Immortal of the Nine Realms

When everyone heard Half Saint Jinwu’s words, the spectacle on his side became increasingly vivid. The two-hundred-odd figures standing behind him all quietly scrutinized Fang Qianxue and the others with an overbearing air.

Their cultivation ranged from the Three Foundation Realms all the way to the Three Steps of Limit Breaking. Every single one possessed an exceptionally refined aura and spirit.

Fang Chen could tell that these people were undoubtedly among the most formidable elites in the Jinyang Alliance.

”Any single one of them is likely a notch stronger than a core disciple of Enlightenment Palace, reaching the level of Fifth Brother or even Third Brother. And these people are probably only a small portion of their strength. To ensure the continuity of their inheritance and prevent an entire generation from being wiped out, they must have even more elite cultivators lying low, unwilling to risk their lives in the Saint Tower.”

Meanwhile, Fang Qianxue had already shifted her gaze away from Half Saint Jinwu and was sizing up a woman behind him.

The woman’s appearance bore some resemblance to Half Saint Jinwu. Her aura far surpassed those around her. She looked at Fang Qianxue as though she was looking at a dead person. The others were much the same, as if the divine ability users of the Fang Clan were already one foot in the grave.

”Anyone can make grand claims, Half Saint Jinwu. If they prove inferior and die, then so be it. I only hope you share the same attitude. When the time comes, I hope you won’t become enraged and unwilling to accept the outcome,” Fang Qianxue said calmly.

”How could that be?” Half Saint Jinwu smiled. ”Do you think I am any less broad-minded than a little girl like you?”

With that, he stopped paying attention to Fang Qianxue. Since his purpose had been achieved anyway, he cupped his hands toward Half Saint Zangling. ”Half Saint Zangling, I shall take my leave first.”

Half Saint Zangling nodded. ”Please.”

The grand curtain connecting the two Inner Domains slowly dissipated, and Half Saint Jinwu and the others vanished from before everyone.

The divine ability users of the Wandao Alliance could not help but look toward the Fang Clan’s side, their eyes carrying a bit of worry and pity. They knew that Half Saint Jinwu had come because his previous attempt at Saint had been obstructed. In this iteration of the Saint Tower Battle, the divine ability users of the Jinyang Alliance would definitely hunt down and endlessly harass the Fang Clan’s divine ability users until death.

Many of the Fang Clan’s cultivators wore solemn expressions, with traces of unease in their eyes.

Seeing that, Fang Qianxue spoke in a calm tone. ”Half Saint Jinwu precisely wishes to see you in this sort of state. If fear and wariness consumed your heart already, then your death wouldn’t be far once the battle begins. If that is the case, it would be better not to enter the Saint Tower at all.”

”The Ancestor is absolutely right. Don’t allow fear to take over. The Jinyang Alliance’s divine ability users aren’t any stronger than us. Our true opponents are the various races of the Divine Realm, not them,” remarked a ninth-transformation immortal.

Only then did the Fang Clan’s cultivators seem to come to their senses, their expressions relaxing somewhat.

Fang Chen watched all of this and inwardly sighed.

Although the reasoning had been laid out clearly, Half Saint Jinwu’s threat had still planted a seed in everyone’s hearts.

The crowd dispersed one after another, and Fang Qianxue walked up to Fang Chen. ”Are you not going into the Saint Tower to hone your divine abilities?”

”There is nothing left to hone.” Fang Chen smiled. ”It is better to relax before the Saint Tower Battle. That way, I’ll be better prepared for the fierce battles ahead.”

”Nothing left to hone?” Fang Qianxue was slightly startled, then frowned. ”In the Divine Realm, there are tons of sixth-transformation immortals stronger than you are. How could you have reached a point where there is nothing left to hone? If you grow complacent, you will fall behind.”

With that, she let the matter rest, turning and walking away.

Fang Han edged closer. ”Ancestor Chen, how about you enter the Saint Tower with me this time? Although time is short, the Saint Tower here is different from ours, so it is quite interesting.”

