Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 605 The Boundless Sea! Fifth Prince Zhao Ying!

Chen Fan took the mission jade slip and turned to leave. Behind him, several deacons in the government office huddled together, whispering among themselves. Some shook their heads, while others clicked their tongues in disbelief.

What they were saying was nothing more than that a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with a gold medal went to kill a demonic cultivator in the early-stage Divine Transformation realm all by himself, which was nothing short of courting death.

Chen Fan ignored the warnings and left the office.

When the news reached Zhao Yu's ears, the fourth prince was in his residence playing with a fourth-tier spirit bird.

After hearing his confidant's report, the jade branch in his hand stopped in mid-air, and a cold smile slowly curved his lips.

"A demonic cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm? Li Jiuyuan?" Zhao Yu casually tossed the jade branch into the birdcage, turned to his confidant, and said, "Go, send a message to Song Tianren. Tell him that his old friend Chen Fan has taken on a mission in the Boundless Sea. Tell him exactly who he is and where he is. Remember, don't let anyone know that this is a message from me, the prince."

The trusted confidant bowed and accepted the order, then quietly withdrew.

Zhao Yu picked up the jade branch again and teased the spirit bird, his tone light as if he were talking to himself: "Chen Fan, Chen Fan, do you think you can rest easy just because you've pledged allegiance to your elder brother? In the capital of Zhao, with your elder brother protecting you, this prince can't touch you. But in the Boundless Sea... that's Song Tianren's territory. No matter how far your elder brother's reach is, it can't extend to the Boundless Sea."

Chen Fan was completely unaware of this.

After leaving the Hall of Offerings, he went straight to the Military Affairs Department, which was the office under the Ministry of War of the Zhao State that was in charge of military affairs.

With the help of the Gold Medal Offering Order and the Mission Jade Slip, he successfully obtained permission to use the military formation teleportation.

The teleportation array of the Military Array Division is different from the cross-dimensional teleportation array of the Offering Hall. It can only be used within the Tiannan Star area, and its efficiency is far inferior to that of the cross-dimensional teleportation array. However, it is convenient and fast.

A flash of light, and space tore apart and then mended.

When Chen Fan stepped out of the teleportation array, he found himself in a completely different world.

Zhenhai Pass, on the eastern border of the Zhao State.

This is a huge military town built against the mountain, with city walls over a hundred feet high, constructed entirely of black iron stone.

Every ten steps along the city wall stands an array tower, with spirit stone array eyes suspended atop each tower, emitting a soft spiritual light that envelops the entire military town and the surrounding sea area for dozens of miles in a semi-transparent protective shield.

The soldiers patrolling the city wall were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, ten men per team, their steps were uniform and their demeanor imposing.

The city gate was bustling with people coming and going, including logistics cultivators escorting supplies, wounded soldiers relieved from the front lines, and independent cultivators and merchant caravans from the inland.

Chen Fan stood at the exit of the military formation, his gaze sweeping across the entire military town, and his heart couldn't help but tremble slightly.

He had also seen the border troops during the reign of Yu the Great, and the desolate city of Hanyue Mountain was one of the border cities.

However, compared to the Zhao state's eastern coastal army, Yu the Great's border army was practically a disorganized rabble.

Every array tower here is a fourth-level defensive array, and every piece of black iron stone on the city wall is engraved with reinforcement runes. Even the standard armor worn by the Foundation Establishment stage soldiers is of a higher grade than that of many sect disciples he had seen in the Sealed Land.

The foundation of a second-level cultivation nation is indeed incomparable to that of a first-level cultivation nation.

As he was looking around, a captain in black armor quickly stepped forward and bowed to him, saying, "Are you Senior Chen Fan, the Golden-Rank Imperial Envoy? This humble general has been waiting here for quite some time on the orders of His Highness the Fifth Prince."

Chen Fan nodded slightly: "Your Highness is very kind."

The captain stepped aside and led the way, taking Chen Fan through the main gate of the military camp and along a main road paved with bluestone toward the center of the military town.

Along the way, all that could be seen were well-trained soldiers and orderly military formations. Occasionally, a few squads of scouts riding spirit birds would fly overhead toward the boundless sea.

The Fifth Prince's camp was set up in an inconspicuous stone fortress in the center of the military town.

Contrary to Chen Fan's imagination of the pomp and circumstance a prince should have, this stone fortress was extremely simple, with no extra decorations on the outer walls, only two rows of black-armored guards standing at the entrance with their eyes fixed straight ahead.

The captain led him inside, through two stone corridors, and they arrived at the main hall.

In the main hall, a young man dressed in black iron armor stood with his hands behind his back in front of a huge sea chart.

He looked to be in his early thirties, with a resolute face and a battlefield aura similar to Qin Zhan's.

Late Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

What is most striking is the scar on his left cheek that runs from the corner of his eye down to his jaw. There are faint traces of demonic energy left on the scar, which is obviously the result of being injured by a demonic cultivator.

This person is none other than Zhao Ying, the fifth prince of the Zhao Kingdom and the garrison commander of the East Sea.

"Lord Chen." Zhao Ying turned around, cupped her hands and smiled, "My elder brother sent a message a couple of days ago, saying that a top-ranking retainer was coming to the East Sea to carry out a mission, and asked me to be sure to treat him well. I thought it was some important figure, but I didn't expect it to be you... Chen Fan, the number one in both alchemy and formation. I've heard so much about you."

His tone was forthright and frank, unlike Zhao Yan's gentle and refined manner, yet it possessed a kind of openness that made people feel good about him.

Chen Fan returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "Your Highness is too kind. I have come on orders and have caused you much trouble."

Zhao Ying waved her hand, gesturing for Chen Fan to sit down in the hall.

Wine and dishes were already prepared on the table. Although they were not exquisite, the wine was extremely strong, just like the strong liquor Qin Zhan had.

Zhao Ying personally filled Chen Fan's glass to the brim, then poured herself a glass, picked it up and drank it all in one gulp, wiping her mouth as she said:

"Li Jiuyuan. My elder brother mentioned your target in the message. To be honest, when I received the message, I thought I was seeing things. A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator going to kill an early-stage Deity Transformation cultivator, Elder Chen? Do you even know who Li Jiuyuan is?"

Chen Fan didn't respond, but simply listened quietly while holding his wine glass.

Zhao Ying put down her wine cup, tapped her finger on the huge sea chart, and said in a deep voice, "Li Jiuyuan, the island lord of Demon Abyss Island in the Boundless Sea, is at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. He cultivates the Blood Demon True Scripture, and his blood-path demonic arts are unfathomable. This man has roamed the Boundless Sea for hundreds of years, and no fewer than a hundred righteous cultivators have died at his hands, including many fellow cultivators at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Our East China Sea Army has been besieging Demon Abyss Island for many years, and countless brothers have fallen at his hands. This scar on my head is from when I fought him three years ago."

Chen Fan simply nodded after hearing this.

Zhao Ying's gaze fell on Chen Fan's face, her tone now carrying a serious tone of admonition: "Lord Chen, I know you are one of the First Prince's men, and I've heard you won first place twice in the selection. But alchemy and formations are two different things from real combat. The gap between the Nascent Soul and the Divine Transformation stage cannot be bridged by pills and formations alone. I can send two Nascent Soul Grand Perfection deputy generals to accompany you. Although they cannot kill Li Jiuyuan for you, they can at least provide cover and give you an extra escape route in a critical moment."

Chen Fan put down his wine cup and shook his head calmly: "I appreciate Your Highness's kindness. However, I am used to traveling alone, and having more people with me would only hinder my actions. I will go on this mission alone."