Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen smiled. "I naturally want to leave this place safely. You were his hostage before, and now you're mine."

The princess wished she could give herself two slaps. She really regretted how stubborn she was. Look at where it led her! Straight out of the tiger’s den and into the wolf’s lair!

"If you let me go, senior, then you might have a chance of leaving the empire safely….” She paused, then said, "My mother loves me very dearly. If she finds out I've fallen into your hands and that you’ve killed Uncle Tianfeng, she'll probably personally lead many demon kings to slay you.

"This is the Qing Hu Empire, after all. It'll be very difficult for you to remain hidden no matter how much you try.

"So, perhaps if you let me go I can talk it out with my mother so we can bury the hatchet!”

The princess looked at Fang Chen. "What do you think about that?"

"Not much, really," replied Fang Chen with a faint smile. "Anyway, if they track me down and I can’t escape, then you'll be the first to die."

The princess's expression changed abruptly.

Xia Ji wanted to laugh. If she thought that she could escape from Fang Chen with some nonsense like that, she was dreaming!

Xia Ji understood Fang Chen very well, that’s why he became incredibly relaxed. If Fang Chen wanted to leave this empire safely, he’d most likely be able to.

Xia Ji suddenly felt drowsy, and his eyes rolled a few times, and, with his eyes still wide open, he fell asleep, standing. He was really tired, both mentally and physically, from running around everywhere.

"Tell me about that Demon King Tianfeng, does he know how to make talismans?" asked Fang Chen lightly.

The princess was taken aback. Why is he bringing up Demon King Tianfeng? Is he probing the empire’s strength?

“Uncle Tianfeng was indeed a master of talismans. He was proficient in several yellow rank, mid grade talismans. But strength wise, he was only ranked in the top five in the empire. So, if—”

"Where is his cave dwelling?"

"???"

The princess was struck with confusion. The conversation was going all over the place!

"Listen,” Fang Chen laughed, “I'm not as polite as Xia Ji, so if you don’t start talking, I'll cut off two of your tails."

The princess felt a chill run down her spine. Her tails instinctively curled onto themselves. Face pale, she began, "Uncle Tianfeng’s cave dwelling is in the Heavenly Wind Mountain Range, eight thousand miles away from here."

"You lead the way. If you try anything funny, I'll kill you,” said Fang Chen. He once again turned into a sword light and soared into the sky, the others with him.

Even though the Sword Transformation Technique was fast, he was carrying four people with him, weighing him down, so his speed wasn’t as high as usual. It was about the same as that of an ordinary 12th stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator.

Several days later.

The news of the death of Demon King Tianfeng had spread. People heard that a mysterious human sword cultivator had come to the Qinghu Empire and killed Demon King Tianfeng with a single sword strike. As much as this news had angered many demon kings, it made them grow fearful of the sword cultivator.

Upon receiving the decree from the ruler of the empire, they deployed their subordinates to track down the sword cultivator, but they didn’t do anything rash; they were waiting—waiting for the ruler to personally lead the search.

The Blood Corpse Sect was situated in a desolate mountain range, where the only greenery was the moss in some dark and damp areas. Vegetation could hardly grow in this land, as it was permeated with heavy yin energy, a result of the practice of corpse refinement. Only spiritual herbs and grass were able to survive in this climate, ordinary plants couldn’t.

Suddenly, a figure appeared above the Blood Corpse Sect. The figure was dressed in a plain white dress, with snow-white translucent skin. Her waterfall-like black hair was tied up neatly. Her captivating eyes seemed to have shimmering autumn water flowing within them.

"Who goes there? Flight is prohibited within ten miles of the Blood Corpse Sect!”

The air suddenly turned dense with corpse qi as ten figures appeared one after the other. They stared at the woman expressionlessly. These ten figures were oddly stiff. They had slightly shriveled skin that was a mix of dark brown and gray-white. There were black corpse spots that dotted their necks sporadically.

The woman flipped her palm, revealing a jade plaque engraved with a nine-tailed fox.

After a few breaths, ten new figures arrived, and they thundered, "Greetings, Madam!"

The ten corpses that had arrived earlier landed and stood behind the newly-arrived group.

"I want to see your ancestor," said the woman calmly.

All the corpses were surprised, but they dared not be negligent. The jade plaque represented someone of high status in the imperial family.

The woman was escorted into the guest hall of the Blood Corpse Sect. After about a cup of tea's time, an old man hurriedly arrived and immediately bowed respectfully upon seeing the woman.

"Greetings, Daoist Tu."

The woman nodded slightly. "Daoist Zhou, where is your ancestor?”

Daoist Zhou was startled. Moments later, his face turned apologetic. "Daoist Tu, the ancestor is in seclusion, refining copper-armored corpses. It's unlikely that he will come out of seclusion any time soon. If there's anything you need, you can tell me."

Tu Qingqiu furrowed her brow slightly briefly. After a moment, they relaxed, and she said, "I need your help finding someone. I know your sect is particularly good at tracking people down."

"You want help finding someone?" Daoist Zhou smiled. "I thought it was something serious. If it's just about tracking someone down, then as long as the person is still in the empire, then there shouldn't be a problem."

“It is serious. A sword cultivator has abducted the princess and killed Demon King Tianfeng," said Tu Qingqiu.

Daoist Zhou was stunned into silence briefly.

"A sword cultivator? He abducted the princess and killed Lord Tianfeng?"

Tu Qingqiu nodded. "Yes."

Daoist Zhou's expression shifted erratically. A sword cultivator like that was not someone to be trifled with. When did the empire ever have such a formidable figure? Reason told him that it was best not to get involved in this matter. But as the first female official of the Qinghu Empire’s imperial family, Tu Qingqiu obviously came here under the orders of the ruler. If he refused her, then… it’d likely lead to many troubles.

"You don't need to worry. You just need to help us find him. You’ll have nothing to do with anything that comes after that,” said Tu Qingqiu.

"Well... I'll have to consult with the ancestor first and then give you an answer, Daoist Tu," said Daoist Zhou with a wry smile.

Tu Qingqiu nodded slightly. "Please do."

The old man turned and left. After about half an hour, he returned to the guest hall with a solemn expression. "The ancestor has agreed to help find this person, but if any conflicts arise with this sword cultivator, we won’t interfere. We hope you can understand."

"When do we leave?" asked Tu Qingqiu.

"We can leave now."

***

Several days later.

In the market.

Tu Qingqiu, accompanied by Daoist Zhou and over a dozen disciples of the Blood Corpse Sect, arrived at the entrance of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

"The princess was abducted here.” Tu Qingqiu handed a porcelain bottle to the old man. “This is her blood essence."

The old man nodded. He gestured toward the disciples with him with his eyes, and they each summoned their Walking Corpses.

The Walking Corpses stiffly walked up toward the blood essence in the bottle and started sniffing it.

The nearby demon cultivators and human cultivators around were quick to piece everything together. The ruler had to have asked the The Blood Corpse Sect to make a move and help.

"Grandpa, who exactly are we looking for?" asked a relatively young disciple of the Blood Corpse Sect via voice transmission.

"A sword cultivator."

A sword cultivator?

The young disciple couldn’t help but remember that sword cultivator he had encountered in the Frost Water Empire …

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