Chapter 1395: Heaven and Abyss Seven Cities (Second Update)

His eyes flickered. He seized a fourth soul and asked, "Did a sage leave laws on you?"

The soul trembled, daring not to utter a single word.

Jiang Fan said, "If it is, just blink your eyes, and I'll release you immediately."

The soul quickly blinked its eyes.

Unexpectedly, the moment it blinked, its soul exploded as well!

Jiang Fan felt a profound shock. Indeed, laws from a sage bound them. Moreover, not only was Marshal Zheng Tian a forbidden topic, but even sages were.

The four-and-a-half-zhang giant was terrified and pleaded, "Fellow Daoist, you can't ask any more questions. If I could tell you, I would have already done so. Please don't force us."

Jiang Fan was also deeply alarmed. Since it concerned sages, he didn't want to delve further, fearing he might bring trouble upon himself. Therefore, he seized the four-and-a-half-zhang giant and pressed it into the Fate-Altering Jade Butterfly.

The four-and-a-half-zhang giant was horrified and cried out, "Don't kill me! I am one of the Hundred Generals of Heaven's Legacy City, and I have some status. Perhaps I can help you!"

Jiang Fan pondered for a moment and retrieved him. Instead, he pressed another soul into the ground. Only after all three holes lit up did Jiang Fan contentedly withdraw the Fate-Altering Jade Butterfly into the Sky Lightning Stone. As for the four-and-a-half-zhang giant's soul, Jiang Fan sealed it within a Phantom Crystal.

After completing these tasks, he finally felt the pain in his legs. He quickly landed and waited for the medicinal effects to take hold.

Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted by, and a jade-like hand reached out. In its palm lay a spiritual pill with six alchemic patterns, a rare sixth-grade spiritual pill. Even the Sky-Shattering Orb, the most precious item left by Venerable Sinister Heart to his true disciples, was merely a sixth-grade spiritual pill. Yet, the young woman before him, who only had a five-orifice Nascent Soul, effortlessly produced one. And she was giving it to Jiang Fan.

"Use this," Fairy Ziwei said indifferently, "It's stronger than a Rejuvenation Pill."

Jiang Fan looked at her suspiciously and asked, "You recognize the Rejuvenation Pill?" It was a lost spiritual pill. Only those from the continent's Nine Sects who had obtained this pill would recognize it. Few even in the Grand State of Taicang knew about it. How could someone in the distant State of Gui Xu recognize the Rejuvenation Pill he had just taken?

Fairy Ziwei didn't answer but calmly said, "You saved my life. This pill is for your injuries. Now we are even." She placed the pill in Jiang Fan's hand, then silently returned to the old woman's side, sitting cross-legged to replenish her Nascent Soul power.

Jiang Fan looked puzzled. He couldn't shake the feeling that this woman was unusually attentive to him. Earlier, when distributing the starlight, she had given it to him first, before herself and the old woman. A sharp pain shot through his legs, leaving him no time to ponder. He opened his mouth and swallowed the vibrant sixth-grade spiritual pill.

A surprising scene unfolded before Jiang Fan's eyes. His broken legs, with their bloody wounds, were visibly growing bones, blood vessels, blood, and flesh at a speed discernible to the naked eye. In just twenty breaths, his legs were fully restored! This effect was far more potent than that of the Rejuvenation Pill.

He rose and cupped his hands in gratitude, "Thank you, Fairy, for this spiritual pill."

Fairy Ziwei's eyes remained closed as she said faintly, "Leave the State of Gui Xu if you have no further business here. You don't belong here."

Jiang Fan thought for a moment and said, "I'd like to ask you about someone named Yue Mingzhu. She should have arrived in the State of Gui Xu about twenty days ago."

Fairy Ziwei opened her eyes, a hint of realization flashing across them before she closed them again. Her tone turned cold. "I don't know her, nor have I heard of her. Ask someone else."

