Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Indeed, there are truly ghosts in this world. Sister Qinghe’s ability to converse with souls isn’t just a rumor....”

Emerging from his corpse as a soul, the young prince initially looked bewildered. However, he soon turned toward Fang Chen, his eyes spitting venom.

He whispered into Fang Chen’s ear, his words tinged with deep hatred. ”When you killed me today, you didn’t consider that the Underworld exists. Even as a ghost, I still have a chance to cultivate. Sooner or later, you will die by my hands.”

Fang Chen turned his head to look at the young prince. ”Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you became a ghost?”

Huh?!

The young prince was startled. He stumbled back a few steps, disbelievingly staring at Fang Chen. ”Y-you can see me!?”

He can see ghosts and spirits too?!

The others couldn’t see the young prince’s soul, but they could hear Fang Chen apparently speaking to him, which surprised them.

Only Sister Zhu Yue seemed a little contemplative. Her disciple, Qinghe, had often spoken with spirits in her presence. However, she never imagined that Fang Chen could also do the same.

Could it be his eyes? Sister Zhu Yue speculated.

The young prince quickly recovered from his shock. ”So what if you can see me? Now that we’ve been separated by life and death, you cannot harm me!”

A cold sneer surfaced on his face as he looked at Fang Chen. ”I don’t care what background you have. Just remember my words. I will always be thinking of you, constantly plotting against you. You will have to sleep with one eye open, because you’ll see me at the head of your bed, tormenting you, making it impossible for you to cultivate day and night....”

Fang Chen lightly stamped his foot, and a bewildered Li Badao appeared in front of the young prince. He was shirtless and had obvious kiss marks all over him. His eyes even appeared foggy; he looked like he was tipsy.

Li Badao reacted very quickly this time, turning his head toward Fang Chen and kneeling to salute. ”Greetings, my lord!”

The young prince stared dumbfounded at Li Badao, who was emanating dense yin energy. ”This is...?”

If he felt no threat from Fang Chen, then this man’s mere appearance would be enough to terrify him, like a commoner faced a starving beast.

Fang Chen frowned slightly. ”What the fuck were you doing this time?”

Why is there always an issue when I call Li Badao? Is this asshole partying around the clock?

Li Badao hurriedly explained, ”Lord, I was just hosting some colleagues at the Wanhua Pavilion, mainly to probe their backgrounds and see if they are connected with the demoted Day Walker Gods....”

”What is the Wanhua Pavilion?”

Li Badao smiled awkwardly. ”It’s... a place of brothels... for listening to songs....”

Fang Chen nodded lightly. ”Alright... There’s nothing much from me. Just take this person back to the Underworld for proper handling. Also, find something else to do. Don’t spend all day running to brothels; beauty corrodes the bone.”

Li Badao nodded repeatedly. ”Yes, yes! You are absolutely right, my lord! I will certainly turn a new leaf! I will find something else to do!”

With that, he stood up, grabbed the young prince, and dragged him toward the door.

The young prince struggled violently, letting out a piercing scream. However, Li Badao swiftly delivered him a casual slap, nearly dispersing Li Badao’s yin energy.

As everyone saw Fang Chen finally cease speaking, the hall instantly fell very quiet, so quiet that they could hear their blood flow.

Fang Chen looked toward Zhu Yue and smiled, cupping his fist. ”It’s been a long time, Sister Zhu Yue.”

Sister Zhu Yue pondered, ”Lord Fang, is the Spirit Blood Sect behind the tremendous changes that are happening within the Flame Empire?”

”If it doesn’t involve the common people, it’s unlikely to be the work of the Spirit Blood Sect,” Fang Chen replied.

Sister Zhu Yue nodded. ”That’s very good.”

She then looked toward the two Foundation Building Realm cultivators the young prince had brought and said, ”Lord Fang, the Flame Empire royal family is targeting local cultivators. Could I ask you to intervene?”

The two Foundation Building Realm cultivators’ hearts skipped a beat, and they knelt down almost immediately.

”We wish to turn away from darkness to light, to lead the way for Elder Fang!”

Chen Gongshou, seeing them trying to take his job, wanted to smash their heads on the spot. However, he turned around and cupped his fist. ”Elder Fang, these two have previously made moves against the disciples of the Concealed Moon Hermitage. They are confidants of the young prince, unlike myself. I was only willing to be dispatched for some spirit stones, but always acted with restraint.”

After saying this, Chen Gongshou looked toward Liu Mu. ”Fellow Daoist Liu, previously at the Qingzhou Sword Sect, I could have acted directly. Instead, I chose to persuade you with sincerity, which I believe you could feel as well.”

The two Foundation Building Realm cultivators were startled, and they glared at Chen Gongshou with anger.

”Chen Gongshou, you old dog, how dare you slander us like this!”

Fang Chen glanced at Chen Gongshou and then at the two Foundation Establishments. Lastly, he smiled at Sister Zhu Yue. ”Please go ahead.”

Sister Zhu Yue nodded. Her fingertips flicked out two sword lights, flying toward the foreheads of the two.

Just as the two cultivators were about to resist, they were horrified to find out they couldn’t move. They could only helplessly watch as the sword light cut through the air toward them, ultimately penetrating their foreheads.

Then, they knew no more.

***

Once they passed Tianheng Pass, they would be able to reach another empire of the same rank as the Flame Empire in a short time.

Cultivators from the Flame Empire kept arriving at Tianheng Pass. However, their path was blocked by a figure standing at the gate, holding a sword with his back to everyone. He had a gentle yet unapproachable aura that pushed people away.

The cultivators who arrived had complex feelings. Anger and helplessness were evident in their eyes.

They had never imagined that when the Flame Empire faced such a situation, the first to act against them would be the royal family.

It was as if these royal cultivators had been raising them like pigs all these years; now that they were ready to hand over the pigsty, they were not willing to let their fat pigs be taken away without profit, thus they wanted to take back what was theirs.

A group of nuns stood inconspicuously.

Fang Qingyao looked at the sword-bearing figure, then she turned her head to Sister Qinghe and spoke gravely. ”Sister, we seem to be surrounded. I’m at the Foundation Building Realm and can cover for you. If it doesn’t work out, we can head to Grand Xia.”

Sister Qinghe sighed softly. ”The Grand Xia Emperor might be a Spirit Blood Sect member. Going there would be even more dangerous. Now, we only have one way left: to break through Tianheng Pass.”

A few elderly nuns looked at each other, their expressions solemn as they looked around.

Suddenly, one of them said, ”The cultivators of the Heavenly Southern Sect and Spirit Beast Valley have also arrived; perhaps we can join them and try to break through Tianheng Pass.”

The Heavenly Southern Sect’s old ancestor had been missing for many years. The sect was not as powerful as before and could no longer stand on equal footing with the Spirit Beast Valley, but it still had a solid foundation with several Foundation Building Realm elders.

With a late-stage Foundation Building Realm expert presiding over Beast Spirit Valley, they might successfully break through.

Fang Qingyao and Sister Qinghe’s eyes shifted, and they looked into the distance.

There, they saw cultivators of the Spirit Beast Valley arriving at the scene.