Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 240: Fortuitous Encounter with the Ninth Princess

Fang Hao lay unconscious in that hidden mountain cave like a dead dog, completely unresponsive.

His injuries were too severe; his Divine Soul had been ravaged by both the ’war soul’ trial and Ghost Bone Superior, and his Sea of Consciousness was dim and covered in fine cracks.

His Physical Body was even more miserable, with several broken ribs, displaced internal organs, damaged Meridians, and not a single drop of Qi remaining; his skin was still marked with charred traces left by the erosion of ghost Qi and force fields.

If not for the Chaos Derivation Art automatically protecting his body, and the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art making his Physical Body much tougher than those of the same rank, combined with the large amount of Medicinal Pill he swallowed before losing consciousness to keep his last breath, he would likely have been stone-cold by now.

The concealment Formation he had barely managed to set up at the cave entrance was also rapidly dimming as it lost the support of his Qi due to his unconsciousness, and it was on the verge of failing.

In this Secret Realm, there was danger everywhere; once the Formation failed, any passing Demon Beast or a Cultivator with ill intentions could easily take his life.

Just at this critical moment between life and death, a series of light, cautious footsteps suddenly came from outside the cave, accompanied by low whispers.

’Princess, there seems to be a cave over here. Just now, there appeared to be a faint fluctuation of Qi, but it’s gone now.’

’Be careful, anything could be in this Secret Realm. Let’s go in and take a look; what if there’s some Spiritual Plant or a clue?’

It was a woman’s voice, crisp and pleasant, carrying a hint of a young girl’s naivety, yet her tone also revealed caution.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance.

At that exact moment, the light of the concealment Formation extinguished completely, revealing the pitch-black cave entrance.

’Eh? A Formation? Did it fail?’ The crisp female voice sounded puzzled, and then, a soft light ignited, illuminating the cave entrance.

A stunningly beautiful young girl dressed in fiery red athletic wear cautiously poked her head in, holding a night-luminescent pearl for illumination; it was none other than Ninth Princess Mu Fenghua!

Behind her followed two Late Golden Core Stage guards with steady auras, dressed in royal guard attire.

The light of the night-luminescent pearl illuminated the depths of the cave, revealing a figure in green robes leaning against the stone wall, covered in blood, unconscious, and with an aura so weak it was at its limit.

’Ah! Someone’s here!’ Mu Fenghua was startled and subconsciously took half a step back.

The two guards behind her immediately stepped forward, shielding her behind them and looking into the cave vigilantly.

’It looks like he’s severely injured and has passed out,’ one guard said in a low voice.

’Princess, be careful of traps. In this Secret Realm, there are many people who play the pig to eat the tiger or set traps,’ the other guard warned.

Mu Fenghua steadied herself and used the light of the night-luminescent pearl to carefully examine the unconscious person.

When she saw the blood-stained green robe, the style of which she could still recognize, and that face, though pale and covered in blood, was still vaguely familiar, her beautiful eyes widened sharply, and she gasped: ’It... it’s Fang Hao?! Fellow Daoist Ning?!’

She recognized him!

Although Fang Hao looked miserable now, she remembered that face and that set of clothes (the one he wore when he left Listening to Rain Pavilion) very clearly!

’What? It’s that Senior Fang Hao?’ The two guards were also stunned.

At the Azure Dragon Society, Fang Hao had dazzled everyone, overpowering Sun Tianqi, and later defeating Zhou Shitong to break into the top ten of the dragon ranking; as royal guards, they naturally recognized him as a famous figure among the younger generation in Heavenly Capital.

’Quick! Quickly see how he is!’ Mu Fenghua couldn’t care about anything else; she pushed past the guards, walked quickly into the cave, knelt beside Fang Hao, and reached out to check his breath.

His breathing was weak, but he was still alive.

She looked at the injuries on Fang Hao’s body and immediately gasped.

These injuries were too severe! It was as if he had walked through the gates of hell and come back.

’Such heavy injuries! Both his Divine Soul and body have suffered severe damage!’

Although Mu Fenghua’s cultivation was not top-tier (Early Golden Core Stage), as a princess, she had extraordinary insight and could see the severity of Fang Hao’s injuries at a glance.

’How did he end up like this? Did he encounter a Fourth-Rank Demonic Beast? Or was he besieged by enemies?’

