Immortal of the Nine Realms

The Chaoxian Tower.

When Fang Chen materialized, Chen Feifei emerged directly opposite him at just the right moment. He scanned the surroundings for a moment then lowered his voice and said, "How did it go? Did you make contact with them?"

"I did." Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "Lord Feifei, where is Heir Wang?"

Chen Feifei let out a forced chuckle. "Heir Wang? Why would he be here?"

"Why shouldn't I be here?" Wang Chongsong's voice echoed from behind Chen Feifei.

Startled, Chen Feifei hurriedly stood up and bowed in salute, though his eyes were filled with confusion, unable to comprehend why Wang Chongsong would choose to reveal himself.

Wang Chongsong patted Chen Feifei on the shoulder. "Sit down. Why would I be hiding my presence at all? Besides, this place has always been guarded by the Fang Clan. The moment the three of us showed our faces, the Fang Clan likely already knew."

"Zanglong City is guarded by the Fang Clan?"

Chen Feifei was genuinely shocked by this revelation. Then, realization dawned upon him. No wonder Zanglong City held such a unique status within the territory of the Nether Ruins, and none of the nine Saints had ever interfered with the affairs here.

Wang Chongsong sat down, looking at Fang Chen with a faint, knowing smile. "Should I call you Zhou Chen, or Fang Chen?"

"Whichever you prefer." Fang Chen smiled. "I will keep this brief. The information previously extracted from Pei Buliao is genuine. On the day of the Saint Canon longevity celebration, Half Saint Fang will ascend to the position of a Saint right here. This news will likely be announced in a month or two, and by then, the entire human race of the Nether Ruins will know."

Chen Feifei was astonished to hear that.

A contemplative look surfaced in Wang Chongsong's eyes. "There is one thing I do not quite understand. It is by no means easy for a Half Saint to ascend to a Saint, let alone given his current predicament. If he were to carry it out stealthily, there might still be a glimmer of hope. But if the outside world finds out, someone is bound to step forward and obstruct it."

Fang Chen smiled. "Would the nine Saints of the human race really step forward to obstruct it? Having an additional Saint for the human race naturally adds another layer of security in the conflict against the Flame Race. Surely the nine Saints see this clearly?"

Wang Chongsong smiled, a trace of faint mockery flashing through his eyes. "Be that as it may, how can internal strife be put to an end simply by a bit of external pressure? If the Flame Race's methods truly brought the Nether Ruins to the brink of crisis, then perhaps Half Saint Fang's ascension to the Saintly seat would be slightly easier."

It was unclear whether he was mocking the current state of the human race in the Nether Ruins or the predicament of Half Saint Fang.

It seems the external pressure still isn't enough, which is why Old Wang believed a human Saint would definitely step forward to interfere with Ancestor Lie's ascension.

Despite coming from the future, Fang Chen didn't know whether Half Saint Fang had succeeded or not.

He was lost in thought. From Wang Chongsong's words, he could also deduce that the human race at this time was not suffering too heavily in their clashes with the Flame Race. They should still have the upper hand or be handling it with relative ease.

He had originally thought that the human race's future migration to the Nine Realms must have been deeply tied to the Flame Race. However, now that probability seemed a bit lower. After all, it could not be ruled out that the human race might not remain as prosperous in the future as they were during this era.

Wang Chongsong looked at Fang Chen with a beaming smile. "So, why is Half Saint Fang doing this?"

Fang Chen chuckled. "Old Wang, why are you asking me something like that? How would I know? I'm just a messenger. You have a good head on your shoulders, so you should figure it out yourself. I will leave the words here. If your Wang Family plans to sit down and talk, then please have a few people who can actually call the shots come over here. What kind of attitude Half Saint Fang will hold toward your Wang Family after his ascension depends entirely on this negotiation. I hope you can make the right decision."

With that, Fang Chen stood up and departed.

Chen Feifei instinctively wanted to get up and stop him, but suddenly noticed an additional figure appearing behind Fang Chen.

