Chapter 77: The True and False Ji Feichen

Many from both the Profound and Origin Dao had entered the Immortal Estate, yet the grounds were vast, and once the crowds dispersed, encounters became rare. However, should immortals and demons cross paths, there was but one outcome: a violent clash, with no other possibility.

Zhuo Pingtian and Li Xuange hailed from the Profound Sect’s Hongyang Heaven. In his previous life, Li Xuange had served as a disciple of the Lingwei Dao, which drew the attention of Hongyang Heaven. Now, Zhuo Pingtian brought him here with hopes of claiming a share of the Immortal Estate’s spoils once it emerged.

“With the Taiyuan Palace now involved, the estate itself is beyond our reach. But we might still claim a few treasures. After all, my junior brother’s identity here is quite significant.”

Zhuo Pingtian had already achieved the immortal fruit of humanity, yet Li Xuange lingered at the threshold of the immortal gate. Still, the estate bore deep ties to him; with his presence, certain forbidden magics within could be avoided.

The two brothers became separated from their fellow disciples upon entering. As they explored the estate, a black dragon suddenly barred their way. This dragon was a demon of immortal rank, its large, coppery eyes fixed on them, its ferocious visage charging forth, engaging them in battle and snatching the divine herb from Li Xuange’s hand.

Zhuo Pingtian shielded Li Xuange, battling the demon dragon for hundreds of rounds. Eventually, the dragon assumed human form and departed. In that fleeting instant, they glimpsed his face—a man clad in dragon armor.

“After him!” The two pursued relentlessly, soon coming upon Zhang Yuanchu and Ji Feichen exploring another corner.

Red lotuses and emerald leaves filled the pond, azure clouds and purple rays illuminated the sky. The two conversed and laughed beside nine great pillars of white jade, each towering three meters high, seemingly the nexus of a special formation.

“Demon! Prepare to be vanquished!” At the sight of Ji Feichen, Zhuo Pingtian wasted no words, raising his immortal sword to strike.

Ji Feichen showed no alarm. Above his head, a lotus of watery cloud and light rose to block the sword. He wore a look of surprise. “Fellow Daoist, I have no grudge against you—what is the meaning of this?”

Zhang Yuanchu’s expression soured. “You two hail from Hongyang Heaven of Huangyang Mountain, do you not? With demon sects rampant in the estate, you disregard our kinship and attack a fellow disciple of the Profound Sect?”

He subtly gripped his treasured umbrella, standing beside Ji Feichen. The umbrella unfurled, enveloping them in the radiance of Dao and Virtue.

Ji Feichen laughed inwardly, but wore a puzzled expression. “Hmph! Cease your act—you were the one who ambushed us moments before!” Li Xuange stepped forward, recounting the recent events.

After hearing this, Ji Feichen could not help but laugh. “My senior brother Zhang and I have been studying the Water Forbidden Arts nearby. We have not left this place.”

The nine white jade pillars around them formed a water nexus, guarding a central jade lotus and golden root. This lotus could forge flesh, embodying the marvel of transformation. By crafting a lotus-root man and infusing a soul, one could become flesh and blood anew.

“Indeed, Junior Brother Qinghong has been with me the entire time. We never met you.” Zhang Yuanchu was an honest man. He and Ji Feichen had been studying immortal arts together without leaving the site.

Zhuo Pingtian and Li Xuange exchanged hesitant glances. “People of the Virtue Sect—should be trustworthy?”

Seeing their lingering doubt, Ji Feichen swore an oath to Heaven. “If I left the lotus pond to ambush you two, let lightning strike me dead, never to be reborn!”

He finished, face cold. “Is that enough for you?”

Zhuo Pingtian offered a look of apology, about to speak, when a wisp of demonic energy arose in the distance. Several Water God Thunders struck at the four.

“Watch out!” Ji Feichen’s expression changed, shielding the weakest, Li Xuange. He blocked the thunder with his arm, suffering injury.

“Ah—” Ji Feichen clutched his arm, staggering and falling to the ground.

“Junior brother!” Zhang Yuanchu and the others abandoned pursuit, rushing to treat him.

“We of Hongyang Heaven have special spiritual medicines—let us help.” Zhuo Pingtian produced immortal herbs for Ji Feichen, secretly seizing his wrist to check the pulse.

