Chapter 678: Pleading

Although she remembered Jiang Fan's appearance vividly — his eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose, figure, and face — she could describe them all without a single error. Yet, at this very moment, she dared not confirm it. Or rather, she feared that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment would be.

Jiang Fan was dead. This was the unanimous belief of the Qingyun Sect, the Nine Sects, and indeed, the entire human race. By all accounts, the demon race would never have spared his life.

However, Jiang Fan was now standing before her, so vibrant and full of life. How could she possibly believe it?

Elder Chen Taishang was momentarily stunned. "Jiang Fan?" he muttered. Then, a realization dawned on him. His gaze softened as he comforted her, "Sister, you must look forward. Don't torment yourself any longer. Jiang Fan... he's gone."

The other Elders Taishang also looked on with sympathy. Jiang Fan's death had been a tremendous blow to the entire Qingyun Sect. In recent days, Qin Wangchuan had been visibly despondent, speaking little and often lost in thought. Sometimes, late at night, her faint sobs could be heard. For an elderly person nearing a hundred, who had endured countless partings and losses, to grieve so deeply, it was clear how profound her sorrow was. Her sudden claim of seeing Jiang Fan was likely a hallucination.

He Jiuzhang scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, so Jiang Fan is still alive?" he sneered. "Then your Qingyun Sect's ancestors must be incredibly powerful to have protected him from death like this. Let me help you confirm if it really is Jiang Fan."

He sneered as he looked towards the figure Qin Wangchuan was pointing at. He hadn't expected much, but the moment his eyes landed on the person, He Jiuzhang was utterly terrified. "Jiang Fan?" he gasped, his voice filled with shock. "How is that possible!!!"

The other Elders Taishang stared, momentarily stunned. "Has another one gone mad?" they wondered. They looked quizzically in the direction Qin Wangchuan was pointing. But the moment they saw him, they all looked as if they'd seen a ghost, utterly horrified! "Jiang Fan?" "It really is Jiang Fan!" "Oh my heavens, am I seeing things in broad daylight?" "How could he possibly still be alive?"

Qin Wangchuan trembled with excitement, unable to suppress a joyous laugh. "Jiang Fan isn't dead!" she exclaimed. "He's not dead!!! Hahaha!" A tear streamed down her face as she laughed. The last time she had wept with joy was an incredibly long time ago. After so many years, her stagnant heart was once again stirred by waves of warmth.

In stark contrast, He Jiuzhang's face was as dark as a stormy sea. "He's still alive after all that!" he fumed. "That's preposterous! Are the demons possessed by Bodhisattvas? How could they let this little brat survive until now!"

Watching Qin Wangchuan's boundless joy only intensified his irritation. "What are you so happy about?" he snapped. "Don't you see the chains binding him? And two demon kings guarding him? Even if the King of Heaven himself came, no one could save him!"

Qin Wangchuan's smile vanished abruptly. Yet, her face still held deep joy as she hastily bowed to the assembled Elders Taishang. "Fellow Daoists!" she declared. "I, Qin Wangchuan, have never asked for favors. But today, I shamelessly implore your assistance to help me rescue Jiang Fan! Regardless of success or failure, I will owe each of you an enormous debt of gratitude. In the future, should you ever need me, I will brave mountains of daggers and seas of fire for you!"

Such was her pride, yet for Jiang Fan, she was humbling herself to beg. The Elders Taishang present were deeply moved. However, a glance at Consort Yunxia and Sea Charm Demon King forced them to regain their composure.

"Elder Qin Taishang," one responded, "beings of the Demon King level are simply beyond our ability to contend with. And there are two of them! They could kill us as easily as stepping on an ant." There was a world of difference between a peak Ninth Layer Core Formation cultivator and a Ninth Layer Core Formation cultivator. How effortlessly had Fang Taiji slaughtered human elders back then? These two Demon Kings before them would find it no harder to kill them.

Qin Wangchuan gritted her teeth. She suddenly knelt on the ground, kowtowing deeply. "Wangchuan knows I'm putting you in a difficult position," she said. "But I will use my life to hold them off. I only ask that you manage to take Jiang Fan away! I am just an old bag of bones; if I die, so be it. My absence won't significantly impact the Qingyun Sect. But losing Jiang Fan would be an eternal regret."

The Elders Taishang, astonished, helped her to her feet. To go to such lengths for a disciple was truly remarkable. After weighing the risks, one Elder Taishang finally relented. "All right! If we don't directly confront the Demon Kings, I can attempt to take Jiang Fan away," he said. "But I can't guarantee success! However, Elder He Taishang must also join us. You alone can't possibly hold back two Demon Kings simultaneously, no matter how much you try to stall. He must deal with one of them."

Beg He Jiuzhang? Qin Wangchuan pursed her lips. Even knowing that He Jiuzhang would likely refuse, she still chose to humble herself and try to plead with him.

"Elder He Taishang," she began, "I have offended you greatly in the past, and I humbly ask that you, as a magnanimous person, overlook my petty transgressions. I implore you to set aside our previous animosity and lend me your aid."

The other Elders Taishang were deeply shaken. Qin Wangchuan was typically someone who didn't even insist on winning an argument. Yet, for Jiang Fan, she was bowing to the very person who had hurt her.

He Jiuzhang's smile was thin and humorless. "You want me to save Jiang Fan?" he said. "All right, then! First, kneel down and kowtow to me."

"What...?" Qin Wangchuan's eyes widened. A wave of profound humiliation washed over her. But after only a brief moment of thought, she gritted her teeth. To the astonished gasps of the other Elders Taishang, she bent her knees and knelt before He Jiuzhang. She heavily kowtowed. "Elder He Taishang," she pleaded, "I beg you, please help me!"

He Jiuzhang felt an unparalleled surge of satisfaction. "This old woman is finally kneeling before me!" he thought, a sinister grin spreading across his face. He was about to mockingly refuse her.

Then, a new thought struck him. "This isn't enough!" He wanted to kill Jiang Fan right in front of Qin Wangchuan, to utterly break her. "So, you want to save Jiang Fan, do you?" he thought. "Fine! I'll pretend to intervene and then brutally kill that little brat, Jiang Fan, myself!" He was certain the two Demon Kings wouldn't stop him from eliminating Jiang Fan, a shared enemy of the demon race.

With that in mind, he smiled as he helped Qin Wangchuan to her feet. "All right then!" he declared. "Since Elder Qin Taishang has humbled herself to such an extent, if I, He Jiuzhang, were to refuse, it would surely incur divine wrath and human resentment. Very well, I will hold off one of the Demon Kings. The rest is up to you!"

Qin Wangchuan was overjoyed. "Thank you, Elder He Taishang!" she exclaimed, completely astonished that He Jiuzhang had actually agreed. "Let's make our move!" she urged. "Since we've detected them, they've surely detected us too. There's no need to hide!"

Meanwhile, Consort Yunxia and Sea Charm Demon King slowed their pace. Consort Yunxia glanced at Jiang Fan, a slight frown on her face. "It seems to be your human race," she observed. "Do you recognize any of them?" A faint cold glint appeared in Consort Yunxia's eyes. She held no affection for humans; Jiang Fan was merely an exception. As for humans daring to trespass into the Tiger Demon Emperor's cave, if they weren't people Jiang Fan knew, she wouldn't hesitate to ensure none of them left alive.

Jiang Fan was slightly surprised. What humans were so audacious as to venture so deeply into the northernmost territory of the demon race? Could they be from the Outer Realm Divine Sect? However, as the two parties drew closer, his eyes widened in surprise when he recognized the figure of one small girl. "Chuan Chuan?"