Immortal of the Nine Realms

This chief verification officer looked somewhat familiar to Fang Chen. It seemed he had seen him back in the Enlightenment God Palace before.

Who knew what method Wang Chongsong had used to smooth things over with this man.

After flipping through the registers for a few moments, the officer stamped them, smiled at Fang Chen, and said, ”Core Disciple Fang, for small matters like this in the future, you can just give me a heads-up. Why would you need the Division Head to speak to me personally?”

”The Division Head spoke to you personally?” Fang Chen raised his brow, then smiled. ”Much obliged, Senior Brother.”

”You’re too polite, Core Disciple Fang. In the future, you’re bound to rise swiftly within the Enlightenment God Palace. When that day comes, I hope you’ll look after me as well.”

”Of course, of course.”

They chatted for a while. Only after Fang Chen saw him gather all the registers together and prepare to send them for sealing did he take his leave.

From the casual conversation with the verification chief, Fang Chen had already figured out what method Wang Chongsong had used. It was straightforward. He had used his own name as a front, greeting the verification official in advance. If any problems arose later, the trail would lead back to him.

However, it seemed the Reincarnation Division did this regularly. The verification chief’s demeanor had remained perfectly natural throughout, as if he were merely handling a trivial matter. He clearly believed that turning a blind eye during verification wouldn’t cause much trouble.

Fang Chen slipped into the shadows and followed the verification chief, accompanying him all the way to the sealing chamber. Li Shanzi exchanged a few words with the man, glanced at the topmost register, flipped it open casually, and then sealed it. The entire process went smoothly.

In the end, all the registers were delivered to Wang Chongsong.

”Lord, if there are no other issues, the wandering souls can set off,” Li Shanzi said casually.

Wang Chongsong put on a show of flipping through a few pages, then nodded. ”No issues. Begin.”

Li Shanzi nodded and turned to leave.

Next, the clerks of the Reincarnation Division began to perform their duties. Countless affiliated cultivators under the Reincarnation Division mobilized, organizing the wandering souls who had entered the Enlightenment Underworld Realm and were awaiting reincarnation, leading them toward the Reincarnation Division.

The number of these wandering souls was beyond counting. Fortunately, each clerk held a register. They checked names against the list, and only after confirming them did they allow the soul to join the queue.

Following his prior agreement with Wang Chongsong, Fang Chen sought him out again.

Wang Chongsong smiled and said, ”The matter is halfway done. Next, come with me to the Reincarnation Gate. I’ll say you’re the next head of the division I intend to groom. Those two Ghost Immortals won’t say anything.”

Fang Chen nodded. He was quite curious about reincarnation in the Enlightenment Underworld Realm. He would finally get to see it for himself.

Deep within the Reincarnation Division stood a building, where not a single soul could be seen for several miles around.

Wang Chongsong waited there with Fang Chen. After some time, they finally saw the wandering souls being escorted over. The procession was vast, endless in number.

Seeing this, Wang Chongsong turned and said, ”The wandering souls have arrived.”

The building’s great doors slowly opened, and Fang Chen followed Wang Chongsong inside. A long staircase descended downward within. After walking for roughly half an hour, they finally reached a black door. As if sensing their arrival, the door slowly opened.

Deep inside the chamber stood a shattered mirror. Not far from it sat two figures, utterly devoid of vitality. They both raised their heads to glance at Wang Chongsong, then shifted their gaze to Fang Chen.

One of them asked calmly, ”Who is this child?”

Wang Chongsong smiled. ”An official of the Registration Division, a core disciple, ranked ninth. He may become the next Division Lord of Reincarnation in the future. I brought him to familiarize him with the work.”

”Ranked ninth, huh? These days... only nine core disciples can wield Formation Immortal Arts?”

The man sighed softly. ”Compared to my era, that’s quite a decline. I remember back then... I was ranked thirty-seventh.”

”So what if you were thirty-seventh? Aren’t you stuck here just like me?” The other Ghost Immortal said flatly. ”I didn’t even have a ranking. Until death, I never comprehended Formation Immortal Arts.”

Hearing their exchange, Fang Chen felt a quiet sense of emotion. It was clear these two had once been core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace, brimming with vigor and ambition in their youth. Later, they had to have exhausted their lifespan and turned to the Ghost Immortal Path, resorting to cultivating in seclusion within the Enlightenment Underworld Realm ever since.

If the Enlightenment Underworld Realm had lacked the Ghost Immortal Path, they would have long since returned to dust. At best, they might have become Great Yin Demons; at worst, if their character were flawed, they might have lost their sanity entirely.

”Come in,” said the Ghost Immortal who had spoken first.

Wang Chongsong led Fang Chen inside. After saluting the two, they waited as the wandering souls queued up behind them for reincarnation.

The Reincarnation Gate was naturally that shattered mirror.

Fang Chen openly studied the broken mirror, sensing the aura upon it. A fragment of the Reincarnation Mirror... Does that mean other top-tier factions also each possess fragments of the Reincarnation Mirror?

His first impression was that it was profoundly mysterious, like the fragmentary pages of the Book of Life and Death he had once seen in the Ghost Immortal Pagoda.

The two Ghost Immortals, seemingly starved for conversation, spoke to Fang Chen with unusual enthusiasm.

”You’ve never seen this before, have you?”

”I find it extremely profound, Senior. I can’t comprehend it at all.”

”That’s normal. We’ve studied it here for so many years and still can’t understand it. But it’s powerful. It can send people into reincarnation. Even a ninth-transformation immortal couldn’t accomplish that.”

”Even our Palace Lord can’t do it, ha!”

”Youngster, tell us, has anything interesting been happening in the Enlightenment God Palace lately?”

”We haven’t gone back up for many years... sigh.”

”Aren’t you two Ghost Immortals?” Fang Chen asked, raising his brows. ”I’ve heard Ghost Immortals can go to the living world. Why not go back and take a look?”

The two fell silent at once.

Wang Chongsong smiled and explained, ”For a Ghost Immortal to return to the living world, the Palace Lord must approve it. Then an application has to be submitted to the Central Division, and Division Lord Xie must also give the nod. In short, it’s very troublesome. Under normal circumstances, Ghost Immortals basically can’t return to the living world. And even if they do, there are many restrictions.”

The two Ghost Immortals sighed softly.

”That’s right.”

”Why so many restrictions?” Fang Chen asked in surprise.

Ghost Immortals had once been core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace. Some might even have been elders. With their status, imposing so many limitations on a simple return seemed strange when it could easily spark dissatisfaction.

”It’s not that they’re unreasonable, but when we go back... we easily go mad.”

”Perhaps that’s the fate of Ghost Immortals.”

The two Ghost Immortals exchanged glances, falling silent together.

Fang Chen’s heart skipped a beat. ”Easily go mad?”

The Underworld True Gods maintained perfect rationality, whether in the Mortal Realm or the Underworld. It seemed the Ghost Immortal Path carried certain inherent flaws.

They chatted a while longer. Finally, the first batch of wandering souls arrived.

Their expressions were a mix of excitement and anxiety as they gazed at Fang Chen and the others with deep reverence.