Immortal of the Nine Realms

In the following days, Fang Chen stayed in the library tower and thoroughly studied the Five Elements Armored Talisman. He mentally reviewed every detail of the Dao Eight Talisman from the engraving at the beginning to the fluctuations of the spiritual energy in the middle.

Unknowingly, both Yu Qingzhi and Zhao Jiaolong arrived at the library tower and joined Hua Miaoqing to quietly observe Fang Chen from afar. ”It seems Junior Brother Fang is more interested in talismans than alchemy,” remarked Yu Qingzhi.

Hua Miaoqing smiled gently and said, ”Junior Brother Fang should join the Talisman Department. Not long ago, he defeated Ouyang Mo in a talisman duel and vastly surpassed him in the mastery of the Purple Lightning Talisman. There are over four hundred disciples in the department. With his talent, he could easily be ranked among the top four.”

”Junior Sister Hua, we already have more than enough disciples in the Talisman Department, unlike the Alchemy Department, where talent is scarce. Even with the newly recruited disciples, they only have seventy-two disciples,” responded Yu Qingzhi.

Zhao Jiaolong spoke abruptly. ”Actually, he is the Sword Leader of the Void Immortal Sword Sect. With his strength, he would be the most suited at the Combat Department.”

Yu Qingzhi and Hua Miaoqing were both surprised.

Even Zhao Jiaolong is considering recruiting him?

”Senior Brother Zhao, the Combat Department often engages in duels and the casualty rate is high. Given Junior Brother Fang’s important and sensitive status, I’m afraid he is not suited for such a dangerous position,” said Yu Qingzhi.

Zhao Jiaolong lightly shook his head and replied, ”Is there anything more important than duels? Isn’t the point of cultivation all about becoming invincible in this world?”

Yu Qingzhi and Hua Miaoqing exchanged frustrated smiles.

”Senior Brother Zhao, you seek to be invincible, but I seek immortality. I think most cultivators share the same goal as I do,” pointed out Hua Miaoqing.

”We can be invincible and immortal at the same time,” countered Zhao Jiaolong.

Yu Qingzhi tried to suppress his amusement by shifting the topic. He asked, ”Junior Sister Hua, has Junior Brother Fang really stayed in the library for the past few days?”

Hua Miaoqing smiled and confirmed, ”Yes, he is very interested in the books in the library. He’s especially interested in the Five Elements Armored Talisman. It makes sense though. Among the ten floors of the library, the Five Elements Armored Talisman has the most powerful offensive energy and is extremely versatile. The Dao Eight Talisman covers both the Profound and Yellow Ranks.

”A complete talisman set like this is much more useful than the regular Profound Rank talismans and more suitable for someone like Junior Brother Fang, who has yet to reach the Middle Three Realms.”

Yu Qingzhi pondered over her words before suggesting, ”Junior Sister Hua, do you have any spare talisman brushes, talisman papers, and cinnabars? I want to purchase a set as a gift to Junior Brother Fang.”

”No need for that. I’ve already prepared a full set of talisman-making tools of the Supreme Yellow Rank. This should suffice for Junior Brother Fang’s use,” Hua Miaoqing rejected with a smile.

Just then, Fang Chen finished the book he was reading. As he put the book down, the three of them approached.

After exchanging pleasantries, Hua Miaoqing took out the set she had prepared for Fang Chen and handed it to him. She said, ”Junior Brother Fang, you have a talent for making talismans and you may want to study this path further in the future. Although this set of talisman-making tools is not expensive, it is of Supreme Yellow Rank and would be enough to make the Yellow Rank Chapter Talisman of the Five Elements Armored Talisman. Please accept my gift.”

The set of talisman-making tools included three talisman brushes, two hundred sheets of talisman paper, and a bottle of cinnabar weighing one pound. The scent alone made it clear that it was from the third tribulation of the Nine Tribulations Cinnabar.

