Immortal of the Nine Realms

Nether Ruins. Xie Zhi, Courtyard.

It had been over a hundred years since Fang Chen returned from the Underworld. He had not cultivated during these hundred years, as he had already reached the bottleneck of the sixth transformation. Without the appropriate immortal herb, he could not pair it with the Ancient Immortal Registry to advance to the seventh transformation.

Aside from receiving guests like Fang Ding and Fang Han daily, and occasionally meeting with Wang Chongsong in Zanglong City, Fang Chen spent the rest of his time studying the technique taught to him by the Saint Canon. After these hundred-plus years of research, Fang Chen vaguely felt that he had grasped a bit of the knack.

As long as there is a sufficiently strong Immortal Essence, one can construct a fictional 'Supreme Bone' within the body, thereby embarking on the path of the Saint Canon's technique.

Divine light constantly flickered in Fang Chen's eyes.

Over the past hundred-plus years, using the Radiant Divine Eyes and the Primordial Immortal Eyes, he had thoroughly researched the technique passed down to him by the Saint Canon, ultimately reaching this conclusion.

It was just that his current Immortal Essence was not yet strong or resilient enough. The constructed Supreme Bone could not support the circulation of Immortal Essence, collapsing every ten days to half a month. According to his calculations, once he reached the eighth transformation, his Immortal Essence would be strong enough to maintain the artificial Supreme Bone.

Fang Chen sighed softly. "I need to leave this place to reach the eighth transformation. The immortal herb I need cannot be found here at all."

He recalled when he tried to leave that year but was stopped by the barrier. He later pondered it over and realized the meaning behind Li Daoye having him bring that incomplete History Immortal Book along. The incomplete History Immortal Book was actually a type of bookmark. It represented the specific era in which Fang Chen now existed. For every day Fang Chen stayed in this time period, a portion of it would merge into the complete History Immortal Book. Previously, Fang Chen had stayed for over two hundred years, so when he left, half a book's worth of pages merged into this place.

Those missing pages represented the years he had spent here. Therefore, if he wanted to leave, he needed to stay for another two hundred-plus years. Now that a hundred years had passed, in a little over a hundred more, he would be able to walk out of Nether Ruins.

"Right, the remnant souls in the Tenth Heavenly Purgatory should be ready for use now."

With a thought, Fang Chen retrieved the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower from the Nine Heavens Profound Mother Primordial Spirit. In the next second, his soul arrived at the Tenth Heavenly Purgatory. Wailing still filled the area, but the remnant souls here appeared much more condensed compared to before.

Among the hundred thousand souls killed by Fang Lie, most were seventh-transformation immortals. Right now, these ninety thousand-odd existences comparable to seventh-transformation Ancient Immortals, besides their remnant souls appearing more condensed, bore a trace of numbness in their eyes, as well as an ancient pattern resembling a spell. That indicated that they were like falcons that had been broken, thoroughly refined by the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower and ready to accept Fang Chen's command.

Fang Chen felt deeply emotional. "Over ninety thousand seventh-transformation Ancient Immortals. This terrifying number can completely decide the outcome of a top-tier battle. Even when facing a ninth-transformation immortal, they could grind the opponent to death through sheer exhaustion."

Once he returned to the Nine Realms with the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower, his exposed identity as the Monarch Yan would no longer seem quite as awkward. Otherwise, bearing the title without possessing the authority befitting it would only make him a target.

With a thought, his soul instantly returned to his body. At the same time, a seventh transformation remnant soul was brought out with him.

The spell pattern within its eyes was highly conspicuous. Its gaze was dull and vacant. Its aura clearly surpassed that of a sixth-transformation immortal, but it was still a notch weaker than the average seventh-transformation immortal. However, the baleful aura surrounding it far surpassed that of an ordinary seventh transformation, as if it harbored deep-seated resentment.

At a single command from Fang Chen, he would fight the enemy to the death, leaving absolutely no retreat for himself.

