Chapter 1032: Crying Poor

Jiang Fan's eyes flickered slightly. "What if I told you, senior," he began, "that the Ancient Desolation Token was never lost?"

"What?" The red-faced elder shot to his feet, his eyes wide with unconcealable shock. But he quickly calmed down. "How do you know? That Ancient Desolation Token had already been taken by the Demon Mirage's avatar. Venerable True Word and Venerable Heart Demon had both witnessed it. How could it be false?"

Jiang Fan said, "Haven't you, senior, inquired about the name of the top-ranked person on the Ancient Path to Heaven?"

The red-faced elder's face showed surprise. "Don't tell me it was you again?"

Jiang Fan cupped his hands. "It was indeed this junior."

The red-faced elder circled Jiang Fan, scrutinizing him from head to toe with a look of utter disbelief. "What the hell? Why is it always you? You're the one who provided the long-lost Phoenix Feather Nine Flames Fan, you're the one who moved the Sky-Connecting Black Pillar, and you're the top-ranked person on the Ancient Path to Heaven again! Where exactly did you come from?"

Jiang Fan mumbled to himself, *Of course, I was born from my mother's womb. Could I have just popped out of a stone?*

"Senior," he continued, "the venerable elder at the end of the Ancient Path to Heaven also instructed me that the Ancient Desolation Token is our Central Continent's chance to change its destiny. Therefore, I didn't let the Ancient Desolation Token be snatched away."

A trace of excitement appeared on the red-faced elder's face. Jiang Fan's ability to recount the venerable elder's instructions from the end of the Ancient Path to Heaven meant he wasn't lying. "Quickly, let me see the token!"

Jiang Fan thought for a moment, secretly contacting Little Qilin. He told it to retrieve the Ancient Desolation Token and then bury the Heavenly Lightning Stone underground to hide it. He still needed to be wary of the elder in front of him.

Soon, Little Qilin arrived, carrying an ancient, pale yellow token in its mouth. The red-faced elder snatched it, turning it over and over in his palm, his ancient eyes filled with joy. "It truly is the Ancient Desolation Token! But what did that Demon Mirage avatar take?"

Jiang Fan truthfully replied, "A handful of Memory Silver Sand. This junior sensed trouble in advance and tucked the real token into a spatial storage device, keeping a fake one in my possession. The Demon Mirage avatar grabbed the fake, and before it could examine it closely, it was entangled by the venerable elders. I don't know what happened after that." After being rescued by Fairy Yunshang, he had left, so he wasn't clear about the subsequent battle.

Upon learning that the Demon Mirage avatar had taken Memory Silver Sand, the red-faced elder was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "No wonder, no wonder that Demon Mirage avatar kept furiously crashing against the barrier, trying to return after it left. So, you tricked that kid! It set up such an elaborate scheme, even bringing the Ancient Path to Heaven to the Central Continent, all for the Ancient Desolation Token. It calculated everything, but it never accounted for a devious, black-hearted scoundrel from our Central Continent who would snatch the Ancient Desolation Token away! Hahaha! If it were me, I'd probably be even angrier than him."

Jiang Fan was speechless. "Senior, are you praising me or insulting me?"

When the red-faced elder looked at Jiang Fan again, he couldn't help but find him much more agreeable. "You little shady merchant, you're ruthless to your own people, but even more ruthless to outsiders. I'll let you off this time."

Jiang Fan had been waiting for that very sentence. He immediately felt as if he'd received a great pardon. Seeing that the red-faced elder was in a good mood, he rolled his eyes and feigned distress. "It's just a pity about my box of Memory Silver Sand. That was my only treasure. I've sacrificed too much for the Central Continent."

The red-faced elder was old and wise; how could he not tell that this little shady merchant Jiang Fan was looking for some compensation? "Stop complaining about being poor! You managed to snatch the Nether Ghost Flame from so many powerful masters; how could you not have some valuable treasures on you? Not to mention, I can tell that little spirit beast of yours is no ordinary creature."

Jiang Fan gave an awkward smile. Venerables truly weren't easy to fool.

But to his delight, the red-faced elder pulled out the Sacred Flame Token from his sleeve and tossed it back to Jiang Fan. "Take it."

