Immortal of the Nine Realms

Chapter 458: Don’t Be In A Hurry to Leave

Fang Chen stood in the void, looking down at the Grand Xia Army soldiers below, murmuring softly to himself, "Don't worry about it too much. Two hundred thousand of them have already returned home. For those who can't return, they will enjoy incense for eternity in the Eternal Cemetery."

He had underestimated the bond between blood relatives. Along the way, countless people recognized their kin in many ways and brought them back home.

The Foundation Building Realm cultivator surnamed Zhou gathered his courage and looked at Fang Chen. "Senior, how much farther do we have to go?"

He already looked much older than he used to be, all due to the consumption of his lifespan during this period. Fortunately, now that the number of skeletons they controlled dropped by two hundred thousand, the burden on the hundreds of Blood Corpse Sect cultivators lessened, and they could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Not far," Fang Chen replied lightly.

The Foundation Building Realm cultivator surnamed Zhou smiled bitterly in his heart. His grandson, Zhou Huayu, secretly observed Fang Chen in the air, suddenly recalling the scene of meeting Fang Chen for the first time in Frost Water Empire. He never expected that the small sword cultivator back then would become a legend in the entire Hidden Cloud Region.

With a Qi Refining Realm cultivation base, he killed Golden Core Realm experts, injured Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and single-handedly thwarted the Spirit Blood Sect's conspiracy. Over the past decade, Zhou Huayu had heard of that event countless times, hearing about that legendary figure.

He never expected that this legendary figure would still be alive, and he even saw him with his own two eyes.

"Ancestor is really unlucky. If he knew that Fang Chen was still alive, he wouldn't dare to search for his remains everywhere, even if he had a hundred times more courage... The unluckiest part is... he was actually found by the ancestor." Zhou Huaye looked at his grandfather, relieved that his lost lifespan wasn't too excessive. It shouldn't cause any major problems. "Fortunately, Grandpa is fine..."

As they were about to approach the next city, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the city gates. Leading them was a figure as strong and imposing as a liger—it was Huang Sihai, with Xia Yuan right beside him. Apart from them, there were also people like Xu Ge, Tie Ma, Zhao Yan, and other elite guards of Grand Xia.

Seeing the familiar figures, Fang Chen's face lit up with a happy smile. "This... this sight..."

Xia Yuan looked at the sea of skeletons of soldiers and a sudden fear surged in his heart. He had only heard about the battle at Three World Mountain, but now, when he saw the skeletons, he truly understood the brutality of that battle! These dried bones were once vibrant soldiers of Grand Xia!

"Lord!!!"

Huang Sihai saw Fang Chen in the air and leaped directly from his horse, sliding on his knees for over ten yards, dragging two deep tracks behind him.

"Prince!" Xu Ge, Tiema, Zhao Yan, and others also half-knelt in salute. Their eyes were moist, filled with excitement and emotion.

Seeing Huang Sihai's gesture, Xia Yuan immediately tried to imitate him by leaping from his horse. However, a force gently supported him.

Fang Chen's voice echoed. "Xia Yuan, now that you're the Emperor, is it appropriate to kneel before me, a person with no official position?"

At this moment, the hot tears in everyone's eyes couldn't be held back anymore and began to fall in streams.

The lord's voice! So many years had passed, but the lord was still the same; his voice hadn't changed, and his appearance hadn't changed! He was still the same!

"It really is Divine General Fang...."

Standing in the back were people like Jiang Yushu. Their gaze shifted from the sea of white skeleton remains to Fang Chen, their faces showing a relieved smile. The rumors were false and Fang Chen was alive. As long as he was alive, Grand Xia would not see war again and could continue to grow steadily!

Unable to kneel down, Xia Yuan looked at Fang Chen excitedly. "Divine General Fang, I missed you!"

Fang Chen gently landed on the ground, looking at Xia Yuan, then at Huang Sihai and the others, before smiling and nodding. "Good, good. I missed you all too. Get up, don't block the way for our Grand Xia soldiers returning home."

"Yes!"

Huang Sihai and the others stood up excitedly, surrounding Fang Chen and speaking one after another.

Xia Yuan wanted to interject, "Wait, let me speak first..."

However, these guys didn't give him face at all and completely ignored his attempt to speak.

"Don't say so much. Didn't you all say enough of these things back then when we were together? You haven't had enough, but I've heard enough. Also, next time we drink, let's be fair. That night, you all drank sixty jin, and I drank three hundred jin alone. Do you take me for a wine barrel?" said Fang Chen, laughing.

Huang Sihai and the others were stunned, looking at Fang Chen in disbelief.

“Lord... You were there that night too!? You saw it all?”

Fang Chen nodded with a smile. “Hmm, I was there the whole time. You guys were too preoccupied. If it weren’t for you all coming to talk with me from time to time over these years, I’d have been quite bored.”

“I always said he wouldn’t perish so easily. May you live a long and prosperous life!!” exclaimed Xu Ge excitedly.

Emperor Xia Yuan's face was covered in surprise. He didn't understand anything. “What are you all talking about? Why can’t I understand?”

These guys were hiding something from him! It seemed like they had always been in contact with Divine General Fang, but he hadn’t been!?

Fang Chen looked at figures like Jiang Yushu from a distance, exchanged a bow with them, and then said, “Gentlemen, it’s crucial to send the soldiers back home first. Anything else, we can discuss in detail once we reach the capital.”

“Yes, yes!”

As the procession continued, it grew larger. Initially, it was just Fang Chen, but now it included the Emperor of Grand Xia and officials from all ranks.

The journey was smooth, and countless soldiers of Grand Xia were received back by their families.

By the time they reached the gates of the Eternal Cemetry, the initial six hundred thousand soldiers had dwindled to about eighty or ninety thousand. Among them, about forty to fifty percent would be claimed back, while the rest either had no identifying features or had no family to return to.

For these soldiers, the Eternal Cemetry would be their home. That event caused a sensation in Grand Xia. When had the people of Grand Xia ever witnessed such a shocking and surreal scene? Especially since what they saw were the Grand Xia soldiers who had died at Three World Mountain marching on their own!

Watching the the tens of thousands of soldiers enter the Eternal Cemetry, Fang Chen felt relieved. He turned to Huang Sihai and commanded, "Old Huang, instruct the Valiant Saber Guards to cooperate with the families of our comrades to claim them. Also, find those brothers who were alive initially and inquire more details to facilitate the claims."

"My lord, please rest assured. For the next period of time, I, Ol' Huang, will not take care of anything else; I will focus solely on this matter!" Huang Sihai patted his chest and said, "If possible, I will make sure every brother-in-arms returns home!"

"Divine General Fang, I will also personally oversee this matter," Xia Yuan hurriedly added.

Fang Chen nodded with a smile. At that moment, the Foundation Building Realm cultivation surnamed Zhou, asked cautiously, "Senior, we have taken care of everything. Can we leave now?"

"Don't be in a hurry to leave, stay and have a few drinks with me," Fang Chen suggested with a smile. "Your sect's techniques are quite unique. I'd like for us to have a discussion."

Discussion?!

The disciples of the Blood Corpse Sect paled. It was clear that he wanted their techniques, not just some discussion….