Supreme Emptiness

Chapter 2211: Chapter 2255: Mysterious Guest

Jiang Fan fell into deep thought.

Looking at all that the Daqian Divine Kingdom had done, it was all for the sake of creating a fair nation for the common people of the world. The Imperial Family of the Divine Country was a group of idealists with compassionate hearts. Raised in such an environment, why would the Daqian Crown Prince alone pose a threat to the common people of the heavens?

Moreover, the era the Sword Saint lived in was ten thousand years ago. Did the Sword Saint discover the Crown Prince’s treacherous plots even back then?

The Daqian Crown Prince... what on earth was he trying to do? And what could possibly endanger all living beings across the heavens?

Jiang Fan suddenly narrowed his eyes because a specific phrase popped into his mind: The Dark Tide!

Its devastation was plain for all to see. It caused the Hundred Realms of All Heavens to be ravaged by Ancient Dark Creatures, plunging all living beings into an agonizing sea of suffering for ten thousand years. Some worlds had even been completely wiped out over the passage of time.

And this was just the result of an incomplete Dark Tide.

If what Snow Maiden said was true—that the heavens had only experienced the incoming high tide over the past ten thousand years—then the receding tide would be the true horror of the Dark Tide. When that time came, would the heavens and earth shatter, burying the Hundred Realms together?

Could the mastermind behind the Dark Tide actually be the Daqian Crown Prince? Was he the one who initiated it?

Jiang Fan’s thoughts raced. He recalled the history of the war between the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Realm. When the Daqian Divine Kingdom collapsed, those two worlds had been catapulted to the Southern Heavenly World. Since then, the two worlds had waged a bitter war against each other to vie for the qualifications to become a Saint. Finally, when the Hell Realm occupied the Heavenly Realm, the Ancient Giant descended.

That must have been the exact point in time when the Dark Tide was launched. By then, the Divine Country had already been destroyed for decades, and the Daqian Crown Prince was no longer a member of the Imperial Family.

There was no one left to keep his actions in check! It was entirely possible that he had launched the Dark Tide.

”The Daqian Crown Prince...” A sharp light glinted in Jiang Fan’s eyes. ”Is this man truly the source of all these disasters? Where is he now, and under what guise is he walking the heavens?”

The Sword Saint knew about this; the living Saints couldn’t possibly be completely ignorant of it. Why didn’t they stop the Daqian Crown Prince? If they killed him, wouldn’t the Dark Tide end? Or had the Daqian Crown Prince hidden his identity so well that even the Saints couldn’t sense his whereabouts?

Jiang Fan’s head throbbed from overthinking. He massaged his temples and said, ”Forget it. If it’s something beyond the control of Saints, I shouldn’t waste my breath worrying about it as a mere cultivator in the Divinity Transformation Realm.

”Thank you for telling me, Fairy.”

Jian Qingmei covered her mouth and chuckled, ”You are no ’mere’ Divinity Transformation Realm cultivator.

”The tale of you fighting more than twenty Sages alone half a month ago has already spread throughout the heavens. Rumor has it that some predict you have a chance to be listed on the Divine Capital Holy Scroll.”

Was that so?

Jiang Fan touched the elderly disguise on his face and felt a slight sense of relief. He didn’t want to be burdened by fame; quietly improving his own strength was the right path.

Jian Qingmei stood up and said, ”Jiang Dao You, we will meet again. I have a feeling that the next time I see you, you’ll be at a completely different level.”

Jiang Fan saw her off with a smile. After returning to the secret room, he took out ten Merit Divine Pearls and examined them closely.

”Ten opportunities to become a Sage from the Martial Vault. The other worlds also obtained five clusters of merit each for achieving Sagehood, along with the legacies of the Asura Emperor, the Great Angel, and the Demon Venerable.

”Assuming the Heavenly Human Five Declines in Central Earth is sufficient, the number of Sages in Central Earth can increase by at least fifteen. Combined with the ones we currently have, the total will exceed thirty!”

