Chapter 491: Apologies, You Didn't Seize the Opportunity

Fang Chen said lightly, "Bring your friends over here."

Chen Sheng was surprised. Was he asking him to betray the Spirit Blood Sect?

Chen Sheng forced a smile. "Sir, sect members don't have any means of contacting each other. Any tasks we have are ordered from above...."

Fang Chen frowned. "This is your only chance to survive, so cherish it."

"If I betray the Spirit Blood Sect... I won't survive either way," Chen Sheng pondered aloud.

"You have to seize opportunities for yourself. The cultivation world is vast. If you hide well, how can the Spirit Blood Sect find you?" Fang Chen said. "You have ten breaths to consider."

Suddenly, the female cultivator beside Chen Sheng spoke up. "Young Master, you can't fall for his trick! If you betray the sect, the Azure Dragon Battle General won't spare you. No matter where you hide, you'll be found and killed!"

Chen Sheng nodded lightly "I know...."

After he spoke, he punched the female cultivator right through her chest.

The female cultivator's face was full of shock, her eyes slowly dimming. "Young Master, you..."

"To be honest," Chen Sheng withdrew his fist, wiping it lightly as he looked at Fang Chen, "I was coerced to join them. I’m different from those Spirit Blood Sect cultivators. I don't believe a word of their lofty ideals they talk about."

Pausing for a moment, Chen Sheng looked at the two female cultivator corpses. "My superior arranged for these two women to be by my side. Despite their obedience on the surface, if anything happened, they would inform my superiors immediately."

Old Wang and the others were too frightened to lift their heads, trembling with their heads bowed. Chen Sheng had already dealt with two trusted aides, and the others were afraid they might meet the same fate and be silenced.

"Young Master, in fact, my superior took most of the low-grade spirit stones I earned over the years. As far as I know, he controls about six or seven Golden Core Realm cultivators," Chen Sheng said. "If I can lead my superior and those cultivators here, will that be enough to exchange for my life?"

"How long will they take to arrive?" Fang Chen said lightly.

Chen Sheng thought for a bit before replying, "At least a year or so."

"A year or so?" Fang Chen frowned slightly. He didn't have time to waste on this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "What are their names, where do they live and what is their cultivation level? Tell me everything."

"If I do this, will you really let me go?" Chen Sheng asked.

Fang Chen nodded lightly. "There will be a chance for you to live. If you don't try, how will you know?"

15 minutes later, Fang Chen learned seven pieces of intel from Chen Sheng and directly passed this intel to the Spiritual Killing Division and specifically mentioned that they should verify it themselves so that if there were a trap or two among them, they would be able to handle those situations.

After doing all that, Fang Chen looked at Chen Sheng and said, "I'm sorry, you didn't seize the opportunity."

"You..."

Chen Sheng was about to retaliate but was swiftly struck down by a flash of sword light, ending his life.

After a dozen breaths, Fang Chen adjusted his clothes and left the tea room. After wandering for another hour, Fang Chen returned to the ship. Even though the port was bustling with all kinds of cultivators from various places, there were peak-grade, yellow-rank treasures for sale today.

About half a day later, the ship prepared to set sail, and someone noticed that Chen Sheng hadn't boarded yet and informed a cultivator named Zhou about the news.

"Chen Sheng forgot the departure time? I have to personally make a move now!"

The cultivator surnamed Zhou, accompanied by a group of maintenance crew from the ship, arrived at the tea house and entered the room confidently.

As soon as they opened the door, a strong smell of blood wafted out. When they saw the scene before them, they were all stunned. On the table were heads soaked in blood that were arranged like a pyramid, with Chen Sheng's head at the top.

That cultivator surnamed Zhou took a sharp breath and took a few steps back in shock before looking instinctively at the people around him. "Is that Chen Sheng!?"

"I-It does seem to be him..."

The group of cultivators looked shocked.

How did Chen Sheng get killed without being able to send out the slightest warning?!

Without saying another word, the cultivator surnamed Zhou took out a Transmission Talisman and lit it. After a dozen or so breaths, a middle-aged man in a green robe slowly walked into the tea room. When he saw Chen Sheng's remains, his expressionless face betrayed a hint of emotion.

The cultivator surnamed Zhou hurriedly asked, "Uncle, will Chen Sheng's death affect us?"

The middle-aged man in the green robe pondered for a moment and answered, "He was killed by his enemies. What does that have to do with us? Let's not worry about this matter and leave."

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The group dared not say more and left with the middle-aged man in the green robe.

After the ship left the port, the teahouse owner started to feel that something was off. He led some people to the front of the teahouse and respectfully said, "Senior Chen, it seems like your ship has already departed."

There was no response from inside. After waiting for a while and not getting a reply, the teahouse owner mustered up the courage to push the door open. Inside, he saw dozens of lifeless eyes staring blankly at him and his scalp tinged and he took a deep breath.

Chen Sheng was quite famous and anyone who knew his background wouldn't dare offend him easily. Over time, he had gained a certain reputation. But now, that highly esteemed Golden Core Realm cultivator had died without a sound. If news of that got out, it would definitely cause a stir among the cultivators on this route.

***

During the following period, Fang Chen lived a very quiet life. He didn't leave his room for a year and a half. In that time, he depleted all his talisman spiritual materials, and he had amassed more than three hundred True Fire Talismans in his storage ring.

He had gained a lot after killing Chen Sheng. Chen Sheng and his followers had around forty thousand low-grade spirit stones altogether. Adding on his original stash of fifty-eight thousand, it was nearly a hundred thousand.

Once he sold the batch of True Fire Talisman, he would gain another hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones.

He had already gathered the amount of spirit stones needed for Little Sword to advance to the fourth rank. Once he reached Taichu, he would be able to buy peak-grade, yellow-rank treasures at that third-tier empire for Little Sword to advance.

Having a third-rank Sword Body allowed him to deal with Golden Core Realm cultivators easily with his Foundation Building Realm cultivation. If he advanced to the fourth rank of the Sword Body, there would be no need to flee when he encountered Nascent Soul Realm experts.

During that time, Fang Chen would contact Fairy Yu every two or three days using Starlight Transmission Talisman, but he never received a reply. It was a sure fact that Fairy Yu had encountered trouble. Now, he could only wait until he reached the Central Continent and went to the Void Immortal Sword Sect to find out what happened.

Fang Chen suddenly frowned. "What's all the noise outside?"

"It's the New Year," Mirror of the Universe explained.

New Year?

Fang Chen was slightly surprised.

Another year had passed so quickly?

He realized that he had been in this world for thirty-eight years now.

For the first twenty-three years, he served in the Grand Xia military, moving between empires like Qingsong and Longdu during the New Year. Even if he didn't have family around, he had brothers and comrades.

In the next dozens of years, he spent twenty as a wandering soul, and two years on this ship.

Fang Chen chuckled at himself. "I’m approaching forty soon. In my previous life, with some effort, I might have had grandchildren by now."

For a Foundation Building Realm cultivator, being in their thirties or forties was like being in the early twenties for mortals. Time hadn’t left any trace on Fang Chen's face.

Opening his chamber's door, he saw red lanterns being hung everywhere on the ship as snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Laughter and joy filled the air.

Fang Chen stepped on the dense, pure white snow and headed toward the direction of the Dragon Soaring Pavilion.