Immortal of the Nine Realms

Good news?

Fang Chen paused, and he scrutinised Elder Xun sharply. Indeed, he noticed that Elder Xun’s aura had subtly changed.

”Old man, you have advanced to the second transformation? Brilliant,” mused Fang Chen.

The Black Profound Heaven Locking Flag whizzed out from his arm and circled Elder Xun a few times before it complained, ”When we went to Prison Wind Lands, I nearly got wrecked by a third-transformation Loose Immortal. Luckily, this brat had some tricks up his sleeve. I lost a lot of immortal essence. Please replenish me some.”

Without a word, Elder Xun flicked his finger. A bead of white light instantly fell onto the Black Profound Heaven Locking Flag, and it released a satisfied hum, as if a drought had met with rain.

Feeling pleased, it flew out and said, ”I’m going back to sleep. Don’t wake me up unless it’s a matter of life or death.”

Fang Chen smiled.

The only time the Black Profound Heaven Locking Flag woke up voluntarily was when it encountered Zhao Yunlu. Else, it remained deep in slumber.

Elder Xun chuckled and said, ”This thing’s been around for too long. It’s like a ninety-year-old man. You can’t ask much of it. You can only be happy that it’s still around. Without a constant supply of immortal essence, its spiritual wisdom would have scattered long ago, becoming nothing more than an ordinary heaven-rank spiritual treasure. Only through deep sleep can that decline be slowed.”

Fang Chen was surprised. ”Spiritual treasures have lifespans?” He had assumed the Black Profound Heaven Locking Flag’s drowsiness was simply because of insufficient immortal essence.

”Any object in the world with spiritual wisdom has a lifespan. The only difference is how big that lifespan is,” replied Elder Xun.

With that, he changed the subject, casually asking, ”Alright, now that you are back from the Prison Wind Lands, tell me what happened there? Why did the Divine Dao Sect flee to relocate like a bunch of mad dogs were chasing them?”

Fang Chen organized his thoughts inwardly and summarized the events briefly.

After hearing it all, Elder Xun sat upright in his rocking chair and asked solemnly, ”So... the Spirit Blood Sect has already seized the upper hand in Prison Wind Lands?”

Fang Chen nodded and responded, ”More or less. With the help of the third-transformation sword cultivators, those scattered third-transformation Loose Immortals at Prison Wind Lands were not their match.”

Elder Xun shook his head and remarked, ”No wonder Pu Yuanzhu ran off. As the Division Head of the Killing Spiritual Division, he had sabotaged the Spirit Blood Sect countless times. Had he stayed, it would’ve meant complete annihilation for him.”

Fang Chen was surprised at how much the old man knew. His guess about Pu Yuanzhu being the Division Head of the Killing Spiritual Division had been right after all.

”Elder Xun, you’ve broken through to second-transformation, right?” asked Fang Chen.

”Mhm. It’s all thanks to the immortal crystals you gave me and my own preparations that contributed to the smooth advancement,” said Elder Xun. ”With the help of the Black Profound Heaven Locking Flag, I’m confident I can fight a second-transformation sword cultivator.”

He elaborated with a smile, ”Though if a third transformation appears, I’ll have to run too.”

Fang Chen announced, ”There shouldn’t be any second-transformation sword cultivators arriving with the next wave. Li Changsheng and Lu Qingshu are the only ones coming, and both of them are of the first transformation. I plan to temporarily move the disciples of the Three Thousand Dao Sect to Desolate Academy.”

Elder Xun was understanding. He offered, ”I can help to watch over them. There’s no need to move them to Desolate Academy, though. I’ll move in for a short while.”

Fang Chen nodded thoughtfully. ”Many thanks, Elder Xun.” This was indeed a good solution. The Desolate Academy had never dabbled in the Spirit Blood Sect’s conflicts these years. With their temperament, if they were aware of Elder Xun’s advancement into the second transformation and that he was under the protection of a spiritual treasure, few would dare provoke him lightly.

