Chapter 1436: Duren Black Lotus

Jiang Fan was somewhat speechless.It turned out bad luck could be contagious.

Seeing the other person being chased by creatures from the netherworld, he decisively went to meet them. Even if it wasn't to fulfill his promise to the Wild Mountain Elder to look after them, they had fallen into this layered world because of him. How could he stand by and do nothing?

Whoosh! He flashed into the sky above the group of netherworld creatures. Looking down, he saw hundreds of netherworld creatures chasing an eighteen-year-old girl.

The girl was dressed in coarse linen, with a dirty ponytail, and her face was covered in pustules. To make matters worse, she had crossed eyes.

Jiang Fan's mouth twitched. Was this the Wild Mountain Elder's female disciple? That old man really had the nerve to try and set them up!

Seeing several late-stage Nascent Soul realm netherworld creatures brewing dangerous red light in their mouths, he didn't dare to hesitate. He decisively took out the Hell Soul Bell and shook it.

The pursuing netherworld creatures immediately stopped. As the bell continued to ring, they all lowered their heads, trembled, and scattered away. This was how the ugly girl was saved.

She stopped, panting, and sat down on a pitch-black stone. Unexpectedly, the stones in the layered world were exceptionally cold and piercing, making her shiver and spring back to her feet.

Annoyed and angry, her crossed eyes glared fiercely at Jiang Fan in the sky, without saying a word. Internally, she couldn't stop complaining.

"This is the 'good man' my master spoke of?" Looking at Jiang Fan's middle-aged face, she muttered under her breath: "If Master wants to marry me off and get me far away from him, she could just say so directly. There's no need to arrange a blind date with a middle-aged man like this, is there? The only thing about him that could compare to Jiang Fan is that he also claims to be from Taicang Great State."

The girl was none other than Yue Mingzhu. To avoid being noticed by the "good man" arranged by her master, she had paid a price to alter her appearance.

She scrutinized Jiang Fan, her eyes subtly shifting, and said, "You're not from Taicang Great State, are you?" Although she disliked the middle-aged man in front of her, she had to admit his strength was terrifying. When chasing the netherworld creatures earlier, he had led the charge, no less capable than Jiang Wuya, the revered Soul Transformation cultivator. She had never heard of such a figure in Taicang Great State. Therefore, she strongly suspected this person was impersonating someone from Taicang Great State.

Jiang Fan naturally offered no explanation, landing in front of her. Seeing the gold and silver leaves hovering over both their chests, it was hard for him to pretend not to notice.

He could only say, "The Wild Mountain Elder must have mentioned me to you, right? But please allow me to be clear: I already have a companion, and I have no intention of forming a bond with anyone else. I hope you won't pester me."

"Me, pester you?" Yue Mingzhu was so annoyed she laughed. She thought to herself, "This guy is truly hypocritical! If he's unwilling to comply with my master's request, why did he accept the gold leaf? Is my master going to force him? Clearly, he changed his mind only after seeing my ugly appearance! If I showed my true face, I'm afraid he'd have a completely different story."

Without bothering to hide her disdain, she said, "What a coincidence then. I also don't wish to be pestered by you."

Hearing this, Jiang Fan breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled. This was for the best. He could report back to the Wild Mountain Elder now. He wondered if the Wild Mountain Elder had found Yue Mingzhu after all this time.

Boom! A loud rumble suddenly came from the center of the layered world. It sounded like some powerful entity was fighting.

Jiang Fan's expression turned serious. "Let's go. I'll take you out of this layered world."

Yue Mingzhu's heart also skipped a beat. This place was extremely dangerous; they had to leave quickly. However, she didn't trust Jiang Fan to lead the way. Jiang Fan's strength was considerable, but it might not be enough in the layered world. She'd rather trust herself.

A colorful glow flashed in her eyes as she activated her most adept Heavenly Eye Observation Art, observing the qi flow of heaven and earth to discern fortune and misfortune. Based on her experience, places with abundant qi flow were usually safe. Looking around, her gaze settled behind them. Her brows furrowed, and she murmured: "Strange. The battleground's qi flow is as vibrant as a scorching sun, impossible to look at directly. But the direction of the exit is completely dark, accompanied by danger."

After a brief contemplation, she glanced at Jiang Fan and said coldly, "Follow me if you don't want to die!" Immediately, she took off, soaring towards the location of the battle.

Jiang Fan quickly said, "Are you crazy?" However, the other person didn't look back, instead eagerly using spatial secret arts to rush forward. Jiang Fan clicked his tongue. "Why is this girl so disobedient?" He wanted to just leave, but remembering the Wild Mountain Elder's entrustment, he could only grit his teeth and quickly give chase. He'd try to persuade her first. If she didn't listen, he'd knock her out and take her away!

Not long after, Jiang Fan caught up with the ugly girl. He didn't know where in the layered world they were, but the Yin energy was oppressive. Even Jiang Fan, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, felt a chill run through him.

The ugly girl was currently peeking through a rock crevice while lying prone on a steep, small dirt mound. Jiang Fan didn't act rashly; he also crept over stealthily. Looking in the direction the ugly girl was facing, his expression changed.

On the other side of the small mound was a sunken black valley. The valley was filled with a viscous, pitch-black liquid that evaporated into a thick mist, condensing into dark clouds above the valley. These dark clouds spread in all directions, releasing wisps of Yin energy wherever they went.

Jiang Fan's face showed surprise. "This entire valley is liquefied Yin energy? Is this the source of all Yin energy in the layered world?" He had a bad feeling. A place like this was undoubtedly the core of the layered world, surely guarded by a supreme being. For two Nascent Soul realm cultivators to come here was simply courting death!

To his surprise, the extremely dense Yin energy pool was not silent. In the pool, a black lotus the size of a washbasin was growing! Nine lotus pores emitted pitch-black flames. Faintly, he could see that eight of the lotus pores were already empty. In the last pore, there was a single, glowing black lotus seed.

"What is that?" Jiang Fan wondered silently. Able to grow at the source of Yin energy in the layered world, it was undoubtedly an unparalleled treasure. He just didn't know if it would be useful for beings from the Central Plains.

Meanwhile, Yue Mingzhu's eyes were already shining, and her face couldn't help but glow with excitement. She whispered, "This is the Hell's Deliverance Black Lotus! It's incredibly useful for netherworld creatures to break through their cultivation realms, second only to Hell Abyssal Crystals. And it also has a heaven-defying effect for beings from the Central Plains, allowing them to break through their realms. Just one lotus seed can help someone overcome the shackles of the Four Heavenly Tribulations and instantly become a Human Sovereign!"

"What?" Jiang Fan's heart stirred. It could help someone break through to the Five Heavenly Tribulations? Didn't this mean it could artificially create a Great Venerable realm existence? With the ancient giants about to descend, it would be a huge blessing if the Central Plains could produce a Great Venerable.

His eyes showed eagerness. But he quickly narrowed his eyes again, glaring at Yue Mingzhu suspiciously. This girl, not only was she ugly, but she was also quite cunning! Why reveal such a divine object when she could just keep it to herself? Wasn't she trying to provoke Jiang Fan's desire and make him risk excavating that lotus seed?