Immortal of the Nine Realms

The middle-aged man in the blue robe wore a gloomy expression. A terrifying divine sense radiated outward from him like flowing water, sweeping in all directions. His divine sense quickly extended beyond the borders of the Thousand Dao Tower.

Cultivators from various sects and noble clans felt the anger seeping from his divine sense and were astonished.

The group led by Yun Ding remained silent. They, too, could sense the fury in that divine sense.

This was rare. At the very least, none of them had ever seen the man before them lose his temper. No matter the situation, he had always remained calm and composed, as though nothing in the world could stir his emotions.

But clearly today’s matter held massive implications.

The Coldwater Immortal Flame did not belong to any individual. Not even the man before them was its rightful owner.

Its true owner was the Spirit God Sect.

This flame had been allocated to the Thousand Dao Tower by the Spirit God Sect for use in refining special Blood Spirit Pills.

Without the Coldwater Immortal Flame, they wouldn’t be able to refine Loose Immortals into pills, at least not with the methods currently at their disposal.

After some time, the blue-robed man retracted his divine sense, casting a dark gaze at Yun Ding. ”Spread the word. All parties are to monitor this matter closely. Even the faintest lead must not be overlooked. If anyone sees Loose Immortals from the Long or Sun Families, report to me immediately.”

Yun Ding’s expression flickered in surprise. “Tower Master, are you saying... the intruder’s objective was Heaven Calamity Dragoness and the others?”

Was there still someone bold enough to speak out for the Long and Sun Families?

”Perhaps both objectives were involved,” the blue-robed man replied coldly.

”But... with so many layers of restrictions and powerful formations in place, how did the intruder manage to enter?” Yun Ding asked, looking puzzled.

”Only inner sect disciples and cultivators like you can enter and exit freely. Investigate who has recently entered the inner sect. Check every single person, and see who has mysteriously disappeared since today.”

The blue-robed man strode off. ”I’ll await your report.”

***

In the endless Yellow Springs, Fang Chen arrived at the banks of the Forgotten River. He held the gourd in one hand and the Coldwater Immortal Flame in the other.

There was not a single soul in sight. This path of the Yellow Springs had seemingly gone unused for quite some time. The area before the Forgotten River was equally desolate.

With a thought, the scenery around Fang Chen shifted, and he soon appeared atop a bridge.

At the far end of the bridge stood a massive city. The city appeared dilapidated, and even the plaque hung above the city gate was damaged. Upon closer inspection, however, he could still make out the name “Chaofeng City.”

”This is a lost city,” Fang Chen murmured to himself.

He could see many wandering spirits within Chaofeng City, though they looked lifeless. Some were even stealing the remaining lifespan of others’ souls, slowly losing their reason and transforming into terrifying malevolent spirits.

There were no Yin Soldiers here, nor any City Lord’s Manor, indicating that this was an old city disconnected from the Lesser Netherworld for many years.

This city’s corresponding location just happened to be the territory of the Thousand Dao Tower. Now that Fang Chen knew it existed, traveling to and from the Tower would be far more convenient.

Roaaar!

A spirit resembling a massive spider, standing nearly twenty feet tall, sensed Fang Chen’s presence and lunged at him.

This spirit had dozens of heads. There were those of male, female, old, young, even some animals.

Fang Chen remained expressionless. He muttered, ”This spirit must have devoured too many souls to end up like this.”

This spirit wasn’t weak. Among mortals, it would rival a cultivator at the Fusion Realm. Its violent aura suggested that two or three experienced Day Walker Generals would be needed to deal with it.

Fang Chen pointed toward Forgotten River and ordered, ”Go.”

The spirit instantly froze mid-charge. Then, unable to resist, it leapt into the river with a splash and vanished beneath the water.

Some nearby spirits who had been watching scattered in terror after witnessing the scene.

”This place resembles the Floating Pagoda Realm, lawless and without order.”

Fang Chen walked into Chaofeng City. Wherever he went, spirits fled in fear and avoided him completely.

After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, a figure appeared before Fang Chen, identical in appearance to himself. The two exchanged a smile.

”Keep this gourd safe for now. I need to return.”

”Go ahead.”

***

The Thousand Dao Tower.

A group of cultivators suddenly stormed into Sun Susu’s cultivation grounds. Shortly after, Sun Susu led Fang Chen and two others to face questioning.

The leading cultivator’s gaze was sharp as he stared intently at Sun Susu’s face. ”Who are these three? Their cultivation is so low. Why are they allowed in the inner sect?”

He was looking closely at Sun Susu’s expression, determined to act immediately the moment he saw any oddity.

Sun Susu calmly replied, ”These are descendants of old acquaintances. As a true disciple of the inner sect, I’ve offered them a bit of guidance. This does not break any rules.”

The leading cultivator fell silent for a moment, scrutinized Fang Chen and the others, then nodded and turned to leave.

There was nothing suspicious here. He didn’t believe Sun Susu had the means to provoke such wrath from above.

After they left, Sun Beiwang and another female member of the Sun Clan exchanged glances, looking at Sun Susu in confusion.

”Ancestor, has something major happened inside the Thousand Dao Tower?”

Sun Susu replied flatly, ”This matter has nothing to do with you. Just focus on cultivating.”

She herself didn’t know what exactly had happened, but she vaguely sensed that it was related to Fang Chen.

After dismissing Sun Beiwang and the others, Sun Susu got prepared to send a voice transmission. However, she suddenly noticed that Fang Chen was giving her a look, and she grew alert.

She waved her hand, signaling Fang Chen to leave. ”You should go cultivate as well.”

Fang Chen gave a slight bow and turned away. ”Yes.”

The search lasted an entire month, and the Thousand Dao Tower did manage to find some clues. Several cultivators had vanished without a trace after that day.

Believing they had found the lead, they focused their investigation on those missing individuals.

In the meantime, Fang Chen returned briefly to Chaofeng City. After taking the gourd, he headed to Qianyang City.

He did not take the Coldwater Immortal Flame with him. Instead, he left it with his clone, who was studying the Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique. He was the most suitable choice for refining it.

Qianyang City corresponded to one of the Nine Human Realms, the Five Elements Domain.

In the void, Fang Chen placed the gourd some distance away, then used his spiritual power to remove the lid.

In the next moment, over a dozen figures flew out from within. Each one wore a look of suspicion and confusion.

”Where are we...?”

Long Jingchun and the others looked around at each other.

Fang Chen cupped his fist politely. ”Since you are all now free, may I ask to have the gourd returned to me?”

The crowd was startled. They exchanged confused glances before looking at Fang Chen.

A look of utter shock appeared on Long Jingyao’s face, and he exclaimed, ”It’s actually you!”

Inside the gourd were not only Loose Immortals of the Long Family but also members of the Sun Family. The latter didn’t even know who Fang Chen was, but it was obvious that their release today had everything to do with him.

Heaven Calamity Dragoness pushed down her shock and asked, ”You... you’re the one who saved us?”

Everyone was dumbfounded. Long Jingyao and the others wracked their brains but simply couldn’t figure out how Fang Chen had managed to pull this off.