Elder Xun’s eyes flickered and suggested, ”Since you’ve reached the grand completion of the Enlightenment Realm, you should prepare for the Soul Splitting Realm and stay out of worldly matters. Your own cultivation is most important. When you ascend to Loose Immortal, you will have more cards on the table to play.”

Fang Chen nodded. ”Indeed, I’ve reached the grand completion of the Enlightenment Realm. However, my second calamity has yet to arrive.”

Elder Xun inquired, ”What was your first calamity?”

”Demonic Calamity,” answered Fang Chen.

He was still suspecting if the Demonic Ancestor existed and if it was related to the Inverse Immortal Demonic Embryo.

”The Demonic Calamity, huh. Among the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, the Demonic Calamity is the most fearsome. Since you have survived it, the next calamity should be easier,” said Elder Xun.

Fang Chen was surprised. ”The calamities don’t repeat?”

Elder Xun shrugged and answered, ”Hard to say. But in all my years, I’ve never seen a repeated calamity. Heaven always leaves a path to survival. It doesn’t seal all escape routes.”

Fang Chen sank into deep thoughts. After a while, he rose to leave.

Just as Elder Xun was about to turn away, he caught sight of Fang Chen stumbling and falling at the hall’s entrance.

Seeing that, Elder Xun chuckled softly. ”Mmmm, the Misfortune Calamity, eh?”

This was a strange calamity. If Fang Chen was lucky, he could get by easily without falling into sickness or experiencing much pain. But since it’s the Misfortune Calamity, how lucky can he be?

After Fang Chen left Desolate Academy, his expression darkened. He instructed Shi Long to return to the Underworld first, while he retrieved five hundred mid-grade spirit stones and headed for the Three Thousand Dao Realm.

This second calamity had arrived, and it was the Misfortune Calamity. Walking openly outside now would be asking for death.

Yet after preparing for half a day, nothing unusual happened. The stone bead in between his brows seemed to have lost its effect.

Fang Chen frowned deeply. ”Why?! Am I not allowed to leave when a calamity arrives?”

He glanced instinctively toward the heavens. A vague suspicion rose that perhaps the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations might be rules set by the Heavenly Dao, just like merits. The former are trials by the Heavenly Dao, while the latter are benefits.

”Fine, if I can’t enter the Three Thousand Dao Realm, I’ll just venture into the Underworld.”

Soon, however, Fang Chen was hit with another shocking discovery. The entrance to the Yellow Springs had actually been sealed! He could not cross over.

Now that he had lost another one of his options for dealing with the calamity, there was only one last thing he could attempt.

The Skin Peeling of the Heavenly Abhorrence Technique.

By peeling away his own karma, he could ’transfer’ the misfortune to others.

The Heavenly Abhorrence Technique transcended the Heavenly Dao. Perhaps it was crafted by beings of the same Heavenly Dao rank. Thus, it was abhorred by the heavens.

However, unless absolutely necessary, Fang Chen dared not use it lightly on himself. For cultivators, karma was both a burden and a vital proof of existence. Tampering with it could alter fates in unforeseeable ways.

After a long moment of thought, Fang Chen’s eyes gleamed. He locked onto a direction and tore through the skies.

In no time, he found an isolated land devoid of human life.

On a desolate mountain, he hollowed out a cave dwelling where he planned to hole up and endure the calamity.

Several days later, the cave dwelling collapsed and buried Fang Chen alive. Fortunately, he crawled out safely and built a wooden hut from dried wood.

A few more days passed, and storms raged. Lightning struck the hut, setting it on fire.

Once again, Fang Chen emerged unscathed and raised a spiritual energy shield against the pouring rain. Somehow, he still felt a cold intent slipping through the shield and brushing along his neck.

Fang Chen sneezed thrice.

It was then he realised that he was running a fever.