Immortal of the Nine Realms-Chapter 1433: Yin Beast Decree

Wang Chongsong left decisively. Watching his departing figure, Fang Chen murmured softly to himself, "So once you set foot on this path... there's no one left to trust but yourself?"

He could understand Wang Chongsong's caution. The matter involved too many forces and carried immense weight. If even the smallest mistake caused years of planning to collapse, the entire Nine Mortal Realms would have to bear the consequences, repaying that loss with the very fate and destiny of humanity's future.

He could easily imagine that Wang Chongsong had walked this path for many years. Perhaps he had not gone far, but throughout those years, he had likely been walking it alone.

Fang Chen murmured, "I hold Monarch Yan's Seal. I can confer decrees on Ghost Gods. Even if those others recover the memories of their former selves, they can't harm me. So, I'm not truly alone.

"If the reincarnation cycle of the Enlightenment Underworld Realm can be activated, it would be a great leap forward for the Nine Mortal Realms. And there is the Blood and Flesh Divine Palace and the Taiyi Immortal Sect, each controlling their own underworld. Could what they're doing now be the same as what the Enlightenment Underworld Realm is doing?"

Seeing that Wang Chongsong had departed, Huang Wuji approached.

Fang Chen suppressed his tangled thoughts and began sorting through what he had learned today.

He and Wang Chongsong had shared a half-candid conversation, confirming several suspicions and gaining several pieces of valuable information. In Fang Chen's view, Wang Chongsong's plan was both necessary and vital. It would allow the flame of humanity to spread on, ensuring that in crucial moments, the path of humankind would not perish.

If Fairy Yu were to take part in this plan, perhaps her hundred lifetimes of reincarnation could suppress the demonic memories within her.

"My lord," Huang Wuji said solemnly, "that man's strength should be at the fifth transformation... perhaps even the sixth."

"Why do you say so?" Fang Chen asked. "You were slightly weaker in your duel, yes, but it wasn't as though he completely overpowered you."

"I reviewed our battle afterward," Huang Wuji replied. "He was holding back. He never truly struck with his full strength."

He sighed, "I never expected that the former sect master of the Void Immortal Sword Sect would be such a formidable figure."

Fang Chen's eyes narrowed. "Sixth transformation..."

If Wang Chongsong wanted to infiltrate the system of the Enlightenment Underworld Realm, he would have to join the Enlightenment God Palace. But a sixth-transformation immortal would hardly draw the palace's attention. After all, even the most ordinary core disciples of the palace, once they used the Immortal Boat Formation, could match the strength of a sixth-transformation Immortal.

Only those capable of performing Formation Immortal Arts could break that limit and achieve combat power on par with Ancient Immortals.

If Wang Chongsong was indeed a sixth-transformation immortal, then the best way for him to infiltrate was simple. Once he advanced to an Ancient Immortal, he would naturally qualify to become a guest elder of the Enlightenment God Palace.

"But then," Fang Chen mused aloud, "how could a suddenly emerged new seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal possibly earn the palace's trust? Even if they accepted him as a guest elder, gaining access to and control over the reincarnation cycle within the Enlightenment Underworld Realm would still be extremely difficult."

"Unless... Wang Chongsong has already set up the groundwork long ago. He must believe that, in the near future, he'll have the ability to interfere in the reincarnation system of the Enlightenment Underworld Realm. That would explain why he negotiated with Senior Sister and why he broke this seal and planned to bring those souls away."

"Enlightenment God Palace... Seventh transformation Ancient Immortal..."

Suddenly, a face appeared in Fang Chen's mind.

Immortal Taixu? Could it be him? Could that be Wang Chongsong's true body?

If so, it would explain why the Killing Spiritual Division had investigated him, why the division's stationed Ancient Immortal in the Ancient Desolate Realm had gone missing, and how that disappearance was connected to Immortal Taixu.

"But if it really was him... then during the assessment, he must have already recognized me. So he knew long ago that I was already in the Enlightenment God Palace and simply kept quiet about it? No wonder his earlier surprise seemed so fake. He must have already known, and maybe even laughed at me behind my back. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"When Immortal Taixu wandered the Demonic Fiend Mountain Range with that woman, pretending not to see the phantom mountain, his position was far too precise. Was he testing whether that woman could also see it, as he could?"

"And that debate at the Nanqing Constellation... why did Immortal Changkong's intervention ultimately help the Taiyi Immortal Sect's Yan Tong attain an Ancient Immortal Golden Body? That part contradicts things. But perhaps Wang Chongsong was scheming something involving the Taiyi Immortal Sect as well."

Fang Chen brushed away the tangle of conjectures in his mind. Once he reached the Enlightenment Underworld Realm and Wang Chongsong contacted him again, he would know the man's true identity for certain.

"My lord," Huang Wuji asked, "what should we do with these wandering souls? Bring them back to Jiangguang City, or send them to the Lesser Underworld?"

"Let me see first if there's a way to deal with this ancient tree," Fang Chen said. "If I can deal with it, having them settle here would be best."

He looked toward the ancient tree, which was still attempting to do something, its countless vines gently swaying.

Huang Wuji sighed softly and nodded. He knew Fang Chen's decisions were rarely overturned. "Be careful."

"Mm."

Fang Chen stepped up once more to the ancient tree. From outside the city, Huang Wuji watched closely.

The vines moved as before, yet when they sensed Fang Chen's approach, they recoiled slightly, as if avoiding him. Huang Wuji exhaled in relief.

Fang Chen did not know how powerful this ancient tree fiend truly was, so this time, he decided to use Monarch Yan's Seal to confer a new decree.

When he had returned from the Floating Pagoda Realm and the Lesser Underworld, he had brought back over a million Yin Lifespan. After conferring about a thousand people chosen by Xia Ji, he still had more than 700,000 Yin Lifespan remaining.

Those chosen souls were of relatively low cultivation, so each investiture consumed very little Yin Lifespan. Originally, Fang Chen had planned to use those 700,000 to confer a few core members of the Enlightenment God Palace, using them as intermediaries to advance his own agenda.

But now, having unexpectedly encountered an ancient tree demon that might once have been a righteous Ghost God, and whose power utterly surpassed Huang Wuji's, he decided to use the souls here first.

He placed his palm upon the ancient tree demon. Yin Lifespan within Monarch Yan's Seal began to surge, forming a decree.

This decree was unlike any before it. It was not for a Day Walker, Night Walker, or even an ordinary soldier.

In an instant, Fang Chen understood what it was—it was a Yin Beast Decree.

In the ancient underworld, there had once been many sentient Yin Beasts serving as guardians, some possessing power that ranked among the strongest of all. Their decrees differed greatly from those of humans.

"For the same level," Fang Chen murmured, "A sentient Yin Beast costs twice as much as a Day Walker. So, a first-transformation Great Yin Demon requires 5,000 Yin Lifespan for the Day Walker lineage, but a Yin Beast would require 10,000."

Fang Chen began to worry about how much Yin Lifespan would remain afterward. Within mere breaths, the Yin Lifespan within Monarch Yan's Seal had already dropped to a little over 600,000.

And yet, the decree was only half-created. Worse still, he could feel the tree demon resisting.

"Do not resist," Fang Chen said out loud. "You were once a righteous Ghost God of the Underworld, only now bereft of reason. If you accept this decree, you may regain your consciousness."

As he spoke, the ancient tree demon seemed to sense something. The force of its resistance weakened slightly.