Chapter 1423: Jade Creates Smoke

Jiang Fan's heart felt heavy as he asked, "Senior, is the spirit of Zi Dian very precious?"

Thinking carefully, he realized that if the spirit were an ordinary object, the Nine-Aperture Nascent Soul from back then wouldn't have taken it, leaving only an empty Zi Dian for Xu Yining. The spirit's value should be no less than that of Zi Dian itself, and it might even be much more valuable. The Forgetful Elder's surprised reaction just now also indirectly confirmed this.

"More than just precious?" the Forgetful Elder said, looking enviously at the purple sword shimmering with flowing purple light. "The spirit of Zi Dian is a soul fragment of a Realm Lord from the Heavenly Realm, ten thousand years ago."

Jiang Fan was greatly astonished. Thinking he had misheard, he asked, "A Heavenly Realm Lord?"

The Forgetful Elder nodded slightly. "That's right. One of its soul fragments was absorbed by Immortal Mountain and preserved. Later, when Immortal Mountain was forged into Zi Dian Qing Shuang, it inadvertently became the spirit of Zi Dian. It bestowed upon Zi Dian the characteristic of cutting through anything."

He scratched his head, perplexed, "I really don't understand how that woman could bear to give you this spirit."

Jiang Fan was stunned. The Starfall Mountain Master certainly wouldn't, but Xu Yining would. For a moment, he couldn't help but ask himself if he had been too heartless towards Xu Yining.

However, now was not the time to worry about that. He held the sword horizontally across his chest and said, "Senior, I am in urgent need of finding someone and truly have no time to get involved in romantic entanglements. If you continue to press me, I cannot guarantee that this sword will not strike your disciple."

The Forgetful Elder glanced at the damaged burlap sack, finally showing some concern. A forced union won't be sweet; if the other party truly resisted fiercely and harmed his disciple, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

After a moment's thought, he said, "If I help you find that confidante, would you be willing to meet my disciple?"

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up. Having a Grand Exalted in Guixu State help find someone was far better than him searching for a needle in a haystack!

He weighed his options and said, "Meeting is fine, but I can't guarantee anything else."

The Forgetful Elder smiled. "Alright! If I bring such a powerful contemporary to her, won't she be completely smitten? What is her name?"

Jiang Fan quickly said, "Yue Mingzhu, a young girl who looks about eighteen."

The Forgetful Elder nodded slightly. "Yue Mingzhu? Any distinctive features?" Clearly, he hadn't heard that name before.

Jiang Fan replied without hesitation, "She arrived in Tianyi City about half a month ago, via the Nine Dragon Demonic Cauldron left by you, Senior."

The Forgetful Elder's eyes flickered. His disciple had also appeared in Tianyi City around the same time. Could it be that the confidante Jiang Fan was looking for was his own disciple? But his disciple wasn't called Yue Mingzhu; her name was Yu Shengyan. Moreover, Yu Shengyan had said that her heartless man was a philanderer with countless women. Yet, Jiang Fan, standing before him, had traveled all the way to Guixu State for Yue Mingzhu. Not only that, he had repeatedly refused a marriage to the most beautiful woman in Guixu State, and now he was threatening to die to reject his disciple. Such a devoted person couldn't possibly be a heartless scoundrel. This "Yue Mingzhu" must have arrived in Guixu State around the same time as Yu Shengyan, right?

He nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I'll have someone look into it. However, it will take some time, from a few days to about ten days."

Jiang Fan was overjoyed and said, "That's fine, I can wait." He understood. Even for a Grand Exalted to find someone, it wasn't an instant task.

The Forgetful Elder stroked his beard and said, "The Ancient Sage specifically asked you to go to the Myriad Demon State; you don't have time to delay in Guixu State. How about this: later, I'll also have my disciple go to the Myriad Demon State, as per the Ancient Sage's request. If she encounters trouble, please look after her."

