Immortal of the Nine Realms

Under the watchful eyes of the entire crowd, Shi Xinghai completely dissolved into nonexistence.

The cultivators of the Minor Immortal Realm and the Killing Spiritual Division wore sorrowful looks as they stood in silence. A few breaths later, they bowed, as if sending Shi Xinghai off on his final journey.

Chen Feifei looked at the crowd and said, "That was a ninth-transformation True Immortal who was utterly bent on leaving the Nine Realms. I find it hard to believe he secretly didn't have contingencies. What do you all think?"

"Whether he did or not doesn't matter anymore. He truly relinquished his position as the ninth-transformation True Immortal, and that's all that matters. Another ninth-transformation position has been freed for anyone to vie for," a ninth-transformation immortal stated calmly.

However, he quickly realized something. In the current Nine Realms, a ninth-transformation immortal no longer seemed sufficient.

Someone sighed with emotion. "Next, it's time to thoroughly clean up the Nine Realms."

But suddenly, everyone felt a wave of heart-pounding unease and instinctively looked toward Fang Chen. The Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower was radiating a streak of absolute, abyssal black brilliance. The darkness seemed intent on swallowing Fang Chen whole.

Everyone was shocked.

"What is going on here?"

Motian Dizang seemed to realize something, and astonishment appeared on her face. "The Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower is acknowledging a master!"

At that moment, the Sin Mace suddenly flew out from within Fang Chen's body and began radiating the same vibrant, shimmering cascade of flowery light.

"Is that... the Sin Mace, one of the Ten Great Treasures of the Underworld?"

Everyone was surprised again. They were naturally familiar with the Ten Great Treasures of the Underworld. After all, fragments of some of those supreme treasures existed within the Pseudo Underworlds controlled by their respective factions. It was precisely by relying on those supreme treasure fragments that they had been able to forge miniature underworlds to facilitate reincarnation and gain control over the Ghost Immortal path, a path vastly inferior to that of True Ghost Gods.

"With the fusion of the Underworld's supreme treasures, the territory of the Lesser Underworld will expand greatly. A portion of the Floating Pagoda Realm will be completely absorbed and integrated into the Lesser Underworld, and the authority of Monarch Yan shall be thoroughly sublimated."

Yun He wore a gentle smile. He glanced at Fang Chen briefly before fixing his gaze on Fang Zhentian. "The path Chen'er has chosen is still far more useful than running around hacking people apart with a sword."

Fang Zhentian stated indifferently, "Things have only just begun. It's too early to say."

Daoist Yun Que snorted coldly. "You two, shouldn't we head out to hunt down Saint Jinyang and the rest now? If they manage to escape ahead of us and hide again, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause next time. Striking them while they are down is the proper course of action."

"Agreed."

The horde of Yang Gods spoke up.

They could imagine that even those Yang Gods whose names they didn't recognize had probably been mighty figures who dominated entire regions in ancient times. It was simply that too much time had passed, leaving them with no way of knowing the lives and histories of these once-great figures.

Saint Long suddenly inquired, "You two don't plan to wait until the situation here has completely quieted down before joining forces to settle scores with Saint Jinyang and the rest together?"

Lang Daochun added, "Correct, our next operations had best not be separated. We must remain unified so that nobody can find a flaw to exploit."

Shao Mengyuan reminded them, "The Ancient Demon is still alive."

"The Ancient Demon will not be able to make any more moves soon," explained Yun He, smiling faintly. "Conversely, it is Saint Jinyang and his people who still retain the vast majority of their capability to fight. We must at the very least ensure they receive a significantly longer period of 'rest' before they manage to completely hide themselves away."

After that, the Yang Gods, spearheaded by Yun He and Fang Zhentia, turned around and departed. In mere moments, they vanished from everyone's sight.

A ninth-transformation immortal looked toward Saint Long. "Then what about us?"

Saint Long swept a glance across the millions of human cultivators. "We shall wait until the matters here have completely concluded first. As for how to dispose of these millions of human cultivators, we still need to consult Monarch Yan."

