Chapter 1386: Meeting Ling Yin

Jiang Fan's pupils trembled uncontrollably.

If Jiu Yinju's grandmother also met Ling Yin when she was young, wouldn't that add up to two centuries? Even though a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator has a long lifespan of eight hundred years, their appearance would eventually age with the passage of time.

Jiu Yinju added, "Secondly, no one knows what she's thinking."

Jiang Fan strongly agreed with this.

For instance, she gave Soul Nurturing Pills to Yunxia in advance. Soon after, because of these pills, Jiang Fan and Yunxia united. Another example is Ling Shu; she gave her a cup of spiritual tea beforehand, and later, her feigned death led to the scar on Jiang Fan's Nascent Soul. Now, with a single letter, she had informed Jiang Fan that his death was approaching. What were her intentions?

It seemed he needed to meet Ling Yin to ask about his doubts.

"Thank you for the information. Does the Demon Race need any help recently?" Jiang Fan asked.

Jiu Yinju replied, "Yunshang has already sent many resources, so we don't need any for now."

Jiang Fan felt a slight warmth in his heart.

During his busy days outside, Yunshang had taken excellent care of both the Heavenly Secret Pavilion and the Demon Race, saving him a lot of trouble. It was his good fortune to have met Yunshang.

He clasped his hands and said, "The Ancient Giants will descend in another month. I will arrange for some Asura tribesmen to guard the continent and resist the Ancient Giants. At that time, just focus on saving yourselves."

The main battlefield would still be concentrated in Taicang Great State. The Giant Kings probably wouldn't come to the continent. They only needed to guard against the Ancient Giants.

Jiu Yinju's face showed gratitude. This was something Fairy Yunshang couldn't decide; only Jiang Fan could arrange it. "Thank you, Senior Jiang!"

Jiang Fan nodded, then lightly tapped his foot and flew back to the mountaintop.

In front of the exploded grave soil, the little Qilin hid behind a small mound, peeking out half of its small head, watching him cautiously.

Jiang Fan smiled, "You're awake! Come here!"

The little Qilin's eyes lit up. It smiled and teleported back to his shoulder: "Master, do you want me to get you a restraining device too? When you go crazy, I'll activate it and knock you out?"

Jiang Fan's smile froze as he remembered the scene when Song Lingyu went mad and the device knocked her unconscious with a single blow. His face immediately turned slightly green as he said, "Let's not. Let's ask Ling Yin if there's another way."

The scar on his Nascent Soul in his abdomen was caused by Ling Yin. Perhaps Ling Yin also had a way to control madness.

Soon after, in front of Hundred Blossom Valley.

Jiang Fan didn't rush in. Instead, he took off the Sky Thunder Stone, the three swords from his back, the space mirror, and other items. He only kept half of the Divine Acupoint Nailing Spike in his embrace.

"Stay outside. Don't go in," Jiang Fan instructed.

Ling Yin had once said she could save him three times. He was to come to Hundred Blossom Valley if he had trouble. As a price, each time she acted, she would take something from Jiang Fan. He somewhat suspected Ling Yin was responsible for the death of the Thunderwing middle-aged man. What if she wanted to take something from him? Other items might be acceptable, but if precious treasures like the Black Buddhist Scripture, the Peerless Spirit Sword, the Hook of Judgment Brush, or the Ancient Desolation Token were taken, Jiang Fan would have nowhere to cry. Therefore, he only kept half of the Divine Acupoint Nailing Spike. First, to test if Ling Yin was the owner of those terrifying golden eyes. Second, even if she was, he wouldn't suffer too great a loss.

After preparing, he stepped into Hundred Blossom Valley.

This not-so-large valley was still filled with birdsong and the scent of flowers, vibrant with life. The entire valley was filled with romantic and brilliant pink peach blossoms. In the trickling stream, fish swam freely, and small spirit beasts ran joyfully.

