Chapter 688: Inner Palace

Yunxia Consort subconsciously raised her eyes. Seeing the source of the silver light, she instantly stood up, exclaiming in surprise, "Elixir Scripture..." She quickly covered her mouth, swallowing the last two words back just in time. Her crystal-clear eyes, wide with disbelief, stared at the object in Jiang Fan's palm.

It was unmistakably a shimmering silver scroll of the Elixir Scripture!

"How is that possible?" she exclaimed. "You actually have another Elixir Scripture silver scroll?" Yunxia Consort simply couldn't believe her eyes. "Do you have two of them? No, that's not right. If you had two, the Demon Emperor would sense it. He wouldn't let you hide one."

Jiang Fan smiled without a word. This one, of course, wasn't the real Elixir Scripture silver scroll; it was simulated by the Memory Silversand! When he felt the true Elixir Scripture inside him vibrate, he had a premonition of trouble. He immediately activated the Memory Silversand and replicated an Elixir Scripture silver scroll. The real one had been handed over, but the replica was still in his hand. Based on his research, the replica was almost identical to the real one. The only difference was that the replica lacked the power of the original. However, the Elixir Scripture silver scroll wasn't originally a magical artifact; to use it, no activation was needed. Therefore, the replica could definitely be taken into the inner palace.

"Feeling better now?" Jiang Fan asked with a smile. It turned out that Jiang Fan had been staring at her because he noticed she was in a bad mood.

Yunxia Consort felt a warmth in her heart, yet also a subtle heaviness. She subtly averted her gaze and whispered, "Don't concern yourself with me anymore." Being cared for so meticulously, she found it a bit overwhelming.

Jiang Fan smiled faintly. "Just tell me, are you going or not?"

Yunxia Consort was surprised. "You want me to go? Wouldn't it be better to take Ling Shu or Liu Li? One is your fiancée, and the other calls you 'Brother' all the time." She was the Demon Emperor's consort, another man's wife. Taking her would, at most, earn him a mere thank you. Taking one of the other two, however, could win their affection. It was even possible to gain their love. Was there even a question of who to choose?

"Alright then." Jiang Fan put away the Elixir Scripture silver scroll and turned to look for the two women.

Yunxia Consort raised her hand, instinctively wanting to stop him. This was an opportunity to enter the inner palace, where lay the chance she had always dreamed of, a path to becoming a Demon Emperor. But the moment she raised it, she gently lowered it again. A faint trace of bitterness spread at the corners of her lips. That's what she said aloud, but when Jiang Fan really walked away, her heart felt inexplicably empty. A bittersweet, uncomfortable feeling twisted in her heart.

She slumped onto a stone, lowering her head in self-mockery: "Yunxia, what are you thinking? It's only right for him to be with Liu Li and Ling Shu. Why would he choose you?"

Just then, a faint electric crackle sounded beside her. A large hand gripped her shoulder, and a gentle chuckle reached her ears: "What if I choose you?"

Yunxia Consort's delicate body trembled. She abruptly turned her head to see Jiang Fan standing behind her, a faint smile playing on his lips. Had he heard everything she just said? A blush immediately spread across her fairy-like face. She chided softly, "You... you're teasing me!"

Jiang Fan chuckled, then wrapped his arm around her slender, soft waist, saying, "Hold on tight. Time is short." Lightning and electricity swirled around his feet, as he was about to activate Cloud Shadow.

Yunxia Consort symbolically pushed his arm, then allowed him to hold her waist. She lightly thumped his chest once, complaining plaintively: "Why do you always bully me!" The first time they met, he tied her up like a zongzi. Later, there was the body search, and then he spanked her. As for stumbling upon her bathing and sleeping with her for a night, that was a whole other matter. Now, perhaps due to too much physical contact, she no longer felt any repulsion when Jiang Fan's arm was around her waist. In fact, she even felt a faint sense of joy.

This discovery startled her, and she repeatedly warned herself: "Yunxia, you are the Demon Emperor's consort. Don't think too much, don't think too much, don't think too much! This is just for convenience of movement, temporary contact."

Jiang Fan smiled. He actually hadn't thought so much about it. Since Wine-Seal Bamboo was willing to let Yunxia Consort share the valuable Elixir Scripture with him, he was naturally willing to share it with Yunxia Consort as well.

