Immortal of the Nine Realms

The great-grandfather of the Grand Xia Emperor?

Thinking about it, there did seem to be an ancestor named Xia Yu from the imperial family, with a name similar to that of the current crown prince, Xia Yu.

Ancestor Xia Yu smiled and looked at Li Daoye. "I heard you come from the Flame Empire?"

Li Daoye nodded slightly. "That's right."

"Do you happen to know of the Heavenly Southern Sect in the Flame Empire?" asked Ancestor Xia Yu.

"I do,” confirmed Li Daoye, then his eyes suddenly flashed with surprise. “Wait, could it be that you are..."

Could he be a cultivator from the Heavenly Southern Sect?

"Yes, after leaving Grand Xia, I traveled for countless miles before arriving in the Flame Empire. I even had the honor of becoming a disciple of the Heavenly Southern Sect. I’ve recently received a message from my old servant in Grand Xia, saying that a cultivator from the Flame Empire had come here. I came back specifically to take a look," explained Ancestor Xia Yu with a faint smile.

Li Daoye clasped his fist. "You’re well-connected indeed. My apologies for the oversight."

Ancestor Xia Yu smiled. "May I inquire about your background and sect?"

"I'm just a wandering cultivator, please don't take offense," replied Li Daoye with a slightly sheepish smile.

Even though Ancestor Xia Yu didn’t say anything, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes. There was a clear hierarchy in the cultivation world; cultivators looked down on mortals and simply treated them like air, but when it came to wandering cultivators, who had no complete legacy, their attitude was entirely different.

"The life of a wandering cultivator is tough, and I am no stranger to it. I’ve experienced a period where I was one, too. It's just that I was fortunate enough to catch the eyes of the Heavenly Southern Sect, allowing me to gain a foothold there." Ancestor Xia Yu sighed softly. "Even though you are a wandering cultivator, you’re still in the third stage of the Qi Refining Realm, why bother butting into worldly affairs? Grand Xia has always been a ninth-tier empire because it lacks the resources needed for cultivators. What benefits can you possibly gain here?"

"During my first meeting with Lord Fang, I felt a deep sense of connection," said Li Daoye with a wry smile.

"A deep sense of connection with an ordinary person?” Ancestor Xia Yu couldn’t help but chuckle. “That's interesting, Fellow Daoist."

Li Daoye's expression was somewhat peculiar. Could this guy not see that Fang Chen was also a cultivator?

Seeing that the ancestor was unable to pry that Fang Chen was a cultivator, his curiosity about Fang Chen’s cultivation level grew even more.

No wonder Fang Chen was able to wield the dragon truncheon made of Moon Sinking Gold so easily.

Fang Chen finally understood. Through this brief conversation, he was able to deduce that it must’ve been the Grand Xia Emperor who had sent someone to invite his ancestor, who had stepped onto the immortal path, back after he had seen that the Fang Family had the assistance of a cultivator who was able to defeat the immortal master of of the Frost Water Empire as well as Ji Lengyue, who was a martial artist at the Earth Profound Stage. The emperor had to have felt a sense of crisis; that must’ve been why he did that.

He had truly never known that Grand Xia had such a prominent figure.

Ancestor Xia Yu's gaze landed on Fang Chen. "Your name is Fang Chen, right?"

Fang Chen nodded slightly. "Yes."

"Your Fang Family has served Grand Xia for many years. Your grandfather should be Fang Zhentian, right? I've seen that child a few times before, he's indeed talented. Is he in the manor now? Call him out for me for a reunion,” said Ancestor Xia with a faint smile.

"The Fang Manor was moved to the southern region," said Fang Chen, his tone slightly apologetic. "If he were to come now, it might take quite some time. My grandfather is already quite old, and I'm afraid his health might not withstand the journey."

Ancestor Xia Yu was slightly surprised, then nodded slowly. "You moved to the southern region? That's good, that's good."

"You look so young, Senior. Have you already reached the Foundation Building Realm? I heard that it can extend one's life by two hundred years," wondered Li Daoye, seemingly curious.

"Foundation Building?" Ancestor Xia Yu chuckled lightly. "That realm is beyond my reach. If I were in that realm, I wouldn't even be here. Because when one reaches that realm of strength, then it would mean that it’s about time to sever one's ties with the mortal world. Unfortunately, my cultivation is still lacking. After many years of bitter cultivation, I've only reached the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, I am still unable to completely cut ties with the mortal realm."

