Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen didn’t show anything on his face even after he heard Mirror of the Universe’s words. He only opened the jade box and glanced inside. There was a pill the size of a longan inside. It was entirely red in color, and the pill’s surface faintly shimmered with a metallic luster.

Just by opening the jade box, a strange fragrance that made the people who smelled it feel refreshed wafted out.

”Many thanks for the gift, Patriarch,” Fang Chen said, closing the jade box and bowing to Fang Wanli.

”You don’t have to thank me.” Fang Wanli smiled, a hint of complexity flashing across his face. ”This pill... has actually been passed down for hundreds of years.”

”What do you mean?” Fang Chen asked, puzzled.

”Not long after Uncle Tingyuan was driven away, my grandfather, who is also your ancestor’s ancestor, reached the end of his life. Before he passed away, he left behind this Foundation Building Pill. He said that if a descendant of Uncle Tingyuan ever returned to the family, and he had enough talent, he is to be bestowed this Foundation Building Pill,” Fang Wanli explained with a smile.

”So as you see, this Foundation Building Pill originally belongs to you. That’s why you don’t need to thank me.”

With that said, Fang Wanli lightly patted the head of Jiang Tianai. ”Little girl, you can come and chat with the old ancestor when you have time. He thinks highly of you. It seems you’re not of ordinary origin, which is why the Jue Family wants to deal with you.”

Jiang Tianai nodded gently. ”Grandpa, I’ll come find you when I have time.”

Fang Wanli chuckled and turned to leave.

Li Cang and Chang Feilan hurriedly congratulated Fang Chen. ”Congratulations, Young Master.”

”Uncle, you’ll soon be able to establish your foundation. Uncle Zhong said that when you reach the Foundation Building Realm, you’ll have a place in the cultivation world,” Jiang Tianai said with some joy.

Fang Chen nodded with a smile. Without saying a word, he walked toward his quiet chamber.

As soon as he entered, he retrieved Mirror of the Universe and asked, ”Little Zhou, what did you mean? Why is this Foundation Building Pill not useful for me?”

Little Sword’s voice rang out. ”Little Chen, he wants to cheat you out of your spirit stones. Don’t ask him!”

The Mirror of the Universe replied, ”Damn brat, if I wanted to cheat my younger brother, I would have done so long ago. Don’t judge others by your own standards, you little rascal.”

”You’re the rascal,” Little Sword retorted.

Mirror of the Universe was too lazy to bother with it, so it didn’t reply. It said to Fang Chen, ”Brother, you have a very solid foundation, and it’s of the Immortal Sword lineage. A foundation like this is rare even in the Immortal Realm, let alone here. Ordinary Foundation Building Pills simply cannot shake the foundation of the Immortal Sword lineage. If you want it to have an effect, it has to be a Foundation Building Pill of the saint grade.”

”Saint-grade Foundation Building Pill?” Fang Chen’s expression changed. ”So Foundation Building Pills are also divided into different grades?”

”Yes, although it is only a mid-grade, yellow-rank pill, its importance far exceeds some pills of the profound rank. The quality of the Foundation Building Pill also determines the success rate of building one’s foundations. For example, this pill in your hand. Its quality basically entails that, whether you take it or not, it wouldn’t make much of a difference,” Mirror of the Universe explained.

”Foundation Building Pills are divided into four mortal grades and three saint grades, totaling seven grades. The one in your hand is a first-level mortal-grade pill. It’s the most basic Foundation Building Pill one could have. If an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator takes it, their chances of breaking through to the Foundation Building Realm wouldn’t exceed twenty percent. As for you… if you take it, you’d have a zero percent chance of breaking through!”

Fang Chen was surprised. ”I am afraid that even the two ancestors of the Fang Family don’t know about this.”

Since Senior Yun He hadn’t said anything about this either, he probably hadn’t expected Fang Chen to solidify his foundation to this extent.

”Indeed, those two might know a few things, but their knowledge is definitely not deep enough. With your foundation, you would need at least a first-level saint-grade Foundation Building Pill to have a success rate of twenty percent…” Mirror of the Universe said.

Fang Chen frowned. ”Where can I find such Foundation Building Pills? It’s unlikely that even the trade conference has Foundation Building Pills of such grade.”