Under a small mountain, Jiang Fan saw Ling Yin. She was in a pavilion, trimming a potted plant with a pair of scissors. Dressed in a moonlight-white long dress, her black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her silhouette was graceful. At first glance, she seemed like a fairy left in a corner of the world, untouched by worldly affairs.

Jiang Fan took a deep breath, stepped forward to the pavilion, clasped his hands, and said, "Greetings, Priestess Ling Yin."

Ling Yin continued trimming the potted plant, ignoring him.

Jiang Fan looked over, and Ling Yin's profile came into view. Although he had seen her many times, this time still made his heart pound. Her beauty was not of this world. Illusory and unreal.

Jiang Fan averted his gaze, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said, "Priestess Ling Yin, I have completed your task and delivered the letter to the Heavenly Secret Elder."

Ling Yin still acted as if she hadn't heard him, treating him like air.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose. He sensed something was off and asked uncertainly, "Are you angry with me?"

Only then did Ling Yin stop her movements, turn her peerless face, and glance at him softly. Her voice was ethereal and dreamy as she said, "Do you need something from me?"

That tone... was she really angry with him? Jiang Fan was a bit dumbfounded. What had he done to make Ling Yin angry? In his impression, wasn't Ling Yin always calm, devoid of joy or sorrow? She was only slightly better than Bai Xin, whose emotions were sealed. What was wrong today? After not seeing him for so long, she got angry as soon as they met. A woman's heart was truly hard to fathom.

Jiang Fan said, "I just came to inform you that the task has been completed. Also, I'd like to ask if there's a way to quickly recover from madness."

Ling Yin picked up her scissors again and calmly continued trimming the potted plant, saying, "Just apply a little Sage's blood."

Sage... Sage's blood? Jiang Fan clicked his tongue. He might as well honestly bear his shackles. How could he get Sage's blood? The only two Sages he knew were one who went to an unknown place and the Asura Saint Son who wanted him dead. Where was he supposed to get Sage's blood?

"Consider it unasked," Jiang Fan said sheepishly. On second thought, if it were truly that easy to control madness, the Eight-Aperture and Nine-Aperture Nascent Souls from the Three Divine Sects and Seven Great Cults wouldn't be miserably confined in the madhouse. He was being a bit whimsical.

Jiang Fan thought for a moment, then asked, "May I boldly ask, Priestess Ling Yin, what is your cultivation realm?"

*Snip.* Ling Yin forcefully snipped a long, thick, black root with her scissors, and said expressionlessly: "Dealing with you is no problem."

Jiang Fan instinctively squeezed his legs together and cautiously stepped back. Ling Yin was definitely on edge today! He'd better come another day. He was a little scared.

"Since Priestess Ling Yin is busy, I shall take my leave now." With that, he didn't dare ask anything more and quickly turned to leave.

Ling Yin watched him scurry away with his legs clamped, and only then did she suppress a giggle, secretly smiling. The anger in her heart subsided a little, and she said, "Since you've embarked on the Flawless Path, from now on, you only have one thing to do. That is, to mend your shortcomings. Think about what shortcomings you have in this life. Mend what you can; if you can't... we'll talk then. Only by doing so can you awaken from the Nine-Aperture Nascent Soul and transform into a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator."

Jiang Fan understood. This was consistent with his guess; to awaken from madness, one must align with their own Dao. Just like Rat Wuxu, his Dao of Stealth required him to commit grand thefts to potentially awaken and transform into a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator.

He clasped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Priestess Ling Yin. I'll take my leave!" He hurried away.

Outside Hundred Blossom Valley, he reached into his embrace, felt around, and took out half of the Divine Acupoint Nailing Spike. "She didn't take it? Then, the one who saved me wasn't Priestess Ling Yin? Was I overthinking it?"

He pondered for a moment, then shook his head. Overthinking was useless; it was better to attend to more important matters.

What Jiang Fan didn't know was...

In the pavilion, Ling Yin held a vibrant green leaf between two fingers, radiating profound and mysterious artistic conceptions. She said with interest, "So this is a leaf from the legendary Grand Void Divine Tree?"