Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen's expression turned grave. "What exactly is this thing?"

Truthfully, after learning of the existence of such an object, he could not help but feel a measure of concern. At present, with the barrier between both sides still in place, it was nearly impossible for the Motian Division to invade the Lesser Underworld from the Floating Pagoda Realm. But if they found another route, it would undoubtedly become a catastrophic blow to the Lesser Underworld, especially since there was no Half Step Heavenly Dao realm expert on his side.

Unless he chose to cooperate with Lang Daochun, there was simply no way to stop Motian Dizang. And even now, Fang Chen had never once seen the true appearance of Motian Dizang. Had it not been for a coincidence of fate, he might never even have learned about his existence. He had hidden himself in the shadows, concealing himself during the Three Realms Upheaval. Even after the chaos ended, he remained exceedingly low-profile. He established the Motian Division in the Floating Pagoda Realm and created the Immortal Worshipping Palace in the Mortal Realm.

Against an opponent like that, even Fang Chen possessed little confidence in facing him head-on.

"There were once ten supreme treasures in the Underworld. As Monarch Yan, do you know any of them?" Wang Chongsong asked with a half-smile.

Fang Chen shook his head. "I don't. Tell me."

Wang Chongsong smiled faintly. "It's good that you don't know. Back then, these supreme treasures were no less significant than the True Immortal Ancient Mirror and the God Decree Ranking. Actually, one of those treasures is already in your possession."

Realization dawned on Fang Chen. "Monarch Yan Seal?"

"Correct. That is the strongest treasure among the ten treasures," Wang Chongsong revealed. "Besides Monarch Yan Seal, the other nine treasures are the Sin Mace, Ghost Gate, Divine Furnace, Book of Life and Death, Naihe Bridge, Forgotten River, Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, Reincarnation Mirror... and the Consort Yan Seal."

"The stone gate in Lang Daochun's hands is most likely the Ghost Gate Pass."

"Fragments of the Divine Furnace are in the Enlightenment Underworld Realm, or perhaps they've already been divided among the super first-rate factions of the three realms, much like the Book of Life and Death, where every faction obtained a portion."

"The Sin Mace is in my hands."

"The Bridge of Helplessness and the Forgotten River are still in the Underworld. The two... seem to actually be one entity."

"The Reincarnation Mirror is with the demon race."

"As for the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower and the Consort Yan Seal..."

Fang Chen looked solemnly at Wang Chongsong. "Old Wang, is it one of those two?"

The former was still manageable, but the latter immediately made him think of Monarch Yan Seal. It was highly likely to be an Underworld treasure similar to it. If it truly possessed similar functions and fell into the hands of Motian Dizang, it would become a serious problem.

Wang Chongsong smiled faintly. "I know the location of the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. The place where it rests is rather special. It was hidden away by several experts from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect in the past. To find it, those experts from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect would probably need to revive first. This supreme treasure likely cannot be obtained by anyone else. And even if someone did obtain it, it still wouldn't affect the current situation of the Underworld."

Hidden away by experts from the Reincarnation Immortal Sect?

A slight shock stirred within Fang Chen's heart, but he revealed none of it outwardly. Even before Wang Chongsong, he was unwilling to expose all his trump cards.

From the earlier incident where the Demon Race's Heavenly Dao exposed his identity, Fang Chen had already realized that the fewer people who knew certain things about him, the harder it became for the other party to deduce them through calculation. Anything that could be deduced was, more or less, information already known by others.

And the fact that he had once become an Immortal Seedling of the Reincarnation Immortal Sect upon the Ancient Immortal Path and comprehended one of the three great immortal intents, the Mortal World Intent, was known by very, very few. Pitu counted as one, and another was likely his junior brother from the future, Shu Kui. One belonged to the past, the other to the future. With the false Heavenly Dao's methods, it likely could not use either of them as a medium to deduce this secret.

"So it's not the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. Then it's the Consort Yan Seal?" Fang Chen asked.

Wang Chongsong glanced at him. "From the name of this supreme treasure alone, you should already be able to guess a few things. This object is extremely similar to the Monarch Yan Seal. Whoever obtains it effectively becomes Consort Yan of the Underworld."

Fang Chen shook his head. "I've never heard of the existence of Consort Yan."

"That's natural. During the Three Realms Upheaval, Monarch Yan was female to begin with, so naturally, she wouldn't seek another consort. Most Monarch Yans throughout history never had a beloved partner either. It was difficult for them to make up their minds to hand half the authority of the Underworld to another person. That's why the Consort Yan Seal was always controlled by successive Monarch Yans. It doesn't matter if any other Underworld treasure was lost. This one absolutely could not be lost.

"Between Monarch Yan and Consort Yan exists an extremely special and intimate connection. If this Consort Yan Seal falls into Motian Dizang's hands, you had better hope he's a woman. If he's a man... then things will get interesting."

At this point, Wang Chongsong seemed to imagine a certain scene and could not help roaring with laughter.

A strange look flickered through Fang Chen's eyes as an ominous premonition suddenly arose within him. "What exactly do you mean by that? What kind of special intimate connection?"

"What other kind of intimate connection could there be between a Monarch Yan and his consort?" Wang Chongsong countered. "Let me put it this way. Successive Monarch Yans never dared use the Consort Yan Seal lightly because they could never find a woman they could truly love for an entire lifetime. Once the Consort Yan Seal is used, then even if you don't love them, you will have to love them. Neither you nor the other party gets a choice."

Fang Chen's gaze flickered. "Even if I voluntarily abandoned Monarch Yan Seal at that point, it still wouldn't work?"

"Abandon it? At that point, would you even be able to?" Wang Chongsong smiled. "You would love your Consort Yan so deeply. Would you really be willing to give her up?"

Fang Chen spoke decisively, staring gravely at Wang Chongsong. "Absolutely no outsider can be allowed to obtain the Consort Yan Seal. This object must remain in my hands."

"What kind of help do you need on your side? Is there any way to get hold of it? Who possesses it right now?"

Wang Chongsong smiled. "There is a way. If your identity hadn't been exposed earlier, I would still have had enough time to slowly think of a solution and eventually obtain it. But your identity was exposed. Now, everyone knows the Underworld already has a Monarch Yan. And the Consort Yan Seal can only take effect when a Monarch Yan exists. So the expert in the Demon Race holding this item is probably already seriously considering whether they should use it."

Fang Chen's expression was a storm of shifting emotions. He had never imagined such a massive hidden pitfall existed behind this matter.

"Why didn't Master and the old man warn me about this...?"

The thought had only just surfaced before it faded again. Fang Chen sighed to himself.

He understood his own personality well enough to know that even if he had known of the matter back then, he still would have used Monarch Yan Seal. The existence of Monarch Yan Seal had caused his foundations to grow at an astonishing pace. It allowed him to grow exponentially, giving him the qualifications to contend with ninth-transformation immortals in only a little over 1,000 years.

"You don't need to worry too much either. Whether they truly want to use this item is something they definitely have reservations about as well. After all, they can't casually hand it to just any woman or man, can they? Once they do, they'll also need to ensure that neither you nor your consort will treat them as enemies."

Wang Chongsong could not help laughing a few more times. "In short, it is both a spear and a shield. Other than in your hands, it becomes a rather troublesome object in anyone else's possession. Perhaps only when things truly reach the point of no return will you finally meet your consort."