Chapter 1415: The Scheme Is Too Deep

The *Scripture of Soul Pacification*, hailing from the Buddhist domain of the Underworld, possessed the power to quell resentment, making it the supreme scripture for liberating deceased souls.

As Jiang Fan chanted, streams of black Sanskrit characters flew out from the *Scripture of Soul Pacification* and flowed into Kaiyang City.

Faint specks of fragmented souls, hidden in corners, within corpses, and beneath the ground, seemed to be drawn towards the Sanskrit characters, gathering to form complete, ethereal souls.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, when the scripture was fully recited, countless souls hovered densely above Kaiyang City. They joyfully followed the Sanskrit characters, running towards an unseen realm.

Jiang Fan closed the scripture, murmuring, "If there is a next life, I hope you find peace and contentment, and never again suffer such hardship."

As if in response, the many running souls stopped, turned, and bowed deeply to Jiang Fan. Then, guided by the Sanskrit characters, they ran towards the unknown.

When the last wisp of soul dissipated, the dark clouds shrouding Kaiyang City suddenly dispersed. Sunlight bathed the city, bringing a glimmer of light to the desolate, ruined landscape.

Jiang Fan stood for a long time before finally averting his gaze. Just as he was about to descend, a mysterious and sacred golden feather spun down from the sky.

Old Man Wangqing's pupils contracted sharply. "It's merit!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Merit from the heavens! How is that possible? Simply liberating souls can bring down merit? No, it's that black Buddhist scripture!"

Even the usually composed Mountain Lord of the Starry Host felt a surge of shock and fervent desire in her eyes beneath her silver hair. At the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage, the sole pursuit is accumulating merit. However, merit is incredibly difficult to obtain. It requires establishing achievements and virtues. "Establishing virtue" means earning respect through one's conduct and gaining the faith of sentient beings. "Establishing achievements" means rendering great service to sentient beings. In peaceful times, acquiring merit is as difficult as ascending to the heavens! Many great venerables have reached the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage over the past thousand years, yet none have managed to accumulate enough merit to ascend to the Sage realm through it. Yet, Jiang Fan merely liberated a group of deceased souls, and heaven bestowed merit upon him! How could any venerable at the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage remain calm after witnessing this?

However, when the golden feather of merit drifted down onto Jiang Fan, it passed directly through his body without lingering.

Old Man Wangqing slapped his thigh in regret. "Oh no! He's only at the Nascent Soul stage; he can't retain the merit bestowed upon him!" Watching Jiang Fan unable to keep the merit, Old Man Wangqing felt a pang of intense heartache. He wished he could rush forward and catch the merit before it dissipated upon the ground. Alas, this merit was specifically bestowed upon Jiang Fan. No one else could seize it.

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host also bit her red lip slightly, her face filled with regret. Witnessing the merit being wasted was more painful than being killed herself.

To their surprise, just as the merit was about to hit the ground and dissipate, it suddenly sensed something, spun upwards again, and ascended to Jiang Fan's chest. Then, it vanished into his embrace. More precisely, it entered the spatial mirror held within his robes.

The little Qilin, lazily lying on the ground, suddenly saw a feather flying towards it and brightened, scrambling to its feet. It extended its small paw, leaping to catch the feather. The feather did not evade, allowing the little Qilin to grasp it in its paw. It then transformed into countless fine golden threads, which merged into the little Qilin's body. Within its belly, the Divine Merit Pearl subtly grew in size.

This scene caused both the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host and Old Man Wangqing to freeze in astonishment.

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host narrowed her phoenix-like eyes slightly. "Is there a being at the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage residing with him?"

Old Man Wangqing stroked his beard. "Not only is it at the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage, but it also has an extremely close connection to Jiang Fan. That's why this merit also acknowledged him. What is this young man's background, anyway? He carries a collection of strange and unusual things!"

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host shifted her gaze. She turned her head to look at Fairy Ziwei, finding her staring blankly at Jiang Fan's back. Jiang Fan's deeds today—angrily slaying five Soul Transformation realm cultivators, pointing to the sky and rebuking a Sage, and liberating countless souls—left an indelible impression on her heart. She had always believed that by becoming a disciple of a great venerable at the Five Decays of Heaven and Man stage, she would surpass Jiang Fan and no longer look up to him. To her surprise, the gap between them had not narrowed at all. On the contrary, it had grown even wider.

