Immortal of the Nine Realms

In a peaceful little mountain village, a bustling crowd had gathered.

Every household had brought their children who were under ten years old to the village's field at the entrance. They all wore excited smiles as they looked at the white-haired village elder at the front.

"Everyone," the village elder cleared his throat, "today is a great day for the Qinghua Gate to accept disciples. A few days ago, I received a message saying that an immortal master from Qinghua Gate would be visiting today. You must take care of your little ones and not let them rush toward the immortal master."

One of the people in the crowd chuckled. "Village elder, don't worry. These little ones are very well-behaved. They wouldn’t dare to rush towards the immortal master?"

The village elder nodded with a smile, his eyes showing a hint of anticipation. "The Niuxin Village has been around for over a hundred years, and no one has ever joined the Qinghua Gate. You must work hard this time. The neighboring Niufei Village had someone chosen by an immortal master thirty years ago, and they've been living a happy life for decades."

The faces of the people around turned envious at the mention of the Niufei Village.

At that moment, a middle-aged man whose eyes were filled with anger swung his shoe sole crazily at a boy of around six and shouted, "You little brat, why are you here today to join in the fun? Hurry back to wash the cowshed!"

The boy was slender, and his skin was tanned. He kept evading the shoe swung his way, but he didn't leave, unwilling to do so. His eyes were filled with a hint of determination. He knew that his chance had come. He had to see the immortal master, and he couldn't afford to miss his arrival.

The crowd appeared to take joy in the boy's misfortune, and the children chimed in, sneering, "Little Cow Dung, You're stinky all over. No dad, no mom. Nobody cares for you."

The teasing from the kids made the adults burst out laughing.

Just then, several figures suddenly appeared in the sky and landed in front of everyone.

"Demons?!"

Everyone was terrified, and they all froze in fear as they stared blankly at the figures before them.

A green snake, a tiger, and a monkey, all of whom were much larger than ordinary beasts!

Fortunately, the village elder wasn't clueless about the world, and he saw that the young man in their midst seemed like an immortal, so he quickly bowed and greeted him. "This old man here greets you, Immortal!"

"An immortal?!"

Everyone was stunned. Since when did the Qinghua Gate's immortals have three demons accompanying them?

At that moment, a figure rushed to stand before Fang Chen. He fell to his knees and began to kowtow. He kept hitting his forehead against the hard bluestone ground of the sun-drying field till it became stained with blood.

The slender figure belonged to none other than Little Cow Dung, who had just been beaten by the middle-aged man and mocked by his peers.

Fang Chen gently raised his hand, lifting the child with a gentle surge of spiritual energy, preventing him from continuing to kowtow.

Puzzled, Fang Chen turned to the village elder and asked, "Old man, what's going on?"

The village elder was embarrassed, unsure of how to answer. In the end, he could only shout at the middle-aged man, "Why haven't you brought this kid back yet?!"

"Yes, yes," replied the middle-aged man.

He stepped forward to take the child away, but he found himself blocked by an invisible force, as if there was an invisible wall in front of him.

The middle-aged man was shocked. Was that the power of an immortal master?

"Elder, may I ask what you are doing here?" Fang Chen asked with a smile.

The village elder quickly replied, "A master from the Qinghua Gate will be coming to recruit disciples from the village today. We are waiting here for him."

"Qinghua Gate?"

"Yes, every ten years, a master from Qinghua Gate comes to the Niuxin Village to recruit disciples, and masters from other places also visit."

Fang Chen was slightly surprised. It seemed that the relationship between the immortal sects and ordinary people in the Azure Cloud Empire was closer than those in the fifth or sixth-tier empires. The fact that there was a set schedule for people to descend the mountain to recruit disciples indicated that these sects had abundant resources.

The village elder asked cautiously, "Are you the master from Qinghua Gate?"

"Me? No." Fang Chen shook his head with a smile. "Elder, this is Yun Cang's territory, right?"

The village elder looked a bit confused. "Yun Cang?"

"He's not from the Qinghua Gate?"

The people in the crowd were surprised. Could it be that there were other places with immortal masters other than Qinghua Gate?

The slender child was bewildered, and he stood in place, rooted.

Just then, several cranes hovered in the sky and slowly landed in front of everyone. As soon as they landed, the crane in the lead directed a hostile gaze toward Tiger Mountain Lord and the other demons.

There was a middle-aged man with a dark face seated on the back of the crane. Behind him, several other cranes carried young men and women who appeared to be in their twenties or thirties.

The village elder and the others quickly knelt down and paid their respects.

"We pay our respects to the immortal masters!"

There were a number of children who didn't know what was happening and didn't follow the others' lead to kowtow in respect. Their parents quickly pressed them to the ground so they could pay their respects too.

The middle-aged man with a dark face nodded slightly, his gaze indifferent yet carrying a hint of arrogance. He looked at Fang Chen and said calmly, "Fellow Cultivator, may I know which sect you belong to and if you are aware that this is the territory of Qinghua Gate?"

"I am just passing through and asking for directions," Fang Chen replied with a smile.

Asking for directions?

The middle-aged man's expression eased up a little. He glanced at Tiger Mountain Lord and the other demons and realized that they were only at the Qi Refining Realm, so he didn't pay much attention to them. He turned to Fang Chen and asked, "Where are you coming from, and where are you headed? The villagers here know little and have never ventured beyond fifty miles. Asking them for directions would be useless."

"May I ask, is this Yun Cang's territory?" Fang Chen inquired.

"Yes, this is Yun Cang's territory. So, Fellow Cultivator, you are not from Yun Cang?" The middle-aged man's eyes flickered slightly. "May I ask where you are heading and what brings you to Yun Cang?"

"I plan to visit Jade Void Mountain," Fang Chen said with a smile.

Jade Void Mountain!

The middle-aged man was shocked, and his arrogance faded, replaced by surprise and doubt. "Are you a disciple of Jade Void Mountain?"

Purple Pole Dao Academy, Jade Void Mountain, and Chenxiang Temple. These were the top three sects in the Azure Cloud Empire. If placed against these three major sects, the Qinghua Gate would be like a grain of rice facing the brilliance of the full moon.

"I have only had a chance encounter with Master White Tiger. I am going there to pay him a visit," said Fang Chen.

"Oh, my, how should I address you? I am Liu Buyun, a steward of Qinghua Gate," Liu Buyun said, stepping forward with a warm smile. It was a stark contrast to his earlier cold and arrogant demeanor.

"I am Fang Wanli, a wandering cultivator. Greetings, Fellow Cultivator Liu," Fang Chen replied politely.

Liu Buyun and Fang Chen exchanged pleasantries warmly until a disciple reminded Liu Buyun that their time was limited, which made Liu Buyun recall his main purpose in coming here.

"Fellow Cultivator Fang, please wait for a moment. After today's affairs are settled, may I invite you to visit Qinghua Gate as my guest?" Liu Buyun asked.

Seeing that Liu Buyun was at the Foundation Building Realm and had personally come out to recruit disciples, Fang Chen realized that Qinghua Gate's background was not weak. They should be aware of the location of the nearby Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and the precise direction to Jade Void Mountain, so spending one or two hours on the way should not be a problem.

Thinking about it, Fang Chen smiled and nodded. "Then I will trouble Fellow Cultivator Liu."

Upon seeing this, Liu Buyun immediately took out a Spiritual Measuring Bell and said to the old village chief and the others, "You know the rules. Step up for the assessment. Niuxin Village is our last stop today. I hope you can produce one or two good seedlings this time."

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