Chapter 1784: The Negotiation Period
Seeing how silent Fang Chen had fallen, Wang Chongsong could not help gloating a little. "You brat, this time you've really been scared."
"No. I'm just considering whether I should abandon the Monarch Yan Seal right now," Fang Chen replied.
Wang Chongsong's eyes widened. "Abandon the Monarch Yan Seal? Then all the decrees you previously issued would become invalid. And you'd also lose control over the Lesser Underworld, this trump card with miraculous effects."
Fang Chen nodded. "Yes. That's exactly why I'm only considering it."
Wang Chongsong snapped, "So what conclusion did you reach? In my opinion, even if you truly want to give up the position of Monarch Yan, you should wait until the Three Realms are stabilized. At this critical time, if you abandon it now, you'll completely lose the qualifications to interfere."
"As I said earlier, you really don't need to worry too much about this matter. The urgent priority is solving the trouble that is Gu Yueling. As for the Taicang Realm, you no longer need to personally intervene there."
Fang Chen nodded thoughtfully. "That's true."
Wang Chongsong looked surprised. He had not expected Fang Chen to recover his composure so quickly. He had previously imagined himself in the same situation. He realized even he would have panicked for quite some time before he managed to calm down.
"Oh, right. What exactly is the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower? What are its effects?" Fang Chen casually asked.
Wang Chongsong answered casually. "You want to reclaim this Underworld treasure? Hmm. Given your current situation, reclaiming it would indeed bring tremendous benefits. It can at least expand the Lesser Underworld tenfold."
Fang Chen was stunned. "Expand the Lesser Underworld tenfold?"
Wang Chongsong smiled. "Yes. Every Underworld treasure represents a part of the Monarch Yan's authority. Fully reclaiming even one of them can expand the territory of the Lesser Underworld. The current size of the Lesser Underworld is merely its most primitive original state. Only after obtaining all ten treasures did it become the vast, nearly boundless territory known as the Greater Underworld."
"But among the ten treasures, there are only a few you still have any hope of reclaiming. The Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower looks difficult, but it's actually one of the simplest. The only problem is that the place where it's stored is rather special. But as long as you can reach that place and retrieve it, you won't really face danger from outsiders."
"Where is it? Tell me. Maybe I can retrieve it."
"With your current strength, you probably can't. If you advance to a ninth-transformation immortal, then there may be a sliver of hope. Back during the peak of the Immortal Realm, the Reincarnation Immortal Sect was considered an existence detached from the world. The most complete version of the History Immortal Book was controlled by the Reincarnation Immortal Sect. If it were still in its complete state, it would probably surpass things like the True Immortal Ancient Mirror and the God Decree Ranking by a huge margin."
Wang Chongsong smiled faintly. "It would absolutely be the number one spiritual treasure in the Nine Mortal Realms."
Fang Chen sighed softly. "Don't tell me... it was hidden inside the History Immortal Book?"
"It was indeed hidden inside the History Immortal Book. Anyone who is not a History Immortal will never emerge once they enter the History Immortal Book. And the History Immortal lineage was firmly controlled by the Reincarnation Immortal Sect from beginning to end."
Wang Chongsong sighed. "Now that lineage vanished completely along with the destruction of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect."
Fang Chen muttered to himself, How could the Reincarnation Immortal Sect possibly be destroyed?
At the very least, he was now certain the Reincarnation Immortal Sect still existed. It simply existed in another form beyond ordinary comprehension, truly detached from the world. Otherwise, what exactly was he? And was Shu Kui supposed to be a ghost?
Shu Kui... since the Reincarnation Immortal Sect still exists in the future, and Shu Kui can still speak with me, does that mean the Nine Mortal Realms may never actually face the fate of being split up? So... before the invasion of the outsiders, or at least within a short period, a new Heavenly Dao will be born?
