Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen knew that Xia Ji was concerned about him, so he gently patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Xia Ji nodded slightly. "Even though this incident happened hundreds of years ago, there are still some rumors going around about it. I will help you keep an eye out for these rumors. Maybe we can gather the scattered clues and paint ourselves the full picture of what happened.”

"Don't let it delay your cultivation," said Fang Chen.

Xia Ji smiled. "It’s fine, my cultivation level isn’t that high, and I’ll still try my best. Besides, with those three thousand low-grade spirit stones, it’ll be hard to fall behind in my cultivation even if I wanted to,’ he said, getting up. “I am heading down the mountain, I think I’ll buy some pills and treasures while I’m at it.”

"I'll tag along with you. It just so happens that I also need to visit the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion."

"Aren’t you going to the Fang Family?” Xia Ji asked.

Fang Chen smiled. "We're already in the Grand Qian Imperial City, so there's no rush. The Fang Family can't possibly run away."

The two of them descended the mountain together and headed toward the inner city. Fang CHen learned along the way that any cultivator that wished to enter the inner city needed to pay one spirit stone. Staying overnight wasn’t allowed, too.

Things weren’t so strict for the regular mortals, however, but they couldn’t enter the inner city unless they were employed by a company that operated inside it.

"Is he a guest of your Profound Void Temple? I'll register him under Profound Void Temple if that’s the case. If he breaks the law while he’s in the inner city, your temple will be held liable," said a soldier in front of the city gate, casting a glance at Fang Chen as he made a few strokes on the paper. Then, after warning Xia Ji once more, they were allowed to pass.

Fang Chen noticed from this that that the higher-tier empires seemingly had stricter regulations and restrictions with regards to dealing with cultivators. A cultivator probably wouldn’t be able to obtain a sense of freedom residing in these places, it was better to find a secluded immortal paradise to live and cultivate in.

However, that also had its drawbacks. For one, they wouldn’t be able to easily obtain the resources needed for cultivation. Staying in the Grand Qian Imperial City meant that one would hardly find obtaining resources difficult. As long as one had enough spirit stones, then there were countless businesses, like the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, that could provide them with enough resources.

As they passed by a teahouse, a voice suddenly rang out from the second floor. "Isn't that Xia Ji?"

"Brother Jue, let me go down and bring him up."

Fang Chen and Xia Ji looked up to see more than a dozen young men and women on the second floor of the tea house, some sitting and some standing. Lin Yu was among them.

Besides Lin Yu, there was a young man who had a determined face. He exuded a deep and unfathomable aura that had clearly reached the early stage of the Foundation Building Realm.

The young man glanced lightly at Xia Ji, then turned his gaze to Fang Chen, smiling and nodding in acknowledgment.

"This guy looks so handsome without his mask," said Lin Yu peculiarly.

Soon, a young man approached Fang Chen and Xia JI. Smiling faintly, he invited them inside. "Gentlemen, Brother Jue requests your presence."

“We're busy. If it's nothing important, don't waste our time,” replied Xia Ji casually.

The youngman’s face stiffened, then he said, "Xia Ji, don't be ungrateful. Brother Jue has tolerated enough of your slander and accusations. He’s inviting you up to resolve the matter over a cup of tea!”

"We've had our fill of tea already, so there's no need," Fang Chen said with a faint smile, walking past the man with Xia Ji. They continued toward the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion down the road.

The young man's face alternated between pale and green.

The youngsters on the second floor were furious at the scene.

"These two don't know their place!"

"Xia Ji is really too arrogant."

"Brother Jue, you must not be so forgiving anymore. We mustn't let him off the hook, lest others follow suit and slander you at every chance."

"Yes, Brother Jue, you've helped countless young juniors over the years, even Xia Ji has benefited from your kindness. Even if he isn’t grateful for what you did for him, he shouldn't turn his back on you, right?"

Facing the words of these young cultivators, Jue Wudi withdrew his gaze from Fang Chen and lifted the teacup to his mouth, taking a sip.

"Everyone, words come from others' mouths, and I can't control what they say. I beseech all of you not to take this matter to heart. Please, continue to enjoy your tea.

"If you want to progress along the path of cultivation, you not only need to cultivate your body but also your mind. If your mindset can't keep up, how can you break through the shackles and reach the next realm?"

The crowd was stunned briefly, then admiration crept up their faces—it was especially the case for the women, whose eyes were practically shining.

This was Brother Jue, a man with a seemingly broad mind. Even when slandered and maligned, he could still maintain such a carefree attitude.

"Brother Jue, we admire you too much. If it were us, we wouldn't be able to bear this humiliation," said Lin Yu, sighing.

The others nodded in agreement.

"Go back and return to your cultivation after you finish your tea, everyone. I remember the trade conference is just around the corner, right? This may be your chance to meet the experts from the fourth-tier empires and even the seniors from the various fifth-tier empires. There might be Pill Masters, Artifact Masters, Talisman Masters, and even Formation Masters coming." Jue Wudi smiled. "If you could convince any of them to take you in as their disciple, then your path to immortality would prove to be much smoother,” he said. “If not, then prepare some spirit stones at the very least. Perhaps you’ll be able to buy some spiritual herbs and materials that are rare and not commonly seen, which would be beneficial for your cultivation."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

At the same time, Fang Chen and Xia JI had already arrived at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

A store clerk approached the two. "Feel free to tell me whatever you need.”

"Do you have any Spirit Essence Pills up for sale?"asked Xia Ji casually.

The store clerk's eyes lit up slightly. Spirit Essence Pills were mid-grade, yellow rank pills that were beneficial for both Qi Refining and Foundation Building cultivators. If a Qi Refining cultivator consumed it, it could replace several months’ worth of hard cultivation. Since it was very difficult to concoct these pills, added to the fact that Pill Masters were scarce, the prices of these pills were high, and the profit on them was substantial.

"Guests, Spirit Essence Pills are priced at ninety low-grade spirit stones per pill today. How many do you intend to buy?"

"Ten, please," said Xia Ji casually. He couldn’t buy more than this, since he needed to save some spirit stones for the upcoming trade conference.

"Ten?" The store clerk was shocked. He found it hard to believe that this modestly dressed young man before him could fish out a whole nine hundred spirit stones—that amount was more than enough to buy mid-grade, yellow rank treasure that had thirty-four to thirty-six Soul Imprints. Even many Foundation Building Realm cultivators would find it very difficult to fish out such an amount all at once.

Regaining his composure, the store clerk beckoned. "Please follow me, sir," he said, visibly much more respectful than before.

"You go ahead, I'll buy some things,” Fang Chen said to Xia JI with a smile. “We'll meet at the entrance when we’re done."

Xia Ji nodded and followed the servant.

Another servant was promptly called over to attend to Fang Chen. The attitude and awareness of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion here was much better than that of the pavilion in the Qinghu Empire.

"What would you like to buy, sir?"

Glancing around, Fang Chen saw various spiritual materials being sold on the ground floor, but he noticed that they were all of the low-grade, yellow rank.

"Do you buy talismans here?"

The store clerk furrowed his brow slightly. He’s here to sell?

He casually pointed in a direction. "If you have something to sell, please go over there to find Deacon Wu. He's the one in charge of that."

With that, the servant immediately turned to welcome another incoming customer very enthusiastically.

Fang Chen saw Deacon Wu, who the store clerk had spoken of, buying spiritual materials off of a customer. He was seemingly very cold, and he offered the seller low prices, but the seller didn’t dare voice out any displeasure.

After he was done with that customer, Deacon Wu eyes drifted toward Fang Chen, who had been waiting. "What do you want to sell?" he asked indifferently.

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