Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen let out a quiet breath of relief. It seemed that although Senior Brother Pitu had lost much of his memory, he still retained some awareness of his own skills and could quickly piece things together.

A smile appeared on Fang Chen’s face. “Indeed. In an immortal’s ruin, I found a coffin, and within it lay your corpse. You told me some things about the Underworld and instructed me to find you, mentioning how tough it is to live in the Underworld.”

A bitter look surfaced on Pitu’s face. “It really is tough out here. It seems before I died, I could already foresee how things would turn out. Just look at these immortal souls. There are at least five hundred of them here—the weakest at the first transformation!

“Like me, they’ve been wandering in the Floating Pagoda Realm for far too long, unwilling to become Yin Demons, holding onto a sliver of hope to reincarnate back into the Immortal Realm.”

At that moment, an immortal soul walked over. He asked, “Immortal Monarch Pitu, is this your junior brother? But he isn’t an immortal soul.”

“Have you forgotten? Across the Nine Realms, Ancient Immortal Roads still exist. Though many have fallen to ruin, they can still serve as channels for great sects to recruit new talent, even if they can’t send them to the Immortal Realm.

“My junior brother must have passed the sect’s trials and joined. He has come to the Floating Pagoda Realm using the crossing ritual, not through death,” Pitu explained.

“Ah, no wonder his aura felt so odd. He is a Yin Walker!”

Hostility flashed in the eyes of the surrounding immortal souls, and they quietly pulled away from Fang Chen and Pitu.

They hated the guts of Yin Walkers for capturing and humiliating them like this. The last thing they wanted to do was associate with them.

“You fools! Since my junior brother came here to find me, it means he has already dealt with the Yin Walker imprisoning us. We are free now.”

His words stunned the group.

Pitu sighed, then smiled at Fang Chen. “Don’t mind them. They’ve been here for far too long. The Floating Pagoda Realm eats away at immortal souls, dulling our minds. Even I can feel myself becoming senile.”

With Pitu’s reminder, the immortal souls brightened with realization, and soon crowded forward with enthusiasm.

“Fellow Daoist, did you really deal with that Yin Walker?”

“You won’t sell us off to Great Yin Demons, will you?”

“Can you grant us freedom?”

Fang Chen thought for a moment and said, “If you want freedom, that’s simple enough. But in the Floating Pagoda Realm, can anyone truly ever have freedom? Even my senior brother, once an Immortal Monarch, was captured by a Yin Walker and left to suffer here. How much more so for all of you?”

“Junior Brother, what plans do you have for them?” asked Pitu.

Then, his eyes flashed with confusion, and he asked, “And... what was our sect called again?”

“You don’t even remember our sect?” Fang Chen was momentarily stunned, then showed a wry smile. “Fortunately, I already sent someone to fetch the Soul Restoring Grass. It can temporarily break the Great Enigma Art. Then you’ll be able to regain your memory for a short while.”

“Soul Restoring Grass? Good. Once I recover my memory, I’ll write some things down,” Pitu murmured.

“Fellow Daoist, how exactly do you plan to deal with us?”

The immortal souls fixed their gazes firmly on Fang Chen.

“I once took in a group of immortal souls. Now they serve as officials in the Lesser Underworld” Fang Chen said.

“The Lesser Underworld? That means following the path of Ghost Gods?”

“We are true immortals! We could never take such a path.”

“I’d rather perish than become one of those Yin Demons.”

“You’re mistaken. Not Yin Demons. They are Ghost Gods. In ancient times, the status of Ghost Gods was no less than Immortals of the Immortal Realm,” Fang Chen corrected.

Now he had ample Yin Lifespan Coins. These immortal souls’ cultivation was not high, and the cost of sealing them as Yin Soldiers was negligible.

If they were willing to become Ghost Gods, he’d gladly accept them. The various departments of the Lesser Underworld lacked capable talent.

The souls hesitated for a moment, then once again withdrew warily.

“Just empty talk.”

“Ghost Gods? My memory may be fuzzy, but I still know the Floating Pagoda Realm is a ruin. Monarch Yan is long dead! How can there be Ghost Gods?”

“He must be hatching some plot. We can’t trust him.”

They muttered among themselves, then drifted away, ignoring Fang Chen and Pitu.

“They... have suffered too much in the Floating Pagoda Realm all these years, stayed too long. Their minds are sick. If their cultivation had been higher in life, perhaps they could retain more of their reason.”

Pitu sighed lightly, then looked at Fang Chen curiously. “Only Monarch Yan can grant decrees to Ghost Ghods. Junior Brother, did you inherit Monarch Yan’s legacy?”

Fang Chen smiled and nodded.

Pitu drew a deep breath. “If it is the path of Ghost Gods, in terms of rank, it is not inferior to the True Immortals of old. The two paths may look vastly different, but both seek the ultimate truth of the Dao. I can walk the path of Ghost Gods. From now on, I will assist you, Junior Brother, as long as you don’t mind that I am really weak now.”

Hearing that, a smile appeared on Fang Chen’s face. He reassured, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. On this path, as long as you have enough Yin Lifespan, regaining your former cultivation is not impossible.”

The two talked for a while longer. When Fang Chen sensed Lin Bai returning, he bowed and said, “Senior Brother, this place isn’t safe. Until it is, please remain here for now.”

Pitu nodded. “Very well. Go.”

When Fang Chen stepped out of the miniature structure that housed them, Lin Bao was just entering. He clasped his hands when he saw Fang Chen.

“Fortunately, I didn’t fail. The Soul Restoring Grass has been retrieved. From this moment, the immortal contract is active.”

Fang Chen nodded with a faint smile. “Don’t worry. Your senior brother only wants the Immortal Path. If there is one, you can just give it to him.”

Lin Bao felt a weight lift from his chest. His greatest fear had been that this man would refuse to honor the contract. After all, the contract had nothing to do with him; it was signed between himself and Wang Chongsong.

If broken, only he would bear the consequences.

With matters settled, the group immediately set out to return to Jiangguang City.

On the way back, Lin Bao carefully recounted his background and why he and Wang Chongsong were considered fellow disciples.

It turned out that when Wang Chongsong had still been a Taiyi Immortal, he was already a disciple of their master.

Their master was a famous wandering cultivator in the Upper Three Realms, titled Chishen, with the cultivation of an Ancient Immortal at the seventh transformation.

Chishen had begun by trading in immortal souls, and it was through that business that he rose to the Upper Three Realms, gaining his present strength and influence.

When Wang Chongsong’s downfall came, his strength plummeted and he could no longer enter the Underworld. But because he had rendered many services before, his master did not sever the bond of teacher and disciple.

In fact, Lin Bao suspected that the reason Chishen kept Wang Chongsong was largely because he might hold a method to unravel the Great Enigma Art.

This time, Wang Chongsong had sent him to Biluo City Lord to obtain Soul Restoring Grass, proving it. Before that, Lin Bao had never even heard of the herb, nor that it could briefly dispel the Great Enigma Art.

Besides that, Wang Chongsong’s connections and influence within their sect were also something quite fearsome.