Chapter 1360: Bodhisattva Descends the Mountain

The Crimson Princess seemed to sense something, glancing at the sky and then calculating the days on her fingers.

Her gaze subtly changed.

“The Great Hunt has begun.”

Noticing the Sky-Eyed Asuras standing nearby, she understood the source of Jiang Fan’s anger.

She calmly said, “You’ve witnessed the Great Hunt’s blood and cruelty? You’ve seen the Asuras’ separation by life and death, the despair and misery of innocent beings? So you empathize with them? But don’t you humans also slaughter cattle and sheep and eat their flesh? In the eyes of cattle and sheep, what difference is there between you humans and us Ancient Giants?”

Hearing this, Jiang Fan, instead, calmed down and said indifferently:

“I knew you’d bring up this age-old paradox! My answer is: standpoint! Cattle and sheep have their standpoint, humans have their standpoint, Ancient Giants have their standpoint, and all beings have their standpoint! I am human; I can only view everything from a human standpoint! To adopt the perspective of other races would be a betrayal of humanity! Therefore, Ancient Giants who consume humanity are my enemies, and I shall destroy them!”

The Crimson Princess fell silent, letting out a soft sigh.

“It truly is you. I had hoped to weaken your resolve against the Ancient Giants, but I was being presumptuous. Someone like you cannot be easily swayed.”

Her rhetoric, which demonized humanity and framed the Ancient Giants’ invasion as a natural course of the Heavenly Dao, was an ancient tactic. Those with weak wills could easily be led astray and fall into self-doubt. However, Jiang Fan’s clear stance on racial perspective left no room for such rhetoric.

Jiang Fan’s eyes gleamed with killing intent. He said, “One day, I will ascend to the Celestial Realm! And I will make you watch as your Ancient Giant children perish tragically before your eyes! I hope then you can use your own rhetoric to convince yourself not to be angry!”

The Crimson Princess calmly said, “Ascend to the Celestial Realm? A very bold idea, like cattle and sheep trying to overthrow your human rule. The idea is admirable, but unrealistic.”

Jiang Fan said, “When more people traverse the wilderness, a path naturally emerges. For ten thousand years, I believe I am neither the first nor the last to wish to ascend to the Celestial Realm. When millions upon millions of us walk this path, then, a way will surely appear!”

The Crimson Princess fell silent. She recalled an old human saying from a book she had recently read:

“Though the path is arduous, its destination will be reached.”

If humanity had more ambitious individuals like Jiang Fan—resourceful and compassionate towards all beings—who could say that the day when the Central Land counterattacks the Celestial Realm would not come?

She gazed at Jiang Fan and said, “I hope this time, the Celestial Realm conquers you completely and eradicates all future troubles!”

Jiang Fan said, “I will ensure they come but never return!”

He put away the mirror, and the image of the Asura child running towards him flashed before his eyes. His gaze became stern and resolute.

“I have completed the mission of guiding the Asuras. Commander Bai, I take my leave.”

Bai Xin asked, “Where do you plan to go?”

Jiang Fan looked towards the continent and said, “To find my own path and grow stronger!”

Bai Xin calmly watched Jiang Fan. As far as she could remember, this was the first time Jiang Fan had so directly expressed his desire to become stronger.

“Very well, I wish you success,” Bai Xin said.

Jiang Fan watched her lead the Asuras away. Just as they were about to disappear from sight, he suddenly remembered something and asked:

“Commander Bai, have you ever seen the true face of Venerable Six Paths?”

Bai Xin stopped, turned back with a puzzled expression, and shook her head. “No, why do you ask?”

Jiang Fan said, “If you have time, look into it. Let me know if you find anything.”

Bai Xin didn’t understand, but she still said, “Alright, I’ll remember that.”

If Bai Xin truly was Venerable Six Paths’ daughter, she should remember her own father’s appearance, right? Once she uncovered Venerable Six Paths’ true appearance, the father and daughter should be able to recognize each other.

After bidding farewell to everyone, Jiang Fan set off, heading alone towards the continent.

