Chapter 1244: Stealing Destiny

Jiang Fan clicked his tongue. "The Ancient Giants are almost here, and they're still fighting each other? Not only are the Venerables from both sides not stopping them, but they're also participating? How deep is this grudge?"

Lin Danqing shook his head slightly. "It's not a grudge. One of the demonic sects is being plundered while they're vulnerable."

Jiang Fan wasn't surprised. Similar incidents often occurred in Taicang Great State; it was commonplace for the ruthless and brutal demonic cultivation states to devour each other. As for the reason, he had a few guesses.

"Did the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar appear within the territory of one of the sects, forcing them to relocate, and then they ran into trouble?"

Lin Danqing said in surprise, "Sect Master Jiang truly has prophetic insight. The Forbidden Demonic Palace is also unlucky; of all places for the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar to descend, it landed right in front of their mountain gate. With such a direct threat, which sect could withstand it? The Forbidden Demonic Palace had no choice but to move their entire sect to a distant location. Now that their sect is empty, the nearby White Bone Demonic Cave, seeing an opportunity, moved in to seize their resources."

Jiang Fan understood. Since it was a resource dispute between two sects, and they were merely passersby with no connection to either side, they wouldn't get involved. "Thank you for informing me. As long as we're careful, it shouldn't be a big problem."

Seeing Jiang Fan's insistence, Lin Danqing was helpless. After a moment of thought, he said, "How about this: I'll take you. My status as a commander can save you some trouble." Aside from Jiang Fan's various other identities, he had also obtained detailed information about the Ancient Giants' arrival. He had rendered meritorious service to Taicang Great State, to the Nine Provinces, and to the Central Lands. Since the Grand Wine Sacrifice was currently absent, as one of the Celestial Bureau's main administrators, he ought to look after Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Then I'll trouble Commander Lin."

Lin Danqing said, "Please follow me, both of you."

He led Jiang Fan and the West Sea Crown Prince into the air. From above, the layout of the Celestial Bureau in Great Barren State was identical to that in Taicang Great State. It also consisted of eight smaller islands orbiting a large central island. The difference was that the spiritual energy in Great Barren State's Celestial Bureau was exceptionally dense—precisely twice that of Taicang Great State!

The West Sea Crown Prince asked in surprise, "Godfather, why is the spiritual energy at the Celestial Bureau here so dense?"

Jiang Fan closed his eyes, sensed for a moment, and sighed: "It's not just the Celestial Bureau in Great Barren State. The spiritual energy of the entire Great Barren State is twice that of our Taicang Great State. This must be due to its destiny. Taicang Great State's destiny had significantly decreased after a certain event. The consequence was a sharp decline in spiritual treasures, depleted spiritual veins, and a dwindling number of talented individuals. In all aspects, it was inferior to the other eight great states. The loss of spiritual energy, making it inferior to other states, was just one manifestation."

Lin Danqing, having heard the rumors about the decline of Taicang Great State's destiny, said sympathetically, "Your Taicang Great State is truly unlucky. Originally, it was a top-tier great state, with destiny not inferior to Tianzhou or Myriad Demon Great State. However, it encountered a villain who stole half of its destiny. As a result, Taicang Great State's status rapidly declined."

Jiang Fan was startled. Taicang Great State's destiny was actually stolen by someone? "How does Commander Lin know?"

Lin Danqing said in surprise, "So Sect Master Jiang didn't know. I heard from the Grand Wine Sacrifice that several hundred years ago, a mysterious person stole your Taicang Great State's destiny in order to break through to the Great Sage realm!"

Jiang Fan was astonished. "How could that be? Our Taicang Great State has an Ancient Saint presiding over it. How could this person steal destiny right under the Ancient Saint's nose? Even if they managed to deceive everyone, the Ancient Saint would surely settle the score with them afterward."

Lin Danqing shrugged. "As for what happened next, I'm not entirely sure. But our Grand Wine Sacrifice explicitly stated that someone stole Taicang Great State's destiny in order to break through to the Sage realm."

Waves surged in Jiang Fan's heart. The root cause of Taicang Great State's decline was someone breaking through to the Sage realm? So, was destiny the key for a Soul Transformation cultivator to attempt breaking through to the Sage realm? But the price paid for the birth of one Sage was surely too enormous, wasn't it? Taicang Great State, which was once among the top three, fell to the bottom of the Nine Provinces because of this! No wonder the Sages of the Central Lands couldn't bear to kill Sage Skyeye when he was entangled with the Giant Emperor's remnant soul. Besides their camaraderie, the cost of cultivating a new Sage was simply too immense! The current destiny of the Central Lands simply couldn't support the birth of several new Sages.

Lin Danqing consoled him, "Fortune is intertwined with misfortune. Since Taicang Great State has fallen to such a state, it's likely that when the Ancient Giants descend, it won't become their decisive battlefield again, unlike a thousand years ago."

Jiang Fan suddenly understood. No wonder the battlefield in Taicang Great State a thousand years ago was so brutal. Several Sages had even fallen. It turned out that Taicang Great State was the decisive battleground for the entire Central Lands realm a thousand years ago. Now, Taicang Great State is far from its former glory, so naturally, it's no longer the primary target for the Ancient Giants.

"Perhaps," Jiang Fan's heart grew heavy. Even if it wasn't the primary target, Taicang Great State's pressure was still immense. At the Nascent Soul mid-stage level, Taicang Great State had only half the military strength of the Black Sun Royal Court. At the Soul Transformation level, excluding the Grand Wine Sacrifice and the red-faced elder, there were only four Soul Transformation cultivators and one Bodhisattva. Whereas the Black Sun Royal Court had a full nine Giant Kings, one of whom was a Five-Star Giant King on the verge of becoming a Giant Emperor! Holding back the Five-Star Giant King would leave Taicang Great State with only a slim chance of survival. But if they couldn't hold him back, death was certain! This alliance by marriage must succeed; failure was not an option!

Lin Danqing also felt the topic was too heavy, so he asked, "Sect Master Jiang, after you've completed your task, why not stay in my Great Barren State for a few more days and seek some opportunities? With a bit of luck, you might even break through to the Six-Orifice Nascent Soul stage." Although breaking through to the Six-Orifice Nascent Soul in Great Barren State was still very difficult, compared to Taicang Great State, it was at least twice as easy.

Jiang Fan said helplessly, "I'm tied up with many matters and have several places to go; I might not have time to focus on cultivation." Hearing this, Lin Danqing, being very perceptive, took out a jade slip and handed it to Jiang Fan. "This is a map of my Great Barren State; it should be helpful to Sect Master Jiang."

Jiang Fan accepted it with gratitude. This Commander Lin was surprisingly decent.

At this moment, they had arrived at the state's teleportation hall. Lin Danqing said, "We'll first teleport to the Forbidden Demonic Palace. From there, the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar won't be far."

Just then, the formation flashed, and a group of Celestial Bureau members happened to return. Leading them was a tall woman with phoenix-like eyes and a powerful aura. She was about twenty-five or twenty-six, but her cultivation was remarkably strong, having reached the Seven-Orifice Nascent Soul realm.

"Commander Zhang? Weren't you following the Grand Wine Sacrifice to the forbidden land? Why are you suddenly back?" Lin Danqing asked in surprise. It turned out that this phoenix-eyed woman was also a commander.

Jiang Fan's heart stirred slightly. A forbidden land? The Great Barren Forbidden Land? Isn't that where Venerable Wutong is located? Recalling Lin Danqing's earlier statement that the Grand Wine Sacrifice was dealing with a very urgent matter, he couldn't help but frown slightly. Could something have happened in the Great Barren Forbidden Land?