Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: You Can Ask Him Yourself

The following day, the Great Xia’s imperial palace released an imperial edict announcing Fang Chen’s punishment.

Fang Chen is forbidden to step into the imperial court or lead an army for the rest of his life.

An intense debate broke out when the civilians learned about the matter.

Some said that the emperor had crippled Great Xia with this move. Some said that this could appease Greenpine Country’s wrath.

In the General Fang Manor, Fang Canghai handed over his Tiger Seal and was stripped of his position as the general of the East Tiger Barracks. He was demoted to a gatekeeper for the east city gate.

This should have been bad news, but a lively celebration was held in the Fang Manor instead. The main family and branch families gathered together to celebrate the recovery of Fang Chen’s cultivation.

The Fang Clan was the only clan with a fourth stage Ki Manifestation martial artist, after all! Not even the imperial palace had an expert of this caliber.

Xu Ge, Tie Ma, and Huang Sihai reminisced about the past together.

Huang Sihai, as a Dragon General, had not been under the same command chain as Xu Ge and Tie Ma, but the three of them had met one another. After five years of absence, there were endless things for them to talk about.

“Chen’er, I’ll be returning to the palace after this meal.” The empress looked at Fang Chen with a smile. “You’re 23 now. It’s about time for you to form your family. Are there any ladies you’re interested in? I’ll help matchmake you.”

Fang Canghai and his wife, as well as Fang Cangyou, looked at him with expectant eyes.

“I do have someone in my heart.” Fang Chen nodded.

The crowd was surprised. Fang Zhixue excitedly asked, “Big brother, who is it?”

“I don’t know either.” Fang Chen shook his head with a helpless smile.

The sight of the fairy amidst the blazing sun five years ago was imprinted in his mind. Even now, he was still unable to forget about her.

The crowd stared at Fang Chen with frowns. They thought that he was finding an excuse to sidestep the matter. But again, they knew Fang Chen was different from ordinary people, so it wouldn’t be wise to rush this matter.

“Father, is grandfather still training in seclusion?” Fang Chen casually asked.

“Yes, your grandfather is still training in seclusion. Our Fang Clan will have another fourth stage Ki Manifestation expert if he succeeds,” Fang Canghai nodded with a smile.

This topic excited the crowd.

Fourth stage Ki Manifestation experts were the greatest assets of a grade-9 state. Great Xia had fallen weak because it hadn’t had a Ki Manifestation martial artist for more than a decade before Fang Chen’s arrival.

This allowed Greenpine Country, despite lagging far behind Great Xia in the past, to catch up and even overtake them.

The empress returned to the palace in the evening.

Fang Chen retired to his room and continued drawing Purple Lightning Talismans. These talismans served both as an offensive means as well as a way for him to deplete his spirit ki and raise his cultivation.

Before he knew it, it was already midnight.

Fang Chen’s grayish-white eyes suddenly darted toward the corner, and he said, “Celestial Xiao, why have you come back to Great Xia’s capital instead of returning to Greenpine?”

From the shadows, Celestial Xiao glared at Fang Chen with bone-chilling animosity.

She was in an unkempt state. Her clothes were tattered, and she was covered with injuries. Some had already formed scars, whereas some had barely started to clot and were still oozing blood.

“I would have never thought the so-called War supreme-ruler Fang would be such a despicable scum! To think my father has such a high opinion of you. He judged you wrongly!” Celestial Xiao spat.

“What do you mean?” Fang Chen frowned. “You’re badly injured.”

“You pretended to let me go, but you secretly sent experts after me. Are you feigning ignorance right now? The first thing I heard as soon as I returned to the capital is that you have massacred everyone in the Greenpine Superior Dojo! You piece of trash!” Celestial Xiao sneered.

“I was the one who eradicated the Greenpine Superior Dojo. Why would I allow a poisonous tumor to thrive in our Great Xia’s capital? As for you… I wasn’t the one who did it,” Fang Chen placidly replied.

“Who else could it be other than you? You still refuse to admit it at this point!” Celestial Xiao glared at him venomously.

“I’d have admitted it if I did it, but why should I admit to things I haven’t done?” Fang Chen chuckled. “The fact you came here shows you are uncertain too. Otherwise, you would have been courting your own doom.”

Celestial Xiao was stunned. Fang Chen was spot on.

Even though she suspected Fang Chen, she still harbored a sliver of doubt that drew her here to confront him. She was willing to put her life on the line for the truth.

At the same time, it was also because she was cornered. The person chasing after her possessed unfathomable means.

“Tell me what you encountered,” Fang Chen said as he stood up.

He was curious about this matter too. Is there a powerful figure in the capital who doesn’t want Celestial Xiao to return to Greenpine Country alive?

Celestial Xiao was slowly becoming convinced that the assassination attempts on her had nothing to do with Fang Chen. After some hesitation, she began speaking, “I bumped into a daoist a day after I left the capital. This daoist possesses unfathomable means. Not only is he invulnerable to blades and spears, but he possesses tremendous strength too. My hundred Wolf Army soldiers weren’t a match for him at all. We were forced to retreat.

“Ten Wolf Army soldiers escorted me away, while the others stayed behind to stall the daoist. What shocked me was how easily the daoist found me no matter where I ran and hid. Slowly, my escorts died one after another. In the end, I had no choice but to escape into your capital.”

Celestial Xiao turned to Fang Chen and sneered, “That daoist is likely a Ki Manifestation expert. Your Great Xia has truly hidden its strength well. It looks like you have never truly submitted in the past five years no matter how subservient you all appeared.”

“Daoist?” Fang Chen’s face turned grim.

Her descriptions, ‘invulnerable to blades and spears’ and ‘tremendous strength’—why does that sound like the Protection Talisman and the Strength Talisman? Those are the entry talismans to the world of cultivation; they aren’t exclusive to the Three Thousand Dao Gate. Normal daoists are able to draw them too.

If my guess is right, it means there’s a cultivator hiding in our Great Xia!

Though… it might just be a martial artist too. There are a handful of martial arts that bolsters one’s defense and grants one immense strength.

“Fang Chen, do you know who’s that daoist? Who sent him to kill me?” Celestial Xiao asked.

“You mentioned earlier you couldn’t shake him off, and he was able to easily find you no matter what you did?” Fang Chen asked.

Celestial Xiao nodded.

With a wave of his hand, Fang Chen released a surge of spirit ki into Celestial Xiao. It didn’t take him long to stumble upon something.

“What are you doing?!” Celestial Xiao was alarmed to see Fang Chen walking toward her.

“Don’t move,” Fang Chen ordered.

He tightly grabbed Celestial Xiao’s shoulder and furiously pumped his spirit ki into her. A second later, a white worm writhed out of her skin.

Celestial Xiao was horrified by this scene. Why is there a worm inside my shoulder?!

“This is how that daoist tracked your whereabouts,” Fang Chen said before crushing the white worm into bits.

By this point, it was certain that daoist was a cultivator, but there wasn’t enough information for him to figure out how powerful the other party was.

“What kind of means is this?!” Celestial Xiao stared fixated at Fang Chen as she held back her urge to puke.

“You can ask him yourself.” Fang Chen turned his eyes in another direction.

Celestial Xiao looked over too. A middle-aged man dressed in a light-red dao robe was standing quietly by the corner with a livid face.