Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Shang appeared to be around twenty-eight years old. He was tall and thin. He had a playful smile on his face as he walked slowly into the courtyard. His gaze swept over Fang Xiu and the others one by one before finally landing on Fang Chen.

”It’s really lively around here.” Fang Shang smirked. ”What are you all plotting?”

Fang Yun’s face revealed a hint of anger. ”Fang Shang, what are you talking about? What do you mean by ’plotting’?”

”You’re not plotting anything? Could it be that you’re just here to have tea?” Fang Shang chuckled lightly. ”I understand, I understand. Now that Brother Fang Chen has returned to the family, you finally have someone you can rely on to suppress Fang Lingxing and become the pride of the Fang Family. So, you couldn’t wait to flatter him.”

A flash of anger flickered in the eyes of the crowd.

”What do you want?” asked Fang Chen directly.

Fang Shang’s playful smile faded. ”Nothing much,” he said. ”I heard that my cousin lost to you today, so I came to see what kind of person could embarrass my cousin. But after taking a look at you, I must say, you’re just like everyone else. Oh, except you’re missing a pair of eyes, so you’re just a cripple.”

Fang Xiu stood up. ”That’s enough!”

Fang Jue rose to his feet too.

They stared at Fang Shang with determination. ”You’re only at the 11th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Don’t act all arrogant because you’re the leader of the second branch. You’re not impressive!”

Fang Shang smiled ambiguously. His eyes were filled with mockery as he looked at Fang Chen. ”On account of us all being from the same family, I’m here to let you know that my cousin’s background is beyond your imagination. Going against him is a sure path to death.”

Then, he turned to Fang Xiu and the others. ”As for you, if it weren’t for my good relationship with my cousin, your actions today would’ve brought disaster to our family.”

What an insect…

Fang Chen’s thoughts stirred.

Fang Shang’s confidence seemed unfounded, and he was full of assurance toward Jue Wudi. He seemed to know about Jue Wudi’s backing, too. In light of the relationship between them, if Jue Wudi and Tong Baizhou were to leave a spy in the Fang Family, it would most likely be Fang Shang.

Although he had no evidence to back his speculation, it shouldn’t be that difficult to investigate. If Fang Shang was a member of the Spirit Blood Sect too, or at least knew about them, then, including him, there were already four individuals in the capital who deserved to die.

Fang Chen chuckled inwardly. What a good day. This is a gift delivered right to my doorstep.

”Fang Shang, are you insane or just ignorant? You think a mere Jue Wudi can bring disaster to our family? Have you forgotten that you’re also a member of the Fang Family? Have you forgotten that we are one of the three pillars in Grand Qian?” Fang Xiu’s brows furrowed. ”Even if we consider the connections to the Cloud Water Empire, while Jue Wudi has his backers, so do we. We won’t be lacking in the least.”

”You think you know shit? I’ll say what I want today,” Fang Shang retorted, then turned to Fang Chen and said, ”If you’re smart, send that girl back to the Jue Family, make amends with my cousin, and we can still get along just fine.”

”And if I don’t?” asked Fang Chen.

”If you don’t,” Fang Shang’s eyes flashed with a sly smile, ”I’ll make sure you can’t stay here any longer.”

Fang Chen nodded lightly. ”Let’s wait and see.”

Seeing Fang Chen’s indifferent attitude, Fang Shang didn’t say more and left with a cold laugh.

With Fang Shang’s departure, the mood soured, and everyone started to take their leave one by one.

”Young master, I’ve caused you a lot of trouble, haven’t I?” Jiang Tianai, who had apparently been woken up by their voices, came to Fang Chen’s side with a sorrowful expression that didn’t fit her age.

Li Cang and Chang Feilan quietly assessed Jiang Tianai, trying to glean anything from her.

However, after observing her for a while, the two of them felt that Jiang Tianai was quite ordinary. Even if she was a cultivator, Li Cang didn’t consider it to be significant.

”It’s not that big of a deal.” Fang Chen smiled and shook his head. Even without Jiang Tianai, he would have actively sought out these troubles.

”You didn’t hurt me just now, but you did show me the strength of a Martial Emperor. Take these twenty pieces of low-grade spirit stones,” said Fang Chen, taking out twenty spirit stones and tossing them to Cheng Feilan. ”Also, take good care of this girl from now on. Her surname is Jiang.”

Chang Feilan was overjoyed. She didn’t expect this pleasant surprise at all. She accepted the spirit stones and thanked Fang Chen repeatedly before respectfully turning to Jiang Tianai. ”Young Lady Jiang, from now on, I’ll take care of your daily necessities.”

Jiang Tianai nodded lightly. ”Thank you, Auntie.”

”Get her something to eat, maybe something light. She probably hasn’t eaten anything in a while,” said Fang Chen before leaving to his room.

Fang Chen’s divine soul was standing high in the void, with the Fang Family manor right beneath him. Fang Chen’s gaze penetrated through the layers of void and swept in all directions. Finally, he locked onto Fang Shang, who had just left the manor, and followed him all the way to the Jade River Pavilion in the outer city.

”Come in,” Tong Baizhou led Fang Shang into a quiet room, his expression serious.

”You just went to see Fang Chen. How was he?”

Fang Shang was very calm at this moment. He didn’t have that frivolous and arrogant expression he had before. He seemed more thoughtful. ”How can I describe this person... He was indifferent and unaffected by my harsh words, as if he doesn’t care at all.”

”Was he pretending?” Tong Baizhou looked puzzled.

Fang Shang shook his head lightly. ”Doesn’t seem like he’s pretending. I felt that he genuinely didn’t care about what I said.”

”So, he’s aloof. I heard he experienced many battles before he returned to the Fang Family. For him to rise from the bottom all the way back to the main branch of the Fang Family is quite impressive,” said Tong Baizhou in a deep voice. ”Besides that, he knows a lot about Immortal Origin Stones. My father suspects he’s an Immortal Origin Master, which is rare. You could hardly find such people even amongst the numerous fourth-tier empires.”

”How could he be experienced with Immortal Origin Stones? Those can only be found in specific regions. Besides, I received information from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion that he sold a batch of Purple Lightning Talismans, and this is one of them,” said Tong Baizhou, handing over a Purple Lightning Talisman to Fang Shang.

”I’ve examined this Purple Lightning Talisman, and its quality is excellent. It’s capable of threatening those at the 11th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. If this young man truly comes from such a backwater place, how would he have so many means?”

Fang Shang took the Purple Lightning Talisman and frowned as he examined it.

”Are you implying that this young man hails from a fourth-tier empire, or even a third-tier one? And that there are strong backers behind him?” said Fang Shang.

”That could be one possibility. You don’t know this young man’s true identity yet,” said Tong Baizhou with a faint smile.

Fang Chen was standing not too far away from them. He couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed that Jade River Pavilion had access to quite a few information channels in the capital. They were trying to uncover his origins.