Immortal of the Nine Realms

"Let me go!"

"Release me at once! I am the legitimate son of the Ji Family, Ji Lengyue!"

"Damn it, why aren't you speaking!?" Ji Lengyue was disheveled, and he kept banging and rocking the steel bars of his cell. "Even if you’ve taken me hostage, you shouldn't treat me like this!"

The Valiant Saber Guards outside ignored his pleas, acting as if they couldn’t hear him.

This was a prison especially used by the Valiant Blade Guards to detain powerful individuals. Ji Lengyue's qi sea had already been shattered, and he was no longer an expert at the Earth Profound Stage. So, he wouldn't be able to escape from here even if he grew wings.

“Ji Lengyue, stop yelling. Do you still think you can leave Grand Xia without your martial arts? Stop dreaming!”

Laughter and teasing echoed from the surrounding cells as the other prisoners enjoyed the sight of him, so distressed. The arrival of a famous figure from the Frost Water Empire had brought a bit of joy to their mundane lives.

"Get over it,” one of them chimed in. “We've been locked up in here for many years. Once you get used to it, you’ll find that it’s quite comfortable, actually."

"My Ji Family will definitely rescue me. When that happens, I'll kill all of you!" declared Ji Lengyue fiercely, as he shook the bars more, their clunks and rattles echoing in the hallway.

"Is your Ji Family a match for Duke Fang? Even though we've never been outside, we know that you have been miserably defeated. Even Guhe, Longdu, and Yizhou have become vassal states of Grand Xia, right?"

"Sigh, it's truly fate. I've been here for less than ten years, and Grand Xia has already ascended to an eighth-tier empire."

Hearing these words, Ji Lengyue's face gradually turned pale, his eyes constricted, then turned dull, lost and confused. The immortal cultivator that the Ji Family had supported was already dead. Even if the emperor of the Frost Water Empire came to learn of what had happened to them, he probably wouldn’t assist the Ji Family in taking revenge on the Grand Xia Empire. He might even take advantage of the situation to target them. When that happened, there would be no one to save the Ji Family in its entirety, not to mention save him, a hostage in a faraway empire.

Tears began falling from Ji Lengyue’s eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of metal filled the prison as the prison’s gate was opened.

Huang Sihai, together with Commander Niu Jue, walked in with ten prisoners. Among them was the Giant Sword Gate Master, Xian Wuchang.

Seeing the rows of prison cells, Xian Wuchang came to a halt, pausing for a moment as he turned to look at Huang Sihai. "Why hasn't Fang Chen killed me? Why is he locking me up in here?"

Huang Sihai smiled faintly. "Why are you in such a hurry to die? Relax. My lord must have his reasons for bringing you back. Just wait patiently."

Behind Xian Wuchang were the rest of the sect leaders who had rebelled. The sect master of the Qishan Sect cast a gloomy glance at the dark prison and despaired, "I am the sect master of the prestigious Qishan Sect! How can you confine me in such a grim, sunless place?”

The sect master of Qishan Sect?

Some of the prisoners in the prison rose to their feet when they heard that. They were once martial artists and were well aware of who that voice belonged to. They quickly peered through the bars.

Seeing that it was really him, one of them exclaimed, "It really is the sect master of Qishan Sect. I have fought him before."

“These guys are all sect masters! Qishan Sect, Wanhe Gate, Onslaught Water Sect.... Wait a minute! Isn't that the Giant Sword Gate Master, Xian Wuchang?"

"Hiss..." The prisoners inhaled sharply. They recognized Xian Wuchang and the rest of them. All of them were once renowned martial arts figures in the southern region.

How did they all end up here?

Just as they had recognized Xian Wuchang and the others, Xian Wuchang and the others recognized them as well, and surprise appeared on their faces, seemingly not expecting to encounter so many martial arts experts who had presumably gone missing here.

It was then that the sound of metal being slammed filled the hallway, before a shout followed. "Huang Sihai, where is Fang Chen? I want to see him!" yelled Ji Lengyue.

"Ji Lengyue, my lord has gone to the southern region, but... he should be about to return to the capital city soon. Don’t worry; he will come to see you," said Huang Sihai, grinning.

Fang Chen went to the southern region?

The prisoners looked at Xian Wuchang and the rest with strange expressions as they suddenly realized that they had been probably captured by Fang Chen personally.

