Chapter 925: Coming and Going in a Hurry

An hour later, the bustling Purple Pole Dao Academy calmed down.

The cultivators present departed one after the other, not daring to linger for too long.

Immortal Void Rush led a group to clean up the battlefield, while Dongfang Haojie and the others approached Fang Chen to catch up. Although the cultivators of the Purple Pole Dao Academy were uneasy, they also let out a sigh of relief. For half a year, the Zhongtian Dao Sect had been suffocating them at every corner.

Now, the Purple Pole Dao Academy's disciples had settled down. The ones who were nervous now were the Zhongtian Dao Sect and Profound Yellow Palace disciples. They occasionally stole glances at Fang Chen.

Soon, Immortal Void Rush walked over.

Dongfang Haojie and the others hurriedly bowed while Immortal Void Rush cupped her hands in greeting. "Daoist Fang, may I have a word with you?" Fang Chen nodded lightly.

Just then, Fang Chen happened to notice the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the Profound Yellow Palace approaching to strike up a conversation. Fang Chen ordered him, "You, with your disciples, kneel here with the Zhongtian Dao Sect's cultivators. Do not leave without permission."

"..."

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the Profound Yellow Palace was stunned for a moment before silently returning to the group and kneeling down.

Seeing this, the cultivators of Profound Yellow Palace dared not refute. Their ancestor's attitude was clear. One by one, they knelt down.

Fang Chen handed Little Sword to Victorious Buddha and smiled. "Whoever dares to make a move, just cut them down."

Victorious Buddha nodded immediately. "Yes, Master."

***

At the Purple Pole Dao Academy.

Immortal Void Rush dismissed the others, leaving only Fang Chen. Her expression was serious as she said, "There are Spirit Blood Sect's cultivators stirring up trouble. Many third-tier empires and their subordinates—fourth-tier, fifth-tier, and even sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-tier empires—are involved. Cultivators from the Killing Spiritual Division have estimated that, each day, over two billion lives will be lost due to the conflict. If this battle lasts another month, the death toll will be unimaginable."

More than 2 billion lives per day?

Fang Chen calculated. If dozens of third-tier empires started fighting, this number could very well be achieved. This was no exaggeration; third-tier empires had countless empires beneath them. If the Li Xiao Empire were to join the fray, this number would multiply several times.

Fang Chen said in a deep voice, "I learned from Lin Hao of the Spirit Void Dao Sect that the ruler of the Handan Empire is a Spirit Blood Sect member. Now, over a hundred cultivators from the Killing Spiritual Division have been captured, and they plan to lay a trap to lure more of our cultivators." "The Handan Empire...." Immortal Void Rush's expression turned grave. "This news has already spread. The division is concerned that this might be a trap, so they don't plan to send anyone for rescue. Instead, they're sending more personnel to key locations, hoping to quell the conflict."

"Key locations?"

Fang Chen furrowed his brow. "Aren't there any extra hands for the Handan Empire? Even if it's a trap, we should at least try. Having two or three cultivators at the Dao Union Realm should be sufficient."

A bitter smile appeared on Immortal Void Rush's face. "We're really short on manpower right now. The Spirit Blood Sect has pulled many Killing Spiritual Divison members into their ranks, diverting them. They've accepted their teachings, believing that the lives of mortals don't matter.

"The true path of humanity is to trade their lives for a chance at immortality. In this case, even if cultivators from the Dao Union Realm were sent to rescue them, it's easy for the news to leak. Nine out of ten will be doomed in the Handan Empire. We should be ready to give up on these colleagues..."

After a pause, Immortal Void Rush suddenly looked at Fang Chen with curiosity, her gaze lingering on him. "Daoist Fang, how has your cultivation progressed so rapidly in just a few decades?"

Fang Chen replied, "By chance and fate."

Immortal Void Rush sighed slightly. "The path of cultivation indeed relies more on opportunity than talent or hard work."

Fang Chen nodded gently, agreeing with the sentiment. From the very beginning, he never believed that his progress was due to his talent alone. It was more about opportunity—and perhaps a bit of luck.

