Immortal of the Nine Realms

At Fang Chen’s residence, Qing Sui stood respectfully in front of Fang Chen. He had with him twelve wandering ghosts, including a young boy and a girl.

Qing Sui said in a deep voice, ”Everyone, from now on, Lord Fang will be your master, and you will be the guards of the Fang residence. I don’t need to teach you how to do your duties, do I?”

”Greetings, Lord Fang!”

The ten wandering ghosts knelt on one knee, their movements and voices perfectly synchronized. It was clear they had been well-trained.

Fang Chen smiled and asked, ”Are they soldiers you trained?”

”Indeed.” Qing Sui nodded quickly and carefully asked, ”Are you satisfied? I selected them according to your instructions.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”Not bad. I’ve led soldiers before, and I can tell you’ve put in quite a bit of effort.”

Fang Chen’s words surprised both Qing Sui and the ten wandering ghosts.

Qing Sui gave a wry smile. ”No wonder you were willing to accept this business at the price of a Yin Lifespan Coin...”

He finally understood why he had felt a sense of familiarity when he looked into Fang Chen’s eyes. He had thought it was just an illusion at first, but now he understood why he felt that way. Had it not been for that feeling, he wouldn’t have approached and interrupted Fang Chen so boldly.

The ten wandering ghosts exchanged surprised glances.

Fang Chen looked at the two young wandering souls and asked, ”You two, what are your names?”

The young wandering souls appeared quite nervous. The boy, his voice low, answered, ”Lord, my name is Fang Yuan, and my younger sister is Fang Xi.”

Fang Chen smiled. ”You are siblings? And you carry the same surname as me too? From now on, you will live here. You’ll be responsible for cleaning the house and doing chores. Is that alright?”

Fang Yuan quickly nodded. ”No problem. Please rest assured. When our parents weren’t home, my sister and I would clean the house ourselves.”

”What happened to your parents?” asked Fang Chen.

Fang Yuan’s gaze dimmed. ”They died, killed by Yin demons.”

Qing Sui interjected, ”Their parents were once members of the Nether Guards Division. A few years ago, they went out of the city to fight Yin demons and unfortunately died in battle. I saw that these two were quite sensible, so I decided to take them in to serve you.”

Fang Chen nodded gently, then changed the subject. ”I’ve heard that in Youhuan City, many wandering souls and Yin Walkers worship the Spirit God?”

Qing Sui smiled. ”Yes, the Spirit God is quite effective. Many people were already followers of the Spirit God before they died. While I wouldn’t say thirty percent of the wandering ghosts in Youhuan City believe in the Spirit God, at least twenty percent do. They believe worshiping the Spirit God gives them a chance at reincarnation.”

Fang Chen smiled. ”Is the Spirit God also effective in the Underworld?”

Qing Sui thought for a moment and then replied, ”I’m not sure if the Spirit God is effective in the Underworld, but I do know that the followers of the Spirit God help each other. As a result, they’ve formed a powerful faction.”

After a pause, he glanced at Fang Chen. ”The guy surnamed Ma was also a follower of the Spirit God.”

Fang Chen nodded lightly.

Qing Sui shared in a low voice, ”I’ve heard that in other cities, there are many followers of the Spirit God, some of whom hold… very high-ranking positions. It’s even rumored that there are people who believe in the Spirit God in the capital city….”

Fang Chen’s smile widened. ”It seems this Spirit God is quite effective. I wonder where I can worship Him.”

”You want to worship the Spirit God too? There are hundreds of Spirit God temples scattered in Youhuan City, big and small. There’s one just down the street. If you wish to go, I can show you the way,” Qing Sui offered.

Fang Chen nodded. ”Let’s take a look.”

Soon, the two walked through streets and alleys, arriving in front of a temple. At that moment, many wandering souls were coming in and out.

Fang Chen and the others followed the crowd into the temple and immediately noticed a statue of a deity placed in the distant main hall.

Fang Chen slightly furrowed his brow. ”Why does the Spirit God’s statue have no face?”

Qing Sui was surprised. ”Lord, the Spirit God’s statue has always been faceless.”

At that moment, an elderly man overheard Fang Chen and Qing Sui’s conversation. He smiled and interjected, ”Do you wish to worship the Spirit God? If so, it must be done with sincerity. One day, the Spirit God will reveal His power.”

The elderly man then respectfully entered the main hall. He knelt in front of the statue of the Spirit God and then sincerely performed a ritual. As he did, a wisp of Yin energy continuously entered the statue.

Other believers followed suit.

In the past, Fang Chen would have thought this was merely the power of incense. However, he quickly discovered something else upon closer inspection.

The so-called incense offerings, aren’t they just karma?

Fang Chen turned and walked away. ”Let’s go.”

Qing Sui was secretly surprised.

Why didn’t he enter the temple after coming here? Did he come here only to see the Spirit God’s statue?

As Fang Chen passed the residence, he instructed, ”You all go back for now. I’ll take a walk elsewhere. There’s no need for you to follow me.”

He then walked into the distance before anyone could respond, his figure mysteriously disappearing.

***

By the Forgotten River.

Fang Chen thought of Grand Xia. Suddenly, a bridge appeared across the otherwise formless Forgotten River, materializing before Fang Chen.

Fang Chen mused thoughtfully, ”The Nether Monarch Battle Armor must be what’s granting me this ability.”

Ever since he had received the imperial decree, some strange information would sporadically appear in his mind.

Fang Chen stepped onto the arch bridge and walked for about a hundred or so paces before he saw a city faintly appearing in the distance.

There were some souls walking with him on the bridge. Some of them had deathly pale faces, seemingly unable to accept that they were dead, while others were excitedly chatting with their loved ones, seemingly unafraid of death.

Fang Chen looked back only to find that the path he had taken had already disappeared. Instead, he saw a yellow spring road. However, it wasn’t the one leading to Youhuan City.

The Underworld was full of strange and mysterious things.

Before long, Fang Chen stopped in front of a city gate. The city, which looked rather shabby, had three gilded characters displayed above it; Baiyue City.

Suddenly, a wandering soul stopped in his tracks and looked at Fang Chen with disbelief. ”A-Are you General Fang?”

The soul appeared to be around seventy or eighty years old, with a middle-aged soul standing beside him, likely his son.

Fang Chen looked at the elderly wandering soul. ”Old man, who are you?”

The elderly wandering soul was stunned and muttered to himself, ”You’re truly General Fang... How could you be here? You shouldn’t be…”

”Father, you must have mistaken him. I’ve heard that General Fang has become an immortal long ago. How could he appear in the Underworld?”

The middle-aged soul whispered, trying to comfort him. ”Let’s go into the city. Mother has been waiting for you for many years. Don’t make her wait too long.”

”Yes, yes, I must have been mistaken. Apologies, apologies.”

The elderly wandering soul regained his senses. He smiled wryly and bowed before following the middle-aged soul into Baiyue City.

”He must have been a subject from the capital of Grand Xia in his past life, so he didn’t go off track.”

Fang Chen pondered for a moment before walking toward the city. However, as he reached the city gate, a city guard stopped him.

The guard stared at Fang Chen suspiciously for a long time, before suddenly asking, ”Are you surnamed Fang?”

Fang Chen gave the guard a once-over and calmly said, ”You’re a close guard of Xia Yu....”