Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Senior Sister, the meat of this black dragon fish is delicate and truly one of the finest delicacies in the world. I’ll catch a few more and make soup for you later.”

”Maybe not. We haven’t even condensed our Golden Cores yet, so the black dragon fish isn’t very useful for us. It wouldn’t be good to waste such a precious resource.”

”It’s not like it costs anything; the Corrosive Dragon King’s residence doesn’t lack black dragon fish at all,” Xia Ji said, pouting.

Wu Ruochou glanced at him, helplessly smiling as if she were looking at a younger sibling who hadn’t grown up yet.

”I think you should catch a couple and make soup for me,” Fang Chen said, sitting down beside Xia Ji.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, a knowing smile appeared on Xia Ji’s face. He turned to Fang Chen and said, ”I was wondering when you’d figure out I was in the capital. It seems your sources are quite reliable, Fang Da.”

Wu Ruochou also smiled, saying, ”Young Master Fang, it’s been a while.”

Her eyes carried a hint of curiosity as she looked at Fang Chen.

Ever since coming to the capital, she had heard quite a few rumors about Fang Chen.

Although his background was often looked down upon and even despised by various circles in the capital, he had indeed accomplished several significant feats.

Recalling the time in the Grand Qian when Fang Chen’s cultivation wasn’t very high, she remembered how he had dealt with the Spirit Blood Sect and killed everyone in his way.

At that time, she thought Fang Chen was already dead, but Xia Ji had constantly insisted that Fang Chen wouldn’t be so easily killed.

Fang Chen laughed. ”It’s been a long time, Senior Sister Wu. Xia Ji hasn’t bullied you, has he?”

Xia Ji immediately protested, ”How could I bully Senior Sister Wu? Among all the women in the world, besides my mother, the one I respect the most is Senior Sister Wu.”

Wu Ruochou shook her head with a smile. ”You two continue chatting; I’ll go prepare some food.”

”Thank you for that, Senior Sister,” Xia Ji said with a grin.

Once Wu Ruochou left, Xia Ji continued, ”Fang Da, you probably didn’t expect what I encountered after what you did in Grand Qian. Ever since I coincidentally came to the Central Continent with Senior Sister Wu, it feels like I’ve been led by the nose, all the way to the North.”

He paused for a moment. ”No, actually, we might have already been led by the nose just to get to the Central Continent.”

A serious expression appeared on Fang Chen’s face as he considered an unusual possibility. ”The Corrosive Dragon King?”

Xia Ji looked at Fang Chen with some surprise. ”How did you guess? Even I could never have imagined that a celestial being would be connected to me.”

Fang Chen chuckled. ”Other than the Corrosive Dragon King, I can’t think of anyone else. Did he take an interest in you by chance?”

Xia Ji showed a hint of self-deprecation. ”What could he possibly see in me? Did he take a liking to my soup? My aptitude is quite ordinary. After staying at the Corrosive Dragon King’s residence and consuming various spirit herbs and pills for these years, I’m still only at the peak of Foundation Building Realm, just a small step away from forming my Golden Core.”

”Surely it can’t be your looks that he’s interested in? Although I must say, you’re quite handsome,” Fang Chen teased.

Xia Ji chuckled lightly. ”If only it were for my looks! It wouldn’t matter whether it’s a man or a woman; after all, he’s an Immortal King. Even a bit of his leftovers would be enough for me to live comfortably for a lifetime.”

He paused for a moment as a grim look appeared on his face. ”When I saw my adoptive father that day, I was truly startled.”

Fang Chen put away his smile. ”Why?”

Since even Xia Ji said he was startled, it must mean that the situation had to be quite extraordinary.

”Why? Because he looks exactly like my father! Uh, well, there are some subtle differences,” Xia Ji replied.

He glanced at Fang Chen and couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the shock on Fang Chen’s face. ”I guessed you would be taken aback too.”

Fang Chen nodded gravely. ”I am rather startled.”

The Corrosive Dragon King, an Ascended Realm cultivator, an Immortal King, looks exactly like Xia Xuanji?

It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

The odds of such coincidences in the cultivation world are millions of times smaller than the chance of an ordinary person ascending to immortality overnight.

”He looks like my father and even took me as his adopted son. My thoughts are just like yours right now.” Xia Ji sighed softly. ”Perhaps these two are the same person.”

Fang Chen frowned. ”Those in the Soul Splitting Realm can indeed split their divine souls, but... when it comes to merging into the Fusion Realm, they must reunite; otherwise, they can’t reach the Fusion Realm, let alone the Dao Union Realm.”

”There are countless immortal techniques in the world. I’ve looked into some records, and there are rumors of an ancient technique in the Daoist sect called Severing Three Corpses which is somewhat similar to Divine Separation.

”If successful, they could ascend and become an immortal. Moreover, they would become a major immortal directly.

”In addition to that, there are some other less common immortal techniques that are also related to creating a clone.”

Fang Chen looked at Xia Ji. ”Are you suspecting that the Corrosive Dragon King practiced one of those techniques and that your father in Grand Xia is one of his clones?”

Xia Ji nodded gently. ”Initially, I had such suspicions, but the more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Why Grand Xia?”

Fang Chen revealed a thoughtful expression. ”Why Grand Xia?”

Indeed, why Grand Xia?

As an Immortal King, was it really necessary for Xia Xuanji to have his stay clone in Grand Xia? What could he gain from staying there? That was just a remote place with depleted spiritual energy, where even Qi Refining Realm cultivators were unwilling to stay and establish a cave dwelling.

Moreover, if that had been one of his clones, how could an Immortal King’s clone have been so weak?

Xia Ji sighed. ”If we can figure this out, then all my previous speculations would hold water. If not, they will always remain just speculations.”

”This matter involves an Immortal King. Relying solely on your own investigations might be difficult. Perhaps I could ask some seniors in the Void Immortal Sword Sect; they might know something,” Fang Chen suggested.

Xia Ji showed a light smile. ”Let’s put that aside for now. I just want to remind you, if there’s nothing pressing, don’t go to the North Continent. If our speculation holds true, you might be in danger.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”You’re not here by choice, are you? Your situation doesn’t seem very good.”

Xia Ji sighed again softly. ”You noticed too? Have you encountered Steward Jiang? Let me tell you, that effeminate man is truly annoying. If it weren’t for his background, I would have thrown him out long ago.”

”Why did the Corrosive Dragon King make you serve in the capital?”

”Why? He wants me to marry a princess from the royal family. You know me, I have no grand ambitions. I just escaped from that kind of environment; how could I possibly go back?” Xia Ji chuckled lightly. ”That princess doesn’t have any good feelings for me anyway, which is even better. I’ll just bide my time until I find an opportunity to leave the capital and roam the world with my master.”

Fang Chen gently patted Xia Ji’s shoulder. ”I heard one of the guards at your residence say something quite insightful earlier: perhaps the purpose of cultivating immortality is to control one’s fate. So if you want true freedom, you must become stronger.

”The capital has abundant resources, and with the Corrosive Dragon King’s support, you should take advantage of it. With your abilities, who among your peers could possibly be your opponent? They simply can’t compare to you.”

At that moment, a voice with a croaky tone suddenly rang out from not far away, sounding quite astonished. ”You... When did you get in here! Damn it, capture him! Capture him!”