Chapter 870: Who’s Foolish

Jiang Fan’s peripheral vision briefly scanned the area where the small black box had been hidden. Since the black box had been taken, the spot was once again covered by the insect swarm. There was nothing unusual about it.

He feigned a wry smile, saying, “To answer you, Senior, I had just stepped in when you arrived. I haven’t even had a chance to start looking yet.”

Hearing this, Venerable Qiyin looked at Venerable Xietong. The latter nodded slightly. “This young man did indeed just enter.” This reassured Venerable Qiyin. In such a short time, unless the treasure was extremely obvious, how could Jiang Fan, who had just entered, have had time to take it?

But then again, in such an open plaza, a mandatory path for entry and exit, if there truly was an obvious treasure, wouldn’t the North Sea demon race members who had passed through earlier have been blind?

“Hehe, young friend, there’s no need to rush,” Venerable Qiyin said. “From this old man’s experience exploring ruins, vital pathways rarely hide significant treasures.”

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for the guidance, Senior.” He secretly chuckled to himself. Oh, right, right. The owner of this ruin must have anticipated you’d think that way, which is why he buried a mysterious black box here. He grew increasingly curious about what was inside that black box.

“Time waits for no one; this flame imprint only lasts for one day,” Venerable Qiyin continued. “Let us explore deeper as quickly as possible. Young friend, you should come with us too. Just now, I encountered the North Sea Demon Emperor, and he instructed me to look after you.”

Venerable Qiyin said this, feigning kindness. But how could Jiang Fan not see through his intentions? On the surface, it was about looking after Jiang Fan. In reality, it was a fear that Jiang Fan might act independently and find a valuable treasure, so he wanted to keep Jiang Fan close for surveillance.

Jiang Fan’s face showed surprise, and he said without hesitation, “Then I’ll rely on your care, Senior.”

Venerable Xietong let out a soft scoff. He thought to himself, “What an idiot. He’s being watched, and he’s happy about it.” The young man and woman also shook their heads slightly. The young woman subtly pursed her lips, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. “What a little fool. He can’t even see through my master’s simple intentions. He’s too easily fooled, isn’t he?”

But how could they know? Jiang Fan had already obtained a map of the Divine Transformation Ruins. This map showed countless forks. Their group would soon be forced to split up. Venerable Qiyin wanted to keep him by his side? He was probably overthinking it.

Seeing Jiang Fan’s apparent simplicity, Venerable Qiyin’s smile grew even warmer. “Don’t worry, if we find anything, I’ll make sure you’re well taken care of. Let’s go!”

The group crossed the plaza and arrived at its end. As the plaza gradually narrowed, it became a long, dimly lit path leading deeper inside. On both sides of the path, countless forks were densely packed, branching into innumerable smaller paths. At first glance, it resembled the roots of a massive tree. They truly crisscrossed and intertwined, too numerous to count. There were at least a hundred such small paths.

This sight rendered everyone present silent. The young woman looked slightly dazed. “Master, this... which path should we explore first?”

Venerable Qiyin was also stunned. He hadn't expected there to be so many paths. “Exploring them one by one, even ten days wouldn’t be enough,” he said. “It seems we’ll have to split up. This way, we might be able to explore more within the limited time.” Venerable Qiyin said this, scanning the group.

Everyone frowned. It was visible to the naked eye that poisonous insects occasionally scurried across the dimly lit paths. Though not as many as in the plaza, a single bite would be enough to cause serious trouble. Among them, only Venerable Qiyin and Jiang Fan could control the poisonous insects. No matter how they split, they could only form two groups.

Venerable Qiyin’s aged eyes glinted, and he said, “Young friend, it seems you and I must separate.”

Jiang Fan chuckled inwardly. He had known all along, old man. He feigned a bitter smile. “Just now, you said you’d look after me, Senior. And now you’re making me go alone.”

Venerable Qiyin’s old face showed a hint of awkwardness, saying, “This old man also didn’t expect the paths within the ruins to be so complex. How about this: I’ll have my disciple Wei Chaoran accompany you; he’s capable enough to protect you.”

Heh. The old man still wants to keep an eye on me, huh? But this was also within Jiang Fan’s expectations. The only ones Venerable Qiyin could send to monitor Jiang Fan were his disciples and Venerable Xietong. But how could he dare let Venerable Xietong, a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, leave his sight? No matter what, he would keep Venerable Xietong by his side. The only candidates were his two disciples.