Ji Feichen remained calm, unconcerned that his vital gate might be exposed, his manner sincere and free of any sinister aura. “Please, fellow Daoist, proceed.”

Zhang Yuanchu, honest by nature, nonetheless suspected Zhuo Pingtian’s motives, sensing he was probing Ji Feichen. “So be it. The upright need not fear shadows. Junior brother has been with me all along—there’s nothing to worry about.”

As Zhuo Pingtian applied the medicine, he covertly used his power to examine Ji Feichen.

“If he’s a demon in disguise, my Clear Spirit Immortal Qi will surely elicit a reaction,” Zhuo Pingtian thought, applying the medicine slowly, letting the Clear Spirit flow through Ji Feichen’s body.

Ji Feichen sensed this, sneering inwardly. “We cultivators are adept at manipulating vital energy. If you could easily uncover me, why would I risk blending immortals and demons?”

His vital energy surged like a tide, devouring all Clear Spirit that entered. Soon, Zhuo Pingtian decisively withdrew his power. Finding no demon aura, he refused to bestow further power upon Ji Feichen.

Zhuo Pingtian finished the treatment, lowering his guard and apologizing. “The misunderstanding was ours. May I ask the names of our two senior brothers?”

Zhang Yuanchu’s face remained wooden. “Zhang Yuanchu of the Virtue Sect. This is Junior Brother Qinghong, the rogue immortal Qinghong—you may have heard the name.”

Upon hearing it, Zhuo Pingtian’s demeanor grew solemn, once more thanking Ji Feichen for saving them.

Ji Feichen was puzzled. “Am I so famous among the Profound Sect?”

“Junior brother has matched the heirs of the Sacred Land—his renown has spread. Some even rank our generation’s top ten experts, and you are among them.”

“Oh?” Ji Feichen’s curiosity was piqued, Li Xuange eagerly stepped forward to converse. He was young, at the age of hero worship.

The so-called top ten referred to cultivators under a hundred years old.

“The current number one is Nameless of the Supreme Palace,” Li Xuange explained.

“Nameless?” Ji Feichen mused. “Supreme Nameless—surely not his true name?”

“Nameless is as elusive as a dragon, never showing his true face. All earth immortals who attempt to divine his fate find only obscurity. The name is one we gave him,” Zhang Yuanchu said with pride. “He once struck down a demon with a single sword, bringing victory to our Profound Sect in Golden Turtle City. The name of ‘chief of the Three Palaces’ is well deserved.”

Sacred Land Heir was a title reserved for the Supreme Palace. The Taiyuan and Taixiao Palaces recruited regularly, but the Supreme Palace took a single disciple every thousand years, passing the lineage alone—hence the term Sacred Land Heir. Even Profound Sect chronology was originally determined by Supreme Palace heirs—one thousand years per cycle, and now they were in the twelfth.

To compete with the Supreme Palace heirs, Blood Sea, Taiyuan, and Taixiao would each produce their finest disciple in the same era. Besides these, the Sacred Lands had other elite disciples.

Every millennium, these heirs would duel the Supreme Palace’s. If victorious, their era would be named after them. Of the twelve cycles, eight bore the names of Supreme Palace heirs.

A single heir each millennium, and the Palace’s location beyond comprehension, rendered the sect mysterious, the uncrowned king of the Profound Sect. Even the third realm of immortal cultivation was named after the Supreme Palace’s conceptual stages.

“If he’s first, are the second and third from Taixiao and Taiyuan?”

“No. Second is Song Shaoming of the Boundless Blood Sea,” Zhuo Pingtian replied. “Chief of the demon sect—able to escape the attacks of the Three Palace heirs, not to be underestimated.”

“Third is Thunder Lord Qin Wu. By reputation, he is the most renowned among our generation.”

Compared to the elusive Supreme Nameless and the hidden Blood Sea heir, Qin Wu spent his days slaying demons and monsters—his fame unmatched.

“And fourth?”

“The Demon Star, Tu Shan,” Zhang Yuanchu’s expression turned odd.

“Little brother Tu Shan?” Ji Feichen was startled. “Why him? Isn’t that the Taiyuan Palace disciple? I’ve fought him—his strength is equal to mine.”

