Chapter 698: Hypnotic Spell

Concubine Yunxia sighed silently. Her rare moments of peace and solitude were over.

"Alright, let's go quickly.""If anything happens to Lingshu, Emperor Cangqiong will surely blame you."

The two left the valley. Before leaving, Concubine Yunxia turned her head, quietly gazing at the valley for a moment. Then she turned and departed.

*Thump, thump—*Outside the valley, Lingshu was drenched in sweat, her pearly white teeth clenched tightly. She painstakingly unleashed streaks of green spiritual light. Beside her, Liuli was enveloped in purple light, unleashing powerful innate divine abilities. Opposite them were the Crown Prince of the West Sea and the Third Princess of the East Sea.

"Sister, for the sake of my friendship with your brother, give me the Earth Qi Dragon Orb. I promise not to harm you."The Crown Prince of the West Sea was at the ninth stage of Core Formation. His strength was significantly greater than Lingshu's, who had just broken through to the eighth stage of Core Formation. However, he held back his attacks, careful not to strike too hard. He was afraid of injuring Lingshu and Liuli.

The Third Princess of the East Sea, who resembled a mountain of flesh, was fuming."What time is it now? Are you still showing her mercy?""The grotto-heaven will close in an hour at most."

The Crown Prince of the West Sea was in a dilemma. He truly didn't want to harm Lingshu, as doing so would ruin his relationship with Jiang Fan. He was genuinely grateful to Jiang Fan for saving his ox. After some thought, he waved his hand. "Fine, fine.""You can have the Earth Qi Dragon Orb."

The Third Princess of the East Sea shot him a contemptuous glance."Then get out of the way!""You're only hindering things!"Her eyes, half-hidden by her eyelids, revealed a cold glint."You two little girls.""Hand over the Earth Qi Dragon Orb now, and you can avoid physical suffering.""I'm not like Prince Dushou, who pities pretty women."

Lingshu and Liuli looked troubled. They were already exhausted and completely unable to withstand the Third Princess of the East Sea's attacks. Gritting her teeth, Lingshu shoved the fist-sized spherical object she was holding into Liuli's hand."You go first. Find Brother Jiang Fan and give this to him.""I'll hold off the Third Princess of the East Sea for a while."

Liuli shoved it back to her, huffing,"You go yourself.""You finally have a chance to please your beloved Brother, so keep it for yourself.""Don't think of giving it to me as charity."

Though the two girls often bickered and fought, they displayed surprising unity when facing external enemies. But how could the Third Princess of the East Sea give them a chance? Despite clearly being a mountain of flesh, she moved with astonishing speed. She suddenly sprang up, like a mountain pressing down on the two girls.

*Whoosh—*An incredibly sharp sound of air being torn echoed. It was an arrow, shot at an astonishing speed towards the Third Princess of the East Sea. She let out a soft snort. Beneath her skin, barbed scales emerged. With a *clang*, the arrow pierced the scales just slightly, then could not penetrate further.

"Which bastard is ambushing me?"The Third Princess of the East Sea roared in pain. When her gaze fixed on the two approaching figures, her anger immediately turned into a smile. "A thorny flower?""It's you!"

She pulled the arrowhead from her shoulder as if it didn't hurt at all."You truly are the man I have my eyes on.""That arrow was powerful; it shot right into my heart."After speaking, she even winked at Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan rolled his eyes. That wink almost gave him internal injuries.

"Jiang Fan?""Brother!"Liuli and Lingshu were overjoyed, rushing to Jiang Fan's side.

"Brother, brother, look what this is!"Lingshu, eager for praise, handed the muddy spherical object to Jiang Fan."I got the Earth Qi Dragon Orb!"

Jiang Fan took it, examining it in his hand for a moment. From within the sphere, a faint Earth Qi continuously emanated. It certainly didn't look like an ordinary object.

The Crown Prince of the West Sea, standing in the distance, shrugged helplessly. "Well, that's good.""No need to fight over it anymore."

Jiang Fan thought for a moment. Then he made a surprising move. He casually tossed the Earth Qi Dragon Orb to the Crown Prince of the West Sea."If you like it, it's yours."

