Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen pulled the sugar glider from his chest pocket and placed her into the Yang Gourd. Then, his form was swallowed by a vast, billowing white mist. Within a heartbeat, he had vanished into the haze.

***

Yellow Springs Road.

Here, wild grass grew in chaotic tangles, obscuring the ancient green tiles of the path. The moment Fang Chen's foot touched the ground, a tile shattered and dissolved into Yin Qi that dissipated into the atmosphere.

He was intimately familiar with this sight. Such was the state of every path that had just been unsealed.

Fang Chen walked forward and soon reached the banks of the Forgotten River. Looking down, he saw countless figures beneath the surface, smothered by serpents, insects, and the gnarled roots of rotting trees. These were the seeds of the human race. Naturally, he would not leave them to their fate. He took out his Yin Gourd and gathered them inside. Then, he treaded upon the Forgotten River toward the ruined bridge ahead.

The white mist was dense enough to limit an ordinary cultivator's vision to a mere yard, but to Fang Chen, it was no obstacle. He saw the path ahead with perfect clarity.

Upon the bridge stood a soldier in tattered armor, clutching a broken blade, half-kneeling upon the ground. His long hair hung low and veiled his visage. Crimson droplets, like fresh blood, fell one by one from his hair onto the ground.

Fang Chen halted. He sensed a thick, suffocating aura of a Yin Demon emanating from the figure, yet beneath it lay the unmistakable, familiar aura of a True God.

Unsurprisingly, this was another existence like the Ancient Tree. A former Underworld True God who had been tainted by too much chaotic Yin Lifespan energy had transformed into a mad Great Yin Demon.

Suddenly, the armored soldier snapped his head up with eyes erupting with murderous intent.

"KILL!"

A voice sounding as if it rose from the depths of the Nine Nether tore from his throat. In that instant, the world shifted.

Fang Chen found himself in the heart of an ancient battlefield. All around him, soldiers were charging in a frantic melee. Without exception, these soldiers bore the clear insignias of the Underworld True Gods, their auras pure and potent.

Had any other cultivator stood here, they would have been instantly corrupted by the sheer killing intent of the battlefield. At best, their divine soul would be damaged. At worst, they would be utterly obliterated.

Yet, an isolation zone seemed to exist around Fang Chen. No matter how fiercely the soldiers fought, they did not dare approach within several yards of him.

Fang Chen stood silently and watched for a long time until the vision gradually faded. Only the soldier in tattered armor remained. Then, the soldier bellowed 'Kill' once more, and the illusion of the battlefield returned.

After witnessing this cycle several times, Fang Chen concluded that even though the soldier had become a Yin Demon, an unimaginable obsession remained burned into his soul. He had likely been repeating this moment for countless years.

Suddenly, Fang Chen took a step forward. The soldier, whose form had not moved in ages, reacted. He stood up.

Fang Chen took another step. The soldier raised his broken blade and locked his eyes onto Fang Chen.

One step, two steps...

Fang Chen continued to advance.

Without warning, the soldier charged with his blade raised high and shouted, "Shiyin City! Vermin, stay put!!!"

In the next instant, Abbess Qinghe appeared between them. With a wave of her hand, an invisible force surged and bound the armored soldier where he stood. He struggled violently, his body emitting a series of agonising creaks as he fought hard against her restraint.

"Lord Fang, this is a Yin Demon. His sanity is gone," said Abbess Qinghe with a trace of pity flickering in her eyes.

"Indeed. He was a Yin Guard from the Three Realm Upheaval. Back then, his cultivation might not have been high, but now he possesses power comparable to an eighth transformation Immortal," Fang Chen nodded. "Sister, help me keep him restrained. I shall write an imperial decree to reduce his suffering."

Knowing she did not have to kill the Yin Demon, Abbess Qinghe's expression softened. "Very well."

Fang Chen did not write an ordinary Yin Guard Decree this time. Instead, he prepared a Spirit-Communicating Yin Beast Talisman, similar to the one he had used for the Ancient Tree. It required a massive amount of Yin Lifespan, but fortunately, he had recently harvested a significant reserve during his travels.

After the completion of the decree, he struck it onto the soldier's chest.

Upon the decree entering his body, the soldier froze as if time itself had stopped. Immediately after, he began to struggle with a ferocity several times greater than before. Two powers within him—one from the old decree and one from his nature as a Yin Demon—rebelled against the Spirit-Communicating Yin Beast Talisman.

Without Abbess Qinghe's intervention, the new decree would have failed instantly.

Days passed. The decree sank inch by inch into the soldier's form, and his resistance gradually waned.

Ten days later, the soldier knelt on the ground with his head bowed. Mysterious, profound runes flowed across his entire body and even his broken blade. Finally, the runes merged into his skin. The chaos in his eyes slowly dissolved, replaced by a glimmer of clarity.

"Lord Fang, it seems it was a success," said Abbess Qinghe happily.

"It appears so." Fang Chen nodded, then looked at the soldier. "Do you remember your name?"

He had caught that spark of clarity. Unlike the Ancient Tree, the Great Yin Demon before him might have maintained a sliver of his original consciousness all along, which was why the battlefield illusion had persisted.

"My surname is Wang. My given name is Er."

Wang Er? A very ordinary name.

Fang Chen pressed. "Do you remember who you were?"

The veins on the hand Wang Er used to grip his broken blade bulged. His brow furrowed into a deep 'V' as he strained to remember.

"I am... Wang Er! A Yin Guard of the Nether Guards Division of Shiyin City, under the command of Old Chen!"

He practically screamed the words.

Slowly, his hand relaxed. He stood up and gazed blankly at his surroundings. Emotions swirled in his eyes as the memories of the intervening years flooded back.

"In the end... we still lost," murmured Wang Er softly.

With a thought, the decree manifested on the surface of his skin.

"This is indeed the Monarch Yan's decree, although it looks different from the old one..."

Suddenly, Wang Er turned to Fang Chen, his eyes filled with a desperate, burning hope.

"My Lord, who are you?!"

Abbess Qinghe laughed. "Lord Fang has replaced Monarch Yan. Why have you not offered your respects? If not for his decree, you would still be a mindless Yin Demon."

Replaced Monarch Yan...

The words thundered in Wang Er's mind like a divine bolt. The Monarch Yan I have once served has passed away?

After a few breaths, Wang Er suppressed his chaotic thoughts and knelt once more.

This time, he greeted respectfully, "Wang Er of Shiyin City pays his respects to Monarch Fang!"