Immortal of the Nine Realms

A cold gleam passed in the eyes of Immortal Kumu. There was not a single cultivator alive who wasn’t afraid of such threats, especially Yu Tingzhai, who had personally witnessed the annihilation of the Nine Immortal Mountain Holy Land.

He knew that the Myriad Immortal Palace’s methods were not empty intimidation. They were real, merciless actions carried out to the end.

This was one of the main reasons he dared to follow Yu Tingzhai here. Not to mention that the one who saw him privately speaking with Yu Tingzhai would surely trail behind secretly.

”Speak. I kindly offered to help you with your troubles, so why did you plot against me behind my back? If your reason satisfies me, I can let this slide,” Immortal Kumu said coldly.

Yu Tingzhai smiled faintly. ”You simply believe I found an immortal soul sealed with the Great Enigma Art. A soul like that must have belonged to an Immortal Sovereign. That’s why you followed me here of your own accord. Don’t bother dressing it up with nice words.”

”Do it.”

***

Not far from the cave dwelling, Wan Shouque stood in the void, staring at the residence shrouded in layers of restrictions. Doubt flickered in his eyes.

”What are those two up to, acting so cautiously? Are they plotting against me?”

Wan Shouque did not act rashly and decided to observe further.

***

Immortal Kumu was furious and terrified, struggling to fend off the siege of three equal-level cultivators. He drew cold breaths again and again.

How dare they?! On what grounds?!

Were they truly unafraid of Chaotic Star being wiped out? Did the tyrannical methods of Immortal Xingyu mean nothing to them?

What baffled him most was why Yu Tingzhai had turned on him. Had he unknowingly offended the man?

But what hatred—what grudge—could be worth Yu Tingzhai risking the purge of his homeland?

He’d pay a price like that just to strike against a fellow Guardian True Immortal? ℯℯ𝑙.

It didn’t take long for Immortal Kumu to be overwhelmed. He was never the battle-hardened type, and his opponents were Huang Wuji and the old flood dragon. These two were fourth-transformation immortals who had clawed their way up mountains of corpses.

He quickly fell into disadvantage and was soon battered into severe injury. These injuries would follow him back to the Mortal Realm.

He would not be able to act for a long time.

”Why are you doing this? If you think I covet your immortal soul, you could have just said so.”

Seeing the three stop attacking, Immortal Kumu let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it seemed they did not intend to take his life. If so, all could still be negotiated.

But before he could recover, a strange force suddenly entered his body and started refining his soul!

He instinctively tried to resist, but all he received in return was another round of attacks from the trio.

Beaten to the brink of death, he was powerless to resist. Very soon, that force completely took him over.

”This is...”

Immortal Kumu was in despair, but his eyes suddenly lit up slightly. He realized his soul was undergoing an extraordinary transformation.

He could feel that this transformation wasn’t harmful. On the contrary, it was beneficial, as his soul was becoming more solid than ever before.

At the same time, he sensed an unfamiliar figure inside the residence.

Fang Chen smiled faintly and said, ”Daoist Yu, explain to him the path of Underworld True God. After that, go invite the one outside in as well.”

The one outside? Wan Shouque?

Immortal Kumu was bewildered. When Yu Tingzhai reached out to pull him up, he instinctively prepared to strike. But immediately, his heart shuddered as if something terrifying was happening. He froze in place.

”Daoist Mu, this is your opportunity.” Yu Tingzhai smiled. ”From now on, you and I are truly fellow Daoists. Have you ever heard of this? In ancient times of the Underworld, there existed a group that was not composed of Great Yin Demons. They walked the path of Underworld True Gods, revered as Ghost Gods...”

After about the time for a cup of tea, Immortal Kumu finally understood what had happened to him. His face was full of disbelief.

He could not believe that such a legendary opportunity had fallen into his hands.

Yes, after digesting everything Yu Tingzhai had said, he concluded that this was a blessing!

His lifespan had almost run out. He would have died in a little over 800 years if his situation hadn’t changed.

As for breaking through to the fifth transformation, even a fifth-transformation immortal medicine couldn’t guarantee him success. The immortal crystals he gained during his fourth transformation period merely slowed the decline of his lifespan.

Without a sufficient foundation accumulated during the fourth transformation, even the fifth-transformation immortal medicine couldn’t help him make a breakthrough.

But now he had encountered an unbelievable turn of fate.

The path of Ghost Gods, severed for countless years, had reopened in the Floating Pagoda Realm?

Becoming an Underworld True God meant that even after 800 years, when he perished in the mortal world, he could walk the path of Ghost Gods in the Underworld again. His cultivation would not fall to the level of ordinary wandering souls!

”In past years, I had occasionally heard rumors, but I thought them nonsense. I never imagined...” Immortal Kumu muttered.

He fixed his eyes on Fang Chen, then bowed respectfully.

”Wang Nongcao. Greetings, Monarch Yan!”

”From now on, just call him the lord,” reminded Yu Tingzhai. ”If the title of Monarch Yan spreads, it will cause unnecessary trouble.”

”Yes, yes.”

Immortal Kumu nodded repeatedly, then showed a bitter smile. ”Daoist Yu, had I known it was about this, why the need for such measures? I would have gladly gone along.”

”If I had spoken plainly, you wouldn’t have believed me. You might even have reported to Immortal Xingyu, and then our plans would’ve been foiled,” Yu Tingzhai said flatly.

Immortal Kumu pondered carefully. That made sense.

”Wan Shouque has been waiting outside for some time. We should meet him,” said Yu Tingzhai.

Is that guy even worthy to walk the path of an Underworld True God? Immortal Kumu grumbled secretly.

But he knew it was not his decision to make. He followed Yu Tingzhai out silently.

Wan Shouque had been waiting a long while when he finally saw the two emerge. Before he could step forward, their gazes swept toward him.

Wan Shouque laughed loudly and cupped his hands. ”Haha, what a coincidence! I was passing by here and happened to see Daoist Mu and Daoist Yu. Since when have you two grown so close?”

”It was a three vs. one. Now it’s a four vs. one. He’ll have it worse...” Immortal Kumu murmured softly.

His injuries were already healing visibly. Making a move was no problem.

Wan Shouque’s eyes narrowed, looking at Immortal Kumu. ”Hm? What are you saying?”

In the next moment, before he could react, two auras equal to his own rose behind him.

Yu Tingzhai and Immortal Kumu also unleashed their techniques against him.

Wan Shouque was shocked and enraged.

”You two mean to rebel?!”

His soul suddenly transformed into tens of thousands of dark sparrows, scattering in all directions.

His first choice was to flee.