Chapter 1422: Holding Hands

Jiang Fan stood in a daze.

He wondered why the Ziwei Immortal, who had always been quietly kind to him, had suddenly become so unreasonable and then resorted to emotional blackmail.

It turned out that she couldn't bear to see Jiang Fan lose his Purple Sword after it was confiscated.

That's why she had so forcefully tried to bring him back and compel him into marriage.

In reality, she wanted to give him both the Purple Sword and the Azure Frost.

Jiang Fan clenched the Heavenly Thunder Stone, his heart a mix of conflicting emotions.

He looked back at Mount Qunxing, standing in silent contemplation.

The little Qilin poked its round head closer, curiously watching Jiang Fan's eyes.

His eyes were no longer calm. Like an autumn lake disturbed by a wisp of wind, endless ripples spread across them.

It was an emotion the little Qilin had never seen in Jiang Fan before. It couldn't quite name it. It seemed like hesitation, guilt, or perhaps a sense of melancholy.

Its short paw waved before Jiang Fan's eyes. "Master, what's wrong?" it asked.

Jiang Fan averted his gaze, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I'm saying goodbye to an old acquaintance I once missed."

He took one last look at Mount Qunxing and murmured:

"May you be treated gently for the rest of your life."

With that, he quietly turned and vanished into the long night.

Meanwhile, in the cave dwelling, the Ziwei Immortal had finished dressing.

Her long, dark hair cascaded smoothly down her back, and a luxurious, elegant red gown enhanced her tall, captivating figure with a touch of radiance.

A delicate and magnificent phoenix coronet shimmered with a soft glow.

She sat before a bronze mirror, gazing at her reflection, and murmured softly:

"I once said we would never meet again in this life."

"I never imagined we would meet again, Jiang Fan."

She cupped the golden mask on her face and slowly removed it. A stunning youthful face was revealed, making the bronze mirror seem to brighten.

Her brows and eyes were delicate, her expression gentle, and her features exquisitely picturesque.

However, she lacked the youthful liveliness a girl her age should possess. Instead, she had a touch of maturity.

She was none other than Xu Yining.

Gazing at her reflection in full ceremonial attire, she couldn't help but smile faintly:

"Fate truly enjoys playing tricks."

"The engagement I personally destroyed long ago has returned in a different form after all this time."

"Thank you."

"Thank you, Heaven, for allowing me to fulfill my dream of being Jiang Fan's bride, and to put an end to the regrets of my youth."

"But alas..."

She gently removed the phoenix coronet from her head and placed it softly before the dressing mirror, murmuring:

"Our story, in truth, ended long ago."

Two tears silently fell onto the phoenix coronet. They quietly slid down the bright, sparkling red jewels.

"Jiang Fan."

She gently stroked the phoenix coronet, which had appeared countless times in her dreams, but her tears, like a kite with a broken string, could no longer be stopped:

"Forgive my willfulness in my youth."

"If there's a next life, I won't let go again. I'll hold your hand and grow old with you."

"In this life, it ends here."

"For the rest of your life, please... take care."

By a towering ancient tree, the Mount Qunxing Master leaned against the trunk, her silver hair flowing and her long gown gently swaying.

She looked up at the bright moon, seemingly within reach, and sighed softly:

"Two fools."

She lightly tapped her finger, and the Telepathic Ring Jiang Fan had left in the secret chamber transformed into a purple light, flying off into the distance.

In the sky, Jiang Fan seemed to sense something; he turned and precisely caught the purple light behind him.

Staring intently, he couldn't help but be stunned:

"Was this given to me by the Mount Qunxing Master?"

Only then did he understand that the Mount Qunxing Master had observed every interaction between him and Xu Yining.

If she hadn't wanted Jiang Fan to leave, he wouldn't have been able to. She must have seen that Xu Yining had let go of him, which is why she didn't try to bring them together again.

Jiang Fan let out a long sigh, a pang of guilt welling up in his heart. If he had stayed and married her, Xu Yining would have been very happy, wouldn't she? But why should he, a dying man, make Xu Yining despair again?

This, perhaps, was their last meeting.

After a long silence, he bowed in the direction of the Mount Qunxing Master and then turned to leave.

As for where to go, he felt somewhat bewildered. Guiyuan Prefecture was vast, and finding the Luminous Pearl would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Remembering that the Luminous Pearl had been teleported to Tianyi City over half a month ago, Jiang Fan hesitated. Did he really have to go back to Tianyi City?

As he pondered, a palm-sized white rabbit suddenly darted out from under his feet. It was chewing on a blade of green grass.

Jiang Fan looked at it, slightly surprised. "This rabbit looks a bit familiar," he murmured.

No sooner had he spoken, than, to his astonishment, the small white rabbit visibly swelled, instantly transforming into the size of an ox.

This is the Forgetful Old Man's mount, isn't it? If it's here, then the Forgetful Old Man must be nearby too, right?

"Hehe, kid, I knew you and I had a stronger connection," a slurred voice from above his head declared.

He looked up to see a sack descending from the sky. "Oh, come on!" Jiang Fan was speechless.

Why had no one told him that the Grand Venerables of Guiyuan Prefecture enjoyed forcibly abducting men?

Before he could resist, he was stuffed into the sack.

His expression shifted slightly, and he said seriously, "Senior, this junior came to Guiyuan Prefecture to find a confidante. Please don't force me against my will."

The Forgetful Old Man materialized, stroking his beard. "You can look for your confidante, and I'll find an excellent husband for my disciple," he said. "No conflict at all, no conflict."

With that, he picked up the sack and was about to leave.

Jiang Fan grew anxious. He decisively drew his Purple Lightning sword and said in a deep voice, "Senior, if you don't release me now, don't blame me for damaging your magic treasure."

The Forgetful Old Man slung the sack over his shoulder and said drunkenly:

"This is a high-grade spiritual artifact. Go ahead and break it if you can."

Jiang Fan gritted his teeth. He gripped the Purple Lightning sword tightly and slashed fiercely at the linen sack in front of him.

To be honest, he wasn't confident he could cut through it. While the Purple Sword had the sharpness to cut through anything, it also had its limits. High-grade spiritual artifacts, especially those designed to trap people, were extremely tough and difficult for the Purple Sword to cleave.

However, with one swing of his sword, something Jiang Fan never expected happened.

The Purple Sword suddenly emanated a surge of purple electrical light, which clung to its blade. The electric light sliced through the linen sack as if it were tofu, cutting a huge opening directly.

The electric light's momentum didn't diminish; after cutting the sack, its residual power even struck the large white rabbit's upturned tail. A small section of its tail was also severed, as if it were tofu.

The pain caused the large white rabbit to suddenly bolt and sprint away.

The Forgetful Old Man, noticing the anomaly, was startled and quickly dropped the sack. Watching Jiang Fan emerge from the slit, holding the Purple Lightning sword, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, looking as if he had seen a ghost:

"Is that woman crazy? How did she infuse the Purple Lightning's artifact spirit into it for you?"

Jiang Fan also stared blankly at the Purple Sword in his hand, feeling unfamiliar with it. Was this still his Purple Sword? Why did it feel like it had undergone a complete transformation?

Hearing the words "artifact spirit," he quickly looked at the Purple Sword's blade and discovered a purple lightning mark on it. It was unmistakably the Purple Lightning's artifact spirit!

Xu Yining had not only returned the Purple Lightning to him, but she had also infused it with an artifact spirit? He finally understood why he had been randomly teleported towards Xu Yining when he was in Guiyuan Prefecture. It was because Xu Yining possessed the Purple Lightning's artifact spirit!