Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Traveling Out of Country

The old woman had an aura similar to that of the Blood Spirit Cultist who died in the Fang Clan. She was likely at fourth stage Ki Refinement.

That should have been comparable to a Human Profound fourth stage Ki Manifestation martial artist, but the means of a cultivator were far superior to those of martial artists. It would likely take at least an Earth Profound martial artist to rival her.

Within a short period of time, Fang Chen had already found two cultivators in Great Xia’s capital. He had no idea whether there would be more.

“What are you afraid of? Fang Chen might have regained his martial cultivation, but he’s no more than a martial artist. Not in his wildest imagination would he think that there are people like me in this world,” the old woman sneered in disdain.

“Vice Minister Qin, you’ll rise through the ranks as long as you stand with us. Don’t make a big fuss over minor matters. Daoist Xue has gone after Celestial Xiao. Once news about her death reaches Greenpine, the Third Prince will be a goner. By then, Greenpine will launch a full-blown invasion on Great Xia, giving us more than enough blood essence to deliver to the higher-ups. Two birds in one stone!”

Those words brought a glint to Fang Chen’s eyes.

Based on what she said, they still have superiors on top of them, and their goal for coming to Great Xia is to gather a huge amount of human blood essence. Could there be more nobles or officials who are colluding with the Blood Spirit Cult other than Vice Minister Qin?

Fang Chen coldly eyed the old woman. I’ll first root the colluders out before eradicating the Blood Spirit Cultists one by one!

“It’s not that I want to kick up a fuss, but not long ago I saw Fang Chen killing a Greenpine Ki Control martial artist with a single palm strike in the imperial palace!” Vice Minister Qin’s voice quivered. “There was a strike of lightning, and a man was reduced to cinders. What power is that?!”

“Regardless, it’s the insignificant means of a martial artist. How can mere inner ki compete with spirit ki?” the old woman scoffed.

She gathered her spirit ki in her hand and conjured a fireball out of thin air. The surrounding temperature immediately shot up.

Vice Minister Qin jolted backward in shock.

“It’s not as if you have never seen me burning a human to crisp with my fireball art. It’s capable of even melting metal,” the old woman said with a gleeful smile.

“Daoist arts?” Fang Chen’s eyes gleamed.

He could sense the terrifying prowess harnessed inside the fireball. It was on par with the Purple Lightning Talismans he was creating at the moment. It was a pity Daoist Cloudcrane’s Three Thousand Dao Initiate Manual only contained details about the Ki Refinement cultivation method and the four talismans. There was no daoist arts in it to be learned.

Cultivators are terrifying indeed.

The daoist he had killed in the Fang Manor appeared to only be well-verse in talismans, as the other party hadn’t cast any daoist arts. There were also no daoist manuals on him either.

“Vice Minister Qin, do you think my fireball can kill Fang Chen?” the old woman asked with a smirk.

“Definitely!” Qin Dong nodded profusely as his fear faded away.

The old woman retracted her daoist art. “You don’t have to be afraid of Fang Chen. We’re only leaving him around to muddy the waters. I’ll be heading to Dragonback Lane later on. It’ll be a seven day trip to and fro. You should refrain from dealing with Fang Chen for the time being.”

Qin Dong hesitantly spoke up, “Goldflower Granny, I have been loyal for the past eight years, doing everything I can to support you. When can I start cultivating under your tutelage… If I could learn some means to protect myself, I wouldn’t have been so intimidated by Fang Chen.”

“A Blood Spirit Divine Pill requires a hundred thousand portions of human blood essence. My mission is to offer ten Blood Spirit Divine Pills to the superiors. When I accomplish the mission, someone will bestow you with a cultivation method, and you’ll be able to become like me,” the old woman said with a cackle before leaving the room.

“A hundred thousand portions of human blood essence for a single Blood Spirit Divine Pill. Six pills were gathered from the battle at the Three Realms Mountain, so another four more to go…” Qin Dong murmured.

Fang Chen’s complexion turned awful upon hearing those words.

It suddenly dawned on him that there was a huge problem regarding the battle at the Three Realms Mountain. The death of the 600,000 soldiers wasn’t just because of his complacency. The Blood Spirit Cult definitely played an important role here, and he was kept in the dark like a fool.

Had he not seen the fairy in the blazing sun, gained the ability to astral project, and met Daoist Cloudcrane who imparted him with a cultivation method, perhaps he would still be seeing things on a superficial level, never able to approach the truth.

The consequences would have been dire!

“While it looks as if I’m in the open and the enemies are in the dark, our roles are reversed. They only know I have regained my martial cultivation. However, they don’t know I’m actually an immortal cultivator; they don’t know about the Purple Lightning Talisman; and they don’t know that Daoist Xue, who’s chasing Celestial Xiao, is dead.” Fang Chen analyzed his situation.

These were the advantages he had over his enemies. He had to carefully consider how he could use them to widen his lead.

Dragonback Lane might just be an opportunity.

Fang Chen slowly followed the old woman from the sky. It was only when he confirmed she was heading toward the eastern city gate did his soul finally return to his body.

Soon, an inconspicuous carriage drove out of the Fang Manor.

“Keep heading eastward,” Fang Chen ordered from the carriage.

Tie Ma, who was driving the carriage, nodded. He didn’t know where Fang Chen was headed to, but he would obediently carry out his instructions.

“Old Huang, this carriage is a bit small. Make do with it.” Fang Chen smiled at Huang Sihai.

Huang Sihai’s massive body filled up most of the space inside the carriage, making him appear awfully awkward. However, he paid no mind to it and grinned. “Young master, I’m delighted to be able to accompany you on a journey.”

“Here’s a Strength Talisman, a Flitting Talisman, and a Protection Talisman. If you find yourself in trouble, infuse your inner ki into the talismans and activate them,” Fang Chen instructed.

With that, he drew out his soul once more.

Around five kilometers ahead of the carriage, the old woman flitted eastward at a pace comparable to a steed. Given the speed she was going, she could cover at least eight hundred kilometers in a day.

A fourth stage Ki Manifestation martial artist could do the same too, but they wouldn’t be as relaxed as her. This was the difference between spirit ki and inner ki; spirit ki was objectively superior to inner ki.

“Head southwest.”

“Up ahead, take the left road.”

“Cross the river.”

Every now and then, Fang Chen would open his eyes and give some directions to Tie Ma.

Three days passed in a flash.

“Stop the carriage,” Fang Chen instructed.

Tie Ma slowed the carriage to a halt. They were in the midst of wilderness; there was nothing in the area at all.

“Young master, we have traveled out of Great Xia…” Tie Ma eyed his surroundings in vigilance.

“I know,” Fang Chen replied. He popped his head out of the carriage, passed a mask to Tie Ma, pointed in a direction, and said, “Wear this and head in that direction. Later on, hand this over to the guard.”

He passed a ki stone to Tie Ma.