Chapter 1504: Ancient Relic

Unsolvable Substitute Marriage: Jiang Fan and Xu Yining

In an instant, endless nine-colored lightning erupted like a sea of fire in all directions! Amidst the terrifying thunder, everything under the nine-colored lightning turned to dust.

A hundred-mile mountain range directly vanished by one-third, leaving behind a vast expanse of space covered with black void cracks. At first glance, it resembled an animal hide stretched to its limits.

Demonheart Venerable's clothes were utterly destroyed, and he crashed heavily to the ground, covered in blood and gore, after falling out of his teleportation. His limbs had turned to charcoal, and his eyes were burned into two bloody hollows. The divine halo behind his head was shattered, with only a fragment remaining.

Despite being far from the stone obelisk, Demonheart Venerable suffered a nearly fatal blow before he even had time to flee! As for Compassion Mirror Venerable, who touched the stone obelisk at close range and violated the taboo, she endured nearly ten times more destruction! Even with her Heavenly Human Five Declines, she would struggle to survive!

However, Compassion Mirror Venerable did not sustain overly severe injuries. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, her entire body was scorched, and even the five flame marks on her Heavenly Human Five Declines divine halo were dim, on the verge of collapse!

Beside her, a young man stood with his hands behind his back. He was handsome, with cold and emotionless eyes. Terrifying lightning aura surrounded his entire body. The nine-colored lightning, surging like a torrent, automatically diverged when it approached the young man, not harming him in the slightest. He was none other than the Young Emperor!

If not for his intervention, Compassion Mirror Venerable, even if she survived, would have had her entire domain destroyed. However, this was also because Compassion Mirror Venerable stubbornly insisted on approaching the stone obelisk and did not evade. Otherwise, if Demonheart Venerable could teleport to safety, how could she, a Grand Venerable, not escape?

"Feng'er?" Compassion Mirror Venerable was startled, then immediately understood, and asked urgently, "You were here all along?" How could the Young Emperor, who was far away at Young Emperor Mountain, intervene so promptly when her life was in danger? There was only one explanation: the Young Emperor had arrived long ago and was watching nearby.

"Why are you here?" Compassion Mirror Venerable asked in a deep voice, already knowing the answer in her heart.

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "To fulfill my promise and kill him." He had once given Jiang Fan a choice: to abolish his Void Current Thunderforce within ten days. Today was the tenth day.

Pausing, the Young Emperor looked at the stone obelisk in front of him and said calmly, "It seems I don't need to intervene. My father dared not even consider this thing, yet he got dragged into it." The implication was that Jiang Fan was certainly dead.

Compassion Mirror Venerable's body swayed, her face quickly turning pale. "W-what exactly is this? He dared not even consider it?"

The Young Emperor said lightly, "Something even older than the Heavenly Realm and Hell. No one who has obtained it has ever come to a good end. The last one to die by its hand was its master, a Realm Lord from the Heavenly Realm!"

Compassion Mirror Venerable gasped! The Central Continent has only existed for ten thousand years. But the Heavenly Realm and Hell are different; their existence cannot be measured. Perhaps twenty thousand years, perhaps a hundred thousand, or even longer. This stone obelisk in front of her was actually older than the Heavenly Realm and Hell? What... what exactly was it? Furthermore, it would even devour its master; even the Realm Lord of the Heavenly Realm, an existence comparable to the Ancient Saints of the Central Continent, died by its hand! So wouldn't Jiang Fan be in grave danger?

Compassion Mirror Venerable was overcome with grief. Jiang Fan had fought so hard against the ancient giants, wanting to protect his people and the common folk of the Central Continent. Yet, in the end, he fell before the ancient giants even arrived. He must have been unwilling, right?

Gazing at the now calm nine-colored lightning, she slightly closed her eyes and began to walk.

The Young Emperor said calmly, "Do you want to die?"