"The eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm?" Li Daoye was shocked. Even in the cultivation world, reaching such a high level could make one a remarkable expert, especially in the Flame Empire. Apart from his father, who was already in the Foundation Building Realm, there were only a few elders in the Eight Trigrams Sect who had reached the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

Sensing the astonishment in Li Daoye's eyes, Ancestor Xia Yu smiled and said, "In the Heavenly Southern Sect, this level of cultivation is nothing special. There are plenty of individuals stronger than me."

"Senior, judging from your appearance, it doesn't seem like you’ve only reached the eighth stage of Qi Refining; ordinary Qi Refining cultivators usually only have a lifespan of around a hundred and thirty-five years..." Li Daoye expressed his surprise.

Ancestor Xia Yu became even prouder and chuckled. "I was fortunate enough to obtain two life prolonging spiritual herbs. Each herb can extend one’s life by eighty years, and I consumed one of them."

"Extend one’s life by eighty years?" Li Daoye inhaled a breath of cold air. "Such herbs are treasures even in the Flame Empire. Even cultivators at the pinnacle of the Foundation Building Realm would fight over them... Then what about the other one?"

"I offered the other one to the Heavenly Southern Sect," answered Ancestor Xia Yu.

Li Daoye and Fang Chen finally understood why Ancestor Xia Yu could enter the Heavenly Southern Sect. It turned out he made significant contributions.

Ancestor Xia Yu then turned his focus to Fang Chen. "By the way, my great-grandson told me that you elevated Grand Xia to the rank of an eighth-tier empire,” he said. "This might not be a good thing. Grand Xia lacks the resources needed for an empire to properly be of the eighth tier, and obviously, this friend here can't stay in Grand Xia forever. Once he leaves, Grand Xia will only be an eighth-tier empire in name, without the foundation of one. How will you deal with this?"

"Foundations can be gradually accumulated," said Fang Chen.

Ancestor Xia Yu shook his head slightly. "You are still too young. In my opinion, you should not take this step toward the promotion of the empire."

Fang Chen frowned. "Senior, why is that? If Grand Xia reaches the eighth tier, it won't need to pay tribute to the Frost Water Empire, and it can also receive offerings from the three empires of Guhe, Longdu, and Yizhou every year."

"If you insist on this, I won't interfere much. However, to reassure my great-grandson, give me a straightforward answer today. Will your Fang Family harbor ambitions for the throne of Grand Xia?" Ancestor Xia Yu asked, his gaze fixed at Fang Chen.

Fang Chen smiled and shook his head. "Senior, if you are worried about the stability of the Grand Xia throne, why haven't you stepped forward to help in these years when Grand Xia faced so many enemies?

“Once a cultivator steps into the path of immortality, it's necessary to sever worldly ties. And besides... cultivators shouldn't create too many karmic ties with others to avoid facing retribution in the future," stated Ancestor Xia Yu calmly. "As long as Grand Xia is not in danger of being annihilated, I won't intervene. Actually, even if there is such a threat... and the empire is destined to be annihilated, so be it. I will only ensure the safety of the Xia Family. As for Grand Xia, it will follow the natural flow of cause and effect."

Are all cultivators really this selfish? Fang Chen was momentarily surprised, but when he thought of Abbess Qing He and Li Daoye, his mood became more relaxed. Not all cultivators were as selfish and self-centered as Ancestor Xia Yu was.

Ancestor Xia Yu's words implied that unless Grand Xia offered sufficient benefits to motivate him, he wouldn't interfere.

While it was true that transitions of power and changes in dynasties were part of the natural order and cultivators could choose not to involve themselves in such matters, this was only from the perspective of cultivators who had chosen to remain aloof and detached from the mundane.

If one's homeland was in great peril, yet the cultivator chose not to intervene, then this wasn’t just about severing ties with the mortal world anymore—at least, Fang Chen didn’t think so.

Just like earlier, Ancestor Xia Yu had asked about Li Daoye's background before issuing a warning to Fang Chen. If Li Daoye had some backing, even if he was only at the third stage of Qi Refining, Ancestor Xia Yu might not have spoken up to warn Fang Chen.

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