Immortal of the Nine Realms

One person stepped forward, looked into the distance, and then turned back with a grim expression as he reported to the handsome young man respectfully. ”Young Master Zhao... it’s Commander Lin and his men...”

The handsome youth frowned slightly, deep in thought. ”It’s not just my subordinates, but Commander Lin, a top ten expert who was once the personal guard of the Tiger Empire’s crown prince? His Wind Blade Technique had gave him a spot in the top ten.... Could the rumors be true? The founding emperor of the Tiger Empire was truly guided by a master from Wolong Temple, which led to his rise as emperor?”

”Young Master Zhao, everyone has witnessed Commander Lin’s strength; he’s undeniably powerful.”

A middle-aged man in a green robe cupped his hands and said, ”In the world of martial arts, there are three stages: Houtian, Innate, and Grandmaster. No one has touched the Grandmaster Stage in centuries, and no one knows the mysteries of such a level. However, an Innate martial artist can defeat a hundred foes and slay a thousand.

”Commander Lin was at the early Innate Stage. Coupled with his military-style Wind Blade Technique, even if he couldn’t slay a thousand, he’d be close. Now that he’s died in this small temple, it shows that your earlier caution was justified. This temple is no ordinary place. In my opinion, we should continue to observe and avoid making any rash moves.”

”Young Master, what Master Qing is saying makes sense. Maybe we should observe for a bit longer and find out more about Wolong Temple first? After all, the crown prince can’t escape. Now that the Tiger Empire has fallen, even his personal guard has betrayed him, and the remaining ministers are either dead or have fled. No one will know he’s here. We can take our time and act carefully.”

The handsome young man nodded in agreement, his expression still calm despite the gravity of the situation. ”Take the bodies back. We’ll leave the mountain for now.”

Just as he instructed his subordinates, the door of the temple suddenly creaked open. A middle-aged Daoist stepped out and immediately spotted the pale, frozen corpses of the men in front of the temple. His face froze in shock, and fear rapidly spread across his features. He let out a high-pitched scream, sounding like a rusty bell. ”Someone! Someone! Help!”

His scream sent a ripple of panic through the temple. Dozens of Daoists, both senior and junior, came rushing out, while several young disciples stood at a distance, staring at the strange sight. Some had never seen a dead body before and were filled with curiosity.

The higher-ups gathered at the door, their faces solemn as they stared at the lifeless figures.

One of the Daoists pointed at Lin Xiaowei’s body in shock and began, ”Senior Brother, isn’t this the same man from yesterday called Chen...?”

Before he could finish his sentence, the middle-aged Daoist who had first spotted the bodies interrupted sharply. His fear had now been replaced by a calculated calmness. ”Chen? What Chen? We don’t recognize this person at all. The times are tumultuous, and these men died mysteriously in front of our temple. Fellow disciples, get someone to dig a few graves and bury them. We shouldn’t alert the authorities; it’ll only bring trouble.”

The crowd nodded thoughtfully.

Those guys, dressed in night clothes, died right in front of the temple gate. No matter how you look at it, it seems strange and eerie. In any case, something was definitely off about them.

If they reported it to the authorities, the hundred taels of silver received yesterday might have to be returned. It would be best to keep this under wraps and not report it!

”Old Fang, take a few young disciples to the back of the mountain and dig a few pits to bury them. Since they were travelers who died far from home, it’s fate that we encountered them. Let’s settle this karma.”

The middle-aged Daoist glanced over at Fang Chen, who was still holding the broom. He immediately gave an order to the young disciples to help carry the bodies to the back mountain.

Young Master Zhao and his men, who had been observing the scene from a distance, kept their silence, careful not to alert anyone to their presence. As soon as the bodies were taken away, the noise from the temple quieted down. Young Master Zhao asked softly, ”Master Qing, do you think any of the Daoists here are experts?”

Master Qing frowned, looking at the gathered group. ”They all seem rather ordinary. The former head of the temple passed away last year, and the position of the temple master has yet to be filled. There are talks among the senior disciples about who will take on the role.

