Chapter 1019

"The people from the Nine Fiend Hall arrived here so slowly."

After watching his doppelgänger ascend to the Star Core realm, Fang Yu's main consciousness flowed briefly, revealing a submarine mountain range tens of millions of li away.

Here, ravines crisscrossed; splendid cave dwellings lined up one after another—on the peaks of submarine mountains, along their slopes, or on flat seabeds. Thousands upon thousands of such caves had been built, and cultivation demons swarmed back and forth.

The massive Nine Fiend Hall stood at the center of the mountain range. Standing atop it, one could overlook all other peaks; not a single other cave dwelling came close in height, and its land area was absurdly vast.

This was the Nine Fiend Hall, one of the three great submarine demonic cultivation factions. Its entire structure followed the Twelve Capital Gates design, with twelve palaces built atop twelve array nodes, connected by gardens, pavilions, and towers. Its guards alone numbered in the tens of thousands.

In comparison, Qin Yu's current possession—the Crimson Blood Cave—held only a few thousand demonic cultivators, whose strength paled far beyond even a single palace within the Nine Fiend Hall.

At this moment, in one grand hall of the Nine Fiend Hall, five men clad in purple brocade robes sat upon five treasure thrones. The foremost, a burly giant with thick eyebrows and large eyes, radiated a domineering aura.

This purple-robed giant was none other than the First Prince of the Nine Fiend Hall, Di Long, who idly twirled a three-inch jade sword, examining it repeatedly, his eyes flashing with divine light: "Legends say there are nine jade swords. If all could be gathered—or all emerged—they would open a fairy mansion. I can hardly wait for the treasures within!"

"Big brother, those treasures won't be easy to obtain. We've fought over them for so many years, and only seven have surfaced so far. The cultivators of Penglai Fairy Realm got one, the demonic cultivators of Purple Flame Demon Prison got two by luck, the Green Dragon of Green Long Gong got one, and the three-eyed old monster of Azure Water Mansion got one too. I heard recently the Green Dragon was still fighting the three-eyed monster over another jade sword."

Another purple-robed man spoke up.

"Indeed. The legend of the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion has existed for countless years, and we've fought over it just as long. But to open the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion, all nine legendary jade swords must appear—but two remain utterly unknown. Without all nine, no one can open it!"

The Ninth Prince, Di Nang, shook his head.

"The ninth sword's whereabouts are still unknown for now… but once all eight are gathered, the ninth won't be far behind. When that time comes, my brothers and I shall seize the fairy mansion's treasures together—surely, it will elevate the Nine Fiend Hall to greatness!"

The eldest, Di Long, gleamed with ambition.

"Yes, Big Brother!"

All the purple-robed men nodded. "By the way, there's been a change at Crimson Blood Cave. With Brother Six's speed, he'll arrive there within a month—definitely enough to uncover what's happened."

"True. Crimson Blood Cave is our territory. If its cave lord was killed, only we have the right to appoint a new one—no doubt about it. Whoever kills the lord and names himself lord undermines our authority!"

"He must be punished!"

Within the Nine Fiend Hall, several giants discussed Crimson Blood Cave. Meanwhile, across billions of li of seabed, Fang Yu observed every detail clearly.

The leaders of the Nine Fiend Hall didn't even rival the strength of Li Hei Shui, the Black Water Mamba who had crossed the Lei Jie in the Eternal Life Realm, yet they ruled this vast ocean.

The sea was indeed dominated by demonic cultivators. If Fang Yu's cultivation base had just reached the 3rd Stage of Divine Abilities—Gang Qi Realm—or the 4th Stage—Yin-Yang Realm—he wouldn't have minded sweeping through this ocean like he did with Li Hei Shui, seizing its treasures and proving to the world the might of cultivators. But now, his cultivation base was the 3rd Stage of Immortality—Cave Heaven Realm—and these little ones simply weren't worth his effort.

Still… the legend of the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion…

In this world, nine jade swords existed, scattered across different places. After countless years, each now rested in the hands of different factions.

The cultivators of Penglai Fairy Realm possessed one jade sword.

The demonic cultivators of Purple Flame Demon Prison possessed two jade swords.

The Green Dragon of Green Long Gong possessed one jade sword.

The three-eyed old monster of Azure Water Mansion possessed one jade sword.

The Nine Fiend Hall possessed one jade sword.

Now Qin Yu possessed one jade sword.

The one jade sword still unmanifested was held by a primordial demonic beast.

Once all nine jade swords were gathered, one could enter the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion and claim its treasure—a treasure tied to a Fairy Emperor, worth any price to any mortal cultivator.

The treasure of a Fairy Emperor.

The name alone was terrifyingly imposing.

If the Fairy Emperor of this Star Transformation Realm equaled the Fairy Emperor of the Perfect World, then countless experts across all realms would rush to fight for it.

Of course, though the title "Fairy Emperor" was the same, the reality differed. In Star Transformation, there were too many Fairy Emperors—some died from being poisoned by stepping on a god-realm insect.

Even such a Fairy Emperor was still a Fairy Emperor.

"Their pace in gathering the nine swords is still too slow."

Fang Yu glanced at the various factions, shook his head, and with a casual wave, eight jade swords appeared in his hand.

These eight jade swords had traveled directly through distant space to reach him.

This was the power of the 3rd Stage of Immortality—Cave Heaven Realm. If Fang Yu wished to seize a treasure, no forbidden technique in this world could stop him.

To control space was to ignore all forbidden arts.

"Of course, those little factions could also reach here."