"By the way, let me introduce someone to all of you. This is Ji Lengyue from the main branch of the Ji Family in the Frost Water Empire. When he came to Grand Xia, he even brought a team of Nightmare Cavalry of more than a hundred men with him!" introduced Huang Sihai as he glanced over at Xian Wuchang and the others.

"Unfortunately for him, my lord stepped forward and dealt with him and his men, who were forced to leave their lives behind. Ji Lengyue, here, became a hostage.” His eyes loomed over at Ji Lengyue for a moment. “Before his cultivation was crippled, he was a Vajra Qi Earth Profound Stage martial artist. Too bad y’all arrived a bit too late. Otherwise, you could’ve been able to witness the skills of someone in the Earth Profound Stage. Hahahahaha."

Niu Jue and the others joined him in laughter, their faces wreathed in mockery, and a hint of pride.

Xian Wuchang and the others gasped and looked at Ji Lengyue with extremely strange expressions.

“So, you know, even Young Master Ji has to stay here and behave himself. Don’t look down on the place. Settle in quietly and don't cause trouble."

"Ji Lengyue.” Xian Wuchang suddenly looked at Ji Lengyue. “Is Fang Chen stronger than you?" he asked in a deep voice.

Ji Lengyue's expression shifted back and forth, then he snorted disdainfully, "Yes, he's stronger."

"It was not an unfair loss, not an unfair loss at all! Hahahaha!" Xian Wuchang laughed heartily. "If there was no Fang Chen, then I would’ve been able to become the emperor of the southern region. I was just one step away. Haha!"

"Tsk, this guy really went crazy, He actually thought of making himself emperor...”

"I knew it. When I was in the southern region previously, I always felt that the martial artists there were rebellious."

"If it weren't for Fang Chen, the southern region might have succeeded. The situation there is too special."

Many prisoners whispered to each other.

Suddenly, a voice ripped through the air. "Just one step away? No. You are not worthy of becoming martial emperor. The gap between you and that position is too great, akin to the difference between heaven and earth."

Everyone was slightly startled and quickly looked toward the entrance. A figure stood there with his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at Xian Wuchang.

Huang Sihai quickly turned around to bow. "My lord!"

Niu Jue and the others dared not be negligent and saluted.

The Valiant Saber Guards were now under Huang Sihai's control, and everyone knew that Huang Sihai had the support of Fang Chen, the Duke of Grand Xia.

The entire prison fell into an unprecedented silence. The prisoners also closed their mouths, eagerly watching Fang Chen.

"Old Huang, is it nice being the chief pacifier?" asked Fang Chen, his smile teasing.

Huang Sihai grinned. "Sigh, it's not as good as the time when I lived in the Grand Brilliance Bureau. Cleaning up the small fries during this period really gave me a headache. Fortunately, Li Daoye has helped me a lot."

Fang Chen nodded. "Is the Valiant Saber Guards station in better order now?”

Niu Jue and the others felt their bodies stiffening slightly. For the past twenty days, Huang Sihai had rooted out several high-ranking officials in the guard stations and hundreds of mid-level officers. He had almost got rid of the entire roster. As it turned out, those were Fang Chen’s orders. No wonder Huang Sihai wasn’t met with any resistance as he carried them out.

Huang Sihai nodded slightly. “It's pretty clean."

Xian Wuchang stared at Fang Chen intently. "Duke Fang, why did you bring us here?"

"Have you heard of “kill the chicken to warn the monkeys”? Well, you guys are the chickens," Fang Chen replied and walked toward Ji Lengyue, leaving Xian Wuchang and the others with pale faces.

"Fang Chen, let me go!" Ji Lengyue stared at Fang Chen.

"Do you know where this place is?" Fang Chen took out a map he had drawn himself. It depicted continuous mountains, rivers, and basins without any marked names. Ordinary people would be puzzled looking at it.

Ji Lengyue glanced at it and shook his head slightly. "I don't know."

However, his constricted pupils had betrayed him.

"Even if you don’t tell me, it’s only a matter of time before I find this place. Why not use what you know in exchange for your freedom in the city?" Fang Chen smiled.

Ji Lengyue's eyes flickered with uncertainty. He was undergoing an intense internal struggle.

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