Chapter 1428: Flower Blossoms Bring Wealth and Honor

A Venerable of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man? Only twenty years old? She was only one or two years older than Jiang Fan! Jiang Fan was utterly astonished. How had she cultivated so quickly? He had met the Star Mountain Master, who was in her early thirties, and Jiang Fan had already considered her exceptionally powerful. For ordinary people, breaking through to the Incarnation Realm required an extremely long time. In Taicang Grand State, apart from the True Word Venerable, who was twenty-five or twenty-six, weren't all the Incarnation Venerables middle-aged or older? Yet, the woman before him had already cultivated to the level of an earthly supreme at the age of twenty. At this moment, he truly understood the meaning of "there is always a higher heaven, and there are always people more capable than yourself."

He immediately cupped his hands and said, "Junior Wang Chongxiao greets Senior."

"Wang Chongxiao?" the woman softly mumbled. "There have been a lot of people with that name recently."

"Wait here for a moment." She vanished on the spot. A moment later, a piercing scream echoed from the horizon. Then, she reappeared, with the Soul Shadow Venerable standing beside her, looking awe-struck.

The woman said, "Both of you have decent strength, especially you, Wang Chongxiao. You have considerable potential; it would be a shame for you to die in there."

"Follow closely behind me. Don't stray too far." With a Venerable offering protection, how could Jiang Fan refuse? He quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Senior. May I ask your name?"

"I am Venerable Iceheart from the Holy Spirit State," the woman, with her ethereal robes fluttering, replied without turning her head. Jiang Fan committed the name to memory and quickly followed.

The Soul Shadow Venerable glanced at the two corpses of Hell creatures on the ground and frowned. "This kid's luck is too good, isn't it? I thought he was dead. I didn't expect him to be rescued by Venerable Iceheart." He watched Jiang Fan's retreating figure, a cold glint in his eyes. "No rush. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to die in there."

Led by Venerable Iceheart, Jiang Fan stepped into the rift. The rift led directly to the depths underground. Yin energy surged outward like a volcanic eruption. From time to time, Hell creatures would scurry out, only to be effortlessly cut down by Venerable Iceheart.

Jiang Fan asked, "Senior Iceheart, what is the current situation in the interlayered world?"

Although Venerable Iceheart was a Venerable of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, she showed no airs whatsoever. She patiently replied, "Ten days ago, the Grand Libation failed to seal the opening to the interlayered world, and a large number of Hell creatures poured out. In the past few days, cultivators from various states have arrived as reinforcements, driving the Hell creatures towards the exit. They are fiercely fighting back. The Incarnation Realm Hell creature from just now was one that slipped through the encirclement."

Jiang Fan's pupils constricted. In his mind, the Grand Libations of the various states were unfathomable, supreme beings capable of rivaling Sages. She actually failed to seal it. Could there be something in the interlayered world that even a Grand Libation couldn't handle?

Venerable Iceheart continued, "Currently, our Central Land cultivators are divided into three routes—East, South, and West—to push back the Hell creatures. The Young Emperor is responsible for the South route, I lead a portion of cultivators for the East route, and Venerable Goldscale leads a portion for the West route."

Jiang Fan wondered, "The Young Emperor is alone?"

Venerable Iceheart nodded slightly. "He doesn't need anyone else. He alone is responsible for the South route, and he's also the fastest in advancing among the three routes."

Jiang Fan was considerably shocked! The Young Emperor, by himself, was causing an entire army of Hell creatures in one direction to retreat steadily. His speed was even faster than the combined forces of the Central Land on the East and West routes! Though all were Venerables of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, wasn't the Young Emperor far too powerful compared to Venerable Iceheart and Venerable Goldscale?

Venerable Iceheart calmly stated, "The Young Emperor is the strongest Venerable of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man in the Central Land. Furthermore, he cultivates the Thunder Path, which restrains Hell creatures, so it's natural for him to be invincible. It's perfectly normal for Venerable Goldscale and I to be inferior to him."

The strongest Venerable of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man? Jiang Fan's heart sank. Was the Young Emperor truly that strong?

"Our East route can't fall too far behind either, or the Young Emperor, by himself, might get surrounded if he pushes too deep." As Venerable Iceheart spoke, she led the two of them to the depths underground, landing on a crumbling cliff.

