Chapter 1361: Great Menace

The two disciples were overjoyed.

"Master, you're incredible!"

"Even a five-star Giant King couldn't deal with Jiang Fan, yet you subdued him instantly!"

"I originally thought, Master, that you would need to use many methods to suppress him."

"Master, I apologize; I admit I previously underestimated your strength!"

Deputy Palace Master You's old face flushed. She said with a guilty conscience, "Yes, yes, of course."

"Jiang Fan is only at the Nascent Soul realm; how could he possibly escape your master's grasp?"

Although Jiang Fan came in by himself, it lessened her sense of participation. It was like eating dumplings that slipped into her stomach without her even chewing, leaving her feeling a bit unsatisfied. But regardless, the result was what she expected.

Immediately, she kindly said to Jiang Fan:

"Little friend Jiang, I believe it's a great waste of your talent to remain in Taicang Prefecture."

"I'd like to take you back to Dan Prefecture to develop your skills. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

Jiang Fan symbolically thumped the wall of the alchemy cauldron and said, "Deputy Palace Master You, you mustn't!"

"A powerful enemy is pursuing me, and they'll implicate you."

Deputy Palace Master You paused, then reacted with a chuckle:

"You can't fool this old woman."

Jiang Fan became anxious and said, "It's true! I'm not lying to you! You'll be implicated!"

But the more he insisted, the less Deputy Palace Master You believed him. She had witnessed how Jiang Fan, in the Celestial Realm, used his words to deceive a group of Giant Kings and the Green Pearl Asura King. His previous act of deception was much more convincing than his current one.

"Heh heh, little friend Jiang, I've already experienced your deceptive abilities; you can't trick me."

Jiang Fan grew desperate and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Help! Kidnapper! Help!"

Deputy Palace Master You laughed heartily: "Go on, shout all you want."

"Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will hear you."

Jiang Fan yelled a few more times, and only after confirming no one would come, he said reluctantly:

"Deputy Palace Master You, don't say I didn't warn you."

"If you suffer a loss, don't blame me."

Deputy Palace Master You's eyes crinkled with amusement. "Don't worry, I won't suffer even the slightest loss!"

She smiled as she closed the lid of the alchemy cauldron and let out a long sigh of relief. Patting the cauldron, she said, "After half a month of enduring hardships, I've finally achieved my goal."

"Let's go, back to Dan Prefecture!"

The two disciples were very happy.

"Master, which way should we go back?"

Deputy Palace Master You said without hesitation: "The North Sea."

"We can't use the official teleportation array; the Grand Wine Sacrificer will surely sense Jiang Fan's aura."

"He won't allow me to take Jiang Fan away."

"Only with that state-level teleportation array in the North Sea can we leave Taicang Prefecture as quickly as possible."

The male disciple frowned: "But I heard that state-level teleportation array is unstable."

"It broke once half a year ago and accidentally swallowed a girl who was passing through the North Sea."

"Since then, the teleportation array has become a random one, sending people to any major prefecture."

Deputy Palace Master You said, "It doesn't matter."

"As long as we can leave Taicang Prefecture, we can return to Dan Prefecture from another prefecture."

"It will just mean wasting an extra supreme-grade spirit stone."

"Let's go!"

***

Inside the alchemy cauldron, Jiang Fan's lips curved slightly into a smile:

"Deputy Palace Master You, if you get beaten black and blue, don't blame me."

Hearing that they were heading to the North Sea, Jiang Fan's smile deepened.

"What a coincidence, I also need to go back to Canghai."

He checked the alchemy cauldron; it couldn't block his spatial essence. If he encountered danger, he could teleport away instantly at any time.

"But they said half a year ago, a girl was swallowed by the state-level teleportation array in the North Sea?"

"That girl, she couldn't have been from our continent, could she?"

Jiang Fan frowned slightly. But there was no time to think. Deputy Palace Master You was already carrying the black cauldron and rushing with her two disciples. The black cauldron hummed loudly from the wind, making it difficult for Jiang Fan to concentrate on his thoughts, so he could only vigilantly observe what was happening outside, to prevent a two-star Giant King from suddenly attacking.

