Immortal of the Nine Realms

Stone Dragon bowed respectfully and said, ”Lord, these are the Yin Lifespan coins accumulated over recent years in Jiangguang City within the Lesser Underworld. And these are the Blood Spirit Pills intercepted and secured by Nangong Yuanzhen and the others through various means.”

Ten years had passed, and the aura around him had grown increasingly refined and pure. Among the first batch of Underworld gods under Fang Chen, he was the first to advance to a second-transformation Ghost God.

Aside from him, others such as the Taiyin Dragon King, Pan Shan Monarch, Empress Ci, and Xing Xian had also shown advancement. Xing Xian was a step away from becoming a first-transformation Ghost God. As for Taiyin Dragon King and the others, they hadn’t progressed as significantly, still lacking the foundation needed to make the push for the second transformation.

The Yin Lifespan Coins and Blood Spirit Pills transformed into surging Yin Lifespan, which was absorbed by Monarch Yan’s Seal.

Monarch Yan’s Seal, Yin Lifespan: 32,272 years.

”Conferring Yin Soldiers... That should be enough now,” murmured Fang Chen softly to himself.

Stone Dragon’s eyes flickered slightly. ”Lord, are you planning to act against the Dangyin Mountain Lord? If needed, I am ready to assist.”

Fang Chen wore a faint smile. ”You’re best staying here to guard Jiangguang City. That Mountain Lord is a third-transformation Great Yin Demon, and he’s lived in this realm for countless years. He’s not an easy target.”

Stone Dragon sighed quietly and said no more. He turned and walked toward the inner hall.

Outside the palace, a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back. Half his hair was white as snow, the other half black as ink. His hair was divided sharply down the middle, like two worlds split in contrast.

Fang Chen smiled as he spoke, ”Lord Yu, do you still have any concerns about this operation?”

The middle-aged man turned at Fang Chen’s words. He gave a slow, formal bow before speaking softly. ”Dangyin Mountain Lord’s strength should be above that of Li Wuwang and Song Zhili. As for my own capabilities, they are slightly beneath those two. If I join hands with you and we cannot suppress him within ten moves, he will easily retreat. And once he escapes... It will be near impossible to locate him again.”

”Indeed.” Fang Chen nodded. ”The foundation of the Dangyin Mountain Lord is no less than that of a sword cultivator. After all, he was an immortal mountain of the Immortal Realm when he was alive.”

”That’s also why I’ve refrained from making a move against him all these years.”

The middle-aged man paused in thought and said, ”What if... we call the old flood dragon over? With him taking the lead, suppressing the Dangyin Mountain Lord wouldn’t be difficult.”

”Over the years, Song Zhili has sent many cultivators to shadow Grand Xia and keep a close watch on the old flood dragon.” Fang Chen shook his head. ”If they notice the slightest anomaly, Song Zhili will surely act. With his nature, he may even burn all bridges and activate that Great Transference Immortal Talisman on Tuxiong Star.”

The old flood dragon could now only stand guard at Tuxiong Star, without the slightest relaxation. Any distraction would ruin years of planning and preparation.

The only safe move was to mobilize Yu Tingzhai, the sect leader of the Yin Saint Sect. That way, people like Song Zhili would remain completely unaware.

”In that case, I must trouble you to assist me at a critical moment,” said Yu Tingzhai, cupping his hands respectfully.

As a third-transformation Ghost God, he should’ve been confident in all things. But he had walked the Underworld for many years and understood the true strength of the Dangyin Mountain Lord. He was far stronger than the average cultivator of his realm, which was why Yu Tingzhai harbored such caution.

Fang Chen replied with a smile, ”No trouble at all. As long as no unforeseen changes arise, the odds of success in this matter are at least eighty percent.”

It was nothing more than a matter of spending some of his own lifespan.

Back when he slew Li Wuwang with a single sword strike, he had burned nearly a hundred years of his lifespan. This time, he was ready to burn two hundred years as a gift for the Dangyin Mountain Lord.

