Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen poured out some of the spring water he had brought back out from his storage ring, giving Fang Canghai and the others a portion each. They took a mouthful and immediately felt invigorated. They felt as though their bodies were suddenly filled with energy.

Because Fang Chen had stored the spring water in the storage ringe directly from its source, it didn’t lose any of its spiritual energy at all.

Then, Fang Chen brought out the Purple Qi Manual and handed it to Fang Zhentian. He told the old patriarch to study it well and see if he could step onto the path of cultivation.

Fang Zhentain fell silent for a while, seemingly lost in thought. After pondering for a while, he had decided to call Fang Canghai and the rest over and tell them about the manual. They were all going to attempt to practice it together.

Li Daoye noticed the manual in Fang Zhentian’s hand, and he peered at it. Immediately recognizing it, he couldn’t help but gasp. “Is that the Purple Qi Manual of the Heavenly Southern Heavenly Sect?” he wondered, surprise hanging on his face.

Fang Chen smiled. ”Oh? You know them?”

”How could I not know them? The Heavenly Southern Heavenly Sect is extremely famous in the Flame Empire. Even my Eight Trigrams Sect isn’t as powerful as them,” said Daoist Li with a strange expression. ”If they ever find out that your family is practicing their Purple Qi Manual without their consent,” he pointed out, “they might hunt you guys down in order to kill you.”

”We’ve no time to worry about such a thing with the current situation in Grand Xia,” replied Fang Chen. ”As long as we both don’t say anything, who would ever know?”

Li Daoye couldn’t help but sigh. ”I’m not trying to criticize you, Lord Fang,” he said, trying to offer a good word of advice, “but what we cultivators need to do is to obtain as many resources as possible. That’s it. If we can’t do that on our own, we even exploit the masses. What I’m trying to say is: cultivators have to be a bit selfish.

“Is it worth risking your own path to Immortality by facing the Blood Spirit Sect just for the sake of the mortals of the Grand Xia empire? For you to become a cultivator in this ninth-tier empire is an incredibles stroke of good fortune. You’re actually wasting it all away!”

It was then that Abbess Qing He chimed in, saying, ”The lord wishes to become a mortal Immortal...” She shook her head slightly. ”You don’t understand.”

Daoist Li’s brows scrunched up at that. ”Mortal Immortal? There’s a difference between Immortals and mortals. Being an Immortal is about becoming an Immortal; how can there be something called ‘mortal Immortal’?”

Fang Chen smiled. ”Then tell me; who was the first Immortal?”

”The first Immortal?” Daoist Li was slightly taken aback, but he thought about it for a moment in silence, and in the end, he said helplessly, ”Who knows who the first Immortal was...?”

”Exactly.” Fang Chen chuckled. “There were definitely no Immortals when the world was first created. Only after the first person achieved Immortality did the word have any meaning. Why then can’t I make my own definition of Immortality?”

”You, you...” Daoist Li was greatly shocked. ”You actually have the audacity to define Immortality? You’re simply going against the Heavens!”

”But the Heavens haven’t struck me down, nor have it stopped me,” Fang Chen said flippantly.

”Well, it’ll surely strike you down in the future,” Li Daoye muttered in a low voice.

A smile tugged at Fang Chen’s lips, half amused, half ironic. He chuckled. ”Anyway, you’re already a part of this. Don’t even think about jumping ship. I reckon that after that elder of yours returns, he will probably kick you out of the Eight Trigram Sect. No need to return now. You wouldn’t want to send trouble down their way, would you?” he said. ”Go on; watch over the old patriarch and the others as they practice their cultivation and guide them if they face any problems.”

With that, Fang Chen got up and left. He still had to refine the treasures he had pilfered as well as craft more Purple Lightning Talismans to improve his cultivation. He wanted to see if he could condense his fifth Immortal vein today.

”I must’ve gone crazy...” Li Daoye shook his head as he walked toward Fang Zhentian. ”He’s only in the Qi Refining Realm, but he dares to confront the Spirit Blood Sect. He even has the balls to come up with a definition of being an Immortal. He’s a madman... he’s really a madman... I’ll go crazy sooner or later if I follow him. No! I have to find an opportunity to distance myself from him. I want to be a carefree man who goes wherever he wishes!”

