Chapter 1466: Fulfilling a Wish

Unsolvable Substitute Marriage: Jiang Fan and Xu Yining

Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat. The Five Declines Grand Venerable was already unfathomable; moreover, the Black Dragon Grand Venerable possessed a tremendous fortune from beyond the heavens, similar to the purple crystal mine. Who could know how many world-shaking treasures he had obtained from it? Therefore, Jiang Fan unleashed the Black Dragon Battle Armor without hesitation. During several days of meditation, he had already reforged the Black Dragon Battle Armor with his true spirit blood, restoring it to its peak condition. It was sufficient to withstand the residual power of the Five Declines Grand Venerable.

Almost simultaneously, the Black Dragon Grand Venerable raised both hands and threw out a tattered, irregularly shaped piece of cloth. It was only palm-sized. Ages had stripped away its original colors and corroded its former appearance, leaving behind numerous mottled stains. Yet, it still emanated terrifying law fluctuations. Even the Golden Scale Grand Venerable's pupils contracted. Facing this tattered cloth, he felt an urge to kneel and worship, as if before a supreme deity. Even when facing a sage, he might not experience such emotions.

"What... what exactly was this thing?"

However, what truly terrified him was not the cloth itself, but an extremely blurry character inscribed upon it. He couldn't discern what the character was. It wasn't that he couldn't recognize it; rather, the character possessed a power that prevented even a Grand Venerable like him from gazing upon it directly.

"I originally intended to save this for a crucial moment to kill the Golden Scale Grand Venerable, but now, I'll use it on you, you little beast!" The Black Dragon Grand Venerable hated Jiang Fan to the core, so much so that he used this mysterious ancient cloth, originating from the purple crystal mine, to kill Jiang Fan.

The cloth was thrown. It drifted lightly, spinning gently like a feather. However, the spatial barrier of the Central Plains could not withstand its weight. Wherever it passed, space was compressed into dense, numerous wrinkles. Immediately after, it tore open with a ripping sound! A boundless void rift, spanning ten thousand *zhang* and piercing through heaven and earth, suddenly appeared! Naturally, this was followed by a terrifying, incomparable suction force originating from within the void!

The moment the Black Dragon Grand Venerable threw the cloth, he instantly teleported away. Before leaving, he cast a fierce glance at Jiang Fan: "In the void, await the torment of death!" Such an enormous void rift made it difficult for even Grand Venerables to preserve their lives. The Golden Scale Grand Venerable could barely save himself and had no time to spare for Jiang Fan.

The instant the void ripped open, the atmosphere within thousands of miles was instantly sucked into the void. The earth cracked open. Ancient forests, existing for ten thousand years, were sucked into it in vast swathes, like dissipating soul ripples. Ancient mountains and eternal rivers, in the face of the sudden catastrophe, were all swept away, shattered into pieces like a broken landscape painting. The Golden Scale Grand Venerable was also swept away by the spatial power, irresistibly pulled towards the void. His face filled with horror; his innate bloodline and domain were unleashed simultaneously, but to no avail. Finally, he used the ancestral seal of Spirit Snake Mountain, slamming it hard against space, barely managing to stabilize himself.

The moment the ten-thousand-*zhang* rift appeared, Jiang Fan knew he couldn't escape his fate. He glanced down at the Black Dragon Battle Armor he had summoned, let out a self-deprecating laugh, and was then swept away by the terrifying spatial power. The next moment, he appeared before the rift. The ten-thousand-*zhang* rift was like the gaping maw of a prehistoric beast, mercilessly devouring everything.

However, just as he resigned himself to his fate, a golden leaf unexpectedly appeared on his chest. Jiang Fan was startled. The ugly woman was nearby? He scanned his surroundings. In a primordial forest that was being swept up and rapidly carried away, on a large tree, the ugly woman, dressed in a linen gown, with cross-eyes and a face covered in pustules, stood at the treetop. Had she also been affected by the sudden void eruption?

Their eyes met briefly. The difference was, the ugly woman was calmer. She took out a stone from her bosom, which also bore some kind of inscription. Jiang Fan recalled the sage's inscription that allowed her to become invisible and immediately understood that the ugly woman had a way to protect herself. Ah, having a Grand Venerable master of the Five Declines really made a difference. Even in such a cosmic catastrophe, she had a way to survive.

However, the ugly woman did not use it on herself; after gazing deeply at Jiang Fan, she aimed the stone at him across the long distance. Then she silently chanted a spell. A mighty strand of law enveloped Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan, who was about to be swept into the void, was like someone who had swallowed a Wind-Stabilizing Bead. The tumultuous spatial power around him ignored him, swirling past him. As for the ugly woman, she didn't have time to cast it on herself; in the blink of an eye, she, along with that primordial forest, was swept into the void rift.

Jiang Fan stood before the rift, while the ugly woman was swallowed by it. They passed each other in that instant. Jiang Fan froze, his mind a blank. The disciple of Old Man Wangqing, the ugly woman he had only met once, had actually given him the hope of survival. To be eternally buried in the void herself? Why? Why would she do that?

The spatial power within the void was even more tumultuous, pulverizing everything swept into it. Even with her Mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, the ugly woman could barely keep her body from being destroyed. However, the disguise on her face was destroyed by the ravaging spatial power, revealing her true appearance. An eighteen-year-old face of captivating beauty, capable of expressing both anger and joy, was breathtaking in the dark void. This was none other than Yue Mingzhu.

She looked back at Jiang Fan, at his rapidly receding figure, a trace of helplessness in her eyes. "My little nemesis, you are the bane of my existence," she thought. "Even though you were so heartless to me, I still foolishly die for you."

It turned out she had not left Spirit Snake Mountain. Although she hated Jiang Fan with all her heart and swore never to see him again in this life, she couldn't bear to leave, lingering near Spirit Snake Mountain. Deep down, she still held a glimmer of hope: that after Jiang Fan found Ling Shu, he would remember her and seek her out. If that happened, she would forgive Jiang Fan. However, she never expected Jiang Fan to suddenly encounter the void catastrophe, and she certainly never expected herself to unhesitatingly sacrifice her life to save this ungrateful man.

"Am I loving too humbly?" Yue Mingzhu gazed at the increasingly distant figure, a bitter smile crossing her lips. "I am the Sect Master of the Joyful Union Sect; I pursue freedom and living as I please. When did I lose myself, with only Jiang Fan left in my heart?" A tear streamed down her cheek, scattering into the endless void.

When she wiped away her tears, she found that she could no longer see Jiang Fan. They were about to be separated by life and death. She suddenly calmed down, forcing a faint smile onto her tear-streaked face: "So be it. Everything is my own choice. Leaving the Joyful Union Sect to follow him to Taicang Grand State was a choice, and now, sacrificing myself to ensure his survival is also a choice. There's nothing to regret! Because I love him, that's why."

Yue Mingzhu smiled, and as she smiled, her tears blurred her vision again, carried deeper into the void by the spatial power. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted her last words to Jiang Fan: "Jiang Fan! See you in the next life!"