He had already planned to return to Grand Xia after the trade conference ended. He’d only enter seclusion to break through to the Foundation Building Realm when he’s in Grand Xia. After that, he would head to the Central Continent Empire.

”Young brother, as long as you give me ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, with some luck, within three days, this Foundation Building Pill in your hand can be transformed into a first-level saint-grade pill,” Mirror of the Universe said.

”You’re shameless! If you have a way, just say it. Why do you need ten thousand low-grade spirit stones?” Little Sword interjected.

”Brat, this is the rule. Since you don’t understand my difficulties, then I won’t blame you. Just don’t keep whining. Little Chen here will make the decision. If it weren’t for me back then, could you have advanced?” Mirror of the Universe retorted.

Fang Chen’s mind stirred. ”Within three days? Are you saying that this Foundation Building Pill can be turned into a saint-grade pill?”

”Yes, Foundation Building Pills are quite special. They can undergo a second refinement even after they have already been formed. In fact, saint-grade Foundation Building Pills are created this way. It’s almost impossible to directly refine saint-grade Foundation Building Pills,” Mirror of the Universe explained.

Fang Chen nodded lightly and directly handed over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones to Mirror of the Universe. ℴ

Mirror of the Universe’s aura surged as it began to absorb the spirit stones.

By the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, Mirror of the Universe had finished consuming all ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, leaving it satisfied and bloated.

Fang Chen faintly felt that the aura of the Mirror of the Universe had become much stronger.

”Ah, that feels good. It’s been many years since I’ve felt this comfortable, ”Mirror of the Universe laughed heartily. ”Brother, turn to page twenty-five!”

Fang Chen complied and went to page twenty-five, focusing his divine soul on the page.

***

A chubby figure surrounded by several cultivators suddenly appeared in the distance. All of them were flying in a certain direction.

”Young master, we are about to arrive at the capital of Grand Qian,” a voice suddenly rang out.

The chubby figure chuckled. ”Well, that’s great news! I heard that Fairy Tianyin from the Azure Cloud Empire will also be attending the trade conference. I need to hurry to Grand Qian so I can avoid being bothered by some insignificant people.”

”The patriarch said to be careful since we’re headed to Grand Qian. Grand Qian has always been at odds with Grand Wei. It’s best to keep a low profile to avoid trouble, Young Master,” another voice advised.

”Don’t worry. Who would dare to mess with me? Even if they don’t give face to Grand Wei, they have to give face to the Dongfang Family,” the chubby figure said proudly, clearly valuing the Dongfang Family more than Grand Wei as a whole.

Fang Chen’s eyes flickered. ”It seems Mirror of the Universe can transmit sound from within its pages. It’s truly mystical.”

”Brother, see that chubby guy? Dragon blood flows through his veins. As long as you obtain ten drops of his essence blood, you can transform an ordinary Foundation Building Pill into a first-level saint-grade pill! The more essence blood you obtain, the higher the grade!” said Mirror of the Universe.

”Is he the young master of the Dongfang Family? What’s his background, and why does he have dragon blood in him?” Fang Chen asked softly as his consciousness returned to his body.

”Brother, you may not know this, but in ancient times, there were dragons everywhere. For their convenience, true dragons would choose some mortals to be their servants. Those who achieved meritorious deeds as dragon servants would be granted dragon blood, thus gaining divine bloodlines.

”Later on, true dragons gradually disappeared, and those who possessed the blood of dragons referred to themselves as those from the Dragon Blood Lineage. Since dragon blood has divine effects, many cultivators began to hunt down the descendants of the Dragon Blood Lineage.

”Over time, the Dragon Blood Lineage disappeared from the public eye, and eventually, people mistakenly believed them to have gone completely extinct.”

”It seems that the Dongfang Family has an extraordinary origin. It probably involves a fourth-tier empire or even a third-tier one… No wonder the Spirit Blood Sect sees killing the young master of the Dongfang Family as a trigger,” Fang Chen pondered for a moment before he continued, ”In that case, how can I obtain his essence blood? The reason they’re hiding in the mortal world is probably because they’re unwilling to reveal their identities as members of the Dragon Blood Lineage. If I were to directly approach them, I’m afraid they would silence me, right?”