Immortal of the Nine Realms

Returning his divine soul to his body, Fang Chen remained seated quietly in his room, deep in thought.

He had obtained a crucial piece of information this time.

The Spirit Blood Sect would send a Nascent Soul Realm expert, the Kunlong Battle General, to Great Qian to oversee the operation for the Blood Spirit Pill. The prerequisite was that Tong Baizhou, Jue Wudi, Fang Shang, and the others would successfully assassinate the young master of the Great Wei's Dongfang Family, which would provoke a conflict between the two empires and plunge them into war. If these three failed their mission, it was highly likely that the Kunlong Battle General would not make an appearance in Great Qian.

"Knowing that Tong Hu is at the Golden Core Realm and is also a cultivator of the Spirit Blood Sect, his existence is crucial for this operation. Also, the three of them might not be involved in the mission directly, and might only be responsible for creating the conditions. Time waits for no one, I have to do something."

He was only at the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Even though he had the battle prowess to dominate ordinary Foundation Building Realm cultivators, it was far from enough to deal with a Golden Core Realm cultivator. He had originally planned to purchase peak-grade, yellow-rank treasure at the trade conference and smoothly advance to the third rank of the sword body. However, it seemed that he needed to bring his plan forward.

***

At the residence of Tiger Lord.

Nong Guiqian was sitting silently on the stone stool, occasionally furrowing his brows. Tiger Lord noticed his expression and already had a clue about what was bothering him.

"Fourth Brother, don't be disheartened. That person is too mysterious. It's normal for you to fall short compared to him," comforted Tiger Lord.

"But it doesn't make sense... Even if he knows the Shadow Buddha Technique, how can he sense my movements? It doesn't make any sense…." mumbled Nong Guiquan to himself.

Tiger Lord sighed lightly. "You must understand that there are always people better than us. In the cultivation world, many things defy logic. There are true prodigies out there who have immeasurable cultivation and who're just right around our age.

"If you look at it from another perspective, any of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators defy logic. Why can they ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm while we struggle at the Foundation Building Realm, with no confidence of ever reaching the Golden Core Realm?"

"But... it really doesn't make sense…."

A voice suddenly rang out. "Tiger Lord, may I ask you something?"

Startled by the voice that had appeared out of nowhere, Nong Guiquan's frame trembled abruptly.

Tiger Lord seemed to have grown used to such surprises, and he couldn't help but feel amused seeing Nong Guiquan so spooked.

"So, you can be startled too! Now you know how it feels when someone scares the hell out of you!"

Nong Guiquan wore an unpleasant expression as he cranked his neck to look at Fang Chen.

Tiger Lord stood up enthusiastically. "Daoist Fang, is there something you'd like to ask?"

"Do you know where I can buy a peak-grade, yellow-rank treasure?" asked Fang Chen with a faint smile.

A peak-grade, yellow rank treasure?

Tiger Lord's expression froze for a moment before a hint of seriousness appeared on his face. He whispered, "You can wait for the trade conference to begin. I heard there will be peak-grade, yellow-rank treasures up for sale."

"The trade conference is still a while away. Is there any place to buy it before then?"

Tiger Lord cautiously replied, "Peak-grade, yellow-rank... These kinds of treasures are extremely rare. You'd usually only find them up for sale on the market when Nascent Soul cultivators put them up, wanting to discard of treasures they don't need. Daoist Fang, are you looking for a treasure like that for your duel with Jue Wudi? I don’t think it’s necessary, he’s not even your match."

Fang Chen smiled and said, "I'm buying it to give to someone as a gift. You’re right, I wouldn't need a peak-grade, yellow-rank treasure to deal with Jue Wudi."

He's buying it as a gift?! Is it for the Nascent Soul Realm elder backing him?

Tiger Lord began to speculate, his expression growing even more serious. Indeed, there must be a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator supporting him from behind! Thinking about it, it made sense. Without a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator backing him, how could Fang Chen possess such unfathomable abilities at his age and cultivator level? He was even able to comprehend the Shadow Buddha Technique so effortlessly.

"I... I can't think of any place where they are sold. Even in a fourth-tier empire, such treasures are rare and hardly seen," said Tiger Lord with a touch of embarrassment. His influence was limited to Grand Qian, and this matter was clearly out of his league.

Fang Chen contemplated, "If there's none available, I may have to make do with high-grade, yellow-rank treasures. Although, I'm not sure if the difference in power will be too big."

The Little Sword said that the higher the grade of the treasure, the better its power. A high-grade, yellow-rank treasure had a base price of around two thousand low-grade spirit stones. Among them, those with close to seventy-two Soul Imprints may even sell for five to six thousand low-grade spirit stones. However, their effects were far inferior to the weakest peak-grade, yellow-rank treasure. Buying peak-grade, yellow-rank treasures would be the best way to maximize cost-effectiveness.

Nong Guiquan seemed to have recalled something, as he suddenly voiced out, "I-I might know a place who sells one. However, that treasure is kind of incomplete. It has a total of eighty Soul Imprints, but forty of them are sealed, so it went unsold for a long time. I'm not sure it's still there or if it was sold already."

Tiger Lord's eyes lit up. He immediately turned to Fang Chen with a smile and introduced his brother, "Daoist Fang, this is my fourth brother, Nong Guiquan. He has traveled far and wide, so he's a lot more experienced than I am."

"Sealed?" Fang Chen's eyes flickered. He asked inwardly, "Little Sword, is there a difference to you between sealed treasures and unsealed ones?"

"No difference! As long as it's edible, it's all good stuff," replied Little Sword excitedly. "Little Chen, I have a feeling I'm about to advance to the third rank of the sword body!"

"Good." Fang Chen nodded internally, then looked at Nong Guiquan and said with a smile, "Daoist, where is that place you mentioned? Is it far from Grand Qian? How long does a round trip take?"

Nong Guiquan thought for a bit before replying, "A round trip takes at least a month and a half. However, that place is a little dangerous. There are often outlaws resting there, and I had only passed by it once when I was on a mission. Going there isn't an issue, but if those people caught wind of the fact that you have peak-grade, yellow-rank treasure on you on your way out, I'm afraid it would be difficult to leave."

"Fourth Brother, have you forgotten?" said Lord Tiger. "Daoist Fang knows the Shadow Buddha Technique."

Nong Guiquan's face froze for a moment before he showed a bitter twist. "In that case, there's no problem."

Nong Guiquan took out a blank jade slip, drew the route on it, and handed it to Fang Chen. "Daoist, I will only charge you one hundred low-grade spirit stones for the route there."

Tiger Lord, fearing that Fang Chen might misunderstand, smiled apologetically. "Please forgive us. We cultivators from the Heavenly Doom Hall are all like this."

Fang Chen smiled and did not put much meaning to it. He handed a hundred Nong Guiquan the spirit stones before taking the jade slip.

After a brief moment of thought, he looked at Nong Guiquan. "Are you in a hurry to leave?"

Nong Guiquan looked at Fang Chen. "Do you have business for us?"

Fang Chen nodded. "I may need your help during the trade conference."

Nong Guiquan immediately agreed. "As long as the price is right, I have no problem."

"Then it's settled," said Fang Chen with a smile. He clasped his fist toward the two before sinking into the shadows.

The next day, news of Fang Chen entering seclusion in preparation for his battle with Jue Wudi spread, letting people know that he'd no longer be welcoming visitors.

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