Fang Chen thought for a moment and then accepted the set of tools. He smiled fondly at Hua Miaoqing and thanked her.

Yu Qingzhi laughed and teased, ”Junior Brother Fang, it seems that Junior Sister Hua has a high regard for you. Not everyone gets such treatment. You two should spend more time together in the future.”

Hua Miaoqing did not catch the meaning behind Yu Qingzhi’s words at first and just smiled. However, she soon caught on. She froze for a moment. She scanned Fang Chen seriously before falling silent.

After more pleasantries, Yu Qingzhi planned to invite Fang Chen to sit with him and enjoy some tea while discussing dao. Upon learning that Fang Chen intended to go into seclusion, he did not ask.

Back at the Alchemy Department, Fang Chen saw Ning Tieniu and the Fifth Princess in a heated argument.

”Junior Brother Fang, you’re just in time! Please help us settle this!” hollered Ning Tieniu.

The Fifth Princess shot Ning Tieniu a cold look before snorting. She looked at Fang Chen and said, ”Junior Brother Fang, please have the final say in this.”

Fang Chen couldn’t help but smile. ”What’s going on?”

Ning Tieniu explained, ”A senior brother wants to buy the two waste pills from us for two hundred mid-grade spirit stones. That’s enough to help us make several breakthroughs. Now she thinks I sold them too cheaply.”

”We’ve spent these days trying to analyze the waste pills from all angles, but we aren’t competent enough to comprehend its true intent. We don’t have any alchemy experts in our family, so rather than keeping it, it’s better to sell them for some mid-grade spirit stones,” explained Ning Tieniu.

”The waste pill belongs to the Dragon Vein Pill and it is personally refined by Sir Ji. Even though it’s a waste pill, its value is certainly worth more than two hundred mid-grade spirit stones. You agreed to this, not me. If I go back on my word now, what will senior brother think of me?” yelled Fifth Princess.

Looking a little guilty, Ning Tieniu mumbled, ”I thought you would agree, so I wanted to help you sell yours....”

”Someone wants to buy the waste pills from you? Which senior brother is it?” asked Fang Chen.

”I heard his surname is Yu, but we haven’t met him yet. Another senior brother came to pass on the message,” replied Ning Tieniu.

Yu Qingzhi?

Fang Chen’s eyes shifted slightly. He said to the two ”So, you’re both planning to sell these waste pills but can’t agree on the price?”

Both of them nodded in agreement.

Fang Chen smiled and offered, ”How about this? I’ll buy the two waste pills for 200 mid-grade spirit stones. In addition, I’ll give you something of value that’s worth at least 100 mid-grade spirit stones.”

The two were puzzled to hear that.

The Fifth Princess was tempted. She asked again to make sure she understood. ”Brother Fang, you’re saying that you’ll give me 100 mid-grade spirit stones for my waste pill and something worth 100 more at a later time?”

Fang Chen nodded lightly.

The Fifth Princess happily handed the waste pill over to Fang Chen. ”Brother Fang, the waste pill is yours.”

As the Sword Leader of the Void Immortal Sword Sect, his words carried weight, so she trusted him.

Ning Tieniu also handed over his waste pill. Curious, he asked, ”Brother Fang, what do you need the waste pills for?”

He understood that some senior brothers in the Alchemy Department might want the waste pills to further their understanding of Dao pills, as their Dao pill cultivation had reached a level where such things could be useful. He couldn’t understand why Fang Chen would want them.

Fang Chen smiled and answered, ”It’ll look great as a decoration in my home.”

With that, he handed each a hundred mid-grade spirit stones and left.

”He’s definitely not putting them up for decoration. Brother Fang must have the ability to turn waste into treasure,” said Ning Tieniu firmly.

The Fifth Princess glanced at him. ”Brother Fang would never tell you. Why bother asking? You should be thinking about how to spend these spirit stones instead.”

”I’ll be using these spirit stones to condense my Nascent Soul,” huffed Ning Tieniu as he turned to leave.