Immortal of the Nine Realms

After leaving the Heavenly Sword Division, Fang Chen set off for Yuxu Star.

He had originally planned to visit the Grand Elder of Nine Immortal Mountain, but he worried that if news of Immortal Xingyu, the palace master of the Myriad Immortal Palace, arriving on Creation Star leaked due to his visit, it might expose Nine Immortal Mountain and provoke the palace to act prematurely. So he dropped the idea.

***

Yuxu Star, Invisible Dragon Island.

Fang Chen and Chu Jia first reunited with the two other leaders who had attended the Immortal Exchange with them, and then quietly waited for Huang Qingque to arrive.

Huang Qingque did not keep them waiting long. Once he heard Fang Chen had arrived, he appeared half an hour later, accompanied by a disciplinary elder.

The four of them cupped their hands and greeted him. ”Young Lord Qingque.”

Huang Qingque gave a slight nod. ”Sit.”

Once everyone was seated, he looked towards Fang Chen. ”Leader Fang, they’ve told me about what you encountered on Xianxu Star. That Great Desolate Immortal... is he really with the Spirit God Sect?”

”Absolutely. Not only is he a cultivator of the Spirit God Sect, he’s one of their enforcers,” Fang Chen confirmed.

”Leader Yang’s soul lamp has indeed gone out. According to the final vision it gave off, he died on Huangsha Star,” Huang Qingque said thoughtfully. ”During your absence, I sent colleagues from the Ancient Desolate Realm to Huangsha Star. They saw traces of battle, the aura lingering eternally. It was definitely left by a fifth transformation immortal.”

After a pause, he added, ”They said you were the first to sense something was wrong. Can you recount everything in full so we can see if anything was overlooked?”

”I first saw Ji Tiandu. There was a woman with him. Her bearing was extraordinary. Ji Tiandu was targeting an Anomaly within the domain I oversee, so I paid closer attention.”

”Because of that, I accidentally overheard their deal with the Great Desolate Immortal and learned he was a Spirit God Sect enforcer.”

”To demonstrate the sincerity of the Lesser Immortal Realm, the two exposed our identities. Once I realized that, I summoned Fellow Daoist Yang and the others and planned to evacuate from Xianxu Star.”

”Unfortunately, the Great Desolate Immortal’s power far exceeded ours. Before we reached the Starshift Formation, he was already waiting.”

”At the time, I suspected the other person might have exposed us, but upon further reflection, perhaps... even we are worth suspecting.”

With that, Fang Chen fell silent.

His words left Chu Jia and the two other Leaders visibly stunned. Their expressions darkened. One of them looked like he wanted to speak but held back, anger rising in his eyes.

”That suspicion is not unfounded.” Huang Qingque nodded lightly. ”First of all, we can rule out Daoist Yang. His soul lamp is extinguished; he is truly dead. As for the rest... you four are all under suspicion.”

”Young Lord Qingque, Leader Fang’s accusations are too reckless. He barely knows us! On what basis does he accuse us of colluding with the Lesser Immortal Realm?” one of them growled angrily. He turned to Fang Chen with a look of disappointment. ”Leader Fang, we traveled together this whole time. I’ve done nothing to offend you, have I?”

Fang Chen smiled. ”It’s only a guess. If I’ve offended you, I ask for your forgiveness.”

”No need to get worked up,” Huang Qingque said with a chuckle, waving his hand. ”By saying that, Leader Fang has placed himself on the list of suspects as well. It’s not personal.”

”Do you know why I left in such a hurry the last time we met?” Huang Qingque asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

As a noble heir of the Huang Clan in the True Martial Domain, Huang Qingque had access to matters far beyond their reach. There was no way they could guess.

”In recent years, there have been too many cases of leaders from the Spiritual Killing Division defecting to the Spirit God Sect, or remaining neutral while enjoying rank and benefits. So the True Martial Domain established a temporary task force of cultivators.”

”I returned last time because my family instructed me to temporarily lead this unit. I even gave it a name, Xie Zhi.”

”I read about this ancient beast in classical texts. It’s said to no longer exist, but it could discern right from wrong, loyalty from betrayal, perfectly fitting for our mission.”

Chu Jia and the others were stunned, perhaps even shaken.

The Spiritual Killing Division, though outwardly hierarchical like the Spirit God Sect, in practice had weak oversight from superiors over subordinates. Most who joined weren’t infiltrators from the start; even those who later defected had usually entered with sincere intent to serve a greater cause.

If the Huang Clan had indeed formed a unit like the Spirit God Sect’s enforcement squad, as Huang Qingque said, it would cause a huge storm in the True Martial Domain and upset many leaders of the Killing Spiritual Division.

No one wanted to be scrutinized while already struggling against the Spirit God Sect. Most Leaders were at least first transformation Loose Immortals, and everyone had secrets. Some harmless, others irrelevant to the Sect.

If Xie Zhi began rooting through their affairs, many Leaders would see it as an intolerable intrusion.

”Maybe this new squad will cause a wave of resignations...” Chu Jia said, her face pale.

Huang Qingque had been watching Chu Jia, Fang Chen, and the two other Leaders closely. All three showed signs of resistance, except Fang Chen, who looked lost in thought.

Seeing this, Huang Qingque knew where everyone stood. He smiled and said, ”The Xie Zhi unit hasn’t been around long. Just recently, they uncovered a minor issue that, while seemingly trivial, had serious consequences.”

He paused, then said, ”For example, Leader Chen once had dealings with Ji Tiandu from the Lesser Immortal Realm a few years ago, and accepted ten immortal crystals from him.”

Everyone turned to look at one of the leaders, surnamed Chen. He had accompanied them to the Immortal Exchange. He was known for his erudition and wide travels. He had left footprints across all six Lower Realms of the Nine Mortal Realms.

Leader Chen’s face turned pale. A bitter smile crept across his lips. ”I....”

Huang Qingque wore a gentle smile. ”Leader Chen, perhaps you thought it was only ten immortal crystals. Your benefactor was a cultivator from the Lesser Immortal Realm. What harm could it do? You probably figured that in minor matters, offering them a bit of convenience wouldn’t matter. Correct?”

Leader Chen slumped and nodded. ”That’s exactly what I thought. I... I’m the one who got Fellow Yang killed.”

One of the other leaders was stunned. He asked in shock, ”Leader Chen, how could you?”

Fang Chen’s earlier words had come true. Blood rushed to his face as he stared angrily.

”I...” Leader Chen lowered his head, defeated. ”When I saw Ji Tiandu, I only exchanged a few words with him via voice transmission. I didn’t know he was meeting the Great Desolate Immortal... and I never imagined it would lead to all this...”