At that thought, Fang Chen suddenly felt as if everything had become much clearer. But he still did not dare confirm whether his guess was truly correct. Perhaps Shu Kui was constrained by certain rules and simply did not dare reveal the future situation to him.
Wang Chongsong waved his hand dismissively. "Your information network is broad, and mine isn't bad either. In any case, if I hear any news regarding this matter in the future, I'll notify you immediately. If there's nothing else, then go back for now. Don't delay my official duties. So many people have been transferred away lately, leaving behind all these messes. It takes quite a bit of effort to clean them up."
Fang Chen nodded and rose to leave. "Alright then. I'll head off first. I'll come find you again if anything comes up."
***
After returning to the Mortal Realm from the Enlightenment Underworld Realm, Fang Chen went back to Renzu Mountain. One avatar after another condensed into existence. Fang Chen took out almost all of his immortal crystals, keeping only a small amount in reserve. The rest were distributed among them so they could cultivate in seclusion at Renzu Mountain.
On Fang Tianzun's side, quite a number of top-grade spirit stones had already been refined. Advancement was only a matter of time.
After finishing all this, he arrived at the Dongsheng Empire.
Over the next several hundred years, he accompanied Fairy Yu through life after life of reincarnation while occasionally traveling between the Underworld, the Floating Pagoda Realm, and the Taicang Realm.
Although Xie Aman had told him he lacked the strength to participate in the later stages of the Taicang Realm's conflict and advised him to focus properly on secluded cultivation, Fang Chen himself knew very well that the strength under his control was already more than sufficient. Perhaps not enough to become one of the topmost players at the table, but fully enough to contend with ordinary ninth-transformation immortals.
He could even easily alter the outcome of battles within localized regions.
***
A teahouse occupying several acres and rising thirty-two stories high stood bustling with life. Guests flowed through endlessly, day and night alike, making it one of the busiest gathering places around.
Fang Chen sat alone in a corner on the seventh floor, leisurely drinking tea alongside several delicate snacks. Suddenly, a wave of feedback surged from the void and continuously poured into Fang Chen's body.
After several hundred years, Fang Chen's cultivation had finally reached the peak of the fourth transformation. He was now qualified to consume a fifth-transformation immortal herb.
At that moment, an elderly Daoist in robes slowly entered the teahouse and walked directly to the seventh floor.
After glancing around briefly, he came to sit before Fang Chen. Daoist Yun Que picked up a pastry and tossed it into his mouth. "The outside world is spreading rumors that you have an outsider in your hands."
Fang Chen stood, poured Daoist Yun Que a cup of tea, and sat back down. "That's indeed true. Where are Master and the old man?"
Daoist Yun Que nodded. Clearly, he was quite satisfied with Fang Chen's attitude of treating himself as a junior. "The situation in the Taicang Realm has already entered its final stages. Both sides are negotiating right now, and this is the crucial moment of those negotiations. Your master and your family's old man can't leave for the time being."
Daoist Yun Que smiled faintly. "They have to guard against the demon race going mad in desperation, and also against the Demonic Beast Race suddenly interfering midway. Once the negotiations conclude, they'll finally be able to free themselves."
Fang Chen's eyes narrowed. "Negotiations? In what direction?"
"At present, the ninth-transformation immortals on every side have realized that continuing to fight is meaningless, so they're all willing to sit down and negotiate properly. As for the direction, our side demands to carve out one realm from the Lower Six Realms and give it to the demon race. They demand that they consolidate the differing voices among themselves into three factions, with each faction gaining a foothold within the Upper Three Realms."
Daoist Yun Que smiled. "So now the goal is to seek a balance between these two conditions. Naturally, we cannot agree to their demands. Our bottom line is granting them only a single realm. As for whether that realm ends up in the Lower Six Realms or the Upper Three Realms... that depends on the outcome of the negotiations."
Fang Chen's thoughts stirred slightly. "So we've now entered a negotiation period. Approximately how long will it last?"