Chapter 1722: Shura Empress

One person, one black lotus, almost face to face, separated by the barrier.

Jiang Fan’s expression darkened slightly. He had just dug out one of its lotus seeds, so why was it still clinging on so stubbornly?

Crack!

Under the pressure of the Black Lotus of Tribulation, dense cracks appeared in the barrier of the spatial passage, threatening to shatter.

Jiang Fan remained relatively calm. Times had changed. He had acquired the Void Wings from Yun Wanxiao, so even if the spatial passage broke, he could still soar through the void. He just wasn't sure if he could outpace the Black Lotus of Tribulation.

"That's my prey!" Seeing Jiang Fan about to fall, the Asura Saint Son swooped in, grabbed a tendril of the Black Lotus of Tribulation, and flung it away. The two became entangled in battle once more. Jiang Fan was able to teleport away smoothly.

After a dizzying sensation, Jiang Fan's feet touched solid ground, and faint spiritual energy enveloped him. It was clear he had successfully returned to Taicang Great State. He flashed out and was met by Six Paths Venerable, who wore an ingratiating expression.

"Commander Bai, the mausoleum has been built."

"Oh."

"I personally supervised it; it's very beautiful."

"Oh."

"When I was clearing the battlefield, I found a string of celestial realm bracelets; you can have them."

"No, thank you."

Six Paths Venerable awkwardly retracted the bracelets. He had constantly been trying to get closer to Bai Xin, but her emotionless demeanor made it difficult. So far, it seemed only Jiang Fan could elicit any subtle emotional response from her. "What's so good about that brat?" Six Paths Venerable grumbled unhappily.

Just then, a scornful voice sounded in his ear: "Daughter slave! Pfft!" Immediately after, the formation on the main island lit up, activating a spatial transmission. Six Paths Venerable recognized Jiang Fan's voice and instantly flushed crimson. "Who... who's a daughter slave?"

"What's wrong with me talking to my daughter?"

"You're just a kid without children, what do you know?!"

At that moment, a sound transmission jade slip landed in front of him. Picking it up, he saw it was a message from Jiang Fan, containing his voice. "If the Great Libation returns, please ask him to take good care of my Heavenly Secret Pavilion personnel." While Jiang Fan could evade danger himself, he feared the Asura Saint Son might threaten him using the Heavenly Secret Pavilion members. He hoped the Great Libation or the Red-Faced Sage would return soon.

Shortly after, Jiang Fan emerged from the teleportation array at White Horse Temple. He was about to leave when he suddenly remembered an unusual individual imprisoned there: Tian Ge! Such an important person needed his personal oversight. However, as his gaze swept across the underground palace, his expression involuntarily turned grim. The underground palace was empty. A monk with dull eyes, clearly manipulated into a puppet, lay listlessly in front of the open cage door! And the cage door was already open!

This third princess of the Dark Asura race had actually used her innate ability during the chaos of the Ancient Giant War to control a monk and escape. "I knew she wasn't that honest!" Jiang Fan inwardly cursed his miscalculation. There was a restriction in her soul, making it impossible to forcefully probe, so she was clearly hiding something. Her previous docile behavior at White Horse Temple was just her waiting for the chaotic opportunity provided by the Ancient Giant War to escape. No, Jiang Fan even suspected that falling into the hands of Taicang Great State might have been part of her plan. After all, she had climbed down from the Celestial Realm herself! She most likely came to the Central Plains with a purpose. Scanning his surroundings and finding no trace of her, Jiang Fan could only warn the monks of White Horse Temple before hurrying to the mainland.

He teleported continuously. He wasn't sure if it was because the Black Lotus of Tribulation was completely entangled, or if the Asura Saint Son simply dared not show himself in the Central Plains again. As he neared the mainland, there was no sign of the Asura Saint Son pursuing him. Looking at the mainland, now within reach, Jiang Fan slightly relaxed. It seemed he had temporarily escaped the Asura Saint Son's pursuit. However, as expected, an unexpected event occurred. The seawater beneath his feet had, at some point, turned pitch black.