Jiang Fan quickly took it, sarcastically saying, "Thank you, senior, for returning what was originally mine." He certainly didn't want the venerable elder in front of him to think he could just give it back as a reward.

The red-faced elder naturally understood, laughing in exasperation. "You little rascal, you really know how to read a room and get what you want! You're sure I won't do anything to you, aren't you? And you're even being sarcastic with me!"

Jiang Fan quickly said, "This junior wouldn't dare." In truth, he had sensed from the beginning that the venerable elder had no malicious intent to kill him. Otherwise, the moment he was recognized, a simple wave of the hand would have been enough to blast him into oblivion. Why would he need to be brought back for questioning? The venerable elder merely wanted to teach him a lesson. Now, with the Ancient Desolation Token, the elder didn't even mention teaching him a lesson, and even returned the Sacred Flame Token. His attitude was clear.

The red-faced elder huffed irritably, "You even tricked the Great Sage Demon Mirage; what do you *dare* not do? I suspect if you met an Ancient Saint, you'd still try to trick them!"

Jiang Fan waved his hands repeatedly. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. This junior holds the Ancient Saints in profound admiration, revering them from the bottom of my heart, never showing the slightest disrespect..."

*Crack!* Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, piercing through the ground and entering the underground palace. It slammed down right next to Jiang Fan, scorching a fist-sized pit into the hard ground.

Jiang Fan froze. The red-faced elder also froze. He widened his eyes. "You... what exactly have you done to the Ancient Saints? How did you manage to make an Ancient Saint remember you?" Many people had badmouthed Ancient Saints, but had they ever bothered with anyone?

*I... I've been wronged!* Jiang Fan opened his mouth, wanting to vent about the series of unfair treatments he had received from the Ancient Saints. But to avoid being struck by lightning again, he held back. He only said, "This, perhaps, is the Ancient Saint's special love for me."

The red-faced elder collected himself. He didn't dare to delve deeper into the topic of Ancient Saints. Looking at Jiang Fan, who only had a two-aperture Nascent Soul, he flicked his finger. A wisp of energy entered Jiang Fan's abdomen. Instantly, a piercing pain spread. This wasn't skin-and-flesh pain, but a sensation originating from his Nascent Soul. Immediately after, there was a *crack*, as if something had shattered. Jiang Fan quickly peered inward and was immediately overjoyed! The outline of the third aperture had been effortlessly opened by the red-faced elder! Massive Nascent Soul power surged from the third aperture, causing his Nascent Soul strength to double.

"Thank you, senior!" Jiang Fan was overjoyed and cupped his hands in gratitude.

The red-faced elder chuckled. "You only say thank you after you get something. A fellow who won't release the hawk until he sees the rabbit!" As he spoke, he tossed the Ancient Desolation Token back to Jiang Fan. "With your current strength, you won't even be able to fill a gap between teeth in the Ancient Desolation Hunt. Hurry and improve your strength. The Ancient Desolation Hunt isn't far off."

Jiang Fan was slightly surprised. He had thought the venerable elder would take back the Ancient Desolation Token. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Senior, since the Ancient Desolation Token is of such crucial importance, why don't you entrust it to someone with more promise?"

Venerable Red Lotus gazed at Jiang Fan and said, "I would like to. But I can't interfere with the matters of your Grand Cang State. You just focus on improving your strength. If your power isn't enough to contend for victory in the Ancient Desolation Hunt, someone will come to you, retrieve the Ancient Desolation Token, and hand it over to someone else."

*Who would come looking for me? If I and the red-faced elder don't speak, could anyone else know the Ancient Desolation Token is with me? Also, this venerable elder in front of me isn't from Grand Cang State? Then where did he come from?* Shaking his head, he stopped overthinking and focused on the present. "Senior, you truly are a good person."

The red-faced elder chuckled. "Nonsense. If it were any other venerable elder, they would have long since slapped you, this little shady merchant, into a pulp."

The next moment, Jiang Fan nearly made the red-faced elder swear out loud. Jiang Fan then said, "Then, as a good person, please go all the way and help this junior refine a spirit artifact. Not many, just a top-tier one would be fine."