Chapter 267: Jumping Off the Cliff

Ji Ruyue cautiously asked, "If I tell you, will our past be completely wiped clean?"

Jiang Fan raised his black sword, pointing towards the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon that was being dismembered by the three women. "Not only will our past be wiped clean," he said, "you'll also be entitled to a share of that beast king's corpse. The condition is that you haven't lied."

Ji Ruyue was overjoyed. She had only hoped to save her life; who knew Jiang Fan would offer an additional reward? She was self-aware enough to know that a Nascent Soul Grandmaster's cave dwelling was absolutely beyond the reach of a mere Foundation Establishment realm disciple like herself. Instead of guarding an empty treasure mountain, it was far better to trade it for her life and a share of the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon's corpse. Either way, she could still acquire tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of astonishing wealth from the corpse.

She immediately nodded. "Of course it's true!" she said. "We..."

"Stop!" Xie Liushu exclaimed, urgently cutting her off. "Junior Sister Ji, this is a top secret of our Joyous Union Sect. How can you reveal it so easily?"

Ji Ruyue harbored resentment. When she was in distress, Xie Liushu had abandoned her. Now, wanting to save herself with information, she was being stopped. Did she deserve to be stabbed to death by a sword?

She raised her chin defiantly. "This cave dwelling was discovered by me," she stated. "I'll tell whoever I want to tell. Even if the Sect Master were here, he couldn't say anything to me." She wasn't valued in the Joyous Union Sect anyway, so incurring the displeasure of the sect's higher-ups wouldn't really harm her. Saving her life and getting a share of the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon's corpse were the only tangible things she could truly hold onto.

Thus, without any hesitation, she began, "When I passed by a certain cliff, I accidentally noticed a flash of treasure light at the bottom of the precipice. Moreover, there was a rusty, hidden chain on the cliff face. I followed the chain down, and at the very bottom of the cliff, I saw a cave. At the cave entrance, there was a broken, glowing stone tablet with the words 'Nascent Soul Dwelling, Mortals Keep Out' carved on it. For safety, I didn't dare to enter, and I only told Senior Brother Xie about it."

Jiang Fan observed Ji Ruyue's expression while analyzing the questionable points in her words. He found that Ji Ruyue didn't seem to be lying, and there were no flaws in her story. He was half convinced.

"Go and dismember the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon's corpse first," he instructed. "Then, lead me to that cliff. Once I confirm you haven't lied, you'll be free. Of course, if you have lied, that will be a different matter."

Joy lit up Ji Ruyue's face. She quickly stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, and declared with an oath, "There wasn't a single false word in what I just said!" Having said that, she eagerly rushed to the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon's corpse, took out various sizes of bags, and then excitedly began cutting off the valuable parts.

Yi Lianxing and the other two women didn't object. Firstly, Jiang Fan had hunted it, so the distribution was naturally up to him. Secondly, the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon was simply too enormous; the three of them couldn't possibly dismember it all, so one more person wouldn't affect anything.

The disciples of the Joyous Union Sect watched with immense envy. As ordinary disciples, the spirit stones they could save each year amounted to only a few hundred. Even the most frugal among them could barely accumulate a thousand spirit stones. Yet now, Ji Ruyue, by selling a piece of information, could acquire astonishing amounts of spirit stones—tens of thousands at the least, and possibly hundreds of thousands! With so many spirit stones, Ji Ruyue could live a carefree life for the rest of her days, even if she left the Joyous Union Sect. No one had expected that she, who should have met a tragic end, would instead find a blessing in disguise.

An hour later, the four women, burdened with heavy bags, were panting and could barely walk. Yet, their faces were beaming with profound joy. It seemed their harvest was substantial. As for the Red-Scaled Flood Dragon, a massive portion still remained. Although only meat and bones were left, these were still sought-after goods by merchants, capable of selling for over ten thousand spirit stones.

The Joyous Union Sect disciples, gazing at the remaining corpse, couldn't help but swallow. They carefully looked towards Jiang Fan, casting pleading glances.

Jiang Fan waved his hand and said without hesitation, "You can share the rest." He could have simply thrown these into the river, but there was no need for such a self-defeating act that would harm others. His own people had finished the meat; it was fine to leave some soup for others.

The four Joyous Union Sect disciples showed expressions of pleasant surprise, cupping their hands in gratitude. "Thank you, Junior Brother Jiang!" they exclaimed. "Junior Brother Jiang, when will you visit our Joyous Union Sect? I will certainly host you warmly! Today, we owe Junior Brother Jiang a favor!" As they spoke, the four eagerly stepped forward and divided the remaining bones and meat. In the end, each of them got over two thousand spirit stones for free. While it was still less than a fraction of what Ji Ruyue received, for them, it was an unexpected windfall.

Xie Liushu watched the four jubilantly expressing thanks to Jiang Fan. He was both angry and helpless. A mere handout made them forget which sect they belonged to! Spineless wretches!

With a somber face, he asked, "Junior Brother Jiang, are you truly going to explore that Nascent Soul cave dwelling? I advise you to be cautious. A place belonging to a Nascent Soul Grandmaster is absolutely not somewhere we can trespass into."

Jiang Fan's eyes held deep meaning as he said, "You really don't want me to go in?" This caused Xie Liushu's expression to freeze, and he remained silent.

The group finished tidying up. Ji Ruyue joined Jiang Fan's party, and under her guidance, they headed towards the location of the cliff. Xie Liushu gritted his teeth. His mission had already failed, and having nowhere else to go, he also followed along.

Two days later, they crossed a snow-capped mountain and arrived at its summit. Ji Ruyue hastily approached the cliff edge, pointing below. "It's here, it's definitely here!" she exclaimed.

Jiang Fan followed closely, looking down into the bottomless abyss of the cliff. Suddenly, a beam of light flashed and disappeared. Was this the treasure light Ji Ruyue spoke of? It seemed her words were likely true.

Jiang Fan was eager to descend. He looked around and asked, "Where is the chain you mentioned?" Ji Ruyue quickly searched. Relying on her memory, she fumbled through a pile of snow for a while and pulled out a chain. "Found it..."

But as she grabbed the chain, her expression froze. Jiang Fan looked over and couldn't help but change his expression as well. Only a section of the chain remained. The long chain that connected to the bottom of the cliff... had broken. Judging by the cracks, it seemed the chain had corroded and broken due to natural erosion.

Ji Ruyue panicked. "It wasn't broken the last time I used it," she said. "Junior Brother Jiang, I didn't lie to you." She looked at Jiang Fan, fear in her eyes, afraid he would misunderstand that she had deceived him.

Xie Liushu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing. "Junior Brother Jiang, this place is ten thousand feet deep; even flying birds would find it difficult to cross. It seems it will be very difficult for you to go down. For safety's sake, let's leave."

Yi Lianxing, Qin Caihe, and Chu Xingmeng all showed expressions of regret. With the chain broken, descending seemed impossible.

However, Jiang Fan took out a bamboo tube and handed it to Yi Lianxing. He glanced at Xie Liushu, then instructed, "Senior Sister Yi, if there's any movement later, launch this smoke signal into the abyss below the cliff. I will come up immediately."

"Hmm???" Yi Lianxing was utterly confused. Before she could understand what he meant, Jiang Fan leaped. As Xie Liushu's pupils contracted sharply, as the three women screamed, and as the Joyous Union Sect disciples cried out in alarm, he jumped down the cliff!