Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen was somewhat surprised. Has Old Wang completely ghosted the Killing Spiritual Division because of that incident?

Otherwise, why would Huang Qingque be asking him to act as a middleman?

Huang Qingque explained, ”I’ve heard that Immortal Taixu has already reached the Ancient Immortal Realm. Since that last affair, his responses to the division have been... noncommittal at best. Even core disciples with far more seniority than I have called upon him and received no reply. I’ve tried to contact him myself, but he simply ignores me.”

Huang Qingque let out a sigh and looked at Fang Chen with a forced, bitter smile. ”Daoist Fang, you really have to help me this time.”

”Daoist Qingque, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but given Senior Taixu’s status, even I cannot simply knock on his door unannounced,” said Fang Chen, shaking his head. ”Without a valid reason, he’ll only get angry.”

He paused, then added, ”You mentioned earlier that the Ancient Immortal from the Ancient Desolate Realm went missing, and that Taixu was investigated afterward. Do you suspect him of being involved?”

”To be honest, it’s not my suspicion. With my cultivation and status, how could I possibly interfere in such a matter?” Huang Qingque laughed bitterly. ”It’s the upper echelons in the Upper Three Realms who are suspicious. However, they couldn’t investigate Taixu directly, so they had us juniors step forward.”

He continued, ”At the time, Xie Zhi had just been established, making us the perfect candidates for the job, as we had never falsely accused a single cultivator. I thought that if we succeeded, it would make a name for the Xie Zhi, showing the upper echelons its utility so it could be better implemented in the future.”

”Who would have thought—”

Fang Chen smiled. ”In the end, you found nothing, and Xie Zhi was disbanded.”

Huang Qingque sighed. ”If I ever hold real power, Xie Zhi will be reformed. But for now, I’m just a small fry. I still need a long period of tempering.”

Fang Chen fell into thought, then said, ”Tell you what, whatever it is you want to ask Senior Taixu, I will pass word along for you. But as to whether he will see you, I make no guarantees.”

Huang Qingque was surprised for a moment. But he quickly gathered himself and gave a deep bow. ”Thank you!”

Fang Chen waved it off with a smile. ”We’re old colleagues, there’s no need for that.”

Feeling that Ning Xun’s speed was too slow, Fang Chen invited him onto the Black Dragon Boat. With Ning Xun acting as a guide, he pushed the boat to full speed.

That was Ning Xun’s first time aboard an Immortal Boat belonging to a top-tier faction. He felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. Even though he had never seen the power of an Immortal Boat Formation with his own eyes, he had heard the rumors. Rumor had it that if the boat beneath his feet transformed into a formation, it would possess vast divine powers, comparable to an Ancient Immortal! In the entire Ning Clan, there were likely only two or three boats that could rival the Black Dragon Boat.

As they approached the Ning Clan’s ancestral lands, Fang Chen stowed the Black Dragon Boat away. He said to Ning Xun with a smile, ”Daoist Ning, I am just here for a casual visit and do not wish for too many people to know. Just take us to see Ning Beiyou.”

Ning Xun was briefly stunned, then a look of understanding dawned on him as he felt a secret thrill. ”Please, follow me.”

While leading the way, they occasionally encountered other Ning Clan cultivators. Those with lower cultivation than Ning Xun bowed from a distance. Others, who were first-transformation immortals like him, offered a greeting but did not press for the origins of Fang Chen or Huang Qingque.

Ning Xun was secretly pleased. Since these two didn’t plan on making a grand entrance, he had a valid excuse not to report this to the higher-ups immediately. Naturally, the task of hosting them fell to him. Being close to such figures carried no downsides, regardless of whether there were immediate benefits or whether the connection would prove useful in the future.

Several hours later, the trio arrived at a mountain range where spiritual energy gathered into a dense mist, creating a scene like a literal fairyland.

”Daoist Ning certainly knows how to enjoy life.” Huang Qingque couldn’t help but chuckle.