Thinking back to the war against the Ancient Giant, apart from the Great Wine Sacrifice, Central Earth only had six or seven Sages. Among them was the malicious Asura Saint Son, Bazang, along with the puppet Tianluo Sage he controlled. Compared to the upcoming combat force of over thirty Sages, the increase in strength was monumental.

”Once this trip to Nanqian is over, I should return to Central Earth.”

Jiang Fan gazed into the distance toward Central Earth. The figures of Yun Shang, Gong Caiyi, Green Pearl, and Chen Silin flashed through his mind. This was probably the longest they had been apart, wasn’t it?

Of course, that was a matter for later. He first needed to figure out a way to safely leave the Martial Vault.

Touching the Blood Seal on his forehead, a trace of solemnity appeared on his face. The Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis was still lingering like a ghost, guarding outside the Martial Vault! Without dealing with him, leaving the Martial Vault unhindered would be very difficult.

With a flicker of thought, Jiang Fan took out the Jade Talisman that Fuyun Great Sage had sold at the trade fair. Once activated, it could grant a small wish from the King of the Weapon Vault!

His initial idea was to ask the King of the Weapon Vault to kill the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis. But thinking about it now, if this Jade Talisman were truly that heaven-defying, Fuyun Great Sage wouldn’t have bothered selling it. He feared that the ”small wish” she spoke of really wouldn’t amount to much.

Adopting a ”give it a try” attitude, he channeled Spiritual Power into the Jade Talisman. A wisp of Pure Qi curled up from it, condensing into a sheet of paper that hovered motionlessly in front of him.

Jiang Fan understood; it wanted him to write his wish on it.

”I thought the King of the Weapon Vault would actually show up, but it’s just a piece of paper. What a show-off,” Jiang Fan muttered.

Using his finger as a pen, he wrote on the paper, ”Kill the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis.”

As soon as the words were written, the ink automatically dissipated, turning it back into a blank sheet of paper.

The meaning was clear: write something else! The wish had been rejected!

Although he had expected this, Jiang Fan still felt a wave of disappointment. Was it really that difficult to kill the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis?

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Fan prepared to write again, ”Grant me a Magical Treasure capable of killing the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis, or an attack of equal power.”

To his surprise, just as he raised his finger, a faint, clear breeze blew over, fluttering his sleeves.

Jiang Fan’s eyes narrowed. Where would a breeze come from in a sealed secret room?

He decisively summoned eighteen Array Stones to orbit his body. Gripping the Taichu Seed in his hand, he abruptly spun around and shouted, ”Who’s there?”

Upon turning around, Jiang Fan’s pupils violently contracted!

Right behind him, a man in black clothing was leaning casually against the stone door. He wore a bamboo hat, its shadows obscuring his face. His features were indistinguishable, and his age impossible to determine. However, to be able to appear silently behind Jiang Fan without him noticing at all...

Such strength already explained everything. This was absolutely an expert far beyond his own level.

”We finally meet.”

What made Jiang Fan even more vigilant was that these were the very first words the man in the bamboo hat spoke!

Jiang Fan’s mind raced like lightning. Judging by the voice, he was quite young, probably not much older than himself. However, did they know each other? Why would he say they had ”finally” met?

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Fan put away the Array Stones and asked, ”Who are you?”

The young man in the bamboo hat didn’t answer. Instead, he stared playfully at the retracted Array Stones and asked, ”Aren’t you afraid I might harm you?”

Jiang Fan replied, ”With your strength, if you really wanted to harm me, you would have succeeded already.”

The young man in the bamboo hat smiled faintly. ”You flatter me, Champion Marquis.

”None of the Marquises of the Daqian Divine Kingdom are simple figures. As for who I am, you will find out in the future. I came here to make a deal with you.”

Oh?

Jiang Fan’s eyes revealed a hint of suspicion. ”A deal? I want to kill the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis. Can you do it?”

The young man in the bamboo hat stood with his hands behind his back and said indifferently, ”At the cost of sustaining some injuries, yes, I can.

”He is, after all, an old monster who has survived for ten thousand years. Killing him will take a bit of effort.”

Jiang Fan’s expression remained unchanged, but turbulent waves surged within his heart.

This person could actually kill the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis?