Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Let Ninth Brother go in first to test the waters?”

Everyone was slightly taken aback. Their gazes turned to Fang Chen. Some were curious. Some were surprised. Others were speculative. None of them knew what had truly happened the last time Xie Aman’s team entered the Buddhist Kingdom, nor that their return had anything to do with Fang Chen himself.

”Stop being so mysterious,” Chen Enxue muttered with a teasing smile as she moved closer to him. ”Ninth Brother, tell your third senior sister what really happened last time?”

Little Immortal Honglian gave Chen Enxue a sidelong glance and flatly said, ”Third Sister, Senior Sister Aman already said this isn’t urgent.”

”Oh, please. I’m not stealing your sweetheart,” Chen Enxue retorted with a roll of her eyes. ”I’m just asking Ninth Brother a few questions. Don’t be so defensive.”

She turned back to Fang Chen with a grin. ”Ninth Brother, don’t copy Senior Aman’s habit of keeping secrets. If there’s something dangerous about this place, tell me now. What if I walk straight into a trap?”

The others exchanged glances. She had a point. Surely there were things here worth knowing. Otherwise, why had the three of them been trapped here for so long last time?

”Enough,” Xie Aman said impatiently, shooting Chen Enxue a warning glare.

Then she nodded at Fang Chen. ”Go ahead, tell her what she wants to know.”

Fang Chen inclined his head. ”There’s an ancient being here. This place was formed by her after her death. If any Buddhist Immortal Path exists, it’s most likely with her.”

”She has lost the memories of her former life. I stayed here for a few years and developed a small friendship with her. We can talk.”

”An ancient being?” murmured Chen Enxue. ”How ancient? Is she a ninth-transformation Immortal?”

Everyone’s expressions turned contemplative.

Only a ninth-transformation Immortal could die and still create such a realm, one capable of trapping even Xie Aman for decades.

”Then she really might possess the Buddhist Immortal Path of a ninth-transformation immortal.” Nanming Ruyue frowned. ”If so, this is no trivial matter. Does the Palace Master know?”

”It’s only an Immortal Path,” Xie Aman said with a soft smile. ”The Palace Master won’t contest openly over it. In fact, the reason the Rulai Monastery managed to gain the support of the Spirit God Sect and the Killing Spiritual Division this time is precisely because of negotiations between the higher-ups. If not for those people mediating, those two sects would never have cooperated.”

Fang Chen was hit with realization. He had wanted to ask her that for some time, and now he finally had the answer.

The others looked equally surprised. The conversation quickly shifted from the Buddhist Kingdom to the coming war.

”Senior Sister Aman, you already knew?” said Fourth Brother gravely. ”If that alliance was arranged by the Palace Master, then this battle between the Rulai Monastery and us will be a split at best. Why? Are the Spirit God Sect and the Killing Spiritual Division planning to fight at full strength? Or does the Rulai Monastery have some new trump card?”

”We’ll only know once the fighting starts,” Xie Aman replied. ”But don’t worry. At worst, we’ll give up this zone. Without me, they won’t be stepping into the Buddhist Kingdom anyway.”

The others nodded thoughtfully.

***

Several years later, the group arrived at Xu Qinghe’s residence.

”Ninth Brother, go and see whether she’s regained her memory, or if she’s the same as before,” said Xie Aman.

”I’ll go with him,” Chen Enxue offered with a grin.

”Why don’t we all go?” suggested Li Shanzi.

Fang Chen immediately shook his head. Bringing them along would make it impossible for him to use his Monarch Yan’s Seal freely.

”Seniors... if she hasn’t regained her memory, then she’s just an ordinary woman,” said Fang Chen. ”If so many strangers appear at once, she might refuse to even speak with me, let alone with all of you. Let me check first.”

”He’s right,” Xie Aman interjected, dismissing the others’ idea. ”Ninth Brother handled her well last time. He won’t have trouble now.

She added, ”But Ninth Brother, remember to ask about the Buddhist Immortal Path. Ancient beings like her should be similar to Anomalies. They often wish to leave their inheritance behind.”

Similar to Anomalies?

Everyone exchanged knowing looks. If that were true, things would be much simpler. It was well-known that Anomalies were usually approachable. If they deemed someone fated, they often left behind some legacy. Like the Grand World Immortal Path that the Enlightenment God Palace had gained years ago in the Formless Purgatory.

***

Fang Chen entered Fenghua Alley. Nothing had changed. The people were exactly as before. No one had aged, and the children had not grown.

When they saw him, they looked surprised. Some greeted him warmly, asking where he had been all these years. He answered each question casually before making his way to Xu Qinghe’s little courtyard.

She was in the yard hanging freshly washed clothes, mostly belonging to the widows and orphans she cared for.

”It’s you? You’ve come back again,” Xu Qinghe said offhandedly, glancing at him only once.

Fang Chen paused, then smiled. ”So your memory has remained intact since last time, Senior?”

”I wanted to see whether you truly could dissolve the seal here,” she replied, setting out a stool for him.

”So, you’ve come for that?”

”The seal has already been broken,” Fang Chen said. ”You can lead the souls of this place back to the Underworld at any time. They’ll no longer be bound here.”

”I can’t sense the outside world anymore,” Xu Qinghe murmured, sighing softly. ”If what you say is true, undoing the seal means there’s no turning back. If you’ve deceived me, every soul here would perish.”

She looked away. ”Let me think about it a little longer.”

”Senior, while walking the Underworld, I encountered a child, plump and pale, with extraordinary cultivation,” shared Fang Chen. ”It saw your statue and called you its mother.”

Xu Qinghe’s eyes grew complicated. ”So you met the Self Transformation Ghost....”

She studied him carefully before speaking again. ”For you to speak those words proves you didn’t lie to me. But tell me, how did you leave the Underworld alive?”

Meanwhile, Fang Chen was startled. ”Self Transformation Ghost?”

”People once called me the Ghost Mother of Self Transformation because I was converting the creature. It revered me as its mother. Through my guidance, it would not bring disaster upon the Three Realms,” she explained softly. ”But after that battle, I turned into this Ghost Realm and never returned to the Underworld. I thought it had long fallen into madness. I didn’t expect it to still regard me as its mother. That... surprises me.”

”So Senior was called the Ghost Mother of Self Transformation because of it?” Fang Chen asked in shock.

He had thought it had been her title all along, never the child’s. It was unbelievable that an infant spirit terrified even ninth-transformation immortals. He could hardly imagine what manner of being that was.

”To dissolve this Ghost Realm will take some time,” Xu Qinghe said at last. ”It will take about seven days. After that, I’ll send you all out.”

Just as she was about to act as before, Fang Chen spoke up quickly. ”Please wait, Senior, I still have something to ask.”

”Speak.”

”Would you be willing to pass down the Buddhist Immortal Path?”