Chapter 1449: Puppet Domain

Jiang Fan wasn't counting on any fortunate discoveries. He'd be content if he could just find the two of them safely.

Gripping Venom tightly, he left the crystal chamber and followed the Soul-Shadow Demon Lord to the top of the crystal mine. Looking down, Jiang Fan realized there was more to the crystal mine than met the eye.

In the middle of the crystal mine was a sunken, square pit, a hundred zhang in length and width. It looked as if it had been carved out by human hands and was incredibly ancient, far older than the crystal chamber where the shoes were stored. Fixing his gaze, he could vaguely make out eight massive, blurry characters at the bottom of the pit. Jiang Fan tried to discern them, but whenever his gaze landed on the characters, they would shimmer slightly, preventing him from seeing them clearly.

"Don't bother trying to make out those characters," the Soul-Shadow Demon Lord scoffed. "Even the Black Dragon Great Venerable hasn't been able to see what they say for all these years."

Jiang Fan was secretly astonished. What exactly was the origin of this crystal mine? Suppressing his questions, Jiang Fan stopped looking at the characters and asked, "Where are they?"

The Soul-Shadow Demon Lord pointed to the center of the deep pit. Jiang Fan flew closer and then realized there was a crack running through the pit from side to side. It was just wide enough for one person to enter. Peering through the crack, Jiang Fan swept his gaze inside, and his expression instantly changed drastically.

He saw countless black ice blocks inside the crack, standing upright on the ground like coffins. Each black ice block encased a person! Most had already turned to white bones, having died long ages ago. A few corpses were still relatively intact, but their vital signs had long ceased. In two of the black ice blocks, Jiang Fan's pupils constricted as he saw familiar figures. They were none other than Ling Shu and Liuli! Their eyes were closed, their faces slightly pale. Although still alive, they were extremely weak from being frozen for so long.

"Damn it!" Jiang Fan was consumed by rage. But he forced himself to remain rational, not rushing in recklessly. Instead, he turned to the Soul-Shadow Demon Lord and asked, "How do I get in here?"

Without hesitation, the Soul-Shadow Demon Lord replied, "It's the same as those other restrictions; you can enter by holding the little black snake."

Is that so? Jiang Fan gazed at the black profound ice, deep in thought. This place must be the Black Dragon Great Venerable's dungeon for imprisoning enemies, designed not to prevent outsiders from entering, but to stop those inside from escaping. How could the method of entry still be a simple restriction? The Soul-Shadow Demon Lord was trying to harm him. But what kind of method had the Black Dragon Great Venerable set up here?

As he pondered, a lazy voice came from the Ghost-Soul Crystal: "I say, are you tired of living, getting so close to the domain of a Five-Decay Great Venerable?"

Domain? Jiang Fan's pupils flickered. Undoubtedly, the most formidable aspect of the God Transformation realm was its domain, far more dangerous than their regular attacks! The Soul-Shadow Demon Lord was actually tricking him into touching the domain of a Five-Decay Great Venerable?

He suppressed the chill in his eyes, looked down at Hua Xin, activated his Closed-Mouth Meditation, and transmitted a thought: "How much wine have you had? You're actually helping me?"

This woman had always desperately wished for Jiang Fan's early demise so she could be freed from the Ghost-Soul Crystal. No matter how great the danger before, she had never uttered a word. This time, she was surprisingly reminding Jiang Fan.

Hua Xin lazily said, "If you want to thank me, give me the lotus seeds of the Black Lotus of Tribulation Transcension."

Jiang Fan scoffed, "Sorry, it's natural for a captive to help their master."

Hua Xin snorted, "The waters of the Black Lotus of Tribulation Transcension are too deep; you can't control it."

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes, "Speak plainly!"

Hua Xin was uncharacteristically serious, saying: "The karma involved here is too immense; you shouldn't get involved."

Jiang Fan fell silent. A single lotus had caused the collapse of the entire interlayer world. Furthermore, when the nine ancient saints intercepted the land of the Hell Realm, they had actually overlooked the existence of the interlayer world. How could he not know that the karma involved was immense? Fortunately, he had already banished the Black Lotus of Tribulation Transcension to the void.

"You don't need to worry about it; I have my own plans," Jiang Fan said indifferently. He already had a plan for how to deal with the lotus seeds.

Hua Xin angrily said, "You're impossible! Trying to gain even a small advantage from you is harder than ascending to heaven! Just pray I'm trapped by you forever! If I ever break free, and if I ever regain my former strength, just you wait! Hmph!"

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose. Speaking of which, Hua Xin was also a ticking time bomb. This individual was no simple master in her lifetime. When he had time, he should deal with her.

Deactivating his Closed-Mouth Meditation, Jiang Fan looked at the crack before him and calmly took out the ice butterfly that Ice Heart Great Venerable had given him. According to her, activating it would grant immunity to the effects of a domain once. It could only be used three times. Now was the time to use it!

The Soul-Shadow Demon Lord, hearing the continuous vibrations above, grew more anxious. "Hurry up! Once the Black Dragon Great Venerable frees his hands and returns, we're all finished!"

Jiang Fan secretly activated the ice butterfly and said, "Immediately!" With that, he plunged headfirst into the crack.

But just as he touched the crack, an invisible, terrifying wave emanated from it. Jiang Fan immediately felt a chilling consciousness surge into his soul, attempting to take control of it. This domain was not unfamiliar to him. The Golden Serpent Saint Mother's domain was similar: puppet control! Just as his soul was about to be invaded by the chilling consciousness, an even colder wave surged from the ice butterfly, sweeping over his soul. The Black Dragon Great Venerable's invading domain immediately receded like a tide.

Jiang Fan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, he didn't show that he had broken free from the domain. Instead, he pretended to have a blank stare, appearing to have fallen into a puppet state.

"Hahahaha!" The Soul-Shadow Demon Lord finally burst out laughing. "Wang Chongxiao, Wang Chongxiao! You're so cunning, yet in the end, you still fell for it?" He came up to Jiang Fan, looked at the little black snake gripped tightly in his hand, and chuckled mockingly, "Learn a lesson! The hardest thing in the world to distinguish is not a lie, but nine truths and one falsehood! Everything I told you before was true, but this one time is false, and it's meant to kill you! In reality, no one can enter this prison, not even with a key, otherwise they'll be controlled by the domain within and become a puppet!"

He smilingly snatched the Venom from Jiang Fan's hand. The smile on his face deepened; he finally had it! However, compared to that, the other items were even more enticing! He snatched the Heavenly Thunder Stone from Jiang Fan's embrace. With a thought, divine wood and a pile of colorful shoes appeared before him.

"Hahahaha! They're all mine! However, to take these items away without the Black Dragon Great Venerable sensing them, one more thing is needed." He smilingly found the spatial storage artifact on Jiang Fan. Inside it was the clear, transparent, mysterious liquid. He chuckled, "Kid, I know you were trying to trick information out of me just now, wanting to know how I would block the Black Dragon Great Venerable's senses. The answer is right here in these spiritual liquids! This is a supreme spiritual liquid that can cleanse the aura of all things. As long as the aura of these items is washed away, even if they're placed right in front of the Black Dragon Great Venerable, he won't be able to sense them!"

Jiang Fan had a slight realization. No wonder the first thing the Soul-Shadow Demon Lord wanted was this mysterious liquid. So it was for cleansing auras. If that's the case, since he had acquired so much of this liquid, wouldn't he be able to collect treasures from venerables in the future without any pressure?