Immediately after, two black-robed Asuras emerged from beneath the sea. They bore five crowns on their heads, clearly indicating they were Five-Crowned Asura Kings, radiating a terrifying aura. At their feet, powerful puppets with blank eyes slowly surfaced. A rough count revealed twenty puppets. All were Asuras from other races, with the weakest being Four-Crowned Asura Kings and the strongest being Five-Crowned. Jiang Fan abruptly stopped, his face etched with deep solemnity. "Dark Asura race?"

Only the Dark Asura race from the Celestial Realm could control puppets on such a scale. Twenty-plus Four-Crowned to Five-Crowned Asura Kings—what a combat force! They could easily take on a central tribal army of giants. Even if Jiang Fan had three heads and six arms, he would struggle to cope. However, he might not need to cope. His eyes flickered, and he decisively activated the Nameless Pure Dust Art, entering an invisible state. Then, with a single blink, he darted towards the mainland. With his Soul Transformation Realm cultivation, he could arrive in mere moments.

One of the Five-Crowned Asura Kings, shrouded in black robes, stood with his hands behind his back, his voice grim. "Can you escape?"

"You've ruined the good plans between our Dark Asura race and the Giant race; you should consider your end today." He seemed able to see through Jiang Fan's invisibility, firmly locking onto his trajectory. With a gentle wave of his hand, ten puppets behind him unleashed terrifying innate abilities of various kinds. The other Five-Crowned Asura King also acted, controlling his ten puppets to attack. Twenty innate abilities of Four-Crowned to Five-Crowned levels—even Sages would exercise caution against them.

However, what slightly shocked the two Five-Crowned Asura Kings was this: the dense innate abilities formed a vast net around Jiang Fan, crisscrossing and colliding with each other. Yet, not a single one struck him. He was like a tiny fish intercepted by twenty enormous nets, inexplicably slipping through a hole too small to even imagine! This bizarre scene utterly stunned the two Five-Crowned Asura Kings. What kind of heaven-defying luck was this? Once they reacted, they hastily commanded their puppets to attack again. But Jiang Fan had already teleported to the edge of the mainland, a smile on his face. Just as he suspected, his luck was currently off the charts, like Wang Chongxiao's. It wouldn't be easy for him to die. Vaguely, he had already guessed what was happening.

The mainland was within reach. The next instant, Jiang Fan stopped dead in his tracks. More accurately, he was forced to stop. A delicate, jade-like hand, seemingly ignoring his immense luck, rested on his shoulder, pressing him into place. Jiang Fan's heart tightened. Who could appear behind him without a sound and subdue him? There was only one answer! He turned his head and saw an exceptionally beautiful middle-aged woman standing behind him. She wore a grand and opulent golden-yellow gown, a lavish phoenix coronet, and her ears and neck were adorned with top-grade spirit artifact jewelry. Her features were beautiful, dignified, and awe-inspiring, giving off an impression of supreme nobility. There was no divine halo behind her head, and her aura was like that of a mortal. Jiang Fan was no stranger to such a presence! It was an Asura Emperor! The Empress of the Dark Asura Clan!

Jiang Fan was stunned. He had guessed that the giants, unwilling to accept defeat, would send Dark Asuras, who weren't affected by the War-Exemption Stele, to assassinate him. But he never imagined they would enlist an Asura Empress! Had he committed a heavenly offense?

The two Five-Crowned Asura Kings hastily flashed over and knelt on one knee in trepidation. "We are incompetent, Your Majesty. Please punish us!" The Asura Empress's voice was equally authoritative. "It's not your fault. This child managed to fight his way to first place among the prodigies of the myriad worlds; how could he be so easy to deal with?" She turned Jiang Fan around, her phoenix eyes calmly appraising him, and said lightly, "My son and daughter, hand them over."