Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 194
Chapter 194: Soul Searching
Fang Chen looked at the stone fae, followed by the bat fae, and finally the black-cloaked man before sighing. “Why are you pursuing me alone?”
“You have an exceptionally rich soul. You must have consumed some spirit medicine. Tell me where you obtained your spirit medicine, and you won’t have to return any of my treasures,” the black-cloaked man said.
“Enlightenment Heaven Supreme, let’s not beat around the bush. You lured me for this, right?” Fang Chen asked with a faint sneer lingering on his lips. “I thought that you are a powerhouse, but it looks like I overestimated you.”
Elder Cloudcrane knew about his rich soul too, but he didn’t ask about the reason and instead bestowed him with the Three Thousand Dao Gate’s initiate manual.
In contrast, Enlightenment Heaven Supreme schemed to capture and coerce him to reveal how his soul had become so strong.
Fang Chen was already certain about the black-cloaked man’s identity, but he was baffled by the other party’s means. The person before him was definitely not at Foundation Establishment; he was at most at twelfth stage Ki Refinement.
It didn’t make sense to him that the real Enlightenment Heaven Supreme was this weak, considering that he was worshiped by several states for so many years. The chances were that the black-cloaked man before him was a shell, one of Enlightenment Heaven Supreme’s clones.
The black-cloaked man was stunned, only to chuckle softly a moment later. He took off his veil and revealed a face identical to that of Enlightenment Heaven Supreme.
He looked at Fang Chen and asked, “When did you find out?”
“I found out a long time ago,” Fang Chen replied.
“Why did you enter this cavern then? Heh, were you tempted by the benefits I offered,” the black-cloaked man asked.
“You previously told me I’d find 100 low-grade ki stones here, but why were there 1000 low-grade ki stones, a Blood Ginseng, and a sword embryo?” Fang Chen asked.
“This is my backup plan, so I ought to be generous to myself. It’s easy for me to obtain ki stones, though the sword embryo has quite the background. My real body went through a lot to sneak it out of the Empyrean Immortal Sword Sect,” the black-cloaked man said with a laugh.
“That being said, if you tell me where you ate that spirit medicine and what fortuitous encounter you stumbled upon there, I can consider bestowing it to you.”
He paused for a second before adding, “I only told you there were 100 low-grade ki stones because you are too weak. I was worried I might pique your suspicion if I stated too high a number.”
Fang Chen’s mind whirred into action.
First and foremost, the person before me is indeed one of the Enlightenment Heaven Supreme’s clones. This cavern is a backup plan in case his real body dies, so he made sure to leave a mini fortune here so that he can make a comeback.
That also meant there was a high chance that the sword embryo is really something formidable.
“Will you really let me go if I tell you where I consumed the spirit medicine?” Fang Chen asked.
“Of course. I’m a man of my word,” Enlightenment Heaven Supreme replied with a smile.
“I don’t trust you. If you are that honest, you would have asked me straight away instead of luring me here. I want to know why this body of yours is only at twelfth stage Ki Refinement even though your main body is likely to be much stronger,” Fang Chen replied.
Enlightenment Heaven Supreme was startled. “You can see through my cultivation? Even that brat from before thought I was at Foundation Establishment… Ah, I forgot your soul is stronger than the one I have in this body, so it’s only normal for you to see through my cultivation.”
He let out a chuckle before replying, “I told you this is my backup plan. This body consumes energy each time I move it. The higher the cultivation, the greater the depletion. If you don’t want to die, don’t waste my time and tell me everything you know. In exchange, I’ll bestow you with a fortuitous encounter.”
“I don’t believe you,” Fang Chen replied. “Escort me out. Once I’m safe, I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”
“Brat, do you take me for a fool? I have cultivated for more than a thousand years and dominated a region. You should be thanking your ancestors that you are talking with me at all!” Enlightenment Heaven Supreme’s voice slowly turned cold.
“And someone as strong as you covets an ant’s fortuitous encounter? You might be strong, but are you stronger than a grade-1 state’s cultivator?” Fang Chen mocked.
Enlightenment Heaven Supreme’s face darkened. “There are many cultivators beneath me even in a grade-1 state. You’re wasting my time with meaningless rambles. Do you want to live or die in my hands?”
“You don’t dare to kill me. You’ll lose your lead to that spirit medicine if you kill me. I can frankly tell you there are many of such spirit medicine in that place. I was only able to consume one due to my low cultivation,” Fang Chen replied.
Enlightenment Heaven Supreme was shaken up to hear that. Greed seeped into his eyes as he said, “I have my way of getting that information out of you even if you refuse to speak. Blackbat, take him to the Coldreturn Hill.”
The bat fae grabbed Fang Chen and soared into the sky, leaving together with Enlightenment Heaven Supreme.
The stone fae stood on the spot for a long time before reverting into a giant boulder.
…
“It’s that fae!”
“Hide!”
Xia Yun and the others quickly hid in the bushes. They nervously watched as the bat fae flew over them.
Only when it disappeared did Tantai Qingxuan asked in bewilderment, “That’s Daoist Fang, right? Who’s that other person?”
“I don’t know.” Xia Yun and Liu Suifeng shook their heads.
They were shocked to learn that Fang Chen had been captured by that bat fae. It was unlikely that he would survive that encounter.
Li Xiuming was overjoyed. If Fang Chen has been captured, Li Daoye and Chaoxianggong Nisheng are likely dead too.
“I suggest for us not to get nosey and leave this place first,” Li Xiuming proposed.
The other three nodded.
“Daoist Fang has a formidable heritage. He would have had a bright future ahead of him if he hadn’t come here. What a pity! But that’s the life of a cultivator. No cultivators are spared from disasters and tribulations,” Liu Suifeng remarked.
“Daoist Fang chose this on his own. It has nothing to do with us,” Xia Yun added.
“Indeed, it has nothing to do with us,” Liu Suifeng agreed.
Just like that, they shook off their responsibility concerning this matter.
…
Fang Chen returned to the same palace where he escaped from.
The bat fae dared not to enter the hill. It watched from the sky as Enlightenment Heaven Supreme and Fang Chen entered the palace before taking its leave.
Enlightenment Heaven Supreme chuckled gleefully. He took off Fang Chen’s storage ring, but seconds later, his face suddenly warped in anger. “Isn’t this a storage ring?”
“Why would someone of my cultivation have a storage ring?” Fang Chen retorted.
“You’re saying that… you passed the ki stones, Blood Ginseng, Scarlet Fruits, and sword embryo to the other two? Do you trust them that much?!” Enlightenment Heaven Supreme narrowed his eyes in disbelief. “You would rather sacrifice yourself to fulfill them. You are a noble and generous one. What a pity they won’t be able to leave this place any time soon. There are a few days more to go before ten days are up.”
Fang Chen chuckled. “You won’t be able to get your things back if you don’t chase them now.”
“A few days is enough time for me to search your soul. It’s just that this body has a low cultivation, so I’ll need two days just for that,” Enlightenment Heaven Supreme said. “It’s not too late for me to chase them after I get to the bottom of your fortuitous encounter.”
He placed his palm on Fang Chen’s head and furiously pumped his spirit ki in.
Bam!
Fang Chen’s head suddenly exploded, followed by his body and limbs.
“He’s dead?” Enlightenment Heaven Supreme was first stupefied, but soon, rage flickered in his eyes.
