Immortal of the Nine Realms

The time Fang Chen spent on the ship was one of the most fulfilling and carefree periods of his life since becoming a cultivator. He truly felt a sense of freedom as he wandered amidst heaven and earth.

He’d witness the sunrise and sunset everyday, his mind free of anything else. There were no plots and no under-the-table schemes. There was no need to consider what arrangements lay ahead.

When he felt lonely, he would chat with Little Sword for a while or marvel at the wonders of the sea along the way.

On one eventful day, they encountered a massive, raging storm. Lightning flashed and thunder roared through the sky as they sailed.

It had felt as though the sky was weighing down on Fang Chen’s chest, and the terrifying aura of destruction made Fang Chen experience a sense of insignificance and helplessness.

To cultivators, facing the Three Tribulations and Nine Calamities was akin to fighting against the Heavens. One of the three Tribulations was the Thunder Tribulation. In order to successfully undertake and pass this monstrosity of terror, one needed a resolute heart. Fang Chen understood that since he was adamant on this path, then one day he would have to confront such terror. He wasn’t sure if he’d be adequately prepared for that day, but it will come.

By now, there were a hundred top-grade Purple Lightning Talismans in his storage ring, and one of his brushes had been damaged. There were still a hundred Thunderous Wood Talisman Papers left, and a surplus of Nine Tribulations Cinnabar.

Fang Chen decided not to continue making talismans. Although talisman crafting was also a form of cultivation, compared to consumption of spiritual energy he experienced practicing the Five Element Technique, it was a relatively slow form of cultivation.

A hundred top-grade Purple Lightning Talismans were more than enough. He’d better focus purely on cultivation for now.

Soon, many captains saw a strange giant black ship when they went about their journey. What was peculiar about the black ship was that it was always accompanied by two massive pythons of water each a hundred-feet long as it sailed.

If it was a ship of cultivators that was passing, the people onboard weren’t surprised to see this sight, as they knew it was only someone controlling one of the Elements; however, what they found peculiar was why would someone do this and waste their spiritual energy needlessly.

Unless one was in a safe place, no cultivator would waste their spiritual energy like this. After all, if said cultivator were to encounter danger while their reservoir of spiritual energy was emptied, what would they do?

***

Half a month later.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth started to pour into Fang Chen, and slowly, his tenth immortal vein started taking shape!

Liu Mu stood away to the side, quietly watching this scene, admiration in his eyes.

During this period in which he stayed with Fang Chen, he finally came to understand just how assiduously the number one figure of Grand Xia went about his day—he was either crafting talismans or cultivating!

He worked every hour of a day, with almost no rest time. The only time Fang Chen rested was on the rare occasion where the two of them sat together and chatted, although it was naturally only Fang Chen speaking and Liu Mu listening. And many of the things Fang Chen talked about, Liu Mu didn’t understand.

By the time Fang Chen opened his eyes, Liu Mu had lost his sense of time. There was a faint radiance that flashed in Fang Chen’s eyes for a moment then disappeared.

His tenth immortal vein had formed!

With a thought from Fang Chen, three, hundred-foot long giant pythons broke through the sea, constantly leaping and entwining around the black giant ship, with intense spiritual energy consumption. After about five minutes, his spiritual energy was depleted.

Then, it continued to recover rapidly as before.

”My current reserve of spiritual energy may have very well exceeded the amount a cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm might have. I can control three giant pythons each a hundred-foot long now. The Clear Sky Monastery Master probably couldn’t have done this,” muttered Fang Chen softly. It wasn’t that he was being blindly confident and overestimating himself, but he recalled that when he fought the old Daoist, he felt as though each of their spiritual energies was on par. As he advanced through the stages of the Qi Refining Realm, it became more apparent to him how distinctive the difference between the immortal veins forged by his Introduction to the Three Thousand Daos and other techniques. The immortal veins he forged were robust and pure, laying him an incredibly solid foundation.

I can only obtain the cultivation technique for the Foundation Building Realm if I go to the Three Thousand Dao Sect. I must visit the Central Continent after I reach Foundation Building Realm no matter what.

