Chapter 858: Infuriating the Vile Yin

The Old Dream Demon Emperor raised a finger to his lips and muttered a spell. Instantly, a shimmering light pulsed over his body. Then, like a tide, it receded into the crown on his head. Without the concealing light, a young man appeared before him. He wore a long black robe, his posture was tall and straight, his face handsome, but his eyes were chillingly cold.

“Jiang... Jiang Fan?” Zhuo Yin exclaimed in horrified terror, as if he had seen a ghost. His greatest fear was Jiang Fan assassinating him! Yet, he had been tricked by Jiang Fan out of the West Sea Imperial Palace, following him alone to this desolate place. Now, no one would be able to save him, even if he screamed his lungs out.

Jiang Fan drew his purple sword and said indifferently: “It’s regrettable. You won’t be returning to the South Sea. You won’t get to be a hands-off Demon Emperor, nor enjoy the prosperity of the South Sea. You won’t get to toy with Old Dream, nor will she bear your child. You’ll merely become a pile of ashes, scattered by the ocean currents far and wide.”

Zhuo Yin frantically stumbled backward. He tripped over a rock and landed hard on his backside. “Jiang Fan, let’s talk, please!” he pleaded. “I’m no longer a threat to you, why do you have to kill me?”

Jiang Fan approached slowly, sword in hand: “Indeed, you pose no threat to me now. But you disgust me. The thought of Sister Old Dream having to endure a lifetime entangled with someone like you makes me uncomfortable. Therefore, getting rid of you would bring me much more peace of mind.”

Panic twisted Zhuo Yin’s face. He was filled with immense regret, wondering why he had to provoke Jiang Fan with his loose tongue. He quickly pleaded: “Jiang Fan, let me go! I’ll give Old Dream to you! From now on, she’ll be your woman; you can do whatever you want with her! Please, I beg you!”

Jiang Fan’s eyes grew even colder with killing intent. “Sister Old Dream truly had the worst luck to be stuck with you!” he spat. “You’d be better off as ashes, mingling with the mud! That’s where you belong!” He raised his purple sword high.

Zhuo Yin was terrified and urgently shouted: “Stop! If I die, Old Dream will have no legitimate claim to be the South Sea Demon Emperor! Have you considered the consequences?”

Jiang Fan smiled: “Who said you died? You merely ran away, hiding in a place no one can find, never to return. The Old Dream Demon Emperor will tirelessly safeguard the South Sea’s foundation for a husband who abandoned his family. Who would dare defy her? Who wouldn’t admire her?”

What? Jiang Fan had even thought of this loophole. Zhuo Yin completely panicked, but he still had a card to play. Gritting his teeth, he said: “What about the descendants of my South Sea Imperial family? Without me, how will Old Dream bear a child of the imperial bloodline? How will she propagate the imperial lineage? If you truly care for Old Dream, you can’t kill me!”

Jiang Fan smiled, a chilling smile, and said faintly: “Don’t worry, I can handle that for you. Isn’t it enough for Old Dream to bear *my* child? We’ll just say you consummated your marriage with Old Dream before you fled, and that’s why she’s carrying *your* child. Why not?”

Zhuo Yin’s eyes nearly burst from their sockets. He grabbed a stone from the ground and hurled it at Jiang Fan, roaring: “You bastard! You are not allowed to touch my wife! She can only bear *my* child! Your petty scheme won’t fool the imperial family!”

Jiang Fan swept away the thrown stone with a single flick of his sword. He placed the cold purple sword against Zhuo Yin’s neck and said calmly: “So what if they aren’t fooled? So what if they know it’s Old Dream and *my* child? The South Sea needs her as their Demon Emperor; they cannot do without her. So, do you think they’ll expose her on the spot, or just hold their noses and accept it?”

“You!!!” Zhuo Yin roared in fury.

He knew that everything Jiang Fan said was absolutely possible. Jiang Fan sneered: “I’ll take your woman and have her bear my son. My son will then seize the South Sea, which was rightfully meant for your descendants. And now, I’ll personally kill you! Zhuo Yin, you’ve lost. You’ve lost completely!”

