Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 494: Demoness Yu

"These Foundation Building Realm cultivators are quite bold. They even dare to gossip about Senior Chi in private. Don't they have any sense?"

"Let's see how they handle this. If they're not careful today, they might get thrown off the ship."

People whispered among themselves.

Senior Chi was not an easy person to deal with, nor was he a benevolent one. His reputation had largely been earned through battles on this route.

Elder Xu and the others turned pale, while fear appeared on Nan Tian's face. He wanted to speak but stopped himself in the end.

The middle-aged man in the green robe smiled and asked softly, "Oh? He said dregs run amok? I wonder what you mean by that?"

Elder Xu and the others hurriedly explained that it was just a misunderstanding, but Nan Tian remained silent, refusing to speak.

"A mere Foundation Building Realm cultivator dares to gossip about a Golden Core Realm cultivator?"

One Golden Core Realm cultivator frowned and said, "Is it because we seldom act these days that you think we're useless and can talk about us so casually?"

"Indeed, some younger cultivators nowadays look down on us. They show respect on the surface but secretly slander us," said another Golden Core Realm cultivator, sighing slightly. He raised his cup and downed his drink all at once.

After a long silence, Nan Tian suddenly stood up. "One should bear the consequences of their actions. I said those words; it has nothing to do with them!"

Nan Tian was quite stout, with broad shoulders. When he stood up, he was like a towering mountain.

Elder Xu and the others were slightly startled, their eyes filled with concern. Only Elder Xu instinctively looked at Fang Chen, but seeing Fang Chen's lack of reaction, he could only smile bitterly.

No one would invite trouble upon themselves without reason. It seems that this Nan Tian fellow is in for some suffering today.

"Oh? You have some dissatisfaction with how I handle things?" The middle-aged man in the green robe smiled faintly and said, "Today happens to be a festival. Why don't you speak up and let everyone hear it? I want to see where I might have fallen short and neglected you."

"Please don't say that, Senior Chi. If you can't manage things well, who can?"

"We've traveled this route more than once or twice. Whenever Senior Chi is in charge, no matter what dangers we encounter along the way, we always come out unscathed."

"Yes, I remember twenty years ago when I traveled on this route. We accidentally encountered an evil cultivator and a ruthless killer. If it weren't for Senior Chi driving him away, we wouldn't have made it out alive."

Many cultivators began to flatter the middle-aged man in the green robe.

Hearing that, Nan Tian's face immediately showed a strong look of disdain. "You all are really good at flattering. Let me ask you, who among you hasn't been wronged by Chen Sheng?"

The crowd fell silent, their expressions turning awkward.

"It seems quite a few people have been wronged by Chen Sheng. Let me ask everyone, we paid to board this ship, so why must we endure humiliation and exploitation from others?" Nan Tian sneered. "Isn't it because someone higher up is turning a blind eye? Otherwise, with Chen Sheng's cultivation, how could he have been a tyrant on this route for over a hundred years?"

"Shut up! How dare you slander a Golden Core Realm cultivator with just your words. Are you calling cultivator Chen a tyrant?"

The cultivator surnamed Zhou suddenly threw his wine cup at Nan Tian. Nan Tian did not dodge, and the cup hit him squarely on the head, with wine trickling down his hair. Despite being a Foundation Building Realm cultivator, he was humiliated by a mere Qi Refining cultivator, but no one found it unusual. This was because the Qi Refining cultivator had the backing of a late-stage Golden Core Realm expert.

The middle-aged man in the green robe smiled faintly. "You say that cultivator Chen is a tyrant? This is the first time I've heard such a claim. Too bad he's not here; if he were, he would probably laugh out loud."

The other Golden Core Realm cultivators at the table laughed along with him.

After a few moments, the middle-aged man in the green robe said lightly, "What you said earlier is nonsense. Since tonight is a festival, I won't hold it against you. Sit down and eat your meal."

Seeing that, Elder Xu and the others quickly pulled Nan Tian back to his seat. Nan Tian was a bit stunned.

Was that it? He had been prepared to be thrown into the sea today.

Everyone began to praise Senior Chi for his magnanimity.

"Consider yourself lucky that my uncle is broad-minded." Cultivator Zhou sneered. He then picked up a wine cup from the table, filled it for himself, and turned to Fang Chen, who had remained silent all this time. Smiling, he said, "Let me make a toast."

Everyone was taken aback.

Why was this little tyrant toasting Fang Chen?

Nan Tian's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a trace of disdain appeared in his eyes as he looked at Fang Chen. So, they were birds of a feather.

Fang Chen calmly picked up some food and said indifferently, "I don't drink."

The expression of that cultivator changed slightly, his gaze turning cold. "Will you not give me any face at all? Have you forgotten that you killed five of Golden Core Realm Chen's subordinates? If it weren't for us covering for you, he would have taken you in for questioning long ago."

He killed Chen Sheng's subordinates?!

The crowd gasped. How could someone who had killed Chen Sheng's men still be sitting here and eating the New Year's Eve meal leisurely?

Nan Tian realized he had misunderstood Fang Chen and his eyes softened considerably toward him.

"I paid the fine, didn't I?" Fang Chen smiled. "Since I paid the fine, it's settled. There's nothing to cover up."

Cultivator Zhou remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. "That's fine... it's actually an unwritten rule, a bribe taken by the lower ranks. My uncle knows nothing about it. According to the rules, killing someone on the ship means being thrown overboard." With that, he clasped his hands and addressed the Golden Core Realm expert in the distance. "Uncle, the one who killed the people on the ship has been found."

Elder Xu and the others grew worried, and the warming atmosphere had turned tense again.

The middle-aged man in the green robe looked over at Fang Chen, frowning. "You killed someone on the ship?"

"Uncle, he’s the one who killed Chen Sheng’s men."

Chen Sheng? The crowd was even more surprised as they looked toward Fang Chen. Some had recognized Fang Chen and recalled that incident from the past.

Fang Chen remained silent, which seemed to indicate consent. The crowd turned to look at the middle-aged man in the green robe, wondering how he would handle the situation.

At that moment, the pitch-black night sky was suddenly pierced by a bright light, accompanied by a thunderous roar and a stern shout, "Demoness Yu! You have nowhere left to run. Now that even the Void Immortal Sword Sect has rejected you, surrender and let us take you back for questioning!"

The shout was like thunder, deafening to the ears. The people on the ship were slightly stunned, showing a hint of fear on their faces. It seemed they had encountered a vendetta. Such incidents were common and not unusual. The bright light was clearly some sort of lightning technique!

All the Golden Core Realm cultivators present, including the middle-aged man in the green robe, became extremely serious. Lightning-related techniques were all extraordinary inheritances that were inaccessible to ordinary people.

From the light, the crowd saw a woman being chased by several cultivators, all of whom exuded immense power, none weaker than Senior Chi.

The crowd's eyes showed a hint of curiosity. "All of them are late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivators! For such beings to join forces to hunt down that woman, who could she be?"

At that moment, the woman seemed to have reached the end of her strength, her spiritual energy exhausted. Seeing the ship, she turned into a stream of light and landed on the deck, gasping for breath.

Fang Chen slowly lifted his gaze, a smile appearing on his face.

Fortunately, Fairy Yu was still alive.