Looking out, a vast, endless black land came into view. On the ground, Hell creatures surged like a tide, their numbers stretching as far as the eye could see. They continuously poured forth from the depths. Below the cliff, hundreds of powerful cultivators from the demon and human races had formed a defensive line, staunchly holding back the onslaught of Hell creatures. How similar this scene was to the Border Mountain of the past? The difference was that the Hell creatures before them were not only countless but also far more ferocious than the demon race. As he pondered, a Nascent Soul Realm immortal was pierced through the chest by a red beam of light, then swarmed and devoured by Hell creatures, leaving no trace of her body.

Similar scenes unfolded repeatedly. Jiang Fan clenched his fists. These were the very backbone of forces that would soon resist the ancient giants, yet they were all tragically dying here! Who exactly released these Hell creatures?

Just then, deep within the tide of Hell creatures, an aura of destruction reappeared. Venerable Iceheart's gaze sharpened. "Another Incarnation Realm Hell creature has arrived. You two should join the defensive line. Do what you can, don't overexert yourselves." With that, she flashed away.

Jiang Fan eagerly swooped down. The Soul Shadow Venerable subtly relaxed. The obstructive person was finally gone. Now, he just had to wait for Jiang Fan to die at the hands of the Hell creatures! He pointed to the sky and said, "Wang Chongxiao, don't be afraid. Kill as many Hell creatures as you can to earn sufficient rewards." Jiang Fan looked up and saw countless crystals floating in the sky, recording the real-time situation of the battlefield. Afterward, merits would be assessed by replaying the crystal images. But at this moment, how could Jiang Fan possibly care about merits? Ignoring him, he directly swooped down.

Somewhere on the defensive line, Jiang Wuya held a sword box, flicking his fingers repeatedly, sending out streaks of nine-colored sword light. Wherever the light passed, Hell creatures were sliced into uniformly sized pieces. Behind him were the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Three Divine Sects and Seven Great Teachings of Taicang Grand State. All of them were Eight-Orifice Nascent Soul cultivators. Taicang Grand State did not have as many powerful cultivators as other states. Every Eight-Orifice Nascent Soul cultivator was an extremely valuable combatant for Taicang Grand State, and losing even one would be a tremendous regret. Taicang Grand State had dispatched a full ten Eight-Orifice Nascent Soul cultivators, indicating the significant scale of their support. However, even with Jiang Wuya, an Incarnation Venerable, leading the way, their situation was not good.

Song Lingyu's face was pale, showing signs of dwindling energy. "What's going on? Why are there more and more Hell creatures?" As the battle continued, their defensive line not only failed to advance but was gradually retreating.

Jiang Wuya calmly said, "It's the Young Emperor. He has been pushing northward all the way, scattering the Hell creatures in his direction towards the east and west. That's why we're facing an increasing number of Hell creatures." The Nascent Soul cultivators from Taicang Grand State looked grim. Their team was already at the very center of the defensive line, facing the most ferocious Hell creatures. Now, with the pressure rapidly increasing, their situation was precarious.

The Hell creatures, being highly intelligent, sensed an opportunity and attacked even more frantically. What was worse, several Nine-Orifice Nascent Soul Realm Hell creatures quietly approached the front line, hidden within the beast tide. After Jiang Wuya launched an attack, they seized the opportune moment, suddenly leaped out, and unleashed dangerous red beams of light at different cultivators. They actually intended to use the Taicang Grand State team as a breaking point to tear open a gap in the defensive line.

Jiang Wuya's face changed. "Be careful!" He repeatedly waved his sleeves, dispersing several red beams. However, one beam still slipped through, heading towards an Eight-Orifice Nascent Soul elder from the Great Yin Sect. The beam was too fast, leaving no time to react. The next instant, she was pierced through the chest by the red beam. Song Lingyu, standing nearby, turned pale and quickly helped her, exclaiming, "Senior Yunxun!"

But her act of support played right into the Hell creatures' hands. A lurking Nine-Orifice Nascent Soul Hell creature suddenly spat a red beam of light at Song Lingyu. In an instant, Song Lingyu was enveloped by the beam. Her heart skipped a beat. A deadly scorching sensation rushed over her. But just as she was about to suffer the same fate as Senior Yunxun, an unparalleled lightning sword sliced fiercely from behind her, obliterating the blood-red beam that was just inches away!