“Ah!!!” Zhuo Yin roared in uncontrollable, maddened rage: “Jiang Fan! You are utterly vicious!!! Even as a ghost, I, Zhuo Yin, will never forgive you!!!”

Jiang Fan raised his sword and said coldly: “Don’t be in such a hurry. Let me send you on your way first!” But Zhuo Yin raised his palm and slammed it hard against his own head. “You want to kill me?” he shrieked. “Don’t even think about it!” *Thwack—* Although he had lost his cultivation, his physical body remained strong. That single blow directly crushed his head like a rotten watermelon. Filled with intense resentment, he fell straight down.

Jiang Fan’s cold smile vanished, and he expressionlessly sheathed his purple sword. He shook his head slightly: “Idiot. Someone as upright as Sister Old Dream would never agree to become intimate with me and bear my child. If you had trusted her even a little, you wouldn’t have fallen for my trick.”

He had said all that specifically to enrage Zhuo Yin into committing suicide. This way, he could avoid some trouble.

The rest was simple. Jiang Fan removed every trace of the body from the sea. He brought it to the surface and burned it to ashes. Then he scattered the ashes on the spot. He only kept the invisibility-granting Kun scales from Zhuo Yin’s person. After doing all this, he activated the crown’s invisibility effect and quietly returned to his room.

Approximately two hours later. The West Sea Imperial Palace was in an uproar. Even the West Sea Demon Emperor was alarmed. “What? Someone disguised as you took Zhuo Yin away?” he asked. “Old Dream Demon Emperor, don’t worry, I’ll immediately send people to search the vicinity!”

The Old Dream Demon Emperor’s bewildered mind settled slightly. She had just gone to the prison to retrieve Zhuo Yin, only to discover he had been taken by “her” own self. At this moment, she gradually calmed down, noticing many suspicious details. Who would save Zhuo Yin? He had been expelled from the South Sea and was no longer useful; even the fox spirit had decisively abandoned him. Furthermore, who would coincidentally know that Zhuo Yin was imprisoned in the West Sea dungeon? And who knew her attire for the past two days so well, disguising themselves so perfectly that they easily fooled Candle Shadow Illusion? By all accounts, it seemed like someone close to her. Suddenly, a figure flashed in her mind, and with it, a possibility.

Moments later, the stone door to Jiang Fan’s room was kicked open. He sat up, startled, and looked up to see the Old Dream Demon Emperor. He couldn’t help but look as if he had just woken up. “Sister Old Dream, what are you doing?” he asked.

The Old Dream Demon Emperor walked in with a grim expression and said: “Did you take Zhuo Yin?” Jiang Fan looked utterly bewildered. “Who? Zhuo Yin? What happened to him?” The Old Dream Demon Emperor didn’t believe him. She searched thoroughly, inside and out, finding no suspicious details, which made her expression darken. “Did you kill him?” she demanded. “He can’t die!”

Jiang Fan was speechless. He raised two fingers to the sky and swore: “I swear to the heavens, if Zhuo Yin was killed by me, may I be struck by five bolts of thunder and never reach the Nascent Soul stage in this life. Also, may I meet a terrible end every time I step out—” The Old Dream Demon Emperor covered his mouth. With an apologetic expression, she said: “Stop talking. I didn’t ask you to swear; what if it actually comes true?”

Jiang Fan pulled his hand free and said: “If I didn’t kill him, what do I have to fear?” The Old Dream Demon Emperor sat on the edge of the bed, troubled. It wasn’t Jiang Fan. Then who could it be? Seeing the Old Dream Demon Emperor’s worried face, he said: “Sister Old Dream, he was probably rescued by someone, right? From my perspective, this is actually better. As long as news of his death doesn’t get back, can’t you continue to preside over the South Sea as the South Sea Demon Emperor’s wife?”

The Old Dream Demon Emperor’s brow did not relax: “What about an heir? He’s the only one left of the old Demon Emperor’s lineage.”