Chapter 1495: Are you the one who stole the bellyband?

Jiang Fan thought he had misread the situation. He re-sensed the person in the ice mist, and the result was startling; his scalp tingled. In his perception, a suffocatingly terrifying aura pulsed within the ice mist. He had only ever felt this kind of aura from a Venerable in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man. Then, he recalled that the woman's body earlier had been condensed from ice crystals. His heart sank.

Could it be that the previous form was merely a clone of this Venerable, who was in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man? And not only had he destroyed her clone, but he had also chased her soul, shouting threats? Thinking of this, Jiang Fan's face became incredibly stiff.

"No, senior," he thought, "if you're a Venerable in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man and you want to test me, why not just do it directly? Why go through the extra trouble of creating a clone in the First Decay of Heaven and Man? Isn't that just setting someone up?"

He put down the Profound Ice and awkwardly said, "This junior, Jiang Fan of Tai Cang Great State, greets Senior."

Venerable Iceheart stared at Jiang Fan, annoyed, and said, "Were you enjoying the fight?"

Jiang Fan's heart tightened. *Oh no,* he thought, *this woman seems intent on settling scores.* He backed away, cupping his hands, and said, "Senior, it was a misunderstanding, like a flood washing away the Dragon King Temple – we were family who didn't recognize each other. Please don't take it to heart."

*Family?* Venerable Iceheart trembled, unsure if it was from pain or anger, and shouted, "Show yourself and speak!"

Hearing this, Jiang Fan looked at Bodhisattva Tianting for help. What made Jiang Fan fume was this: Bodhisattva Tianting put his palms together, looked away, and swept his gaze over his monks, saying, "Even an honest official can't settle family disputes. All of you, withdraw." With that, he himself instantly teleported away. The monks also scurried off in a hurry. It was no joke; they wouldn't dare interfere in a dispute between a Venerable of the Five Decays and Jiang Fan, not even if they'd grown up eating bear gall and leopard guts.

Venerable Iceheart grew even angrier upon hearing that. *Who said there were "family disputes" between her and Jiang Fan?* But the Bodhisattva had fled quickly, and she couldn't find him, so she could only glare at Jiang Fan again! A terrifying aura surged towards him like an overwhelming tide. Jiang Fan immediately felt his internal organs churning, and his various powers spiraled out of control. His "Selfless Purity Art" became impossible to maintain, and his invisibility shattered instantly, revealing his true form. He couldn't help but curse under his breath, "That dog Bodhisattva!" On the surface, he could only awkwardly cup his hands and say, "Junior Jiang Fan. If I have offended you, I ask for your forgiveness, Senior."

Gazing at that familiar young face, Venerable Iceheart couldn't help but recall Jiang Fan's actions in the interlayer world, where he nearly perished in the world's collapse while trying to banish the Calamity Black Lotus. She also remembered his achievements, having twice invaded the Celestial Realm. And then there was the recent widely spread news of him, in a fit of rage in Tianyi City, destroying half the city for the souls of the Heavenly Abyss. The anger in her heart inexplicably dissipated a great deal. She bit her lip slightly and resignedly said, "Why were you hiding so well? If I had known it was you, would I have needed to test you?"

Jiang Fan's various accomplishments were more than enough to qualify him to hold the Primordial Ancient Token. If she had known it was Jiang Fan, why would she have attacked? She would have been pleasantly surprised that he was still alive. What should have been a warm reunion had instead turned into a brutal beating session! And she was the one who had taken the beating!

Jiang Fan couldn't quite grasp the Venerable's thoughts and said, "When a stranger, a Venerable of Divine Transformation, approaches this junior, how could I not be cautious in responding?"

Venerable Iceheart considered this; it was a valid point. Moreover, Jiang Fan was hidden perfectly well; it was she who had detected him and insisted on testing him, leading to the incident. Thinking this, all her anger vanished. She couldn't blame Jiang Fan for any of it.

"Alright, I won't blame you," Venerable Iceheart said with a sigh, rubbing her aching head.

Jiang Fan breathed a long sigh of relief. This Venerable was far more reasonable than Venerable True Word! If it had been the former Venerable True Word, having suffered such a great loss at his hands, he would undoubtedly have chased him across states. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Senior, for your understanding."

Venerable Iceheart gave him a slight side-eye and asked, "I heard you fell into the Void World. How are you still alive?"

Jiang Fan was slightly surprised. *Was he really that famous?* That news of him falling into the Void was actually attracting attention from other Venerables? Considering Venerable Golden Scale was present, the news might have come from him, which brought a sense of relief.

"This junior was only fortunate enough to escape," he said with a sigh, briefly recounting the events.

Venerable Iceheart's eyes narrowed. "You encountered the Calamity Black Lotus? It has its own consciousness? And it wants to return to the Central Lands? This... is not good news!" She had thought that banishing the Calamity Black Lotus meant everything would be fine. She never imagined that it wouldn't give up, trying every possible method to reach the Central Lands. It failed this time. It might fail again next time. But what about the time after that? The great war between the Central Lands and the Ancient Giants was imminent, and a void rift could tear open again at any moment. If it seized the opportunity, it could break into the Central Lands!

"I hope that day never comes," Venerable Iceheart murmured, her eyes filled with worry. Looking at Jiang Fan again, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Your life really is tenacious. Even for those of us in the Five Decays of Heaven and Man, falling into the depths of the Void means certain death. Yet you could encounter the Calamity Black Lotus and use its power to return. That Calamity Black Lotus seems to have been a stroke of good fortune for you."

Jiang Fan nodded in agreement. If the Calamity Black Lotus hadn't blasted open a corner of the Central Lands' barrier, allowing Yue Mingzhu and Little Qilin to return first through the spatial mirror, how else could they have activated the Nine Dragon Demonic Cauldron to pull Jiang Fan back? "I have to thank my friend for her excellent casting skills," he said, recalling Yue Mingzhu's figure and a warm smile appearing on his lips. At that time, it was Yue Mingzhu's curiosity that made her want to try the Void Fishing Rod, which then hooked the Calamity Black Lotus. Rather than Jiang Fan having a tough life, it was more accurate to say that Yue Mingzhu had extremely good luck. To hook the Calamity Black Lotus in such a desolate place in the Void—what kind of divine luck was that?

Venerable Iceheart heard a keyword: "casting skills." Her beautiful eyes twitched. Before the Ancient Giants, she had two pressing concerns. One was the holder of the Primordial Ancient Token. The other was that the scoundrel who stole her undergarment was still at large! The hateful thing was that she had never heard of anyone proficient with fishing rod-type artifacts, so she had no way of finding this despicable, shameless, and hateful pervert! The arrival of the Ancient Giants was imminent, and she had already given up on finding this person. She never expected to find a clue from Jiang Fan! And then, she remembered that Jiang Fan had been in the nearby Void that day. The possibility of it being him grew higher!

Her calm gaze slowly sharpened again, and she gritted her teeth, asking, "I forgot to ask you. In the vast Void, how did you manage to catch the Calamity Black Lotus?"

Jiang Fan hesitated for a moment, thinking that using a fishing rod wasn't against the law, and as long as he didn't reveal the rod's grade, it wouldn't cause covetousness. He then smiled slightly and said, "This junior has a fishing rod artifact. It can hook things from a distance, and the Calamity Black Lotus was coincidentally hooked by it."

*Heh heh!* Venerable Iceheart laughed, laughing from sheer fury! Case closed! The scoundrel who stole her undergarment was right in front of her!!!