Chapter 1462: Refining the Nine-Dragon Demon Cauldron

Unsolvable Proxy Marriage: Jiang Fan and Xu Yining

She had been missing for so long, yet Jiang Fan had never looked for her. Instead, he traveled thousands of miles to find Ling Shu! Ling Shu was the only one in Jiang Fan's heart. She was utterly unimportant; it was even likely that Jiang Fan hadn't noticed her disappearance.

At this thought, a mix of sadness, grievance, worthlessness, and resentment boiled within her like a pot of porridge. The accumulated mist in her eyes could no longer be held back, gathering into tears that streamed down her face.

"Jiang Fan! Why did you let me meet you?!" Yue Mingzhu's vision blurred with tears. She took one last look at Jiang Fan's stone door, her heart aching as she resolutely said, through tears: "I never want to see you again! I hate you!"

With that, she turned and ran, disappearing into the vast sky.

***

Tianzhou.

A magnificent Heavenly Palace, suspended in mid-air, accompanied by the sun, moon, and stars.

Venerable Lian Jing held a tear-sized golden bead, her brows slightly furrowed. "Merit in times of peace is simply too scarce. Even after circling the Nine Provinces, I only managed to gather this little. It's a drop in the ocean, nowhere near enough to help Feng'er achieve sagely status. What's more, in my haste, I forgot to give Fan'er a new token when I left. If he's in danger again, he won't be able to find me." She rubbed her temples, silently blaming herself for being too hasty and neglecting both her sons.

Just then, thunder rumbled from beyond the heavens, and a young figure descended into the Heavenly Palace, arriving even before the lightning. He wore a Daoist robe woven from five-colored lightning, his body surrounded by destructive electrical currents, and five rings of fiery divine light blazed like a scorching sun behind his head. His nineteen-year-old face was handsome and sharply chiseled, as if carved by a knife. His eyes were sharp and profound, his pupils replaced by lightning. Neither happy nor smiling, he exuded a silent oppressive presence, like a deep abyss or a vast ocean.

Venerable Lian Jing quickly stood up. As a mother, she felt a bit constrained, saying: "Feng'er, how are things in the Myriad Demon Great Province?"

The Young Emperor glanced at her sideways. "Mind your address. This is Young Emperor Mountain."

Venerable Lian Jing's expression changed slightly, and she quickly corrected herself, "Yes, Young Emperor." A hint of bitterness flickered at the corner of her lips.

The Young Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, indifferently saying, "Do you have anything to report?"

Venerable Lian Jing presented the teardrop of merit with both hands, saying: "This is the merit your subordinate gathered from searching all over the Central Land. Please, Young Emperor, do not disdain it."

The Young Emperor cast a sidelong glance, grasping it into his palm from a distance. To Venerable Lian Jing's astonished gaze, he clenched his fingers, and the tear of merit transformed into golden specks of light, disappearing into the heavens and earth. This wisp of merit, originating from the Central Land, returned to the heavens and earth.

The Young Emperor's eyes narrowed, lightning arcs flickered, and a hint of killing intent sparkled. "Old woman, how many times have I warned you? My affairs are none of your business! Do I, the Young Emperor, need you to find merit for me?"

As his voice fell, a violent pressure shook Venerable Lian Jing, causing her to stagger backward and crash heavily into the wall. Her face showed pain, but her heart ached even more. Yet she showed no disappointment, lowering her head and saying, "Yes, your subordinate understands."

Only then did the Young Emperor retract his pressure. With a casual wave, a black lotus seed flew before Venerable Lian Jing.

Venerable Lian Jing looked puzzled. "What a powerful lotus seed! Even the top-tier Heavenly Treasures of the Central Land are not much better than this."

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "Take it, and you can break through the Five Declines of Heaven and Man."

Joy welled up on Venerable Lian Jing's face as she cupped it in her hands, her heart filled with delight: "Thank you, Feng... Young Emperor, for this gift." Her heart felt sweet. This was one of the few gifts her son had given her.

The Young Emperor snorted, "I'm merely relaying it to you on someone else's behalf."

