Chapter 980: Inquiring About News

Fang Chen had been standing among this group of young people for a while and had obtained a basic understanding of their identities.

Long Xuan was the daughter of Li Changsheng, and the young men and women around her were not direct descendants of the Long family. Some came from prestigious families, while others hailed from renowned sects. However, compared to the Long family, they were evidently much weaker.

The fact that they could join Long Xuan here for a scenic tour was likely related to her status within the Long family. From their conversations, it was clear that Li Changsheng's family wasn't highly regarded within the Long family.

However... Li Changsheng's wife seemed to trust him deeply and was willing to make further wagers with the second branch of the family, which held opposing views, based on the original bet between the Long and Sun families. The price for this wager was the nine cities.

The "cities" they mentioned could collect spirit stones as taxes. They could even collect an Immortal Crystal every ten or eight years if they had an exceptional year. From this alone, it was clear that the value of these nine cities far exceeded what ordinary people might imagine.

Even Elder Xun, the former Emperor of the Central Continent Empire and the Headmaster of the Desolate Academy, was utterly overjoyed at the sight of an Immortal Crystal.

For the Long family's Loose Immortals, it was likely that they could use Immortal Crystals regularly to enhance their cultivation. By comparison, places like the Central Continent, Celestial Heaven, and Northern Dipper were truly worlds apart from the Prison Wind Land.

In fact, the three places combined would still be far behind, probably comparable only to a mid-tier sect in this area. And even that would be weaker than the prestigious families backing the young disciples around Long Xuan.

Chen Zuozu expressed his concerns. "Long Xuan, I heard that the place your father comes from is extremely barren. Not to mention Immortal Crystals, they might not even find a single peak-grade spirit stone there. Can a sword cultivator from such a place really do well on the Sword Burial Heavenly Step?"

The Chen family had a very close relationship with the Long family's main branch. When the main branch thrived, so did the Chen family. But in recent years, the main branch had started showing signs of decline, becoming far weaker than the Long family's second and third branches.

Even the fourth branch, which was considered a side branch, had a deeper foundation than the main branch. If the main branch lost the nine cities this time, they would be put in a dire situation.

Seeing everyone look at her, Long Xuan thought for a moment.

In the end, she uncertainly replied, "My father said that... the sword cultivators from that place cultivate their mind and body, having already developed an invincible mindset. Perhaps their swordsmanship isn't as deep as those from the Prison Wind, but if they go to the Sword Burial Ladder, they might display strength far beyond the sword cultivators here."

The young people around still looked skeptical.

Upon hearing Long Xuan's words, a sword cultivator in his forties not far away couldn't help but sneer.

As someone who had been practicing sword technique in the Long family since childhood, he had encountered many sword cultivators from various backgrounds. Those from wild, barren places were far inferior to them.

However, these wild sword cultivators were still stronger than those from lesser places. They had fought countless battles from a young age and had extensive experience in combat. From what he knew, even Li Changsheng had suffered several defeats after venturing into the Prison Wind Land.

If it hadn't been for marrying into the Long family, he wouldn't have even had the chance to break through and become a Loose Immortal.

A while later, Fang Chen's primordial soul returned to his body, and he quietly left. He didn't use the sword form to travel. Since there was such a strong bias against sword cultivators in this area, it was more appropriate for him to gather information under the guise of a Dao cultivator.

Several hours later, Fang Chen arrived at a grand and magnificent city. If one wanted to gather the most news in the city, the best place was undoubtedly a teahouse. He found a teahouse on a bustling street, and within half an hour, he had learned all the important news in the city.

This city also belonged to the Long family, but not the main branch—it was part of the second branch's territory. The real headquarters of the Long family was located some distance away.

The most common topic of discussion among the patrons at the teahouse was the wager between the Long family and the Sun family. Occasionally, people mentioned the matter with Sun Yi, but due to fear of the Sun family, very few people lingered on the topic for long.

From these people, Fang Chen learned that the stakes of this wager between the Long family and the Sun family were far greater than he had initially imagined. The Central Continent, Celestial Heaven, and Northern Dipper were only a small part of it, perhaps making up only one-tenth of the total stake.

Fang Chen pondered,

No wonder Li Changsheng is so focused on this matter. For a massive family like the Long family, which originates from the Prison Wind Land, if they lose this time, it would truly be a devastating blow.

A young waiter approached and asked, "Guest, would you like more tea?" Fang Chen tossed him a low-grade spirit stone and smiled, nodding in approval.

Seeing Fang Chen's generosity, the young waiter immediately became much more enthusiastic.

Just as he finished pouring Fang Chen another cup of tea and turned to leave, Fang Chen casually asked, "I've recently heard about a female demoness killing people everywhere. Have you heard anything about it?"

The waiter was momentarily stunned, and a thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes. After a brief pause, he shook his head apologetically. "Although I spend most of my time in the teahouse, I have not heard of such a thing."

Fang Chen nodded lightly and fell silent. Seeing that, the waiter bowed slightly and stepped away.

Fang Chen then took out the Starlight Transmission Talisman that Fairy Yu had given him. Over the past few years, he had occasionally sent messages through it, but they had all been met with silence. As soon as he arrived in this place through the Yellow Springs Road, he had sent a few more messages, yet there had been no response.

"The domain of the Prison Wind Land is far larger than that of the Central Continent. Although the Starlight Transmission Talisman has a vast range, if I don't know her exact location, trying to contact her with it seems rather unlikely."

For the next seven or eight days, Fang Chen visited the teahouse almost every day, becoming familiar with some of the regular customers as a result. However, after inquiring for several days, he hadn't heard any news about Fairy Yu's whereabouts.

Fang Chen could now ascertain that even if Fairy Yu was in the Prison Wind Land, she would be far away from this area.

In addition, Fairy Yu's cultivation wasn't particularly high, so news regarding her wouldn't be a hot topic anyway. Had she been a Loose Immortal, her news would have reached here long ago.

Fang Chen thought,

Huang Chan and Wang Chongsong should know where she is.

He didn't want to alarm anyone, but he was becoming increasingly concerned about Fairy Yu's situation. It was clear that Wang Chongsong was using her as an experiment.

The Era Immortal King had mentioned that this person had thirty-six bones. Huang Chan's attitude toward him was quite cautious, suggesting that Wang Chongsong was no ordinary figure. He couldn't easily be approached directly.

"As a First Rate Sect Leader, Elder Xun might know Huang Chan's background."

***

At the Desolate Academy's Hall of Ancient Records

Elder Xun looked puzzled to see Fang Chen again.

"What brings you here again?"

Fang Chen thought for a moment before saying, "I wish to ask about someone."

Elder Xun nodded lightly. "Who? Tell me. I'll see if I know them."

Fang Chen asked, "This person's name is Huang Chan. I was wondering if you've heard of him?"

"Huang Chan? Why are you asking about him?" said Elder Xun. "He is a junior brother of the Green Elephant Sect's Qing Xiang Monarch, and also the third disciple of the First Rate Sect leader of the Divine Dao Sect."

Green Elephant Sect?

Fang Chen immediately understood. He should have thought of this earlier. Huang Chan clearly came from a demonic race, and most of the Demon Immortals Kings from the Central Continent were from the Green Elephant Sect.

"I'll take my leave now," said Fang Chen.

He cupped his hands in respect and turned to leave.

Watching Fang Chen's retreating figure, Elder Xun murmured, "Could it be that Huang Chan is connected to the Spirit Blood Sect too?"