“Tu Shan seems to have advanced thanks to a treasure,” Zhang Yuanchu said uncertainly. “My master regards his Golden List with caution—it is a major artifact of the demon race.”

Few recognized the Ten Thousand Demons Golden List—except those earth immortals who had lived thousands of years.

Tu Shan was already suspected as the demon race heir, but the List concealed his fate, so his whereabouts were unknown. Fortunately, Tu Shan’s reputation was not poor, so major sects like the Virtue Sect remained watchful, rather than hostile.

Ji Feichen pondered the Golden List, wondering how it compared to his own Nine Heavens Profound Gold Dragon God Tower.

The tower in his mind palace trembled lightly, sensing his thought, emitting brilliant golden light.

“My Ninefold Heaven Tower, harmonizing with the Ninefold Skies, is a treasure of the Dao. Once perfected, it should be unmatched.”

Ji Feichen held confidence in his treasure—a set of nine, each a special combination artifact. Once refined, they would be unrivaled.

“Fifth is the Taiyuan Palace disciple?”

“Correct,” Zhang Yuanchu told Ji Feichen. “But I personally think he might not be your equal. When you fought from afar, my junior sister said you were not inferior.”

Dao has no absolute strength; the principle of mutual restraint matters more. Ji Feichen’s Twenty-four Jade Tide Pearls countered the paths of Du Yue and Song Shaoming, but was restrained by Qin Wu’s Divine Thunder. Each had strengths and weaknesses, and fortune, terrain, and unity all played a part.

Hence, even facing Sacred Land heirs, Ji Feichen dared not be careless.

“Seventh must be the Yinming Sect demon?”

“Indeed. Zheng Qiong, direct heir of the Yinming Sect, master of the Nether River Vital Heaven Sutra. The Nether River Dao fruit is said to rival the Blood Sea’s.”

“And the last three?”

“Ice Moon of Toad Palace, Senior Brother Jingxuan of the Supreme Clarity Sect, and the Phantom Demoness of the Heavenly Heart Demon Sect.”

Ji Feichen fell silent. His long residence among the demon sects taught him their elites were not limited to these few. The young master of the Radiant Sun Demon Sect was famous in the Southern Border. The Black Saint Sect was shrouded in mystery, its holy sons and daughters not to be underestimated. The Eastern Demon Sect, based at sea, was equally profound.

“What of the other demon sects?”

“That—I don’t know,” Zhang Yuanchu admitted with a wry smile. “Demon sects move in secret; those who've emerged are merely the most troublesome. Who knows what lurks in the shadows? By the way, my junior sister mentioned a Yinming Sect demon adept in the Weak Water Dao—his skills are impressive.”

Ji Feichen’s heart stirred, and he changed the subject.

“By the way, who was the demon you two pursued earlier? What is his name?” Ji Feichen recalled the initial encounter and asked Zhuo Pingtian and Li Xuange.

“His name is unclear, but he is said to be of the Yinming Sect. He cultivates the Profound Fiend Dragon Sutra, wields the Black Light Profound Fiend Heaven-Shaking Dragon Mace, and commands thunder arts.”

“Yinming Sect, you say?” Ji Feichen’s expression grew thoughtful.

Zhang Yuanchu saw his absent stare, unsure why. He reminded, “His strength is not high—less than yours—but his cunning is dangerous. Lest our kin suffer, we should gather with others or capture him early.”

“Agreed.” Ji Feichen gathered himself, suppressing his gloom. He thought, Even if Zhang Yuanchu lacks insight, I showed such abnormal emotion that he’ll guess I have ties to Yinming Sect. Later, I can play the victim and gain sympathy.

“We can pursue him, but first, let me take this jade lotus and golden root. If you have no need for it, may I claim it?” Ji Feichen intended to use it to restore Tianchengzi’s body—otherwise, Tianchengzi would not have lured Zhuo Pingtian and Li Xuange for him.

Arriving late, Zhuo Pingtian and Li Xuange dared not contest the treasure.

Zhang Yuanchu laughed. “Take it, by all means. Fortunately, your injury was light, otherwise we’d have to sever your arm and use the lotus root to restore it.” After some laughter, Ji Feichen stowed the golden lotus and joined the others in pursuit of the “Yinming Sect demon.”