Immortal of the Nine Realms

Zhao Yunlu’s face darkened, and his sharp gaze swept over Fang Chen. ”Are you serious?”

”If there’s even a single falsehood in my words, may I be shattered into pieces. How would I dare to lie?” Fu Donghai said in a low voice.

He glanced at Long Ruo and added, ”Young Lady, what I said is the truth. Please don’t blame me for speaking the truth. If I stay silent and any of my brethren get dragged into it because of me, I’d never be able to forgive myself.”

”That doesn’t prove anything.” Long Ruo cupped her hands to Zhao Yunlu. ”Senior, even if Zhao Mingxuan did leave Fang Chen behind, how could someone with Fang Chen’s cultivation possibly threaten them?”

Zhao Yunlu sneered. ”I only want the truth. Since he was the one left behind, then by searching his soul, I can determine whether your Long family is involved in this or not.”

With that, Zhao Yunlu raised his hand, reaching straight for Fang Chen’s forehead.

Li Changsheng and Pu Yuanzhu’s expressions turned nervous.

Before either of them could react, the Heaven Calamity Dragoness shouted angrily, ”Zhao Yunlu! If you dare to soul-search him, I will have your Yunlu City razed to the ground. From now on, the Long Family will not touch anyone else. We’ll only target you. Wherever you hide, we’ll come for you. Let’s see who dares to take you in.”

Zhao Yunlu’s hand froze mid-air.

Several Loose Immortals of the Long Family looked toward the Heaven Calamity Dragoness with wry smiles. ”Ancestor....”

The Sun Family’s Loose Immortals exchanged glances, their expressions turning grim.

Those words might have been taken with a grain of salt if they had been said by anyone else. But since they came from the Heaven Calamity Dragoness’s mouth, no one dared take them lightly.

”Heaven Calamity Dragoness, why are you protecting this boy to such an extent?” Zhao Yunlu frowned. ”I’m now a third-rank Loose Immortal. If we truly come to blows, your Long Family may not have the upper hand.”

”So what if you’re a third-rank Loose Immortal? You’re just a rootless rogue cultivator. A third rank without lineage... How can you compare to my Long Family?” The Heaven Calamity Dragoness coldly snorted. ”Didn’t you hear Li Changsheng earlier? This boy is a sword genius, and today he’s representing the Long Family in the Sword Burial Heavenly Steps. If you soul-search him now, and we lose, are you going to compensate for our losses?”

”Then I can wait until the duel ends. Once it’s over, I’ll soul-search him,” Zhao Yunlu said in a low voice.

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness shut down that proposal immediately. ”If he can reach the top and retrieve a sword scripture for the Long Family, that proves his exceptional talent. My Long Family will protect him.”

Zhao Yunlu’s eyes narrowed. ”So what you’re saying is... If he fails to reach the top, your Long Family won’t stop me from soul-searching him?”

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness paused for a few breaths, then nodded lightly. ”That’s only fair.”

Zhao Yunlu nodded calmly. ”Very well. I’ll let you have this one.”

The Loose Immortals of the Long Family all breathed a sigh of relief. This matter was finally settled... for now. None of them wanted open conflict with Zhao Yunlu, not when they didn’t have any third-rank Loose Immortal present to suppress him.

Fang Chen didn’t return to Li Changsheng’s side. Instead, he was called before the Heaven Calamity Dragoness.

Several Loose Immortals, including Long Rui, flew over and bowed to the Heaven Calamity Dragoness, their eyes sizing Fang Chen up. One of them was the same elder who had earlier helped Li Changsheng repel the second-rank Loose Immortal.

He now lowered his gaze and said bitterly, ”Aunt, why did you intervene in this matter... Making an enemy of Zhao Yunlu won’t benefit our Long Family at all.”

Long Rui of the Second Courtyard added, ”Indeed. There’s no need to provoke Zhao Yunlu over a mere sword cultivator. He just wants to find his son’s killer.”

The Loose Immortal from the Fourth Courtyard remained silent, only observing Fang Chen with a keen gaze.

