Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen spoke. ”I have heard of that as well. But heaven-grade Immortal Boats seem to circulate only in the Upper Three Realms. In the Lower Six Realms, no one can forge them.”

The old flood dragon nodded. ”I have studied Soul Imprints, Dao Imprints, Spirit Imprints, and Immortal Seals engraved on spiritual treasures. All of these sealing methods share one trait—they are ancient. Their existence may be older than the cultivation methods you and I practice, and in some ways, these seals determine the power of a spiritual treasure.”

”The kind of immortal vessel I mentioned must bear an Immortal Seal far from ordinary, perhaps one you and I have never even seen.”

Fang Chen agreed with part of his reasoning. He had studied spiritual treasures for a time himself, but later lost interest and set the matter aside.”

The old flood dragon stared straight into the void ahead. ”Tell me...”

Apart from scattered starlight, the void here was filled with a suffocating oppression. Outside, there was nothing—no air, no spiritual energy, like a place of exile.

”In the Nine Mortal Realms, even if spiritual energy has been depleted, there are at least traces that it once existed. Why is there nothing here?”

As a dignified fourth transformation Immortal, old flood dragon feared neither heaven nor earth, yet in the depths of the universe, he suddenly felt a shiver. He felt as small as an ant.

In a place like this, if one’s immortal essence were exhausted, it would be no different from a god cast down to the mortal realm, no different from an ordinary person.

”I don’t know. This question is too profound, and I have no wish to explore it. You had best not dwell on it either, lest it unsettle your heart.”

Fang Chen shook his head and decisively cut off the topic. He had neither the knowledge to explain it nor even a reasonable conjecture.

Fang Chen smiled. ”Just think of it like this, heaven and earth were once an egg, and then some godly being split it with an axe, and it became like this.”

The old flood dragon neither accepted it nor denied it, but he heeded Fang Chen’s advice and let the matter drop.

***

Time passed, and the months flew by.

Each month, the old flood dragon consumed a single immortal crystal.

The immortal essence expenditure to drive the Immortal Boat at full speed was terrifying. Without immortal crystals, it would have taken them ten years to reach the Nanqing Constellation.

Feeling idle one day, Fang Chen calculated the distance from their starting point to the Nanqing Constellation.

”At full power, the old flood dragon can drive the immortal boat about a hundred thousand miles in an instant, which is equivalent to fifty thousand kilometers and about one-sixth the speed of light.”

The result was about 0.16 light-years.

In cosmic terms, it was not far, but it would still take a fourth-transformation Immortal pushing at full power and burning over a dozen immortal crystals to get there.

”The existence of the Starry Teleportation Formations between stars shortens the distance between two places. They still consume spirit stones, but only top-grade ones. Only direct routes that are truly vast might require immortal crystals.”

That, he thought, was a kind of ”progress.” Perhaps in ancient times, the cultivation world had no such arrays, just as mortals once had no vehicles, relying on horses or donkeys to travel. A long journey for them was an arduous feat.

”Little Mirror, how do formation masters construct these Starry Teleportation Formations between stars?”

”Brother, that’s not such a deep question, after all, you’re not asking for their core methods. They can calculate the coordinates using secret arts, and once they lock the location, they can set up a one-way transfer straight to it.

”In theory, if the formation master is strong enough, he could set up a gate from Grand Xia straight to the Nanqing Constellation, or even to the Immortal Realm.”

”Is it something like the Ancient Immortal Road?”

”Yes, similar in principle but different in form. Every so often, someone improves or changes the technique. Take the basic Five Elements Control Arts that every novice cultivator learns, for example. In the Five Elements Realm, some people have refined them to great power.”

”And the bridges over the Forgotten River?”

”Hmm....”

A smile touched Fang Chen’s lips. ”How many immortal crystals would that take?”

”Stuff about the Underworld really doesn’t have anything to do with immortal crystals,” replied Little Mirror. ”But if I had to guess, those bridges may be spiritual treasures of some kind.”

Spiritual treasures?

Fang Chen made a note to examine them closely next time he traveled the underworld. If they were truly some kind of spiritual treasure, perhaps they could even be applied in the Floating Pagoda Realm.

***

Unknowingly, they drew near their destination, and the Nanqing Constellation started to unravel before everyone.

Not only did Fang Zhixue and the others show expressions of awe, even Fang Chen and the old flood dragon felt a flicker of shock.

Around the Nanqing Constellation flowed vast bands of seven-colored divine light, like a magnificent star river encircling it.

Moreover, upon those rainbow rivers, grand buildings could be seen.

”This looks like a great array. Those buildings may be manned year-round by immortals, though I can’t guess their cultivation level,” remarked the old flood dragon, his tone grave.

The vessel had slowed without him realizing it, not because he had stopped driving it, but because as they neared the seven-colored star rivers, an invisible resistance pressed against them, passively reducing their speed.

Half a month later, the vessel finally entered the rainbow rivers, and everyone could finally see the scene clearly.

The buildings drifted with the rivers, and at that moment, one building floated into view before them.

Beyond it, there were two more Immortal Boats, clearly concealed before by some technique.

They began to guess the function of the buildings.

They were ports of the Nanqing Constellation. The two vessels ahead were undergoing inspection, conducted by divine-looking puppets.

Each puppet stood over ten feet tall, its skin iron-blue, patterned with golden and purple lines that formed Immortal Seals.

”These puppets... are actually spiritual treasures. But... that’s not all. They are not a singular spiritual treasure, but an amalgamation of spiritual treasures,” the old flood dragon murmured, glancing at Fang Chen.

He continued, ”Did you notice? Their arms are separate treasures. So are their legs, and their heads. All combined, they form a complete puppet. The strength of such a puppet may be comparable to a first-transformation Immortal.”

A first-transformation Immortal!

The crowd drew sharp breaths. They were no longer the ignorant cultivators they once were. They understood a thing or two about the hidden truths of the cultivation world.

That first-transformation Immortal was the same as the First Rate Sect Leaders they had once revered!

The Nanqing Constellation’s cultivators can craft puppets on par with those existences?

Even before setting foot upon that land, they were already thoroughly humbled.