***

The dense, oppressive black clouds made the already bleak and chilling Floating Pagoda Realm feel even more stifling. Within those clouds, vague silhouettes of a colossal figure could be seen, prompting several passing yin demons to kneel and kowtow, not daring to look up. ℴ

The Dangyin Mountain Lord spoke coldly, ”Chen Lingding, your Spirit God Sect should not have kept this a secret. If I hadn’t asked directly today, how long were you planning to conceal it?”

Walking beside him, Chen Lingding forced a bitter smile. ”Only because we weren’t certain of the information’s accuracy. We didn’t want to tell you prematurely and cause an unnecessary scene.”

The Dangyin Mountain Lord sneered. ”Whether it’s a baseless rumor or not, even the slightest trace should be reported to me. I see now, you people just want to hoard the Monarch Yan legacy for yourselves.”

Chen Lingding said no more and instead looked ahead. ”Mountain Lord, we’re almost there. Shall I go ahead and lure the target out?”

”No need for such trouble.”

Lightning flickered in the Dangyin Mountain Lord’s eyes. In the next moment, the black clouds above began to churn violently like a sky-covering palm, instantly enshrouding the entire Jiangguang City below.

At a time like that, any major yin demon within the city should recognize who had arrived. If they did not come out to greet him, it surely meant they were hiding something.

High in the sky, Fang Chen stood. He was wearing Monarch Yan’s battle armor, surrounded by swirling cyan energy. As the Dangyin Mountain Lord suppressed the city with his power, Fang Chen drew his sword.

The Eight Desolation Supreme Sword Scripture. The fifth sword.

Then another strike followed.

Two successive sword strikes shattered the black clouds above and sliced directly toward the massive figure of the Dangyin Mountain Lord.

These two sword attacks were powerful enough to injure or even kill an ordinary third transformation opponent.

After unleashing them, Fang Chen’s face aged a little more. From that point on, it would be up to Yu Tingzhai. His role today was merely to assist.

”Truly guilty,” said the Dangyin Mountain Lord with unexpected amusement rather than anger. ”I wonder whether you’re guilty because you killed my son, or because you covet the Monarch Yan legacy.”

To him, these two strikes posed little threat.

Just as he began preparing to deflect the incoming sword attacks with his divine arts, a shadow silently appeared behind him, forming hand seals.

Boom.

A flash of red lightning burst in the void. The surrounding yin energy surged violently, then poured into the body of a crimson thunder dragon.

The red thunder dragon appeared out of nowhere, carrying overwhelming killing intent. It wrapped itself tightly around the Dangyin Mountain Lord like chains, catching him off guard. The dragon coiled around him, constricting tighter and tighter.

Each surge of red lightning exploded violently across the Mountain Lord’s body, shattering the stone-like skin and tearing away moss.

At the same time, because of Yu Tingzhai’s intervention, the two sword strikes were not deflected. Instead, they struck straight into the Mountain Lord’s heart.

Boom! His massive body was pierced through. His back erupted with a loud blast, revealing two deep pits pressed closely together.

From within, thick black magma-like liquid gushed out. It was the blood of the Dangyin Mountain Lord. The red thunder dragon immediately buried its head into the wound, savagely gnawing at it as debris and fragments flew in all directions.

All of it happened in a flash of thunder.

Only now did the Dangyin Mountain Lord let out a furious roar. The terrifying shockwave became a roaring wind that swept across the land.

Inside Jiangguang City, yin demons stared wide-eyed, looking up at the scene in the sky, their eyes full of shock and disbelief.

”Can Yu Tingzhai’s Yin Dragon Chain really hold the Dangyin Mountain Lord?”

Standing beside the others, the Taiyin Dragon King watched the battlefield intently with a grim expression.

As first-transformation Ghost Gods, they couldn’t intervene in a battle of this level. They could only stand and watch from afar.