Immortal of the Nine Realms

Everyone, even from a great distance, could feel the scorching aura from the fireball. The blinding light made the entire sky glow as if it had turned into daylight.

Are they being pursued by awakened demons?

That was Fang Chen and the others’ first thought.

Since Leng Buqi had already made it this far, he should have long since shaken off any pursuers from the awakened demon race.

As the fireball rushed toward them, a flash of fury appeared in Leng Buqi’s eyes. He let out a roar and poured immortal essence into his immortal boat without reservation.

The other dozen or so immortal boats followed suit, all raising defensive barriers.

The next moment, they were engulfed by the terrifying fireball. The shockwave was so immense that it reached even Fang Chen’s group despite the distance between them. Several nearby immortal boats were struck by the scattered embers, which instantly burned countless tiny holes through their hulls.

Only then did everyone clearly see the source of the fireball. It came from an extremely grand immortal boat over a hundred times larger than theirs. It had ninety-nine layered decks, each filled with countless cultivators.

At the highest level, a young man reclined on a chair, leisurely enjoying spiritual fruit and immortal wine. His attire was luxurious and extravagant. Around him stood several cultivators, all with cultivation at the sixth transformation.

Among them was one figure whose entire body was engulfed in flames—hair, eyebrows, even his very presence seemed formed from fire itself. His cultivation had already surpassed the sixth transformation. He was an Ancient Immortal.

Everyone was taken aback. It was clear that the fireball just now had been unleashed by that Ancient Immortal. Its power was extraordinary.

At that moment, the flames gradually faded. Although Leng Buqi and the others had managed to maintain their defensive barriers, they were still in a miserable state. Nearly all their immortal boats were half-destroyed, and their bodies bore various burn injuries.

The extravagantly dressed young man lazily glanced at them and feigned surprise. “Oh? Not dead yet? Your lives are very tenacious—how utterly stubborn and filthy.”

“Young Master, I merely held back a little,” the seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal said with a faint smile. “I thought it would be better for you to handle them personally and vent your anger properly.”

The young man laughed. “Well said, people like them... only by killing them myself can I relieve this anger in my heart.”

By now, Fang Chen had roughly understood the situation. That young man was probably not from the awakened demon race at all but was just someone with personal grudges against Leng Buqi and the others.

Meanwhile, Leng Buqi and the rest were already seething with rage. Back in the day, as core disciples commanding immortal boat formations, they could even easily suppress seventh-transformation Ancient Immortals. Yet they were forced into such a miserable state by significant nobodies.

Leng Buqi gritted his teeth. “This is truly intolerable.”

Had he not been carrying out a mission deep behind enemy lines, unable to reveal his identity or openly deploy the Immortal Boat Formation, how could he have been toyed with by such petty scoundrels?

Thinking of that, Leng Buqi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Long Mao, you’ve been relentlessly pursuing us all the way here. What exactly do you want? We’ve already apologized and paid compensation for the earlier misunderstanding. Even your father believes the matter has been settled. Why are you still acting in secret like this? Don’t tell me the three thousand immortal crystals we paid still aren’t enough to satisfy you?”

The core disciples around him were also furious.

Fang Chen and Wang Ye had now noticed that Li Shanzi was also in this group. However, he looked far more miserable than the others. His left arm seemed to have been severed, and faint flames flickered at the wound, as though some terrifying power was attached to it, preventing his limb from regenerating.

“You barged into my family’s Starry Teleportation Formation. Do you think three thousand immortal crystals are enough to settle this? I don’t know what my father thinks, but I only know this matter won’t be so easily resolved,” said Long Mao calmly.

Leng Buqi gritted his teeth and asked, “What do you want?”

“The rules of my family cannot be broken. Many people saw you forcibly breaking on that day. Although my father was generous and chose not to pursue the matter further, you won’t get past me. Either you turn around and go back the way you came, or I will personally bring your heads back with me.”

Long Mao’s contemptuous gaze fell on the banner of the immortal boat beneath Leng Buqi’s feet, and he sneered. “A petty merchant guild dares to act like this? Do you really think my family has no one left?”

Leng Buqi’s expression changed slightly. After finally reaching this place, how could they possibly turn back?

He took another deep breath and said sincerely, “Daoist Long, give us some time. After a while, we will personally come to your door to apologize. How about that? If necessary, I still have three thousand immortal crystals on me and can pay them as compensation for now. We are few in number, so six thousand immortal crystals for a single use of the Starry Teleportation Formation is already an extremely high price anywhere.”

Long Mao couldn’t help but laugh. “You think I want your filthy money? I’ll say it again, either you surrender now and roll back where you came from, or you die. There is no third option.”

After speaking, he suddenly looked toward Fang Chen’s group and mocked them. “What are you all standing there watching for? Get lost, unless you want your eyes gouged out and served as wine snacks.”

Hm?

Only then did Leng Buqi and the others finally notice Fang Chen’s group. They glanced over and immediately withdrew their gaze without showing any abnormal reaction, as if they had never known Fang Chen and the others.

Wang Ye and the others ignored Long Mao’s words and instead looked at Fang Chen. At that moment, only Fang Chen had the means to deal with that seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal.

Seeing that they still didn’t move, Long Mao’s smile faded. He turned to the seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal and said, “Senior Fire Venerable, it seems they don’t intend to leave. Please clear them away.”

Leng Buqi immediately panicked and quickly looked toward Fang Chen’s side, saying in a deep voice, “This matter has nothing to do with you. Don’t linger here. Leave!”

Fang Chen said with a faint smile, “Daoist Leng, don’t you realize his goal isn’t as simple as he claims?”

Leng Buqi was taken aback.

Long Mao’s eyes flickered, coldness filling them.

Fang Chen looked at Long Mao and said calmly with a smile, “In this world, who wouldn’t care about six thousand immortal crystals? It’s just an excuse. You’re not a demonized being, are you? Or are you just desperately trying to curry favor?”

Long Mao suddenly chuckled. “So you’re from the Wandao Immortal Sect too. In that case, I’ll capture you all together. It’ll be a merit for me, and I might even get in touch with some big shot in the Demonized Alliance and use you as stepping stones.”

Then he said lightly, “Senior Fire Venerable, why haven’t you made your move yet?”

However, he did not respond.

Long Mao frowned and looked over again, only to find that at some point, a figure had appeared beside Fire Venerable. The hand of an Abbess was gripping Fire Venerable’s neck.

Fire Venerable forced out a strained smile, lips quivering. “Young master... this matter... requires further consideration.”