Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Canghai’s face tightened. ”Chen’er, do you think those wild animals might have developed spirituality?”

Since there were cultivators in the world, then naturally, there ought to be spiritual beasts as well. Fang Canghai wasn’t afraid of the battlefield, but there was a trace of fear in his heart at the thought of facing monsters like that.

Fang Chen smiled and shook his head. ”They won’t amount to much,” he said. ”Drink your fill of water, then we can start setting up camp. Send some people to buy building materials and invite craftsmen to build the new manor.”

Fang Canghai nodded.

Everyone went and drank from the spring. The first sip dispelled the heat, and the second, bone-chillingly cool. It was so nice, it refreshed even their spirits.

Afterward, they started setting up camp.

The guards of the Fang Family were seasoned soldiers, and the young members had undergone training, so they were all familiar with setting up camps.

That’s why, in less than half a day, a rudimentary campsite had taken shape.

The villagers who arrived near the spring soon were surprised to see that a camp had been laid out. One of the more brave souls approached to warn the group out of good intentions. ”People can’t live here. It’s fine during the day, but wild beasts frequently appear at night. They can be dangerous!” he said.

Xu Ge only grinned, saying, ”Wild beasts? We have so many people; we’re not afraid.”

“You... you may have many people, but it doesn’t matter.” The villager shook his head slightly. Seeing that his advice was falling on deaf ears, he didn’t bother saying more and turned and left.

Shortly later, a group of young people approached on horseback.

”Hey, where are you from? Are you actually planning to stay here?” asked one of them, a lady.

The rest of the group’s faces were mocking.

They had come over for a quick drink but were surprised to see construction ongoing near the spring as well as the camp that had appeared out of the blue.

”Senior Sister, don’t bother with them. They are probably some local landlords, thinking that they can occupy this ice spring just by staying here. They never considered why it is that none of the bigshots in the southern region chose to establish themselves here.”

”Yeah, let’s take a sip and leave. It’s getting dark. If we attract those monsters, we won’t stand a chance.”

”Master has already rushed to the Profound Blade Sect. We shouldn’t fall behind; let’s hurry over.”

The lady they called ‘senior sister’ wore a sturdy outfit.

She shook her head slightly. ”They probably don’t know much about this place. Since we’ve encountered them, let’s just give them a heads up.”

With that, the lady rode toward the Fang Family camp.

Someone immediately noticed her and stepped forward to send her away, saying, ”Everyone, we’ve already set up camp here. Please find somewhere else.”

She shook her head at that. ”I won’t stay for long. I’m just here to tell your master that this place is not suitable for living.”

A bit close to the entrance, Xu Ge picked that up, and his eyes constricted.

The commoners had come to warn them, and now these martial artists were also giving them a warning. Could there be something wrong with this region? He couldn’t hold his curiosity and he gestured for the guards to let her in.

The lady’s fellow disciples were quite unhappy at being stopped outside the entrance, so they deliberately jeered when they came up to Xu Ge. ”Quite arrogant, aren’t you?”

It seems that martial artists are prevalent in the southern region. These young people aren’t too old, and the weakest among them is at the peak of the Qi Condensation Stage. The lady is at the Qi Detonation Stage. She only looks a year or two older than Lady Zhixue... thought Xu Ge to himself.

He showed them a smile and addressed the girl, ”Young lady, you say this place is not suitable for living. What do you mean by that?”

”There are monsters that occasionally appear in this area,” she explained.

Xu Ge couldn’t help but cackle. ”Monsters?” he repeated. ”Are there really monsters in this world? Even if there are, I’m afraid they wouldn’t dare to cause trouble for us.”

”Heh. you’re quite confident. Are you the head guard of this procession?” asked a young man, his eyes mocking. “It’s interesting that your master chose to stay here instead of going anywhere else.”

”I see that you all are also martial artists. I wonder which sect you come from?”

The young man snorted, his nose up in the air, and said, ”We are disciples of the Azure Point Sword Sect. Have you ever heard of us?”

Xu Ge nodded. ”So you’re from the Azure Point Sword Sect.”

He had heard of them.

There weren’t many sects with Qi Manipulation Stage martial artists, after all. Only the four great sects had them, along with some of the top-tier sects and families in the southern region. The Azure Point Sword Sect was one of them.

