Chapter 1976: They Are Already in the Nine Realms

Everyone had already guessed that Ziwei convened them to discuss the matter regarding outsiders. However, they hadn't expected an expedition team to come into contact with outsiders. After all, that meant that outsiders were already in the Nine Realms.

Saint Beixuan had a thoughtful expression. "How far away is this Expedition Team from the Nine Realms?"

Ziwei said, "They've been traveling for more than three hundred years."

Chen Feifei said in a low voice, "More than three hundred years... Even if they didn't take detours, if the outsiders' strength is at the Half-Saint level, or even Saints, it might take them only a tenth of that time to reach the Nine Realms."

Saint Beixuan said, "They still need to figure out the location of the Nine Realms. If the cultivators of that expedition team had managed to kill themselves in time, there is a high chance they didn't find the location of the Nine Realms. In that case, it should take them much longer to find their way here."

Lang Daochun glanced at Saint Beixuan. "Back then, the Spirit God Sect probably wanted Gu Yueling because they wanted to know the path Gu Yueling took to reach the Nine Realms. Now that Gu Yueling is in Monarch Fang's hands, they never obtained him, yet they still managed to feel their way here within just a few hundred years. That means their strength can't be underestimated."

He paused for a moment before glancing at Ziwei. "Daoist Ziwei, what was the approximate cultivation level of the cultivators in that expedition team? Were they core disciples of your Wandao Immortal Sect?"

Ziwei said, "That's precisely the key point. They weren't core disciples of any major sect. They were merely ordinary cultivators. Their leader was only at the Dao Union Realm."

Everyone present froze, including Saint Beixuan and the others.

"Dao Union Realm?"

Chen Feifei immediately cursed, "I told you not to keep us in suspense! They are already in the Nine Realms?"

An expedition team led by a Dao Union Realm cultivator couldn't even leave the territory of the Nine Realms in three hundred years!

They had originally thought the leader of this expedition team was at least a sixth-transformation Immortal Sovereign or a seventh-transformation Ancient Immortal.

Ziwei smiled bitterly. "It's not that I want to keep you in suspense. If this group of outsiders had already appeared in the Nine Realms, why hasn't any of you received news about it?"

Everyone looked at each other. Almost immediately, they understood the deeper implication behind Ziwei's words.

"Are these outsiders... secretly gathering intelligence on the Nine Realms? They don't plan to start a war directly?"

"They should already know about Motian Dizang's attempt to prove the Dao. They want to find Motian Dizang's place of proving the Dao before we can react."

Everyone's gaze subconsciously fell upon Xia Ji.

Since Motian Dizang was now Consort Yan—and Xia Ji managed the Underworld's strongest reconnaissance organization—there was no way he didn't know where she was currently attaining the Dao.

Xia Ji smiled. "Don't look at me, everyone. How would I know where she is proving her Dao? She wouldn't share something like that with me. You can never be cautious enough when it comes to a matter like this. However, the Hidden Guard Division will thoroughly investigate this matter next to see if we can drag those outsiders out. Perhaps only a few insignificant figures washed up on our shores. They don't dare act recklessly. As long as we can catch them and prevent them from transmitting the news out, their army won't arrive in the Nine Realms in the short term."

Thinking about it, everyone found it reasonable.

A ninth-transformation immortal said, "Exploration teams do have the habit of splitting up to investigate their surroundings. The core team maintains its original route while individual cultivators are dispatched to explore the surrounding regions. I imagine the outsiders operate much in the same way."

If he was right, then the outsiders that entered the Nine Realms might just be a few scouts dispatched from the enemy's main force.

Someone smiled. "That makes things easier. It will take them a while just to confirm whether this is the Nine Realms or not."

However, the speaker's eyes remained grave. Perhaps those words were merely self-comfort.

From this moment onward, every faction would have to exert its full strength to hunt down these outsiders.

Shao Mengyuan said, "Division Head Xia, where is Monarch Fang currently located? For a matter like this, it's best to call him as well so he can personally oversee the Underworld."

"Monarch Fang has his own affairs. Once he finishes his work, he will naturally oversee the Underworld," replied Lang Daochun on behalf of Xia Ji. "Don't rush him. We can handle a small matter like this ourselves. How hard can it be to hunt down a few insignificant outsiders? Our people are practically spread throughout the entire Nine Realms."

Shao Mengyuan was somewhat suspicious, but didn't say anything further.

After the meeting ended, no one left. Instead, they came before the Xie Zhi Division Saint Tower.

Lang Daochun looked around and sighed with emotion. "I remember the last time I came here was when my race had just suffered a great disaster."

As he spoke, the gates of the Saint Tower opened. A group of cultivators walked out with ashamed expressions.

These cultivators came from various factions. Some were humans, others were demons. They were all currently borrowing the Saint Tower's power to cultivate. Regrettably, this group hadn't even lasted ten days inside the Saint Tower.

Meanwhile, on the stone tablet standing before the Saint Tower, many names already had durations displayed behind them—thirty days, two months, even half a year or a full year.

Saint Beixuan sighed with emotion. "It's fortunate that Saint Fang was able to leave behind his Inner Domain. It has helped us nurture quite a few geniuses over countless years."

The human ninth-transformation immortals all showed emotional expressions.

The core disciples of the various factions had all visited this Saint Tower before. They had simply been ordered not to divulge its existence. At the same time, no one had ever told them that this place was actually the Xie Zhi Division.

Therefore, although they had gained benefits within the Saint Tower, they had never known where this place was, nor did they know the origins of the tower itself. That included the likes of Xie Aman.

Saint Duobao suddenly spoke up. "Saint Fang's bloodline is certainly strong. Several of the top ten are his blood descendants."

Everyone carefully examined the stone tablet. Sure enough, several of the highest-ranking names bore the surname Fang. For instance, Fang Zhixue, Fang Xiaotian, Fang Xiaohua, and Fang Tong. Among them, Fang Zhixue had already stayed in the Saint Tower for a full year and a half. The others hadn't performed badly either. The worst-performing among them, Fang Tong, had stayed for nearly five months.

Saint Beixuan smiled faintly. "I remember that the Fang Clan was also very prosperous in the past and had many clansmen. Where did they all go now? Why haven't they shown themselves?"

Everyone exchanged glances. No one answered this question. How could they know what arrangements the Yang Gods had made?

All they had to remember was that the Underworld now bore the surname Fang. And in all likelihood, so did the Nine Mortal Realms.

If the Nine Realms managed to survive this crisis, then after enough years passed, the Fang Clan would inevitably flourish once again.

***

Desolate Ancient Realm, Tuxiong Star, Three World Mountain.

Three figures appeared in this realm out of thin air. They surveyed their surroundings, a faint trace of contempt flashing in their eyes.

"The immortal essence of this region has long been exhausted."

"For the descendant of the Immortal Hong lineage to be forced to live in a place like this... they're rather pitiful."

"No need to pity them. The treasure Young Master gave us has already detected the aura of Immortal Hong descendants. That means the three of us have found the right place. This is an enormous achievement."

"How do we force them out now?"

"There doesn't seem to be any strong figures in this place. His descendant's cultivation isn't particularly high either. Let's just slaughter everyone on the planet. Once we kill enough people, that person will appear. If we can catch him and wait here until Young Master descends, the three of us will have truly distinguished ourselves."

The three looked at each other and smiled.

One of them slowly raised his palm. A terrifying and vast amount of immortal essence began continuously gathering within it.

Unbeknownst to them, a black coffin housing a graceful figure was resting beneath their feet.

As though sensing the disturbance above, the figure's eyelids twitched slightly. Then, they slowly opened.