***

Half a day later.

In Canghai, on an unnamed small island, a red-lipped, white-toothed young man, dressed in luxurious robes and wearing a jade crown, was squatting in front of a grill, roasting meat skewers with the island villagers. The crispy outside and tender inside meat skewers sizzled, and the fragrant smell of roasted meat permeated the surroundings.

He took two skewers and walked to a nearby thatched shed, where a beautiful girl with exquisitely delicate skin was sitting. Her facial features seemed sculpted by an artisan, without a single flaw. However, she appeared overly fragile and somewhat sickly, leaning against the back of the chair with eyes slightly closed, seeming unwilling to speak.

"Yu Wei, it's ready."

The girl opened her eyes, and upon seeing the red-lipped, white-toothed youth, a glimmer of light appeared in them. She accepted with a smile: "Thank you, Brother Fayin."

The young man chuckled, "I've told you already, call me by my secular name; don't call me Fayin anymore."

The youth before her was none other than Fayin Vajra, who had already returned to secular life. And the girl was a remnant soul of an Asura from a tomb in the Celestial Realm: Yu Wei.

"I want to," Yu Wei said coyly.

Fayin indulged her, "Alright, call me whatever you like."

"Eat it while it's hot!"

"This is the first stop on our journey around the Central Land, Taicang Prefecture. Fully savor the delicacies of the Central Land!"

Yu Wei extended her skewer: "You eat mine."

Fayin also held his to Yu Wei's mouth. They exchanged a smile, then shyly took a bite from each other's skewers. Fayin chewed, his face full of smiles:

"Hmm, this is good!"

"So delicious you'd never want to stop eating it!"

Yu Wei giggled: "How amusing!"

Fayin smiled, then his smile suddenly faded, and he turned to look towards Taicang Prefecture. The clouds at the junction of heaven and earth had, at some point, turned a faint golden color. Visible Sanskrit characters formed a Buddhist path, piercing through the sky. Furthermore, a blazing golden sun moved along the Buddhist path into the distance.

Plop!

The skewer in Fayin's hand silently dropped to the ground, his eyes wide with shock: "A Bodhisattva... has emerged!"

"Brother Jiang is in trouble."

"Yu Wei, let's go see!"

***

At the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

On the small island leading to Tianzhou, spatial energy vibrated intensely. A large green ox, chewing on a handful of spirit herbs, slowly walked out. It shook its body, and the old man who was sound asleep on its back rolled off.

"Ouch! You wretched ox, you're going to break my old bones!"

The old man in ragged Daoist robes stood up unsteadily, clutching his lower back. He winced in pain, his mouth twitching, which pulled at his skin and hurt the dense, pus-filled sores on his face.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!" He gasped, "What kind of immense danger did that kid encounter? I was struck by a heavenly curse overnight and developed so many sores?"

Originally in Tianzhou, he suddenly experienced intense pain all over his body and his face broke out in sores several days ago. He realized it was a lingering side effect from his past divination of Jiang Fan's heavenly secrets. Jiang Fan must have encountered danger, and the heavenly secrets traced back to him, inflicting a heavenly curse. So, he hurriedly finished his affairs and rushed to Taicang Prefecture to investigate.

"Let me see if that kid is still in danger!"

He formed a hand seal, and his domain silently activated. Above the sky, a vast, boundless giant eye suddenly appeared, spanning the heavens. It coldly looked down at the earth, taking in all living beings and things.

The old man's eyes showed a glimmer of understanding: "Is the Heaven-Listening Bodhisattva going to guide him into Buddhism? Not fatal, that's good!"

"And a two-star Giant King also wants to kill him? Dangerous!"

"Wait! What is that..."

The old man's eyes suddenly flew open, and he was still speaking when the giant eye in the sky seemed to glimpse an unfathomable existence. It exploded on the spot! He staggered and fell, his face full of shock: "An existence I cannot fathom wants to kill him?"

"Th-this is extremely ominous!"