Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 452: An Unremarkable Incense Path Cultivator

In the blink of an eye, half a month went by.

On the boundless sea, a large ship sailed through wind and waves. Aside from the ship crew and the shipmaster, it only carried a few passengers as they had paid a hefty sum to book the entire ship.

"We'll be arriving at Three World Mountain soon," said Xia Ji as he stood on the deck and gazed into the distance quietly. In his mind, memories of a battle from six years ago resurfaced. That battle had been incredibly brutal, the most tragic he had ever witnessed in his life. Countless soldiers of Grand Xia fell on Three World Mountain, including many peers of his and Fang Chen. They had been friends and brothers with whom they had shared wine.

"If it weren't for the Spirit Blood Sect's interference in that battle, would Fang Da have suffered such a devastating loss? At that time, he was no different from me, just an ordinary mortal."

Xia Ji turned slowly, looking towards the nearby jade coffin. Fairy Yu, Zhang Xiaoke, and Fang Qingyao stood vigil by the coffin, never leaving Fang Chen's side.

It was as if by watching it, Fang Chen would miraculously come back to life.

"Li Daoye said Fang Da won't die. His words shouldn't be baseless. Also, during this time, strange things have happened to me and Fairy Yu..." Xia Ji thought to himself.

During this period, his cultivation had unexpectedly advanced, reaching the 11th stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Every breath he took seemed to draw in countless spiritual energy. Before long, he would be able to advance to the twelfth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

The changes weren't limited to Xia Ji alone; they were also evident in Fairy Yu, the female sword cultivator, Fang Qingyao, and Zhang Xiaoke. However, the changes in Fang Qingyao and Zhang Xiaoke were not significant, and they had only advanced by a small realm. On the other hand, the female sword cultivator was different. Her appearance, originally aged, had reverted to the look of a woman in her forties in just half a month. As for Fairy Yu, her cultivation had surged to the peak of the 12th stage of Qi Refining Realm!

After those changes occurred, Fang Qingyao once said it was because of their good deeds, that the Heavens had rewarded them with merits. If the Hidden Cloud Region had been turned into a furnace by the Spirit Blood Sect, countless lives would have perished. Everyone present had played some role in that event to some extent, thus gaining varying degrees of merits.

One crucial point was that none of them intentionally did anything for the sake of merits. That was the key to obtaining merits, something many cultivators understood but found challenging to do.

Xia Ji frowned slightly, looking at Fang Chen in the jade coffin who showed no signs of change. "Fang Da played a crucial role in this matter and one might even say it was decisive..."

"But why didn't he receive merits from Heaven? Is it because Heaven has already deemed him dead?"

Just then, a flash of sword light streaked across the sky and landed on the ship's deck, transforming into an old man in white robes. The ship's owner and crew were shocked and came out to see what happened.

"Elder Huang!"

The female sword cultivator's eyes lit up, immediately going forward to greet him with a clasped fist. Seeing that, the ship's owner and crew silently retreated. Since that elder was acquainted with their passengers, they naturally didn't interfere.

The old man in white robes frowned slightly. "You've depleted quite a bit of your lifespan."

The female sword cultivator smiled bitterly. "Indeed, I've depleted quite a bit, but thankfully, the Heavens have granted me some merits, which compensated much for it."

Xia Ji's eyes showed a hint of seriousness. "Could this be a Nascent Soul Realm sword cultivator?"

Standing beside him, Fang Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. The aura emanating from this old man in white robes was far superior to even Kunlong Battle General. He was likely in the mid-stage of Nascent Soul Realm. A cultivator like that surely had unimaginably strong capabilities.

"You inadvertently prevented the Spirit Blood Sect from using the Hidden Cloud Region as a cauldron and gained quite a bit of merits. However, these merits clearly didn't fully compensate for all your losses," said the old man in white robes.

The female sword cultivator glanced at the jade coffin and spoke softly. "This person played a crucial role in stopping the Spirit Blood Sect."

The old man in white robes looked towards the jade coffin and said calmly, "Is our stolen sword embryo in his hand? Has he already nurtured it into a destiny flying sword?"

At that moment, Fairy Yu walked over slowly. She was reluctant to leave the jade coffin, but she was also afraid that the old man in white robes would become angry because of the sword embryo.

"Elder Huang, there might be some misunderstandings in this matter. Based on what I know about this person, he doesn't have the ability to steal the sword embryo from our Void Immortal Sword Sect," whispered the female sword cultivator.

The old man in white robes chuckled lightly. "The one who stole the sword embryo is an insignificant Daoist cultivator who walks the path of incense and calls himself Supreme Immortal Pudu. We are currently pursuing him."

Upon hearing that, Fang Chen almost burst out laughing.

Supreme Immortal Pudu has been identified? Then he doesn't need to bear the blame of stealing the sword embryo.

The female sword cultivator was slightly surprised. "Elder Huang, are you suggesting that... he knows Supreme Immortal Pudu?"

"The lord doesn’t know him!" Fairy Yu immediately said, bowing respectfully to the old man in white robes. "Please enlighten us, Elder Huang."

The old man in white robes said lightly, "Of course, he doesn't know Supreme Immortal Pudu. After stealing the sword embryo, that person hid it in a place so remote we never noticed it. To be able to stumble upon the sword embryo and nurture it into a flying sword should be considered fate."

Fairy Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew that although these sword cultivators could be a bit hot-headed, they were always fair in their judgments. Once they understood the cause and effect, they wouldn't vent their anger on unrelated individuals.

"Before coming to see you, I went to the Great Qian Imperial Capital. The situation is consistent with what you're saying," the old man in white robes said, looking at the jade coffin. "This person, with his Qi Refining Realm cultivation, can injure a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator with a single sword strike, disregarding life and death, cutting off the past and present, and ending up with such a fate. You can say he's foolish, but at least he has the air of a sword cultivator."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Since he obtained the sword embryo from our Void Immortal Sword Sect and cultivated the inheritance within the Sword Embryo to become a sword cultivator, then he can be considered a disciple of our Void Immortal Sword Sect."

The female sword cultivator was suddenly stunned. "Inheritance within the sword embryo!?"

The old man in white robes smiled. "Some sword embryos have remarkable origins and carry the inheritance of sword cultivation within them. Since this individual nurtured a flying sword from the sword embryo, naturally, he also obtained the inheritance within."

The female sword cultivator suddenly realized that all of Fang Chen's previous sword techniques stemmed from that sword embryo!

Fang Chen was slightly surprised. "This senior knows that Little Sword carries an inheritance?"

He was puzzled as to why the old man would call him a disciple of the Void Immortal Sword Sect when he was already dead. What was the reason for the Void Immortal Sword Sect to do this?

The old man in white robes suddenly asked, "Oh right, what's his name? After I return, I'll help him register."

"His name is Fang Chen! Fang as in the square shape, and Chen as in dust," Fairy Yu hastily replied.

"Fang Chen? Alright." The old man in white robes nodded lightly. "Next, follow me back to the Void Immortal Sword Sect. His remains will also be buried within the sect."

Everyone was taken aback.

The female sword cultivator smiled bitterly and said, "Elder Huang, he left a dying wish to be buried elsewhere...."