Chapter 1602: Ancestral Ring

The Evil Crow Venerable, noticing the commotion, immediately realized something was wrong. "Nine orifices gone mad, and rushing to get married?" he thought. "Could it be that you are perfecting your Dao intent? Do you intend to achieve Nascent Divinity through this?"

Recalling the terrifying rumors of Jiang Fan's temporary ascension to Nascent Divinity in Tianyi City, where he single-handedly killed five Half-Giant Dharma Idol Realm cultivators, the Venerable began to panic. Given his actions, if Jiang Fan achieved Nascent Divinity, he would surely pursue him to the ends of the earth! Jiang Fan must not be allowed to ascend to Nascent Divinity! Absolutely not!

"You all can die with this little beast!" The Evil Crow Venerable, with immense pain, decisively launched a Five Phases Realm attack! In an instant, five colossal Dharma Idols materialized. They simultaneously unleashed a world-ending punch towards everyone from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Space collapsed, splitting into intricate, spiderweb-like cracks of nothingness, and the destructive fist wind engulfed the entire Heavenly Secret Pavilion. He watched with a sinister grin as everyone in the Heavenly Secret Pavilion met their demise! Having already betrayed the Central Plains, he might as well go all the way down this dark path!

But at that very moment, the Grand Demon Lord in palace attire flashed forward, placing herself in front of the five giant Dharma Idols, her eyes filled with resolve. The Evil Crow Venerable sneered, "A person in the Three Declines of Heaven and Man still thinks she can block a Five Phases Realm attack? It's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—overestimating yourself!"

However, to the Evil Crow Venerable's shock, a mighty aura surged from within the Grand Demon Lord, forming a majestic phantom. The Five Phases Realm attack was entirely blocked by her body. The Grand Demon Lord's body cracked open, blood spurted from her wounds like arrows, and she was sent flying, crashing into the distant Qingli Mountain range. The massive mountain range was left with a human-shaped indentation. The Grand Demon Lord's fate was unknown. Yet, her Grand Lord physique successfully diffused the Five Phases Realm attack, saving everyone.

Meanwhile, Xu Youran remained unfazed by the external chaos. Holding Jiang Fan's hand, she bowed in reverence. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master's heart was filled with profound sorrow. To ensure their marriage, the Grand Demon Lord, who had painstakingly cultivated after seizing a new body, sacrificed herself to block the calamity. He proclaimed tragically, "The ceremony is complete!" With these two words, Jiang Fan and Xu Youran were officially married. Jiang Fan's promise, made in the very beginning, had been fulfilled.

Under Xu Youran's deep gaze, the confusion in Jiang Fan's eyes receded, and the madness quietly dissipated. She exclaimed in surprise, "He's waking up!" Indeed, she was the last missing piece in Jiang Fan's heart. Now, everything was complete! Jiang Fan was about to enter the Nascent Divinity Realm!

The Evil Crow Venerable's expression drastically changed, and he cried out in shock and rage, "Trying to enter Nascent Divinity? Don't even think about it!!!" He vanished from his spot and instantly teleported, charging at Jiang Fan. When a Nascent Divinity Realm expert made a move, the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators present were utterly powerless to resist. Even the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master, who was standing nearby, had no time to react. By the time he caught sight of the Evil Crow Venerable, he had already appeared before Jiang Fan. A fist, filled with murderous intent and piercing power, aimed for Jiang Fan's head. Countless roars and curses erupted. The startled cries of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Master and Xu Youran were also close by. But none of this could stop the Evil Crow Venerable's determined intent to kill. With a ferocious expression, he snarled, "Die, you little beast!!!"

Jiang Fan's image, fighting ancient giants to the death, stood in stark contrast to him. The more fiercely Jiang Fan fought, the more despicable he, the traitor, appeared in comparison. He was like a rat in the shadows; the brighter the sun shone, the more uncomfortable he became!

The terrifying fist wind had already struck Jiang Fan's body. He was surely going to die! Just then! A five-colored beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping Jiang Fan and an area three feet around him. The fist wind that had impacted his body was silently neutralized. The Evil Crow Venerable's fist, which had struck the five-colored beam, was repelled, sending him stumbling back several steps.

He looked up along the beam and saw large expanses of five-colored auspicious clouds appearing in the sky. From one of these auspicious clouds, the beam of light projected, enveloping Jiang Fan. "How can auspicious clouds protect him?" the Evil Crow Venerable roared in shock and fury. He, too, had ascended to Nascent Divinity and naturally knew the phenomena associated with it. While five-colored auspicious clouds were correct, there was no such thing as a protective beam of light. Not only him, but no one who had ever ascended to Nascent Divinity had experienced a protective beam. This had never been recorded in history!

Unwilling to give up, he struck again, but the beam remained completely still. What's more, a five-colored lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck him fiercely. The lightning instantly shattered his arm, leaving his entire body festering and bleeding. The Evil Crow Venerable cried out in agony, staring at the five-colored auspicious clouds with a look of alarm and doubt. He finally realized that some will was protecting Jiang Fan. His actions had angered it, and it had sent down lightning as a warning.

"Who... who is protecting him?" The Evil Crow Venerable swallowed hard, and the words "Ancient Sage" flashed through his mind. This sent a shiver down his spine. At this moment, he finally realized that Jiang Fan was not someone he should have provoked. But it was too late.

The five-colored auspicious clouds cast down a brilliant glow, which converged behind Jiang Fan's head, forming a luminous, moon-white divine halo. The difference was that others' divine halos were hollow, with only a circular arc at the edge. Jiang Fan's could no longer be called a halo; it was a solid, complete disc! At first glance, it resembled a radiant and magnificent full moon. The Evil Crow Venerable was stunned: "This... this is a divine halo?" Everyone else was also astonished. In this great battle, they had witnessed many Nascent Divinity Venerables. However, Jiang Fan's kind of divine halo was not only unseen but also unheard of.

"That's not a divine halo.""It's an Ancestral Ring!" A weak and ancient voice came from the horizon. The Grand Demon Lord, covered in blood, stumbled through the air, her eyes fixed on the divine halo behind Jiang Fan. A storm of shock surged within her eyes. Uncontrollable excitement made her entire body tremble incessantly, her voice quivering as she spoke: "An Ancestral Ring truly exists in this world! The legend... has become reality!"

An Ancestral Ring? Everyone present looked bewildered. But from the Grand Demon Lord's expression, the Ancestral Ring must be extraordinary. Suppressing her excitement, Xu Youran asked, "Senior, what is an Ancestral Ring?"

The Grand Demon Lord descended, gazing at Jiang Fan's full, moon-like ring. She swallowed hard and said: "Legend has it that the Ancestors of Heaven and Earth passed down only nine types of Dao. These nine Daos then branched out into ten thousand Daos. Cultivating one of the ten thousand Daos results in forming a divine halo. However, cultivating one of the nine Ancestral Daos forms an Ancestral Ring. I thought it was merely a legend, because in the ten-thousand-year history of the Central Plains, no such Ancestral Ring has ever been known to appear."

Xu Youran's eyes sparkled as she asked, "Senior, what are the nine great Ancestral Daos? Is Xiao Fan's Flawless Dao one of the nine?" The Grand Demon Lord shook her head. "No one knows the exact types of Ancestral Daos. Some say time, others say space, and some mention death and fate. However, many people have cultivated these mentioned Daos over the past ten thousand years, yet no one has ever formed an Ancestral Ring. I cannot confirm if Jiang Fan's Flawless Dao is one of the nine Ancestral Daos. But this is definitely an Ancestral Ring!"