”No, no. In all things, one must strike a balance between work and rest. Let me have a few years of peace,” Fang Chen declined with a smile. ”That woman behind Half Saint Jinwu, what is her background?”

A look of gravity surfaced in Fang Han’s eyes. ”I heard she is Half Saint Jinwu’s granddaughter, and is known within the Jinyang Alliance as Little Jinwu.”

Fang Chen noted. ”To earn such a title implies she is the one Half Saint Jinwu values most.”

Fang Han nodded. ”Our clan has had some skirmishes with the Jinyang Alliance in the past, so we know a bit about this. Although Little Jinwu is only a woman—”

Speaking up to this point, he was suddenly startled and instantly shut his mouth, looking around left and right. Seeing that no one was around, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Chen found it amusing.

Only a woman.

Yet every woman he had encountered was exceptionally capable.

For this Saint Tower Battle alone, the Wandao Alliance had dispatched Half Saint Zangling, who was a woman. The Fang Clan’s leader, Fang Qianxue, was also female.

If they had overheard Fang Han’s words, he would have likely been severely reprimanded.

”Although Little Jinwu isn’t very old, she is extremely talented. She participated in the Saint Tower Battle five hundred years ago, and I heard that when she was eliminated, she was just a hair’s breadth away from entering the top 100,000.

”At that time, she was merely at the ninth transformation. Now, after five hundred years, she has already reached the Third Step of Breaking Limit. This time, she has a strong chance of breaking into the top 100,000. If Ancestor Qianxue encounters her, it will truly require a vast amount of effort.”

Fang Han wore a worried expression. Though he phrased it as requiring a vast amount of effort, Fang Chen could discern that he did not seem to have much confidence in Fang Qianxue, believing that the strength of this Little Jinwu was likely above Fang Qianxue’s.

Fang Chen smiled. ”Aside from her, how much more do you know about the people on that side? Tell me all about it.”

”Alright.”

With great earnestness, Fang Han laid out the intelligence he knew piece by piece, as if listing his family treasures.

***

Unknowingly, several more years passed by.

Many people drifted in and out of the Saint Tower. Over time, they noticed that aside from spending the first year inside, Fang Chen spent the rest of his time wandering around and enjoying the scenery within the Inner Domain. They all shook their heads secretly.

Even Fang Han offered a few tactful words of advice, suggesting that even a single fraction of progress gained within the Saint Tower would bring immense benefits. Yet how could they possibly know that Fang Chen had long since reached a point where no further progress was possible?

If he wished to grow even a bit stronger within the sixth transformation, it was no longer a matter of honing. It involved his own foundation and aptitude. He was fundamentally different from the others. He did not possess nine Supreme Bones. He didn’t even have half a Supreme Bone.

Walking the Immortal Path, he was naturally constrained by this bottleneck. It could be said that in terms of his innate background, he was already weaker than any human from the Nether Ruins period. Had he been born in this era with such aptitude, he would not have stood the slightest chance of successfully establishing his foundation.

Fortunately, he held many trump cards, the greatest of which was the miraculous anomaly he had acquired back at Three World Mountain. He had figured out years ago that if his ability to replenish immortal essence did not increase his reserves in the process, then he had already reached the absolute limit of his current realm.

Fang Qianxue, Fang Han, and the others urged him to hone himself in the Saint Tower simply because they knew he had only recently advanced to the sixth transformation. They were assuming he was far away from the limit.

However, who could have imagined that because of this trump card, combined with the assistance of the Saint Tower, he had reached the pinnacle of the sixth transformation in a mere fraction of time. It was precisely because of this trump card that he could be certain he had already done everything currently within his power. If he still could not match his peers among the foreign races despite this, then there was nothing more he could have done. It wasn’t his fault.

On that day, a sudden change occurred within the Saint Tower, and everyone was instantly eliminated.

The crowd snapped out of their momentary daze and quickly realized that they must have arrived at Longsheng City! Filled with curiosity and a desire to explore, they turned their attention toward this Inner Domain belonging to Saint Longsheng.