Ning Xun accompanied them with a smile, leading them to Ning Beiyou’s Dao Domain. When a guard stepped forward to inquire, Ning Xun presented his identity as a Ning Clan immortal and led the two straight inside. He must have sent a voice transmission to Ning Beiyou. Not long after, Ning Beiyou tore through the air and landed before them.

A look of deep emotion crossed Ning Beiyou’s face. ”Daoist Qingque, Daoist Fang, it has been a long time....”

He was truly surprised to see the two of them appear together today.

Huang Qingque laughed. ”If I hadn’t heard someone mention it, I wouldn’t have known you were getting married. You knew I was in the Upper Three Realms, so why didn’t you say a word?”

”It is simply too far, and I feared it would be inconvenient for you to make the trip,” replied Ning Beiyou, shaking his head with a smile.

”Cousin, I encountered these two at the border. I’ll leave you three to catch up. I’ll be waiting outside. Just give me a shout if you need anything,” said Ning Xun as he cupped his hands.

He then tactfully retreated to wait outside the doors.

”Your cousin isn’t bad. If not for him leading the way, it probably would have taken us much longer to find you,” remarked Huang Qingque, glancing at Ning Xun’s retreating back and offering a good word for him.

Ning Beiyou nodded. ”I know of Ning Xun. He’s a pragmatic one. Others are unwilling to stay at the border, but he is diligent, guarding that post for years without a single word of complaint.”

With that, Ning Beiyou discreetly caught Fang Chen’s eye.

”Let’s talk inside.”

He led them to the reception hall. Once they were seated, Fang Chen brought up the matter of the Lower Six Realms.

”I’ve heard recently that a demonic calamity has descended upon the Lower Six Realms. Have you two heard of this?”

”What a coincidence; I am aware of it as well,” replied Ning Beiyou.

He understood that there was no need to hide this from Huang Qingque, so he spoke plainly.

”Before I returned to the Upper Three Realms, I passed through a certain territory. Both mortals and cultivators there encountered a demonic calamity at the exact same time. The kind where they couldn’t be woken up no matter what...”

He spoke for a full half-hour, detailing everything he had seen and theorized. ℯℯ𝘭.

Huang Qingque was visibly shocked, and a flash of fury soon crossed his eyes. Gnashing his teeth, he said, ”This is likely a method used by the Spirit God Sect.”

”Spirit God Sect?” repeated Ning Beiyou.

He instinctively glanced at Fang Chen.

Seeing no change in Fang Chen’s expression, he frowned and said, ”Since ancient times, the Spirit God Sect has focused primarily on instigation and provocation. Since when have they been able to master the demonic calamity? Shouldn’t such a calamity... be something bestowed by the Heavenly Dao? If the Spirit God Sect’s methods have developed to this extent, how can the Killing Spiritual Division even compete with them?”

”You have a point. The descent of a demonic calamity... I’ve never even heard of such a technique,” muttered Huang Qingque with furrowed brows.

”For cultivators like us, slaughtering every living being in a territory isn’t difficult. It’s only a matter of how fast we can do it. But that’s different. Forcing a demonic calamity to descend on every single person within a region is simply impossible. That kind of power is beyond our current understanding.”

”Daoist Qingque, has your Killing Spiritual Division not received word of this? There are cultivators stationed in some of those territories as well,” noted Ning Beiyou with a smirk.

Huang Qingque said with a bitter laugh, ”Hearing you say your Killing Spiritual Division is something I’m still not quite used to.”

He thought back for a long moment before shaking his head. ”The division has no intelligence on this matter. However, in the True Martial Realm, quite a few first transformation immortals from the division have gone missing. Looking at it now, perhaps it is related to this.”

Fang Chen shot a look at Huang Qingque.

First-transformation immortals missing... They most likely sacrificed themselves. So, that Saint Son... really did push the Killing Spiritual Division forward to act as his vanguard?