Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Ancestor, this is indeed a Three Solar Fruit, right? Its aura is quite impressive. Even Young Master Gai wanted to buy it but was refused by Young Master Fang, who insisted on gifting it to you as a gesture of reciprocity,” Langya Da Zhao said with great anticipation.

If it was a real Three Solar Fruit, the Langya clan’s prosperity could be extended for years to come!

The others tensely looked at the Three Solar Fruit. They were a bundle of nerves at this moment.

Langya Xing Zhou examined the fruit for a while before slowly nodding. ”It is indeed a Three Solar Fruit. I have seen this fruit with my own eyes before; there is no mistake.”

He turned to Langya Da Zhao. ”You say this Three Solar Fruit was given to me by Young Master Fang?”

Langya Da Zhao nodded vigorously. ”Yes, yes, yes!”

Langya Xing Zhou couldn’t help but exclaim, ”Young Master Fang is truly thoughtful....”

”Da Zhao, did Young Master Fang really refuse Young Master Gai’s offer?” asked one of the Fusion Realm elders with a furrowed brow. ”Could this anger Young Master Gai and cause him to retaliate against our clan?”

”Since Young Master Fang didn’t have qualms about refusing him, we shouldn’t worry about it,” Langya Xing Zhou replied with a faint smile.

At that moment, a new group of cultivators, their auras indicating they were at the Fusion Realm, approached.

”May I ask, which one of you is Langya Batian?”

They had appeared unexpectedly, causing some surprise among the crowd.

Langya Xing Zhou, puzzled, asked, ”May I ask who you are?”

”Oh, we are from Heavenly King Zhen Manor,” the leader replied.

The leading cultivator smiled politely and scanned the room before asking again, ”May I ask which one of you is Langya Batian?”

All eyes turned to an elder in the Middle Three Realms.

The elder looked puzzled. However, he answered, ”I am Langya Batian. What’s the matter?”

”The young master requests your presence,” the leading cultivator replied.

Gai Hong has invited him? The Langya clan’s cultivators were even more confused. Why would Gai Hong invite a side branch elder from the Langya clan rather than Langya Xing Zhou? Furthermore, Langya Batian’s cultivation was not very high, only at the late stage of the Enlightenment Realm.

”May I ask if the young master mentioned why he wants to see him?” Langya Xing Zhou asked politely, glancing at Langya Batian.

”The young master did not specify the reason. We are only following his orders. I suggest we don’t keep the young master waiting,” the cultivator replied.

”Batian, go and see what the young master wants. Heed the customs and don’t offend the young master,” Langya Xing Zhou said with a nod.

”Understood,” Langya Batian agreed readily.

Once he was taken aboard the Immortal Boat, he was immediately restrained by the Fusion Realm cultivator.

Langya Batian grew shocked and angry. ”What are you doing?!”

”You’ll find out soon enough. Take him away,” the Fusion Realm cultivator said coldly.

After Langya Batian was taken away, the cultivator returned to where Fang Chen and the others were having tea. He approached Gai Hong and quietly said, ”Young master, we handled it.”

”Good,” Gai Hong responded with a smile and a nod.

Fang Chen glanced at Jiang Tian’ai and Langya Wenqiu and said, ”You two should head back first. I have some matters to discuss with Young Master Gai.”

The two women were slightly taken aback and looked at him with puzzled expressions. However, they didn’t ask any further. As Jiang Tian’ai was leaving, she repeatedly reminded Fang Chen not to leave without saying goodbye, saying she would be waiting for him at the Cloud Platform.

”Young Master Gai, aren’t you afraid that the Spirit Blood Sect will learn about your identity if you take action against Langya Batian right now?”

Once the two women left, Fang Chen chuckled softly.

”What is there to be afraid of? If even Goddess Shen Ji isn’t afraid, how could I, Gai Hong, be scared?” Gai Hong said with a faint smile. ”You figured out my identity, did you?”

Fang Chen nodded.

Gai Hong had already suspected when he asked Jiang Tian’ai, especially since he knew Fang Chen had been in Grand Qian with Jiang Tian’ai, and Goddess Shen Ji had appeared there as well. Thus, it was not difficult to guess his identity as a member of the Killing Spiritual Division. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have immediately ordered someone to act upon hearing about Langya Batian.

