Immortal of the Nine Realms

Tai Yin Dragon King had already withdrawn his claws beneath his abdomen. His hundred-zhang body shot through the void like an arrow, breaking through layers of space at an incredibly fast speed, heading toward the direction of the Handan Empire.

The surroundings changed quickly like a revolving lantern, rapidly shifting as they were left far behind.

Behind him was the procession of Empress Ci, followed by the Pan Shan Monarch, who was wrapped in dragon scale armor. Stone Dragon was the furthest to the back. He walked with his hands clasped behind his back, looking as if he were having a leisurely stroll in a field.

At that moment, the four major yin demons revealed the differences in their cultivation levels. Tai Yin Dragon King’s speed was superior to Empress Ci and Monarch Pan Shan. But Pan Shan Monarch was slightly faster than Empress Ci.

Stone Dragon, as the most seasoned of the four, had the deepest foundation. He didn’t even exert his full strength yet could easily keep up with Tai Yin Dragon King, maintaining a relatively safe distance from Fang Chen.

***

The pungent smell of blood filled the battlefield. Looking ahead, countless corpses piled one upon another, a wave of dead bodies surging like a tide, each wave higher than the last. Some of these corpses belonged to ordinary soldiers and martial artists, while others were cultivators.

Gai Hong, accompanied by his trusted subordinates, stood in the void. The scene before him was only the tip of the iceberg of the current chaos in the Giant Antler Empire.

As the emperor of the Giant Antler and the son of Heavenly King Zhen, he too found it hard to prevent the current turmoil. The third and fourth-tier empires under his command had already sunk into a quagmire. Now, Giant Antler had fallen into turmoil as well.

A minister’s expression was serious. ”Your Majesty, should we send someone to the Central Continent to report this? If the imperial family of the Central Continent doesn’t intervene and make a decision, this war could continue for a year or even longer. By then, we will be gravely wounded!”

”Your Majesty, from the beginning of the month to the end, thirteen sects in the Giant Antler Empire have been mysteriously implicated. All the cultivators within them have died untimely deaths. I’ve already ordered someone to investigate. It seems that the Celestial Dome Empire and other second-tier empires are involved.”

Gai Hong’s face darkened.

The chaos in the Giant Antler had already begun. What started as a small spark had now turned into a raging wildfire.

With many key positions having been taken by Spirit Blood Sect members, his control over the empire had waned. Now, all these elements had erupted at once, like a sudden collapse of a mountain.

Even as an Immortal King, it was impossible for him to quell this situation in a short amount of time.

At that moment, everyone saw a streak of sword light flying from the horizon, and in an instant, it arrived before them.

Gai Hong let out a sigh of relief and cupped his hands toward Qin Hucheng. ”Brother Qin, you’ve come at the right time. What did Supreme Emperor Wang say?”

Qin Hucheng replied, ”No need to worry too much. The decree from the Void Immortal Sword Sect has already been sent to all major sword cultivation sects. They will take action to help quell the war. Those who refuse will be struck down with a single sword.”

Gai Hong and the others finally felt a sense of relief, their hearts settling back into place.

At times like these, many sects across the Central Continent were unwilling to get involved, fearing entanglement in karma. More importantly, they didn’t want to risk getting severely battered in this murky, bottomless quagmire.

Fortunately, the Void Immortal Sword Sect was willing to step forward. If sword cultivation sects from various regions responded one by one, they could form a formidable force. While it might not instantly quell the conflict, there was at least some hope of gradually controlling the losses within an acceptable range.

”By the way—”

Gai Hong had been about to ask about something when a flash of sword light suddenly struck.

”You!”

With a few soft sounds, Gai Hong and the Minister of the Giant Antler Empire were killed, their bodies falling from the sky and shattering upon impact.

Qin Hucheng landed beside Gai Hong’s corpse, methodically searching for valuable items such as storage rings. Before leaving, he glanced at Gai Hong’s body and let out a soft sigh. ”Gai Hong, you were just unlucky. I didn’t want to kill you, but I had no choice.”

With that, Qin Hucheng transformed into a sword and flew away, disappearing into the horizon.

Gai Hong’s wandering soul stood beside his corpse, unable to come to terms with what had just happened. He stared in disbelief in the direction Qin Hucheng had gone.

Why... Why did he kill me?!

Could it be... that Qin Hucheng, the renowned genius disciple of the Void Immortal Sword Sect, known for his unwavering integrity, was actually a cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect?

Gai Hong was stunned for a long time, until the wandering souls of the other ministers approached and reminded him that they had all become lonely, wandering ghosts.

Gai Hong murmured to himself, ”So, when cultivators die, they too become wandering spirits.”

”Your Majesty, where should we go now?”

Gai Hong let out a bitter laugh. ”Where should we go? How would I know?”

Suddenly, his eyes widened with realization. ”No, my life lamp must have gone out. If my father finds out that I died here, he might get involved in this matter. If Qin Hucheng is indeed a Spirit Blood Sect cultivator, could his reason for killing me be to use my father to achieve some goal?”

Gai Hong’s expression grew extremely grave.

His father was the renowned Heavenly King Zhen, a being with terrifying powers. If he got involved in this matter and was used by the Spirit Blood Sect, the consequences would be unimaginable for ordinary people!

However, he couldn’t understand why the Spirit Blood Sect would want to use this event for their own benefit. Didn’t they fear his father’s wrath, which would easily calm down all of these events? What good would it bring the Spirit Blood Sect?

Would it benefit Li Xiao, the center of the storm?

***

Within the Handan Empire, a high platform built from green stone appeared overnight in front of the Meridian Gate. Over a hundred cultivators were shackled through their bones, bound together like grasshoppers.

The shackles binding them emitted a strong spiritual energy, forming a restriction that prevented the cultivators from mobilizing their inner spiritual energy. They had effectively been reduced to mere mortals.

Hundreds of elite soldiers stood around, blocking the crowd of onlookers that gathered around the platform.

”Isn’t that the chief manager of the Handan Empire’s Four Seas Trading Company? What crime has he committed? How could his whole family be arrested!? Are they going to execute them?”

”Not just him, look over there! I’ve seen him before in the capital! Back then, he was accompanied by the Fifth Prince of the Handan Empire himself!”

”Who, the sect leader of Wutong Dao Sect!? I remember he was a cultivator in the Enlightenment Realm. How could...?”

The ordinary people watched with curiosity, but for the cultivators, the hundred-plus people on the stage were no ordinary figures in the Handan Empire. Some were even very well-known.

They couldn’t understand why these prominent figures had suddenly become prisoners overnight. At that moment, a woman approached from the direction of the palace, accompanied by a group of fierce-looking imperial soldiers.

The onlookers quickly made way for them, not daring to stand in her path.

The woman was dressed in a purple robe, clearly a member of the royal family of the Handan Empire.

”Is that the fifth princess?”

”It should be her....”

The cultivators exchanged glances. The fifth princess was one of the few prodigies in the Handan Empire in recent years. Rumor had it that she had been cultivating in a large sect of a second-tier empire for the past few years. No one expected to see her here today.

The fifth princess slowly ascended the high platform, stopping in front of a middle-aged man with a round face and big ears. She said emotionlessly, ”Li Fu, chief manager of the Four Seas Trading Company, a wandering cultivator in the mid-stage Golden Core Realm.”

Li Fu showed a greasy smile. ”Ah, it’s the fifth princess! I’m sorry to show you such a sorry state. I’m unable to stand up to greet you. I hope you will forgive me!”