Jiang Fan had almost forgotten the Ancient Sage's instructions. Pondering that finding someone would take time, he realized he could use this opportunity to go to the Myriad Demon State. As for looking after his disciple along the way, Jiang Fan naturally wouldn't refuse, saying, "Alright, I'll head to the Myriad Demon State now. How should I contact your disciple?"

The Forgetful Elder casually took out two leaves, one gold and one silver. He handed the golden leaf to Jiang Fan and said, "The two leaves will sense each other's location. They'll be useful as long as you're within the same state. She will find you using this leaf."

Jiang Fan accepted it, cupped his hands, and said, "Then I shall trouble Senior to help me find her. This junior bids farewell."

Just as he was about to leave, the Forgetful Elder suddenly called out to Jiang Fan. "Wait, take this rabbit tail." He flicked his finger, and the half-severed rabbit tail, which Zi Dian had accidentally cut off, flew into Jiang Fan's hand.

Jiang Fan's face showed delight. He had personally witnessed the large white rabbit biting off a wisp of fur from its chest and scattering it on Venerable Lianjing, instantly healing his severe injuries on the spot. This arm-length half of the rabbit tail had dozens of tufts of fur on it, enough for him to heal dozens of times. This was definitely a treasure!

"Many thanks, Senior!" Jiang Fan said gratefully as he bid farewell and flashed towards the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

The large white rabbit twisted its head, indignantly looking at its severed tail, then angrily headbutted the Forgetful Elder's back. Caught off guard, the Forgetful Elder was sent flying and landed face-first.

"Ouch, my old back!" The Forgetful Elder clutched his waist, grumbling as he got up, "You damn rabbit! If I hadn't promised that Venerable One to look after you, I would have twisted your head off and made spicy rabbit head a long time ago!"

Half a day later, the Forgetful Elder returned to an ancient ruin. Ripples of laws encircled the ruins. Inside the ruin, before a stone tablet, a young girl in a pink dress sat cross-legged, quietly comprehending the supreme Dao techniques inscribed on it. She wasn't particularly tall, possessing the unique youthful aura of a young girl, but in her eyes, there was a hint of world-weariness that didn't belong to a young girl.

It was none other than Yue Mingzhu. Yu Shengyan was her real name. Yue Mingzhu was just an alias she used when traveling among the Nine Sects. How could she dare to use an alias after becoming a disciple of a Grand Exalted?

After not seeing her for over half a month, her cultivation had skyrocketed, reaching the peak of the Four-Aperture Nascent Soul stage, on the verge of entering the Five-Aperture Nascent Soul. The resources from the Tianshan battlefield had allowed her to advance from the peak of the Two-Aperture Nascent Soul to the Three-Aperture Nascent Soul level. After becoming the Forgetful Elder's disciple, under his meticulous cultivation, her progress was remarkably fast, reaching the peak of the Four-Aperture stage. Her martial path had been smoother than ever before. Yet, there wasn't much joy on her face.

She stopped practicing and her eyes dimmed as she mused: "I've been out of contact for so long, has Jiang Fan worried about me? Has he come to the mainland to look for me? Knowing him, he must have worried and looked for me. But he probably wouldn't guess that I went to the Nascent Soul cave dwelling, and he certainly wouldn't know that I was transported to Guixu State. Should I go back?"

But then she thought again and became irritated. "Why go back? He's busy with countless matters; to him, I'm just a burden. Perhaps, even when looking for me, he just searched casually, then moved on to other things." The more she thought, the angrier she got, clenching her pink fists and pouting, "I won't go back! If you don't come looking for me for a day, I won't leave for a day. If you don't look for me for a lifetime, then I won't see you for a lifetime! Hmph!"

Just then, a large white rabbit darted into the ruin. The Forgetful Elder, uncharacteristically free of alcohol fumes, had a face full of smiles: "Shengyan, still angry about that heartless scoundrel? Stop dwelling on that scoundrel, your master will introduce you to someone good!"