Recalling this legendary nation, Fang Chen couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like. Just how grand the sects there had to be with those lofty patriarchs.

”Back when I was a kid, I was just an ordinary person, but I still heard of the name ‘Central Continent.’ That name was legendary, like a land out of a fairytale. No one has ever seen it, but its legends are there.” Fang Chen smiled and looked at Liu Mu. ”Liu Mu, have you heard of the Central Continent?”

Liu Mu nodded. His grandfather had once told him about it. Not to mention that there were some records back in his house that mentioned how wondrous the Central Continent was. However, perplexity flashed in Liu Mu’s eyes. Did the Central Continent really exist?

Fang Chen smiled. ”That’s a true fairyland, the abode of cultivators. If you ever have the chance in the future, you must go and have a look.”

Liu Mu stared at Fang Chen blankly, his eyes seemingly asking a question. Can I go too?

Fang Chen didn’t say anything else and continued to practice controlling the Five Elements. Not only did his cultivation advance yet again during their time in the sea, but his control over water manipulation also became increasingly proficient. This refined his control over his spiritual energy significantly. Even the scales on the hundred-foot pythons were vivid and lifelike. This wasn’t just for show; the more refined one’s control over their spiritual energy, the more powerful they force they could unleash. If, previously, Little Sword could easily penetrate Fang Chen’s hundred-foot pythons, now it would have to exert at least a little effort.

***

Ten days later.

Fang Chen finally caught the faint outlines of land in the distance. According to the nautical chart, this had to be the Flame Empire, which was possibly thousands of times larger than Grand Xia!

Several huge ships suddenly appeared behind Fang Chen. Although their size was not comparable to the giant, black ship, they were not far behind. They were all of the mid-grade Yellow Grade, inscribed with a dozen or so Soul Imprints.

The moment they saw Fang Chen’s ship, these three ships noticeably accelerated, their Soul Imprints flickering.

Fang Chen directed his ship to swiftly approach the land up ahead while his divine soul left his body and floated above the several ships ahead.

”If the assailant is not at the Foundation Building Realm, then this is truly strange—the Young Master’s murder, and the seizure of our serpent-grade ship.”

”According to the testimonies of the cultivators who witnessed the incident that day, the assailant was clearly only at the Qi Refining Realm. What’s your take on this?”

On one of the ships stood a group of Qi Refining Realm cultivators, with the lowest of them being at the 10th stage. The strongest of the group, those at the 12th stage, seemed not one bit weaker than the Old Daoist from the Clear Sky Monastery. In fact, the aura of each one of them was much more profound than that of the old Daoist.

The one speaking was one of the cultivators at the 12th stage, who appeared to be around seventy or eighty years old. He had a fierce expression on his face. His left eye seemed to have been hollowed, having suffered severe injuries.

”They said that the spiritual shield of the serpent-grade ship wasn’t even able to block a single strike of the assailant’s sword. Do you think he’s a sword cultivator?” said another cultivator at the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm spoke slowly, his face grim.

A sword cultivator?

The expressions of everyone changed. This wasn’t an outlandish speculation, however, each of them had thought of this possibility too. Who else but a sword cultivator could their young master and seize the ship with such a cultivation?

It was worth noting that the defense of the serpent-grade treasure ship was astonishing. Even if it had encountered someone at the Foundation Building Realm, as long as the crew had spirit stones to supply the formation with, the ship could withstand a bit of bombardment for a while.

Deep down, they didn’t want to provoke an enmity with sword cultivators. But now that the one who had died was the Sea Dragon Sect Young Sect Master, a direct descendant of the Golden Core Ancestor, they had no choice but to act.

In the void, Fang Chen swept over them with his eyes. There were eight Qi Refining Realm cultivators at the twelfth level on each of the three ships, and numerous others at the eleventh and tenth levels of the Qi Refining Realm.

With such a large number of experts, if he were to confront them... once his Purple Lightning Talisman was depleted, the outcome would be unpredictable.

Although Little Sword was powerful, it required a continuous flow of spiritual energy to activate. And his spiritual energy couldn’t sustain it for too long at once. There would be a short cooldown period during the spiritual energy recovery, which was his current and only weakness.