Immortal of the Nine Realms

The room fell silent as Wang Chongsong stopped speaking.

Fang Chen said nothing.

After a long pause, Fang Chen smiled faintly and said, ”Old Wang, isn’t it a bit late to be saying such discouraging things now? Even if that Saint Son can use demonic calamity to awaken past-life memories, it’s impossible for him to seize control of the Nine Mortal Realms in a short time. The Nine Mortal Realms are vast beyond measure. Even with Starry Teleportation Formations, just traveling from place to place takes decades, scores of years, or even over a century. But I can move freely between regions. That’s our advantage.”

”As Monarch Yan, the Underworld is indeed your greatest advantage. But what use is traveling everywhere? Can you kill everyone?” Wang Chongsong replied calmly. ”The only way to truly resolve this is to send them all into reincarnation, life after life, until they’re completely assimilated. That’s exactly what I’ve been working toward. Just when there were signs of progress, he got ahead of me.”

Fang Chen rejoined, ”So what if he gets three steps ahead? You can still keep working toward that goal.”

He reasoned, ”The powerhouses of the twenty-six Demon Realms cannot reach the Nine Mortal Realms at all. What they have is only what’s in front of them right now. Among the current ninth-transformation Immortals of the Upper Three Realms, there may already be many human souls. And even if some of them were demons in their past lives, would they really agree to have those memories awakened? Aren’t these all potential allies? Not to mention the many Yang Gods.”

Fang Chen frowned slightly. ”Old Wang, we’re already on the defensive. We can’t always have the initiative. Losing some advantages isn’t a big deal. But losing hope because of it, that’s when we truly lose.”

”You don’t understand...” Wang Chongsong sat back down, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly. ”That Saint Son... he really is capable.”

Fang Chen studied Wang Chongsong carefully for a moment, then frowned. ”Don’t tell me he’s from your era? You suffered a loss at his hands?”

”Bullshit!” Wang Chongsong exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumping up and cursing furiously. ”Me, suffer a loss to him? What is he, anyway? He’s not even worthy of polishing my shoes! Damn it! What nonsense are you spouting?! Have you lost your mind?”

Fang Chen didn’t get angry. Instead, he laughed. ”Looks like I guessed right. But this is the Nine Mortal Realms, not the twenty-six Demon Realms. So what if you lost over there? Just win it back here.”

”Easy for you to say,” scoffed Wang Chongsong.

Though he was still speaking harshly, his presence was clearly much stronger than before.

”The True Demon Path has no rank restrictions. Over countless years, who knows how many people have secretly cultivated their way to the ninth transformation? Add that fellow into the mix, and we may be facing at least ten ninth-transformation True Demons. Are you scared yet?”

Fang Chen was stunned. ”Only ten? I thought I’d be facing at least thirty ninth-transformation True Demons.”

Wang Chongsong rolled his eyes. ”Thirty? What, you think those guys grow on trees? Even at their peak, when the Demon Realms were at their strongest, each realm only had dozens of ninth-transformation True Demons, and every one of them was forged through countless years of bitter cultivation. They had to be monstrously talented, with enough fortune and opportunity, to reach that level.

”Most importantly, they had the Abyss of Demons. Many ninth-transformation True Demons ultimately advanced there. But this place doesn’t have that!”

Wang Chongsong continued with a grave expression. ”After reincarnating here, the differences in cultivation may not seem huge, but the finer details diverge. For example, the human body and the demon body differ, and the further you cultivate, the more obvious those differences become. Back during the Great Thunder Sound Temple struggle, didn’t you see the Shao Guangyin fall into demonic transformation?”

Fang Chen nodded. ”Yes.”

Wang Chongsong sneered. ”He was cultivating the True Demon method. In our homeland, he should have been in a constant state of demonic transformation. But here, he must actively enter that state to reach such strength, and the cost is enormous. He can’t maintain it for long.”

Fang Chen was delighted to hear that. ”So in other words... even a ninth-transformation True Demon can’t maintain a True Demon body for long when fighting a ninth-transformation immortal?”

”In theory, yes. Otherwise, why would they insist on completely plundering the Nine Mortal Realms? It is because they covet the Immortal Paths. This is the difference between realms. In the Nine Mortal Realms, the Immortal Path is heaven itself—it is the Dao. Though their numbers are small, any one of them sent over there would stand out even among ninth-transformation True Demons.”

Wang Chongsong continued, ”There should also be some who didn’t choose the True Demon Path, but instead integrated into this world and followed the Immortal Path. Among the ninth-transformation immortals of the Three Upper Realms today, there may already be such individuals.”

Fang Chen smiled. ”That’s still just speculation, but after hearing this, I feel our chances aren’t zero after all. Those ninth-transformation True Demons don’t dare to act openly. If they did, they’d definitely be suppressed by the ninth-transformation immortals. Think about it. If these ninth-transformation immortals suddenly realized there were so many new ninth-transformation existences here, wouldn’t they find it strange? And since the True Demon body is restricted here, that’s also great news for us.”

At this point, Fang Chen was visibly encouraged. ”Old Wang, our odds are actually pretty good.”

”Good my ass. We don’t have much time left,” Wang Chongsong replied flatly.

”If his experimental method is put into action, every moment someone will awaken their past-life memories. For every one who awakens, we lose an ally and gain an enemy.”

”Do you think... among them, there might be some we can win over?” Fang Chen asked. ”After all, when your predecessors came here back then, plenty of ninth-transformation Immortals collaborated with them. We could try the same, divide and conquer.”

”The forest is big, there are all kinds of birds,” Wang Chongsong snapped. ”But right now, this forest isn’t that big. If you want to win anyone over, at the very least, you need to show the credentials of a ninth-transformation immortal.”

”What do you have? You’ve muddled along all this time, and you’re still just a measly second-transformation Immortal!”

”And you’re only a seventh transformation Ancient Immortal, why not push a bit harder?” Fang Chen said indifferently.

Reaching the second transformation already put him far ahead of the curve. How many years had it even taken? He wasn’t about to feel ashamed because of that remark.

”Push my ass! I don’t even know what the immortal herb I need for the eighth-transformation Taiyi Immortal Path.” Wang Chongsong snorted. ”If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen this path. Though the ninth-transformation immortal seat on this path is probably vacant...”

”Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Fang Chen stared at him. ”Just because you don’t know doesn’t mean I don’t!”

”You do?” Wang Chongsong froze. ”Then hurry up and tell me!”

”It takes some immortal crystals to investigate that kind of thing.” Fang Chen snorted. ”I spent quite a lot recently and don’t have much left. Give me some, and I’ll tell you as soon as I find out.”

Wang Chongsong fell silent for a few breaths, then waved his hand. ”Go on. Handle the current situation first. If you’re short on immortal crystals, I’ll lend you some after I return. But please don’t ever say again that you’re spending immortal crystals to investigate what immortal herb I need for the eighth transformation. Frankly, it makes you look stupid, and it makes me look stupid too.”

He stopped paying attention to Fang Chen altogether, clearly losing interest in continuing the conversation.