Immortal of the Nine Realms-Chapter 1449: Failure?

As the drop of blood fell, the Formation Heart flared with a faint green light that enveloped Fang Chen completely. The green light lifted him off the ground and suspended him in midair.

The scene was identical to when the Little Immortal Honglian had formed her own contract with a Formation Heart. It felt as though he were floating in an endless ocean, his body weightless. The green radiance streamed constantly into him, bringing with it a cool, penetrating sensation.

"They're going into..."

Fang Chen realized that the emerald strands of light were burrowing into his veins, merging seamlessly with the flowing blood inside him. The process went remarkably smoothly, no pain, no resistance, not even a hint of discomfort.

However, when all his blood began to shimmer faintly green, a tremendous pressure descended upon his soul, one layer after another, as though mountain peaks were piling atop one another to crush his spirit.

For an ordinary cultivator, whose divine soul wasn't strong enough, that weight alone would have been enough to shatter it instantly. Fang Chen only felt a bit of heaviness, nothing more.

So the key to forming a contract with the Formation Heart lies in the soul?

Fang Chen's expression shifted slightly as he began to observe more closely.

The pressure continued to rise, but for him, it felt like no more than a light hand pressing on his shoulder, not even enough to force him to bend. After a while, the weight increased again, this time enough to feel like carrying a small child on his back.

***

Outside, countless pairs of eyes closely observed Fang Chen's progress.

"Junior Sister Hong," Xie Aman said suddenly with a soft laugh, "back when you were still at the Tribulation Realm, you succeeded in a month. Do you know what rank that achievement holds in the history of our Enlightenment God Palace?"

Little Immortal Honglian blinked and shook her head slightly. "I don't."

"Your record ranks above average," Xie Aman replied. "Quite a few core disciples made their contracts when they were first-transformation immortals, and their times were roughly the same as yours."

In the distance, Ji Sheng's expression turned slightly awkward. He had formed his contract as a first-transformation immortal, and it had taken him 25 days. His affinity was weaker than Little Immortal Honglian's.

This had nothing to do with cultivation talent. The shorter the time it took to bond with the Formation Heart, the deeper the unity between human and artifact, and the greater the potential to wield Formation Immortal Arts.

"Of course, Senior Sister's aptitude is the best of all," said their Third Senior Sister with a light laugh. "You succeeded in less than seven days, didn't you? To this day, no core disciple in the palace has broken that record."

"Don't be too jealous," the Senior Sister said with a smile, glancing her way.

"Hard not to be." The Third Senior Sister chuckled. "I took three days longer than you. But three days isn't an unbridgeable gap, is it?"

Her followers exchanged proud looks behind her. Her talent wasn't far from the Senior Sister's. If she put in the effort, she might one day claim the position of Chief Core Disciple herself. And when that day came, they, as her subordinates, would reap enormous rewards.

Xie Aman ignored the banter and turned toward the Little Immortal Honglian. "Junior Sister, what do you think? How high are Junior Brother Fang's chances of success?"

Little Immortal Honglian gave it some thought and said, "With Daoist Fang's aptitude, I'd say he has some chance."

Back on the Black Dragon Vessel, even when Xie Aman had suppressed her cultivation, Fang Chen hadn't been defeated. Though raw strength had little to do with the Formation Heart, she had long suspected Fang Chen carried hidden depths. The way he'd led them to escape the ambush of Ancient Immortals was proof enough.

So yes, she believed his odds weren't small.

"At least," Senior Sister said, smiling faintly as she watched Fang Chen, "He's already endured the first wave. Most candidates fail within the first ten breaths of the process. If he passed that stage, his chances are no longer slim."

Jiang Chen also knew that secret. When he saw Fang Chen pass the first wave, his smile faded slightly.

"No... it's not that easy to bond with the Formation Heart," he muttered to himself. "Besides, he's from the Lower Six Realms, while I was born on Enlightenment Star. Just that alone makes it impossible for him to succeed."

Comforting himself with that thought, Jiang Chen settled down, waiting patiently for Fang Chen's failure. He even rehearsed what words of sympathy he would say afterward.

***

Fang Chen didn't know how long had passed, but it couldn't have been more than an hour. The pressure on his soul seemed to have reached its peak, no longer increasing.

It stabilizes at a certain level. Once it senses I can withstand it, it adds more. By now, it's stacked dozens of times over me. But this time, it's held steady for quite a while. Has it already stopped increasing?

The moment that thought formed, the green light around him suddenly contracted inward, streaming entirely into his body. The jade-green Formation Heart itself melted into him, fusing with his blood and flesh.

A cool sensation coursed through his veins and spread to every limb. Fang Chen gently descended to the ground, feeling an odd sense of confusion.

"Is it done? Does that mean I succeeded?"

The square fell utterly silent. Everyone's expressions seemed frozen in time.

Did he fail?

That was what most people assumed. They didn't find it strange either; failure was normal.

The Enlightenment God Palace tested countless geniuses every year, yet the number of core disciples barely exceeded a thousand. To become one of them was far from ordinary.

"Fellow Daoist Fang," Jiang Chen said eagerly, stepping forward with a bright smile, "one failure isn't a big deal. With your talent and skill, you'll earn another 5,000 merit points in no time. You're still young, you've got plenty of chances ahead."

The words spilled from him like a sigh of relief, as though finally exhaling a long-held breath of resentment.

"This bastard's already mocking him?" Lin Yuan muttered darkly.

The others were equally grim-faced.

They had overheard the earlier conversation among the core disciples, even their Senior Sister had taken seven days to succeed. Fang Chen had lasted barely an hour; by that standard, he must have failed.

But none of them noticed the subtle change in the expressions of Senior Sister and the others. Even Hundred Battle Immortal Sovereign now looked at Fang Chen with a deep light flashing in his eyes.

He had attempted the examination twice before and knew exactly what failure looked like. When the Formation Heart rejected the contract, it disintegrated, its energy scattering into nothingness. It did not merge into the cultivator's body.

But... the process had taken far too little time. Could someone really succeed this fast? And if so, what kind of talent did that imply...?

Hundred Battle Immortal Sovereign dared not even think about it further.

"Jiang Chen, shut your filthy mouth!"

A voice roared from the heavens as a figure tore through the sky, descending with a suffocating, overpowering aura. The pressure slammed into Jiang Chen, leaving him gasping for breath on the spot.

"Elder Jiang?!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Even he had been watching from the shadows all along?