*

In the small courtyard, Fang Chen worked in steady strokes as he poured his vigorous spiritual energy into the talisman paper before him. His spiritual energy flowed in a continuous stream into the paper, and through the special patterns that harnessed the essence of heaven and earth, it finally transformed into a complete Purple Lightning Talisman.

Across from him, sat Abbess Qing He. She had her chin rested over both hands as she earnestly watched him work. She couldn’t help but feel slightly moved when he completed the talisman.

She knew how to craft Vajra Talismans and Divine Movement Talismans, but she knew that the more powerful talismans—such as the Purple Lightning Talisman—not only consumed immense spiritual energy, but the person making them had to be very precise with their control of spiritual energy as well. If their hands so much as trembled ever so slightly, their spiritual energy might explode. There were also many other things that could go wrong, leading to the failure of a crafting attempt. Fang Chen’s manner of crafting talismans was more profound than even her seniors!

This difficult Purple Lightning Talisman had been completed almost effortlessly. Moreover, she had noticed that the spiritual energy within Fang Chen seemed endless.

”He can’t even see, yet he can effortlessly create Purple Lightning Talismans. Using the words of the seniors in the sect, the lord seems to be a natural talent when it comes to cultivation!”

Abbess Qing He sighed silently in her heart.

”Abbess Qing He, is your sect also located in the Flame Empire?” Fang Chen asked casually while working on the next Purple Lightning Talisman.

Abbess Qing He nodded lightly. ”Yes, the Concealed Moon Hermitage is only eight hundred miles away from the Eight Trigrams Sect. We’re separated by a mountain range,” she confirmed. ”In the past, there were often conflicts between our sect elders and the Eight Trigrams Sect. My master warned me to be cautious of those from the Eight Trigrams Sect as she said that many of them are really insidious...”

Fang Chen agreed with a nod. ”Indeed.”

He then asked another question. ”How far is the Southern Heavenly Sect from you? And how are the forces of cultivators distributed in the Flame Empire?”

”The Southern Heavenly Sect is a major sect in the southern region of the Flame Empire. They’re considered to be one of the two strongest factions there alongside the Beast Spirit Valley, which is located in the north. There are peak Foundation Establishment Ancestors in each sect. As for our Concealed Moon Hermitage and the Eight Trigrams Sect, we can only be considered middle-tier factions in the Flame Empire. Most of the other sects only have Qi Refining Realm cultivators in charge,” explained Abbess Qing He.

”Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm,” mused Fang Chen.

It seemed that the disparity in strength between a sixth-tier empire and a seventh-tier empire was indeed significant. In the seventh-tier empire, the highest cultivation level for warriors was at the Heaven Profound Realm.

Senior Yun He once mentioned that martial artists could only be compared to cultivators at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, and in actual combat, a cultivator would be much stronger.

Abbess Qing He seemed to already know what was on Fang Chen’s mind and she explained, ”Young Master, the Flame Empire is not considered weak among the sixth-tier empires. As long as an empire has four or more Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, it can enter the ranks of sixth-tier empires.”

”Four or more... Indeed. I’m curious, who determines the tiers of these empires?” Fang Chen smiled.

Abbess Qing He’s eyes flashed with a hint of confusion. ”Ehh, maybe.... No, perhaps... It might be...” she uttered, each attempt more uncertain than the other. In the end, she was unable to figure out an answer.

”Someone probably came up with it back then before the idea received widespread acceptance. That’s how it probably came about,” suggested Fang Chen.

”Yes, yes, yes,” jabbered Abbess Qing He at that, nodding repeatedly like a little chick pecking at grains.

”Oh, by the way... do you people in the Flame Empire worship Immortals?” Fang Chen suddenly asked.

The Grand Xia believed in a certain god, and it was called the Supreme Immortal Pudu. Every temple had a statue of Supreme Immortal Pudu and it possessed a monkey-like appearance with 3 pairs of arms.

Strangely enough, the Guhe, Longdu, Yizhou, and even the Qingsons and the eighth-tier Frost Water Empire worshiped a different god.

Fang Chen had been curious about the matter for a long time now.

Abbess Qing He nodded. ”Yes. In the Flame Empire, we worship Immortal Monarch Huodao.”