”Among the second-generation disciples, the middle-aged Daoist, Wang Fu, has the most influence and is likely to be the new temple master. However, judging by his demeanor, he seems to have a lot of worldly concerns, and his martial arts don’t seem particularly impressive. It’s unlikely that he is the one who killed Lin Xiaowei and his men.”

Master Qing paused. ”Did you notice the old blind Daoist earlier? I believe that if there’s a true expert hiding in there, it must be someone like him.”

One of Young Master Zhao’s subordinates shook his head lightly. ”That old blind man is weak and aged. Even if he was a master in his prime, he’s unlikely to have the strength to kill Lin Xiaowei.”

Another man nodded in agreement. ”Yes, strength fades with age. Lin Xiaowei was in the prime of his life, and whoever killed them must be a second-generation disciple from this temple.”

”Indeed,” Master Qing agreed. ”That’s what I believe as well. I’ll come here in a few days to offer incense and see if I can uncover any more details.”

Young Master Zhao remained silent for a moment, deep in thought. After a brief pause, he nodded. ”Let’s go.”

With that, he turned and led his group away, still mulling over the mystery of the temple’s hidden experts.

At the back of the mountain.

”Old sir, please take a rest. Leave the physical work to us,” Wufeng said with concern.

Fang Chen, however, smiled gently. ”Wufeng, have you heard any news when you went down the mountain? Has something happened in the Tiger Empire recently?”

Wufeng was about to speak when several young Daoist boys, busy digging up the soil, quickly chimed in, ”The Tiger Empire has fallen! It was conquered by the ten thousand elite soldiers from the Yue Empire. The Emperor was killed and hung at the city gates.”

”Yes, and we’ve heard that the Yue Empire warriors are fierce in battle. It’s remarkable that the Tiger Empire was able to resist for so many years.”

”The world is in chaos now. Only silver and gold still hold value. No one even wants to take copper coins anymore. When we went down the mountain to buy grain, if it weren’t for our Daoist robes, we would’ve been targeted for our wealth.”

Fang Chen smiled slightly, as if enjoying the conversation. ”Is the Yue Empire really that powerful?”

One of the boys nodded eagerly. ”It is! We’ve heard that Yue Empire even has masters of the Grandmaster Stage. The Tiger Kingdom has never produced anyone like that!”

Fang Chen wore a smile. ”Then you all should practice diligently. When you go down the mountain, you’ll need to arm yourselves with some self-defense skills to protect yourselves.”

Wufeng whispered, ”The disciples have hit a bottleneck in their practice recently, and we don’t know how to break through.”

The group of young Daoist disciples all burst into laughter.

”Old man, could you give us a lecture? You must have been an expert when you were young,” said one of them.

Although the old blind man had only been at the Daoist temple for a little over two years and had no cultivation, sometimes his words were enlightening and extremely helpful to them. Therefore, the disciples who were aware of this respected the old blind man and did not treat him with scorn.

Fang Chen smiled. ”Once you’re done with your work, I’ll give a half-hour lecture.”

Everyone was immediately delighted and quickly finished their tasks before sitting down in front of Fang Chen.

The disciples took turns raising their questions, which Fang Chen explained one by one. In less than half an hour, the disciples’ confusions were solved, each feeling as if they had had a sudden realization.

After the disciples left the mountain, Fang Chen took out Mirror of the Universe and whispered, ”Little Mirror, how far is the True Martial Realm from the Ancient Desolate Domain? The head of the Killing Spiritual Division managed to send me here. Is this really something a First Rate Sect Leader can do?”

”First Rate Sect Leaders definitely don’t have this kind of ability. It’s likely that at the time, he had the crane demon take you through the Starry Sky Great Transfer Formation.”

Fang Chen nodded. Although he couldn’t see, he could vaguely feel that the spiritual energy here was unusually dense. This Wolong Temple might be the so-called Starry Sky Great Transfer Formation.

”It shouldn’t be long before I start cultivating again. By then, will the spirit stones in my possession be enough to activate this array and return to the Ancient Desolate Domain?”