Chapter 261: Fang Xiaotu

It had been several months since Fang Chen last saw Xia Xuanji. Although Xia Xuanji's demeanor and appearance had changed significantly, Fang Chen could still recognize him with a glance.

Xia Xuanji was chatting leisurely with the Grand Eder, while the Second and Third Elders accompanied them. The rest of the Spirit Void Sect disciples stood around.

"He’s at the Foundation Building Realm....” Fang Chen stared at Xia Xuanji. “Could it be... that the danger I sensed in the imperial palace back then didn't come from the spiritual marrow, but from him?"

The fact that the former Grand Xia Emperor was at the Foundation Building Realm was truly unexpected—shocking, even. If Fang Chen remembered correctly, Xia Xuanji was only forty-four.

Cultivating wasn’t easy. Without a complete inheritance to rely on, and many resources, an ordinary cultivator would be considered exceptional if they reached the Foundation Building Realm around the age of a hundred. The three Elders of the Spirit Void Sect, for example, weren’t young at all, yet they still hadn't reached the Foundation Building Realm. But there was one key factor to that: the Foundation Building Pill.

There were many signs that Xia Xuanji might have started cultivating the Dao at a very young age. The cultivator who had taught him probably wasn’t weak at all. They might’ve even been able to easily find him a Foundation Building Pill, helping him ascend to the ranks of Foundation Building cultivators.

"The Spirit Blood Sect, the Spirit Blood Sect...” muttered Fang Chen. “It wasn’t that Xia Xuanji had been led to the dark side by the Spirit Blood Sect.” His eyes turned frosty. “He’s always been one of them.”

The former Grand Xia Emperor had built his ladder to heaven with the blood of mortals. He was walking down a path soaked in blood.

The Spirit Void Sect had to be related to the Spirit Blood Sect in some way; otherwise, Xia Xuanji wouldn't have appeared here for no reason.

He has been to the Clear Sky Monastery and has connections with the Spirit Void Sect. Could it be that Xia Xuanji is looking for potential partners for the Spirit Blood Sect? They might be trying to entice these cultivators to join the Spirit Blood Sect in order to use the blood of more mortals to refine secret medicines, like the Blood Spirit Pill.

It all suddenly began to fall into place. He could be sure that there were many people like Xia Xuanji within the Spirit Blood Sect. That way, they would be able to convince external factions to help them reach their goals while keeping the true core members of the Spirit Blood Sect hidden in the shadows.

"Brother Xia, we'll be relying on you tomorrow," said the Grand Elder.

Xia Xuanji nodded. "You can rest assured."

Glancing at the Grand Xia Emperor, Fang Chen’s divine soul transformed into an invisible storm that left the courtyard, searching the entire city.

Since Xia Xuanji was here, then there was a big chance that his aunt, Fang Cangyue, was also in the city.

Several hours later, Fang Chen's divine soul returned to his body, and he slowly opened his eyes, which were full of exhaustion by now.

Fang Cangyue wasn’t here.

"For me to encounter Xia Xuanji here is a rare stroke of luck. If I alert him and cause him to escape, I don't know when I'll find him again." With this thought in mind, Fang Chen got up and exited the chamber. He found several artifacts from the ones lying around and melted them down using a Fireball and made a mask.

***

Early the next morning, countless cultivators began to scale Mount Spirit Void. There were representatives from the Citylord's Mansion, the three major cultivation families, and even the Elders of the Spirit Void Sect.

When they saw the powerful lineup, the confidence of the wandering cultivators who intended to bid for the Spirit Void Sect's site diminished.

Among the disciples of the Ye Family, Ye Wenxiu noticed Zihan's hesitant steps as she followed behind the Passing Dragon Island Master. He felt uneasy in his heart. Occasionally, their eyes met, but Zihan always hastily avoided his gaze.

