Chapter 691: Want Benefits

Concubine Yunxia suppressed her fear and said in a steady voice, "Senior, my husband, the Demon Emperor, is outside. If you capture me, it will likely cause unnecessary trouble."

Having personally fought against Nascent Soul cultivators, Concubine Yunxia deeply understood their terror. Even a heavily injured, dying Venerable Qinghe almost dragged them down with him. What more, a perfectly unharmed Nascent Soul expert?

Other than the deterrence of the Azure Sky Demon Emperor, no other method would work against this person.

Yan Dao'an smiled slightly, "My beauty, you underestimate our Imperial Grand Pavilion. If we couldn't even transport a living person, how could we conduct major business? Don't worry, this Vice Pavilion Master will escort you boldly past the Azure Sky Demon Emperor, and he won't suspect a thing."

Thump-thump— Concubine Yunxia's heart pounded a few times. She didn't doubt Yan Dao'an's words at all. The Imperial Grand Pavilion was certainly not doing this for the first time, nor would it be the last. They possessed ample means and experience to spirit people away right from under the nose of a Nascent Soul-level expert.

Jiang Fan's heart also sank to the bottom. This was far more despairing than encountering Venerable Qinghe. Back then, he still had the blood-red skirt as a trump card, and the scales in Hai Mei's possession as a killer move. Now, he had nothing.

Yuan Chen scrambled to her feet, clutching her throbbing shoulder blade as she returned to Yan Dao'an's side. She glared venomously at Jiang Fan, "Senior, kill him quickly!"

Jiang Fan's heart tightened. He secretly gripped the Nether Poison in his sleeve. At worst, he would unleash the poison. If he wasn't going to have an easy time, no one else present would either. Of course, Concubine Yunxia would also be affected. But compared to being captured and sold as a slave for others' pleasure, dying here would undoubtedly be much better, right?

However, Yan Dao'an waved his hand and said, "No hurry."

Yuan Chen paused, then unwillingly said, "Senior, this person is utterly hateful, why..." Before she could finish, she suddenly let out a muffled grunt and spat out another mouthful of blood. It was Yan Dao'an, who had merely given her a cold glance. "Does this Vice Pavilion Master need a junior like you to tell me what to do? If it weren't for needing your identity to infiltrate the Tiger Demon Emperor's cave, you would have been dead long ago!"

Yuan Chen quickly lowered her head, her heart trembling, not daring to speak further.

Yan Dao'an looked back at Jiang Fan and said, "Boy, you've inspected the main hall, what's the situation?"

Jiang Fan's eyes flickered. This person didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill him yet? After a moment's thought, he truthfully replied, "Currently, only two halls have anything in them. One is the Twentieth Hall, and the other is the one before us."

Yan Dao'an nodded slightly, "You're honest enough. Of the twelve main halls here that still have formations, the rest are strangely empty. Only these two still contain anything."

Jiang Fan was startled. So Yan Dao'an had already inspected them. If he had lied just now, there was no telling what the other party might have done to him. Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered, or perhaps he would have been killed with a single palm strike.

"Do you want to live?" Yan Dao'an asked. "Help me do one thing, and I'll spare your life."

Such words were merely for show. Since Jiang Fan knew about his plan to capture Concubine Yunxia, there was no way he would let Jiang Fan leave the Tiger Demon Emperor's cave alive. But Jiang Fan pretended ignorance and respectfully said, "Please command, Senior. This junior will certainly be of service."

Yan Dao'an nodded, "Follow me."

He strode away. Jiang Fan followed, but Concubine Yunxia hesitated. Not until Jiang Fan's voice, transmitted via Silent Meditation, reached her mind, did she move. "Just follow for now. We'll take it one step at a time. Don't give up hope until the very last moment."

Concubine Yunxia was immediately encouraged. Yes, weren't they also at their wit's end when facing Venerable Qinghe? Yet, they miraculously pulled through in the end. Looking at Jiang Fan's back, she inexplicably felt a sense of safety. Even though Jiang Fan was younger and weaker than her, he made her feel like she could rely on him.

"My little man!" She smiled brightly, muttering to herself.

Jiang Fan turned his head, giving her a strange look. Concubine Yunxia's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly realized they were communicating through Silent Meditation. Whatever she thought, the other person would also know. Her ears couldn't help but burn with embarrassment.

Not long after, Yan Dao'an stopped in front of the Twentieth Hall. His gaze pierced through the formation, looking at the Primordial Nine-Colored Marrow inside. An uncontrollable longing shone in his eyes.

Jiang Fan wasn't too surprised. The only thing here that could attract Yan Dao'an was this Primordial Nine-Colored Marrow, which had miraculous effects on Nascent Soul cultivators. His eyes flickered, and he said, "Senior, are you planning to forcibly break the formation?"

Yan Dao'an scoffed, "This was set up by a Human Grandmaster in the late Nascent Soul stage, invited by the Tiger Demon Emperor. How could someone like me forcibly break it? If I dared to break the formation, the destruction of the items inside by the formation's shockwave would be a minor concern. Even I could die from the backlash of the formation."

Jiang Fan understood. If these formations were so easy to break, wouldn't the Azure Sky Demon Emperor have opened them all long ago, collected all the treasures, and eliminated any future troubles? How could they still exist safely?

Under Jiang Fan's astonished gaze, Yan Dao'an took out a silver scroll inscribed with alchemical formulas. The demonic script engraved on it clearly showed "Scroll Twenty!" which perfectly corresponded to this hall.

Jiang Fan pondered silently. This was no coincidence. How could the Twentieth Hall contain a human breakthrough treasure, and Yan Dao'an just happened to acquire Scroll Twenty of the alchemical formulas? There was only one answer: Yan Dao'an possessed several scrolls of these alchemical formulas! The one the Demon Emperor took was merely one of them. Just how vast was the Imperial Grand Pavilion's business empire, to be able to collect so many alchemical formula scrolls?

Yan Dao'an tossed the alchemical formula scroll to Jiang Fan. "I need you to go inside and retrieve that bottle of spiritual liquid for me."

Jiang Fan took it. A sudden realization dawned on him. No wonder Yan Dao'an wasn't in a hurry to kill him. It turned out he wanted Jiang Fan to enter the hall filled with poisonous mist and retrieve the treasure. Jiang Fan's eyes flickered. He could indeed withstand the poisonous mist for a short time and retrieve the Primordial Nine-Colored Marrow. But if he actually brought it out, it would be his death sentence.

"Senior, this colorful mist is poisonous, isn't it?" Jiang Fan showed a hint of resistance. Yan Dao'an narrowed his eyes and said, without concealment, "It is poisonous, and it kills people. But do you have a choice? Bring it out, and I can spare your life. If you refuse..." He glanced at Concubine Yunxia, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "It would be a pity, but if there's truly no other way, I'll have to let the beauty go instead of you."

He was actually using Concubine Yunxia to threaten him! Jiang Fan showed a conflicted expression. Finally, he gritted his teeth in resignation and said, "Alright, I'll go! Please don't make things difficult for Concubine Yunxia."

Yan Dao'an's expression relaxed. He smiled and said, "Then enter quickly."

Jiang Fan, however, hesitated. "Senior, this junior's strength is weak, only at the fifth level of the Core Formation realm. This poisonous mist is something even you dare not touch. I'm worried I might die in there before I can retrieve the jade bottle. It doesn't matter if I die, but if I delay your important matter, even dying ten thousand times wouldn't be enough. Could you please bestow upon me some protective magical artifacts or elixirs?"

Yuan Chen was so enraged she almost laughed. This scoundrel was actually taking the opportunity to ask for benefits!