Cloud Shadow was activated. After several instantaneous shifts, they appeared at the end of the Heavenly Palace. A massive stone wall blocked their path. On the stone wall, a door was embedded. In the center of the door, there was a groove for the Elixir Scripture silver scroll. Jiang Fan put Yunxia Consort down, immediately took out the replica Elixir Scripture silver scroll made from Memory Silversand, and inserted it into the groove. Instantly, strange energies surged from the door, projecting the demonic script from the scroll into the air. Only then did Jiang Fan remember that the Elixir Scripture silver scroll also had demonic script on it. He fixed his gaze upon it and saw it read: "Elixir Scripture, Volume Nine. Can open the Ninth Palace."

Then, two tiger-head shaped light patches drifted from the door. Jiang Fan grabbed one, and Yunxia Consort grabbed the other. In an instant, the light patches erupted with spatial power, teleporting them away.

When they reappeared, they were standing before a magnificent, golden palace. The palace was surrounded by powerful seals. Even after sixty years, they still emanated a terrifying, heart-pounding power. Several demonic skeletons were scattered around the seals. It was clear they had attempted to enter the palace and died there from the seals' counterattack.

Centered around the main palace, twenty-four smaller halls were scattered around it like stars orbiting a moon. Some of these smaller halls were still isolated by formations, while the damaged formations on the others indicated they had been opened.

Jiang Fan looked at the Elixir Scripture silver scroll in his hand, which was marked "Volume Nine." His eyes glowed with anticipation. He leaped forward, arriving in front of the Ninth Palace. Yunxia Consort also showed a look of anticipation. The twenty-four Elixir Scripture silver scrolls corresponded to twenty-four halls. Each hall contained the Tiger Demon Emperor's most important treasures. The leader of the Barbarian Elephant Tribe, for instance, had fortunately opened a hall that contained an opportunity to break through to the Demon Emperor realm. It was unknown if the Ninth Palace now held a similar opportunity.

Gazing at the Ninth Palace, whose formation was still intact, Jiang Fan quickly placed the Elixir Scripture silver scroll onto the formation's groove. The formation reacted, instantly emitting flickering light. Then, with a soft pop, it shattered, and the Elixir Scripture silver scroll shattered along with it. However, this fake Elixir Scripture silver scroll transformed back into Memory Silversand. Jiang Fan stored it back into the Sky Thunder Stone. He then excitedly looked inside the hall. The collection of a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator should be incredibly impressive, right?

But at this sight, both Jiang Fan and Yunxia Consort froze. The hall was completely empty. There was nothing inside.

"Has someone already beaten us to it?" Yunxia Consort subconsciously asked. She immediately shook her head. "No, that's not right. If someone had already been here, the formation wouldn't still be intact." Unwilling to give up, they entered to search, wondering if there were any hidden mechanisms or secret compartments. But after a thorough search, the hall was indeed empty!

"Is it my bad luck, and this hall was originally empty?" Jiang Fan grimaced. "Or have the treasures inside disappeared for some reason? This is just too unlucky, isn't it? After all that strategizing and fighting the Demon Emperor to get in, was it all for nothing?"

Still unwilling to accept it, he went to the Tenth Palace next door. The hall's formation was also intact. Jiang Fan approached the formation and looked inside, astonished to find that this hall was also empty. "What the hell! It's empty again! Consort Yunxia, have your demon race encountered this situation before when exploring the inner palace?"

Yunxia Consort stated firmly, "Absolutely not! Anyone holding an Elixir Scripture silver scroll is guaranteed to have a major harvest. I've never heard of anyone opening an empty hall."

But how could two halls in a row be empty right now? Jiang Fan mused: "Let's split up and search. See if all the halls with intact formations are empty." The two immediately split up.

Jiang Fan arrived in front of the Fourteenth Palace. He leaned closer to the seal and looked inside. As expected, the hall was still empty. Just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, he suddenly noticed something on the ground. He focused his eyes for a closer look. They were some shriveled, rotten spirit fruits. One was bitten and thrown on the ground, another was bitten and thrown on the ground. They were scattered haphazardly everywhere.

"This... why does this feel familiar?" Jiang Fan lowered his head and looked at his chest. An unbelievable thought popped into his mind. Could it be... that little Qilin had paid a visit?