Chapter 907: Together to Die

Xia Chaoge's crystalline eyes flickered slightly. "You want to live and die together with me, Uncle?"

"Alright," she replied, extremely readily. There was even a hint of anticipation and excitement in her voice.

Jiang Fan, however, had no time to savor her tone. Gritting his teeth, he activated the "Cloud Shadow" technique and headed towards the Human-Faced Ghost Pearl's cave.

Kui Xing wore a faint smile. "Oh?" he murmured. "Running back? The ninth layer of this world is already completely sealed. Where else can he run?" Turning around, he leisurely pursued Jiang Fan, a playful cat-and-mouse expression on his face.

After three uses of Cloud Shadow, Jiang Fan's lightning energy was completely depleted. He had no choice but to take out the Nine-Dragon Bronze Chariot, pouring water essence into it at all costs to travel quickly. This chariot was as fast as a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Only by reaching the Human-Faced Ghost Pearl did they have a sliver of hope for survival. But it was just that: a sliver of hope.

"Uncle, just how many treasures do you have?" Xia Chaoge gazed at the spacious carriage. Even she, typically devoid of strong emotions, couldn't help but exclaim. She thought what she had secretly seen in the Thunder Pond was astonishing enough. To her surprise, Jiang Fan had even more new and incredibly amazing treasures.

Jiang Fan had no time to pay attention to her. He took out the jade-carved phoenix chair, holding a top-grade night-shining pearl in one hand and the Array-Breaker Hammer in the other. After a quick inspection, he found nothing unusual. There were no traps as he had imagined. Even with a Nascent Soul realm soul, a careful scan revealed no suspicious fluctuations.

"Was I overthinking it?" Jiang Fan mused, stroking his chin. After a moment of contemplation, he cautiously took out the Double-Pupil Crystal, muttering, "That woman's calculating ability is so profound. I absolutely cannot underestimate her."

With the Double-Pupil Crystal covering his eyes, all illusions became visible. With a single glance, Jiang Fan truly discovered a problem! On the right armrest, there was a perfectly concealed wisp of light. It was an array compressed to its extreme. A slight touch would trigger it!

"Haha, trying to play mind games with me?" Jiang Fan chuckled. He considered placing it in a safe area and triggering it remotely. But after some thought, he wondered, "Wouldn't it be better to keep this item to use against enemies?" Immediately, he carefully peeled it off, wrapped it in an explosive talisman, and tucked it into his sleeve. With that, the jade-carved phoenix chair was safely acquired.

"Uncle, I have a question for you," Xia Chaoge suddenly asked, her hands behind her back.

Jiang Fan, in a good mood, put away the jade-carved phoenix chair and said, "Go ahead."

Xia Chaoge asked, "Has another woman sat in this chariot before?"

Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat. He feigned nonchalance and said, "No... nothing like that. I just got this chariot recently."

"Really?" Xia Chaoge brought her hands from behind her back. In each hand, she held a strand of soft, snow-white hair, delicate as silken threads. "Then what's this?" she asked. "Why does it look so familiar?" A knowing, half-smile played on her lips. She had clearly recognized them as strands of hair from Concubine Yunxia's nine fox tails.

Jiang Fan's expression stiffened slightly. "She... she just hitched a ride," he said. "Don't overthink it."

Xia Chaoge said nothing. She lightly brushed the floor, picking up a few more strands. "She just sat down, and this much fur fell off?" she asked. "Did you two fight? Or was it a very intense kind of fight?" The smile at the corner of her mouth deepened.

Jiang Fan felt awkward. He had actually forgotten to tidy up the carriage afterward. Seeing Xia Chaoge looking as if she had discovered a great secret, Jiang Fan playfully poked her forehead. "Mind your own business about your uncle's affairs!" he grumbled. "Sit still! Don't move!"

Xia Chaoge pursed her red lips. She turned her face away. The smile on her lips quickly vanished. Having received a clear answer, she could no longer smile. An inexplicable discomfort settled in her chest.