Compassion Mirror Venerable didn't turn her head, stating calmly, "I promised to protect him. But I failed. I want to go in and see. If he's still alive, I'll do everything I can to save him. If he's dead, I'll stay there with him!"

Jiang Fan called her godmother, granted her the opportunity of the Heavenly Human Five Declines, and bestowed merit upon her. Yet, she couldn't even protect Jiang Fan. No one knew how guilty she felt.

The Young Emperor said expressionlessly, "You truly care about him. But why deceive yourself? He is already dead." How could Jiang Fan survive what could kill a Realm Lord?

Compassion Mirror Venerable's red lips trembled as she said in anguish, "Then I'll go accompany him!"

The Young Emperor said indifferently, "If he were alive, he would want you to kill more ancient giants for him, rather than senselessly throwing your life away." With that, he no longer bothered with Compassion Mirror Venerable, turned, and stepped into the air, departing.

Compassion Mirror Venerable suddenly stopped, her eyes slowly opening. The sorrow in her eyes deepened. How could she not know that her death would be meaningless? She simply couldn't forgive herself for failing to protect Jiang Fan.

Staring at the stone obelisk, tears welled up in Compassion Mirror Venerable's eyes, blurring her vision. Vaguely, she seemed to see again the figure who was so cunning it made her furious, yet so brave it filled her with admiration, and so warm it moved her. "Fan'er!" Compassion Mirror Venerable could no longer suppress her emotions, tears streaming down her face. She pressed both hands to her chest, trying to calm her aching heart, and said tearfully, "Godmother will first kill all the ancient giants for you! Then I will come to be with you!" Wiping away her tears, she resolutely turned away, not daring to look at the stone obelisk again.

She approached Demonheart Venerable, looking at the now crippled Soul Transformation Venerable. Without hesitation, she took out a jade slip and threw it onto Demonheart Venerable. Then, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes, and she struck him with a palm. How could Demonheart Venerable withstand a Grand Venerable's strike? With a shriek, Demonheart Venerable's body was annihilated, and he died on the spot.

The people from Myriad Tribulation Holy Temple in the distance were caught off guard and exclaimed in unison, "Venerable!"

Reverend Qionglou shouted in grief and indignation, "Why did you kill our Venerable?"

Reverend Sanqian said with a complicated expression, "Are you taking revenge for Jiang Fan?" If the Venerable hadn't invited Jiang Fan, he wouldn't have ended up in such a desperate situation. They were inextricably responsible for Jiang Fan's misfortune.

"I did want to kill him, but Fan'er surely wouldn't have wanted that, would he?" Compassion Mirror Venerable's face couldn't hide her sorrow. "How could he wish to see one fewer of the few Venerables in Taicang Great State?"

As her words fell, Demonheart Venerable's body, which had been shattered into a bloody mist, suddenly re-condensed around the jade slip. His destroyed limbs regenerated, and his eyes regained sight. Most importantly, his shattered domain re-formed! This was clearly the Young Emperor's domain, which, while appearing to revive him from the dead, was in fact a profound domain of instantaneous body-seizing.

As Demonheart Venerable recovered, he opened his eyes in a daze. After a careful examination, he couldn't help but show a bitter expression and bowed to Compassion Mirror Venerable, "Thank you, Grand Venerable, for your help."

Compassion Mirror Venerable said coldly, "Don't you hate me for ruining your chance at rebirth through body-seizing?"

Demonheart Venerable quickly bowed and said, "Grand Venerable, you jest. In my state, facing the ancient giant catastrophe in three days, there would only be death. At that time, where would my soul go to seize a body? Ultimately, I would still become food for the ancient giants." Demonheart Venerable could still discern right from wrong.

Compassion Mirror Venerable stared at him indifferently, touched her brow, then touched a jade slip, and threw it to him. Demonheart Venerable was flattered; this was Compassion Mirror Venerable's domain! She actually gave it to him?

Unexpectedly, Compassion Mirror Venerable said, "Don't overthink it. It's not for you!"