"Zihan must have been threatened!" Ye Wenxiu felt his heart ache, and his fists clenched tightly, his nails digging deeply into his hands. The girl he had always admired, his childhood sweetheart, had become the Dao companion of an old man of who knows how many years! Ye Wenxiu felt as if a knife were cutting through his heart. It hurt so much, so much!

Among the people scaling the mountain, the disciples of the Qingzhou Sword Sect were the most prominent, overshadowing even the procession of the Citylord Mansion. The patriarchs of the three cultivation families followed behind Long Tianxing, their attitudes deferential.

Suddenly, Long Tianxing slowed his pace. After a dozen breaths, his group began to walk parallel to the procession from the City Lord's Mansion.

"Long time no see, Sect Master Long," greeted the Spirit Void Citylord with a smile.

"Spirit Void Citylord, do you know about the deep enmity between that sword cultivator and my Qingzhou Sword Sect?" asked Long Tianxing lightly, his gaze sweeping over the Passing Dragon Island Master. He was suspicious of this old man; however, he did not recognize Passing Dragon Island Master, so he assumed he was an ordinary Foundation Building Realm cultivator.

The Spirit Void City Lord nodded. "I have heard about it."

Long Tianxing's gaze turned chilly. "Then why are you still helping him spread the news about the auction?"

"He is a sword cultivator after all, and besides, I have no personal grudge against him. The enmity between you two is none of my concern," replied the Spirit Void City Lord calmly.

Long Tianxing’s features eased. "Alright then." The Spirit Void City Lord had already made it clear that he would not intervene, so Long Tianxing's last trace of concern dissipated.

The disciples of the Spirit Void Sect happened to be behind these two groups. Seeing Long Tianxing conversing with the Spirit Void City Lord, the Grand Elder couldn't help but glance at Xia Xuanji.

"If someone else can solve the trouble for your Spirit Void Sect, that would naturally be for the best. If they can't, I will take action," said Xia Xuanji with a faint smile.

Gritting his teeth, the Grand Elder whispered, "If the hands of others fail to restore my sect’s dignity, I hope you will, Brother Xia.."

Xia Xuanji nodded. "You can rest assured. I will stand up for your Spirit Void Sect if need be."

The Grand Elder immediately felt relieved.

Soon, everyone arrived at the entrance of the Spirit Void Sect. They saw a figure standing at the gate, wearing a mask.

"This guy seems scared," commented a disciple of the Spirit Void Sect with a hint of schadenfreude. They found it amusing that someone who had been so arrogant before was now wearing a mask, clearly afraid.

"Are you the one... the sword cultivator who took over the Spirit Void Sect? How should we address you?" asked the Spirit Void Citylord loudly.

The crowd was sizing up Fang Chen, especially the patriarchs of the three cultivation families. They learned from Long Tianxing that Fang Chen had slain Yao Dan, the Grand Elder of the Qingzhou Sword Sect, a fact that truly startled them. A cultivator at the Foundational Building Realm had fallen just like that? Wouldn’t that make cultivators at the 12th stage of the Qi Refining Realm no different from ants to him?

"Brother Xia, that’s him,” whispered the Grand Elder. “But he's wearing a mask today, probably because he's afraid of being recognized.”

Glancing at Fang Chen, Xia Xuanji nodded faintly. "It doesn't matter. Whether he wears a mask or not makes no difference. It doesn’t affect the outcome."

Seeing his confidence, the Grand Elder and the others felt more assured.

"So the rumors were true; he really is a sword cultivator...."

"No wonder he effortlessly brought down the Spirit Void Sect. Either the sect master is dead, or she has fled with severe injuries...."

"I heard that the Spirit Void Sect has half an acre of spiritual land and a spiritual spring. I reckon that the bidding will wrap up to be about two thousand low-grade spirit stones at the end. I wonder if we'll have a chance to buy it."

The cultivators whispered among themselves.

Under their scrutiny, Fang Chen looked at the Spirit Void Citylord calmly. "I am Fang Xiaotu. Greetings, Spirit Void Citylord."