Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Have you seen this Yin Demon before?”

Fang Chen glanced at the tall Ghost Immortal before returning his gaze to Great Venerable Baigu. Although the aura of Great Venerable Baigu was only at the eighth transformation, it had clearly reached the absolute limit. If he absorbed a bit more Yin energy, there was a very high probability it would break through to the ninth transformation.

”Reporting, Great Venerable Baigu is extremely famous in this region. It once fought three against one, devouring three entire eighth transformation Great Yin Demons,” the Tall Ghost Immortal said, a trace of dread lingering in his eyes.

Evidently, the pressure Great Venerable Baigu exerted on him was significantly more intense than that of Venerable Fatian and the other three combined.

”None of us are likely a match for this Yin Demon. It might break into the ninth transformation realm at any moment,” said Venerable Fatian, looking at Great Venerable Baigu with a grave expression.

Right at that moment, beneath the terrified and apprehensive gazes of tens of thousands of Yin Demons, Great Venerable Baigu unleashed another roar. The sound caused even the Forgotten River to stir with faint ripples.

Immediately following that, Great Venerable Baigu sank into a crouch, then soared into the sky, flying toward the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, which was countless times more massive than itself.

At this very moment, countless eyes were watching this scene. Venerable Yunfu sucked in a breath of cold air and subconsciously looked toward Fang Chen. Seeing that Fang Chen’s expression remained perfectly serene, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

”Roar!”

Great Venerable Baigu let out yet another bellow. A giant palm, as vast as the firmament, clawed toward the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. The distance between the two shrunk to next to nothing.

In this instant, time seemed to slow down. The fingertips of Great Venerable Baigu neared the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower inch by inch.

After an unknown amount of time, just as everyone saw the Great Venerable Baigu’s fingertips make contact with the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, its colossal body vanished with a swish.

”...”

Though the countless Great Yin Demons had lost their sentience, they all looked at one another in mutual bewilderment.

The tall Ghost Immortal was incredulous. ”This is...”

He had personally witnessed the terrifying methods of Great Venerable Baigu. Even within the Motian Division, if the ninth-transformation experts did not step forward, very few experts at the Venerable level could match it. Yet such a terrifying entity had been noiselessly swallowed by this tower in the blink of an eye?

With a thought from Fang Chen, his divine sense entered the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. He saw that Great Venerable Baigu, who had been incredibly fierce just moments ago, was currently suffering on the eleventh floor.

Extreme Yin Fire burned continuously across its body. Arrogant all its life, it was now kneeling on the ground, letting out whimpering, miserable shrieks. The nearby eighth-transformation Yin Soldiers had already been completely refined and were currently looking down coldly at Great Venerable Baigu.

A faint smile emerged in Fang Chen’s eyes as his divine sense returned to his physical body. ”Even Great Yin Demons can be refined and become Yin Soldiers... It seems the capabilities of the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower can target any underworld creature.”

Venerable Yunfu edged closer and asked in a low voice, ”Monarch Yan, if approaching without permission means being swallowed by this tower, does that mean other Ghost Immortals won’t be able to draw near it either when they arrive?”

Venerable Fatian snorted coldly. ”Naturally they won’t be able to approach. But I fear that when the tower’s power restrains itself, you won’t be able to reclaim the tower at the first available moment.”

Venerable Zuimeng suddenly suggested, ”If we keep quiet, perhaps we can use this tower to entrap some Ghost Immortals.”

Venerable Feishe shook his head slightly. ”They won’t fall for it easily. Look at these Great Yin Demons. Though they have lost their sentience, they possess an innate ability to seek fortune and avoid disaster, so they don’t dare approach this tower at all. Only that Great Venerable Baigu, likely having been wildly arrogant all its life, failed to perceive the danger of this tower.”

The group fell into silence, sensing that this was a massive gamble. A treasure was laid out right before them, yet they could not claim it. It was highly probable that they would have to wait until Ghost Immortals from all factions arrived and entered into a life-and-death struggle. Which of the factions backing those Ghost Immortals wasn’t vastly more formidable than the newly risen Monarch Yan?

”Don’t lose heart, our chances are still very good.” Fang Chen suddenly smiled. He then sat down where he was, observing the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower on one hand while keeping an eye on Little Sword on the other.

Seeing that Monarch Yan was not anxious, the rest knew that being anxious themselves was futile. They adjusted their states of mind and waited quietly.

***

One month later.

”How many Great Yin Demons are here now?” the short Ghost Immortal asked in a lowered voice, glancing at Fang Chen who was meditating not far away.

”There must be a crowd of a hundred thousand by now,” the tall Ghost Immortal murmured to himself.

Within his line of sight, countless Great Yin Demons were hunkered down by the banks of the Forgotten River. These Great Yin Demons took all sorts of forms. Some resembled insects, some were half-human and half-beast, and some looked very similar to humans. If they stood perfectly still, one wouldn’t be able to tell at all that they were mindless Yin Demons.

”Even Great Yin Demons have gathered. It should be about time for the Ghost Immortals to arrive,” the short Ghost Immortal said, sighing.

”It should be close. If this place weren’t so remote, I reckon it would have been bustling with activity long ago.”

The tall Ghost Immortal scanned the surroundings alertly. When his gaze landed in a certain direction, his expression suddenly shifted, and he immediately cried out, ”Ghost Immortals are coming!”

Ghost Immortals were coming?

Venerable Fatian, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. Venerable Yunfu immediately stepped forward, standing behind Fang Chen alongside the other three as they watched the direction of the ”enemy” with alert gazes.

Venerable Fatian said softly after observing for a moment, ”Monarch Yan, they aren’t Ghost Immortals from Motian Division.”

Fang Chen nodded. If it wasn’t Motian Division, then it would be underworld Ghost Immortals serving under the various peak factions of the Upper Three Realms.

In the distance, a dark cloud carrying over a hundred figures was rapidly advancing toward the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. By now, they could already see a tip of the iceberg of the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower.

The pitch-black body of the tower loomed like a cosmic colossus between heaven and earth. Though there was still a distance between them, they could all see that the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower was frantically devouring Yin energy, and they also felt an ultimate sense of threat emanating from it.

At the front of the dark cloud stood an old woman. She was hunched over, carrying a basket woven from black twigs.

”Such an underworld treasure is completely unprecedented. It is far stronger than those fragmented Yin artifacts possessed by our Qingkong Underworld!”

As the woman spoke, these twigs seemed to come alive, flicking out red tongues.

A young woman beside the old woman frowned and said softly, ”Mother, we won’t be the first Ghost Immortals to arrive here. If other Ghost Immortals cannot claim this treasure, it proves it cannot be easily approached.”

”The boat will flatten itself when it reaches the bridge pier. In any case, going over to take a look can’t be wrong.” The old woman chuckled softly, then glanced back at two figures behind her. ”We brought two Ancestors with us this time. Though they have grown senile, they still dare to charge forward when trouble arises.”

As they spoke, the dark cloud drew very close to the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. With a thought from the old woman, the dark cloud ground to a halt. She had already spotted the densely packed, innumerable hordes of Yin Demons occupying both banks of the Forgotten River!