Chapter 1166: Ice and Fire Demon Lord

It was difficult to refuse such generosity. Jiang Fan could only accept it with "reluctance."

He made a move to escape, but then a thought struck him: if he left, Rat-No-Void would surely come looking for him to reclaim it once he was free. His eyes lit up as he saw the unconscious Venerable Xuan Yi nearby.

"Venerable Xuan Yi, my good brother isn't here, so I'll trouble you to take his place."

Immediately, he took out the Bodhisattva kasaya to wrap him up, then produced chains and wound them around him layer after layer, inside and out. After ensuring Venerable Xuan Yi was securely bound, he called back the little Qilin.

The little Qilin, with the Heavenly Thunder Stone in its mouth, was carrying the spatial mirror on its back. Jiang Fan placed the Yin-Yang Fish into the Heavenly Thunder Stone and tossed Venerable Xuan Yi into the spatial mirror.

"Hide far away. A Venerable might arrive soon; don't let them find you."

The little Qilin nodded, scampered off, and ran away.

With everything arranged, Jiang Fan lay down on the ground and continued to feign sleep.

After an unknown period, the air suddenly became scorching, the earth cracked from the heat, and withered trees in the distance crackled and burst into roaring flames.

"It's... it's here," Rat-No-Void wailed, being carried by a middle-aged man whose body was enveloped by ice and fire energies, and who had a faint divine halo behind his head. At this moment, he was exceptionally disheveled.

His left cheek was covered in frost, shriveled and contracted from the cold. His right cheek was swollen and burning hot, resembling a pig's head. He had underestimated the methods of a Demon Venerable and overestimated his own willpower to resist torture. The Ice-Fire Demon Lord had effortlessly used a dual torture of ice and fire, forcing Rat-No-Void to honestly reveal the whereabouts of the Yin-Yang Fish.

"Hand it over," the Ice-Fire Demon Lord said indifferently.

Besides stealing a furnace of his Ice-Fire Divine Pills, Rat-No-Void had also taken a longevity-extending magic treasure. During several pursuits, Rat-No-Void had cunningly escaped. This time, the Demon Lord had laid out a plan in advance, waiting for Rat-No-Void to walk into his trap, finally succeeding in capturing him.

Rat-No-Void, with a bitter expression, came before Jiang Fan. He reached into Jiang Fan's embrace but found nothing. His expression suddenly froze. He hastily pulled open Jiang Fan's clothes, searching meticulously. Yet, even after almost stripping Jiang Fan bare, he still couldn't find the Yin-Yang Fish.

"Wh-where's my Yin-Yang Fish?""I clearly put it on him!"

Rat-No-Void felt as if the sky had fallen. Losing the Yin-Yang Fish would surely mean his demise, wouldn't it?

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them. "Still trying to play tricks?"

Cold sweat broke out on Rat-No-Void's forehead. He said, "No, it's really gone! Demon Lord, wait, let me ask him!" He frantically shook Jiang Fan awake. "Brother, wake up quickly!"

Jiang Fan slowly stirred awake, his eyes still gleaming with a feverish intensity, pretending to have been infected by Rat-No-Void's madness. "Are we going to pull off another big job?"

Rat-No-Void was exasperated. "Another big job, my foot! I'm asking you, where is my Yin-Yang Fish?"

Jiang Fan looked bewildered. "What Yin-Yang Fish? Why are you asking me?"

Only then did Rat-No-Void realize that Jiang Fan had been unconscious the whole time. How could he know? He truly was desperate, grasping at straws.

Suddenly, he noticed that Venerable Xuan Yi, who had been nearby, was gone. His heart sank. "Could it be that bastard Venerable Xuan Yi took it?"

Venerable Xuan Yi's cultivation was higher than Jiang Fan's. His soul power was also far superior to Jiang Fan's. It was entirely possible he had woken up first!

He hurriedly said to the Ice-Fire Demon Lord, "Demon Lord, it's Venerable Xuan Yi from Three Purity Mountain! He definitely took my Yin-Yang Fish Eye!"

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord looked indifferently towards Three Purity Mountain. Just then, the powerful cultivators from Three Purity Mountain arrived, having been in pursuit. Among them were several cultivators at the Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul stage. From a distance, they saw a middle-aged man with a faint divine halo behind his head and an astonishing demonic aura radiating from him. All of them were terrified and hastily stepped forward to bow.