Wei Chaoran, the staid male disciple, raised an eyebrow and said, “Master, let junior sister go with him. My talent for sensing myriad energies can help Master find more useful magical artifacts.”

Venerable Qiyin deliberated for a moment. He naturally knew that Wei Chaoran was better suited to stay by his side. However, he worried that his female disciple lacked Wei Chaoran’s experience and might easily be tricked by Jiang Fan if they encountered a treasure. But looking at Jiang Fan’s seemingly naive demeanor, he felt his concerns might be excessive. He immediately said, “Alright, Peiyuan, you protect young friend Jiang.”

Yu Peiyuan shot a resentful glance at Wei Chaoran. It was clearly easier to find treasures by following her master! Who wanted to be with this silly boy? However, since her master had ordered it, she could only comply. Pouting, she came before Jiang Fan and said grudgingly, “I am Yu Peiyuan. From now on, I’ll be protecting you.”

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said, “My name is Jiang Fan. I’m relieved to have Senior Sister protect me.”

Yu Peiyuan secretly rolled her eyes. *What a little idiot! Can’t you tell I’m just monitoring you? If we encounter any treasures later, and I trick you, you’ll probably still praise me!*

With arrangements made, Venerable Qiyin, along with Xietong and Wei Chaoran, chose a fork to the left and entered. Seeing them depart, Jiang Fan subtly took out the map written by the North Sea youth. Matching it against the circles on the map, he memorized those specific small paths.

“Let’s go, silly… Junior Brother Jiang.” Yu Peiyuan almost blurted out “idiot.” She cautiously glanced at Jiang Fan, and seeing that he hadn’t noticed, she let out a small sigh of relief. Inwardly, she called him an "idiot" again.

Jiang Fan put away the map and said, “Oh, alright. Let’s go down that path then.”

Yu Peiyuan looked at the inconspicuous and somewhat distant path he pointed to. She furrowed her delicate brows. “Why go there? Listen to me, take this one; I guarantee we’ll find something!” She pointed to a fork in the path right in front of them.

Jiang Fan shook his head slightly and said, “I want to go down that path.”

Yu Peiyuan’s delicate brows shot up. This fool was talking back to her? Her pretty eyes glinted, and she said, “Then let’s play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins gets to decide?”

Jiang Fan agreed without hesitation, “Alright.”

Yu Peiyuan secretly smirked. This little fool wanted to challenge her luck? Among Venerable Qiyin’s many disciples, why did he only bring Wei Chaoran and her? Wei Chaoran possessed an innate talent for sensing myriad energies, a special ability for finding treasures. As for her, she was skilled in divination. She could foresee good or bad fortune. When it came to games of luck, no one in Tianya Haige dared to play with her. She would soon show this silly boy what it meant to question one’s entire life!

Jiang Fan put his fist behind his back, while his other hand quietly held the ancient mirror of Zhaoxin, discreetly reflecting it towards her. “We can start now.”

Yu Peiyuan smiled. “Alright! One, two, three!”“Scissors!”“Rock!”

Jiang Fan held his fist, looking a bit sheepish. “Senior Sister Yu, I won.”

Yu Peiyuan was stunned. No, this wasn’t right. Before she made her move, she had sensed good fortune. How did it turn into bad fortune the moment she played?

“Senior Sister, let’s follow my lead now,” Jiang Fan said.

Yu Peiyuan quickly interjected, “Wait! Best two out of three!”

Jiang Fan said helplessly, “Alright.”“One, two, three!”“Paper!”“Rock!”

Yu Peiyuan stared at her own fist, somewhat bewildered, and said, “Hold on, best three out of five!”“One, two, three!”“Paper!”“Scissors!”

Yu Peiyuan looked at Jiang Fan’s fingers, which formed scissors, and was bewildered once more. She had actually lost three rounds in a row?

“Best four out of seven!”“Best five out of nine!”“Best eight out of fifteen!”

Yu Peiyuan staggered slightly. Her eyes were wide and glazed over! She had actually lost eight consecutive rounds to an idiot? Was her talent for sensing good and bad fortune fake? At that moment, she began to deeply doubt the past eighteen years of her life.