Immortal of the Nine Realms

The Spirit Void City Lord was taken aback, but after a moment, he laughed heartily. ”If it’s someone lost in the middle of the vast ocean, I might not be able to help you. But if he’s within the borders of the Flame Empire, I can definitely help you find him,” he said. “Passing Dragon Island Master, who are you looking for? Do you know their name, or where are they from?”

”If I knew all that my Sea Dragon Sect wouldn’t have asked you for help.”

The smile on the face of the Spirit Void Citylord stiffened, but immediately a more enthusiastic smile appeared. ”Passing Dragon Island Master, I’ll be honest with you. I have some connections in Qingzhou. So, as long as he’s in there, it shouldn’t be difficult to find him.”

“I am not sure if he is in Qingzhou or not,” said the Passing Dragon Island Master. “He injured one of my sect’s disciples. I want to find him so I can get to the bottom of this. If you can find him, that will be for the best. If not... then that’s fine as well. I’ll just go out and see an old friend.”

”Who would dare to injure a disciple of the Sea Dragon Sect?” The Spirit Void Citylord was shocked. Which Flame Empire cultivator would be crazy enough to do something like that? This was simply asking for trouble for their sect. After all, even the imperial family wouldn’t dare to say anything if the Sea Dragon Sect uprooted a sect.

”It’s a junior,” replied Passing Dragon Island Master.

”Does that junior have an impressive cultivation level? Otherwise, Passing Dragon Island Master, you wouldn’t be here personally! Everyone knows about the nine island masters of the Sea Dragon Sect, and you rank among the top three!” probed the Spirit Void Citylord.

Having a late-stage Foundation Building expert run around to settle a few affairs? How could those affairs be simple, then? The Spirit Void Citylord was afraid that this was all a pile of trouble with no benefit to him.

”You needn’t probe further. That person’s cultivation should be at the early or mid-stage Foundation Building at most. As long as we find him, I can easily deal with him without causing you any trouble,” said the Passing Dragon Island Master lightly. ”Besides, you have the support of the imperial family, who are on good terms with certain sects in the fifth-tier empires. What do you have to fear with such a backing?”

The Spirit Void Citylord breathed a sigh of relief. If it were only an ordinary cultivator at the early or mid-stage of the Foundation Building Realm, it wouldn’t matter. It seemed that the Sea Dragon Sect wasn’t overly wary of this person either, considering he had the backing of the imperial family of the Flame Empire.

”This is him.” The Passing Dragon Island Master took out a jade slip, and with an infusion of a bit of his spiritual energy, Fang Chen immediately appeared before the Spirit Void Citylord. “I will be staying in Spirit Void City for seven days. If you aren’t able to find him within those seven days, I’ll leave.”

The Spirit Void Citylord immediately nodded. ”No problem, I’ll do my best to find him for you, Passing Dragon Island Master.” He then swept his sleeve, and dozens of paper cranes flew into the air, circling around.

”Remember his appearance. Relay my words to everyone: find this individual,” said the Spirit Void Citylord lightly. The paper cranes circled for a while before transforming into white light rays and dispersing in all directions.

”Please rest assured, Passing Dragon Island Master. I have not only informed the Citylords in the Qingzhou area but also sent messages to major sects. They will all assist in the search,” said the Spirit Void Citylord with a smile.

The Passing Dragon Island Master cupped his fist. “Many thanks.”

***

Fang Chen and Abbess Qing He arrived at the foot of Mount Spirit Void, located to the south of Spirit Void City. The place was bustling with people, and many vendors were busy with their stalls.

Fang Chen and Abbess Qing He were just about to scale the mountain when they were stopped by several guards. These guards were quite powerful, all in the Heaven Profound Stage.

“Unauthorized personnel are not allowed further entry.”

”Why doesn’t your Concealed Moon Hermitage have a few guards like these?” asked Fang Chen with a smile.

