Immortal of the Nine Realms-Chapter 1501: Monarch Yans Seal

Xie Aman wasn't expecting that. "Today?"

After a moment of thought, she asked, "You've only been around her for about a year. Are you confident it'll work?"

"A little," Fang Chen replied. "If it doesn't, we'll have to find another way."

The shabby Yun Que chuckled. "If it doesn't work, then there is no other way. There aren't many chances left, but at least there's still one, however slim."

He paused, then added with a laugh, "If we can't get out, we'll just live here from now on. Hahahaha!"

Xie Aman shot him an icy glare. "We will get out. I refuse to stay trapped here forever."

"Lass, glaring at me won't help," Yun Que said, smiling and shaking his head.

In their eyes, perhaps there's little hope... thought Fang Chen.

Xu Qinghe's image surfaced in his mind.

In his view, there was more than a little chance. Abbess Qinghe herself was one opportunity. Monarch Yan's Seal was another. As the personal treasure of the Underworld's Overlord, it might be able to help awaken the Ghost Mother's memory. As for what would happen after she remembered, that depended on whether Yun Que had told the truth.

He had watched Xu Qinghe carefully for nearly a year. Her loss of memory was real, not feigned. Having confirmed that, there was no point delaying further.

At dawn, Xu Qinghe took Fang Chen to an orphanage. It was much like the Hall of Compassion back in Grand Xia, housing folk who had no one to care for them, young and old alike.

When the children saw Xu Qinghe, they ran to her with bright smiles.

"Teacher!"

Their clothes were threadbare but clean.

"Brother Fang!"

Several of the children waved to Fang Chen too. He had been here many times, enough to know everyone.

Xu Qinghe directed him as usual. When they finished their chores by midday, she brought him a bowl of rice, and they sat together on the steps to eat.

"New Year is coming," she said, rubbing her hands together. "We might not have enough charcoal for when it gets cold."

She patted her coat pocket, muttering softly, "Tomorrow we'll go door-to-door and borrow a little. After the new year, we'll find a way to pay it back."

"Alright." Fang Chen nodded, then smiled. "Miss Xu, may I tell you a story?"

"A story? Sure. Tell it, I like stories. If it's good, you can tell it to the children too."

She leaned forward slightly, intrigued. Since he couldn't see, she watched him closely. From her angle, she could see only half his face, but even that half was strikingly handsome.

She couldn't hold back from reaching up and pinching his cheek.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing. My hand just felt itchy."

Fang Chen chuckled. "Alright then."

With that, he began narrating slowly.

"Once upon a time, there was a place called the Flame Empire. There, upon a mountain, stood a small nunnery, called Concealed Moon Hermitage..."

***

"And then? What happened to Abbess Qinghe?"

"After that, I lost contact with her. She had her own path to follow. Perhaps she's wandering the world even now."

"Wandering?" Xu Qinghe frowned slightly. "You're telling my story, aren't you? I'm no nun. Sure, I'm not married yet, but that doesn't make me a nun."

"You're not a nun," Fang Chen said calmly. "You're a Ghost Buddha, the Ghost Mother of Self Transformation."

Her expression flickered. For just an instant, her features trembled in an unfathomable way.

Xu Qinghe was silent for a while, then burst out laughing. "Ghost Mother of Self Transformation? Young Master Fang, I don't understand a word of that. Are you trying to frighten me?"

"People say you were once a Ghost Buddha of the Underworld," Fang Chen said steadily. "You fought a great battle and fell, transforming your body into this ghostly domain to shelter the last surviving souls here. These souls don't know they're dead. Under your protection, they live forever, needing neither Yin lifespan nor mortal years."

He went on quietly. "The beggars in the ruined temple, if they stop eating, they don't starve. The orphans here, without charcoal in winter, don't freeze. They just live, repeating every day as if nothing has changed."

"Young Master Fang," Xu Qinghe said softly, shaking her head, "that's far too absurd. I'm me, they're them. Of course people can die. I feel cold in winter, hot in summer. If I don't eat, I'm hungry. If I don't drink, I'm thirsty."

"Then there's only one way left," Fang Chen murmured.

Monarch Yan's Seal began to stir within him. Hundreds of thousands of years of accumulated Yin Lifespan ignited at his will, transforming into a divine seal that fell upon Xu Qinghe.

She gasped as an unseen force lifted her from the ground, suspending her in midair.

Ancient runes of sealing danced across her skin, spinning in intricate patterns.

Her eyes slowly closed, her face twisting in pain. Around her, the world itself began to fracture. The scenery rotted, colors fading to grey.

Like a tidal wave, the distortion spread outward, washing over Fang Chen and surging in all directions. Some orphans nearby froze where they stood, color draining from their faces. They no longer looked human, but ghostly.

A cold, hollow voice echoed from Xu Qinghe's lips.

"Monarch Yan's Seal..."

"Ghost Mother of Self Transformation," Fang Chen called solemnly, "Are you awake?"

"Monarch Yan is dead," she answered coldly. "Who are you?"

"The current Monarch Yan," Fang Chen said.

"The current Monarch Yan?" she muttered. "With such weak cultivation?"

After a few breaths of silence, she spoke again, her tone weary. "Why awaken me? The Underworld is gone. I am but a fragment of soul. If I wake fully, this realm will vanish. These souls cannot reach the Underworld. Their remaining lifespan will burn away, and they'll turn to dust."

"If the seal here is broken," Fang Chen replied, "the Yellow Springs will reopen. They'll be able to go to the Underworld, and so will you."

"How can the seal be broken?" she murmured. "I remember... their power far surpassed ours. We lost terribly. We never found a way to undo it."

"Now there is one," Fang Chen said, eyes brightening.

"Now there is one?" Xu Qinghe fell silent again, then slowly shook her head. "I can't risk it. If I'm wrong, everything here will be destroyed."

"Then send us out," Fang Chen said. "When the seal is undone, I'll return to wake you, and you and these souls can pass on together."

"Oh... you're trapped here too?" she said softly. "For Monarch Yan, your cultivation truly is... lacking."

Her lips curved faintly. "Your decree won't work on me, but it did awaken me for a moment. Don't waste more of your Yin Lifespan. I know where you are now. I'll send you out myself."

In the next instant, Fang Chen felt the world spin violently.

When he opened his eyes again, a man in white robes was standing right in front of him.