Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Wang— Senior Brother, you’re leaving? Then take me with you,” Ji Sheng hurriedly said.

He was unfamiliar with the place and had nearly been roasted alive on top of that. Additionally, now that the Immortal Boat was gone, he wanted to stick with Fang Chen.

Someone cupped their fist with a solemn expression. ”Senior Brother Wang, although we don’t know what your mission is this time, since we’ve met here, it’ll be difficult for us to return to our original battlefronts. Let us follow you and keep fighting.”

”That’s right, we can keep fighting. If we don’t teach the Fallen Alliance a lesson this time, they’ll think we’re pushovers they can bully at will.”

Some had been beaten badly before and were now burning with the desire to strike back.

Fang Chen shook his head with a smile. ”Bringing all of you along would be too conspicuous and inconvenient. Right now, the Starry Teleportation Formations in these regions are all under their control. It’ll be much easier for me to move alone.”

The crowd was taken aback, falling silent.

After a few breaths, someone let out a sigh. ”Senior Brother Wang, if we stay here, once the Fallen Alliance sends people to purge us, none of us will escape. And now that we don’t have the Immortal Boat Formation, we can’t travel far through the Qingming.”

Ji Sheng bitterly smiled. ”That’s true...”

The group exchanged glances, their expressions suddenly tense.

What a joke, they had already been crushed once. None of them wanted to fall into the hands of the Demonic Beast Race again.

Fang Chen frowned slightly. This was indeed a problem. It wouldn’t be an issue for Ji Sheng and the others to hold this place for a year or so. But the information blockade was destined not to last long. The other side had surely noticed the deaths of Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable and the others by now and was preparing responses.

Fang Chen sighed to himself. What a pity.

He had waited in Mingwang Star for three months, yet no one had come.

Originally, he had planned to harvest another wave when they sent reinforcements. That way, Ji Sheng and the others’ safety would also be ensured, and the opposing side would have to think twice before making any further moves. But now that no one had appeared, it was likely that those involved had already contacted the God Dao Sect and learned that Daotian had also died here.

Other than that, there was only one remaining explanation.

The Heavenly Dao controlled by the demon race... has it calculated that there is an even greater danger here...?

Before he could speak, Venerable Yunfu quietly appeared and whispered a few words into his ear.

After hearing what Venerable Yunfu said, Fang Chen turned to everyone and said, ”Wait here for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

He then exited the lecture hall with Yunfu.

As soon as Fang Chen left, someone tugged at Ji Sheng’s sleeve, eyes filled with curiosity. ”Ji Sheng, tell us honestly, is he really a core disciple of your Enlightenment God Palace?”

Dozens of gazes instantly fell upon him.

It was no wonder they were curious. As core disciples themselves, they had seen plenty of the world. They were already considered major figures, and with the Immortal Boat Formations, their offensive power could rival Ancient Immortals. Placed in the Lower Six Realms, each of them would be a guardian of an entire realm.

But now, with the war in the Taicang Realm underway, they had suddenly discovered that there were many things in this world beyond their comprehension; for example, Core Disciple Wang.

”Why ask so much? Senior Brother Wang is indeed a core disciple of my Enlightenment God Palace. Back when I hadn’t yet mastered Formation Immortal Arts, I fought alongside him in the Ancient Forbidden Zone,” Ji Sheng replied calmly.

”Fellow Daoist Ji, I truly envy you. To have fought alongside such a figure in the Ancient Forbidden Zone must have been a most exhilarating experience,” someone marveled, their eyes full of envy.

Ji Sheng maintained a faint smile, but in his mind, scenes from that year resurfaced. He had indeed fought alongside Fang Chen in the Ancient Forbidden Zone. But back then... Fang Chen wasn’t even a core disciple. In front of him, Fang Chen had merely been a junior.

At that thought, a trace of quiet emotion flickered deep within Ji Sheng’s eyes.

A cold-faced female cultivator spoke slowly. ”Everyone, no matter what, I’ve decided to follow Core Disciple Wang when he leaves. Even if I die in battle, it’s better than being captured and humiliated.”

Everyone knew her well. She was from the Moonlight Immortal Palace of the Shenwang Realm. She cultivated a rare and highly specialized path, the Moon Immortal Path. The path had been exclusively controlled by the Moon Immortal Palace for generations, unknown to any other faction. Becoming a first-transformation Moon Immortal was practically impossible.

Ji Sheng sighed softly. ”Fellow Daoist Chu Yue, the problem is that our presence would only burden Senior Brother Wang. Staying here might actually be the best choice.”

Fang Chen might have not spelled it out, but Ji Sheng could tell that Fang Chen must have his own mission, just like each of them did.

”Everyone, don’t belittle yourselves. Even without our Immortal Boat Formations, with our abilities, if we can reach the Fallen Alliance’s core territory, we can still cause them trouble,” chimed in Chu Yue. ”Senior Brother Wang doesn’t need to take us far, just give us a ride for part of the journey.”

”That makes sense. Staying on Mingwang Star is basically waiting to die. Going into the Fallen Alliance’s territory means splitting up, going from visible to hidden. Assassinating a few of them before dying would make it worthwhile.”

”In any case, let’s wait until Senior Brother Wang returns,” Ji Sheng said calmly.

***

Underworld.

As Fang Chen and Venerable Yunfu approached, Saintess Yuanyang immediately stood up. The local Mingwang Star cultivators nearby, including Abbot Wufa, also rose to greet them. Only Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable remained seated, unmoving.

Fang Chen stopped before her and smiled faintly. ”Saintess Yuanyang, I hear from Venerable Yunfu that you have something to tell me?”

Saintess Yuanyang nodded. ”Yes. I hope to exchange the information I possess for a chance to live.”

The seated Great Virtue Heavenly Venerable sneered. ”He won’t let you go.”

”That’s none of your concern,” said Saintess Yuanyang, not even glancing at him.

She kept her eyes fixed on Fang Chen.

Fang Chen nodded. ”Come, let’s talk over there.”

He brought her to the banks of the Forgotten River.

Glancing at the river so close by, Saintess Yuanyang instinctively took a step back.

”What do you know? Let me see whether your information has value,” said Fang Chen. ” If it’s valuable enough, you won’t be annihilated, nor will you be thrown into the Forgotten River.”

Saintess Yuanyang frowned. ”But I’ll still be imprisoned and guarded by these ghost soldiers? That’s not what I want. My information is enough to buy my freedom. Don’t you want to know about the movements of those of the demon race who have awakened? With this intelligence, you could achieve unparalleled merit.”

Fang Chen smiled. ”Those matters are handled by others. We have clear divisions of responsibility. What I need to do has nothing to do with that. If you want to use that kind of information to buy your freedom, it won’t be enough. Instead, let me ask you a few questions. If you can answer them, I can consider letting you leave this place.”

Yuanyang Saintess hadn’t expected him to be uninterested in such intelligence. After a moment of thought, she sighed, ”What do you want to ask?”

”You’ve been working with the God Decree Ranking and the True Immortal Ancient Mirror, and have established contact with the Fallen Immortals. What exactly are you planning to do?” Fang Chen asked calmly.