Immortal of the Nine Realms

A long silence fell upon the hall as everyone's gaze fixated on the severed head of the old man. A sense of horror emerged in their eyes.

That elderly figure held an exceptionally distinguished status; He was the great-grandfather of the current emperor and had once served as the emperor of the Frost Water Empire. He had chosen to abdicate to focus on cultivating the martial path.

Within the Frost Water Empire, there were fewer than ten Longevity Qi Stage martial artists. Even though it might seem like a considerable number, the majority were still in the early Longevity Qi Stage, with only a few in the middle stage. The head of the Ji Family, a figure who rivaled the Frost Water Empire's royal family, Ji Congyun, was merely in the late Longevity Qi Stage.

However, that royal ancestor had achieved the peak of the Longevity Qi Stage many years ago and had been attempting to break through to the Heaven Profound Stage. Such a formidable existence had been effortlessly killed with a single move!

Could this be the power of an immortal?

Ji Congyun was initially stunned, but then a glimmer of delight flashed in his eyes. The person he dreaded the most had died like a trivial plaything.

For him, that was a tremendous benefit! In the future, the Ji Family would no longer need to fear the existence of this old man and would not have to be overly cautious around the royal family.

The emperor revealed an incredulous expression, taking a good while to recover. He took a deep breath and cast his gaze upon the crown prince.

The crown prince's face turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly. "The matter from before... was a misunderstanding. I am willing to do everything in my power to compensate for the losses suffered by Grand Xia..."

Fang Chen let out a chuckle. "Everything in your power? How will you compensate Grand Xia for the six hundred thousand souls it lost?"

The crown prince forced a smile onto his face. "I can offer you... compensation."

Fang Chen turned to Zhao Yan and nodded.

In the next moment, Zhao Yan appeared by the crown prince's side. With a gentle grip, the crown prince's head was separated from his neck.

"Change your crown prince, Frost Water Empire," remarked Fang Chen as he turned and walked away.

Ji Congyun and the others remained silent, watching as Fang Chen and his group departed.

After a long while, the emperor's gaze slowly fell upon the headless body of the crown prince, and his frame trembled ever so slightly.

“Your Majesty, Grand Xia has become an entity that cannot be provoked. Not to mention the eighth tier, it's likely they’ll ascend to the seventh tier in the future. I believe that the royal family should adopt a more conciliatory attitude and properly prepare compensation for Grand Xia," said Ji Congyun slowly.

Many civil and military officials also realized the severity of the situation and stood up in agreement, expressing a similar stance to Ji Congyun's.

The emperor and his confidants felt extremely overcast but dared not voice any opposition. They understood that after today’s incident, the foundation of the royal family would suffer severe damage. Perhaps one day, the one sitting atop the throne would be surnamed ‘Ji.’

*

Out of nowhere, Li Daoye asked curiously, "Lord Fang, is it going to be alright to leave those two here at the imperial capital? Isn't the situation here resolved? Why leave them behind?"

"Zhao Yan and Xu Ge are just martial artists. We are going to a place where martial artists would find it beyond their ability to deal with. If we don't leave them there, where else can we leave them?" Fang Chen smiled and continued, "Moreover, to prevent the Frost Water Empire from acting out of line, we still need someone to keep an eye on them. Do you think that my grudge is avenged with just the death of a crown prince?"

Ancestor Xia Yu's expression changed slightly. "Daoist Fang, what do you mean?"

Fang Chen explained, "The Frost Water Empire is vast and has a rich heritage in martial arts, far surpassing that of Grand Xia. I plan to take over the Frost Water Empire."

Ancestor Xia Yu’s expression turned strange. "But... this may involve too much karma. Above the Frost Water Empire, there are still seventh-tier empires, and those Heaven Profound Stage martial artists are not easy to deal with.

Li Suifeng and Zhan Taiqing nodded. They had also fought against Heaven Profound Stage martial artists and knew how formidable those people were.

"Lord Fang, what he said is correct. Moreover, there are sixth-tier empires above the seventh tier, such as our Flame Empire which controls several seventh-tier empires. Even seventh-tier empires have to pay sixth-tier empires tributes."

Li Daoye said, "If these seventh-tier empires invite cultivators from sixth-tier empires to take action, it might be troublesome. Not to mention If the Spirit Blood Sect notices..."

Fang Chen smiled confidently. "What do sixth-tier empires amount to?"

A strange expression crept up their faces, and they decided to remain silent. Judging from the power behind Fang Chen that day, sixth-tier empires were indeed not considered significant. They became increasingly curious about which sect he had joined.

After several hours, Ancestor Xia Yu took out a map, looked at it, and then looked solemnly at a nearby mountain range. "The place we are heading to is within that mountain range. We should be there soon."

Fang Chen looked at the mountain range in the distance and sighed inwardly. This was the same place Supreme Immortal Pudu had directed him to. Ancestor Xia Yu and the others were unaware that the location they were headed to used to be the cave dwelling of a powerful cultivator.

Supreme Immortal Pudu had not only given Fang Chen the route to his cave dwelling but also the method to open it up. Fang Chen planned to give it a try this time.

Time passed.

As the group ventured deeper into the mountains, there was some commotion up ahead. Before long, a group of Nightmare Knights approached and surrounded them.

The leader of the Nightmare Knights looked coldly at the group. "Who are you? This place is one of the forbidden areas of the Ji Family. Leave at once!"

Ancestor Xia Yu couldn't help but laugh. "So it turns out that the Nightmare Warhorses the Ji Family treasures so much are found here."

To avoid trouble, Li Daoye directly cast a fireball technique, turning several ancient celestial trees nearby into ashes on the spot as he stared the leader down with his eyes."What we're going to do has nothing to do with you. Get lost quickly."

The Nightmare Knights were immediately stunned. They involuntarily gasped for cold air as they witnessed the power in front of them.

Were these people all immortals?

"Are you an immortal master?" asked the leader of the Nightmare Knights cautiously.

"What else could I be?" replied Li Daoye with a faint smile. "Don't I look the part?"

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the leader of the Nightmare Knights became even more respectful. "I’m sorry if I have offended you, I hope you won’t take offense. It's just that this place—"

Li Daoye cut him off offhandedly. "The immortal the Ji Family supports has already died."

The leader looked horrified. After a few breaths, he cautiously asked, "Great immortal master, are you planning to go to that place?"

Li Daoye didn’t answer him, instead, he turned to the others with a suggestion. "How about letting them guide us? It'll save us the trouble of taking the wrong path accidentally."

"That's fine."

Everyone felt it would be more convenient that way, so they nodded in agreement.

It was then that two voices sounded from up above.

"Senior Brother, there are some cultivators here."

"Let's ask them for directions."

The next moment, two figures appeared before them, one male and one female.

These two individuals had extraordinary appearances, and there were spiritual energy fluctuations that lingered around them. Their cultivation seemed to be much higher than Ancestor Xia Yu's, giving everyone, except Fang Chen, a faint sense of pressure.

Fang Chen's eyes flashed with interest. "Xia Yu is at the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. These two should be at least at the ninth stage or higher."

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