”Master said it’s not worth it. It would only be a waste of resources,” whispered Abbess Qing He back.

The guards were slightly surprised and exchanged glances before one of them politely asked, ”May I ask who you are?”

”We are here to take over the Spirit Void Sect,” replied Fang Chen casually.

”Take over the Spirit Void Sect, you say?”

Looks of disbelief could be seen on their faces. They couldn’t help but think they’d misheard Fang Chen.

”You heard that right. We are here to take over the Spirit Void Sect. This has nothing to do with you guys. Please step aside,” said Fang Chen.

The guards appeared doubtful, and the next moment, they turned and ran up the mountain as quickly as possible.

Seeing this, Fang Chen brought Abbess Qing He on a stroll up the mountain.

”Why didn’t you try and catch them by surprise?” asked Abbess Qing He, puzzled. Wouldn’t going up slowly give them time to prepare?

”It’s better to deal with everyone at once. The more prepared they are, the easier it will be for us to wipe them all out,” said Fang Chen.

Abbess Qing He immediately understood.

The Spirit Void Sect had a total of sixty-eight cultivators, half of whom were inner disciples and the other half were outer disciples. Many of them were once wandering cultivators, but their decent cultivation levels caught the attention of the Spirit Void Sect Master, who allowed them to join the sect as attendants. Apart from the Spirit Void Sect Master, who had been in the Foundation Building Realm, there were also several elders, but their cultivation was only at the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. They didn’t have any hope of reaching the Foundation Building Realm without the help of certain pills.

Several Heaven Profound guards ran to the entrance of the Spirit Void Sect and yelled at the experts responsible for defenses.

”Master Chen, there’s trouble!”

The gatekeeping disciple frowned. He coldly scolded them. ”Speak properly! What’s with all this ruckus? If people hear you, they might think we’re getting wiped out or something!”

Although he was only at the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and couldn’t defeat even those ordinary guards in a real fight, as a cultivator, his pride naturally ran deep. Faced with ordinary guards, he would never let go of his dignity.

The Heaven Profound Stage guards looked somewhat panicked. One of them lowered his voice and said, ”Master Chen, earlier, two people arrived at the foot of the mountain. One of them seems to be a disciple of the Concealed Moon Hermitage, and the other, we don’t know anything about. But he claimed that he’s here to take over the Spirit Void Sect!”

The gatekeeping disciple sneered. ”Concealed Moon Hermitage? Master’s old friend is Abbess Zhu Yue of Concealed Moon Hermitage. You’ve seen her a few times before, so why all this fuss?”

The Heaven Profound guards fell silent, staring blankly at him.

A moment later, however, the disciple recalled the second half of their statement, and, suspicious, he said, ”What did you just say? He said he’s here to take over our Spirit Void Sect?”

The several Heaven Profound guards nodded like chickens pecking at rice.

The disciple’s heart sank.

In the cultivation world, saying such words when entering someone else’s territory almost always indicated the prelude of a massive battle. He couldn’t afford to be negligent. He sternly ordered the Heaven Profound Stage guards to guard the entrance well before rushing into the sect.

”Emergency! Emergency! Someone’s here to wipe out our sect!”

”Junior Brother Chen, what’s with all the commotion? Someone’s coming to wipe us out? Who would be so bold!”

”Junior Brother Chen, what are you shouting for? You can eat up all the nonsense you want, but don’t go around spreading that crap!”

The disciples of the Spirit Void Sect who witnessed the scene immediately started to reprimand him.

The next moment, an old man with a white beard, followed by several cultivators, flew over and landed in front of the Junior Brother Chen. ”What did you just say?”

”Elder!”

The gatekeeping disciple quickly replied, ”Earlier, the guards stationed at the foot of the mountain said that someone had come to take over our sect!”

The elder who appeared was the former sect master, and he was an expert in the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Since the Spirit Void Sect Master wasn’t around, he was in charge.