Chapter 1606: Kill Back on the Battlefield

The Unresolved Substitute Marriage of Jiang Fan and Xu Yining

Jiang Fan’s mind went blank. It took a while for him to gradually clear his head: "Good! It seems even the Primeval Ancient Tree supports me in grinding that old hag Gu Sheng into the dirt! Becoming a Sage — I must become a Sage in this life!"

He was instantly filled with unprecedented motivation. Everything was for the sake of defeating Gu Sheng!

"Fellow Daoist Jiang... Fellow Daoist Jiang..."

At that moment, the voice of Red Devil Grand Venerable reached his ears. Jiang Fan's heart jolted, and he quickly withdrew from the depths of his consciousness.

After he left, at the peak of the Primeval Ancient Tree, a faint, hoarse chuckle emanated from amidst the swaying shadows: "It's time to give that girl a bit of a lesson. She dared to pluck leaves from the Primeval Ancient Tree, and even wanted to cut off a branch to forge a sword? Let this young man give you a taste of your own medicine. Hehehe..."

Outside.

Jiang Fan's consciousness returned to his physical body. His two hands, which had been empty and tucked into his sleeves, suddenly felt heavy. It was the Primordial Sky-Imprisoning Gourd and the Dog Bowl! He calmly hid them in his spatial storage device.

"Fellow Daoist Jiang, what was that just now?"

Red Devil Grand Venerable, who was nearby, looked suspicious. For a moment, she had found Jiang Fan's entire body empty. His soul seemed to have vanished, as if it had gone to another dimension. She had even thought Jiang Fan was dead, which frightened her considerably.

Jiang Fan ambiguously replied, "It's nothing, just got a bit distracted." Realizing he had already been teleported to the Fire Worship Cult's Transmission Hall, Jiang Fan quickly said, "Let's hurry over!"

Red Devil Grand Venerable nodded, then, carrying Jiang Fan, she unleashed the Heavenly Human Three Declines movement technique, instantly teleporting rapidly towards the extreme east.

By the Sky-Connecting Black Pillar.

The battle was no longer as intense as it had been initially. This was because both sides had suffered casualties. The Giant Kings, seventeen of them when Jiang Fan left, had been slaughtered until only ten remained. The Human God Transformation cultivators from the four states also suffered significant casualties. White Bone Venerable from Great Wilderness State had fallen, Purple Cloud Venerable's divine halo had shattered, and Red Dust Venerable was severely wounded. In Pill State, only Vice Palace Master You and one Venerable remained fighting; the other two Venerables had fallen. Of the three Venerables from Divine Weapon State, only one was still fighting bitterly! The reinforcements from the three states had lost five members, effectively halved.

As for Taicang Great State.

The battle corpse lay broken and motionless at the edge of the battlefield. Jian Lanjiang, who controlled it, was long gone. In such a massive battle against Giant Kings, the fate of a Seven-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator like him was not hard to guess. After the Bodhisattva, another powerhouse who charged to the front lines had fallen. Heart Devil Venerable, Bright Night Asura King, and Pacifying Heaven Bodhisattva, who were still struggling, were all injured and gritting their teeth to hold on. Jiang Wuya's Misfortune Divine Stele was also struggling to withstand the bombardment from two three-star Giant Kings. The situations of Jiangshan Yipin Building Master and Hongxiu were also not optimistic.

Hongxiu was slightly better off. Although she was a newly promoted Five-Crowned Asura King, her strength was inferior to the veteran Nether King. However, relying on her schemes and tactics, she barely managed to hold off her opponent, sustaining only minor injuries. Jiangshan Yipin Building Master was in danger. With his dwindling qi and blood, he was simply not strong enough to contend with Black Sun King. His divine halo showed cracks, and his already emaciated body was covered in ghastly wounds. Under the bombardment of Black Sun King's invincible physique, he was steadily losing ground.

"Cough, cough." Jiangshan Yipin Building Master coughed up several mouthfuls of bile. He had no blood left to cough up. Feeling his body on the verge of collapse, he revealed a look of helplessness: "If only I had more time, even to become a Lesser Sage would be good. Alas, fate dictates that I perish here." Jiangshan Yipin Building Master, who already harbored a desire for death and was unwilling to face the beings of the Central Lands, felt a profound intent to die welling up within him.

