Chapter 1594: I Want to Transform into a God

Jiang Fan had a bad feeling. He asked in return:"Does it take time for you to take over a body, senior?"

The remnant soul of Great Venerable Red Demon replied, "Taking over a body doesn't take time, but it will take a year for my soul to recover to its peak."

A year?

The joy in Jiang Fan's heart vanished, replaced by a deep despair. He gave a bitter smile and said, "I was too presumptuous."

If the remnant souls of Sages were so easy to recover, so many Sages wouldn't have fallen a thousand years ago. They could have instantly recovered their souls and rejoined the fight. After all, Law Wine wasn't a product exclusive to this era; there was even more of it during the prosperous era a thousand years ago.

The remnant soul of Great Venerable Red Demon asked, "Are you currently facing the predicament of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man?"

Jiang Fan nodded and briefly described the battle situation. The remnant soul of Great Venerable Red Demon said nothing more and directly merged into the Confucian body.

Soon after, this body, which had been dormant for a thousand years, slowly opened its eyes. She rose to her full height, and a divine halo gradually formed behind her head, adorned with three flame marks. Indeed, as she had speculated, it was only at the Three Decays of Heaven and Man. Moreover, her cultivation was unstable. She was a demonic soul in a Confucian body; the two conflicted with each other, making it difficult for her to adapt to the body. Demonic energy would surge out at times, and noble spirit would churn at others. The divine halo flickered unsteadily as a result.

"Let's go. Even if I can't defeat them, I can at least clear out two more Giant Kings for you."

Observing her unstable cultivation, Jiang Fan recalled what the remnant soul of Great Venerable Red Demon had said. Great Venerable Wugou had a Confucian soul in a demonic body, naturally conflicting and making it difficult to fully control the physique. It required the Twin Sages' supreme treasure from back then, the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin, to balance the Confucian and demonic paths.

Thinking of this, he took out half of the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin and said, "This should also be returned to its original owner." He looked wistful, a hint of reluctance in his heart. This item had been a magical treasure accompanying him from the continent until today. Unfortunately, it was only half, and its power was limited. It had been useless for a long time. It would be better to return it to Great Venerable Red Demon, allowing the two halves of the magical artifact to combine, perhaps unleashing greater power.

The moment the item appeared, Gu Xin'er's eyes widened like walnuts; she was so shocked she could barely speak: "Master, am I seeing this correctly? Is this the other half of the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin that you've been searching for hundreds of years? It was in Jiang Fan's hands all this time?"

At this moment, Great Venerable Red Demon's eyes also widened, a look of disbelief on her face: "It... it's with you?" Back then, her hairpin was broken by the Giant Emperor and went missing. To search for it across various states, she had asked Gu Xin'er to find high-grade spirit stones and accumulate travel funds to use the state-level teleportation array. But she never expected that after searching far and wide, she would suddenly find it with Jiang Fan! For a moment, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Jiang Fan said, "I found this in your cenotaph, senior. And a dress." He also took out the blood-stained dress that had gained sentience and would absorb human blood, handing it over along with the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin.

Great Venerable Red Demon gazed at the familiar blood-stained dress, her eyes shimmering, and said, "So, people of later generations even built a cenotaph for me." She took the two items and said solemnly, "Then I must fight for the people of this era even more. Once I reforge the two halves of the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin, it will be a quasi-realm artifact in its full glory. With this, I can fight against those in the Four Decays of Heaven and Man."

Jiang Fan's eyes lit up slightly. Although she still couldn't defeat King Black Sun, there were no individuals in the Four Decays of Heaven and Man among the Giant King armies in the lower realm. If they couldn't stop the two five-star Giant Kings, then they would just slaughter their Giant King army! If they wanted to conquer Taicang Great State, they would have to pay a price!

"Please take your time, senior. Come find me when you're ready."

Recombining the Nine Phoenixes Worshipping Dao Hairpin would also take some time. During this time, Jiang Fan wanted to check on the people from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets. For all he knew, this might be their last meeting.

However, he didn't need to go looking for everyone. When he left Gu Xin'er's secret chamber, the area outside was already packed with people. The Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets and the others had all come. Immortal Yunshang, ethereal and graceful, came to his side. She didn't ask about the battle situation but looked at his bloodshot eyes and silently embraced him. Liu Qingxian also walked over. Usually spirited and valiant, she spoke with rare tenderness: "You must be tired?"