Fang Ding turned his head to glance at Chen Feifei and Wang Chongsong, a mysterious smile playing on his lips, before following right behind Fang Chen as they headed downstairs.

Chen Feifei sharply drew in a cold breath. "Fang Ding!?"

It wasn't surprising that the other party was present; what was shocking was why he was walking behind Fang Chen.

Wang Chongsong had clearly witnessed this scene as well, and his expression grew a fraction more solemn.

"I will send a message back and arrange a negotiation as soon as possible. As for Fang Chen, his true identity might be much more impressive than either you or I imagined. Old Wang? Interesting, no one has ever called me that before."

Wang Chongsong suddenly let out a soft laugh. He was still young, after all, and belonged to the younger generation within the Wang Family. Although he had begun to stand out over the past two hundred years, in the eyes of the older generation, he was still just a junior who could represent the family and handle some trivial matters. Now that someone had called him "Old Wang," for some reason, he found himself inexplicably fond of the title.

"To be able to make a ninth-transformation immortal like Fang Ding follow behind you... just who are you? I'm suddenly looking forward to meeting you again."

A glint of a smile flashed through Wang Chongsong's eyes as he stood up and left.

Seeing that, Chen Feifei hurriedly caught up with him.

***

Xie Zhi Division.

"Fang Ding, what is the story behind this territory? Saint Luoxue cannot force his way in here?" Fang Chen asked as he walked along the grand path of the Xie Zhi Division.

Back in the Nine Realms, he had already been curious about the existence of the Xie Zhi Division, but at that time, he did not have the leisure to look into matters that had absolutely nothing to do with him. Now that he discovered the Xie Zhi Division was actually established single-handedly by the Fang Clan, the feeling was completely different.

Fang Ding was taken aback, then chuckled softly, "Old Ancestor, the Xie Zhi Division is Ancestor Lie's Inner Domain."

Fang Chen was surprised. "Inner Domain?"

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something, and pages of the chapters of Introduction to the Three Thousand Daos he had read turned one by one in his mind. Finally, he spotted a chapter that also mentioned the words Inner Domain, though it was only touched upon briefly.

Fang Chen said in a deep voice, "Fang Ding, tell me more about this Inner Domain. My memories regarding this area are completely missing."

"The Inner Domain..." muttered Fang Ding. He chuckled awkwardly. "I do not know much. I only know that after the Three Limit Breaking Steps , one must condense an Inner Domain before they can be called a Half Saint. Once one reaches the Saint Realm, this Inner Domain becomes even more mystical and wondrous."

He paused and let out a sigh. "It is a pity that Ancestor Lie provoked the jealousy of all factions in his early years, which also resulted in the divine ability users of our Fang Clan never having the chance to enter the Inner Domains of the other nine Saints to take a look. Otherwise, we might have been able to ponder and comprehend the profound mysteries within."

Fang Chen was intrigued. "You mean to say that Inner Domains are different from one another?"

Fang Ding smiled. "Legend says so. Every Inner Domain possesses a different mystical wonder. Just like the mystical wonder of this place, the Xie Zhi Division. As long as this gate is open, we can go wherever we want, which is incredibly convenient."

Realization dawned upon Fang Chen. So that was a divine ability inherent to the Inner Domain itself.

Fang Chen asked out of curiosity, "Can you open a gate for me to see?"

"Old Ancestor, I do not possess sufficient authority. I would need to apply for it." Fang Ding let out a bitter smile. "The Xie Zhi Gate cannot be opened recklessly. Utilizing the Inner Domain will always cause some depletion to Ancestor Lie, and it will also trigger immense fluctuations that external Saints might detect."

Fang Chen asked with deep meaning, "In other words, the Inner Domain is closely intertwined with Ancestor Lie. If a Saint passes away, will the Inner Domain they condensed disappear as well?"

"It will not disappear. Beyond the Nether Ruins, there are quite a few Inner Domains that have lost the control of their Saints, all of which are remnants left behind after the passing of Saints."

It seemed Fang Ding was certain on this point.