Fang Yu waved again, and one by one, Kongjianzhi Sects appeared before the gates of many powers in this world.

As an ancient relic of the 3rd Stage of Immortality—myth among myths, legend among legends—he had accelerated the emergence of the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion, but he had no particular greed for such a fairy mansion. Thus, the previous masters of the nine swords could now arrive before him via the sudden Kongjianzhi Sects, gather together, and journey to the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion to seize the treasure.

This was granting these younger generations a chance.

…

The Qianlong Continent was mostly inhabited by mortals. To its south lay boundless seas, dotted with numerous Xiandao. Far to the south, billions of li away, hundreds of islands clustered together to form a fairy realm known as Penglai Fairy Realm—the core region of overseas cultivators.

In Penglai Fairy Realm, sects thrived. The hundreds of islands were vast; each hosted millions of mortals and over a thousand cultivators. Altogether, this largest gathering of cultivators numbered over one hundred thousand immortals.

Yet, though Penglai Fairy Realm had countless sects, Qingxu Guan led them all.

Qingxu Guan had few disciples—by number, it ranked only mid-tier among all sects. But its Grand Elder, Yan Xu True Person, had reached the late Void Meditation realm, just one step from Tribulation Crossing. With him alone, Qingxu Guan was unquestionably the strongest sect in Penglai Fairy Realm.

Penglai Fairy Realm, Qingxu Island.

Dozens of Spirit Gathering Arrays adorned the massive Xiandao. The spiritual energy here was several times denser than in ordinary seas, growing thicker toward the island's center until mist visibly swirled.

In an ancient pavilion sat an elder with silver hair, his face flushed and infantile—Grand Elder Yan Xu True Person of Qingxu Guan. He had been calmly cultivating when suddenly his expression changed drastically, shock flashing across his face. His aura surged uncontrollably, bursting from his body and flooding beyond the pavilion. Countless cultivators were crushed under the violent force, gasping for breath, their faces filled with terror.

"Brother, what happened? I've never seen you look so shocked!"

Beside Yan Xu True Person, another elder wore an expression of shock—Yan Lan True Person, the abbot of Qingxu Guan. Seeing Yan Xu's true qi slipping from his control, he was stunned.

"My jade sword… is gone!"

Yan Xu True Person trembled, unable to believe his eyes.

"What? Gone? Who could take your jade sword right before your eyes? I was right beside you—I felt nothing!"

Yan Lan True Person's face paled.

The legend of the jade sword was known throughout the world. Countless conflicts had erupted over the Nine Swords Fairy Mansion legend. Qingxu Guan had spent immense effort to obtain just one jade sword—yet now, before everyone's eyes, it had vanished?

How could this be possible?

Between heaven and earth, who could have taken the jade sword right before their eyes—before the eyes of a being at the late-stage Void冥 realm?

Even the Palace Master of the Azure Long Gong, the divine beast the Azure Dragon himself, could not have done it.

"What is that?"

But at this moment, True Person Yanxu's gaze suddenly turned toward a spot not far from the tower pavilion, where there stood a spatial portal that seemed to lead to another place.

"Teleportation array!"

True Person Yanxu's expression changed drastically.

"Come."

But at this moment, from the other side of the teleportation array, a voice came through—a voice that simply would not brook refusal.

True Person Yanxu sensed that overbearing will, that commanding force, impossible to resist, and so he respectfully entered what he took to be a "teleportation array"—in truth, a spatial portal—and arrived on the other side.

There he saw two beings.

Fang Yu, and Lan Shu.

This great elder at the late-stage Void冥 realm thus knew he could wait a while.

At the same time, in a place beyond the seas, in the deep ocean some hundreds of millions of miles from the Qianlong Continent, there lay a massive demonic cultivator force made up of over a hundred islands clustered together, called the Purple Flame Demon Prison—a demonic cultivator force that could stand against the immortal-cultivator factions.

There were many factions here as well, but the true pillar figure of the Purple Flame Demon Prison was a master without sect or faction, known as the "Purple-Haired Prison King," Yida, whose strength had also reached the late-stage Void冥 realm.

Prison King Island was the domain of this Purple-Haired Prison Wang Yida. The island had very few people—only several hundred—clearly far smaller in scale than the millions of mortals and thousands of demonic cultivators on the other islands.

And at the center of Prison King Island stood a lone peak, like a sword peak.

At the top of the lone peak, a man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, a head of long purple hair that had already drifted down to the ground, yet strangely not gathering a speck of dust.

It was the Purple-Haired Prison King himself.

Suddenly, his face changed drastically. He opened his eyes, and a thick flash of purple light gleamed within them. Then an incomparably violent aura burst forth from his body, seeming as if it would utterly annihilate everything.

Killing intent. Rage!

At this moment, they reached their peak.

This Purple-Haired Prison King, Yida, discovered to his furious disbelief that the jade sword in his hand had vanished—something that nearly drove him mad.

To seek out this jade sword, one of the Nine Swords, he had spent immeasurable effort. But now his jade sword had disappeared, and his fury was such that it could have obliterated everything.

But suddenly he calmed down, because he reflected that with his strength, even the Daoists of the Qingxu Abbey could not have simply taken his jade sword from him; even the old mud loach of the Azure Long Gong could not have done such a thing.

This matter must have been the work of some master he had never encountered.

His divine sense swept over every direction, and so he saw a spatial portal that had appeared not far away.

"Just what kind of master has made a move?"

This "Prison King" went straight into the spatial portal, and then arrived at the undersea world.

He nearly choked on a mouthful of water.