Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 1690: The Hunt

Fang Chen shook his head. "Senior Sister, Fellow Daoist Hong has already left Enlightenment Star. As for where she went, I do not know."

Li Shanzi sighed. "Ninth Brother, you're truly too muddleheaded. If Core Disciple Honglian had also fallen into demonic corruption, keeping her in Enlightenment God Palace might still have offered a chance of salvation. By sending her away in advance, aren't you only pushing her deeper into danger?"

Quite a few core disciples shared this view, sighing and shaking their heads. But everyone also knew of Fang Chen's relationship with Little Immortal Honglian. In everyone's eyes, they were Dao companions. They had known each other even before the assessment for external cultivators. They had gone out to adventure together, entered the Enlightenment God Palace together, and became core disciples one after another.

After so many years and shared experiences, their bond was naturally deep. They understood why he did it, but that didn't mean they didn't acknowledge what he did was wrong. He might even have harmed Little Immortal Honglian.

"You're sentimental." Xie Aman snorted softly, then said indifferently, "I can turn a blind eye to this matter. But if anything like this happens again, any decision you make must be discussed with me first. Understood?"

Fang Chen felt a quiet sense of relief and nodded. "There will not be a next time."

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With that, Xie Aman swept her gaze across the hall.

"This time, thirteen core disciples have fled. They cannot escape Enlightenment Star. They're hiding somewhere. You are to capture them. I'm giving you five years."

Nanming Ruyue and the others nodded. Five years would be sufficient. Each core disciple would lead their own expedition squad. With over one thousand core disciples searching, five years was more than enough to thoroughly comb Enlightenment Star inside and out.

Fang Chen was also assigned to participate in the search. Before departing, however, he asked about the detailed situation.

"At present, among the core disciples on Enlightenment Star, 47 have fallen into demonic corruption. 13 have fled. Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, and Seventh Brother have also fallen into corruption. They are imprisoned in the Ten Thousand Heavenly Prison deep within the palace." Xie Aman spoke gravely. "Among the external cultivators, 3,482 have been identified as corrupted. Except for a little over a hundred who escaped, the rest have all been confined to the Ten Thousand Heavenly Prison."

She sighed. "This time, nearly every expedition squad had at least someone corrupted. Only the squads of the newer core disciples remained clean."

Fang Chen's eyes flickered. There was another layer of meaning in her words. If every squad had someone corrupted, it meant the demon race's true objective had not been to topple Enlightenment God Palace, but to secretly infiltrate and control its intelligence network.

Xie Aman waved her hand dismissively. "Go. Take your squad and conduct a thorough search. The cultivation grounds of each core disciple are arranged in an orderly pattern. If you search around your own territory, together you will cover the entire star."

Fang Chen accepted the order and left.

Just as he stepped out of the Elders' Hall, he encountered Second Brother, whom he had met only once before. The man smiled and spoke.

"Ninth Brother, last time we met, you were still an ordinary unofficial cultivator. In just a few hundred years, you've become one of the elite core disciples. From now on, you may call me Second Senior Brother, or simply Senior Brother Wang."

Fang Chen smiled and cupped his fist. "What's your name, Second Senior Brother, if I may ask?"

"Wang Ye. I'll head off to work now, before our boss starts scolding us again."

Wang Ye laughed, waved his hand, and piloted his Black Dragon Boat into the horizon.

"Wang Ye..." Fang Chen murmured softly.

He then gathered Mi Yu, Ji Gang, and Elder Qin before returning to Renzu Mountain.

As it happened, Fang Zhixue, Fang Xiaotian, Fang Xiaohua, Fang Tong, Jiang Tianai, Sheng Wu, and the others were cultivating there. Their previous expedition had yielded substantial gains, and they were still digesting the fruits of it. It would likely take several hundred years to fully absorb everything.

Fang Chen smiled at Sheng Ning and said, "Old Sheng, gather everyone. The Nine Realms Expedition Team has work to do."

Sheng Ning had long sensed the changes on Enlightenment Star. As a sixth-transformation immortal, he could clearly see what was happening. Seeing Ji Gang accompanying Fang Chen only confirmed his suspicions.

He immediately called everyone together.

Facing the puzzled and confused expressions aboard the Black Dragon Boat , Fang Chen briefly explained the situation. He used the same phrasing as Xie Aman, calling it a "demonic corruption" instead of the demon race.

The crowd gasped. They had all endured the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations and were familiar with demonic calamities. They could not understand how such a calamity could suddenly erupt on Enlightenment Star, affecting even core disciples. Could immortals truly face demonic calamities again?

"Brother, by your explanation... does that mean one day we might also encounter demonic calamity?" Fang Zhixue asked, her expression strange.

Fang Chen nodded with a faint smile. "Yes. One day, you will. It just depends on whose luck runs out." Everyone felt uneasy.

"But there's no need to fear. It's merely demonic calamity. As long as you remain true to your hearts and understand what you really are, I believe your temperaments and talents will prevent you from easily falling," Fang Chen reassured them.

They relaxed slightly.

Nanming Shaoze, however, had already learned some details from Nanming Ruyue. He did not feel reassured. His background gave him a broader perspective than most present. He understood clearly what it meant for a calamity capable of corrupting core disciples to erupt.

"Core Disciple Fang, do you think any corrupted core disciple might be hiding within Renzu Mountain?" Ji Gang asked thoughtfully.

Fang Chen smiled. "Unlikely. If there were, they'd be in serious trouble."

Ji Gang and Sheng Ning exchanged a glance and chuckled.

If they included Fellow Daoist Mi Yu, there were three sixth-transformation immortals here. Few squads elsewhere could match such strength.

They split into four teams—Ji Gang's, Sheng Ning's, Mi Yu's, and Fang Chen's. Using Renzu Mountain as the center, they began searching outward, gradually expanding the radius.

***

5,000 miles north of Renzu Mountain lay a vast, surging river. It spanned over a dozen miles in width and stretched for hundreds of thousands of miles in length.

At the bottom of the river stood two figures. They paid no heed to the crushing water pressure around them, standing motionless and gazing upward.

"This counts as Renzu Mountain's territory. If we hide here, can we really wait for Core Disciple Fang?"

"We should. He's mastered two Formation Immortal Arts. Enlightenment God Palace must value him highly."

"If we can seize him, escaping Enlightenment Star won't be difficult."

"Who would have thought the long-vanished Grand Limitless Divine Mirror would reappear? Our luck is terrible..."

They spoke in hushed tones, unaware that a shadowy figure stood not far away, silently watching them.