Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Grandpa.”

”Father. Mother.”

”Second Uncle.”

One by one, Fang Chen paid his respects to his family members before asking curiously, ”Where is that little sister of mine?”

Fang Canghai smiled. ”She went to Prince Xiang’s manor; she’s been getting along well with Prince Xiang’s sixth daughter recently.”

Fang Chen nodded, his gaze falling on Fang Zhentian. The old man’s cultivation had improved, and it seemed he had already condensed his second immortal vein.

Fang Canghai and his wife, as well as Fang Cangyou, had yet to condense their immortal veins.

”How are you feeling, Grandpa?”

”Not bad. My cultivation speed has increased by quite a bit because of the spirit stones you’ve given me,” said Fang Zhentian. ”How did things go at the capital?”

Fang Chen recounted everything that had happened, including the appearance of the Spirit Marrow. He also spoke about how various immortal sects had come to recruit disciples and how he, Abbess Zhen Yue, and Elder Jin Nan had worked together to kill the Foundation Building Realm cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect. Then he talked about how he had killed Xia Yu, Xiao Shence, and several others.

The more he spoke, the more the faces of his family turned solemn. They didn’t expect that so much had happened in such a short time.

Unable to help himself, Fang Canghai snapped indignantly, ”Xia Yu was definitely muddle-headed. To think that he, the crown prince, would actually collude with outsiders to harm the citizens of Grand Xia!”

Fang Cangyou nodded, his brow furrowed. ”Good riddance.”

Fang Zhentian nodded slowly. ”Now that the Foundation Building Realm cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect is dead, we can finally let this matter rest. Grand Xia should be safe in the short term,” he said. ”It’s a surprise, however, that Ancestor Xia Yu had joined the Heavenly Southern Sect at one point. I remember he was always obsessed with immortality, and he would repeatedly seek out a path toward it. Looks like he was finally able to do it.”

”It’s just a bit regrettable that we weren’t in the capital when the Spirit Marrow appeared.” Fang Cangyou looked regretful. ”If I had been there, I could have benefited from it, too. I reckon I would’ve been able to condense my first immortal vein if I was there....”

”You can’t force things when it comes to cultivation. If you have it, you have it; if you don’t, you don’t,” said Fang Zhentian casually. ”Even if you can’t condense an immortal vein, relying on the Purple Qi Manual can still help you cultivate and nourish your body, benefiting your martial cultivation.”

”That’s right. Also, if you can reach the Heavenly Profound Stage, Second Uncle, you’ll be stronger than the average Qi Refining cultivator,” added Fang Chen. After a pause, a solemn expression appeared on Fang Chen’s face.

Everyone sensed that something was amiss.

”Is there something wrong, Chen’er?” asked Fang Canghai.

”Aunt... she was taken away by Xia Xuanji.”

Fang Canghai and the others felt their faces fall.

After the shock, came anger. Fang Cangyou’s face turned blood red, and he roared, “That bastard! Could he be a cultivator, too? Did he take my sister away to threaten you?!”

Fang Zhentian, however, remained relatively calm. ”Don’t panic, if he took Cangyue away, he won’t harm her unless he’s confident in dealing with Chen’er.”

Fang Canghai clenched his fists till they turned white. ”Chen’er, is there no way for us to find them? I never expected Xia Xuanji’s schemes to run so deep. To think that he’d take his own son for a pawn!” he growled.

Pondering it over for a moment, Fang Chen shook his head slightly. ”As long as he is determined to hide his tracks, it’ll be difficult to find them.”

”Since he’s from the royal family, he will have to return to the Grand Xia sooner or later.” Fang Zhentian said indifferently, ”When that time comes, I will personally discuss this matter with him.”

Fang Cangyou, who was initially somewhat reluctant to cultivate, suddenly made up his mind. He wanted to work hard and practice the Purple Qi Manual assiduously. He’d give Xia Xuanji a piece of his mind the next time they met!

”Grandpa,” called Fang Chen, “Ancestor Xia Yu has invited me to go somewhere with him. I plan to go and take a look. Here are three hundred low-grade spirit stones for you. Here, take this Spiritual Measuring Bell too”. Fang Chen took out three hundred low-grade spirit stones from his spatial ring, leaving only three hundred for himself in case he needed a few. He also handed over the spatial ring left by the Spirit Blood Sect’s Foundation Building Realm expert to Fang Zhentian.