Black Sun King also perceived Jiangshan Yipin Building Master's condition, and his eyes revealed a grim expression. He unleashed his full power, teleporting to deliver the final blow to Jiangshan Yipin Building Master! Jiangshan Yipin Building Master knew he couldn't block this strike. He looked back at the land behind him, letting out a long sigh in his heart: "Forgive me, my homeland of Taicang. I slew the Giant Emperor, but I couldn't protect you."

However.

He had already sensed the pain of the punch's impact tearing at his body, but Black Sun King suddenly withdrew his fist and retreated from the battlefield. He looked startled and utterly incredulous. He saw the five original stars on his forehead spinning rapidly. His origin power was precognition. Just as he was about to kill Jiangshan Yipin Building Master, his original stars sensed a crisis and rotated on their own, capturing a vision of the future. The content of that vision was unbelievable to him. It showed him dying! Even stranger, he didn't die by someone else's hand. He actually died... by Nether King's hand! And in that vision, he also saw a human face that was all too familiar! It was Jiang Fan! He didn't understand why Nether King would kill him. The only thing he could confirm was that this matter was related to Jiang Fan! Thinking of Gu Sheng's declaration that had spread to this place earlier, he felt increasingly uneasy. Had Jiang Fan, who had broken through to the God Transformation stage, become so extraordinary? The future was unchangeable, unless one paid an unbearable price. So Black Sun King stopped in time, hesitating whether to return to the Heavenly Realm to avoid the karma.

"Black Sun King, why did you stop?" Nether King, who was in the distance, asked with a frown.

Black Sun King hesitated, "We should retreat. The future is unfavorable to us."

"What?" Nether King raised an eyebrow. Black Sun King's precognition was actually unfavorable to them, the Giant Kings? How could that be? The current situation was ten Giant Kings against nine, with two five-star Giant Kings driving two Human Grand Venerables to constant retreat. The situation was excellent, and victory was in sight. How could it be unfavorable?

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, two God Transformation-level fluctuations suddenly descended upon the battlefield. One of them emanated the aura of Heavenly Human Three Declines. The other was a young man with a peculiar divine halo.

"Wang Chongxiao! Or should I say Jiang Fan? You've actually reached God Transformation!" Nether King found it somewhat unbelievable. Wasn't it as difficult as ascending to heaven for humans to reach God Transformation? Jiang Fan was only an Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul when he left not long ago, and now he had returned as a God Transformation cultivator!

Jiang Fan ignored him. He scanned the battlefield, his heart sinking halfway. More than half of the reinforcements from the three states had fallen, and all the rest were wounded. What about the people from Taicang Great State?

Suddenly, he teleported to the battle corpse's side and saw an old, severed hand clutched in its grasp. He painfully closed his eyes. This old man, a Seven-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator, who had survived two great battles, each time barely escaping with his life, ultimately did not make it through the third battle. He had said before that Taicang Mausoleum should have a place for him. Now, his words had become a prophecy. Jiang Fan carefully withdrew the severed hand and placed it in a jade box.

Heart Devil Venerable blasted back a Giant King, then came to his side and said regretfully: "Patriarch Jian sacrificed the battle corpse to block a fatal blow for me, to save me. He himself, however, was caught off guard by a Giant King and devoured." Looking at the divine halo behind Jiang Fan's head, Heart Devil Venerable felt even more ashamed. He clenched his fist and said in a low voice: "Patriarch Jian died with a smile. Before he died, he heard Gu Sheng's declaration." Jian Lanjiang had placed unlimited hopes on Jiang Fan, but at the moment Jiang Fan achieved God Transformation, he closed his eyes forever. He would never see it.

Jiang Fan's lips trembled slightly, and an unreadable emotion swirled in his eyes. This old man, a Seven-Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator, fearlessly fought battle after battle alongside a group of God Transformation powerhouses. He wanted to carve out a path of hope for Taicang Great State. But hope was right before his eyes, and yet he fell.

"Which Giant King devoured him?" Jiang Fan clutched the jade box, his voice terrifyingly low.