Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen looked at Duan Lingxiao and asked with a faint smile, ”You said they have no parents? That they are orphans, and are ill omens?”

”I...”

Duan Lingxiao was at a loss for words. He couldn’t utter a single syllable, his heart consumed entirely by sheer terror.

Just as the atmosphere grew chillingly cold, Duan Lingkong finally spoke up. ”D-Daoist Fang, could you possibly...”

He looked toward Fang Xiaotian with a pleading gaze.

Fang Xiaotian wore a faint smile. ”It was precisely for the sake of your face that Sir Huang didn’t kill him with a single stroke of his sword. However, the fact remains that he insulted my family’s honor. I shall sever one more of his arms as punishment. How does that sound?”

Having said that, Fang Xiaotian looked toward Fang Chen, his eyes filled with a look of inquiry.

”You decide,” replied Fang Chen with a nod and a smile.

Sever another arm?

Both the middle-aged man and Duan Lingxiao felt a surge of relief. As long as their lives were spared, this was nothing. Duan Lingkong’s face showed deep gratitude as he cupped his fists. ”My thanks to Daoist Fang.”

Fang Xiaotian nodded slightly, walked up to Duan Lingxiao, and swung his sword. The man’s right arm was instantly severed at the shoulder.

Old Sheng shot a glance at the middle-aged man. ”Brother Fang is still too kind-hearted. Why haven’t you thanked him yet?”

The middle-aged man immediately led Duan Lingxiao to kowtow and offer his thanks. Only then did his heart finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Fang Chen waved his hand lightly. ”How about this?”

Wood element power slowly condensed, transforming into a wooden wheelchair.

”Since Old Huang severed his legs, I’ll gift him a wheelchair.”

Some observers suddenly felt that this great figure was quite easy to talk to, even going so far as to gift Duan Lingxiao a wheelchair. However, the sixth prince and the others sensed the underlying implication and couldn’t help but feel a secret chill in their hearts. The meaning behind this wheelchair was far from simple.

Fang Chen looked at Duan Lingxiao and declared, ”From now on, you shall sit in a wheelchair.”

”A wheelchair...”

The middle-aged man suddenly understood. A bitter smile touched his lips as he personally lifted Duan Lingxiao and placed him into the chair.

”Hurry and thank Senior Fang.”

Duan Lingxiao squeezed out a forced smile. ”Thank you... Senior Fang.”

Behind that smile was a bottomless sense of desolation. By giving him this wheelchair, the man had only one meaning—he was forbidden from reattaching his legs. He wouldn’t even be able to reattach his arm. From now on, he had to go about his life in a wheelchair. Should he dare to violate this, the white-robed cultivators alone would move to exterminate the Duan Clan.

Old Sheng said with a faint smile, ”I think it’s time for your Duan family to change clan heads. Let the younger generation take over. The older generation shouldn’t occupy the spot without doing the job. Give the youngsters a chance.”

The crowd was startled.

Was he forcibly replacing the head of the Duan Clan?

The looks they directed at the middle-aged man now carried a trace of pity.

”Yes...” replied the middle-aged man with a nod, grief consuming him.

He turned to look at Duan Lingkong. ”Lingkong, from now on...”

He wasn’t a fool. He could see that Old Sheng intended for Duan Lingkong to take power, and he knew that if Duan Lingkong hadn’t served as a buffer in this incident, the Duan Clan’s fate would not have ended so easily.

”Wait a moment.”

Huang Wuji interrupted the middle-aged man and whispered a few words into Fang Chen’s ear. However, Old Sheng and several nearby cultivators heard him quite clearly.

”This kid has decent talent. We can take him with us.”

Swish.

Countless gazes landed simultaneously on Duan Lingkong. They were filled with envy, jealousy, and longing. To be handpicked by such a figure and taken away meant a future infinitely brighter than staying within the Duan Clan.

Talent for sword cultivation, is it?

Fang Chen’s gaze fell upon Duan Lingkong. Others might not understand Huang Wuji’s meaning, but he did. When Huang Wuji spoke of talent, it was strictly related to the Sword Dao. Ordinary cultivators could never catch his eye.