Rumble—

The wheels rolled rapidly. Although the Nine-Dragon Bronze Chariot was performing at its peak, Kui Xing eventually caught up. A hint of surprise appeared on his face. "You have quite a few treasures," he remarked. "Too bad they're all useless." He raised his hand, unleashing a terrifying and peerless Nascent Soul aura. Jiang Fan's expression remained composed.

He wasn't particularly surprised at being caught. He glanced at the Human-Faced Ghost Pearl's cave, which was now within sight, not far away. Gritting his teeth, he once again took out a conch shell filled with water essence. "Dragon Soul!" he commanded.

Roar—

A thousand-zhang dragon soul suddenly appeared, meeting Kui Xing's attack head-on. In just an instant, the dragon soul was shattered, dissolving into soul fragments that returned to the Nine-Dragon Bronze Chariot. Jiang Fan looked pained. Once dispersed, the dragon soul would take a long time to reform. Nevertheless, it had successfully blocked Kui Xing's attack.

At the same time, seizing the moment just as Kui Xing's attack ended, he decisively shot out the last crossbow bolt from his sleeve. Kui Xing's gaze sharpened. Even as a three-aperture Nascent Soul cultivator, he couldn't stand still and endure a Nascent Soul-level attack.

He immediately flickered and moved. "Brat, you have many tricks up your sleeve!" he scoffed lightly. "But none of them are worth seeing in front of me." He leaped, soaring towards the Nine-Dragon Bronze Chariot at an extreme speed. His powerful aura pressed down, making the carriage hum as if it were about to fall apart.

"Chaoge, how much further?" Jiang Fan asked without turning his head, gazing at Kui Xing pursuing him from behind.

Xia Chaoge quickly leaned out, looking towards the Human-Faced Ghost Spider's cave. "Almost there," she said. "Ten breaths at most."

Ten breaths? In front of such a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator, every breath was an eternity and almost impossible to withstand. Seeing Kui Xing about to close in, he barked, "Soul Sting!" A soul secret art of the Nascent Soul realm, its power was naturally earth-shattering.

Kui Xing instantly felt a sharp pain in his soul, and his rushing figure paused for a moment. "Your soul power has reached the one-aperture Nascent Soul level?" he exclaimed. "And you're even an unorthodox Nascent Soul! This venerable one truly underestimated you!" A trace of killing intent swirled in his eyes. It was humiliating for a dignified three-aperture Nascent Soul cultivator to have such difficulty capturing a mere Core Formation junior!

"Stop right there!" He raised his palm, terrifying Nascent Soul power converging, preparing to destroy the bronze chariot with a single blow, leaving Jiang Fan no means of escape.

Seeing this, Jiang Fan gritted his teeth and, with a pained expression, drew the Seven-Star Treasure Sword. He launched a preemptive strike with a sword slash!

Clang—

A thousand-zhang sword shadow fiercely descended. Kui Xing, who was about to strike, his face changed. He had no choice but to block this attack first. He raised his palm and blasted the sword shadow apart. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the bronze chariot had already reached the entrance of the Human-Faced Ghost Spider's cave.

Jiang Fan raised his sword again. Kui Xing, exasperated, snarled, "Little ant! You've played enough! I'll break your legs first; let's see how you run then!" Kui Xing, repeatedly attacked, was thoroughly enraged. He opened his mouth and spat out a bloody chain, which shot directly towards the bronze chariot, giving Jiang Fan no further chance to use his sword.

However, Jiang Fan's sword strike was not aimed at him. Instead, he turned and swung his sword towards the Human-Faced Ghost Spider's cave in front of them.

Kui Xing was momentarily stunned, not understanding Jiang Fan's actions. But then he suddenly remembered that the caves they had encountered along the way were full of black crystals. He immediately understood what Jiang Fan was going to do. His face changed drastically as he yelled, "Stop!"

The destructive power of those exploding black crystals was truly earth-shattering; even he was wary of them. Jiang Fan coldly said, "So there are things you're afraid of, too?" He swung his sword. A thousand-zhang sword shadow descended, directly blasting open the pile of rubble and collapsing the hidden cave entrance. It revealed hundreds of densely packed black crystals. Even Kui Xing gasped in fright upon seeing them, letting out a terrified roar: "Stop! Don't move!"