Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen studied Dongfang Haojie carefully. In just a short time, the man had clearly lost weight. The once full, fleshy face now showed signs of angularity, with cheekbones starting to show.

The woman built like a mountain of flesh approached the group slowly, giving Fang Chen a slight nod. ”So you’re Fang Chen? Haojie says you’re his closest friend. After you were taken away by Long Ruo, he took me to the Second Courtyard several times, asking around for your whereabouts. It’s a relief to see you return safely.”

Her voice was as crisp and clear as a lark’s, completely mismatched with her appearance. If anyone heard her voice, they would imagine a stunning beauty.

Behind her stood Wu Qi, smiling pleasantly, his gaze shifting between Fang Chen and Bai Qingming.

Fang Chen cupped his fist. ”And you are...?”

”Third Courtyard, Long Wu,” Long Wu responded with a soft smile.

”Young Master, now that you’ve confirmed that Fang Chen is safe and sound, you should settle down and focus on your cultivation. Your current level is too low. How will you and the young miss produce an heir?” Wu Qi said with a calm smile.

Dongfang Haojie visibly trembled and instinctively clutched Fang Chen’s arm. ”Is there any way to send me back? I love only Fairy Tianyin! I absolutely cannot stay here and be their son-in-law!”

”It’s not that easy to return,” Fang Chen transmitted mentally. ”You’ll need Li Changsheng’s permission and a high-grade spirit stone. Still, this young lady seems quite understanding and speaks kindly. You might as well accept your fate. You both come from prestigious dragon-blood clans. Any child you two produce won’t be ordinary.”

Long Wu softly said, ”Wu Qi, there’s no rush for me and Haojie to have children. He’s only recently arrived in Qiufeng and hasn’t adjusted yet. Let’s give him more time. Don’t pressure him.”

Wu Qi nodded. ”My apologies, I was being too hasty.”

Long Wu turned to Fang Chen. ”Our wedding was rushed, and we didn’t even hold a banquet, so we couldn’t invite you all to the celebration. I hope you won’t take offense.”

Fang Chen was truly taken aback this time. ”You’re already married?”

His gaze drifted toward Dongfang Haojie, who quickly showed a strained smile and reluctantly nodded.

Long Wu said, ”If you all perform well on the Sword Burial Heavenly Steps, for Haojie’s sake, let me know if you wish to stay with the Long Family. I’ll put in a word for you.”

At that moment, Long Xuan arrived with Chen Zuozu and others in tow. He chimed in, ”That won’t be necessary. If they truly perform well, my father will ensure they stay with the Long Family. There’s no need to trouble your Third Courtyard.”

”That’s true.” Long Wu smiled and nodded. ”With Uncle’s status, it’s no trouble to keep a few sword cultivators. If there’s nothing else, my husband and I will take our leave.”

Long Xuan nodded softly. ”Do drop by sometime.”

Long Wu took Dongfang Haojie and turned to leave. As they departed, Dongfang Haojie looked like he wanted to say something but held it in, sighing heavily instead.

Long Xuan glanced at Fang Chen. ”You, come with me.”

She signaled for Chen Zuozu and the others to wait where they were. She then led Fang Chen aside for a private conversation.

”You went to Yunlu City with Long Ruo. Did she say anything to you?” Long Xuan asked calmly.

”Not much,” Fang Chen replied with a smile.

”The feud between the second and first courtyard goes way back. If she tries to buy your loyalty, you must tell me. Whatever she offers, I can offer more,” Long Xuan said seriously.

”Young Lady Long Ruo didn’t seem very interested in the feud. Mostly, she talked about her husband,” Fang Chen shared.

”Is that so...”

Long Xuan fell into thought for a moment. She looked at Fang Chen a few more times, then said no more and left with Chen Zuozu and the others.

After Long Xuan left, Bai Qingming turned to Fang Chen and asked, ”Junior Brother, want to go study the sword manuals at the Ninth Courtyard?”

”Those sword manuals aren’t very helpful to me,” Fang Chen replied. ”Before the Sword Burial Heavenly Steps begins, I don’t plan to go out again. There are too many undercurrents here. It would be best to avoid trouble.”

Bai Qingming smiled. ”That’s wise. Elder Wang told me to keep an eye on you. He’s afraid something might happen.”

After bidding farewell to Bai QIngmin, Fang Chen returned to his quarters. He had yet to go through the storage rings taken from Zhao Mingxuan and the others. It seemed like a good time to see if there was anything valuable.

There were quite a few rings this time. He started with those left behind by ordinary sword cultivators. Most contained only scattered mid-grade spirit stones, usually no more than a few dozen or a hundred at most.

Still, when multiplied by several hundred, the total became quite substantial.

After storing them away, his personal supply of mid-grade spirit stones, which had nearly run dry, soared to over 40,000. An amount like this was more than enough to tempt even an Immortal King.

Next, he checked the rings of Zhao Mingxuan, Nangong Yuancheng, and Sun Gu.

These three only kept a few basic items in their rings. There weren’t many mid-grade spirit stones, but there were high-grade ones. Fang Chen found four high-grade spirit stones in Zhao Mingxuan’s ring, two in Nangong Yuancheng’s, and two more in Sun Gu’s—a total of eight high-grade spirit stones.

”No immortal crystals... The ones I found in Sun Yi’s ring probably weren’t his to begin with. Strange that the Sun Family never reacted to it.”

Fang Chen suspected that the immortal crystal in Sun Yi’s ring had an unusual origin. Perhaps that was why no one had brought it up. If it had been known, the Long Family would have caught wind of it already.

Finally, he opened the ring belonging to the Ascension Realm sword cultivator. The soul imprint had already been removed by Empress Ci. Inside were a few changes of clothes, some spirit materials, and over ten high-grade spirit stones, nothing more.

As for his life-bound flying sword, it self-destructed after his death.

Only Zhao Mingxuan, Sun Gu, and Nangong Yuancheng weren’t sword cultivators, so their spiritual treasures remained. All were earth-grade spiritual treasures.

Those three were surely far wealthier than what they brought. Most likely, they had hidden their real wealth elsewhere.

”Little Mirror, I’ve got over 40,000 mid-grade spirit stones now. Would that be enough to find Fairy Yu’s whereabouts?” Fang Chen transmitted his thoughts.

”You know well enough that she isn’t ordinary. The karmic entanglements are too great. I doubt it’s enough,” the Mirror of the Universe replied thoughtfully.

”I’ve also got twenty high-grade spirit stones,” Fang Chen added.

”If you had immortal crystals, you might try. But the price is steep. You need at least 10...” the Mirror of the Universe continued.

Fang Chen gave up the idea. The more karma tied to Fairy Yu, the more troublesome that Inverse Immortal Demonic Embryo must be.

He wondered whether it had anything to do with the Demon Ancestor he’d heard about during the Demonic Calamity.

As Fang Chen was lost in his own thoughts, a stranger’s voice rang out from beyond the door. ”Is Fellow Daoist Fang in?”

Fang Chen put away the rings and opened the door to find a smiling sword cultivator radiating fierce sword intent. Judging by his aura, he was clearly stronger than Bai Qingming.

That was a Profound Immortal sword cultivator.

For nobles like Long Ruo, a standard bodyguard would be at the Dao Union Realm. This person who came looking for him definitely served someone of higher status.

”Fellow Daoist Fang, my young master wishes to meet you,” the man said warmly. ”Please come with me to the Fourth Courtyard.”

The Fourth?

Fang Chen smiled calmly. ”May I ask which young master from the Fourth Courtyard wishes to look for me?”