Jiang Fan smiled silently and quietly pulled her into his embrace, savoring a moment of tenderness. After a long while, he opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Everyone, our Taicang Great State might not be able to hold on."

He explained the battle situation on the front lines. There wasn't much change in their expressions. Having experienced the first wave of life-or-death struggle, they had come to terms with life and death. The Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets sighed softly, "Are we truly unable to survive this catastrophe after all?" He looked at Jiang Fan, his face full of regret: "It's fine if we die, but it would be a great pity for you to fall. Given more time, you would have successfully transformed into a Spirit Lord." A peerless talent like Jiang Fan, if he had been born in an earlier era, would have been in a completely different situation.

Jiang Fan gave a bitter laugh: "Transforming into a Spirit Lord is easier said than done..."

Suddenly, Jiang Fan thought of something! His heart had turned to ashes, devoid of hope for victory, but a spark suddenly ignited in his eyes. How could he have forgotten that if he transformed into a Spirit Lord, he could pluck an item from the Primordial Void Ancient Tree! A realm artifact — the Primordial Heaven-Imprisoning Gourd! The Lustful Sage, by self-detonating with the realm artifact Jade Paper Heavenly Scroll, had obliterated a Giant Emperor. If the Primordial Heaven-Imprisoning Gourd were to detonate, it surely wouldn't fail to destroy a mere five-star Giant King, right? Moreover, based on previous experience, items from the Primordial Void Ancient Tree were much stronger than those from the outside world, even at the same grade. As realm artifacts, the Primordial Heaven-Imprisoning Gourd should be even more powerful than the Jade Paper Heavenly Scroll. Perhaps it wouldn't even need to detonate to slay a five-star Giant King!

Thinking of this, a look of determination appeared in his eyes. Since doom was inevitable anyway, why shouldn't he try to break through to the Spirit Lord realm? If successful, he would have a chance to turn the tide. If he failed, he would be eternally insane and perish along with Taicang Great State!

He lowered his head and kissed Immortal Yunshang and Liu Qingxian on their foreheads. Then, with a farewell gaze, he surveyed the crowd, scanning each of their faces, imprinting their features deep within his heart. Xia Chaoge felt something and anxiously clutched her chest, saying, "Uncle-Master, what are you going to do?" She sensed the farewell in Jiang Fan's eyes.

Jiang Fan released the two women, looked at the crowd, took a deep breath, and said, "I am going to achieve Spirit Lord transformation!"

What? This single statement stirred up a thousand waves.

The Pavilion Master of Heavenly Secrets exclaimed in surprise, "Transforming into a Spirit Lord at this time?"

Immortal Yunshang's beautiful face subtly changed, and she asked, "Jiang Lang, are you... ready?" Jiang Fan still had some unresolved regrets and was fundamentally unable to truly enter the Dao. This attempt might very well leave him stuck in the Nine Apertures Nascent Soul realm, never to awaken again.

Liu Qingxian's heart also tightened. She bit her red lip slightly and said, "Xiao Fan, don't go. I'd rather die fighting alongside you than see you eternally insane."

Even the Fire Worshipping Sect Master spoke frankly: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, there's no trickery whatsoever on the path to Spirit Lord transformation. If your Dao is complete, you transform into a Spirit Lord; if it's lacking, you fall into eternal madness. Which of those venerable elders in the Nine Apertures Nascent Soul realm from various sects wasn't once astonishingly talented? Which one didn't refine their Dao to the extreme? But if they missed by a hair's breadth, it was still a miss, and they could never cross that threshold. If your Dao is not complete, do not attempt it, or else an abyss awaits you."

The profound warning made Jiang Fan feel a chill in his heart. On the path to Spirit Lord transformation, everyone who relied on wishful thinking met the same fate. As for him, he still had a major unresolved regret, and his Dao had a significant flaw. Forcibly attempting Spirit Lord transformation would only lead to madness. But he had no other choice! He could only try with all his might!

"Deputy Pavilion Master Jiang, we have a gift for you."

Just then, Shang Shiqiu and Leng Qingzhu stepped out from the crowd.