’Princess, this place is not suitable for a long stay. Senior Ning is so severely injured; if his enemies catch up or if he attracts a Demon Beast, it will be troublesome,’ one guard reminded her.

Mu Fenghua nodded; she knew the gravity of the situation.

Fang Hao had helped her (in the Secret Realm with the star soul of the sword), and she was the one who brought him into the Azure Dragon Society.

Seeing his miserable state now, she felt very uncomfortable and couldn’t spare the thought of how Fang Hao had ended up injured alone and unconscious in such a place.

’Take him with us; we’ll find a safer place to treat his injuries!’ Mu Fenghua ordered decisively.

’Princess, this...’ The guard hesitated.

Bringing a critically injured stranger, especially one who had clearly gotten into big trouble (otherwise he wouldn’t be so severely injured), would increase the risk significantly.

’Stop talking nonsense! He is my friend and a person valued by my Imperial Father! Are we just going to watch him die? Hurry!’ Mu Fenghua raised her willow eyebrows, displaying the dignity of a princess.

The two guards dared not say anything more. One of them stepped forward and carefully carried the unconscious Fang Hao on his back.

The other guard stood vigilantly at the cave entrance.

’Let’s go, leave here first. I remember there was an abandoned, relatively hidden cave on the way we came; let’s go there!’

Mu Fenghua identified the direction and, with the guards and the unconscious Fang Hao, quickly left the cave and headed toward the safe point in her memory.

Along the way, they tried their best to avoid areas with many people and Demon Beast activity, arriving safely and without incident at the abandoned cave Mu Fenghua had mentioned.

This cave was even more hidden, its entrance completely covered by vines, and although the space inside was not large, it was dry.

The guard gently laid Fang Hao down.

Mu Fenghua immediately took out the best healing Medicinal Pill from the royal family from her storage ring—the Fourth-Grade ’Jade Dew Heaven Returning Pill’ and’Soul Nourishing Pill’—and personally fed them to Fang Hao.

The ’Jade Dew Heaven Returning Pill’ had miraculous effects on external injuries and damage to Meridians, while the’Soul Nourishing Pill’ was an excellent item for nourishing the Divine Soul; both were invaluable life-saving Medicinal Pill.

She also had the guards re-establish a tighter concealment and protective Formation at the entrance.

’You two, take turns keeping watch at the entrance. Without my order, no one is allowed to come in and disturb us,’ Mu Fenghua ordered.

’Yes, Princess.’

The guards retreated to the entrance to keep watch.

Mu Fenghua stayed by Fang Hao’s side, watching as a hint of color returned to his pale face after taking the Medicinal Pill, and his breathing became a bit steadier, yet he remained unconscious, his brows tightly locked as if enduring immense pain.

’What on earth did he encounter...’ Mu Fenghua looked at Fang Hao’s brutal injuries, her heart filled with heavy doubts.

She knew Fang Hao’s strength was not weak; to be able to injure him like this, his opponent was definitely not simple.

Could it be that the Sun Family had sent a Nascent Soul Elder in? Or was it that madman Zhao Wuji? Or perhaps some unknown, terrifying existence in the Secret Realm?

She recalled the rumors she had vaguely heard earlier about the Sun Family issuing a kill order, vowing to execute Fang Hao, and her heart couldn’t help but tighten.

It seemed Fang Hao’s trouble was even greater than she had imagined.

’Sigh, you guy, you really don’t let people rest easy.’ Mu Fenghua sighed, took out a clean handkerchief, dipped it in some clear water, and gently wiped the bloodstains from Fang Hao’s face.

Looking at this face that had been so spirited and pointing his sword at strong enemies at the Azure Dragon Society, yet was now so fragile, she felt inexplicably... uncomfortable.

Time passed bit by bit.

Under the powerful medicinal effect of the Fourth-Grade Medicinal Pill, Fang Hao’s injuries finally began to recover slowly.

His broken bones were knitting together, his displaced internal organs were returning to their positions, and his damaged Meridians were slowly repairing under the nourishment of the medicinal power.

More importantly, the medicinal power of the Soul Nourishing Pill, like a warm, gentle spring, was slowly nourishing his cracked Sea of Consciousness, soothing his exhausted and stinging Divine Soul.

Unknown how much time had passed, Fang Hao’s eyelashes trembled slightly.