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord said coldly, "Where is Venerable Xuan Yi?"

The leading Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator hastily replied, "Reporting to the Demon Lord, Venerable Xuan Yi has not returned since going to the Celestial Realm. No one knows his whereabouts."

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord looked coldly at Rat-No-Void. The latter's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "That bastard, he absconded with the treasure! Demon Lord, please give me another chance; I will definitely find him."

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord said indifferently, "No need. I will find him myself. As for you!"

As his words fell, the icy aura on both sides of Rat-No-Void's face suddenly surged. One side of his face rapidly caved in, while the other rapidly swelled. The ultimate outcome would surely be his head exploding!

Jiang Fan's eyebrows subtly raised. It would be a pity to kill Rat-No-Void, who was, after all, a Nine-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator. If he could be kept in Taicang Great State and used against the ancient giants, his value would be far greater. He glanced at the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl nearby.

The Burning Heaven Clam Pearl seemed to notice him as well, spinning in place as if thinking, finding Jiang Fan familiar. With this acquaintance, the Ice-Fire Demon Lord wouldn't just casually kill him, like the Evil Crow Venerable, right?

Taking a slight breath, he cupped his hands and said, "Senior Demon Lord, I am Jiang Fan from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. I once met the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl. Dare I ask, what did Rat-No-Void steal from you?"

For the Ice-Fire Demon Lord to pursue him, Rat-No-Void must have been incredibly audacious and stolen something significant from him. If the stolen item was inside the Yin-Yang Fish, then he would find a way to return it to the Ice-Fire Demon Lord and spare Rat-No-Void's life.

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord looked at the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl with a hint of doubt. After hearing Jiang Fan's voice, the clam pearl finally remembered.

"Master, master, I remember now! He's the little Qilin's master!"

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord was slightly enlightened. "So, you are the master of that mysterious little spirit beast." He had heard the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl mention him several times.

Jiang Fan hadn't expected the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl to still remember the little Qilin. "Indeed, it is I, your junior. I didn't expect the Burning Heaven Clam Pearl to actually find Senior Demon Venerable. I have greatly benefited from the thousand-year clam meat that Senior left behind." He further leveraged their connection.

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord nodded slightly, his gaze no longer as indifferent. "Are you well acquainted with Rat-No-Void?"

Jiang Fan shook his head. "Not at all. He just dragged me to Three Purity Mountain to steal things."

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord slanted a look at Rat-No-Void. A single glance caused Rat-No-Void to violently cough up a mouthful of blood. His manic aura was rapidly suppressed.

"So you're pleading for him?" The Ice-Fire Demon Lord's gaze towards Jiang Fan also became unfriendly.

Jiang Fan replied, "Not for him, but for the common people of my Central Land. Your junior witnessed the strength and brutality of the ancient giants in the Celestial Realm and understands the catastrophe that is about to befall the Central Land. Rat-No-Void, as a Nine-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator, possesses exceptional power and is not the kind to be uncontrollable or indiscriminately murderous. He is one of the few Nine-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivators who can be deployed in battle. Killing him now would be a waste; it's better to let him die on the battlefield."

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord's gaze softened once more. As a survivor of the ancient giants' arrival a thousand years ago, his hatred for them far surpassed that of contemporary Venerables. Hearing that Jiang Fan was pleading for the sake of fighting the ancient giants, he naturally would not refuse his request.

"Alright, then. He can stay in Taicang Great State and fight the ancient giants for you. Furthermore, his thieving path is already close to perfection. After a few more earth-shattering grand heists, he might even reach the Divine Transformation stage."

Jiang Fan was surprised. No wonder Rat-No-Void could even steal from the Ice-Fire Demon Lord. He was actually close to reaching the Divine Transformation stage.

"Thank you, Senior, for your compassion towards the common people!" Jiang Fan said, cupping his hands.

The Ice-Fire Demon Lord said, "No need to thank me. His grand heists will inevitably harm the interests of your Taicang Great State. You should consider this carefully."

Jiang Fan, however, smiled mysteriously. He already had a plan. He said, "Senior, rest assured, I will send him to a good place. It will be both dangerous and exciting, and it won't harm my Central Land in the slightest."