Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 177

Chapter 177: Master Chen, I’ll Send You Off

The sun and the moon switched places twice. A day had passed.

The chilling punishment continued in front of the magistrate court.

Master Chen had suffered 1200 slices in the span of a day. In the span of a night, his hair had turned completely white, and his face looked incomparably emaciated.

Yet, there was a breath left in him. He simply wouldn’t die.

The crowd realized that this must have been Fang Chen’s means. He was somehow keeping Master Chen alive, denying him the solace of death.

Zhao Yan watched this sight emotionlessly. The hatred in his heart had vanished, though that didn’t mean that he felt any pity for Master Chen either. Putting aside his personal grudge, he thought that Master Chen deserved this for what he had inflicted on those women.

This is karma!

The civilians around the magistrate court had switched many times by now. Some couldn’t take it and ran off. Some tried squeezing to the front, wanting to see the punishment close up.

However, the Auspicious King and the other officials dared not to leave because of Fang Chen. Fang Chen had spent the last 24 hours slicing Master Chen’s flesh; they spent the last 24 hours watching this cruelty unfold.

The visual and mental turmoil made many officials stagger weakly as they reached their limits. It was almost as if the ones who were being punished weren’t Master Chen but them!

Another day passed in a flash.

This was the third day since Master Chen started his punishment. 48 hours had passed in total. Master Chen had taken 2400 slices, and there was just a day left before he completed his 3600 slices.

There were already rumors that Fang Chen was a Living Yama. Some even went so far as to claim that they saw countless hell guards standing around Fang Chen at nightfall.
(Yama is the God of Death and Justice in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.)

These rumors were spoken with such conviction that even the students were gossiping about it.

This should have been a punishment directed at Master Chen, but it brought about inexplicable pressure on most people in the South Immortal Commandery.

Even Jue Panshi and his subordinates looked drained of blood. Their fear of Fang Chen deepened so much that it was practically imprinted in their souls.

The only ones enjoying it were the wild dogs feasting on Master Chen’s body.

Another day passed.

Master Chen had turned into a skeletal rack before the crowd’s eyes. His organs were clear for all to see, and they were wrapped in a layer of blood that refused to trickle for some reason.

With a flick of his sleeve, Fang Chen ripped out Master Chen’s kidney and tossed it on the ground. The wild dogs immediately split it among themselves.

To the crowd’s surprise, neither Fang Chen’s hands nor sleeves were stained with blood.

Fang Chen flicked his sleeve once more and tossed Master Chen’s lung onto the floor. The wild dogs pounced on it as well.

Next were the spleen, liver, and finally the heart!

“He really plucked out his organs…”

Terror could be seen in the crowd’s eyes.

Even more so terrified was Master Chen. He had long succumbed to despair, and it only further deepened when he realized that he was still alive despite having his organs eaten by dogs.

The fear that he would continue to suffer such pain until the end of time crushed all of the beliefs he had held onto. He thought back about everything he had done, but it was too late for regrets.

By this point, the officials were starting to get light-headed, but the Auspicious King gritted his teeth and held on. Not only so, but he even ordered his men to splash water on the officials to wake them up.

“You need to watch. This is the fate befalling those who do evil,” the Auspicious King ordered.

“…Yes, Your Highness.” The officials weakly nodded as they forced themselves to watch.

“Next is the shaving of the bone and the knocking of the marrow…” Zhao Yan murmured.

The crowd watched in fear as Fang Chen used a little knife to shave off Master Chen’s bones bit by bit. It was also at this point that Master Chen was finally allowed to speak, but what came out of him were not words but the most miserable cries any of them had ever heard.

It was a noise that would haunt their dreams even when they thought about it years later.

“AHHHHH!”

Quite a few officials fainted despite having mustered their determination a moment earlier. Of course, they were woken up by a splash of cold water shortly after.

At some point, the only thing remaining of Master Chen was his head. Everything beneath that, be it his flesh, bones, blood, or organs, had vanished without a trace. Yet, to the crowd’s horror, Master Chen was still alive!

“L-let me die…” Master Chen screeched hoarsely.

This eerie sight spooked the crowd. It further convinced them of the floating rumors. Who else other than the Living Yama could possess such means?

In truth, Fang Chen had been keeping Master Chen alive with his spirit ki. Three days was neither short nor long, but it was enough for a sixth stage Ki Refinement cultivator to deplete his spirit ki many times over.

If not for the fast recuperation of his spirit ki, not even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been able to keep Master Chen alive for three days.

Fang Chen quietly looked at Master Chen, not saying a word.

“It hurts! It hurts! My heart hurts! My hand hurts!” Master Chen murmured weakly.

The crowd was bewildered. Master Chen has lost his body, so why does he still feel pain?

It was then that spirit ki suddenly surged into Fang Chen’s body, manifesting into his seventh immortal vein.

“Zhao Yan, send him off,” Fang Chen said before returning to his chair to rest.

Zhao Yan stepped out of the crowd and slowly made his way toward Master Chen. The eyes of the crowd followed him.

“Master Chen, I’ll send you on your way,” Zhao Yan softly said.

“T-thank you…” Master Chen murmured.

Bam!

With a simple palm strike, Master Chen’s head was reduced to dust.

Master Chen was finally dead, but for some reason, there were some people in the crowd who continued to hear Master Chen’s miserable cries. Their bodies turned cold, and sweat rained from their bodies. The only thing remaining in the depths of their eyes was fear.

“It’s over. You can scatter now.” The Auspicious King weakly stood up and waved off the crowd.

The civilians didn’t kick up a fuss and quietly walked away. The victims’ families deeply bowed to the resting Fang Chen before taking their leave.

Soon, the area in front of the magistrate court was cleared out.

“Imperial Duke Fang must be exhausted. Let’s wait a little longer,” the Auspicious King told Commandery Chief Ouyang and the others when he saw that Fang Chen’s eyes were closed.

The crowd nodded.

They ended up waiting for two hours.

When Fang Chen finally opened his eyes, a gleam flashed across his eyes. He had manifested his seventh immortal vein, and his spirit ki grew significantly more concentrated as a result.

“I’ll be taking my leave,” Fang Chen said before leaving with Xu Ge and Zhao Yan.

The Auspicious King and the others saw him off. Only after the three of them were finally gone did they collapse onto the floor one after another and let out a deep breath.

“Don’t look at me. I’m also at my limit.” Jue Panshi noticed quite a few people eyeing him, and he let out a bitter laugh. He wiped off his sweat and rested on the ground.