Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Fellow Daoist Honglian, you’re not really thinking of becoming a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace, are you? That’s far too difficult. The minimum requirement is said to be a first-transformation immortal,” said Lin Yuan doubtfully.

He couldn’t help shaking his head. In his eyes, for people like them, reaching the first transformation would already be an immense fortune. Going any higher was no longer just a matter of talent. To become one of the Enlightenment God Palace’s core disciples was even more impossible. There were countless additional conditions, and without someone powerful backing you, there was simply no way to achieve it.

Little Immortal Honglian only smiled faintly and did not argue.

***

Months passed.

Glancing at the star map, Meng Qingling realized that they had entered the territory of Ancient Forbidden Zone No. 157.

”Captain, we’ve reached the Ancient Forbidden Zone,” she said. ”From here on, we’ll need to be cautious, not only of other expedition teams, but also of something called Void Beasts.”

She walked up to Fang Chen, deliberately leaning close. Her breath brushed against the loose strands of hair by his cheek as she spoke.

Little Immortal Honglian saw this and quietly stepped between them, her expression composed but serious.

”Before setting out, I looked into the records,” she said. ”Void beasts only appear within the Ancient Forbidden Zones, and they emerge without any warning. Their power is unique. Some of the stronger ones can swallow entire Immortal Boats, cultivators and all.”

”We probably won’t be that unlucky,” Lin Yuan said. ”They usually appear only near the edges of the Forbidden Zones, not in the open void. The real danger lies in those strange territories within. Some can instantly drain our spiritual energy, leaving us unable to use any techniques. If we stumble into one of those places, we won’t even be able to move. We’d simply be worn down before we die.”

As he spoke, he pointed out several red marks on the star map.

”These areas are completely forbidden. The white zones are half safe, half dangerous; green is mostly safe. Red means they are extremely dangerous.”

He paused and sheepishly looked at Fang Chen. ”Captain, how far are we from the place we’re headed? And... what color is it?”

”White,” Fang Chen said with a smile.

Hearing that, Lin Yuan let out a quiet sigh of relief. ”Good.”

White meant that the danger was within a tolerable range.

A few days later, the Immortal Boat slowly approached a planet no smaller than the Nanqing Constellation.

Along the way, Fang Chen noticed several other Immortal Boats also preparing to land there. He wasn’t sure whether they belonged to allies or strangers. Still, given the vast expanse, even landing at the same time wouldn’t likely bring them into contact.

”Don’t land yet,” he instructed. ”Let me restore my spiritual energy first.”

He sat cross-legged, seemingly meditating, but in truth, his divine soul had already swept toward the planet below.

Following the detailed coordinates provided by the Mirror of the Universe, he soon reached the location of the Bone Birth Azure Lotus.

It lay within what appeared to be an ocean of corpses, mountains upon mountains of colossal skeletal remains.

There are no battle marks here, Fang Chen thought. It seems some kind of ancient beasts came here before dying. It’s as though dying here was part of their faith.

The Bone Birth Azure Lotus grew beneath that ocean of bones, on the surface of a massive skeleton nearly twenty meters thick. The flower itself was only palm-sized, occasionally emitting waves of yin energy that were quickly neutralized by the surrounding remains.

Soon, Fang Chen’s soul returned to his body, and he steered the Immortal Boat swiftly toward the corpse ocean.

Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the Immortal Boat hovered above it.

”Could these be the bones of Void Beasts?” Yu Wuxia asked curiously.

”Void beasts have no bones,” Little Immortal Honglian said evenly. ”In fact, even when they die, they leave no bodies behind. I suspect they’re remnants of something that existed long before our era.”

”Nonsense,” Meng Qingling said lightly. ”Of course they’re from before our time! None of us are that old.”

Fang Chen caught the hidden implication in Little Immortal Honglian’s words, and a thought stirred in his mind. But he would need to see a Void Beast with his own eyes before drawing any conclusions.

”You all stay here and be ready to help me out in case anything happens,” Fang Chen said. ”I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he shot forward as a streak of cyan light, vanishing into the sea of bones.

”Our captain seems to know exactly where he’s going,” Lin Yuan said with curiosity. ”Where did he even get such precise information?”

”Probably from that senior Lin Dong,” Yu Wuxia guessed.

”Maybe there are valuable things hidden among these remains?” Meng Qingling said eagerly. ”Why don’t I go down and accompany the captain?”

”Have you already forgotten our rules?” Little Immortal Honglian said coldly, giving her a sidelong glance. ”If the captain didn’t ask for your help, you can’t act on your own.”

Lin Yuan and Yu Wuxia both nodded.

”Rules are rules,” Lin Yuan said. ”Fellow Daoist Meng, you’d better not break them, or the votes of us three elders will be enough to expel you.”

”I was just saying,” Meng Qingling snapped. ”Why so serious? Tell me, Fellow Daoist Honglian, what exactly is your relationship with the captain?

”You don’t seem close enough to be cultivation partners, but you’re not distant enough to be strangers either. Whenever I talk to him, you rush in to interfere. If you’re not his Dao partner, I might just make a move myself.”

”You are not suited for Fellow Daoist Fang,” Little Immortal Honglian said softly, shaking her head.

”Oh?” Meng Qingling smirked. ”And why’s that?”

”You look like someone with far too many Dao partners,” Little Immortal Honglian said seriously. ”That’s why.”

Meng Qingling’s face flushed with anger.

Lin Yuan and Yu Wuxia had no desire to get between the two women. Just as they were about to make some lighthearted comment to ease the tension, a sudden shadow fell over them.

They looked up, their expressions instantly turning grim.

At some unknown point, a larger Immortal Boat, one even bigger than the Essence Long, had appeared directly above them.

Judging by the insignia, it too belonged to the Enlightenment God Palace.

Meng Qingling and Little Immortal Honglian both fell silent.

Whoever had arrived was not friendly. No one would hover directly overhead otherwise.

A dozen cultivators descended from the other Immortal Boat, watching as Fang Chen’s team activated their defensive barrier.

The leader merely smiled faintly, unconcerned. He said, ”You lot must be the new arrivals, huh? Your captain’s name is Fang Chen, isn’t it?”

”May I ask who the senior before us is?” Yu Wuxia asked cautiously, bowing.

”Me? I’m Xiao Chenghe of the Mysterious King Expedition Team.”

”You guys are from the Mysterious King Expedition Team!?” everyone exclaimed.

”Of course not,” Xiao Chenghe said with a smirk. ”This is actually the Xunyou Expedition Team. I’m just tagging along to earn a little extra profit.”

He glanced at their Immortal Boat, noting the absence of Fang Chen, and smiled. ”So where’s your captain gone off to? Found something good around here, perhaps?”

His gaze swept across the sea of bones, then suddenly fixed on a point.

Just then, Fang Chen burst forth from beneath the skeletal remains.

At the same moment, a special jade token hanging from Xiao Chenghe’s belt flared with scorching heat.

”Immortal herb?!” he exclaimed.