Immortal of the Nine Realms

The Thousand-Legged Great Yin Demon had been chasing Fang Chen for a long time, yet never managed to catch him. Its rage had long reached its peak. Now, seeing Fang Chen come to a stop before Forgotten River, it first hesitated out of caution. However, it then let out a shrill, triumphant screech and lunged forward. Its body, hundreds of zhang long, writhed monstrously like a black cloud blotting out the sky.

But it failed to notice that beneath the still waters of the Forgotten River, a massive shadow was slowly rising. Fang Chen stood with his back to the Great Yin Demon. Even as the demon’s attack was about to fall upon him, he had no intention of dodging.

Splash!

The Forgotten River suddenly erupted with towering waves. A terrifying form broke through the surface, a titanic body, vast and imposing.

Compared to this creature, the Thousand-Legged Great Yin Demon, for all its might and size, looked no more than a caterpillar before a giant python.

Terror flooded the demon’s eyes. Even its shrill hiss warped into a screech of panic.

Zhu Long opened its mouth and, in a single bite, devoured the Great Yin Demon whole.

Then, its massive body quickly shrank down to its regular size and moved close to Fang Chen, nuzzling his cheek affectionately.

”It’s been what, fifty or sixty years, hasn’t it?” Fang Chen smiled, rubbing Zhu Long’s head. ”Looks like you haven’t been slacking. Your strength has grown quite a bit.”

When Zhu Long first emerged, its sheer size had startled even Fang Chen.

To be able to devour a first-transformation Great Yin Demon effortlessly in a single bite was proof that its power had grown to a terrifying degree. At this point, it was at least equivalent to a fourth-transformation immortal, like Yuting Zhai. And if it were within the waters of Forgotten River, its strength might even go beyond that, reaching the fifth or sixth transformations.

Zhu Long’s growth had exceeded Fang Chen’s expectations, a sign that Forgotten River was truly the most suitable place for it.

Fang Chen stepped into the Forgotten River with Zhu Long. ”Let’s go.”

In the blink of an eye, a bridge appeared before him.

***

Jiangguang City.

Empress Ci was sitting with Fairy Yu, going over the year’s accounts. Xing Xian was assisting nearby, also reporting on his area of responsibility.

In the decades that had passed, Xing Xian had steadily reached the first transformation.

Empress Ci had also made progress, breaking through to the second transformation. It was important to remember that she had been a Great Yin Demon for many years before. Yet for the longest time, she had remained stuck at the first transformation, unable to advance. However, after becoming a True God of the Underworld, it was as if she had become a favored child of the realm, granted powers far beyond those of an ordinary Yin Demon.

The most crucial ability among them was that she could draw upon her rightful share of karmic power from the world itself. Just this alone allowed her and others like her to grow stronger by the day.

Empress Ci couldn’t help but speak up when she saw Fairy Yu sitting idle with her legs crossed. ”You should really start learning this stuff.”

Fairy Yu rolled her eyes. ”What for?”

”You and the lord aren’t exactly strangers. You might become our mistress one day. If you learn how to manage these things well, then when someone tries something shady behind the scenes in the future, you’ll spot it immediately.”

Empress Ci’s tone was patient, even a bit motherly.

Fairy Yu jumped down from her chair, walked over to them, gave the accounts a quick glance, and pointed to a few entries. ”These numbers don’t match up. You should double-check them.”

With that said, she returned to her chair and ignored them.

Empress Ci and Xing Xian exchanged strange glances. But they did double-check the entries she had pointed out, and sure enough, there were indeed discrepancies, as she’d said.

After a brief silence, Xing Xian said to Empress Ci, ”I’ll look into this. I’ll see whether it was just a clerical error... Or whether someone’s gotten bold.”

Just as he turned to leave, he bumped into someone at the door. It was Fang Chen.

Xing Xian froze, eyes lighting up in surprise. ”My lord!?”

The Lord!?

Empress Ci quickly stepped forward at once.

Fairy Yu’s expression shifted slightly. But after a brief hesitation, she got up and joined them, albeit reluctantly.

Fang Chen gave a small nod, exchanged a few words with Empress Ci and Xing Xian, casually asked about Jiangguang City’s earnings over the years, and then had them step outside for the time being.

Fairy Yu gave him a pitiful look. ”Lord... maybe it’s best if you just let me go. I really can’t stir up trouble anymore.”

”Sit down,” said Fang Chen calmly. ”Let’s have a proper talk.”

Fairy Yu obediently sat back down. Fang Chen couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. He knew all too well. Beneath that obedient appearance was a sharp, cunning spirit.

Fairy Yu had always been smart. In her previous life, she had clearly been no fool either; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to fool him so effortlessly after he used the Skinning Technique on her.

Fang Chen said, ”I went to the Upper Three Realms. I met quite a few people from your homeland.”

Fairy Yu’s expression shifted slightly, but she forced a casual smile. ”Oh? And what did they say to you?”

”They don’t know about my existence, but I know about theirs. I know that things on your side aren’t going too well. You’ve run into a powerful enemy, haven’t you? Care to tell me about it? What kind of threat could force your people to consider seizing the Nine Mortal Realms?”

Fang Chen smiled as he spoke.

Fairy Yu now realized. He definitely knew things he wasn’t supposed to know.

Her expression turned a little more serious. After a moment of silence, she offered a smile and said, ”It’s nothing special, really. It’s.. no different from what your Nine Mortal Realms are experiencing right now. You’ve encountered a powerful enemy, and because you are weaker, you’re under the threat of being replaced or assimilated.

”Similarly, we too encountered an enemy stronger than us. Their methods are far more brutal, not just a hundred, but a thousand times more so. To survive, we have no choice but to find new lands at any cost.”

She sighed. ”Truth is, you’re one of us too. You just haven’t broken that memory shackle yet. If you did, you’d understand why we’re doing this.”

”Then why didn’t you just come openly?” asked Fang Chen calmly. ”The Nine Mortal Realms are vast. This world isn’t only for humans. Haven’t we lived in relative peace with the demon race?”

Fairy Yu couldn’t help but laugh. ”Please, let’s not play games and speak honestly. If we really came clean, what kind of scene do you think it would be?”

Fang Chen was silent for a long time. Then he smiled faintly and nodded.

”Endless war. Blood until death.”

”Exactly. You think your wars with the demon clans were mild? You only co-exist now because time has worn down both sides. But from what we’ve gathered, the Nine Mortal Realms isn’t even called that. Its true name is Heavenly Demon Ancient Land. The demons were the real masters of this realm. Like us, you only came later. The only difference is that your strength eventually surpassed theirs. Now, the number of demon cultivators compared to humans is like one grain of sand in an ocean. That’s the only way ’peaceful coexistence’ can happen, when one side becomes too weak to resist.”

She continued, ”If we were to arrive openly, we’d inevitably fall into an endless war that could last tens of thousands of years. Either we’d be beaten down to the point you’d allow us to exist, or you’d be weakened enough for us to allow you to exist. There are only two outcomes.”

”I agree with you,” said Fang Chen. ”But the current problem is... it seems your plan for the Nine Mortal Realms isn’t going so smoothly. Something, or someone, is causing trouble.”

Fairy Yu blinked, frowning slightly. ”Trouble? I really don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never had any direct contact with them. Not before, and probably not ever again.”

She paused, then added with a hint of cold clarity, ”In truth, your ability to stop our plans is already very limited. Sooner or later, the Inverse Immortal Demonic Embryo will become more and more common. And among them... maybe your friends or kin.”

She looked at Fang Chen, her eyes shimmering like calm water. ”When that day comes, how will you choose?”