It was then that Fang Zhixue jogged over and chirped, ”Brother Xu, What are you doing over there chatting and not helping out with the others?”

”Hmm?” Many disciples from the Azure Point Sword Sect couldn’t help but be impressed by Fang Zhixue’s elegant and extraordinary demeanor.

Xu Ge smiled. ”Young Lady, they are disciples of the Azure Point Sword Sect.”

Fang Zhixue was somewhat surprised and instinctively sized them up. ”Azure Point Sword Sect? My elder brother said that aside from the Four Great Sects, your Azure Point Sword Sect is at the forefront in the southern region. Weren’t you in Hengshui Prefecture? What are you guys doing in the Southern Immortal Prefecture?”

”She knows about our Azure Point Sword Sect.”

”Yeah, she’s well informed to know that our sect is a top-tier faction in the southern region,” boasted one of them. “Now that the Heavenly Sword Villa is gone, perhaps our Azure Point Sword Sect will be one of the Four Great Sects in the future.”

The group whispered amongst themselves, pride palpable on their faces.

The lady faintly smiled, then said, ”We’ve come to the Southern Immortal Prefecture on the account of some business. Are you the young lady of this family? I advise you to leave this place before dark. It’s not suitable to stay here.”

She had just finished speaking when a cry of alarm sounded not too far away. Moments later, several distressed commoners ran towards them, having abandoned the wooden buckets they were using to fetch water.

Howl

A fierce roar echoed, and a giant ape came charging toward them. Seeing so many people near the ice spring, the beast was not frightened, but rather excited. It beat its own chest as it roared at the crowd.

The Fang Family members had never seen such a giant ape before, and slight shock appeared in their eyes, but they were merely caught by surprise, not panicked. They were mostly veterans who had seen their fair share of the world.

The senior sister exclaimed, ”Golden-eyed Demon Ape!? Hasn’t it been years since it left the mountain? Some even said it was long dead...”

”How can we be this unlucky, Senior Sister?” One of the disciples was in disbelief, and he quivered from head to toe. He stuttered, “W-we were just passing by here but managed to meet the most ferocious monster around!”

The giant, nearly twenty-feet tall, Golden-eyed Demon Ape made ordinary people look like three-year-old children in comparison. Even though they were quite far apart, the oppressive pressure it exuded was palpable.

”So, this is the southern region. But didn’t they say this place is wild and barren, with scarce resources? How did the monkeys grow so big... ?”

”I now understand why those guys in the capital city are unwilling to come to the south. Can’t this big monkey just smash a Qi Manipulation Stage expert to a pulp with a single punch?”

”So this is what the southern region is all about. If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have believed that there could be such a big monkey in the world!”

The young members of the Fang Family whispered among themselves as they pointed at the Golden-eyed Demon Ape.

This ape was much more massive than the monkeys they were familiar with.

The Golden-eyed Demon Ape seemed to have understood them, judging by how it had suddenly become furious and charged at them!

”Shut up! The Golden-eyed Demon Ape is very short-tempered. Insulting it is basically asking for death!” shouted the lady in sturdy clothing sternly.

”Senior Sister, let’s retreat!” The disciples from the Azure Point Sword Sect were getting scared.

”No! If we leave, what will become of them?” The lady in sturdy clothing glanced at the people behind her, unwillingness in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she faced the Golden-eyed Demon Ape and said, ”We are disciples of the Azure Point Sword Sect. I implore you to spare us and return to the mountains!”

The Golden-eyed Demon Ape paused slightly, its eyes initially filled with disdain. However, the next moment, it locked eyes with a pair of gray-white pupils, and its hairs suddenly stood on end. it turned tail and fled instantly!

The disciples of the Azure Point Sword Sect were stunned silly. After a few moments, someone exclaimed with joy, ”Looks like that local monster is scared of our Azure Point Sword Sect!”

The villagers who had been scared witless just now were immensely gratified and came over to the group to express their thanks, hands clasped in respect and eyes shining with admiration.

The lady in sturdy clothing looked somewhat perplexed as she doubted herself. Since when did the reputation of the Azure Point Sword Sect become so significant around here?