Chapter 2517: Chapter 2517: Blood Debt
"You may rise."
After the formal kowtowing of the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor and his disciple, Fang Bai gestured for them to stand.
"Xuan Qiang, why is it that after a thousand years, your cultivation hasn’t progressed significantly? I remember a thousand years ago, your cultivation level had already reached the peak of the initial stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm, on the verge of advancing to the mid-stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm!"
Fang Bai scrutinized the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor, frowning as he asked.
In Fang Bai’s estimation, every disciple of the Emperor’s Palace had remarkable talent, and since they practiced the Immortal Technique Secrets passed down by Fang Bai, even under the suppression of the eight top forces and lacking cultivation resources, they should have made considerable progress in cultivation over a thousand years.
Especially someone like the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor, a warlord of the Emperor’s Palace, who had more opportunities to hear Fang Bai explain the Immortal Technique Secrets. Even after the destruction of the Emperor’s Palace, he should have found ways to obtain various resources for cultivation, and his strength should be much greater than it currently is.
Fang Bai believed that, under normal circumstances, even if the cultivation of the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor hadn’t reached the high stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm, it should at least be at the peak of the mid-stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm.
However, now it seemed that the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor had only recently reached the mid-stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm, which was far from what Fang Bai expected, causing him some disappointment.
Xiao Qi opened his mouth, intending to defend his master, but a glare from the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor made him swallow his words.
"To answer Palace Master’s question..."
Upon hearing Fang Bai’s inquiry, the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor replied nervously, "During this millennium, I have not dared to neglect my cultivation even slightly, and my strength has been continually improving. It’s just that..."
He paused, clenching his fists tightly until a "crackling" sound was heard, with a hint of hatred in his eyes.
"Did something significant happen during this time that affected your cultivation progress?"
Fang Bai, observing the expressions of the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor, asked.
The Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor nodded, not daring to conceal anything, saying, "About five hundred years ago, while training at a Cultivation Holy Land with Fairy Jingxin, our identities were exposed by the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor of the Ice River Palace. At that time, we had just advanced to the mid-stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm, and our realm was still unstable, so even with combined efforts, we were no match for the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor..."
"In the battle with the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor, both Fairy Jingxin and I suffered severe injuries. In the end, Fairy Jingxin used the extreme method of Self-Detonation to delay the pursuit of the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor, allowing me to barely survive to this day. The severe injuries damaged my Qi Sea, and it took a hundred years for me to recover, which affected my cultivation... Palace Master, Fairy Jingxin died a tragic death!"
He said this, his voice choked with emotion, and tears streamed down.
Xiao Qi, hearing his master mention this for the first time, was curious about who Fairy Jingxin was.
"Jingxin... is she already gone? Alas..."
Fang Bai murmured to himself, then let out a light sigh, a hint of sadness showing on his face.
Fairy Jingxin was one of the seventy-two minor generals of the Emperor’s Palace back in the day, with cultivation equal to the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor, and also his immortal partner.
Before the fall of the Emperor’s Palace, the relationship between the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor and Fairy Jingxin was deep and loving, arousing the envy of many immortals in the Immortal Realm.
Fairy Jingxin was a highly talented female immortal, with aptitude among the top of the one hundred and eight generals of the Emperor’s Palace.
Fang Bai had high hopes for Fairy Jingxin, predicting that she might advance to the high stage of the Immortal Emperor Realm within three to five hundred years and become one of the thirty-six generals of the Emperor’s Palace, but he never expected that a few hundred years after the Emperor’s Palace was destroyed, she would fall at the hands of the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor.
What the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor valued most in life, apart from the Emperor’s Palace, was Fairy Jingxin, his immortal partner. Thus, the mention of her death filled him with both sorrow and hatred.
Sorrow for the loss of his partner, never to meet again, and hatred for the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor, the murderer responsible for her demise.
"Jingxin will not have died in vain; this grudge... I will avenge it for you in the future..."
Fang Bai consoled the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor with a few words, then said.
The Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor shook his head, his attitude resolute, saying, "No! I want to personally kill the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor to appease the hatred in my heart! My cultivation level now is inferior to the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor’s, but one day, I will surpass him!"
Fang Bai nodded, saying, "Good! As a disciple of the Emperor’s Palace, you should have such ambition! Your aptitude is not inferior to that of the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor, and the Immortal Technique Secrets of our Emperor’s Palace are certainly stronger than those of the Ice River Palace. As long as you have sufficient cultivation resources to assist you, your strength will one day surpass that of the Ice Axe Immortal Emperor."
The Ice Axe Immortal Emperor is one of the Vice Palace Masters of the Ice River Palace and possesses a high rank in the Immortal Emperor Realm. Fang Bai knows him well, aware that he is the right-hand man of the Ice River Empress, the Palace Master of the Ice River Palace.
The Ice Axe Immortal Emperor has profound cultivation, immense power, and is outstanding among those in the same realm. It was a stroke of luck that even one of the Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor and Fairy Jingxin managed to escape after being recognized by him.
In his previous life, Fang Bai was also well-acquainted with the Ice River Empress and knew her real surname was Qin, and the nickname "Fairy Spirit Qin" was his way of teasing her.
When Fang Bai was about to possess a new body and be reborn in the mortal realm, he muttered, "Fairy Spirit Qin," a reference to the Ice River Empress.
In the battle where the eight top Immortal Emperors besieged Fang Bai, the Ice River Empress played a crucial role. First, she made Fang Bai drink the deadliest wine in the Immortal Realm, leading to the loss of some of his cultivation. Then, her final all-out strike destroyed Fang Bai’s physical body.
Fortunately, a remnant of Fang Bai’s soul managed to escape into the Endless Space, allowing him to possess a new body and be reborn in the mortal realm, avoiding total annihilation.
Therefore, for Fang Bai’s "fall" in his previous life and the destruction of the Emperor’s Palace, the Ice River Empress can be said to have played a significant role.
Fang Bai’s hatred for the Ice River Empress and the Ice River Palace was even greater than for the other top Immortal Emperors and their forces.
After ascending to the Immortal Realm, Fang Bai once visited the Ice River Palace to attend the birthday banquet of the Ice River Empress and met her granddaughter, Iceflame Fairy.
Iceflame Fairy is the daughter of Ice River Empress’s daughter Bingling Fairy and the Emperor’s Palace Elder, Fiery Emperor.
In those days, the Ice River Empress strongly opposed her daughter’s union with the Fiery Emperor as immortal partners, but her wishes were not fulfilled, leaving her extremely frustrated.
After the destruction of the Emperor’s Palace, the Ice River Empress found her daughter and imprisoned her in the Ice River Palace, while initiating a relentless hunt for the Fiery Emperor across the Immortal Realm, eventually leading to the Fiery Emperor’s inescapable fate, never seeing his partner and daughter again before his death.
Each of these blood debts is related to the Ice River Empress, and when Fang Bai ascended to the Immortal Realm, he decided to repay the Ice River Empress manifold.
"Over the millennium, I have used various methods to search and have contacted a few disciples of the Emperor’s Palace. They are currently cultivating in some hidden places in the Immortal Realm... If Master wishes to see them, I can summon them immediately."
The Mystical Spear Immortal Emperor said to Fang Bai.
Fang Bai thought for a moment, then shook his head, saying, "Not for now. My current strength does not yet allow me to reveal my identity or confront the eight top forces... For now, let them continue their cultivation; there will be opportunities to reunite in the future!"