When it came to diligence, he was nowhere near as hardworking as those cultivators who spent decades or even centuries in seclusion. As for talent, weren't the Immortal Seedlings from the Central Continent Empire all at least as strong as him, if not stronger, in this regard?

However, he had to admit that opportunity itself was a form of strength.

Fang Chen murmured inwardly, "Birthright also plays a part. With my old man's unique status, my background... already surpasses countless others..." After a moment of thought, he asked, "Immortal Void Rush, the Li Xiao Empire is likely behind this incident. That ancestor of the Li Xiao Empire intends to ascend to Immortal King in one fell swoop. Do we have any countermeasures? Has the division head decided to intervene?"

"The Division Head...." Immortal Void Rush's expression grew more solemn. "He hasn't given an order in quite some time. We suspect he may be dealing with some trouble and can't extricate himself. Since this is centered around the Li Xiao Empire, I believe our sect will have some experts intervene, but as for the outcome, I can't predict it."

She sighed lightly. "With my strength, it's already quite difficult to hold down the fort here. If reinforcements are insufficient later on, I may have to comply with a reassignment."

Although the Killing Spiritual Division didn't have a hierarchical structure to prevent infiltration by spies who might rise to high positions, there would still be coordination if a major incident arose.

Once a cultivator joined the Killing Spiritual Division, they would generally not go against a reasonable reassignment.

Fang Chen nodded. "I understand."

In that case, it might be better to deal with the Li Xiao Empire issue before heading to the Sword Burial Heavenly Steps. With the coordination of the Killing Spiritual Division and Qin Hucheng's faction, the obstacles they would face should not be too formidable.

Immortal Void Rush asked, "What are your plans?"

Fang Chen replied, "Ultimately, this matter started because of the ancestor of the Li Xiao Empire. Do you think that Killing Spiritual Division will be able to suppress this matter if the ancestor of the Li Xiao Empire were to be killed?" Immortal Void Rush was stunned. "Kill the ancestor of the Li Xiao Empire?"

She said, "Logically speaking, this is indeed the best solution, but that is a Profound Immortal. Even if an Immortal King acts, it would still be difficult to kill him unless he is caught off guard. If it takes too long, his goal would already be achieved, and the situation would be irreversible."

"You should take the disciples of the Purple Pole Dao Academy and lay low for now. After the matter is over, come back." Fang Chen stood up and smiled. "I will take my leave now."

"You're leaving already?" Immortal Void Rush froze for a moment and instinctively asked, "Aren't you going to chat with Fang Jue and the others?"

Fang Chen smiled. "There will be plenty of time in the future. There is no rush. Remember to remind them to cultivate well and not wait for the next time they meet me. I am still young, but they already have grey hair."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the main hall, boarding an Immortal Boat with Victorious Buddha and the others. The group of cultivators kneeling at the mountain gate saw the Immortal Boat depart, and all showed expressions of surprise.

"Seriously?! Brother Fang Chen is leaving just like this?! Who will clean up this mess now?" Dongfang Haojie and the others looked at each other when they saw that Fang Chen had already left.

At this moment, several sword lights fell from the sky. In an instant, the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator of the Zhongtian Dao Sect and Mu Zhaohe from the Profound Yellow Palace were all killed by the sword.

Yun Tiancheng shuddered, thinking that he would die as well. But when he noticed that no sword light had targeted him, he immediately relaxed. He believed that someone would come to rescue him soon.

Li Badao, leading a large group of wandering souls, captured a few newly-made wandering souls. The wandering souls were confused as they did not know how they had died.

The Enlightenment Realm wandering soul from the Zhongtian Dao Sect showed a hint of anger in his eyes. "They are not from the Spirit Blood Sect, why..."

"The lord advocated for erring on the side of caution. Even if they are not Spirit Blood Sect cultivators, they will simply live in the Underworld from now on."

Li Badao glanced at him with a gloating expression. "You should think about your own situation instead of theirs."