toad had been able to convince the peacock to intervene.
The toad had only just said this when Su Yi sensed the peacock silently approaching.
The bird’s eyes were completely locked onto that yellowed tome!
