Immortal of the Nine Realms

But I don’t want to go....

That was Fang Chen’s honest thought at this moment.

He had come here with his own purpose and had no intention of drawing attention, especially not when he couldn’t move through the Underworld. But now, all eyes in the crowd locked onto him. Even Little Immortal Honglian was giving him a strange look.

The senior sister pointed toward Fang Chen. ”Senior, is it him?”

The white-robed elder immediately shook his head and waved again. Only then did everyone realize he hadn’t meant Fang Chen, but someone behind him.

That cultivator looked completely stunned. Then, his face lit up with excitement as he flew eagerly toward the white-robed elder.

Fang Chen silently breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness....

Noticing that Little Immortal Honglian’s gaze was still a bit odd, he casually asked, ”Fellow Daoist Hong, what’s wrong?”

”Nothing. I just thought that Anomaly had taken an interest in you.” She smiled. Then, as if to comfort him, she added, ”It’s fine. The Enlightenment God Palace’s own inheritance isn’t necessarily any worse than an Anomaly’s. Don’t let it bother you.”

Fang Chen nodded lightly. ”Mm.”

However, a faint unease had taken root in his heart. Little Immortal Honglian knew Anomalies were Yang Gods, and she also knew they were in constant opposition to the demons.

Is being noticed by an Anomaly considered some kind of signal by the demons?𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Meanwhile, the cultivator who had been chosen now appeared to be receiving personal instruction from the white-robed elder, his eyes shining with excitement.

He was at the Ascension Realm, only one step away from the first transformation. He only needed an immortal herb. Now, with this stroke of fortune, ascending was all but guaranteed.

Before long, the Anomalies began to depart one after another, and the senior sister took away the chosen cultivator.

The nearby Black Dragon Boats also began to withdraw.

”Let’s go too. No need to linger here any longer,” said Little Immortal Honglian

Fang Chen nodded slightly. From beginning to end, he didn’t try to talk to Li Jingnian, and the other party seemed not to notice he was even there. He’d ask him later why he appeared in this place.

Could it be that these Anomalies truly could appear wherever they pleased, crossing boundless distances in the blink of an eye?

***

Several years later.

Fang Chen’s expression shifted slightly. Vast waves of feedback surged from the void, and his cultivation surged uncontrollably. Lightning and thunder cracked across the sky.

The heavenly tribulation had arrived. Once passed, he would reach the great completion stage of the Tribulation Realm.

”This power... it comes from Fang Wushi and Fang Yanguang. They’ve ascended to Loose Immortals.”

Fang Chen was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected those two to ascend first. Now, the power feeding back from them was directly pushing him into the grand completion stage of his tribulation.

From the end of the examination until now, only forty or fifty years had passed, and he had smoothly completed his path through the Tribulation Realm.

Half an hour later, Fang Chen successfully passed the tribulation.

Little Immortal Honglian quietly stepped forward and said, ”Fellow Daoist Fang, your cultivation has progressed incredibly fast.”

Her own cultivation had also advanced during this period, but only from the early to the mid-stage of the Tribulation Realm. That was the normal speed for a genius. At her current pace, in another few decades or a century, reaching the Ascension Realm would not be an issue.

But for many cultivators, the leap from Ascension Realm to Loose Immortal was an incredibly difficult threshold.

However, for external cultivators of the Enlightenment GodPalace, the opportunities were far more abundant, sometimes even easier than any path before. If one had no requirements for the type of immortal path, then achieving the first transformation was actually quite simple.

Fang Chen smiled. ”It’s mostly the Formless Void Beasts I encountered over the years. I gained a lot from battling them.”

”Your Heavenly Sniping Art has reached the Fifth Arrow. Are you really planning to make this your core immortal art?”

Fang Chen replied, ”It’s quite powerful, and it follows the enemy like a shadow, making it hard to counter. Even if it’s not a core art, it’s still worth investing some time into.”

She nodded lightly and changed the topic, ”Fellow Daoist Fang, now that you’ve reached the grand completion of the Tribulation Realm, your next step is the Ascension Realm. And after that comes the first transformation. This distance may seem vast, but for you, it’s incredibly close. The immortal herb you obtained last time can be exchanged in the Merit Hall for a large amount of merit and is probably enough to get you the immortal medicine needed for the first transformation. Have you thought about which immortal path you want to take?”

Fang Chen said, ”I haven’t decided yet, but I think if I do choose, it’ll be a path that allows advancement to Ancient Immortal.”

”That makes sense. Most cultivators would choose that. Advancing to Ancient Immortal only requires a single immortal register. However... those immortal paths may already have someone who reached the ninth transformation. And for each path, there can only be one ninth-transformation immortal. Have you heard of this?”

”I actually haven’t.”

Fang Chen looked at her, his surprise clear and undisguised. ”I’ve never heard of this before. May I ask how you came to know of it?”

”I stumbled upon it while reading ancient texts. I can’t say for certain whether it’s true, but you must have noticed. Even in the Upper Three Realms, ninth-transformation immortals are rarely mentioned. You probably haven’t even heard who the ninth-transformation immortal of the Enlightenment God Palace is. I’d wager even the core members have never seen one.”

She smiled slightly. ”There are two possible explanations. One, ninth-transformation immortals are simply too rare, so they no longer show themselves. Matters below are mostly handled by core disciples. Even during the Forbidden Zone conflicts a few years ago, not a single one showed up—not even eight-transformation immortals appeared, really. At that level, many things no longer need to be settled through life-and-death battles. Two, the Enlightenment God Palace might not have any ninth-transformation immortals at all.”

She paused, then continued, ”Whatever the case, ninth-transformation immortals are indeed rarely seen and barely even spoken of. In that light, what was written in that ancient book may not be wrong—one path, one ninth-transformation immortal.”

”So... the immortal paths that might not even reach the fifth or even the fourth transformation are actually more likely to allow someone to reach the ninth transformation, simply because no one has claimed them yet?”

Fang Chen seemed to be deep in thought.

Little Immortal Honglian shook her head. ”It’s not necessarily that those paths have no ninth-transformation immortals. It’s more likely that those paths haven’t been made public, so the average cultivator has no way to access them. Some paths you think can only reach the fifth transformation—paths where no one has seen or even heard of a sixth or a seventh transformation—may very well have already been claimed by a ninth-transformation immortal.”

She gave Fang Chen a look, her gaze slightly heavier. ”If you are ambitious enough, you might consider an Ancient Path.”

Fang Chen’s expression shifted slightly. ”An Ancient Path? I’d like to hear more.”

”I only learned of it by chance. As for whether it’s true or not, I can’t say. I’ll tell you what I know, and you may listen.”

She said, ”The ancient book I read mentioned three Ancient Paths. One is the Ancient Immortal Path, one is the Sword Immortal Path, and one is the True Demon Path.”

”True Demon Path? Is that even an immortal path?”

A look of doubt appeared on Fang Chen’s face.

But the fact that she referred to the Sword Immortal Path as an Ancient Path did surprise him a little. Thinking about it more carefully, it actually made sense.