"Weaker than an ordinary seventh transformation, but as long as four or five of them team up, even an ordinary seventh transformation would have to turn around and flee upon seeing them."

Fang Chen walked around the remnant soul, sizing it up for a while, and used the Primordial Immortal Eyes to directly observe the essence of its power, ultimately arriving at an inference close to the facts.

At that moment, Fang Han's voice echoed from outside the door.

"Is Ancestor Chen here?"

Fang Chen immediately stored the remnant soul back into the tower and then walked out of the courtyard.

Fang Han's cultivation was still at the seventh transformation, but it appeared that with another two hundred years of polishing, he should be able to advance to the eighth transformation.

Fang Chen smiled. "Fang Han, is there news from Fang Ding's side?"

Fang Han was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "Uncle Fang Ding has been staying in the Sacred Tower for nearly a hundred years. If nothing unexpected happens, the next time he comes out, he should be embarking on the path of Limit Breaking."

Fang Chen sighed inwardly. He had suspected that the Saint Tower existed to allow people to break through their limits. And this limit, in reality, specifically targeted the threshold between the ninth transformation and Limit Breaking. This indicated that the Saint Canon alone wasn't enough to break through.

The core of Limit Breaking lay in how to break through this "limit." The Saint Tower was responsible for squeezing out potential, and with its assistance, Limit Breaking would naturally be easier.

Fang Han revealed the purpose of his visit today. "Ancestor Chen, the immortal herb you requested, the Flesh and Blood Dragon Ginseng, has finally been located."

Fang Chen was pleasantly surprised. "Truly? Where?"

That was the immortal herb he needed to advance to a seventh-transformation Sword Immortal. For even the Fang clan to take so many years to find a lead on it, one could see just how rare and precious the item was.

Fang Han hesitated for a moment, then gave a bitter smile. "This item is not in Nether Ruins, but rather in Longsheng City."

Fang Chen asked, "Longsheng City? Is it very far from Nether Ruins? Even with the power of the Fang clan, it cannot be brought back?"

"You might not be aware, but Longsheng City is highly unique. It is a territory directly governed and self-administered by the Qingming Supreme Alliance. There are only ten such cities in the entire Divine Realm," explained Fang Han.

"A territory directly governed and self-administered by the Qingming Supreme Alliance? Doesn't that mean this city is the representative of the Qingming Supreme Alliance in this place?"

Fang Han continued, "These ten cities host a Saint Tower Battle once every five hundred years. The Flesh and Blood Dragon Ginseng this time happens to be one of the rewards for Longsheng City's Sacred Tower Battle."

Fang Chen asked out of curiosity, "Saint Tower Battle? Is the Saint Tower you speak of the same as the one we have here in Xie Zhi?"

Hearing that, Fang Han nodded with a bitter smile. "They are the same in nature, but Longsheng is far stronger than Ancestor Lie's. Longsheng City is actually the Inner Domain of Saint Longsheng. His own Saint Tower is naturally far more perilous than the one here. If you die inside, you die for real. It doesn't just mean getting eliminated from the competition."

Through Fang Han's explanation, Fang Chen gradually came to understand what the Saint Tower Battle entailed. These ten cities with unique statuses represented the ten Saints stationed in this area by the Qingming Supreme Alliance. Not only did they possess transcendent status, but their strength was also unfathomable. These ten Saints would initiate a Saint Tower Battle once every five hundred years.

Anyone within the Divine Realm could participate. Every single time, the rewards were incredibly generous, containing many heavenly materials and earthly treasures capable of helping people break through bottlenecks. There would even be treasures capable of boosting the cultivation of Limit Breaking experts.

Therefore, whenever the Saint Tower Battle arrived, experts from all factions would pour into these ten cities. Their goal was to achieve excellent results and obtain the treasures bestowed by these ten Saints. To a certain extent, these treasures could even directly elevate the fortune of an entire clan!