Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen furrowed his brow slightly. ”This is bad....”

The Killing Spiritual Division had indeed been infiltrated, and by a formidable cultivator at the Dao Union Realm nonetheless.

Just then, Fang Chen saw the old man put away the communication token, followed immediately by a phantom emerging from the old man’s body.

Is he projecting his divine soul out?

Fang Chen quickly returned his divine soul to his body, stashing away the Killing Spiritual Division communication talisman. He then projected his divine soul out again, quietly staying beside his physical body and observing.

Sure enough, after a while, he saw the old man’s divine soul enter the room, silently scrutinizing him. Throughout the encounter, Fang Chen could see the old man clearly, but the old man couldn’t discover his presence. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

The old man remained there for an entire hour before finally turning and leaving. Fang Chen continued to wait patiently. When the old man returned, he spent another fifteen minutes observing Fang Chen.

Only after confirming that the old man had truly departed did Fang Chen retract his divine soul, taking out materials for crafting talismans to pass the time.

The next day, the celestial crane named Crane Nine knocked on the door of the cave residence. Upon seeing Fang Chen and Fairy Yu, it spoke lightly. ”Steward You wishes to see you. Please come with me.”

Fang Chen nodded ”Thank you.”

Fang Chen led Fairy Yu onto the back of the celestial crane. The crane carried them through Greenwood Sect until it halted in front of a building.

Voices could be heard from within, one of which Fang Chen recognized well. It was the voice of the old man who had once given him the Greenwood token.

Entering the hall, they saw Steward You standing respectfully, occasionally exchanging words with the elderly man seated in the center.

Upon spotting Fang Chen and Fairy Yu, Steward You whispered softly, ”Elder, they have arrived.”

The old man looked at Fang Chen with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. ”Young friend, it has been quite a few years.”

Fang Chen bowed respectfully. ”I pay my respects to you, Elder.”

“Little You has already informed me of your intentions in coming. We only have one Vast Origin Fruit left, which was sold to the Li Family’s Dao Union Realm cultivator before your arrival,” the old man said with a faint smile. “We at Greenwood Sect abide by our rules; rules that cannot be broken. I hope you understand, young friend.”

”In that case, I won’t disturb you further, Elder,” responded Fang Chen, nodding lightly.

Fang Chen bowed and prepared to leave with Fairy Yu.

However, he suddenly heard the old man chuckle. ”Youngsters are always in a hurry. I haven’t finished speaking yet, why are you in such a rush to leave?”

Fang Chen’s gaze flickered, turning back to the old man. ”Elder, do you have any more Vast Origin Fruits available?”

The old man chuckled again, flipping his palm to reveal a fruit surrounded by a green mist. ”Naturally. How can I not keep a few of these marvelous fruits for our Dao Union Realm disciples?”

”Little Mirror, is this the Vast Origin Fruit?” Fang Chen inquired internally.

”It is,” Little Mirror confirmed.

Fang Chen clasped his fist towards the old man. ”Elder, may I ask what I need to offer in exchange for this Vast Origin Fruit?”

”You only need to answer one question,” the old man said lightly.

Just one question?

Fang Chen remained composed. ”Elder, please ask.”

The old man’s face turned serious. ”From which sect do you hail?”

Answering this simple question was equivalent to paying a thousand mid-grade spirit stones?

Fang Chen didn’t rush to answer. He instead asked, ”Elder, is knowing which sect I come from so important that it can be exchanged for a Vast Origin Fruit?”

”It’s not important to me, but... the worth of the Vast Origin Fruit is about the same to me as the question,” the old man replied with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Fang Chen was shocked, but after a moment’s thought, he replied casually, ”I come from the Three Thousand Dao Sect, though I have not yet formally registered.”

Hearing that, Steward You involuntarily gasped, and he stared blankly at Fang Chen.

