Immortal of the Nine Realms

Immortal paths were kept secret for two reasons. The first reason was that an immortal path was extremely difficult to obtain, and no one wanted to expose it easily. The second reason was that the more people who know the method, the more competitors there will be for its corresponding immortal medicines.

For example, the True Immortal Path was monopolized by the Lesser Immortal Realm. Within that realm, many True Immortals themselves don’t even know what immortal medicine they consumed.

The true path might be known to only a tiny handful, ensuring that the number of competitors for True Immortal medicines remains small.

If a medicine of the True Immortal Path ever appeared in the Nine Mortal Realms, the Lesser Immortal Realm could easily take it for themselves, provided their intelligence was sharp enough.

Now, Fang Chen had instructed Xia Ji’s Hidden Guard Division to monitor all information related to that matter.

If any of the path’s immortal medicines appeared, the Hidden Guards would immediately mobilize.

When Fang Chen was absent, Xia Ji held limited command rights, able to direct Yu Tingzhai and others to act in the Mortal Realm.

After sealing Ning Beiyou and the other two, Monarch Yan’s Decree still had around 75,000 years of Yin Lifespan left. Fang Chen left 15,000 as a reserve and then split the rest among Stone Dragon and the others.

Although the surplus lifespan had already been reduced by what they needed for cultivation, leaving it unused was wasteful. It was better to let them strengthen themselves further.

***

In Monarch Yan’s palace, Fang Chen inspected the barrier between the two realms. The million years of Yin Lifespan he had infused previously had worked well.

The silhouette on the other side had spent several decades but did not seem to have made much progress.

After that, Fang Chen toured the Lesser Underworld, visiting the Martial God Division to see Xing Jintuo.

Xing Jintuo’s progress in martial arts had been steady. Under the Martial God Division, many wandering souls had also begun learning martial arts, walking the same path as Xing Jintuo

Though for now this force was still weak, almost negligible compared to the Nine Mortal Realms, Fang Chen still looked forward to its future.

If the Martial God Division were given more time to grow, what might it eventually become?

He often pondered the void Xing Jintuo had once shattered. That power, which Xing Jintuo called void force, could it be the same as the spiritual energy contained within top-grade spirit stones?

A remnant of power left behind from some ancient era?

The possibility was real, perhaps even highly likely.

In this world, anything was possible. Even a ninth-transformation immortal was far from omniscient.

In the face of the vast cosmos, a ninth transformation Immortal was perhaps no more than a larger grasshopper. Thus, Fang Chen never underestimated the power of nature. Compared to it, the strength of humans had its limit.

Fang Chen smiled at Xia Ji. ”If Xing Jintuo can advance far along this path, perhaps he will uncover the origin of void force. It may even help with that matter.”

”I don’t know what you mean,” Xia Ji replied.

He peeled an orange, split it in half, and gave Fang Chen one of the halves. He swallowed his half with one bite.

He said, ”But I must admit, Brother Xing’s path is indeed a new direction. It breaks old assumptions.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, ”I’ve found the place you wanted. It’s guarded by only a single first-transformation Loose Immortal. It’s in Sanyang Realm. The Lesser Underworld connects straight to it.”

”You’re now also a disciple of the Three Thousand Dao Sect. Prepare yourself and come with me,” said Fang Chen, smiling.

”You mean the Three Halls Trial of that Daoist temple?” Xia Ji asked. ”According to reports, the Dragon Tiger Temple has passed down three trials since ancient times—The Yin, the Yang, and the Lightning. Do they relate to the Three Divine Beasts?”

”Yes,” Fang Chen replied. ”Only by passing the trials can one obtain the recognition of the Divine Beasts and cultivate the Heavenly Abhorrence Technique, which is the foundation of the Three Thousand Dao Sect.”

Xia Ji’s interest was immediately piqued. ”Then I’d better prepare.”

Seeing this, Fang Chen smiled and nodded. ”Yes, you’d best prepare. Such chances are rare.”

If the Hidden Guard Division had not expanded its reach so widely in recent years, finding a site of the Three Divine Beast trials would have been like seeking a needle in a haystack.

The old testing grounds in the Central Continent Empire had already vanished. They had never been found again, and the two black and white paper figures who once administered the trial now resided in the Lesser Underworld.

Fang Chen suspected those trials were one-time use only. Once someone succeeded, they vanished.

From the Hidden Guard Division’s inception, he had ordered them to watch for such signs.

Finding this trial ground before his journey to the Upper Three Realms was a stroke of fortune.

Sometimes he even wondered whether these trials were the handiwork of his master, Yun He. Next time they met, he had to ask.

***

Two years later, the old flood dragon returned to the Nanqing Constellation and gathered all the Three Thousand Dao Sect cultivators there. Fang Chen then used the World Gourd to bring them to Ziyuan Star in the Sanyang Realm.

This time, Fang Chen brought every registered member of the Three Thousand Dao Sect, even the Qi-Refining disciples.

Upon arriving at Ziyuan Star, they witnessed an unbelievable sight in the sky

There, they saw three suns.

Despite the three suns, no one felt hot. Instead, the temperature seemed perfectly comfortable.

”These shouldn’t be actual suns,” said Xia Ji, protecting his eyes with spiritual energy as he gazed directly at the three suns. ”They are probably existences similar to suns. No wonder this is called the Sanyang Realm.”

Li Daoye added with interest, ”I once read an ancient text claiming some places had ten suns. It seems now that such incredible writings may not be false. What is written in ancient books may truly exist.”

Zhao Jiaolong, Hua Miaoqing, and others were capable of accepting such sights quickly due to their extraordinary backgrounds. They didn’t even think three suns in the sky was strange.

”If none of these suns are real, then this place doesn’t have an actual sun at all,” Fang Chen mused. ”Perhaps its sun is too far away and only appears as a distant glimmer in the sky, just like any other star.”

”How far that must be...” Li Daoye murmured.

Fang Chen judged the distance to be unimaginably great. In both the Ancient Desolate Realm and the True Martial Realm, he could see a normal sun.

That meant the Sanyang Realm lay at an unfathomable distance from them.

Yet, he had arrived easily through the Underworld. Its transportation ability was almost supernatural. No wonder some overwhelmingly powerful existence had been trying to break through the two-realm barrier within the Monarch Yan’s Palace.

***

As for the Dragon Tiger Temple, its old master had lived so long that among all its disciples, even the eldest had memories of him from their youth. No one knew how many years he had lived. Nowadays, he’d only ever appear during the temple’s Three Halls Trial, once every thirty years.

Thousands of disciples stood calmly before a stone cavern, faces serene, without the slightest excitement.

For as long as they could remember, no one had ever succeeded in passing the Three Halls Trial. It was said to be harder even than being chosen as an Immortal Seedling on the Ancient Immortal Road.

Only some of the very young showed eagerness.