Immortal of the Nine Realms

In a nameless realm within the Fangcun Realm stretched a bustling city across the valleys, with cultivators flowing like rivers. Here and there, streaks of divine light flashed across the skies as first- and second-transformation immortals passed overhead.

At the center of the city stood a sheer wall, its surface polished like glass. Three golden words were carved upon it—Spiritual Treasure Ranking.

Upon this wall, the names of the top three hundred greatest spiritual treasures of heaven and earth lay inscribed. For countless generations, younger cultivators had come here to gaze upon it in awe. To them, even the lowest-ranked treasure upon that list was a peak they could never hope to reach.

On the other hand, older cultivators seldom cared about the rankings anymore. What was destined to be yours would find you. What was not would never belong to you. For most, those names carved upon the ranking were legends far beyond their grasp.

Crowds came and went. Some lingered, murmuring their admiration. Others debated over which sects those treasures might belong to. It was simply just another day.

Until... something unexpected happened.

Boom!

A sudden blaze of golden light split the sky. Countless beams of radiance rained down across the regions. One pillar of light struck the Spiritual Treasure Ranking directly.

Instantly, the Spiritual Treasure Ranking flared with divine brilliance as the names upon it began to shift and rewrite themselves. Before long, the lowest-ranked spiritual treasure on the list vanished, and in its place, six new words appeared

”Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword!”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

”The Spiritual Treasure Ranking... changed!?”

Excited shouts erupted.

Countless figures broke through the sky and descended upon the ranking, immortal essence surging about them. They were all Immortal Sect Leaders.

They stared at the new name that had taken over the 300th spot, eyes wide with disbelief.

None of them could recall when the ranking last changed. Usually, only minor reshuffles occurred among the existing treasures. A new treasure had never appeared.

But now, a treasure unseen in the ages had emerged, and it was a name never before recorded in history.

”The Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword... who in the heavens obtained such a divine object?”

”Surely some Ancient Immortal Sect Leader...”

”Only an Ancient Immortal could wield a treasure worthy of the ranking.”

For them, even a common spiritual treasure would be enough to make ancestors weep with pride.

Across the Spiritual Treasure Rankings in the Nine Realms, golden beams fell simultaneously, and the same new name appeared.

The Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword shook the heavens.

Even so, among the Ancient Immortal Sect Leaders, a treasure ranked 300th was hardly worth more than a passing glance. Intriguing, yes, but not beyond comprehension.

Within the seclusion chamber, the five-colored light around Little Sword slowly dimmed and sank into her body. She landed softly on the ground, eyes bright with relief. She exclaimed, ”Little Chen, that scared me half to death! I thought I was going to die!”

”Put that on first,” said Fang Chen, tossing her a robe.

Little Sword clumsily dressed herself, then started exploring the seclusion chamber, touching the table and tapping the walls, fascinated by the feeling of having hands.

”That little one is truly fortunate.” Mirror of the Universe sighed. ”I wonder if I’ll ever regain my human form as well.”

Fang Chen curiously studied Little Sword. She looked no different from a girl of fifteen or sixteen, her eyes pure and untouched by worldly dust.

He muttered, ”Little Mirror, swords have genders now?”

”All under the heavens is divided by yin and yang, and only from them can life exist,” answered Mirror of the Universe. ”But... even I can’t say for sure.”

It fell silent, as though recalling something.

”Little Sword, you knew you were a girl?” asked Fang Chen.

She chuckled. ”Of course I knew! Why would you ask that? Don’t you know that too?”

Fang Chen grumbled. Knew? Like hell I did.

He suggested, ”Anyway, showing up like this isn’t ideal. I only got away with using the Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Mountain by tricking Senior Sister. If she notices... it’ll be troublesome. Why don’t you turn back for now?”

Little Sword whined pitifully, ”I can, but only if you promise to let me come out for some air once in a while.”

Only after Fang Chen agreed did she break into a radiant smile. In the next moment, her form dissolved into a streak of sword light and vanished into Fang Chen’s body. Her robe fluttered to the floor.

Fang Chen was shocked as he picked up her robe. ”Wait... she has to appear like that every time? What if she shows up mid-battle?! She’ll be naked!”

”Teach her to form her own clothes. She just hasn’t thought of it yet, but it’s simple,” said Mirror of the Universe calmly.

Fang Chen sighed. Then, recalling something, he asked, ”Then what are you... male or female?”

”I don’t know!” screamed Mirror of the Universe in embarrassment.

Fang Chen chuckled, shook his head, and stepped out of the seclusion chamber.

Outside, Ji Cheng was deep in thought.

A breakthrough to the second transformation shouldn’t take so long. Unless...

Before he could finish, the chamber door flew open, and Fang Chen stepped out, looking as calm as ever.

Ji Cheng’s words froze in his throat. He could sense Fang Chen’s immortal essence surging, but could not read any further as Fang Chen’s divine soul had restrained his qi.

That only deepened Ji Cheng’s suspicion. A faint smile crept onto his face, and he said, ”Brother Fang, Senior Sister calls for us. Let’s hurry.”

Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian followed Ji Cheng swiftly toward Senior Sister’s Black Dragon Boat.

Behind them, Mi Yu tried to tag along, but Ji Gang caught her by the collar.

Mi Yu was surprised. ”We’re not going?”

”That isn’t a place for us. The matters that will be discussed are only for core disciples’ ears,” said Ji Gang, shaking his head.

From aboard the boat, someone murmured, ”A new spiritual treasure has made it to the Spiritual Treasure Ranking. The Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword? Hmm, this is interesting. What rank is it?”

”300th,” answered another cultivator.

Interest immediately waned. Once they activated the Immortal Boat Formations of the Black Dragon Boats, they might not necessarily be at a disadvantage against a 300th-place Spiritual Treasure. Not to mention, several core disciplines likely carried even stronger Spiritual Treasures. They simply kept them hidden.

”Yuan Magnetic Five Elements Divine Sword...” muttered the senior sister.

Then, seeing Fang Chen and the others arrive, she counted heads. With all one hundred core disciples present, she started calling out names. ”Third Brother, Fifth, Seventh... Hong Zhi and Fang Chen, you’re coming too.”

Twenty core disciples stepped forward with excitement. The rest could only sigh in resignation.

Within the Qingming, a bamboo forest formed entirely from immortal essence shimmered. All around it was endless emptiness. It brimmed with tranquility.

In the bamboo forest, dozens of figures stood proud and tall, all of them core disciples of the top sects. Some came from the Blood and Flesh Divine Palace. Some were from the Ten Thousand Star Palace, and some belonged to the Taiyi Immortal Sect. Even the Spirit God Sect and Killing Spiritual Division had sent their core disciples, though their numbers were small. Perhaps, they were just mere spectators.

At the very center was a monk clad in a black robe, with the body of a man and the face of a woman.

The face was round-cheeked and serene, and his features looked eerily similar to those of the Buddha statues within the mortal world...