Immortal of the Nine Realms

As they neared Jiangguang City, Yu Tingzhai and the Dangyin Mountain Lord acted simultaneously, quickly subduing one of the second-transformation cultivators and four first-transformation cultivators brought by Xu Changshi.

Xu Changshi, a third-transformation Loose Immortal, might have had enough strength to escape if he were only facing the Dangyin Mountain Lord. But with Yu Tingzhai added to the equation, it was no longer so easy.

Once again, the Yin Dragon Chain was used. But unlike last time, the Dangyin Mountain Lord had become the aggressor.

He fiercely attacked Xu Changshi, who was trapped by the Yin Dragon Chain. According to Fang Chen, Xu Changshi had to be rendered immobile.

Xu Changshi’s eyes turned bloodshot. ”Chen Lingding, and all of you. Are you courting death?!”

Regret quickly set in. He hadn’t expected to fall into a trap again after coming to the Floating Pagoda Realm. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t understand what he had done to offend Chen Lingding to deserve such a scheme. Or perhaps Chen Lingding was cooperating with Song Zhili and others?

The thought made Xu Changshi even angrier, and curses poured from his mouth.

Chen Lingding didn’t respond but watched coldly from the side.

Gradually, Xu Changshi’s voice grew weaker, his words feeble.

”Stop hitting me.”

Seeing that the Dangyin Mountain Lord was about to continue, Yu Tingzhai waved his hand to stop him.

”He’s already immobilized. Take him to see the Lord. If anything happens to him and it ruins the Lord’s plan, you won’t be able to answer for it.”

”Hmph.”

The Dangyin Mountain Lord cast a cold glance at Yu Tingzhai, then snorted. Although displeased, he stopped. He carried Xu Changshi and flew toward Jiangguang City.

Seeing that he seemed eager to claim credit, a faint sneer flashed in Yu Tingzhai’s eyes.

He was forcibly conferred while Yu Tingzhai had voluntarily joined after careful calculation. Their statuses were different from the start, and the Dangyin Mountain Lord’s small ambitions changed nothing.

At Jiangguang City, Xu Changshi was thrown at Fang Chen’s feet like a dead dog.

The Dangyin Mountain Lord said with an ingratiating expression, ”Lord, we’ve brought him as you instructed. He’s completely immobilized now.”

Xu Changshi was weak and barely breathing, but he mustered the strength to lift his head and see who was behind this plot against him. When he caught sight of Fang Chen’s face, he froze in shock.

His subordinates, who had also seen Fang Chen back on Longdan Star, looked even more stunned than Xu Changshi.

Wasn’t this the same guy who ran errands and delivered messages for Chen Lingding? Wasn’t he that lowly cultivator from the Killing Spiritual Division?!

Xu Changshi sucked in a sharp breath and turned to Chen Lingding. ”You—you’ve defected to the Killing Spiritual Division?! This whole trap wasn’t about Song Zhili and the others? The Killing Spiritual Division is targeting me?!”

At that point, he stopped overanalyzing the reasons. When the Killing Spiritual Division moved against the Spirit God Sect, there was never a need for justification.

The two factions were sworn enemies, locked in a life-and-death struggle from the very beginning. Even if some Killing Spiritual Division cultivators knew how to compromise, most were sharpening their blades in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.

The Spirit God Sect was no different.

Chen Lingding said with a faint smile, ”I didn’t defect to the Killing Spiritual Division. But the lord is indeed one of them. Though that’s beside the point. What matters, Brother Xu, is that I’ve pointed you toward a path of glory. If not for me, the lord wouldn’t have chosen you. You should be thanking me. Once you understand the full picture, you’ll be weeping with gratitude.”

Xu Changshi exploded in rage. ”You scheming little bastard! How dare you plot against me?! If I get out of this alive today, I swear the Chen Family won’t know peace for the next thousand years! Damn you!”

Chen Lingding chuckled. ”You’re cursing too soon.”

By then, the Imperial Decree for the Yin Soldier was already written, consuming over fifteen thousand years of Yin Lifespan.

As the Imperial Decree merged into Xu Changshi’s body, the process differed from when the Dangyin Mountain Lord underwent the same transformation. Xu Changshi was in terrible shape, and his soul was on the verge of scattering, so he barely resisted before becoming a Yin Soldier.

He could feel the changes in his body, the faint but undeniable thread now linking him to something greater. The gaze of the figure before him grew increasingly oppressive, as if an invisible force weighed down on him, making it hard to breathe.

A dazed expression flickered across Xu Changshi’s face. His subordinates, though unaware of what had just happened, sensed the shift, and their expressions darkened with despair.

Chen Lingding smiled. ”Calm now? Noticed the changes in your body? Listen carefully to what I’m about to say and don’t miss a single word.”

***

”Ghost God Dao...”

Xu Changshi stood in a daze, taking a full hour to digest everything Chen Lingding had told him.

He had heard of Underworld Gods before, but he also knew that the inheritance had been severed for countless years. Otherwise, the Floating Pagoda Realm wouldn’t be in such chaos, allowing them to roam freely and even plunder its treasures.

The second-transformation and the first-transformation Loose Immortals who had come with Xu Changshi were equally stunned. Once they processed the information, they stared at Xu Changshi with an indescribably strange look.

He... had just been conferred as a God of the Underworld? That meant that beyond the Nine Mortal Realms, there was another path to becoming a Saint?

”Let me... take this in,” said Xu Changshi. He muttered to himself, ”When a person dies, they become wandering souls, entering the Minor Underworld. Even if they were a Loose Immortal in life, they’re treated no differently.”

”Exactly,” Chen Lingding replied.

”Yes. If I had been an Underworld True God back then, would I be stuck as a mere first transformation Ghost God now?”

The Dangyin Mountain Lord couldn’t help but ask curiously, ”What was your cultivation level when you were alive?”

Chen Lingding replied flatly, ”The same as yours, third transformation.”

”My apologies for the disrespect earlier,” said the Mountain Lord, his expression shifting oddly.

”Which means to say that if I were to die, I could directly walk the Ghost God Dao and retain all my cultivation?? In the Underworld, as long as I have enough Yin Lifespan, I wouldn’t have to worry about longevity. And as an Underworld True God, I could still traverse the Nine Mortal Realms freely...”

Xu Changshi’s gaze gradually sharpened. Aside from the brutal beating he had just endured, everything else he had gained seemed immensely beneficial.

If there’s a downside, it’s that he would be subject to Monarch Yan’s rule.

But was that really a drawback?

In ancient times, Monarch Yan was a peer of the Emperors in the Immortal Realm, a transcendent existence. Right now, even if he wanted to pledge allegiance to such a being, who would take him in?

Chen Lingding asked coolly, ”Figured it out?”

”Brother Chen, I was confused earlier and spoke some... unsavory words. Please don’t take them to heart.”

Struggling to his feet, Xu Changshi clasped his hands toward Chen Lingding in apology. Then, without waiting for forgiveness, he turned and bowed deeply to Fang Chen.

”Thank you for bestowing upon me the position of an Underworld True God. Changshi is willing to serve you unto death!”

”Ahem...”

The second-transformation Loose Immortal who had accompanied Xu Changshi hesitated before speaking up, ”Could... we also request positions as an Underworld True Gods?”

The four first-transformation Loose Immortals exchanged glances, their hearts suddenly pounding.

To become an immortal Underworld True God—wasn’t that equivalent to an opportunity that fell into their laps?