Chapter 629: Jiang Fan's Vow of Poison

He was simply observing the situation, an innocent bystander. How did he end up caught in the crossfire?

He glanced at the people from both races. Whether it was the Continental Demon Race or the North Sea Demon Race, they were all staring intently at Jiang Fan. If he dared to suggest that either side had been disgraced, they would surely unleash their fury on him.

Left with no choice, he had to maintain neutrality and said: "The Undead Army was once at its peak, invincible in this world. It was defeated by sudden divine lightning, a defeat by the will of heaven, not by me. The North Sea Demon Race's vice-envoy is incredibly powerful and rarely meets her match. She was defeated by carelessness and being caught off guard, a defeat by accident, not by me. Therefore, I humbly believe that neither party was disgraced."

The Demon Emperor scoffed slightly: "You're good at playing the nice guy, offending neither side!"

Yu Qingxuan also gave Jiang Fan a look, saying: "You're truly cunning!"

However, both of them stopped their bickering. They suddenly realized that the two great demon races exposing each other's weaknesses here would only diminish the prestige of the demon race and boost the morale of the human race. Especially since both races had suffered losses at the hands of the same seemingly insignificant human.

Both wanted to calm things down. But someone else wasn't having it.

Jiang Fan was about to sit back down and continue observing. Unexpectedly, a sharp reprimand came from the visiting delegation. It was Mu Ziyu, a woman with a voluptuous figure and a certain allure.

"It's you!" Mu Ziyu's starry eyes widened, and she blazed with anger: "Come here, let's fight again!"

She hadn't slept a wink last night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Jiang Fan brutally beating her, leaving her utterly helpless. The physical pain and the humiliation in her heart tormented her, making sleep impossible. She had finally managed to convince herself to simply complete the diplomatic mission and return, treating it as a lesson learned. Who knew, upon arriving at the Demon Emperor's Palace, she would see that scoundrel. What infuriated and embarrassed her even more was that her humiliating incident from yesterday had been publicly revealed. If she didn't get revenge, how could she face returning to the North Sea? She would be scorned and cursed as a disgrace by the North Sea Demon Race.

Jiang Fan pretended not to recognize her: "Who are you? Have we met before?"

Mu Ziyu, exasperated, pointed to the bruises on her face that hadn't fully faded. "I'm the vice-envoy you brutally beat last night!!"

Seeing no way to avoid it, Jiang Fan could only brazenly say: "Oh, right, it was a dark and windy night yesterday, I didn't recognize you. So it was Vice-Envoy Mu, my apologies. Last night, I mistook you for a thief and might have been a bit heavy-handed. Please forgive me."

Mu Ziyu bristled at his words. A dark and windy night? When he was frisking her, his hands were remarkably precise!

"I don't care about that! Come out! Let's fight again!"

Yu Qingxuan's face darkened, and he imperiously rebuked: "Vice-Envoy Mu, do not be impudent!" For a dignified vice-envoy to publicly challenge a junior was not only against protocol, but if they actually fought, regardless of the outcome, it would tarnish the North Sea Demon Race's reputation. If she won, it would be seen as the North Sea Demon Race bullying a junior. If she lost, it would confirm the rumors of an Eighth-Stage Core Formation expert from the North Sea Demon Race suffering a terrible defeat to a Third-Stage Core Formation expert.

Mu Ziyu shrank her neck. With eyes full of unwillingness, she said: "Fine, the fight can be avoided! But he must return what he took from me last night while I was unconscious!"

The Demon Emperor heard this and nodded slightly: "Jiang Fan, give it back to her." If their dispute could be resolved this way, it would be for the best.

Jiang Fan gave her an annoyed look: "You're bad at fighting but love to start trouble."

"You!" Mu Ziyu gritted her teeth slightly and said: "Enough nonsense, give it back!"

Jiang Fan reluctantly took out a small pouch and casually tossed it to her. "It's all in there."

Mu Ziyu quickly opened it, her gaze sweeping over the contents, and her expression changed slightly: "Where is that item?"

The other items didn't matter. Only the Water Source Essence was the gift intended for the Demon Emperor from the visiting delegation.

Jiang Fan looked confused: "What item? I told you, it's all in there."

"You had more than just these things on you..." Mu Ziyu grew anxious and said: "Don't try to deny it! Hand it over quickly, that item is no laughing matter!"

