Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 312: Fugitive

"Junior Brother, how do you plan to find Senior Brother Liu?" asked Wu Ruochou as soon as she sat down.

Xia Ji poured tea for the two of them, and the fragrance filled the room.

The tea seemed quite good indeed.

Hardly had Fang Chen picked up his cup when a commotion arose outside.

"Xia Ji, get out here!"

"The Grand Qian Guards are here for you!"

"There's no use hiding."

Wu Ruochou's expression changed. "Grand Qian Guards?!"

Xia Ji's expression had turned solemn. "Fang Da, the Grand Qian Guards are the first army of the Grand Qian Empire. The first army has a lot of strong cultivators. They are directly under the jurisdiction of the Grand Qian Emperor and hold great power."

In front of the once peaceful temple were dozens of figures. Among them were Lin Yu and others, as well as some soldiers dressed in black armor, whose faces were stern.

These soldiers had formidable cultivations. Those with the lowest cultivations were at the sixth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, and those with the highest had reached the tenth stage.

Seeing that the temple was so quiet, a hint of doubt appeared on the face of one of the black-armored soldiers, who resembled Lin Yu. "Lin Yu, has Xia Ji really returned?"

As far as he knew, Xia Ji had long since fled from the Grand Qian Empire. Why would he come back now?

Offending Jue Wudi was no laughing matter. He had a wide network of relationships in Grand Qian, and it could be said that the empire was his turf. Even without him speaking, countless people would be willing to do things for him.

"It's absolutely true. We saw him with our own two eyes. He must be hiding somewhere," affirmed Lin Yu.

Suddenly, they saw three figures walk out the temple, and one of them was Xia Ji.

The black-armored soldier who resembled Lin Yu gestured to his subordinates upon seeing this, and they surrounded the three of them.

"This is the Profound Void Temple. Even if you are the Grand Qian Guards, you cannot intrude here without a legitimate reason," said Wu Ruochou coldly, looking at the leader of the black-armored soldiers. "Lin Quan, are you trying to abuse your power?"

Lin Quan smiled indifferently. "Abuse my power? It was reported that the Profound Void Temple is harboring fugitives, so I brought my people over to take a look."

"Fugitives?” repeated Wu Ruochou. “As you can see, there are only three of us here. Which of us looks like a fugitive to you?"

"An evil cultivator escaped from prison a while ago,” said ]Lin Quan, taking out a portrait from his person. He beckoned for everyone to step closer and have a look at it. “Take a look at this portrait, doesn’t he resemble this person?" He pointed at Fang Chen.

Fang Chen was slightly startled, while Xia Ji was stunned. Were they planning to target Fang Chen first and use that as an excuse to deal with Xia Ji, and then go to Jue Wudi to claim credit?

Lin Yu and the others took a step closer to the leader and peered at the portrait. After seeing it, they nodded.

"It's similar, too similar."

They kept shifting between the portrait and Fang Chen, their eyes filling with vigilance slowly, as if they really believed that Fang Chen was an evil cultivator.

Holding up the portrait, Lin Quan’s lips curled up. "Wu Ruochou, Xia Ji, do you two recognize this person from the portrait?"

The person in the portrait was clearly wearing a silver mask. There was no doubt about it. It was definitely Fang Chen.

Wu Ruochou brow furrowed. "You randomly drew a picture and claimed he's an evil cultivator? Perhaps you don't know this, but this person here has not even condensed his first immortal vein. You have to at least make it believable if you want to frame him. If I take this to court, all of you who came here today will be held accountable."

Hasn’t even condensed a single immortal vein?

The crowd was slightly stunned, and Lin Yu and the others looked somewhat strange.

Lin Quan paused for a moment, then calmly said, "I won't believe words from just one side. All I know is that he looks like the man in the portrait, so I will take him back for questioning. If you obstruct the investigation, you will be in violation of the laws of Grand Qian, and we will apprehend you all!"

Lin Quan waved his hand, and the fierce black-armored soldiers, who were beside him, marched forward to capture Fang Chen.

Fang Chen smiled. "You say I'm an evil cultivator who just escaped from prison. Then tell me, what have I done? What is my name, and what are my abilities?"

"No need for idle talk,” replied Lin Quan coldly and mercilessly. “We'll discuss it at the government office."

Suddenly, a Buddhist chant rang through the air. Everyone saw a blur appeared in front of them, and in the next second, a venerable monk was already standing in front of Lin Quan. He had a benevolent face and a hint of a gentle smile.

"Master Chanyuan."

Lin Quan and the others quickly paid their respects, fear flashing in their eyes. Lin Yu and the others also joined their hands together and bowed to him.

In theory, a Foundation Building Realm cultivator in Grand Qian would be considered average, but the Foundation Building Realm cultivator before them was extraordinary. He had lived for countless years, befriending many important figures within the capital, and even had contact with several old Golden Core Realm ancestors, often discussing scriptures and debating philosophy.

Lin Quan and his men had come here to the Profound Void Temple fully prepared to apprehend someone, but they knew better than to apprehend Xia Ji directly, so they decided to target the cultivator he brought back with him.

Both Wu Ruochou and Xia Ji quickly paid their respects. "Master."

Fang Chen looked at the old monk curiously. This was the old man who happened to accept Xia Ji as his disciple when he passed through Grand Xia?

"My temple has no evil cultivators, everyone. It seems you have come to the wrong place," said Master Chanyuan with an amicable smile.

Lin Quan's expression subtly changed as he spoke slowly. "Master Chanyuan, we are only carrying out official duties and we mean no disrespect to you. Please take a look at this portrait. It’s definitely him."

He placed the focus on the portrait. With his connections in the Grand Qian Guards, it was easy for him to forge a portrait, and he could even directly fabricate a false case file. This way, if anyone investigated, he would have evidence to back up his claims.

Master Chanyuan's smile became a bit wider. "Benefactor, are you sure the person in this portrait is an evil cultivator?"

"How could it be fake?" Lin Quan frowned. "I have evidence. If you doubt it, you can accompany us to the government office."

Master Chanyuan remained noncommittal, slowly turning to look at Fang Chen, with a hint of inexplicable sadness in his eyes.

"Benefactor Fang, you have finally returned to the Grand Qian Empire."

Wu Ruochou and Xia Ji were both puzzled.

“What do you mean by that, Master?"

Fang Chen was surprised. Did Master Chanyuan know that he was a member of the Fang Clan?

Lin Quan looked at Lin Yu instinctively. Didn’t his cousin say that this person’s background was unclear? Why did it sound like he was a cultivator from the Grand Qian Empire?

"Hundreds of years ago, the Fang Family produced a genius, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, he could only travel far from home. Benefactor Fang is the descendant of this genius,” said Master Chanyuan, then asked, “Are you here to seek the recognition of your clan, Benefactor Fang?”

Lin Quan took a sharp breath, and the Grand Qian Guards accompanying him exchanged looks, already showing signs of retreat.

A member of the Fang Family? Even if they were distant relatives, they wouldn't dare to act rashly!

Lin Yu's face turned pale as he stared at Xia Ji, but seeing Xia Ji's ambiguous smile, he became even more certain that this was a trap set by Xia Ji!

If he had known that this person was truly related to the Fang Family, he would never have come here!

"May I ask how you know about this? Besides Xia Ji, I haven't mentioned it to anyone else," asked Fang Chen softly.

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