Chapter 1598: Turnaround

The people of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion looked on with reluctance.

The Slave Heart Demonic Emperor firmly declared, "No! You cannot kill my master! He has only temporarily gone mad. I believe he will wake up eventually. Just like Senior Jiang Wuya, didn't he awaken after years of madness, guided by Master? And Venerable Truth, didn't she also fall into madness and later attain enlightenment? My master is so exceptionally gifted; given time, he will surely awaken on his own!"

Her anxious voice echoed through the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Everyone fell silent.

Finally, the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, with a look of unbearable sorrow, said: "I also believe that, given time, he will awaken on his own and become the most powerful Heavenly-Human Decadence Venerable. But he has no time left. Our Taicang Great Prefecture is already without hope. The Giant King's army from the Far East will soon conquer Taicang Great Prefecture. Jiang Fan is their absolute target. Do you want to see him, in his madness, tormented and brutally killed by the ancient giants?"

The Slave Heart Demonic Emperor opened her mouth, then painfully shed tears. Her tears, as they fell, transformed into pearls, clinking against the ground.

In the silent scene, only the weeping of the Slave Heart Demonic Emperor remained.

Everyone looked at Jiang Fan, and then at Fairy Yunshang, who had accepted the entrustment. No one urged her. For how painful is it to personally kill the one you love?

Fairy Yunshang's shoulders trembled as she recalled the scene where the Sky Demonic Emperor had coerced her into killing Jiang Fan. She hadn't expected this very scene to play out again. The difference was, this time, Jiang Fan himself was asking her to kill him.

Her tears fell, drop by drop, as she gazed at the most important man in her life, unable to draw her sword for a long time.

Liu Qingxian choked out, "Let someone else do it."

Fairy Yunshang shook her head. She drew the Azure Frost Sword from Liu Qingxian's waist, her fingers running along its blade. The cold blade exuded a chilling frostiness, reflecting her dim, lifeless, yet stunningly beautiful face.

She spoke softly, saying, "Jiang Lang asked me to send him on his way; it is a sign of his trust in me. I cannot fail him!"

The Azure Frost Sword slowly rose, yet she couldn't bring herself to strike. Fairy Yunshang's tears flowed like a fountain, her delicate body trembling uncontrollably as she cried mournfully: "Jiang Lang, I will be right down to join you!" With those words, she brought the sword down.

The sharp sword gleam slashed towards Jiang Fan's neck.

Just then.

A wisp of shadowy energy shot through the air, hitting Fairy Yunshang's wrist. Fairy Yunshang cried out in pain and instinctively loosened her grip. The Azure Frost Sword grazed Jiang Fan's neck, leaving a bloody mark from which beads of blood emerged.

Fairy Yunshang clutched her wrist and looked towards the source of the shadowy energy, her brow slightly furrowed. However, upon recognizing the person, she gasped, covering her lips, and a natural reverence welled up in her eyes.

When Liu Qingxian looked over, she was also surprised, with a complex expression in her eyes. There was a hint of defiance, but also genuine respect.

Everyone turned their heads to look.

When Xia Chaoge saw who it was, she subconsciously clutched the Earth-Tooth Sword at her waist, feeling a little guilty.

Xuanyuan, standing nearby, looked at the newcomer strangely. It was an extremely beautiful woman, whose beauty was not much inferior to that of Fairy Yunshang. Her demeanor was dignified, calm, and composed. Her cultivation had reached the Six-Aperture Nascent Soul stage. Strangely, though seemingly human, she possessed the shadowy energy of the Asura tribe. Even stranger were the peculiar expressions on Xia Chaoge, Fairy Yunshang, and Liu Qingxian's faces. They all seemed a little afraid of her.

Xuanyuan couldn't help but wonder. Others aside, Fairy Yunshang was Jiang Fan's most beloved woman. Her status in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion was such that she could be described as having power over wind and rain; even the Pavilion Master treated her with deference. Why would she be afraid of this woman?

She quietly asked Nangong Xiaoyun, who was beside her, "Who is that? Why do they all seem so afraid of her?"Gu Xin'er stuck out her tongue and whispered cautiously, "That's Jiang Fan's main wife, his only fiancée!""Do you think they'd be scared or not?"

Xuanyuan gasped, covering her mouth in surprise. This person was Jiang Fan's main wife? No wonder they were so reserved. She'd feel self-conscious too, if it were her!

The newcomer was none other than Xu Youran. Enveloped in a vast cloud of shadowy energy, she swiftly glided to Jiang Fan's side, and seeing the sword mark on his neck, she quickly wiped it away.

Before Xu Youran could ask, Fairy Yunshang quickly bowed and explained, "Sister, Jiang Lang instructed me to do this." She briefly recounted the events.

Xu Youran helped her up and said gently, "Little Fan put you in a difficult position."

Having her innermost sorrow acknowledged, Fairy Yunshang could no longer suppress her grief. Wiping away tears with her sleeve, she choked out, "Sister, Jiang Lang won't wake up."

Xu Youran softly said, "There's still one more chance. If it still fails, then he truly won't wake up."

What? Jiang Fan still had a ray of hope? Fairy Yunshang grasped Xu Youran's hand, excitedly asking, "Is what you say true, Sister?"

Even Liu Qingxian, who had been at odds with Xu Youran, set aside their past grievances and approached Xu Youran. With her lips slightly pursed, she bowed and said, "Sis... sister... Please save Little Fan."

She was born the daughter of the Azure Cloud Sect Master, possessing a seventh-grade spiritual root, and had always looked down upon her peers. At that time, Xu Youran was a concubine's daughter, with a weak spiritual root and no cultivation whatsoever. How could she, who loved the same man, bring herself to bow her head?

Now, for Jiang Fan, she cast aside all her pride. However, before she could fully bow, Xu Youran supported her, saying: "There's no need for such formality. Jiang Fan is both our husband; saving him is my duty."

Liu Qingxian was slightly moved. She had expected Xu Youran to assert her status as the main wife and suppress her, but unexpectedly, Xu Youran was not as narrow-minded as she had imagined. However, this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

She hurriedly asked, "Sister, can you truly save Little Fan?" As soon as the question was out, everyone looked over, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

Xu Youran said, "I only said there's a chance; I'm not certain."

Fairy Yunshang wiped away her tears and joyfully asked, "Sister, what kind of chance? Do you need our help?"

Xu Youran approached Jiang Fan, her gaze complex as she looked at his face, and said: "He cultivates the Path of Flawlessness, which requires him to have no regrets in his heart. But, has he forgotten that he once told a girl he would marry her in a grand ceremony?"

Fairy Yunshang and Liu Qingxian froze. Immediately, expressions of excitement appeared on their faces. Could it be that Jiang Fan couldn't wake up because there was a promise deep in his heart that he himself had forgotten? If so, wouldn't fulfilling that promise offer hope for him to awaken?

Xu Youran held Jiang Fan's hand, pressing it against her face, a hint of helplessness in her eyes: "Did you overlook my feelings simply because I didn't contend or demand anything? I've always been waiting for you to marry me in a grand ceremony. But it seems you've forgotten me where we first started."

They spent little time together, and after she entered the underground world, it became even harder to meet. Though called fiancés, they were practically becoming familiar strangers.