Chapter 1575: Jade Paper Heavenly Book Master

Jiang Fan was almost sent flying! He quickly closed the lid, and the arcane energy stopped overflowing.

He was astonished, "This... this is a pot of wine imbued with arcane energy?"

Bodhisattva Pingtian quickly walked over, sensing the residual arcane energy in the air. He glanced at the gourd full of arcane wine in Jiang Fan's hand and hastily twirled his prayer beads, quickly murmuring, "Amitabha, what a sin, what a sin."

"A monk must be detached from all worldly desires; he must not be greedy, envious, or covetous."

The Divine Stele of Misfortune also flew over, and Jiang Wuya's surprised voice came through: "This senior is too good to my sworn brother, isn't he?"

"Wine imbued with arcane energy has a unique effect on Sages who are injured or on the verge of breaking through to the next realm."

"There are only a few bottles of it in the entire Central Land!"

Jiang Fan was surprised. He could understand how it helps Sages break through; the arcane energy in the wine can help them refine their own arcane power and advance further. What was unexpected was that it could also heal injured Sages? If he remembered correctly, wasn't Sage Cixin, who had exploited a loophole to become a Sage, staying in the Central Land because of an injury? He wouldn't let that Sage get even a single drop of this wine!

"Please keep this a secret for me," Jiang Fan said solemnly, putting away the pot of wine.

Bodhisattva Pingtian nodded, "Very well."

Jiang Wuya added, "This wine should indeed not be publicized, or it will cause endless trouble."

Jiang Fan nodded in satisfaction. He looked up at the sky and said, "I'll forgive you this once."

"You still owe eighty lashes! I'm keeping a tab!"

With that, he immediately used spatial teleportation to escape, to avoid being struck by lightning again.

Not long after, the three of them returned to the Church of Blazefire. Looking at the empty Church of Blazefire, Jiang Fan inquired and learned that they had already relocated to the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

"Where is Fairy Yuwei?" Jiang Fan looked around, but Fairy Yuwei was nowhere to be found.

Jian Lanjiang said helplessly, "She has already left and her whereabouts are unknown."

Bodhisattva Pingtian, who was beside them, silently put his palms together, closed his eyes, and recited Buddhist scriptures.

Jiang Fan asked curiously, "Did you return to secular life because you fell in love with her, or did you intentionally enter the mortal world to temper your Buddhist heart?"

Bodhisattva Pingtian kept his eyes closed and did not reply.

Silence was also an answer. Jiang Fan understood; it was the latter. He had often wondered why Vajra Fayin, who was devoted to the path of Buddhism, would fall in love at first sight with a woman. It turned out that Vajra Fayin knew that the ordinary path to becoming a Bodhisattva would take too long, and he wouldn't succeed before the ancient giants descended. So, he took an unconventional approach: first entering the mortal world, then severing his six senses.

He shook his head and said, "Whether your feelings were genuine or feigned, a temporary couple still owes each other an explanation."

Bodhisattva Pingtian then slowly opened his eyes, no longer avoiding the topic, and said calmly: "Tempering my Buddhist heart was true, and my love for her was also true. As was hers."

What did that mean? Was Yuwei, like Vajra Fayin, also entering the mortal world with a purpose? What was Yuwei's true goal then? She was a remnant soul of an Asura Emperor; if she had a scheme, it wouldn't be a minor one.

A hint of unease rose in Jiang Fan's heart. However, what he should be worried about was the present. The Grand Wine Sacrifice and the Asura Emperor had yet to clash; this felt like the calm before the storm. The quieter it was, the more terrifying the storm would be when it arrived.

"Oh, by the way, where's Zhenyan?" Jiang Fan looked around and just then realized that Venerable Zhenyan was missing.

Venerable Heart Devil, who was meditating near the fire spring, frowned slightly and said: "He's in the fire spring. He should have come out by now."

It had been four hours since Venerable Zhenyan entered, almost half a day. Beneath the fire spring, unless there was another dimension or secret space, it shouldn't have taken this long.

"Fire spring?" Jiang Fan was puzzled. He only learned the reason why Venerable Zhenyan entered the fire spring after asking. After a brief thought, he approached the fire spring. As the essence of fire surged within him, clusters of flames, as if recognizing their master, parted to make way. It seemed that having the essence of fire protecting him would make it very safe.

"I'll go down and take a look. If I don't come up in an hour, then you can find a way to rescue Venerable Zhenyan and me." With that, he leaped into the fire spring.

As he delved deeper, the temperature became increasingly scorching the closer he got to the bottom. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Jiang Fan had descended unknown miles underground. The intense heat of the flames here was so high that even with the essence of fire protecting him, his skin began to sting.

He had a bad feeling. Venerable Zhenyan had only relied on a Phoenix Feather Nine Flames Fan to delve so deep into this place, and even someone in the Second Decline of Heaven and Man would find it hard to bear.

Just then, the narrow and infinitely deep well shaft suddenly opened up. A vast thousand-zhang lava lake, formed by lava flow, appeared before his eyes. The churning lava was intensely hot, and clusters of strange fires flickered in and out of sight within it.

Jiang Fan, enduring the burning sensation, quickly scanned his surroundings but found no trace of Venerable Zhenyan. His unease grew stronger. Since Venerable Zhenyan hadn't left, she must still be in the well. There was only one place where she could be hidden.

His gaze fell upon the vast expanse of lava. After a brief thought, he took out his Void Fishing Rod. Silently picturing Venerable Zhenyan, he cast out a line. The hook indeed plunged directly into the lava and quickly snagged something. Jiang Fan lifted his fishing rod, trying to pull it out of the lava, but strangely, it didn't budge.

Venerable Zhenyan was trapped at the bottom of the lava! His expression hardened slightly, and he decisively took out the Mountain River Cauldron. The lava here was so scorching hot that ordinary spatial storage artifacts would be instantly incinerated and couldn't contain it. Only the Mountain River Cauldron could possibly attempt it, to see if it could condense the liquid lava.

"Collect!" He slapped the Mountain River Cauldron, activating it. Instantly, the lava lake began to churn, and streams of lava, like celestial dragons drawing water, poured into the Mountain River Cauldron. As the lava gradually increased, the Mountain River Cauldron also expanded continuously.

Not long after, the Mountain River Cauldron grew as massive as a mountain, and the lava lake revealed its deep bottom. While the Mountain River Cauldron was condensing the lava, Jiang Fan quickly leaped to the bottom of the lake and immediately saw Venerable Zhenyan! She was sitting cross-legged on the dry lakebed, her clothes long since burned away, and her skin was scorched red.

"Zhenyan!" Jiang Fan exclaimed softly. But Venerable Zhenyan's eyes were slightly closed, as if she had entered a deep meditative state. In her palm, she held a damaged jade book. Embedded within the book was a crimson spherical bead, emitting dazzling light. Waves of terrifying heat emanated from it, searing the surrounding stone walls and ground crimson, gradually melting them into new lava.

Jiang Fan's heart was chilled: "Could this spherical bead be..."

"It is the Cursed Eye of the Giant Emperor, also known as the Cursed Sun Wheel."

Suddenly, a clear, cold voice appeared directly in the depths of Jiang Fan's soul. He was startled and quickly looked around. But the surroundings were empty, and he said with awe, "Who are you?"

In this thousand-year-old fire spring, there was actually a living being?

"Guess."

Jiang Fan's mind raced, and he said almost without thinking: "Junior Jiang Fan of the Human Race greets the master of the Jade Scroll of Heaven!"