Noticing Steward You’s reaction, Fang Chen thought, Looks like the Three Thousand Dao Sect might be even more formidable than the Void Immortal Sword Sect in the Central Continent Empire.

”The Three Thousand Dao Sect...” the old man repeated softly.

He looked at Fang Chen again and probed further. ”Who was the master who accepted you into the sect?”

”Senior Yun He,” Fang Chen answered.

Steward You instinctively wanted to say something, but a glance from the old man made him swallow his words.

”Very well, this Vast Origin Fruit belongs to you,” the old man said casually, tossing the fruit into Fang Chen’s hand.

Without hesitation, Fang Chen passed the fruit to Fairy Yu. ”Take it.”

Fairy Yu nodded gently. Just as she was about to consume the Vast Origin Fruit, it involuntarily transformed into a wisp of clear qi, flowing into her seven orifices.

”What a strange feeling, my lord,” Fairy Yu exclaimed with a hint of surprise. ”It’s as if something has been removed from me.”

Little Mirror’s voice rang out in Fang Chen’s mind. ”Brother, her karmic ties have been severed. The karmic ties will be restored after a hundred years. Now even I cannot track her, let alone others.”

A smile spread across Fang Chen’s face, knowing that Fairy Yu had become a lot safer.

”Young friend, do you happen to know the location of the Three Thousand Dao Sect?” the old man suddenly asked.

Fang Chen thought for a moment before nodding gently. ”Senior Yun He gave me a route map.”

Back in the Heavenly Southern Sect, when facing Immortal Sea Dragon, Yun He disappeared and left him a route map. However, this map was ancient-looking, with an unknown starting point and destination. He needed to study it carefully.

”Senior Yun He’s route map may be outdated. This jade slip describes how to reach the Three Thousand Dao Sect. Please take a look,” the old man said, waving his sleeve.

A jade slip turned into a stream of light and landed in front of Fang Chen.

”Thank you, senior,” Fang Chen said, respectfully accepting the jade slip and bowing.

The old man nodded lightly. ”Go ahead.”

After Fang Chen and Fairy Yu left, Steward You, wearing a strange expression, looked at the old man. ”Elder, did he just mention the Three Thousand Dao Sect?”

The old man chuckled lightly. ”Steward You, aren’t you too young to be developing hearing problems? Or is it that you’re going blind?”

Steward You began, ”But—”

”No buts...” The old man waved his hand dismissively. ”You may leave now.”

Steward You departed, still wearing a peculiar expression, as if he had many thoughts weighing on his mind.

Crane Nine brought Fang Chen and Fairy Yu back to the cave.

After hopping off Crane Nine’s back, Fang Chen and Fairy Yu found Li Hao and Li Xiaoqing waiting for them in front of the cave’s entrance. They seemed to have waited for quite a while.

Seeming them, Li Hao chuckled. ”Sister, why don’t you apologize to them? He never intended to snatch our spirit fruit.”

Li Xiaoqing stepped forward and clasped her fist politely. ”Fellow Cultivator Xia, I acted too rashly in the past.”

”What brings you here?” Fang Chen asked with a faint smile.

Li Hao smiled and explained, ”We’ve received the spirit fruit from the Greenwood Sect today. We also learned from the steward that the delay with the spirit fruit was not your doing but because of a decision from the higher-ups. My sister misunderstood, so we came to apologize.”

”You are too kind,” responded Fang Chen with a chuckle.

At this moment, Fairy Yu opened the doors of the cave residence and said to the two, ”Fellow cultivators, my lord has matters to attend to today and won’t have the time to welcome you inside. Please leave.”

Li Hao was slightly surprised, but he quickly nodded and led Li Xiaoqing away.

Back inside the cave residence, Fairy Yu looked at Fang Chen and said, ”Lord, you haven’t forgotten what you promised me before, have you?”

”Go on, what do you want?” Fang Chen casually replied with a smile.

Fairy Yu’s lips curled slightly upward. ”I want you....”