Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 1659: One Sword for Concealing the Edge, One Sword for Guarding Simplicity

"Hahaha! This old beggar is completely nuts! But he's quite obedient. I will let you off today. Keep your eyes peeled next time!"Seeing how submissive Li Jingnian was, one of the Foundation Building Realm cultivators let out a cold, loud laugh. After wiping the filth from his boots, he prepared to leave.

Li Jingnian hurried to grab the man's sleeve again."Buns... buns... haha. Wine... there's still wine."

The cultivator's face darkened. Seeing the beggar's lack of tact, he kicked Li Jingnian away, coldly snorted, and walked off. Li Jingnian was sent crashing into the roadside steps, his hunched body remaining motionless for a long time.

They say the Yang Gods are mad and senile, mocked as anomalies by the world. The dignified Old Sword Immortal of the Void Immortal Sword Sect, reduced to this, humiliated by a mere Foundation Building Realm cultivator. Do Master Yun He, the old man, and the others have similar experiences as well? Did Mother and Father suffer similar humiliations?

Fang Chen's expression turned complicated. He reckoned this sort of thing happened to every single Yang God. The only way for these Yang Gods to return to normal was likely one of two things: either the Sealing Arts of the demon's race were completely broken, or there was no longer a need for these Yang Gods to maintain the Sealing Arts they had cast back then. That road was grueling and difficult. Fortunately, many were now walking it. At the very least, there was a glimmer of hope.

"Old beggar, this isn't a place for you to linger. Leave the Broken Ruins. You won't survive here."

A shopkeeper walked out, sighed, and tossed a few buns to Li Jingnian before returning inside to tend to his customers.

Li Jingnian seemed to catch the scent of the buns and suddenly became alert. He sat up straight and began to devour them ravenously.

A few moments later, a figure appeared before Li Jingnian and handed him a dark-green wine vessel. A strong aroma of wine wafted from it. Li Jingnian looked up sharply. He snatched the vessel without hesitation and emptied it in one go.

"Good wine! Good wine! Haha!"

Li Jingnian wiped his mouth and nodded repeatedly to Fang Chen as he laughed with satisfaction.

The wine vessel was a gift from Elder Donghua. Fang Chen had discovered that as long as he injected water elemental energy into it, it would transform into fine wine. It wasn't some top-tier treasure, but to a drunkard, it was the finest of treasures.

Fang Chen tempted him with a smile. "Do you want more?"

Li Jingnian nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

"Then follow me."

Without a second thought, Li Jingnian trotted happily after Fang Chen.

In the eyes of outsiders, Fang Chen appeared to be a dignified and accomplished cultivator, yet he was followed by a filthy old beggar. The juxtaposition attracted many stares.

As soon as Li Jingnian followed Fang Chen into the inn, several guests voiced their displeasure.

"He reeks!"

"Since when are beggars allowed in the inn?!"

"Shopkeeper, aren't you going to do something about this?!"

The shopkeeper hurried over with a wry smile and cupped his fist to Fang Chen. "Daoist, what is the meaning of this?"

Fang Chen casually tossed a mid-grade spirit stone to the shopkeeper. "Arrange a room for him right next to mine. Have some attendants wash him, give him clean clothes, and serve a table of food and wine."

The guests who had been complaining immediately shut their mouths upon seeing the stone. They turned their gazes elsewhere and chatted among themselves as if they hadn't said a word.

The shopkeeper smiled widely. "Certainly. I shall arrange everything as requested."

***

Before long, Li Jingnian was clean and tidy, sitting in his room feasting on meat and wine.

Fang Chen observed him silently. His cultivation hasn't regressed, but his memory is gone.

The wine in the dark-green vessel was no ordinary brew. It was the work of an Ancient Immortal. A cultivator at the Ascension Realm would be intoxicated to death after drinking this wine. Even ordinary immortals wouldn't dare drink it cup after cup as Li Jingnian was doing.

"Hey, Old Sword Immortal?" Fang Chen tested tentatively.

Li Jingnian did not react. He clearly did not recognise that Fang Chen was addressing him.

"Old Sword Immortal, do you remember having one sword for concealing the edge and one sword for guarding simplicity?" asked Fang Chen.

Li Jingnian merely gave him a foolish look, chuckled, and returned his focus to the delicacies on the table. Fang Chen sighed softly and returned to his own room.

The fact that he had brought someone back couldn't be hidden from Daoist Que.

"You brought an old beggar back. Why? Is he an old acquaintance?" asked Daoist Que softly.

"He resembles a friend. It won't interfere with our mission," replied Fang Chen casually.

Daoist Que nodded. "That is good, then."

Over the next few months, the duo kept a constant watch on Huang Dengdao. Every person who interacted with him was meticulously recorded. Most were low-level cultivators from the Broken Ruins, only those at the Lower Four Realms and Middle Three Realms.

Ever since Fang Chen arrived at the True Martial Realm, squad after squad of Day Walker Guards and Night Walker Guards had poured into the Broken Ruins. They stood guard at every corner, their solemn gazes scanning every passerby.

Over a hundred wandering souls from the Day Walker lineage had infiltrated Huang Dengdao's residence, all led by Du Yunxu personally. From that day on, no matter where Huang Dengdao went—even while he was cultivating—many pairs of eyes watched him.

One day, Du Yunxu flickered into existence before Fang Chen and whispered, "Young Lord, he has a guest."

Fang Chen nodded. His divine soul exited his body, and together with Du Yunxu, he flew into Huang Dengdao's estate.

Huang Dengdao was in the reception hall chatting with a middle-aged cultivator. They were discussing trivial matters, but this was the first time in months that a significant guest had visited him. The guest was a first-transformation immortal, proving he wasn't a local of the Broken Ruins and was likely related to the matter they were investigating.

After a bit of idle talk, Huang Dengdao suddenly set up a restrictive formation and asked, "How is it? Did you bring the item?"

"I did."

The guest produced an object. It looked like a stone, yet wasn't. It emanated an incredibly unique aura.

Fang Chen's brow furrowed. Is that... Yang Lifespan?It seems... different.

"This is good stuff! The Saint Son spent a lot of effort on this. With this, what hope do those Yang Gods have? Once they are dead and gone, the demonic calamity will sweep across the Nine Realms in an instant!"

Huang Dengdao's eyes glowed as he held the object tightly.

Instantly, Fang Chen understood everything. The demonic calamity was created specifically to counter the Sealing Arts cast by the Yang Gods in the past. Even now, cultivators continued to pour into this realm to maintain the Sealing Arts by sacrificing themselves and risking the loss of their memories. If these Yang Gods were hunted down one by one, the Sealing Arts cast would become unstable. Conversely, the demonic calamity would grow stronger!

Suddenly, Li Jingnian appeared in the reception hall. He stared hungrily at the piece of Yang Lifespan, drooling. "So fragrant!"