The black and white paper figures froze for a moment. Several familiar faces within?
Even the green-headed sea turtle, who had been focused on swimming, paused, looking surprised.
"It's fine to release the Nascent Souls temporarily, but since they've lost their physical bodies, they can't remain in the outside world for long. If they encounter some heavenly phenomena, like violent winds or thunderstorms, they could completely dissipate," the white paper man explained.
Fang Chen nodded. Given the calm weather on the sea and the absence of violent winds or thunderstorms, he opened the lantern. One by one, the Nascent Souls inside began to fly out.
These Nascent Souls all looked confused, whether human or demon.
They had thought their end would be tragic—either refined into pills or devoured alive. They never expected to suddenly be released. Though still in shock, they retained their rationality and did not flee immediately. After all, they were in the Immortal Demonic Sea, and a lone Nascent Soul would hardly survive long.
"The Mad... Mad King?" exclaimed one of the Nascent Souls.
This Nascent Soul was only about an inch tall, but its expression was almost indistinguishable from that of a living person. It looked utterly astonished.
The small Nascent Soul's voice trembled. "Is it really the Mad King...?"
"Fang Ze from Jade Toad Palace pays respects to Mad King!"
"Ding Wan from White Moon Island pays respects to Mad King!"
"Du Kong from the Prajna Sect pays respects to Mad King!"
The other Nascent Souls were stunned.
"Wait... they actually recognize him!?"
Some of the demon Nascent Souls had already noticed the green-headed sea turtle beneath Fang Chen's feet. After recognizing its origin, they were even more shocked.
The Turtle Demonic Wanderer was a well-known demon cultivator under the command of the Falling Whale King. To think that now he had become a mount for a human cultivator?
At this moment, the Lantern in the human cultivator's hand raised even more questions. Did he buy it from the monk at Haiye Temple, or…?
Fang Chen nodded. He had met these people before at the Immortal Dynasty Manor. Back then, they had tried to act against him and Yu Xianzi but had been scared off and didn't dare take any further action. After that, Fang Chen hadn't seen them again. It was a surprise to learn that these former Immortal Seedlings had now broken through and condensed their Nascent Souls.
However, he couldn't help but wonder how they had ended up in such a tragic situation here in the Immortal Demonic Sea.
Fang Chen's gaze landed on one of the souls. This particular one remained silent, his face devoid of life. Even when the others were desperately trying to escape the Nascent Soul Lantern, he showed no reaction.
Fang Chen sighed lightly. "Brother Meng, what happened?"
The others were just acquaintances, but Meng Tianshu was different. They had met twice, once at the Immortal Dynasty Manor and once at Black Dragon Lake. It had only been a few years. How did he end up ?
"Meng Tianshu, the Mad King is asking you a question! Hurry up and answer!" Yang Qing from Nine Deer Valley urged, tugging at Meng Tianshu's sleeve.
The tugging caused him to float a little in the air, but Meng Tianshu remained silent.
"Just as we were about to leave, we encountered a swordsman within the Pitu Ruins..."
Du Kong's expression turned sour.
"Was it a swordsman from Celestial Heaven or Northern Dipper?" Fang Chen asked calmly.
"It was a swordsman from the Kunlun Sword Sect of Celestial Heaven," Du Kong replied, gritting his teeth. "We had no grievances with him, but because we came from the Central Continent Empire, he killed us. He imprisoned our Nascent Souls. After a few transactions, we ended up in the hands of the monk from Haiye Temple."
Fang Chen looked at the other Nascent Souls. "And what about them?"
These Nascent Souls quickly explained their origins. Some spoke the truth and some lied. According to them, they had unfortunately encountered an evil cultivator and were killed. In the end, they ended up in the hands of the monk from Haiye Temple and were trapped in the Nascent Soul Lantern, waiting to be sold for a higher price.
"Fellow Daoist, I am Shang Ya, a disciple of the Shang family of Celestial Heaven. If you can return me to the Shang family, I will surely repay you generously!" one of them pleaded.
"Fellow Daoist, I am a cultivator from the Hua Qing Palace of Northern Dipper. If you return me, my master will surely reward you!" another one said.
"Return you? It's too difficult, the journey is long, and I don't have that much time to waste." Fang Chen shook his head. "You have two choices now: leave now, or stay in this Nascent Soul Lantern until the right time to leave."
Although disappointed by Fang Chen's refusal, the cultivators felt a sense of relief. If someone had ill intentions, they would have readily agreed, trying to extort their remaining value. Instead, the fact that Fang Chen outright rejected them gave them a sense of trust in him.
As for the rest, since they were from the Central Continent Empire originally, they believed they would be able to return home safely with Fang Chen.
With this thought in mind, Yang Qing curiously asked, "Mad King, how did you end up in the Immortal Demonic Sea? Where are you heading?"
Fang Chen smiled. "Me? To the Pitu Ruins. You all have been there, right? Could you tell me what to watch out for?"
The four of them gasped, and even the dead-silent Meng Tianshu turned to look at Fang Chen, his eyes almost hollow.
"Mad King, I advise you not to go there..." Yang Qing said with a bitter smile. "We initially went there because we heard the Pitu Ruins contained living celestial beasts, and we thought we could each catch one, so we set out together. But now, as you can see, this is how we've ended up…."
Fang Ze from the Yuchan Palace added, "The Pitu Ruins fall under the jurisdiction of the Golden Immortal Sect of Northern Dipper. This sect is both righteous and evil, acting on their whims. Unlike some other ruins that have rules prohibiting deadly conflicts, there are no such rules in the Pitu Ruins. It's a place where anything goes.
Yang Qing's face was bitter. He added, "If the person who enters doesn't find anything of worth, they'll be fine. But if it was found they got their hands on anything, they'd be hunted down. Someone might even kill you if they just don't find you pleasing. Only the cultivators from the Northern Dipper have it a little better. For those of us from the Central Continent Empire or even people from Celestial Heaven, it's the same, they can kill us without reason."
White Moon Island's Ding Wan tried to persuade Fang Chen. "Mad King, it's better if we return to the Central Continent Empire. If we don't have an elder from our sect to help us in our current state, we might die and never have a chance to reincarnate."
"This journey has already been set, it would be difficult to turn back. You all might as well tell me more about the Pitu Ruins," Fang Chen said, seemingly unfazed.