Chapter 1679: Sanctuary

Jiang Fan was filled with anticipation.

If he could activate the Yellow Gourd, the first targets would be the Ten Sins of the Central Plains!

Coincidentally, he was cultivating a poison body and needed a Sage's Monument of Merit.

However...

Do Sages who achieved their status through fortune possess Monuments of Merit?

If not, then would the Asura Saint Son, who also achieved Sagehood through fortune, not have one either?

He scanned back and forth among the Sages, making a mental note.

He would find an opportunity to privately ask the Grand Wine Priest which Sages had not used their Monuments of Merit during the recent Sage-level battle.

After bidding farewell to the Sages, the Lord of Jiangshan Yipin Tower arrived, leading a group of Grand Venerables. Looking at the pillar of light behind Jiang Fan, he was both amazed and immensely proud.

The Lord of Jiangshan Yipin Tower patted his shoulder and said, "Kid, you've brought great honor to our Central Plains in front of all the myriad worlds."

Jiang Fan smiled, "It's all thanks to your..."

The Lord of Jiangshan Yipin Tower quickly interrupted him, saying, "A very serious domain, right?" His extremely profitable, dark-hearted domain couldn't afford to be exposed.

Jiang Fan understood immediately, clearing his throat. "Yes, exactly, a very serious domain."

"By the way, can the Sages heal your injuries?" They had been in battle earlier, so the Sages had no time. Now, during the ceasefire, they could ask the Sages to try.

The Lord sighed and shook his head, "It's no use, I'm not injured. Instead, my entire body of flesh and blood was devoured by the Giant Emperor's spear. Even Sages are powerless."

Jiang Fan stroked his chin, nodding. "If I can return to the hunting ground, I'll try to get something to restore you." What was beyond the Sages' power should not be difficult for the black-hearted Qi Qi.

The Lord of Jiangshan Yipin Tower's spirits lifted slightly. "I appreciate it. No matter the cost, I will repay you when you return. If the Central Plains wins this war, the merit I gain might allow me to ascend to Sagehood. But the prerequisite is that my body must be restored to its peak."

His greatest contribution to this war was infiltrating the Celestial Realm, tricking three Giant Emperors down, and personally killing one of them. If not for that, the Celestial Realm would have two more One-Day Giant Emperors and one two-star Sleeping Giant Emperor. The battle at the Sage level would have been lost long ago. For such unparalleled heavenly achievement, it would be truly unreasonable if the Central Plains did not reward him with the merit to become a Sage.

Jiang Fan smiled, "Then I congratulate you in advance on becoming a Sage."

Just then, Hong Xiu stood in the distance and gave Jiang Fan a look. Jiang Fan knew what she wanted to ask, and after a slight pause, he walked over.

"When I was fighting earlier, my chest hurt a lot. Did Lü Zhu have an accident?" Hong Xiu asked.

Jiang Fan truthfully replied, "She almost died, but she's safe now."

Hong Xiu frowned, "Nonsense. With her meager strength, she went to the Ancient Wilderness Hunt to court death." Then, she gazed deeply at Jiang Fan and asked, "You didn't do anything to her, did you?"

Jiang Fan was startled, then realized she was referring to Lü Zhu pressing herself against him like an octopus. Even though they were a world apart, Hong Xiu had still sensed something.

"I didn't do anything to her."

"I swear to the heavens!"

Hong Xiu secretly wondered, as she had distinctly felt something pressing against her chest. It was as if Jiang Fan had pressed Lü Zhu beneath him. Yet, Jiang Fan was so utterly confident, he didn't seem to be lying. She could only warn him again, "Don't touch her. This is your final warning."

To put it mildly, whatever Jiang Fan did to Lü Zhu was tantamount to doing it to her. Lü Zhu facing Jiang Fan alone was like a lamb facing a wolf; the mere thought made Hong Xiu tremble with anxiety.

"Cough, cough, no, no, don't you trust my character?"

"Alright, I need to prepare for a possible major battle. Farewell."

With that said, he strode away under Hong Xiu's sharp gaze. If he hadn't mentioned his character, it would have been fine; but by mentioning it, Hong Xiu became even more worried.

Beside a Giant King's corpse, Jiang Fan leaned against it, and with a thought, took out the Blood Moon King's enormous head. He casually plucked off all five stars from its forehead. He shot out five soul spikes from his brow, implanting them into each of the stars. A pained shriek immediately erupted from one of them.

As expected! The Blood Moon King had indeed left a wisp of its soul in its primordial star. Jiang Fan decisively activated "Soul Snatch" to drag its soul out.

"No, don't kill me!"

"Give me another chance to live."

"I know the Black Sun King's secret!"

Jiang Fan's eyes shifted. "What secret?"

The Blood Moon King said, "I know it left a discreet Angelic treasure in its treasury. It can guide Angels to find a Nine-Winged Archangel's sanctuary."

What? Jiang Fan's pupils constricted slightly. A Nine-Winged Archangel was equivalent to a human Three-Calamity Sage or a giant's Nine-Sun Giant Emperor. As for a sanctuary, it should be similar to a human's cultivation grotto. If this was true, how immense of an opportunity would that be? The Lord of Jiangshan Yipin Tower had merely picked up a broken Angelic blade in some ruins and managed to slay a Giant Emperor. Even a casually picked-up Archangel's bone could conceal one's divine halo. He dared not imagine what would be in the ruins of a Nine-Winged Archangel.

However, how credible was the Blood Moon King's claim? "How do you know?"

The Blood Moon King dared not hide anything, saying, "Because that item was discovered by him and me together. We agreed that once we found the Angels, we would go explore it together. Spare my life, and I will take you to the Black Sun King's treasury to find that item, and then guide you to the sanctuary."

Jiang Fan's eyes flickered for a moment, then he put away the "Soul Snatch" technique. "You'd better not lie to me!"

He then tossed this primordial star into the Ghost Crystal. Afterward, he took out the domain mirror and propped it aside.

Empress Zijiang opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Fan. "What are you doing?"

Jiang Fan said nothing, taking out a pile of materials as high as a small hill, all containing potent poison. Then, he silently contemplated the poisons from the "True Scripture of Poison Origin" that could kill ancient Giant Kings. There were many poison recipes. The most powerful recipes could even poison and harm Giant Emperors. However, not only were they difficult to refine, but he also lacked sufficient materials.

Finally, he chose a poison called Smog Veil Powder. It was a six-gu-level potent poison, with a guaranteed lethal effect only on Giant Kings of two stars or below. While not the most potent in terms of toxicity, its refining difficulty was also not low. But it had one advantage: it was a mist! Once unleashed, it could spread for hundreds of meters; if Giant Kings were sufficiently concentrated, its lethality would be no less than that of his perfect domain.

Having chosen this poison, Jiang Fan selected the corresponding materials from the pile. Then he began refining it on the spot.

Half an hour later, ten three-gu-level potent poison pills appeared before his eyes. Empress Zijiang, who had watched the entire process, finally understood what Jiang Fan was doing. She sneered, "Is this the gift you spoke of? It seems I sometimes overestimate you. This little bit of poison is useless against us."

Jiang Fan unhurriedly took out the Mountain and River Cauldron and dropped the ten poison pills into it. After a period of refinement, a quarter of an hour later, a concentrated poison pill emitting purple smoke appeared in the cauldron. Six-gu-level potent poison: Smog Veil Powder.

Empress Zijiang's expression finally became serious.