Immortal of the Nine Realms

The guards were about to explode in rage when they heard the stranger call the Ancestral Emperor by his personal name. However, the mention of Fang Cangyue made them freeze. It wasn’t until a nearby guard gasped and rushed forward to bow, calling out ’Empress’, that the rest finally snapped out of it.

The group of four was quickly led to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where they met Xia Xuanji, a man they hadn’t seen in a long time. Fang Xiaotian and Fang Xiaohua knew he was technically their uncle, but since Fang Chen hadn’t introduced them yet, they didn’t speak, only sizing up the man silently.

They soon noticed that his cultivation level actually seemed lower than theirs. Xia Xuanji’s hair was graying at the temples, and he looked much older than before. This was strange. An early-stage Fusion Realm cultivator like him should not have aged with his lifespan.

”Cangyue, it’s been a long time,” said Xia Xuanji emotionally.

He seemed to have completely ignored Fang Chen and the others.

”Drop the act. You visit the Underworld every month. We see each other plenty there,” dismissed Fang Cangyue. ”Anyway, Little Chen is back and wants to see you. After this, we’re heading to the south for a bit. By the way, these two are your nephew and niece. Their surname is Fang.”

”Uncle,” greeted the two with cupped fists.

Xia Xuanji was stunned, then laughed. ”Why are you calling me Uncle? That’s wrong. You should call me Grand Uncle.”

He looked at Fang Chen and mocked, ”Fang Chen, you didn’t explain the family tree to your own kids?”

The siblings were dumbfounded.

Fang Cangyue sighed in frustration. ”They are my older brother and sister-in-law’s kids. They’re Chen’er’s younger siblings.”

Xia Xuanji stared at them for a long time in disbelief. ”Your older brother and his wife can still have kids? Wasn’t one Fang Chen enough?”

”Uncle, that sounds a bit wrong, doesn’t it?” Fang Chen shook his head with a smile. ”Want to go to the back for a chat?”

”Ah, sure.”

Xia Xuanji nodded and left the hall with Fang Chen after reminding Fang Cangyue to look after the kids.

Fang Cangyue told the siblings, ”Don’t mind them. I’ll show you around. When your big brother was still in diapers, he used to run all over the palace. He even left marks in a few places—want to see?”

Their eyes lit up. They definitely wanted to see that!

***

”How has Grand Xia been these years?” asked Fang Chen as they walked through the Imperial Garden.

”Good, of course. Grand Xia’s territory is bigger than you can imagine now,” Xia Xuanji said, though a sigh escaped him. ”But it’s a lot of work—that’s why my hair turned white. Luckily, I didn’t mess up what our old man assigned me. We’ve implemented the Clear Divide Order throughout our territory.”

He explained, ”Cultivators and mortals must stay separately. Cultivators can’t interfere in mortal business. After we implemented this, it has been harder to find disciples now, but the commoners are much happier. They don’t have to worry about a flying sword falling from the sky and wiping out a whole village.”

He glanced at Fang Chen. ”What about you? What have you been doing all these years out there?”

”It’s complicated. I’ll tell you later. By the way, did the Corrosive Dragon King ever show up again?”

”Him? He wouldn’t dare,” sneered Xia Xuanji.

He was still bitter about the Corrosive Dragon King possessing his body.

Fang Chen realised that the incident might have involved ”that side”. The Corrosive Dragon King was likely someone who had overcome the cognition veil. As for Xia Xuanji, he was probably a pure human soul, which is why the old man valued him.

If he’s a Human soul, then Xiaji is a pure-blood human. That’s good, Fang Chen thought.

”I noticed some issues with how the Grand Xia Imperial Family handles things back in Baiyue City,” mentioned Fang Chen.

”I figured you’d find out, so I left it for you to handle. Those guys annoy me constantly. If they were alive, I could deal with them. But they’re in the Underworld now, so it’s quite inefficient for me to mete out punishment. If I do it, I’ll just end up with a bad reputation. It’s better if you do it. They’re terrified of you, and they won’t blame me.”

Fang Chen laughed. They talked more about Grand Xia’s politics until noon. Suddenly, a massive bolt of dry thunder shook the sky.

Xia Xuanji looked up and commented, ”Probably some passing cultivator who doesn’t know the rules.”

Thunder crashed repeatedly as two figures began dueling in the sky above the capital. Before things got too intense, a group of Valiant Saber Guards flew up, slapped shackles and black hoods on them, and hauled them away.

After this incident, Xia Xuanji arranged for a scrumptious feast, and the two drank from noon until evening. Word of the Empress’s return had spread, but the Valiant Saber Guards blocked all the royal relatives from entering.

The next day, the four left for the Fang Manor in the South.

”Your uncle is usually out working, and the old man hasn’t been back in a long time. Your parents are gone too,” explained Fang Cangyue as they entered. ”The manor is mostly looked after by the descendants of the orphans we took in back then.”

To avoid trouble, Fang Chen cast a restrictive formation so the ordinary people couldn’t see them.

”I wonder if your parents happen to be home,” said Fang Cangyue as she pushed open the main hall doors.

Two people were inside eating. They looked up and smiled. ”Just in time for dinner. Sit down.”

It was Fang Canghai and his wife.

Xiaotian and Xiaohua stood frozen. They had grown up, but their parents hadn’t aged a day.

”Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you’re back! These are Xiaotian and Xiaohua. You didn’t forget them, did you?” introduced Fang Cangyue, pulling the two forward.

Their parents looked dazed for a moment, then their eyes cleared. Tears began to fall.

”Dad! Mom!”

The siblings knelt, finally letting out their repressed emotions.

Mother Fang sighed. ”Don’t blame us. Your father and I have some memory problems... sometimes... we forget things.”

”It’s good that you’re back. You’ve grown so much that we almost didn’t recognize you,” said Fang Canghai as he helped them up.