"Ziwei," the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host called out.

Fairy Ziwei's heart fluttered. She quickly averted her gaze and respectfully asked, "Master, do you have any instructions?"

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host said, "The matter of the Seven Cities of the Heavenly Abyss ends here. The Great Marshal of the Expedition has been executed, and Heavenly Remnant City has met its deserved fate. We should now look forward. In less than a month, the Ancient Giants will arrive. We must still prioritize the greater good. Therefore, I must ask you to humbly continue with your engagement to the Young City Lord of Heavenly Remnant City."

What? Not only was Fairy Ziwei astonished, even the people from Heavenly Remnant City were greatly surprised. Earlier, the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host had allied with Old Man Wangqing to bring about the City Lord of Heavenly Remnant City's demise. The conflict between the two sides had reached an irreconcilable point! Yet, the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host still intended for Fairy Ziwei to marry the Young City Lord? Wasn't she afraid that Heavenly Remnant City would take out their anger on Fairy Ziwei, making her suffer immensely, or even causing her death within the city?

Fairy Ziwei said, disbelief in her voice, "Master, you still want your disciple to enter into a marriage alliance?"

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host replied coolly, "Do you have an objection?"

Fairy Ziwei bit her red lip slightly, strongly wanting to object, but then she glanced at Jiang Fan beside her. Despair once again flooded her heart. She nodded and said, "Your disciple will follow Master's arrangements."

Jiang Fan frowned. If the previous arrangement for Fairy Ziwei to marry the Young City Lord was still understandable to him, as it made sense for two forces with a thousand-year entanglement to ally against a common enemy, then after what happened today, what was the point of another marriage alliance? Heavenly Remnant City had suffered immense losses, and they harbored only endless resentment towards the arcane cultivators—a resentment that a mere marriage alliance could not extinguish. Forcing this marriage would be meaningless, serving only to push Fairy Ziwei into a pit of fire.

He couldn't help but cup his hands and advise, "Senior, please reconsider. Do not make Fairy Ziwei suffer a meaningless sacrifice."

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host's expression turned cold again. She looked indifferently at Jiang Fan. "Is the matter of my Starry Host Mountain yours to meddle with? Hmph! I despise it when someone tells me what to do! You don't want me to marry off my disciple? I will insist on marrying her off! I say, there's no better day than today; let the wedding happen now!"

What? Jiang Fan was infuriated. Was this woman out of her mind? Not only did she ignore advice, but she became even more stubborn the more he tried to persuade her! At the same time, he was filled with guilt. He had only intended to speak up for Fairy Ziwei, but instead, he had harmed her. Fairy Ziwei had helped him so much. She had even been willing to sacrifice herself by marrying the Young City Lord to save him.

Remembering this, he pulled Fairy Ziwei behind him and said in a deep voice: "Mountain Lord of the Starry Host, if you insist on this, I, your junior, will have no choice but to foolishly make an enemy of you."

He took out his last Wish Paper and ignited it.

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host's face grew cold. "If you ruin our grand plan for Guixu Province, can you bear the consequences?"

Jiang Fan mused that his time was limited, so what consequences could he not bear? He immediately stated with conviction, "As long as Senior doesn't make things difficult for Fairy Ziwei, I will bear all consequences!"

The Mountain Lord of the Starry Host nodded. "Good!" she said. "Then you shall marry Fairy Ziwei!"

Jiang Fan nodded without thinking. "Alright..."

"Wait!" Jiang Fan's eyes suddenly widened. Had he heard wrong? It wasn't until he saw the cunning smile hidden in the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host's eyes that he suddenly understood!

From the very beginning, the Mountain Lord of the Starry Host had no intention of restoring the alliance marriage between the two factions. She wanted Fairy Ziwei to marry Jiang Fan—the one renowned throughout the Nine Provinces, who had single-handedly entered Heavenly Remnant City and furiously slew five colossal Demigods. She had merely acted contrary to her true intentions to trick Jiang Fan into her scheme.

Jiang Fan was stunned. Were the schemes of Starry Host Mountain truly this profound?