Chapter 1510: Letting Go

Ling Yin inspected the empty skin for a moment, then said with satisfaction, "The appearance is fine, but it won't be enough to fool Jiang Fan."Her plan was to create a fake Yaoyue for Jiang Fan to kill. This would allow Jiang Fan to fill the void in his heart, thereby achieving a perfect Dao Heart and ascending to the Spirit Transformation stage. However, given Jiang Fan's intelligence, how could this empty husk possibly deceive him?Ling Yin said calmly, "Getting a soul to fill the husk won't be a problem. The difficult part is that Jiang Fan might not be willing to deliver the final blow. He has too many reservations."Suddenly, Ling Yin seemed to sense something, and a faint, mysterious smile played on her lips.

Tianyi City, Guixu Province.Inside the City Lord's Manor."Zhong'er, you must take care of yourself." The Tianyi City Lord, his body now shrunk to normal human size, was surrounded by five fierce Dharma Idols. He patted the young City Lord's shoulder, speaking earnestly, "Your life is paramount; rescuing the Princess is secondary."The young City Lord nodded solemnly, his eyes sharp. "Father, please rest assured, your son knows what he's doing!" he said. "I will protect my life, and I will rescue the Princess! And Jiang Fan must die!!!"

The events in Tianyi City had already spread throughout the Nine Provinces of Middle-earth. A Nascent Soul realm cultivator, carrying an entire city, had stormed into Tianyi City and, in front of the City Lord, slaughtered over half of the Dharma Idol realm half-giants. This was an immense humiliation! Given the half-giants' tyrannical nature, how could they possibly let this go? They were bound to seek revenge on Jiang Fan! Moreover, Jiang Fan also had Princess Zijiang with him! Whether using Princess Zijiang as a hostage or as a token of sincerity to the ancient giants, either would help the half-giants avoid the current catastrophe. Therefore, reclaiming the Princess and killing Jiang Fan was the collective will of all the half-giants in Tianyi City!

However, the privately built teleportation array leading to Taicang Province had been destroyed, preventing them from secretly infiltrating. They could only use the official teleportation arrays. The Tianyi City Lord, with his peak cultivation, was at a crucial juncture with the looming catastrophe of the ancient giants. The province's Grand Sacrificer would never permit him to leave. Therefore, only the young City Lord, with his weakest cultivation at the One-Form realm, could go. Furthermore, he couldn't directly travel to Taicang Province; the Grand Sacrificer would deduce his intentions and refuse him. The young City Lord needed to first travel to another major province, then covertly arrive via a privately built teleportation array. From there, he would locate Jiang Fan and act when the opportunity arose.

The Tianyi City Lord said, "In two days, the provincial teleportation arrays will close. On this journey, you most likely won't be able to return within two days and will inevitably be stranded. During this time, you must be careful. If you encounter ancient giants, reveal your identity and tell them you are one of us. Do not be accidentally harmed by them."The young City Lord nodded. "Your son understands!" he said. "Father, await good news!"

Western Continent.On an immortal mountain that pierced the clouds, its peak so high one could pluck stars by hand.Xu Yining slowly opened her beautiful eyes. She had once again put on the metal mask she had previously removed, concealing her peerless beauty. Before her, subtle and profound energies were being drawn from a jade box carved with an evil crow and absorbed into her body. Visible to the naked eye, her meridians glowed with blue light. The surrounding spiritual energy seemed to pour into her body as if into a bottomless pit.

"No wonder my senior brother, even on his deathbed, didn't forget to instruct me to bring you into the Mountain of Stars," the silver-haired Mountain Master of Stars said from an ancient tree not far away. "Your physique truly is mysterious." Sensing the changes in the spiritual energy, she showed a hint of surprise in her eyes. This speed of absorbing spiritual energy was simply unheard of.Moreover, Xu Yining's physique was not merely about absorbing spiritual energy. The Mountain Master of Stars could feel that Xu Yining's comprehension was rapidly increasing. Her physical body and soul were also growing stronger day by day. Furthermore, several Daos, normally unfathomable to ordinary people, were manifesting within Xu Yining. One of them was the Dao of Time! This was the most difficult Dao to comprehend, usually impossible for most. The last person to comprehend this Dao was Sage Cixin. If all went smoothly, Xu Yining's path might extend beyond the Five Decrees of Heaven and Man; it might lead to sagehood!

Xu Yining stopped cultivating, and the Evil Crow Jade Seal on her chest fell. She gently cradled it, her eyes revealing a sense of relief, and chuckled, "Thanks to the Evil Crow Jade Seal sent by my brother-in-law. Only then could my physique be fully activated.""Brother-in-law?" The Mountain Master of Stars questioned the address. "Have you come to terms with it?"Xu Yining stood up and nodded gently. "To move forward, one must first let go of the past," she said. "I have let go of the phoenix coronet. And him, I have also let go."

Looking at the slender figure standing alone, a look of serenity on her face, the Mountain Master of Stars felt a slight pang in her heart. Picking up and letting go, it was but a single thought. Yet that single thought implied mortal heartache and utter despair. What kind of pain and struggle had Xu Yining endured that night while confronting the phoenix coronet? What had it taken for her to finally let go?"Yining…" The Mountain Master of Stars' lips trembled.Xu Yining smiled slightly. "Master, I have decided on my Dao," she said.The Mountain Master of Stars suppressed her sadness, her eyes now gleaming with joy. The sooner one affirmed their Dao, the greater the chance to perfectly complete their path early. She asked, "Which Dao is it?"Xu Yining smiled brightly. "The Dao of Time."

Imperial Astronomer's Office.The provincial teleportation array connected to Hunyuan Province suddenly burst with light. A man and a woman appeared. The man was a young boy, with bright red lips and white teeth, extraordinarily handsome, a smile playing on his lips. "Brother Jiang's reputation truly is soaring; every province knows his name," he said. "Especially Hunyuan Province and Dahung Province, they hold him in extraordinary esteem."He was none other than Fayin. Beside him was a stunning beauty with a cool, serene aura, the remnant soul of a Heavenly Asura: Yu Wei. The two had traveled through the Nine Provinces hand in hand, and had now returned just before the provincial teleportation arrays closed.

"He is indeed unique." Yu Wei gently nodded her pale chin. The first time she saw Jiang Fan was near the continent, when he had just experienced a battle with a two-star Giant King and powerful cultivators from Lesser Emperor Mountain. Her impression of Jiang Fan was merely that his resolve was good, as he hadn't been swayed by her enchanting Asura lineage; he showed no covetousness for her beauty. However, while traveling through the Nine Provinces, whenever locals learned they were from Taicang Province, they would always ask about Jiang Fan. Only then did she learn of the various remarkable tales: Jiang Fan's two incursions into and out of the Heavenly Realm, and his furious slaughter of half a city of Dharma Idol realm cultivators in Guixu Province. Even she found Jiang Fan to be extraordinary.

"However…" Yu Wei linked her arm through Fayin's, her gaze toward him as soft as water. "He doesn't compare to you."Fayin smiled slightly. "You're seeing me through the eyes of love," he said. "There's no telling how many beauties admire Brother Jiang. But only you love a monk like me."Yu Wei merely smiled without speaking. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said, "I will always be with you. Always."Fayin embraced her slender shoulders. "Come on," he said. "Let's go see Brother Jiang; I brought him something good!"