Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Dan stood respectfully before a woman dressed in a light purple high-waisted skirt. ”Young Lady, this is Lord Fang, the guest Master brought back.”

The woman’s gaze fell upon Fang Chen, her eyes carrying a trace of scrutiny. The servants by her side were also curiously sizing him up.

”You are... my father’s illegitimate son from outside, aren’t you?” The woman asked suddenly.

Fang Chen could not help but laugh. ”Your father has to call me brother. How could I possibly be his illegitimate son?”

The woman froze briefly before realizing her misunderstanding. She smiled awkwardly. ”But you only look to be in your early twenties. My father is already over forty, nearly fifty. Why would he call you brother?”

”I only look young. In truth, I’m already very old,” Fang Chen replied.

Only looks young?

Everyone exchanged glances. They couldn’t help but feel that Fang Chen was speaking nonsense. How could someone in their forties or fifties look barely over twenty? They had never heard of such a thing before.

The woman chuckled. ”Then wouldn’t I have to call you Uncle? Uncle Fang, do you know whose courtyard this is?”

”I don’t know. Your father asked me to stay here temporarily; that’s why I am here,” shared Fang Chen as he walked past the crowd toward the bamboo tower, smiling. ”I prefer peace and quiet. You may all leave.”

The woman did not follow him. Instead, she stood there silently in thought for a moment before turning to Fang Dan. ”Steward Fang, since Father has lent this courtyard to him temporarily, let him stay here for now.”

Fang Dan was taken aback. ”Young Lady, is this really alright? This is the place where you usually cultivate your temperament.”

The woman shook her head. ”It’s fine.”

After saying that, she drifted away with the others.

***

Over the following period of time, Fang Chen often wandered around outside, gradually learning about the local customs and comparing them with the Nine Mortal Realms.

Meanwhile, members of the Fang Clan vaguely heard rumors that a clansman from outside had returned to the clan and was temporarily staying at Martial Marquis Fang Yue’s residence.

Everyone speculated about the origins of this clansman, but another rumor soon spread beneath the surface. It claimed that this clansman was actually Fang Longshan’s illegitimate son from outside. The moment the rumor appeared, it rapidly spread throughout the Fang Clan. Many clansmen privately voiced criticism, and an undercurrent of unrest quietly began to stir.

Fang Longshan sat across from Fang Chen, pouring him a cup of tea as a trace of emotion appeared on his face. ”Lord Fang, this is the major problem currently facing our Fang Clan. External enemies watch us greedily while internal strife never ceases. Even I, the clan leader, have become a thorn in many people’s eyes.”

Fang Chen took a sip of tea and smiled lightly. ”Rumors stop with the wise, but they also require the wise to step forward and dispel them. You have never stepped forward to clarify matters, Clan Leader Fang. Are you trying to bait the fish into taking the hook?”

Fang Longshan glanced at him and could not help but sigh in admiration. ”As expected of a divine ability user, Lord Fang. You saw through this old man’s crude scheme at a glance. If you never appeared, this old man might still have had to continue playing games with them. But things are different now.

”I hope to use your strength to rectify both the internal chaos and the external threats, so that the clan may secure at least thirty years of stability. With those thirty years, perhaps someone in the clan may successfully establish their foundation and become a divine ability user. I wonder if you would be willing to help?”

Fang Chen nodded with a faint smile. ”It’s only a trivial matter. You may proceed however you wish. I’ll back you up.”

Fang Longshan was overjoyed. He lowered his voice and continued, ”As for the Sword Bodhi you seek, I’ve already sent messages in all directions and mobilized every resource the Hechuan Fang Clan can currently command to search for it. I’ve even released some information to the outside world. If any news appears, we will be informed immediately.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”Good.”

Sword Bodhi was the immortal herb required for his Sword Immortal Path to advance to the fifth transformation.

Fang Longshan had never heard of the Sword Bodhi before, but Fang Chen had drawn an illustration for him. If it truly existed within Great Zhou, then sooner or later there would be news of it.

Fang Chen trusted that Li Daoye would not send him here without reason. Since he had been directed to this Land of the Nether Ruins, then the fifth-transformation immortal herb had to naturally exist.

Recalling something, Fang Chen said, ”I’ve been walking around outside recently and discovered that Hechuan Prefecture has quite a number of divine ability users. Why haven’t they been guided away from Great Zhou?”

Seeing that Fang Chen had even forgotten this matter, Fang Longshan inwardly sighed before smiling bitterly. ”Most of the divine ability users in Great Zhou today only awakened their divine abilities after reaching the Bone Tempering Realm. After the Bone Tempering Realm, if one’s divine ability is not strong enough, they cannot gain the favor of the Envoys.

”The divine ability users taken away by the Envoys are those who awakened their divine abilities as early as the Marrow Refinement Realm or even the Blood Moving Realm. The earlier the awakening, the greater the talent.”

Fang Chen’s thoughts stirred. Envoys? Are they from the human race or the Supreme Qingming Alliance?

It was more likely to be the human race, but the possibility of them being from the Supreme Qingming Alliance could not be ruled out too.

A trace of gravity appeared in Fang Longshan’s eyes. Lord Fang has even forgotten about the Envoys? It seems his injuries are truly severe.

He could tell that Fang Chen seemed to possess no memories related to the Envoys, but that was strange because all divine ability users knew about them.

Fang Longshan explained, ”Lord Fang, I’ve heard that the Envoys come from the Divine Realm. We have one here within Great Zhou.”

”How strong is he?”

Fang Longshan smiled bitterly. ”That question is hard to answer. I’ve only heard that the Envoys possess unfathomable strength. Great Zhou once produced several madmen. They possessed extraordinary methods and would certainly have counted among the stronger ranks of divine ability users. They once attacked an Envoy, yet were all effortlessly suppressed, like pebbles tossed into the sea, incapable of creating even the slightest ripple.”

”How can one meet this Envoy?”

”If our clan were still at its peak, perhaps it would have been possible. But now—hmmn. No, there might still be one way to do that. If our clan can produce a divine ability user, then this Envoy may personally appear!”

Fang Longshan looked at Fang Chen eagerly. ”You are a divine ability user, Lord Fang, someone with experience. Could I trouble you to examine the younger generation of the clan and see which among them may awaken?”

”That’s hard to say. But taking a look is fine,” Fang Chen replied.

Back in the Grand Xia Empire, he had practiced the Blazing Fist himself and never found anything special about it. Yet now, in Great Zhou, within the Fang Clan, the Blazing Fist had become a foundational martial art capable of awakening divine abilities. This could only mean that the Human Race of the Nine Mortal Realms and the Human Race of the current era he was in likely possessed some fundamental differences.

He intended to spend some time researching these differences. Perhaps there would be unexpected gains.

The first step would naturally begin with these so-called awakened divine abilities.

Seeing Fang Chen agree so readily, Fang Longshan was overjoyed. Afraid Fang Chen might change his mind, he immediately pulled him toward the martial grounds.

At the martial grounds, Fang Yue stood with his hands behind his back, wholeheartedly instructing the younger generation in the Blazing Fist, occasionally demonstrating it himself. He possessed a hundred-thousand-jin strength. Every punch he threw produced fierce howling winds.

Suddenly, he noticed Fang Longshan and Fang Chen approaching together.

”What are these two here for?”

Fang Yue stopped his movements and instructed the disciples below to continue practicing on their own before walking over to greet them.