Fang Chen was curious though... Was he not worried about his identity being exposed and attracting the Spirit Blood Sect’s attention?

”Talking to someone like you is quite easy.” Gai Hong chuckled. ”Your title in the Killing Spiritual Division should be ’Eternity Heavenly Sage,’ right? After the Hidden Cloud Region incident, the Killing Spiritual Division recruited several new members, and among them, only Eternity Heavenly Sage made the greatest contributions.

”Besides that, you were the first to suspect the Spirit Blood Sect in the Gai Wu matter... Your keen sense in this regard is unmatched. No wonder Goddess Shen Ji values you so much and recruited you into the Killing Spiritual Division”

Fang Chen revealed a hint of a smile, ”The one who recruited me wasn’t her.”

”Not her?” Gai Hong was slightly taken aback, his face showing a hint of embarrassment. He stood up and said, ”Let’s not dwell on that. Would you like to come with me to meet Langya Batian? Are you sure he’s a Spirit Blood Sect practitioner?”

”Not certain, but he is connected to this matter. Originally, the Immortal Qin Clan ancestor planned to use a Three Solar Fruit to befriend the Baichuan Clan. However, the Spirit Blood Sect practitioner Qin Nie intended to give the Three Solar Fruit to Langya Batian,” Fang Chen replied.

”Doesn’t matter. I have a way to find out the truth. If he has taken the Spirit Blood Pill, he won’t be able to hide it,” Gai Hong said with a smile. ”Let’s go and have a look.”

”And if he isn’t?” Fang Chen asked.

”If he isn’t, then so be it. Would the Langya Clan still dare to get angry with me?” Gai Hong replied nonchalantly.

Fang Chen nodded slightly and followed Gai Hong to the depths of the Immortal Boat. There was a prison specifically designed for holding practitioners.

Upon entering the prison, Fang Chen could even faintly feel a force suppressing the spiritual energy within him.

”Fellow Cultivator Fang? You arrived just in time. Tell Gai Hong if there’s been some misunderstanding,” Langya Batian said with a look of surprise upon seeing Fang Chen.

”Before I ask you anything, I’d like you to obediently take this pill,” Gai Hong said, tossing a pill to Langya Batian.

”What is this!?” Langya Batian asked, his expression filled with suspicion.

”Will this pill determine his identity?” Fang Chen asked, curious.

”Yes. If he has taken the Spirit Blood Pill, consuming this pill will control his soul and force him to truthfully reveal everything.”

”Of course, if he isn’t, the pill will have no effect on him whatsoever,” Gai Hong said with a smile. ”This pill was specially developed by a master alchemist Heavenly King Zhen Manor invited, specifically targeting the Spirit Blood Sect.”

”No wonder... Is this item extremely rare, which is why it hasn’t been distributed to the various Killing Spiritual Division practitioners?” Fang Chen asked.

”That’s right. The materials needed to refine this pill are quite rare. Some are found only in the depths of the Immortal Demonic Sea, and others only grow in Northern Dipper and Celestial Heaven. They are not easy to obtain, so we can only use them sparingly,” Gai Hong explained.

Listening to their conversation, Langya Batian’s expression grew increasingly grim.

”Fellow cultivators, I have nothing to do with the Spirit Blood Sect. You must be mistaken,” he said in a deep voice.

”If you have nothing to do with it, taking this pill will prove everything,” Gai Hong smirked. ”Hurry up. Don’t waste my time. Does the Giant Antler Empire not need me to preside over things?”

Langya Batian was silent for a few moments, then finally crushed the pill in his hand, shouting angrily, ”I have nothing to do with the Spirit Blood Sect. Don’t think you can detain me just because of your special status. My ancestor will definitely report this to the heavenly court!”

”Fellow Cultivator Fang, see? I told you that figuring out their identity is quite simple. After all, not everyone in the Spirit Blood Sect is smart,” Gai Hong said, showing no anger at the crushing of the pill, but rather a contemptuous smile.

Fang Chen clicked his tongue. ”It seems this pill is fake.”

”What!? Fake!?”

Langya Batian was immediately stunned, his face turning beet red with anger and humiliation.

He had been tricked!