Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 193

Chapter 193: A Trade

“Young master Fang, what’s going on?!” Li Daoye’s head popped in from the entrance, only to be shocked by what he saw. Who in the world is that black-cloaked man?

“Attack,” Fang Chen suddenly ordered.

He pushed Chaoxianggong Nisheng aside and tossed ten Purple Lightning Talismans at the black-cloaked man. Li Daoye also didn’t slip up at this critical moment and unhesitatingly threw all of his remaining Purple Lightning Talismans over.

Then, the two of them fled without bothering to see the outcome of their attack.

Explosions ensued. Blinding light suffused the palace as the black-cloaked man was bombarded by frightening purple lightning bolts.

By the time the lightning dissipated, Fang Chen, Li Daoye, and Chaoxianggong Nisheng were nowhere to be seen. The ki stones, Blood Ginseng, Scarlet Fruits, and sword embryo that were on the jade pedestal had also disappeared.

The black-cloaked man fell silent. A cold glint flashed across his eyes as he tossed Li Xiuming aside as if he was trash and walked out of the palace.

Then, he morphed into a surge of dim light as he rushed down the hill.

“Cough cough cough!” Li Xiuming coughed violently as he struggled to his feet.

He had lost 90% of his blood essence, such that he looked more like a skeleton covered in skin. It would take years for him to recover from such depletion.

“Ha, ha…”

Li Xiuming revealed a savage smile as he felt an adrenaline rush from surviving the ordeal. He might have lost the items on the jade pedestal, but at least he survived. As long as there was a breath left in him, he could get back everything that he had lost!

“That lad took Nisheng with him? It matters not. She won’t live long given the severity of her injuries. As for that black-cloaked man, his target seems to be that lad…” Li Xiuming narrowed his eyes in viciousness as he realized that Fang Chen might have used him. That bastard might have known that it was dangerous here.

“What a close shave. We could have sustained severe injuries if that ferocious beast didn’t suddenly back off,” Xia Yun’s voice suddenly echoed from the entrance.

Li Xiuming quickly walked out of the palace and feebly stretched his hand toward the trio, asking, “Do you have any blood replenishment pills?”

“You are…?!”

Xia Yun and his two juniors were taken aback, as they stared at Li Xiuming in uncertainty.

“I am Li Xiuming,” Li Xiuming said.

“You… What happened to you? Where’s your junior sister? Also, have you seen our other two companions?” Liu Suifeng asked with a frown.

Li Xiuming bitterly replied, “We found quite a few ki stones, a sword embryo, and a Blood Ginseng in here, but my junior sister colluded with your two companions to deplete my blood essence so that they can monopolize the treasures.”

“…” Xia Yun and his two juniors frowned.

It didn’t look like Li Xiuming was lying about that, so Liu Suifeng asked, “Did they really take the treasures away? We agreed to split it among ourselves.”

“There’s no reason for me to lie,” Li Xiuming replied righteously.

“Regardless of the situation, we can talk about it once we find them.” Xia Yun thought about it before handing Li Xiuming a pill. “I don’t have any blood replenishment pills with me, but here is a recovery pill. It should make you feel better.”

“Thanks.” Li Xiuming quickly took the pill and swallowed it.

Meanwhile, Liu Suifeng and Tantai Qingxuan took a look around the palace. The sight of the empty jade pedestal added credence to Li Xiuming’s story. They could sense rich spirit ki from the jade pedestal, a hint that there used to be ki stones on it.

…

“Young master Fang, we’re running for our lives, right? Why are we bringing this woman along?” Li Daoye didn’t forget to glare at Chaoxianggong Nisheng while sprinting with all his might.

Chaoxianggong Nisheng was in a feeble state. She was moved to see Fang Chen taking her with him, but she said, “Let me down. I’m doomed to die. The injury has wounded my heart meridian. I’ll only be a burden. If you survive this ordeal, please visit our Everchange Mountain one day to expose Li Xiuming’s shameless face to my fellow brethren.”

Li Daoye was intrigued. “What happened in the palace? Did Li Xiuming stab you?”

“Is a 100-year-old Scarlet Fruit enough for you to survive?” Fang Chen asked.

“100-year-old Scarlet Fruit? Isn’t it on the jade pedestal? Wait a moment…” Chaoxing Gongnisheng stared at Fang Chen in disbelief. Aside from taking me, did he swipe everything on the jade pedestal too?

“Answer my question,” Fang Chen said impatiently.

“Yes, it can!” Chaoxianggong Nisheng exclaimed.

“Let’s make a deal. Impart to us the method to nurture an ego artifact, and in exchange, I’ll give you a Scarlet Fruit and bring you out of this place alive,” Fang Chen said.

Li Daoye gasped in disbelief. He was able to make such calculations even in that precarious situation? He finally understood why Fang Chen took Chaoxianggong Nisheng with him. It was not out of lust but greed!

“So that’s your goal…” Chaoxianggong Nisheng was taken aback. She feebly replied, “I can’t impart our Everchange Mountain’s ego nurturing method to you. We made a vow when joining the sect to never impart Everchange Mountain’s cultivation arts to outsiders, or else we’ll die to Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.”

Bam!

Fang Chen dropped his arms. Chaoxianggong Nisheng fell heavily on the ground and rolled off. This impact tugged on her chest wound, and the sheer pain caused her to gasp for air.

“Since it’s a no deal, there’s no reason for us to continue traveling together,” Fang Chen said before taking his leave.

“W-wait…” Chaoxianggong Nisheng panicked. She couldn’t believe how fast Fang Chen had changed his attitude. “I only said that I can’t impart our Everchange Mountain’s cultivation art to you, but our Chaoxianggong Clan has its own ego nurturing method too. I can use that to strike a deal with you.”

“You should have said so earlier.”

Fang Chen turned around, picked up Chaoxianggong Nisheng, and continued fleeing.

A minute later, Li Daoye and Fang Chen widened their eyes in realization. “I didn’t expect it to be so easy.”

Fang Chen fulfilled his promise and fed Chaoxianggong Nisheng a 100-year-old Scarlet Fruit. Her complexion swiftly improved.

“Our clan’s ego nurturing method is much simpler, so it only works on mid Yellow-tier artifacts and below,” Chaoxianggong Nisheng said.

“Young master Fang, that black-cloaked man clearly possesses exceptional means. I don’t think we’ll be able to escape from him just like that, right?” Li Daoye asked.

“Take these ki stones, Blood Ginseng, Scarlet Fruits, and sword embryo. I’ll lure him away,” Fang Chen passed the items to Li Daoye as he said.

Li Daoye was stunned. “What are you saying?! You’ll lure him away?”

“Who else is going to do that? You?” Fang Chen’s eyebrows shot up.

“Haha, you can do it. You’re the stronger one,” Li Daoye sheepishly replied.

Fang Chen nodded. They quickly split ways.

“He’s a true gentleman… it’s really rare to see people like him nowadays,” Chaoxianggong Nisheng said feebly.

“Am I not one? Don’t forget that I’m the one carrying you now.” Li Daoye harrumphed in displeasure as he continued sprinting toward the entrance.

Seconds later, he asked, “Miss, are you engaged?”

“Let me down. I have mostly recovered,” Chaoxianggong Nisheng coldly replied.

…

Meanwhile, Fang Chen had fled for at least thirty kilometers. He had avoided some dangers along the way as if he could predict the future, but the black-cloaked man still managed to catch up with him and block his way.

The stone fae and the bat fae were here too. The three of them sealed off his path of retreat.

“You sure are good at running,” the black-cloaked man sneered.