"Elder Jin Nan, this is our sect’s newly appointed leader," explained Zhong Yue quickly.
Newly appointed sect leader? Where did Long Tianxing go?
Jin Nan’s expression shifted erratically, several questions popping up in his mind, causing his face to turn more odd by the second.
"Jin Nan, come over here for a moment!"
Turning his head to look who was calling for him, he saw the sixth king, waving at him. Pushing the confusion to the back of his mind, Jin Nan quickly left and headed toward him.
Even though he was still shocked that Fang Chen had become the Qingzhou Sword Sect’s leader, he didn’t particularly dwell on it.
After Jin Nan left, Fang Chen closed his eyes, and his divine soul instantly soared above the plaza. Every cultivator appeared in his eyes, no one could hide from him whenever he left his body.
Fang Chen could sense that Jin Nan was at the mid Foundation Building, which was not much stronger than Long Tianxing.
In the next moment, his divine soul swept away toward a distant place, quickly locking onto Immortal Sea Dragon.
Deep within the Heavenly Southern Sect, shrouded in clouds and mist, lay a mountain range. Here, the spiritual energy was dense, and spiritual springs gushed forth. The mountains were surrounded by numerous spiritual herbs and plants.
Two figures sat facing each other by a stone table, with a chessboard placed on it.
"Senior Sea Dragon, you aren’t here just to congratulate Little Fan, are you?" said a middle-aged scholar, frowning slightly. He was holding a black chess piece in his hand, his hand paused in the air, seemingly unsure where to place it.
Sitting across from him was none other than the Immortal Sea Dragon. Upon hearing the middle-aged man’s words, he smiled faintly. "I’ve lost two Foundation Building cultivators and several Qi Refining Realm disciples in a short period, one of whom was my fifth-generation grandson. I came out of seclusion to see this person and check if his strength is as rumored.”
The middle-aged man was clearly well aware of the details. "But isn’t he a sword cultivator? It’s not a good idea to provoke a sword cultivator. I suggest that you let this matter rest; otherwise... it may bring trouble to your sect."
He finally placed the chest piece on the chessboard, looking pleased with himself
Standing quietly beside the two, Fang Chen watched Immortal Sea Dragon. The Golden Core Realm was really terrifying; his aura was majestic and profound, like a deep, unfathomable abyss. A powerhouse could probably pinch him to death. Unleashing the first form of the Eight Desolation Supreme Sword Scripture of the Eight Desolates aside, even the second or third form wouldn’t be enough to kill him.
If he threw caution to the wind and sacrificed his life to use the seventh form, there might be a chance. Unfortunately, that was probably a pipe dream. He might not even be able to unleash the second form even if he had to die for it, let alone the seventh.
Fang Chen’s eyes drifted to the middle-aged man. This was definitely the Heavenly Southern Sect’s ancestor. It came as no surprise to Fang Chen that he was at the grand completion stage of the Foundation Building Realm. His aura was extremely concentrated and rich. However, his aura was incomparable to that of the Golden Core Realm.
"It’s precisely because he is a sword cultivator that I did not approach him directly," said Immortal Sea Dragon with a sliver of a smile. "Even though I am in the Golden Core Realm, I understand that there is always a taller mountain."
"It puts me at ease to know that that’s how you think, Senior Sea Dragon," replied the middle-aged man with a faint smile.
"What is it?" asked the middle-aged man, looking puzzled.
"You must’ve received the news that someone wanted us to apprehend a man and a woman," said Immortal Sea Dragon. “I have those two people back at my sect now.”
Fang Chen noticed the hand of the Heavenly Southern Sect’s ancestor tremble slightly.
"Is that true?" His face turned serious. "If so, why didn’t you hand them over to the Jade Dragon Battle General? If I remember correctly, it was he who ordered us to apprehend these two individuals, right?"
"I’ve been thinking, instead of handing them over to him, why don’t I hand them over to that person behind you." Immortal Sea Dragon chuckled. "What do you think? Would you be willing to recommend me to him?"
"Senior Sea Dragon... are you planning on joining our faction?” The middle-aged man laughed. “Aren’t you afraid that the Jade Dragon Battle General will skin you alive?"
Hearing that, Fang Chen felt that something was very wrong. One of them was in the Golden Core Realm, and the other was at the grand perfection of the Foundation Building Realm, yet the levels of respect each showed to one another seemed misaligned. The two seemed to belong to the same organization but each in different factions, too.
These three words suddenly surged into Fang Chen’s mind, and his face turned extremely solemn. Could it be that the Heavenly Southern Sect and the Sea Dragon Sect were part of the Blood Spirit Sect?
That can’t be right. Given how the Spirit Blood Sect is, they would have multiple layers of disguise. It’s unlikely that an entire sect would be part of the Spirit Blood Sect. Jin Nan helped me kill a Spirit Blood Sect Foundation Building cultivator, he would’ve turned against me if he was on their side, thought Fang Chen.
Fang Chen focused back on their conversation, hoping to obtain more information.
"Even though the Jade Dragon Battle General is very capable, compared to the person behind you, he still falls short. If you don’t want to recommend me, then you can just ignore what I said. It’s up to you.”
The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face. He took out a Communication Talisman and burned it.
"I’ve sent a transmission to my eldest senior brother, but he’s a bit far away, so we won’t be hearing from him soon. I’ll let you know once he replies.”
The Immortal Sea Dragon smiled and clasped his hands together. "No trouble at all."
The two directed their focus back to the chessboard and didn’t talk anymore. Fang Chen waited for a while in the hope that they’d speak once more but it didn’t happen. Thinking about it for a moment, he decided to return to his physical body.
Back at the plaza, several early-stage Foundation Building Realm cultivators from the Heavenly Southern had arrived and mingled among the other cultivators.
Jin Nan seemed to have some free time and approached Fang Chen again for a talk. Their conversation didn’t yield much for him until Jin Nan mentioned “that girl from your empire that has a seven chimes talent.”
"She has already formed her first immortal vein and reached the first stage of the Qi Refining Realm," Jin Nan sighed. "With talent such as hers, advancing to the Foundation Building Realm won’t be an issue.”
Fang Chen smiled. "It seems your sect has done a good job nurturing her."
"I thank you all for coming all the way here today. The ancestor knows of your hardships, so he specially instructed us to prepare some Immortal Intoxication for you to taste."
With a wave of his sleeve, dozens of jars of wine appeared, emitting a tempting fragrance that filled the air. The smell alone caused everyone’s faces to turn a shade of red.
"I never expected to drink the Immortal Intoxication today. Haha, truly a treasure" exclaimed Daoist Ya.
"Immortal Intoxication?" Fang Chen’s thoughts stirred slightly. "A sip can replace several months of hard cultivation?"