Chapter 1398: Sage's Means

Fairy Ziwei gasped, her beautiful eyes narrowing to slits.

To be able to make time flow backward across the entire Kaiyang City, the perpetrator must at least be a Sage-level expert, right?

She covered her red lips beneath her mask and exclaimed in surprise, "You shouldn't make such claims without proof."

Jiang Fan's eyes gleamed as he said, "The evidence is right here on us!"

"You must be like me, feeling a sense of déjà vu about certain scenes, right?"

Fairy Ziwei was astonished. "You have that feeling too?"

She had thought it was all her own delusion.

Jiang Fan said, "Also, when I blocked the white-robed youth's hand for you, it wasn't my conscious mind."

"It was my body's memory."

As he spoke, he frowned. "The only thing I don't understand is why a portion of our Nascent Soul power has disappeared."

"How did that happen?"

Just then, a calm voice came from Jiang Fan's embrace.

"That's because the two of you have traveled back and forth between Yaoguang City and Kaiyang City hundreds of times already."

"Your Nascent Soul power was consumed in this way."

What?

He had traveled back and forth between Yaoguang City and Kaiyang City hundreds of times?

How was that possible? He had just arrived from Yaoguang City. When had he ever traveled back and forth?

Jiang Fan took out the mirror, looked at the calmly sitting Imperial Daughter Zijiang inside, and his eyes flickered.

"Are you saying we're trapped in a time loop?"

Imperial Daughter Zijiang said calmly, "I knew it; the time loop here wouldn't deceive you."

"You would eventually notice."

After a pause, a star resembling a water ripple appeared between Imperial Daughter Zijiang's eyebrows, and she said, "That's right, a powerful expert forcibly altered the time of the Seven Abyssal Cities using principles."

"He made the Seven Abyssal Cities revert to the first day of the twelfth month, and it will continuously repeat."

"The moment the two of you stepped into the skies above Yaoguang City, you entered the time loop."

Jiang Fan was startled!

This sounded utterly terrifying.

But precisely because of this, it could explain his and Fairy Ziwei's sense of déjà vu about their surroundings, and why a portion of their Nascent Soul power had vanished.

A trickle of cold sweat dripped down Jiang Fan's forehead.

"How long have we been trapped in this time loop?"

Imperial Daughter Zijiang said indifferently, "Seven days."

"Every two hours, time in the Seven Abyssal Cities resets once."

"You return to the state you were in when you entered Yaoguang City, then arrive at Kaiyang City. After an investigation, when time is up, you're rewound back to the skies above Yaoguang City."

"This cycle repeats, and you have continuously experienced it a hundred times."

Jiang Fan gasped again.

Judging by the consumption of his Nascent Soul power, seven days matched perfectly.

He had unknowingly been trapped in the Seven Abyssal Cities for a full seven days! If he hadn't been meticulous, noticing all the anomalies, wouldn't he be trapped in the time loop forever?

Imperial Daughter Zijiang counted on her fingers and said, "Time is about to reset."

"Next time, you might not be able to discern the problem with the timeline."

Jiang Fan's expression changed.

This time, he had only accidentally noticed the almanac on the City Lord's Manor wall, which made him realize something was wrong with the time.

Next time, he might not be so lucky!

What should he do?

He had to escape this time loop immediately, or they would be in trouble.

However, this was likely the work of a Sage; how could he break free?

Imperial Daughter Zijiang slowly rose, and the star of time origin on her forehead began to spin faster.

She said with a hint of schadenfreude, "How about we make a deal?"

"You release me, and I'll use my time origin to break through the time reversal here, restoring your freedom."

"What do you say?"

She had been waiting for this opportunity. Now, it had finally arrived.

Only her time origin could break the time reversal. Jiang Fan had no other choice.

"Dream on!" Jiang Fan refused emphatically.

He would rather be trapped here with Imperial Daughter Zijiang until they perished than ever release this major threat.

Imperial Daughter Zijiang shrugged, a playful glint in her golden eyes.

"I should warn you," she said. "That Sage won't let the time reversal continue indefinitely."

"When he decides to withdraw everything, he will certainly make a move himself to silence you two."

"Do you have the confidence to survive at the hands of a Sage?"

Jiang Fan's heart sank. Time was urgent!

But he wouldn't be threatened by Imperial Daughter Zijiang.

His gaze shifted to Fairy Ziwei, and he said, "Fairy Ziwei, I need you to do something. Only then can we possibly break the time reversal."

Fairy Ziwei was lost in thought. She was still somewhat bewildered, unable to accept that she had been in this bizarre time reversal for a full seven days.

Hearing this, she said blankly, "Tell me."

Jiang Fan pointed to himself. "Hit me."

Fairy Ziwei looked astonished and said, "You want me to hit you?"

Jiang Fan nodded and said, "Yes, it's best if you hit me hard, and it would be even better if you curse me while you do it."

Since this was caused by a Sage's principles, if he activated the Eye-Sage's principles, would the time reversal still exist if the two principles collided?

Fairy Ziwei shook her head and said, "Why would I hit and curse you for no reason?"

Jiang Fan said, "This concerns whether we can break the time reversal."

"If you truly can't bring yourself to hit or curse me, then imagine me as the person you hate most, and you'll be able to do it."

The person she hated most?

Fairy Ziwei gazed at Jiang Fan in front of her, her eyes gradually becoming complex, and slowly nodded.

"You're the one who asked me to hit you!"

"Don't regret it afterward!"

Jiang Fan said, "Go ahead and hit and curse me, I absolutely won't blame you."

Since he said that...

Fairy Ziwei recalled various things about Jiang Fan, and a surge of resentment grew in her heart.

Her fist suddenly clenched, filled with the power of her Five-Aperture Nascent Soul. Her eyes blazing with fury, she threw a punch at Jiang Fan's chest and cried out, "Jiang Fan! You scoundrel!"

Jiang Fan paused. Wait, he asked her to *pretend* he was the person she hated most. Why did it seem like she really hated him?

But never mind. The more real it seemed, the better, as this would activate the Sage's inscription.

Indeed!

Just as Fairy Ziwei's fist was about to land on Jiang Fan's chest, the Sage's inscription activated!

Fairy Ziwei's eyes, which had been blazing with fury, suddenly softened with tenderness. The fist that was punching Jiang Fan changed into an embrace around his neck. Her alluring red lips, exposed beneath her mask, pressed against Jiang Fan's, and she breathed out, fragrant as an orchid.

"Jiang Fan, I like you, I've always, always liked you, do you know that?"

The next moment, Fairy Ziwei snapped back to reality.

She froze for a moment, then let out a piercing scream that could rupture eardrums. "Ah! Wh-what did I do?"

She shoved Jiang Fan away, her face reddening from her earlobes to her cheeks, and her eyes were so embarrassed they seemed about to well up with tears. She couldn't believe it, that she had actually hugged and kissed Jiang Fan, and said such embarrassing things!

Jiang Fan, however, ignored her and looked around.

*Whoosh!*

A faint sound of flowing water grew increasingly intense, finally thundering like a surging flood. It was like a river blocked by a dam; after the floodgates opened, the long-accumulated torrent burst forth!

Jiang Fan's heart filled with joy. The time that had enveloped the Seven Abyssal Cities was completely released. The Seven Abyssal Cities were no longer trapped on the first day of the twelfth month. Instead, it was now synchronized with real time!

As the sound of flowing water intensified, the surrounding space trembled, and real scenes gradually emerged.

However, after seeing it clearly, Jiang Fan was petrified on the spot.