Duan Lingkong noticed Fang Chen’s gray-white eyes scanning him. Fang Chen appeared to be blind, yet his gaze left Duan Lingkong feeling as if the man had stripped him bare and saw through all his secrets. A chill crept up his spine.

Huang Wuji asked with a faint smile, ”Kid, I think your talent is acceptable. Do you want to come with us?”

Duan Lingkong was momentarily dazed. ”Go... Go with all of you? Where?”

Huang Wuji said calmly, ”Don’t ask where. I intend to take you as my disciple. If you are willing, kneel and kowtow.”

The middle-aged man had thought that after this ordeal, the Duan Clan would be kicked while they were down by every other family. He never expected such a dramatic turn of events. His son, Duan Lingkong, would actually stumble upon such an opportunity!

He couldn’t help but send a voice transmission, ”Lingkong! Kneel and acknowledge him as your master, quickly! This is your fortune, and it is the fortune of our Duan Clan!”

Duan Lingkong had already noticed that the gazes of those around him had shifted from envy to pure jealousy. He understood exactly what kind of encounter this was. Without a word, he knelt and struck the ground with nine heavy kowtows.

Once he stood up, Huang Wuji had him stand by his side. They then followed Fang Chen and Old Sheng as they departed from the area. As he walked, Duan Lingkong still found it hard to believe. His mind was a hollow blur of shock.

The middle-aged man only dared to speak once Fang Chen and the others had completely left. ”Sixth Prince, that gentleman...”

The Sixth Prince originally didn’t want to pay him any mind. However, now that Huang Wuji had taken Duan Lingkong under his wing, the Duan Clan was now connected to Fang Chen, even if faintly. Thus, he gave a thin smile and said, ”You’ve truly found a blessing within a disaster. Fortunately, among your sons, there was a smart one to balance out that fool.”

Duan Lingxiao lowered his head, his face flushing a deep crimson.

”Core Disciple Fang is a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace,” said the sixth prince. ”You can ask Lingkong for the details later, but I’ll tell you this. The very weakest of the core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace can fight a sixth-transformation immortal to a draw. Many among them possess means that far surpass the sixth transformation.”

He added indifferently, ”In their eyes, our Drunken Fate Star is nothing more than a grain of sand on a beach. If they wished, they could easily wipe out everything here, including you and me.”

Hiss.

Duan Lingxiao had no idea such a power existed in the world, but he knew the sixth prince would not exaggerate such matters.

”It must be a power from beyond the heavens. No wonder...”

He instinctively looked up toward the Qingming. In the Great Victory Dynasty, the means to leave this world had always been monopolized by the Royal Family. Families like the Duan Clan actually knew very little about the outside world, having only heard occasional rumors.

***

Inside a magnificent, gold-shimmering hall, Old Sheng once again prepared to throw a grand banquet for Fang Chen’s group, but Fang Chen stopped him.

Fang Chen looked at Fang Xiaotian and Fang Xiaohua, a smile touching his face. ”Old Sheng, I won’t be staying long this time. I came specifically to take these two siblings away.”

Old Sheng rubbed his hands together expectantly. ”Well... what about me then?”

Fang Chen said, ”If you are willing, you can certainly come along. However, I cannot promise that following me will grant you a place in the Immortal Register. Consider that a few years ago, when we fought for the No. 97 Ancient Forbidden Zone, even a fair number of core disciples died. Staying here is, at the very least, far less dangerous.”

If even core disciples were dying in significant numbers, it meant the safety of external cultivators was even more precarious. He had already made everything clear. If the Third Ancestor was still willing to go, he would take him.

”I am willing! Staying here is just waiting to die. Following you out to see the world might give me a chance to live a second life!

Old Sheng didn’t hesitate for a second. He had been waiting for this day for many years!

Sheng Wu, who had been listening from the side, finally couldn’t help but speak up, ”Is Brother Xiaotian leaving too? Where... where is he going? Is it far?”