Chapter 1262: The Intoxicated Grand Wine Festival

At its tail, near the anus, a snow-white, quail-egg-sized snake egg rolled out. Then came the second, third, and fourth eggs. All four snake eggs were stuck together.

Jiang Fan was momentarily stunned, then exclaimed in delight, "It... it was pregnant? If we raise them, can we get four more doses of venom? No, if there are both male and female among them, my Taicang Great State could continuously breed Dark Night Black Snakes. Theoretically, with enough snake venom, we could kill any number of ancient giants that appear."

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. An unintentional gamble had surprisingly brought a tremendous opportunity to Taicang Great State! At this thought, he excitedly gripped the Grand Brew Priest's hand: "Grand Brew Priest, you are the benefactor of my Taicang Great State! Thank you, I thank you so much!"

The Grand Brew Priest, already faint with anger, saw that Jiang Fan had not only acquired several snake eggs but also envisioned a massive breeding plan. Her blood rushed to her head, and she stared at Jiang Fan, sputtering, "You... you..." She was both drunk and extremely angry. Before she could finish her sentence, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground.

Only then did Jiang Fan realize he had truly hit her where it hurt. He cleared his throat, handed the Grand Brew Priest over to Zhang Chuyun, and said, "Take your Grand Brew Priest back and ensure she rests and recovers properly."

As he said this, he felt inside the Grand Brew Priest's sleeve and retrieved the Fortune Lock. He muttered, "If you had put it in a spatial storage device, I would have been out of luck. Luckily you kept it in your sleeve; then I won't cause you any trouble."

Zhang Chuyun was surprised. "Sect Master Jiang, what is this?"

Jiang Fan held up the Fortune Lock. "This? It's a secret I won from your Grand Brew Priest. When she wakes up, tell her the truth: she's still the best drinker in the Central Lands."

Zhang Chuyun's mouth twitched slightly. "It's better not to say anything. If she knew the truth, the entire Great Wilderness State would be thrown into chaos by her!"

The Grand Brew Priest, who prided herself on her cleverness, failed to trick Jiang Fan and was instead completely outmaneuvered by him. It would be a miracle if she didn't go insane with rage.

Jiang Fan nodded. After a brief thought, he produced a crystal disk—the Soul-Searching Crystal. Bi Luo had used this very crystal to find her 'Heart Fire' path.

"The Soul-Searching Crystal?" Zhang Chuyun was astonished. "Isn't this the unique divine artifact of your Great Wilderness State's Grand Brew Priest? Our Grand Brew Priest has been trying to borrow it for years, but they've never agreed. How did it end up with you?"

Jiang Fan handed the Soul-Searching Crystal to them. "Since we've met here," he said, "You two should each try to find your own path."

Hearing this, Zhang Chuyun and Lin Danqing were overjoyed. This was an opportunity that money couldn't buy! The two immediately used it on themselves, seeking to discover their true paths.

Soon after, a faint understanding dawned in Lin Danqing's eyes, as if he had found a suitable path, and an uncontrollable joy spread across his face. Zhang Chuyun, however, frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the path revealed to her. However, if she couldn't find a better path in the future, she could certainly settle for this one and embark on her cultivation journey.

Jiang Fan retrieved the Soul-Searching Crystal, saying, "It seems both of you have gained something. I wish you both an early journey on your chosen paths, and to achieve Spirit Transformation."

Lin Danqing and Zhang Chuyun quickly clasped their hands and thanked him. Both had expressions of profound gratitude and relief on their faces. Meeting Jiang Fan was truly their great fortune!

Jiang Fan said, "Then I'll take my leave." He glanced around, noticing that there were still ice blocks and the Dark Night Black Snake to be dealt with. The latter, having laid its eggs, was already dead and worthless. As for the ice blocks, Jiang Fan's gaze shifted, and he picked up the ice blocks again. He found that the melted gaps were slowly healing under the nourishment of the ice blocks' own cold energy. He then tucked the Fortune Lock inside. With this ice block sealing it, he wouldn't have to worry about someone else erasing his mark on the Fortune Lock and claiming it as their own. Furthermore, unable to retrieve the Fortune Lock, others wouldn't be able to figure out its function. They would only think they had picked up a high-grade spiritual artifact and smugly carry it with them. He couldn't help but smile faintly: "I wonder who the next unlucky person will be."

Having taken care of everything, he hurried towards the Ten Thousand Devil's Den with the West Sea Crown Prince. Only through their teleportation array could they reach the Forbidden Devil Palace directly.

While they were traveling, near the Sky-Connecting Black Pillar, space trembled. Suddenly, large splashes of blood rained down from the sky. Immediately after, Venerable Lianjing plummeted to the ground with a thud. She was covered in blood, and four gaping wounds on her body bled profusely. Fortunately, after getting away from the forbidden area, the Ginkgo Tree's primordial energy weakened considerably, and the wounds were slowly healing. Her pretty face was pale and bloodless, and she weakly leaned against a mountain gate to sit. After swallowing a handful of healing elixirs, she placed her jagged sword across her knees and silently began to meditate and regulate her breathing.

Feeling the pain in her body, a hint of agony showed in her brows. She couldn't help but grow angry: "You little swindler, you ruined my big plan! I won't let you off! If it weren't for Jiang Fan, how would I have ended up in this situation? How could I have failed so completely? As soon as I recover from my injuries, I'm coming for you!" Jiang Fan had the thunder she had given him; finding him by his aura wouldn't be difficult!

She endured the pain and continued to regulate her breathing, but as if thinking of something, she sighed faintly: "My time is running out. I need to find a way to accumulate enough merit for Feng'er! He has sacrificed too much for this day. I... I should do something for him."

A short while later, in the teleportation hall of the Forbidden Devil Palace, the moment Jiang Fan's feet touched the ground, he felt a fierce wind assailing him. Without hesitation, he summoned the Undead of the Mist Giant King to block in front of him.

Clang! A dull thud of a long saber striking flesh resonated. Jiang Fan focused his gaze. Inside the teleportation hall, a chaotic battle was raging. On one side were demon cultivators dressed in purple, presumably from the Forbidden Devil Palace, who were under attack. The other side was naturally the Bone Devil Cave, taking advantage of the chaos. Given that the battle had reached the teleportation hall, it appeared the Forbidden Devil Palace forces were in full retreat, attempting to escape using the teleportation array, but had been caught by the Bone Devil Cave and couldn't break free. The one attacking them was a Nascent Soul cultivator with six opened orifices from the Bone Devil Cave! He held a pitch-black demonic blade, and upon seeing the colossal body of the Mist Giant King, a hint of horror appeared on his face. Even though they were fierce demon cultivators, seeing the mountain-like Giant King for the first time still filled them with dread.

Jiang Fan scanned the corpses strewn across the floor. Two of them were mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, which made his heart ache. These were the core strength in resisting the ancient giants. They hadn't died on the battlefield but had fallen in mutual slaughter! He hadn't wanted to meddle in their affairs, but seeing such a waste of human resources in the Great Wilderness State, an uncontrollable rage welled up within him.

"Everyone, stop!"

The six-orifice Nascent Soul demon cultivator, still holding his demonic blade, came to his senses and eyed Jiang Fan's cultivation level, a greedy glint in his eyes. "That ancient giant of yours is pretty good; I'll take it!"

Jiang Fan's eyes grew slightly cold. Talking to demon cultivators, it seemed, was useless! In that case, he would kill until they feared him!