Jiang Fan looked perplexed. Why had this woman suddenly become so cold? Just like Ling Yin, getting angry for no apparent reason. He had wanted to ask her if she possessed any special item that could draw him, a randomly teleported individual, to her side. However, the woman was clearly displeased, so asking further would likely be futile. He could only cup his hands and say, "Then I won't disturb you further, Fairy. Farewell."

Just as he was about to leave, the old woman, still unconscious, suddenly murmured a few words. "Seven Cities of Heavenly Abyss... something changed... notify... Grand Wine Sacrifice..."

Fairy Ziwei's eyes snapped open, and she asked, "What happened to the Seven Cities of Heavenly Abyss?" But the old woman fell back into unconsciousness.

Fairy Ziwei frowned deeply. "Why aren't her injuries healing at all? I clearly gave her a fifth-grade healing spiritual pill."

Jiang Fan, who was about to depart, couldn't help but examine the old woman's injuries. At first glance, her appearance seemed fine. Upon closer inspection, he found no abnormalities within her body. After some thought, he took out the scent-sensing jade piece from the Nine Fragrance Village Chief and put it in his mouth. Various scents immediately assailed his nostrils. Among them was a faint, almost imperceptible, dark aura emanating from the old woman's head.

Jiang Fan pondered briefly, then placed his finger on the old woman's forehead. A trace of lightning power flowed into her. Soon, wisps of black mist, as thin as hair, seeped out from within the old woman's head. The old woman's face, which had been perpetually pale and dark, finally regained a hint of healthy color.

Fairy Ziwei's eyes gleamed with joy. "You are still so..." She stopped herself mid-sentence, then, maintaining a calm tone, she finished, "You have excellent methods." Jiang Fan was focused on suppressing the dark aura and didn't pay close attention to her words.

He nodded casually and said, "She will fully wake up soon." He paused, then asked with some concern, "What is this place she just mentioned, the Seven Cities of Heavenly Abyss?"

Fairy Ziwei hesitated. She had not intended to speak with Jiang Fan again. However, out of gratitude for him saving the old woman, she said, "The Heavenly Abyss is a massive chasm that divides the State of Gui Xu. Legend says that the land on the west side of the Heavenly Abyss was taken by ancient sages from the Celestial Realm. The land on the east side was taken from the Underworld Realm. The two lands were pieced together, forming the State of Gui Xu, with the Heavenly Abyss as its dividing line."

Jiang Fan suddenly understood. No wonder the atmosphere in the State of Gui Xu contained both spiritual energy and yin energy. The existence of the State of Gui Xu also corroborated the origin of the Central Land. It truly was forcibly excavated by ancient sages from the Celestial and Underworld Realms.

Fairy Ziwei continued, "The entire State of Gui Xu was once occupied by Way cultivators. However, after the Great War of Ancient Giants a thousand years ago, many half-giants in the Central Land could not be dealt with. Under the insistence of a certain sage, they were settled in the eastern part of the State of Gui Xu. The Way cultivators were then forced to retreat to the western side."

Jiang Fan frowned deeply. He had heard about this part of history from Grand Elder Qin Wangchuan. She had mentioned that during the Great War of Ancient Giants a thousand years ago, a group of cowardly individuals, to avoid becoming prey to the ancient giants, consumed the blood of ancient giants and evolved into half-giants. After the war, the Central Land was preparing to eliminate these traitors. A "benevolent" sage stepped forward and pardoned them.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Fan was now hearing the continuation of this history in the State of Gui Xu. That sage had actually forced the indigenous people, who had lived in the State of Gui Xu for ten millennia, to cede half their land to settle those traitors!

This explained the existence of the Seven Cities of Heavenly Abyss. Even without Fairy Ziwei explicitly saying it, Jiang Fan understood. It must have been due to constant conflict and friction between the human Way cultivators and the half-giants. Thus, the human Way cultivators established the Seven Cities of Heavenly Abyss to guard against invasions from the half-giants.