Immortal of the Nine Realms

It wasn’t just Mingwang Star experiencing this. Above every single star in the Taicang Realm, the same image appeared in the sky. Even the Fangcun Realm and the Shenwang Realm were not spared. Places such as the Nanqing Constellation, Langgui Constellation, Enlightenment Star, and more experienced the same.

One terrifying existence after another raised their gaze toward the void.

There were elders of top-tier factions, core disciples of top-tier factions, as well as ordinary cultivators, and even mortals.

At the same time, within the darkness, pairs of eyes opened one after another. Each owner of those eyes was a being who dominated the world. They were true apex powerhouses of the Three Realms. And they, too, were watching the sky.

***

Tuxiong Star, in the Grand Xia Empire, in the capital.

Xia Xuanji, who had ruled as emperor for nearly a thousand years, showed no signs of aging. Like everyone, he stepped out of the great hall and looked toward the sky, at the inexplicably appearing landscape painting.

”This is... Three World Mountain,” he muttered to himself, confusion flickering in his eyes.

Why would the scene of Three Realms Mountain suddenly appear in the sky?

Suddenly, the image exploded with an overwhelming aura of slaughter.

”Kill!”

Everyone observing it, whether cultivator or mortal, felt as though they had been transported into the scene itself, experiencing that intense killing intent firsthand. The armies of Grand Xia surged forward like a tidal wave, charging toward the mighty army led by Marshal Xiao Lang of the Qingsong Empire.

Xia Xuanji’s mouth hung open, disbelief filling his eyes.

This was clearly the battle of Three World Mountain from years ago, the one that had severely weakened Great Xia. Why was a scene from the past suddenly playing in the sky?

”Could it be that brat’s doing? But why...?”

Xia Xuanji couldn’t make sense of it.

***

Taicang Realm, in an unknown region, on a Black Dragon Boat.

Xie Aman and the Hundred Battle Immortal Sovereign observed the sky with interest.

Watching the scene play out, Hundred Battle Immortal Venerable sighed. ”The person who cast this technique must be extremely powerful.”

He had personally searched the surrounding regions but found no trace of the source of this image, nor the one behind it. Which meant the person’s cultivation was at least on par with his.

Xie Aman stared at the battle unfolding within the image and smiled. ”What do you think is the purpose of this?”

”I can feel the killing intent, but it has little effect on cultivators. It doesn’t resemble a curse, nor the opening of an illusion technique. And those soldiers fighting... they’re just ordinary mortals.”

Just as Hundred Battle Immortal Venerable was about to say he didn’t understand either, he suddenly froze. He sucked in a sharp breath and pointed at a certain spot.

”Isn’t that Ninth Core Disciple Fang?”

”Ninth Brother?”

Xie Aman looked more closely, and indeed, among hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he saw a young man standing atop a high platform, not making a move. His face still carried traces of childishness. His eyes were not gray-white. Instead, they were lively and bright.

Xie Aman looked astonished. ”That really is Ninth Brother. Only, his eyes are gray-white now, like a stagnant pool. This person is completely different. If he hadn’t opened his eyes, it would be hard to recognize him.”

She kept scanning the surroundings but couldn’t find anything unusual. She looked up at the image and frowned.

What does its appearance signify?

***

Enlightenment Star.

Chen Enxue had descended into the mortal world in her Ghost Immortal form. She stood among a group of core disciples.

”That’s definitely Ninth Brother,” she said.

With Xie Aman and Wang Ye absent, she naturally took the lead among them.

She spoke with absolute certainty. ”That’s definitely Ninth Brother. But his eyes looked much better back then.”

The core disciples exchanged surprised glances.

”Is that really Ninth Brother?”

Could that be an experience from Fang Chen’s youth? But if so... why was it being projected above Enlightenment Star?

This was no insignificant place. It was the location of the Enlightenment God Palace. Who would dare use such a method here and cause a disturbance?

Aside from core disciples, there were also many Elders nearby. One of the Elders flew back from afar and said, ”I’ve checked, there’s no foreign enemy intrusion on Enlightenment Star. This image seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Even with our methods, we cannot erase it.”

Someone condensed a massive hand of using immortal essence and tried to wipe away a portion of the image, but the erased section immediately restored itself.

The elder looked at Chen Enxue, astonishment in his eyes. ”It really can’t be removed... strange. Third Sister, is that really Fang Chen?”

”It’s definitely him.” Chen Enxue nodded firmly. ”Look at his demeanor, that can’t be faked. It’s definitely him.”

An elder frowned. ”Ninth Brother went to Taicang Realm. Now that this phenomenon has suddenly appeared, could he have encountered some danger there?”

”Danger or not, I don’t know, but I think I understand something.” Chen Enxue suddenly chuckled, watching the scene with great interest. ”Someone is digging up his past.”

She pointed at the sky next. ”Look, at this time, Ninth Brother probably hadn’t started cultivating yet. There’s no trace of a cultivator’s aura. He came from a martial background.”

Everyone observing nodded.

”That does seem to be the case...”

”When Fang Chen was young, he must have been a noble in some mortal dynasty. To command hundreds of thousands of troops at such a young age, that’s no small feat.”

”Does anyone know where this is?”

”No idea. We’ll have to ask him when he returns... though it might be better not to ask too much, lest it be misunderstood.”

”True.”

***

Enlightenment Star, Dongsheng Empire.

Fang Zhixue stood frozen, staring at the image in the sky as if possessed.

Seeing this, Fang Xiaohua was startled and quickly nudged her. ”Second Sister, what’s wrong with you?”

Fang Zhixue pointed at the sky and said, ”That’s Big Brother.”

Fang Xiaohua looked up and quickly gasped. She recognized Fang Chen at a glance.

Fang Zhixue murmured, ”That’s the battle at Three World Mountain. It was in that battle that Big Brother lost his eyesight. After that, for five whole years, he was ostracized by Grand Xia, slandered in the streets, and subjected to endless insults...” In that instant, it was as if she had returned to that day years ago. The day she and the Fang Family brought back a gravely injured Fang Chen.

When she saw that his eyes had lost their light, reduced to a dull gray, her heart had ached beyond words. Times had changed, but she had never wanted to recall that moment. Every time she did, it filled her with unease. ℯℯ𝑙.

”But now... why... is this scene appearing in the sky...” Fang Zhixue whispered.

”This is Big Brother when he was younger?” exclaimed Fang Xiaohua, shocked.

She quickly looked up again, afraid to miss anything.

At that moment, a young girl came skipping over. She quietly approached the two from behind, about to startle them, only to be interrupted by the strange phenomenon in the sky. Her eyes widened in shock.

Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a particular figure. For some reason, she felt that person was strangely familiar.

***

Mingwang Star.

Fang Chen stared at the phenomenon in the sky, his brows knitting into a deep frown.