Immortal of the Nine Realms

”It’s Nanming Shaoze...”

”Senior Brother Li Si invited even him?”

Everyone immediately recognized Nanming Shaoze as Nanming Ruyue’s relative. Their relationship was said to be quite close.

Li Si’s face brightened with a smile. He called out, ”Fellow Daoist Shaoze!”

He waved a hand to withdraw the immortal barrier and was just about to step forward to greet him when Nanming Shaoze suddenly stopped walking and turned toward Fang Chen instead.

”Fellow Daoist Fang,” he said with a genial smile, cupping his hands. ”I heard that after your return last time, you immediately accompanied Senior Sister to the Langgui Constellation, and later even went to the Lower Six Realms. I made a trip in vain searching for you then, but no matter. I’m glad we’ve finally met again today. I still owe you a great favor from what happened in the Enlightenment Underworld Realm. I’ll repay that slowly in time.”

Nanming Shaoze’s tone was warm, almost friendly.

Beside him, Du Rufeng and the others also greeted Fang Chen cheerfully.

Senior Sister?!

The crowd wasn’t overly concerned about whatever favor Nanming Shaoze mentioned, but the words ’Senior Sister’ immediately caught their attention.

Not long ago, the bell had tolled across Enlightenment Star, and everyone believed that their Senior Sister had truly fallen. But shortly after, news spread that she hadn’t died at all. It had all been a scheme she’d set up herself. Not only was she alive, but she had personally slain an eighth-transformation Ancient Immortal.

Furthermore, the Five Poison Sect in the Fangcun Realm had been utterly destroyed by the core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace. Its cultivators were mostly dead, with only a few fleeing. They had had an eight-transformation Ancient Immortal at their helm. Yet, the sect was still destroyed overnight.

As for the Rulai Monastery, things weren’t looking good there either. Negotiations were underway, and unless they offered a heavy price, there would be no peaceful resolution.

But what stunned everyone most was the realization that this unassuming Fellow Daoist Fang was somehow involved in all of this. How could he possibly have gone with their Senior Sister to the Langgui Constellation, and even to the Lower Six Realms? What right did he have to stand at her side?

Yu Tiange and his companions were dumbfounded.

In the crowd, Huang Sanjin and others exchanged looks of disbelief and confusion.

Li Si had originally intended to exchange pleasantries with Nanming Shaoze before continuing to make things difficult for Fang Chen. But after hearing Shaoze’s words, he fell into deep thought instead.

Jiang Chen’s expression flickered rapidly. He had no idea Fang Chen had any connection to that incident. How could he have imagined it? A newly ascended first transformation Immortal involved in something of that scale? It was completely inconceivable.

”Fellow Daoist Shaoze,” Fang Chen said with a smile, ”didn’t you later arrange a fine post in the Enlightenment Underworld Realm for Lin Yuan and the others? Consider the favor repaid already, no need to dwell on it.”

Yu Tiange’s expression grew stranger. He hadn’t even finished processing Shaoze’s earlier words, and now it seemed Fang Chen and Nanming Shaoze were... on friendly terms?

He had rarely seen Shaoze treat anyone so cordially; the man was easily ten times prouder than himself.

”Fellow Daoist Fang,” Nanming Shaoze continued, ”this tea gathering has only just begun. I happened to see you and the others preparing to leave. Do you have urgent matters? If so, we can always meet another time to talk.”

”Fellow Daoist Shaoze,” Li Si suddenly interjected, his voice edged with a cool smile, ”This fellow seems to have quite the temper. He decided to leave over a small misunderstanding. And not only that, he mocked my tea gathering, saying it was nothing but a place to form cliques, rather than a true forum for discussion. Since you’ve arrived, perhaps you should also hear the reason he gave for saying so.”

The crowd exchanged uneasy looks.

It was obvious to everyone that Nanming Shaoze had stepped in deliberately after witnessing the scene, invoking Xie Aman’s name to help Fang Chen save face. But Li Si had seen through the move, and instead of backing down, he had chosen to push the matter further, making the situation even more tense.

The audience watched intently, eager to see how this confrontation would end.

If one compared backgrounds, Jiang Chen had someone on the Elders’ Council backing him, and Li Si had the support of the Fourth Senior Brother. Both were fourth-transformation immortals in their own right.

Nanming Shaoze, meanwhile, had only Nanming Ruyue behind him, ranked fifth within the Enlightenment God Palace, slightly beneath the Fourth Senior Brother in seniority.

As for Fang Chen, his backing was rumored to be a newly promoted core disciple, but compared to Jiang Chen and Li Si, it hardly carried the same weight.

”Unless Senior Sister herself really has a close tie to him,” someone whispered through divine sense, ”Nanming Shaoze and that fellow will likely walk away humiliated today.”

”Senior Sister? A being of that level wouldn’t possibly care about a newly advanced first-transformation immortal. Plenty of people followed her to the Langgui Constellation. From what I heard, Core Disciple Hong brought several subordinates along. Fang Chen was just one of them.”

Many quietly traded similar thoughts through sound transmissions.

Nanming Shaoze’s expression stiffened slightly. As he pondered how to respond, Fang Chen spoke up first, a faint smile touching his lips. ”The reason? It’s simple.”

He turned his gaze toward Jiang Chen. ”Senior Jiang, an exalted fourth-transformation immortal, interfered during my ascension and was expelled from Core Disciple Hong’s expedition team because of it. Such vile conduct ill suits someone of his level, especially a cultivator of the Enlightenment God Palace. If a tea gathering like this is hosted under his name, what else could it be but a den of hypocrisy and cliquish politics?”

The crowd gasped softly in shock, their eyes drifting toward Jiang Chen. Could it be true? A dignified fourth-transformation immortal had tried to sabotage a junior’s ascension? It seemed unthinkable.

And yet... Jiang Chen’s sudden departure from his former team had raised eyebrows, and his aggression here today suddenly looked rather suspicious.

Expressions grew complex. Several cultivators even stepped back slightly, faces darkening with disdain.

For any cultivator, an ascension was a sacred moment, a life-defining event. To deliberately interfere during that process was an act of malice nearly beyond comprehension.

Yu Tiange finally understood.

Nanming Shaoze’s expression shifted subtly. He, too, had only just learned of this.

Jiang Chen’s aura rippled, though his expression remained steady. For just an instant, his eyes flared with violence, so fierce that even Li Si could feel the shift in his emotions.

”A mere misunderstanding,” Jiang Chen said with a low laugh. ”And yet you bring it up here of all places. What exactly do you hope to accomplish?”

He continued, ”For that misunderstanding, did I not compensate you with 700 merit points? You’re now a first-transformation immortal and 700 merit points richer. Must you cling to this matter? At my cultivation, if I truly wanted to disrupt your ascension, I could have done it in a single thought. You wouldn’t even have known who struck you.”

”What!? He paid him 700 merit points!?”

”Senior Brother Jiang’s words make sense. He’s a fourth-transformation immortal. If he really wanted to sabotage him, would the kid even have noticed?”

”It must have been a misunderstanding after all.”

Seeing the crowd’s reaction shift, Jiang Chen relaxed inwardly. There was no one here who had witnessed that event, no one to stand up for Fang Chen. Whatever he said became the truth. The other had no way to refute him.

But just then, a terrifying aura approached from afar, growing stronger by the second.

”A fifth-transformation immortal?”

”No... wait, it feels like a sixth-transformation immortal!”

”Senior Brother Li Si certainly has impressive connections...”

All eyes turned to the skies.