Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 213
Chapter 213: They Found Us!
Fang Chen had Zhao Yan open the crates to take a look.
Moments later, Zhao Yan reported, “Young master, 136 of the books are martial cultivation methods, of which, 3 can reach pinnacle Earth Profound realm. 437 of the books are martial arts manuals, and their grade varies.”
Fang Chen looked at Ji Congyun and said, “Make haste with the remaining three-tenths. I’ll be taking these back to Great Xia first.”
“Rest assured, young master. I’ll capture them.” Ji Congyun nodded. Then, he hesitantly asked, “Young master, the immortal cultivation method…”
“No rush.” Fang Chen waved his hand.
Ji Congyun dared not to push his luck.
The following day, a platoon of Nightmare Knights escorted a group out of Chillwater’s capital.
The Crane Forest Valley was a place that couldn’t be circumvented when traveling between Chillwater and Great Xia. Fang Chen and the others had also passed by this area when they previously headed to Chillwater.
Sometimes, ferocious beasts would be spotted in this region.
In the carriage, a little sword weaved in between the cracks in Fang Chen’s fingers swiftly but precisely, not hurting him in the least. Its aura had grown stronger after devouring two artifacts, but Fang Chen was still unable to see the daosoul imprints on it.
“Sword cultivator…” Fang Chen murmured.
He still remembered Senior Brother Zhou and Senior Sister Wang’s attitudes toward sword cultivators, and that piqued his interest in this specialization. Why are those two arrogant fellows so intimidated by sword cultivators?
“Sword cultivator appears to be a path that focuses on extreme offense. I should give it a try if an opportunity arises,” Fang Chen muttered.
After playing for a short while, the little sword started growling once more, “Hungry, hungry…”
“You… I doubt that I can satisfy you even if I have a mountain of gold,” Fang Chen remarked with a helpless sigh.
It was fortunate he still had 1000 low-grade ki stones. He could drop by Dragonback Lane to make some purchases. Perhaps, he might just be able to acquire some better talisman papers and cinnabar.
He didn’t stay too long at Dragonback Lane the last time due to his lacking cultivation, but it shouldn’t be a problem now for him to stay longer.
Zhao Yan and Xu Ge galloped beside each other on steeds outside the carriage. Ji Lengxing and the Forgotten Sea Sword Sect’s Unmoving Pristine King Sword Xu Qingfeng trailed behind the two of them.
“Xu Qingfeng, your Forgotten Sea Sword Sect should learn how to read the room. What’s the big deal about handing over your martial arts legacy? You wouldn’t have been reduced to mere bandits if only your sect did so,” Xu Ge said.
Xu Qingfeng squeezed out a smile and replied, “I can’t help what our sect master thinks.”
Ji Lengxing quickly interjected, “Brother Xu, Qingfeng isn’t the one who calls the shots in the Forgotten Sea Sword Sect. Don’t take it to heart.”
Xu Ge glanced at Ji Lengxing and suddenly laughed. “Why would I let something this small get to me? It’s just a casual remark. I can only say that your Forgotten Sea Sword Sect has missed a good opportunity.”
Fang Chen was not the type to take favors for granted. Granted that he was forcefully demanding their martial arts legacies, he would still treat it as if he owed them one for this. Should the sects who surrendered their martial arts legacies ask him for a request in the future, he would be inclined to repay the favor.
Opportunity? Xu Qingfeng’s eyes blazed with fury.
Meanwhile, several silhouettes flitted across the Crane Forest Valley. Their eyes were fixated on Fang Chen’s group.
“They have a hundred Nightmare Knights and the old bastard’s grandson’s Ji Lengxing. Our sect’s Xu Qingfeng is with them. Only ten of the Nightmare Knights have reached Aureate Ki, so they don’t pose a threat to us,” a white-haired old man said.
There were three figures standing near him, but other than them, there were hundreds more martial artists lying in wait in the Crane Forest Valley. The weakest of these martial artists were at Aureate Ki, and some were even at Origin Ki.
Even the Nightmare Knights, which mainly comprised Ki Manifestation martial artists, were considered elite among the elites, but the martial artists lying in ambush here were many times stronger than that.
Even Ji Congyun would struggle to rally so many experts together under normal circumstances.
“Forgotten Sea Sect Master, I heard that Great Xia’s Fang Chen is unfathomably strong; he even has a Longevity Ki martial artist as a follower. He dared to massacre Vastsea’s envoys at the capital harbor,” an old woman said with worried eyes. “Is it wise to ambush Fang Chen here instead of fleeing Chillwater?”
The white-haired old man looked at the old woman, followed by the other two figures, and harrumphed coldly. “The three of you are Longevity Ki martial artists, and your sects used to command great respect in Chillwater. That fellow caused us to lose our sects and be reduced to mere bandits. Don’t you feel indignant about having to escape from our homeland like that?”
The old woman lowered her head and muttered, “I’m indignant, but who can guarantee that old bastard Ji Congyun isn’t camping by the side, waiting for us to make a move?”
“We have four Longevity Ki martial artists—two for Fang Chen, and two for his followers. The rest is enough to deal with the Nightmare Knights. However, it’ll be a different story if Ji Congyun is here too,” another Longevity Ki martial artist said.
“I reckon he’s having delusions of grandeur on his throne.” The white-haired old man harrumphed. “He might be a wily old fox, but he’ll never guess that we’d ambush Fang Chen here. Our vengeance is of secondary importance here. Fang Chen has with him 70% of Chillwater’s martial arts legacy. We have to destroy them, else Earth Profound realm martial artists will start appearing in Great Xia.”
The old woman and the other two Longevity Ki martial artists jolted, then they lowered their heads in contemplation. Slowly, their eyes firmed up.
“Forgotten Sea Sect Master is right. Ji Congyun plans to sell our foundation to Great Xia. We can’t let that old scum succeed. We need to stop our martial arts legacies from flowing into Great Xia.”
“We have to take this risk for Chillwater’s continued prosperity.”
Seeing that he had convinced the others, the white-haired old man smiled. His eyes remained firmly on Fang Chen’s group all this while to follow their movements.
“There’s a narrow gorge ahead. We’ll make a move there,” the white-haired old man said.
“All right!”
Meanwhile, Fang Chen was watching the white-haired old man and the others from the sky. Upon hearing their ploy, he couldn’t help but be impressed. These martial artists sure are loyal to put their lives on the line to ambush me for their country’s interest.
His soul returned to his body, and he said, “There’s an ambush ahead. Be careful.”
The crowd was startled.
Zhao Yan turned grim. He focused on his ears, and he vaguely picked up on heartbeats from the surroundings.
An ambush? Ji Lengxing’s face darkened. He glanced at Xu Qingfeng with a tinge of pity in his eyes.
Xu Qingfeng looked flustered. He turned to Ji Lengxing and asked, “Lengxing, would someone really ambush us here? Could young master Fang be mistaken? Who would dare to ambush us given Chillwater’s current political climate?”
“Qingfeng, you chose the wrong side.” Ji Lengxing sighed.
Xu Qingfeng’s face darkened. He instinctively swung his sword at Ji Lengxing while bellowing, “They found us!”