Seeing the spatial ring, Fang Zhentian immediately became interested. Such items were quite convenient and it would make his life much easier.

Seeing the small bell in Fang Zhentian’s hand, Fang Cangyou grew curious and rolled his wheelchair forward to take a closer look. ”Is this ‘Spiritual Measuring Bell’ the item you mentioned that can test one’s aptitude in cultivation?”

Glancing at his uncle’s legs, Fang Chen couldn’t help but feel that this uncle of his sure had some strange tastes. He was still pretending even now, in front of Fang Zhentian.

He threw the matter to the back of his mind, and, smiling, he replied, ”Yes, but it’s a bit damaged, and it can’t be used too many times. We’ll call Zhixue back and you can all test you aptitudes together. If you encounter anyone with potential for cultivation in the future, you can go ahead and test them, but try to use it sparingly. If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll bring back a better Spiritual Measuring Bell.”

Fang Canghai immediately ordered someone to call Fang Zhixue back.

They had been planning to wait for Fang Zhixue to return before starting the testing, but as they were quite curious, they couldn’t help but start ahead of her.

Everyone took turns using the Spiritual Measuring Bell.

The results were sadly not satisfactory.

Fang Canghai and his wife had no aptitude for cultivation what-so-ever, and Fang Cangyou was only able to chime it twice.

”Is it possible that our Fang Family members have such poor aptitudes? Big brother and sister-in-law actually have no talent for cultivation?” muttered Fang Cangyou.

”It’s fine.” Fang Canghai, on the other hand, sighed in relief. Holding his wife’s hand, he smiled at Fang Zhentian and said, ”Dad, the two of us won’t be here to accompany you in the future. We plan to travel in the southern region and have a look around.”

”It’s fine if you go, but bring some people with you. Your identities are special. I’m afraid someone might plot against you so as to make a move against Chen’er,” said Fang Zhentian casually.

Fang Canghai smiled. ”No problem. Chen’er gave me some Purple Lightning Talismans a while back. Even if we meet an expert in the Qi Refining Realm, he won’t be able to do a thing to us!” After a pause, he focused his attention on Fang Cangyou. ”Second Brother, since you have talent for cultivation, don’t waste it. Regardless of how far you can go in the future, having one more cultivator in the Fang Family is an advantage for all of us.”

Fang Cangyou nodded heavily. ”Yes, Big Brother.”

Fang Chen smiled and said, ”Grandpa, it’s your turn.”

”Me?” Fang Zhentian’s lips curled upwards slightly. ”I won’t use the Spiritual Measuring Bell. It might affect my state of mind and damage my Dao heart. How far I can go on this path depends on myself. The Spiritual Measuring Bell won’t influence that.”

Fang Chen found himself silent for a few moments at that. Then, he nodded slightly.

About an hour passed.

The servant who had gone to the city to find Fang Zhixue came back scrambling. He carried unsavory news. Fang Zhixue had been kidnapped!

Xia Song, the son of Pring Xiang, came with the servant.

Xia Song was drenched in cold sweat. When he saw Fang Chen and the others, his face turned even paler. ”Duke Fang, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with us.”

Fang Chen snorted coldly, his eyes piercing. ”My sister went to your manor and was abducted. You dare tell me that you have nothing to do with it?”

Xia Song knelt on the ground with a thud, his head hung low. He quivered like a leaf in the wind. ”Please, Duke Fang, my father has sent people to search everywhere. We will surely find Young Lady Zhixue’s whereabouts.”

”Get up,” said Fang Chen offhandedly. “ I already have an idea of where she is.”

Xia Song was slightly surprised. Did Fang Chen already know who was behind this?

Xia Song couldn’t help but feel relieved. His father had told him earlier that if Fang Chen had even the slightest suspicion that they were the ones behind Fang Zhixue’s kidnapping, they would be in for a lot of trouble!

“Are you familiar with a scholar who’s around thirty years old and blind in one eye?” asked Fang Chen.

Xia Song was taken aback, and a thread of disbelief flashed in his eyes.

”Him?!”