The crowd nodded. Casting another glance toward the group of exceptionally powerful Yin Soldiers positioned right beside Fang Chen, they settled into a quiet wait for the upcoming changes.

Chen Feifei brought Wang Chongsong back to the Enlightenment God Palace's side and spoke with a faint smile. "You all aren't planning to return to the Mortal Realm first? With us keeping watch here, there won't be any issues arising."

Xie Aman smiled. "Palace Master, we are in no hurry for the moment."

The crowd cast somewhat peculiar glances toward Wang Chongsong, unable to fathom why the Palace Master of the Enlightenment God Palace would specifically bring along the Head of the Reincarnation Division from Enlightenment Underworld. After all, this individual's status within the Enlightenment God Palace was, at absolute most, merely equivalent to that of an ordinary elder.

Chen Feifei nodded. "Then let us watch and see. With the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower combined with the Sin Mace, Monarch Yan will have the final say in the Underworld from now on. I wonder if he will demand that our Enlightenment Underworld surrender the supreme treasures' fragments."

"You all will naturally have to surrender those fragments." Motian Dizang swept an icy glance across Chen Feifei and the others. "In the past, it mattered not since the Underworld lacked a Monarch Yan. Today is completely different from the past. All absolute authority must return into his hands."

The ninth-transformation experts of the various major factions looked at one another, their expressions somewhat strange. This effectively meant that from now on, if cultivators from their respective factions wished to reincarnate, they would first need Monarch Yan's approval.

Lang Daochun smiled. "Everyone, this is nothing of consequence. The Underworld was always meant to be under Monarch Yan's rule. It is more than enough for us to properly handle matters in the Mortal Realm. It'll save us some effort as well."

With both Motian Dizang and Lang Daochun speaking—and Saint Long refraining from expressing any stance—everyone could already guess it wouldn't take long for Monarch Yan to take over every single Pseudo Underworld.

As for what kind of change that would bring, only time would tell. After all, the Underworld now had a Consort Yan as well, and she had always been temperamental and ruthless.

***

Lesser Underworld.

Countless wandering souls suddenly sensed a disturbance in the sky. The Underworld yin qi tumbled unceasingly, and the clouds grew increasingly thick, dense, and solid.

"Come quickly and look, the Forgotten River is boiling!"

"The white mist over there is dissipating!"

"I can suddenly see a new city wall?!"

Similar scenes appeared across every single corner of the Lesser Underworld.

The Floating Pagoda Realm was likewise profoundly affected by this surge of mystical power. Its vast territory started fusing into the Lesser Underworld.

Quite a few Yin Demons that still retained their sanity inexplicably discovered that everything around them had completely transformed. Some found a few massive mountain ranges added to their surroundings, while others found an extra branch of the Forgotten River appearing.

A Yin Demon murmured blankly to himself, "Heaven and earth are being transformed.... Is some great calamity about to descend?"

***

Fang Chen's eyes were tightly shut. A cool current carrying a faint trace of warmth slowly circulated throughout his body.

He could sense that a special connection had been formed between himself, the Sin Mace, and the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. Yet this connection did not originate from himself, but rather from the Monarch Yan Seal residing within his body.

Although he hadn't tested it yet, he was certain that further use of the Sin Mace would not consume Yin Lifespan anymore.

"This can also be considered a form of acknowledging a master. Both the Sin Mace and the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower have completely submitted to the Monarch Yan Seal. If a situation similar to the prior one ever occurs again, there will no longer be any need to worry about the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower falling into the hands of others."

Fang Chen let out a long sigh of relief and quietly waited for the process of acknowledging a master to conclude.

***

A month passed.

The two supreme treasures of the Underworld transformed into streams of liquid and slowly flowed into Fang Chen's body, vanishing completely from view.

By now, both the Floating Pagoda Realm and the Lesser Underworld had experienced massive, profound transformations. The originally minuscule Lesser Underworld had now, in terms of territory, caught up to the scale of the Floating Pagoda Realm. One expanded and the other diminished.

Without anyone noticing, the territory of the Floating Pagoda Realm had already shrunk considerably.