The Water Source Essence, even among the North Sea Demon Race, was an extremely rare natural treasure. The only lump they had brought was intended as a gift. But it was taken before it could be presented to the Demon Emperor. How could this be tolerated?

Jiang Fan pondered for a moment, then showed a strange expression: "If you're talking about your undershirt, that... I've already burned it. I swear, I absolutely didn't keep it. I'm definitely not the pervert you imagine me to be."

Er... The entire Demon Emperor's Palace suddenly fell silent. Pairs of eyes darted back and forth between Mu Ziyu and Jiang Fan. A fight is a fight, but how did an undershirt get lost in the process? Was this a proper fight?

Mu Ziyu's face flushed crimson, and she said, mortified: "Don't you dare change the subject! I'm asking about the Water Source Essence!"

"What?" Yu Qingxuan was startled and abruptly sat up, saying: "Vice-Envoy Mu! The Water Source Essence was on you? And this person took it?"

The Water Source Essence was too precious, making many demon races wary of it. To prevent any demon race from coveting it during their journey, Yu Qingxuan had four vice-envoys take turns guarding it. This way, even if a demon race approached, they wouldn't know for certain who possessed the Water Source Essence, making it impossible to quickly seize it. And with ample reaction time, Yu Qingxuan could easily suppress any covetous parties.

What made his heart sink was that last night, it had precisely been Mu Ziyu who was guarding the Water Source Essence. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" Yu Qingxuan reprimanded. Mu Ziyu had actually kept such an important matter a secret.

Mu Ziyu shrank her neck and said: "I... I thought the Demon Emperor would intervene and help us retrieve the Water Source Essence. So I didn't want to alarm you first. Who knew this brat would deny it."

Yu Qingxuan nearly fainted from anger. He quickly looked at Jiang Fan and imperiously said: "Human, that Water Source Essence is meant for the Demon Emperor. Hand it over quickly. If you ruin the diplomatic relations between our two races, you will be solely responsible!"

Jiang Fan's mouth twitched. So the Water Source Essence was truly that rare. If he had known it was so precious, he would have asked the 'rebellious one' for more. Only asking for one Myriad Demon Stone was a huge loss. Naturally, he absolutely couldn't admit to this.

"Envoy Yu, besides that undershirt, everything else is here. As for this 'Water Source Essence,' I don't know what it is, nor have I found it. You'd best verify whether Vice-Envoy Mu truly was guarding the Water Source Essence. Or perhaps Vice-Envoy Mu hid it away and is using this opportunity to frame me. Or maybe someone else searched her after she fainted. Anyway, it's not with me."

Seeing his blatant denial, Yu Qingxuan snorted: "Human, I am not joking with you! Hand it over now, and it's not too late for anything!"

Jiang Fan sighed helplessly. He took out all the items he had on him: the Heavenly Thunder Stone, the Six Harmony Immortal, the Five Magnetic Origin Mountain, Memory Silver Sand, the Purple Sword, and several bottles of elixirs. Jiang Fan presented everything he had ever publicly used.

The people present scanned the items on the table one by one. They did not see the so-called Water Source Essence. As for the Heavenly Thunder Stone, very few humans knew of its existence, only those who cultivated the Lightning Dao. And those who understood that the Heavenly Thunder Stone was a natural spatial storage artifact were even rarer. If this was true for humans, it was even more so for demons. Even the Demon Emperor's gaze passed over the Heavenly Thunder Stone without lingering.

Mu Ziyu looked at Jiang Fan defiantly: "Are all your belongings here?"

Jiang Fan pointed to himself: "You can search me."

Hearing this, Mu Ziyu wasted no time. She immediately searched him thoroughly, from top to bottom, inside and out. But there was nothing.

"I don't believe it! You must have used it!" Mu Ziyu was certain Jiang Fan had taken it.

Without a word, Jiang Fan extended two fingers towards the sky: "I, Jiang Fan, swear to the heavens that whoever used the Water Source Essence shall be struck by divine lightning and die a miserable death! Their sons shall be born without an anus, and their daughters as ugly as yakshas. They shall suffer festering sores daily and rotting buttocks constantly..."

Inside the Heavenly Thunder Stone, the 'rebellious one' was casually crossing his legs, humming a tune, and toying with a lump of Water Source Essence that he hadn't quite finished digesting. Suddenly, a chill ran through him, and he instinctively hugged himself tightly. He muttered: "What's going on? Why is it suddenly so chilly?"