"Brother! Why did you give it away?"Lingshu exclaimed in surprise. Liuli, gritting her teeth, was furious. "You're so generous!""We risked our lives to get this, and you just give it away?""That's going too far, isn't it?"

Jiang Fan raised a finger and flicked each of them on the forehead. Lingshu covered her forehead with a small hand, looking wronged. Liuli grew even angrier, raising her fist as if to retaliate.

Jiang Fan said, "That's to clear your heads.""The Earth Qi Dragon Orb is a divine artifact that suppresses the Nine Borders.""Do you think such a divine object can just be casually picked up with your hands?""Do you imagine yourselves to be the Nine Sages of Antiquity?"Even the Heaven-Burning Clam Pearl was merely a treasure for breaking through to the mid-stage Nascent Soul. But try touching it with your hand? Even a cultivator at the peak of the ninth stage of Core Formation would instantly be incinerated into a puddle of water. Let alone the Earth Qi Dragon Orb!

"Oh—"Lingshu immediately understood, covering her mouth in surprise."Brother, do you mean this is fake?"

Jiang Fan said, "It's not that it's fake.""It's just that it has nothing to do with the Earth Qi Dragon Orb."

Liuli was stunned."So... we fought for nothing?"

The Crown Prince of the West Sea took the Earth Qi Dragon Orb. After hearing Jiang Fan's explanation, his face went blank. He turned the spherical object over and over in his hands, examining it repeatedly."It really doesn't look like the legendary Earth Qi Dragon Orb!"

The Third Princess of the East Sea, however, didn't give up. "If you don't want it, give it to me."Without hesitation, the Crown Prince of the West Sea tossed it to her. "Here, take it. Treat it like a treasure and worship it."

The Third Princess of the East Sea's face lit up with joy. Just as she was about to pick it up for a closer look,Suddenly, a clear chanting of scriptures drifted over.

"Heaven has nine stars, Earth has nine palaces.""I have a hundred knots, and ten thousand gods follow.""Three corpses hidden, five organs flowing freely."

The voice was soft, with a profound charm, as if it reached directly into one's soul. It made one feel light and airy, as if floating among the clouds. As Lingshu and Liuli listened, their eyes closed. Then, with a soft *thud*, they collapsed onto the ground, falling asleep on the spot.

The Crown Prince of the West Sea's expression changed, and he quickly covered his ears, shouting,"Seal your five senses!""It's the hypnosis divine ability from Three Pure Mountain!"Everyone's heart leaped, and they suddenly remembered. Among those who entered the outer grotto-heaven was Qingde, a disciple from Three Pure Mountain. He was a top-tier expert at the peak of the ninth stage of Core Formation, just one step away from the Nascent Soul stage.

However, even with their five senses sealed, the intermittent voice still flickered in and out of their souls."Three Dantians, four limbs, movement and rest centered.""Dragon and Tiger Bagua, awaiting my jade countenance."

The Crown Prince of the West Sea and the Third Princess of the East Sea felt the world before their eyes distorting. A sense of nausea overwhelmed their consciousness. Then their eyelids uncontrollably closed. Finally, they both collapsed to the ground.

Concubine Yunxia's delicate body swayed as well. Forcing herself to stay alert, she cried out, "Jiang Fan, be careful...""Ghosts, demons, myriad spirits, do not hinder the true official."Concubine Yunxia could no longer resist. Her eyelids struggled for a few moments, then weakly closed, and she fell into Jiang Fan's arms.

Jiang Fan, however, was fine. His soul was close to the Nascent Soul state, and this hypnosis divine ability only made him feel a surge of drowsiness. He was far from collapsing into unconsciousness on the spot.

Hearing the person finish chanting, he rolled his eyes and, mimicking the others, stumbled and fell softly to the ground.

Soon after, a slender figure in a Daoist robe, carrying a whisk, strode over. It was none other than Qingde from Three Pure Mountain.

He glanced at Jiang Fan, slightly surprised."The one with the lowest cultivation, yet the most resistant to my hypnosis divine ability?""That is unexpected."