Venerable Lian Jing's smile froze, the sweetness in her heart receding like a tide, a hint of bitterness on her face. This was the Young Emperor she knew.

"Who sent it?" Venerable Lian Jing asked despondently.

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "Jiang Fan, from the Taicang Great Province."

Jiang Fan? Venerable Lian Jing's dim eyes suddenly brightened, and sweetness welled up in her heart once more. Fan'er had always thought of her. She recalled something and asked again, "This lotus seed must have been very difficult to obtain, right?" Such a precious lotus seed would be fiercely contested even by Great Venerables in the Five Declines of Heaven and Man stage. Jiang Fan was only at the Nascent Soul stage; how did he manage to get it?

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "He nearly died in the collapse of the interlayer world and made an enemy of Great Venerable Black Dragon because of it. The price was considerable."

Venerable Lian Jing looked down at the lotus seed in her hand, suddenly feeling its weight in her palm. She was just a godmother, and one whom Jiang Fan was forced to acknowledge. Was it worth risking his life repeatedly and provoking such a powerful enemy just for her?

The Young Emperor glanced at her and said indifferently: "He told me not to reveal that he gave you the lotus seed."

Venerable Lian Jing wondered, "Why?"

The Young Emperor said, "Because I originally intended to kill him. He didn't want you to know that he died by your own son's hand; that would make you sad."

What? Venerable Lian Jing's heart trembled. A surge of warmth flooded her, then transformed into a mist that overflowed her eyes. Even at the point of death, Jiang Fan still thought of her. Was it necessary?

"Fan'er..." she murmured softly, her heart aching with tenderness. The Young Emperor was about to kill him, yet he was thinking of her, worried that she would be sad if she knew. How could he be so foolish? The mist gathered into tears, dropping onto the lotus seed in her hand, wetting it.

After a while, she finally asked with a slight hoarseness, "Is he alright now?" She didn't ask why the Young Emperor wanted to kill Jiang Fan. The Young Emperor never needed a reason to kill, nor did he distinguish between good and evil. It was solely based on his mood. If he was in a good mood, he wouldn't bother killing even the greatest evil in front of him. If he was in a bad mood, even righteous and virtuous people couldn't escape death. Jiang Fan was so exceptional and showed his brilliance, so it was not surprising that he attracted the Young Emperor's killing intent. She only cared about Jiang Fan's current state.

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "He's still alive for now. Whether he lives on depends on my mood."

***

Myriad Demon Great Province.

Cave dwelling.

Jiang Fan helplessly glanced at Great Venerable Bing Xin, who sat opposite him, smiling as she watched him. "Senior, do I have flowers growing on my face?"

Great Venerable Bing Xin shook her head, covering her mouth with a laugh. "No." She recalled the amusing anecdotes from the Moon Realm, where everyone dug up Jiang Fan's scandalous history: how he snatched a demon emperor's consort during the Core Formation stage, and how he contended with Deity Transformation cultivators for wives during the Nascent Soul stage. Now Jiang Fan himself was sitting right before her. She knew everything about him, yet he didn't even know who she was. This asymmetry of information found her very amusing.

Jiang Fan felt utterly uncomfortable being stared at, but since the other party was a Great Venerable in the Five Declines of Heaven and Man stage, he dared not offend her. He could only suppress his discomfort and retrieve the Nine Dragon Demon Cauldron. This cauldron was one of the first top-grade spiritual artifacts he encountered, and he had only now finally obtained it. Its purpose shouldn't be as simple as just refining pills, should it? How could something that served as the core of a province-level teleportation array be merely a pill furnace?

After a brief thought, he retreated near the stone door, ensuring he could escape in time if anything unexpected happened. Only then did he, with a thought, open the cauldron lid using his soul power. The moment it was opened, an unimaginably violent spatial force surged out, sweeping everything in the secret chamber into it. Without thinking, Jiang Fan, as if greasing his feet, slipped out of the secret chamber.

Great Venerable Bing Xin's smile even froze, and she exclaimed: "How did you tear open the void?"