At the same time, White Horse Temple suddenly shone with brilliant Buddhist light. Golden rays, like dazzling sunlight, illuminated the heavens and earth. Chants arose, swirling around, bringing peace to the mind. Vajras soared into the sky, gathering around a massive twelve-petaled golden lotus. They pressed their palms together, bowed their heads, and chanted scriptures, their expressions devout and reverent. On the twelve-petaled golden lotus sat a monk in a red kasaya. His aura was peaceful, solemn, and sacred. His face constantly shifted, sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes compassionate, sometimes smiling with release. His eyes were warm and profound, intelligent and insightful.

He was none other than Bodhisattva Tianting.

“A Bodhisattva’s heart shows compassion for all beings; a Buddha’s wrath eliminates evil and heresy. Benefactor Jiang, you are truly a reincarnation of the Buddha’s son.”

He listened to the sounds of heaven and earth, hearing every word of Jiang Fan and the Crimson Princess’s conversation.

“It is time to welcome him into our Buddhist sect!”

He slowly raised his palm. In his palm was a jade box containing a wisp of ash from a wish-granting paper. The ashes pointed directly north.

“The Buddha’s Son desires to head south and enter the sea; we shall go north to meet him!”

Bodhisattva Tianting’s voice was magnetic and slow. As he spoke, he, the golden lotus beneath his feet, and the surrounding Guardian Vajras all instantly vanished.

Jiang Fan, unaware, did not know that White Horse Temple had dispatched its entire sect to convert him. However, he was also prepared. He did not head directly south, passing White Horse Temple to enter the sea. Instead, he planned to detour through the Great Yin Sect’s territory on the westernmost side of the continent before entering the vast ocean.

But, just as he was about to make his move, a faint, ethereal scent of alchemy wafted towards him. Jiang Fan immediately grew vigilant; many people were seeking him now. He quickly took out a thin slice gifted by the Nine Fragrance Village Chief, put it in his mouth, and immediately his sense of smell increased a hundredfold. He immediately detected the source of the scent. It was clearly from a hidden space not far from the Sky-Connecting Black Pillar, where three individuals with varying intensities of alchemical scent were located. Moreover, this scent was very familiar to him. It was none other than Vice Palace Master You of Danzhou and her two young disciples.

“Why hasn’t she left yet?” Jiang Fan was surprised. It had been half a month since they arrived in Taicang Great State. And why were they hiding so stealthily? With a shift of his gaze, Jiang Fan vaguely guessed their motive: could they be planning to secretly capture him and take him back to Danzhou, believing his alchemy skills were extraordinary? Otherwise, their strange actions as master and disciples could not be explained.

Jiang Fan instinctively wanted to use his Cloud Shadow technique to escape. But then he had a change of thought. The Bodhisattva wanted to convert him, and the Two-Star Giant King could emerge to kill him at any moment. And currently, he had no Venerable to protect him. Why not go with the flow and pretend to be captured by Vice Palace Master You? Once the Bodhisattva or the Two-Star Giant King arrived, Vice Palace Master You would naturally bear the brunt.

With this thought, he feigned ignorance of Vice Palace Master You’s presence. He leaped, heading in their direction, muttering, “It’s closer to the continent from this way.”

Vice Palace Master You was holding a black cauldron, watching Jiang Fan run straight towards her. She couldn’t help but freeze, “What a coincidence?”

Her two disciples urged, “Master, what are we waiting for? Quickly apprehend him!” They had been following Jiang Fan for a long time and were utterly fed up.

Vice Palace Master You, flustered, activated the black cauldron and said, “It’s too late! I didn’t expect him to run right towards me!”

In her haste, she only managed to make the black cauldron rise into the air; she hadn’t even had time to activate its suction force on Jiang Fan. Yet, Jiang Fan plunged headfirst into the black cauldron. He even yelled, “Ah! What a powerful suction force! Who is trying to ambush me?”

Vice Palace Master You blinked, then blankly looked at her hands, which hadn’t even finished forming the seals.

“I… I didn’t activate it!”