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness snapped, ”You let them walk all over us, and you act like it’s nothing? So what if he’s a sword cultivator? He’s our Long Family’s sword cultivator.”

Long Rui gave a wry smile. ”But he’s not from our Long Family....”

”Isn’t Li Changsheng the Long Family’s son-in-law? Since he brought the kid, he is one of ours.” She waved her hand impatiently. ”Go on, prepare yourselves. Don’t crowd around here.”

The Loose Immortals looked at each other and had no choice but to retreat.

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness’s gaze softened slightly as she looked at Fang Chen with a soft smile. ”How is Li Jingnian these days?”

Dongfang Haojie had been paying close attention. Seeing this, he glanced at Long Wu and whispered, ”That Old Sword Immortal from the Void Immortal Sword Sect and our ancestor...”

”Hush. We juniors shouldn’t gossip about our elders,” Long Wu reminded him.

Fang Chen looked slightly puzzled. ”Senior, didn’t Elder Li tell you?”

Fang Chen glanced at Li Changseng, who was indeed watching from afar. He sensed a fleeting trace of panic in Li Changsheng’s calm expression.

”Li Changsheng?”

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness glanced at Li Changsheng, who immediately averted his gaze and pretended to talk to the lady in the plain dress beside him.

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness turned her gaze back to Fang Chen. ”Speak. What happened to Li Jingnian?”

”The old sword immortal... passed away a few days ago,” Fang Chen revealed.

”Li Jingnian... passed away?” The Heaven Calamity Dragoness frowned. ”By age alone, even if he wasn’t a Loose Immortal, he should’ve had two thousand years of life. His time has yet to come, right?”

The elder who had helped earlier furrowed his brows. ”He passed...”

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness was silent for a long time before slowly nodding. ”Go. As long as you make it to the top, Grandma will protect you. Don’t be afraid of that rogue Zhao Yunlu. He has no roots. He barks loud, but he’ll never be someone of significance.”

Fang Chen paused, then cupped his hands. ”Thank you, Grandma.”

After he left, the elder looked at her oddly. ”Aunt...”

”He’s Li Jingnian’s grand-disciple. Calling me Grandma is no stretch,” the Heaven Calamity Dragoness said casually.

”Yes....”

Back on the First Courtyard’s Immortal boat, Li Changsheng immediately called Fang Chen over and asked casually, ”What did she say to you?”

”Grandma asked about the Old Sword Immortal,” Fang Chen answered.

Chen Zuozu frowned. ”Fellow Daoist Fang, you should know your manners. How could you call her ’Grandma’? That completely disrupts your seniority.”

Chen Qingtai and others frowned as well, showing faint displeasure.

The Heaven Calamity Dragoness had an extremely high seniority. Even first-rank Loose Immortals like them might not dare to address her as such, let alone a lowly sword cultivator.

Suddenly, an old man appeared on the Immortal Boat.

Li Changsheng was surprised. ”Second Granduncle?”

Chen Qingtai and the others quickly bowed. That was a second-rank Loose Immortal from the Third Courtyard, a senior in the Long Family.

The elder nodded. ”Mhm.”

He then looked at Fang Chen and said, ”Your grandma said, if you make it to the end and perform well, you’ll come to the Third Courtyard for secluded cultivation. The First Courtyard isn’t suited for you.”

After speaking, he turned and left immediately.

Everyone was stunned by his words.

Grandma?

Chen Zuozu and others looked at each other in disbelief. Why would such an important elder care so much for a mere sword cultivator?

Li Changsheng broke the silence. ”What exactly did you say?”

”I told her the Old Sword Immortal passed away,” Fang Chen replied with a smile.

”And then?”

”That’s it,” Fang Chen replied. He added, ”She just said I should seize the opportunity and that she would protect me if I reached the top.”

”Mhm.” Li Changsheng nodded. ”Since she said that, you’d better give it your all. Don’t let us down... And don’t let her down.”

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out. ”The time has come! Is everyone ready?”

Whether it was the noble heirs on the Immortal Boats or the ordinary cultivators below, everyone straightened their backs with renewed energy.