Immortal of the Nine Realms

Even though everyone knew Fang Chen carried immortal herbs, no one dared to make a move against him like Xiao Chenghe had done before.

The main reason was that there were many core disciples around. If anyone broke the rules, it simply couldn’t be concealed. If someone did act, others would naturally step in to stop them, effectively supervising each other.

Fang Chen waited nearly a year before Lin Yuan, Yu Wuxia, and Meng Qingling arrived.

The three looked excited. All of them had reached the mid-stage of the Tribulation Realm. They’ve clearly all had their fair share of fortunes.

Spotting Fang Chen, Lin Yuan stepped forward with a cheeky grin and said, ”Captain, guess what the three of us found this time?”

”Don’t tell me you found an immortal crystal vein,” replied Fang Chen casually.

The three exchanged looks of surprise.

Lin Yuan asked suspiciously, ”Captain, were you secretly tailing us?”

”You really found an immortal crystal vein?” asked Fang Chen, surprised. ”How big is it?”

”The vein itself wasn’t very big, but the associated ores are valuable too,” replied Lin Yuan.

He took out a fist-sized raw immortal crystal ore, big enough to be split into at least two hundred standard immortal crystals.

An immortal crystal ore of that size was equal in value to a first-transformation immortal herb. Even a first- or a second-transformation immortal would feel like they had struck it rich overnight with a find like that, let alone three mid-stage Tribulation Realm cultivators.

”Which expedition team are they from? Why are their gains so huge?”

A nearby first-transformation immortal stared at the fist-sized ore, eyes nearly bulging.

Yu Wuxia and Meng Qingling each pulled out a few pieces of raw peak-grade spirit stones.

”We also found some peak-grade spirit stones around this immortal crystal ore, and they all contain different ancient spiritual energies!”

Judging by their size, they could split them into thirty to fifty exquisite spirit stones without issue, and each peak-grade spirit stone could sell for at least five immortal crystals on the market.

Fang Chen’s eyes brightened. Among these spirit stones, only one contained a type of ancient spiritual energy that did not overlap with those Fang Tianzun had refined.

Fang Chen took the raw ore from Meng Qingling and mused, ”This ore contains the ancient spiritual energy called ’Treasure Light Buddha Qi.’”

Fortunately, the Heavenly Supreme Pill Technique had detailed descriptions of the ninety-nine ancient spiritual energies required for the technique. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have recognized it at a glance.

Lin Yuan took a sharp breath, astonished. ”Captain, you also study peak-grade spirit stones?”

The average cultivator only knew that peak-grade spirit stones could be sold at high prices, but they were particularly interested in the spiritual energies residing inside them. After all, as the name implied, these were ancient spiritual energies, their inheritance long since lost. Without corresponding cultivation methods, what use was the tiny bit of spiritual power inside? At most, they are just sold to interested collectors. That was the true value of peak-grade spirit stones.

”I know a little,” replied Fang Chen, smiling. ”Once I hand in the report, I’ll exchange some merit points for one.”

Lin Yuan advised, ”Cultivators who mess around with peak-grade spirit stones end up wasting too many immortal crystals. Captain, better not get into that habit.”

Fang Chen grinned. ”Still better than playing with Immortal Origin Stones, right?”

Everyone looked surprised.

”Captain, you’ve played with Immortal Origin Stones too?”

Playing with Immortal Origin Stones rarely ended well. Losing nine out of ten times was an understatement.

Lin Yuan muttered, ”Compared to Immortal Origin Stones, it’s indeed better to mess with peak-grade spirit stones. At least they can still be sold as long as you find a buyer.”

”Captain, did you gain anything this time?” someone asked.

Since none of them carried jade tokens capable of detecting immortal herbs, they naturally couldn’t sense that Fang Chen had some. They thought those jealous, red-eyed looks nearby were because they had found an immortal crystal vein and peak-grade spirit stone.

Fang Chen answered, ”Not much, about seven immortal herbs.”

Lin Yuan nodded. ”Oh, seven...”

He then realized what he had just heard and let out a gasp. ”Wait, what did you say?! Seven what?!”

”Immortal herbs,” Yu Wuxia chimed in. ”The captain just said seven immortal herbs.”

After saying that, he took a deep breath to calm his excitement and agitation. Although the immortal herbs didn’t belong to him, they were from the same team, so the merit points would be shared equally.

Sometimes, the things that could be exchanged with those merit points were items that couldn’t be seen in the outside world.

”No wonder they were looking at us so strangely...” said Meng Qingling with a complicated expression. ”If they knew that Daoist Hong got the Formation Heart and became a core disciple, the Nine Realms Expedition Team’s reputation would echo through the Enlightenment God Palace.”

”I feel like our team is probably the biggest winner this time? I wonder if getting the Formation Heart counts as merit points,” mused Lin Yuan thoughtfully, looking hopeful.

Fang Chen shook his head with a smile. ”How could it count? It wasn’t something you handed in, and Daoist Hong is actively benefiting from it. We should be glad the Enlightenment God Palace isn’t pursuing the matter at all. You still want merit points?”

The three thought that made sense and nodded quietly.

About half a year later, the Black Dragon Boats returned one after another. Fang Chen observed that this time, besides Chen Xinghe, a few other core disciples seemed to be missing. No one knew if they had been ambushed or were just temporarily delayed.

A cultivator at the Ascension Realm politely approached Fang Chen. ”Daoist, Core Disciple Li requests your presence.”

Fang Chen followed him to the Black Dragon Boat where Li Shanzi was. On board, he noticed that Lin Dong and others were present. When Lin Dong saw Fang Chen, his face immediately lit up with a smile, and his eyes were uncharacteristically kind.

”Lin Dong, you’ve been pretty lucky this time,” Li Shanzi said casually with a smile. ”The merit points he earned are enough to elevate Expedition Star No. 432 to a whole new level. You should also have enough merit points to exchange for a fourth-transformation immortal herb. As long as your turn comes up, you have a good chance to advance to the fourth transformation.”

Lin Dong replied modestly, ”Not at all, it’s all thanks to the Enlightenment God Palace’s well-established evaluation system that they can find such a talent.”

Wang Xuan and Xu Qian stood behind Lin Dong, their expressions complicated. Before Fang Chen arrived, they had already heard from Li Shanzi that Fang Chen possessed immortal herbs. Now that Fang Chen had come aboard the Black Dragon Boat, their detection jade tokens emitted intense heat, confirming this fact.

Last time, this junior disciple had already acquired a fourth-transformation immortal herb. Now, in the Formless Purgatory, he found more immortal herbs.

Such extraordinary luck was beyond ordinary envy.

”I heard you... hmm? You’ve advanced to the Ascension Realm?”

Li Shanzi’s expression shifted slightly.

Advanced to the Ascension Realm?

Wang Xuan was surprised.

Xu Qian looked confused. When Fang Chen first arrived at the Expedition Star No. 432, he was only at the early-stage Tribulation Realm.

He advanced to the Ascension Realm in such a short time? Besides... counting his merit points, isn’t he already able to exchange for a first-transformation immortal herb?

”In less than a hundred years, there’s a chance to reach the first transformation. Not bad, really not bad.” Li Shanzi nodded repeatedly, roaring with laughter. ”It’s a pity Junior Sister Hong values you and hopes you’ll become a member of her expedition team; otherwise, I would have wanted you to join me.”

Sister Hong?

Wang Xuan and Xu Qian looked puzzled. Lin Dong also didn’t catch on. Obviously, with their status, they weren’t qualified for Li Shanzi to mention such a matter voluntarily.