Fang Chen slowly stepped forward and looked at the young man. The young man, made curious by the surprise of the core disciples, also raised his head to look at Fang Chen. In that instant, the two felt as if they were staring into a mirror. If one spoke strictly of resemblance, they were not that alike, but their bearing and temperament were astonishingly alike.

Fang Chen smiled. "There really is a bit of resemblance, yeah."

His heart secretly jolted.

"No wonder you managed to charm away the direct blood relative of that eighth-transformation Ancient Immortal from the Fire Virtue Immortal Division. Our Ninth Brother is also quite popular in the Enlightenment God Palace, plenty of junior sisters are keeping an eye on him," Chen Enxue teased.

Little Immortal Honglian glanced at her but didn't mind. She had long noticed that whenever she was with Fang Chen, Chen Enxue would seize any opportunity to tease them, as if deliberately trying to see her get upset.

Ji Chunmei studied the young man for a moment, then looked at Fang Chen. A smile immediately appeared on her face. "The two of you do share some similarities. Perhaps this is fate."

With that, she turned to Chen Enxue. "Daoist Chen, the Fire Virtue Immortal Division has made a lot of noise but little real action, largely out of consideration for Ji Sheng's status as a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace. At the negotiation three days from now, I'll need you to put in a few good words for us. Our family is willing to show sincerity to resolve this grudge."

She turned to the young man and scolded, "If you hadn't been personally brought in by the Great Ancestor, I would have handed you over to the Fire Virtue Immortal Division long ago. This matter wouldn't have required the Enlightenment God Palace to step in at all."

The young man was sensible enough to remain silent. He didn't want to anger the Second Ancestor further.

Chen Enxue wore a faint smile. "Since the issue has been properly explained, this matter is easy to resolve. It's nothing more than a matter of face. A large part of the Fire Virtue Immortal Division's fury stems from their fear of offending the Heavenly Immortal Clan over this. So long as an explanation is given to the Heavenly Immortal Clan, the Fire Virtue Immortal Division will be happy to go along with it.

"After all, the eighth-transformation Ancient Immortal surely has more than one direct blood relative. Whoever marries whom doesn't really matter. It's all political marriage in the end."

Hearing this, the Ji family members immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Since the Third Senior Sister of the Enlightenment God Palace didn't regard the matter as troublesome, they could rest assured.

After chatting a bit more, Chen Enxue suggested going for a walk. "Daoist Ji, it's boring to just sit here. Shall we take a look around?"

Ji Chunmei naturally had no objections. "Of course, of course. I'll accompany you around."

Before long, everyone left the reception hall together. Fang Chen walked at the back of the group. Seeing the young man quietly slip out through a side door, he followed him.

Little Immortal Honglian noticed but didn't take it to heart, assuming Fang Chen simply felt some affinity with the young man.

***

The young man hadn't gone far when he sensed someone following him. He turned around to see Fang Chen. He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed. "Greetings, Core Disciple Fang."

"I just heard your family's elder say that you were brought back here by the Great Ancestor?

You were previously from a Ji Family branch?" Fang Chen asked with a smile.

The young man nodded. "I was indeed brought back by the Great Ancestor, but I'm not from a Ji Family branch. In fact, I don't even carry the surname Ji."

"Oh? If you're not surnamed Ji, then what is your surname? And if you're not a Ji, why would the Ji family's Great Ancestor bring you back?" Fang Chen asked casually, his smile unchanged.

"I don't know either. Apparently, the Ji family's Great Ancestor had some connection with my parents.

Then my parents suddenly disappeared, and I was brought over to stay here."

The young man let out a soft sigh. "I really don't carry the surname Ji. My surname is Fang."

As he spoke, he gathered his courage and examined Fang Chen a few times. Then he suddenly said, "If not for the fact that Core Disciple Fang is a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace and not someone from the Lesser Immortal Realm, I almost would've suspected some connection between you and my parents just now."

Fang Chen was rendered speechless. There might actually be some connection. The Ji Family was perhaps taking the blame for the Fang Family here.

Fang Chen suddenly waved his hand, and an image flashed before the young man.

"Is this your father?" he asked.

The young man's face turned rigid with shock, staring at Fang Chen in disbelief.

"What's your name?" Fang Chen asked.

"Fang Tong," answered the young man, startled. "Core Disciple Fang, how did you know—"

He suddenly gasped, seemingly understanding something.

Fang Chen silently nodded.

Fang Tong was overwhelmed by confusion and shock, unsure even what expression to wear. Just as he was about to speak, someone happened to pass by.

"We'll talk later. Right now, we need to deal with the trouble you caused," Fang Chen said.

Fang Tong gave a bitter smile. "I'm innocent..."

"I don't know the exact details, but I feel you might indeed be wronged," Fang Chen mused.

Fang Tong looked uneasy. "Will the Enlightenment God Palace really be able to settle this? I've heard people say that they'll send me to the Heavenly Immortal Clan to deal with me if the Enlightenment God Palace fails in mediation."

His expression turned odd. "I am guessing they would've already sent me off to resolve the grudge if the Great Ancestor hadn't personally brought me to the main branch."

Fang Chen fell silent for a moment, then gently patted Fang Tong on the arm. "You'll be fine."

With that, he turned and walked back toward the main group.

Fang Tong stared blankly at Fang Chen's back. A trace of suspicion gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Is he really my brother? Should I call him elder brother or younger brother? Probably younger brother, right? But how did he become a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace? What level is he again?"

"What did Core Disciple Fang talk to you about just now? I noticed you two look pretty similar, it seems like you guys share something?" Ji Tianjun asked with a smile as he stopped beside Fang Tong.

Fang Tong recognized him. He'd seen Ji Tianjun a few times back when he came from a branch to the main lineage.

"It's just because we look alike that Core Disciple Fang chatted with me a bit more. By the way, what level is Core Disciple Fang?" Fang Tong asked casually.

Ji Tianjun sighed and answered, "He's currently at the third transformation."

Fang Tong was shocked. "He's a third-transformation immortal?! But Core Disciple Fang doesn't seem that old, does he?"

Ji Tianjun didn't notice the probing undertone in Fang Tong's words. He nodded. "As far as I know, he's indeed quite young. When I first met him, he wasn't even an Immortal. In just a few hundred years, he not only advanced but also became a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace. He even comprehended Formation Immortal Techniques during the battle over Great Thunder Sound, defeated several core disciples of the Rulai Monastery, and won the Ancient Forbidden Zone for the Enlightenment God Palace."

Fang Tong's heart skipped a beat. So... he really is my brother?

Ji Tianjun thought Fang Tong was worried about the matter and reassured him. "The core disciples who came from the Enlightenment God Palace this time all hold very high status. Core Disciple Chen ranks third, Core Disciple Fang ranks ninth, and Core Disciple Ji ranks tenth. With them here, there won't be any major problems with this negotiation. You can rest easy."

He turned around and walked away.

On the other side, Little Immortal Honglian saw Fang Chen come over and asked casually, "Daoist Fang, we can leave the negotiations three days from now to Third Senior Sister. Why don't we go out for a walk and take a look at the scenery of the Lesser Immortal Realm?"

Will something happen in three days?

Fang Chen wasn't sure whether Little Immortal Honglian had accurate information or was just guessing, and it wasn't convenient to ask directly.

"Let's wait until the negotiations are over before going out. Didn't Third Senior Sister say earlier that we might need to take action by then?" Fang Chen said with a smile.

Little Immortal Honglian nodded and said no more.