Chapter 1770: Interrogation

Moon Venerable gazed at the figure suspended on the celestial canopy, a hint of daze filling her silver eyes.

He had started as a mute child from Lone Boat City. Now, he was a pivotal figure, gathering the Nine Provinces of the Central Lands to embark on a great historical expedition to the Celestial Realm. The vast difference made it feel incredibly unreal to her.

Sage Leng Yue glanced sideways and asked, "Didn't you go into seclusion to avoid him? Why did you come out?"

Moon Venerable watched Jiang Fan's figure and said, her voice complex, "He's first on the Nine Monuments, he's left his name on the Stone Tablet, and now he's leading an expedition to the Celestial Realm. How could I stay put?"

Heavenly Province today was more tumultuous than during the war with the Dark Asura race. Even with her five senses sealed, she could feel the chaotic emotions of strong cultivators from various provinces, making it impossible to cultivate peacefully.

Sage Leng Yue smiled faintly, "Are you regretting sending those words to Jiang Fan, severing all ties?"

Moon Venerable's expression hardened, and she declared, "No regrets whatsoever! That guy is ruthless. To ensure Chen Siling's soul dominates the body, he'll definitely try to eliminate me. I'd rather he never appear again."

Silver Moon Grand Venerable, standing nearby, slightly exhaled and said, "Moon Venerable is absolutely right." Then he complained: "Palace Master, Moon Venerable has already promised me that once we both reach the Sage realm, we will become cultivation partners. Please don't say such misleading things again."

Sage Leng Yue smiled but said nothing. Both breaking through to the Sage realm? Was it that easy? After the battle against the Ancient Giants, how many people actually entered the Sage realm? If Moon Venerable could put aside her pride and align with Jiang Fan, perhaps alongside Chen Siling, she might obtain that Divine Merit Orb compressed from nine merit feathers, allowing her to become a Sage in one step. To become a Sage relying on herself was far too difficult.

Moon Venerable also remained silent. She hadn't even recovered from the Five Decays of Heaven and Man; how could she even begin to talk about becoming a Sage? Unless she gave up on trying hard and chose to take a shortcut with Jiang Fan, otherwise, relying on herself would require at least a century of accumulating merit.

Seeing that neither of them paid him any attention, Silver Moon Grand Venerable scoffed lightly: "Don't overestimate Jiang Fan too much. Are the Ancient Giants he dealt with as troublesome as the Asura race we handled? With their strange talents, powerful physiques, and unity and fearlessness of death far surpassing the giants, if they were to face the Asura race, they would have long since collapsed."

Sage Leng Yue and Moon Venerable frowned slightly. His words were a bit biased. They had both dealt with Ancient Giants; how could they be as simple as Silver Moon Grand Venerable claimed? However, the Dark Asura race was indeed very difficult to deal with, not much weaker than the Ancient Giants.

As the three were conversing, the Sages, after a brief discussion, said, "We have a general understanding of the Ancient Giants' situation. But how much strength does this Dark Asura race still possess? Only a small portion of them should have descended to the Celestial Realm. If we don't know their overall strength, this expedition will be extremely risky."

Jiang Fan flew down and said, "What's so difficult about that? You must have captured quite a few Dark Asura prisoners, right? Couldn't you just interrogate them?"

Sage Wu Hen sighed, "We have no prisoners, not a single one."

Jiang Fan was surprised. How could there be no prisoners after fighting for so long?

Sage Leng Yue looked towards Young Emperor Mountain, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes, and said: "When the Dark Asura race retreated, we pursued them, but unexpectedly fell into the enemy's trap. A Nine Hells Asura King was ambushed on the Sky-Connecting Black Pillar. He launched a fatal blow at us, intending to shatter us along with half of Heavenly Province. It was the Young Emperor who launched a Tri-Calamity Realm attack, neutralizing that blow and simultaneously eliminating all remaining Dark Asuras in Heavenly Province, leaving none behind."

Jiang Fan was secretly appalled. The Dark Asura race actually had a Nine Hells Asura King? If it weren't for the deterrence of that Ancient Saint, which prevented the Nine Hells Asura King, like the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor, from descending to the Central Lands, Heavenly Province would have been in grave danger. He finally understood why the Young Emperor's merits surpassed those of Grand Venerable Xing Yuan. Because he had saved half of Heavenly Province and its inhabitants, eradicated countless Asuras, and rewrote the critical situation of Heavenly Province. Saving and eliminating the enemy—his merit was boundless.

Sage Lei Mie said helplessly, "We can only try to go to the Celestial Realm, capture some Dark Asuras, and interrogate them. However, the danger is significant."

Several Sages frowned slightly. The talk of counterattacking the Celestial Realm was fierce, but when it came to actual implementation, it was fraught with difficulties. They couldn't even ascertain the basic situation of the enemy forces.

"There's no need for such trouble." Jiang Fan had originally not wanted to expose the Asura Empress and her family. But there was no other way; he had to bring them out. He said, "By a stroke of luck, I captured some Dark Asuras."

Everyone was surprised. How could Jiang Fan, who was far away on the battlefields of Taicang Grand Province and Hunyuan Province, have captured Dark Asuras?

Moon Venerable's delicate brows lifted slightly: "He even fought against the Dark Asura race?"

Silver Moon Grand Venerable was also greatly surprised, pondering, "Could it be some lost, low-level Dark Asuras who mistakenly entered Taicang Grand Province?"

Under their gazes, Jiang Fan reluctantly took out his spatial mirror. With a thought, a group of Dark Asuras were released. They were all tied together by a single rope, their cultivation completely sealed by it.

"So many?" Moon Venerable exclaimed in surprise, but as she gazed carefully, her pupils sharply contracted. "Wait! What about those several Five-Crowned Asura Kings? And what about that woman? Could she be the Asura Empress?"

Sage Leng Yue's expression changed abruptly, and she protectively shielded them behind her: "Be careful!" They had witnessed the terrifying power of the Dark Asura Empress. Several Sages were also startled by the appearance of the Asura Empress, and they all surged their Divine Merit Monuments, as if facing a formidable enemy. The Transformation God realm cultivators present also fled backward in panic. No one had expected Jiang Fan to casually pull out a living Asura Empress!

"Don't be afraid, everyone." Jiang Fan reached out and pinched the Asura Empress's chin. The latter glared at him with murderous phoenix eyes but was powerless to resist, only able to let Jiang Fan pinch her fair face, making it sway from side to side, displaying her to everyone. "She has already been subdued and poses no threat. Allow me to introduce her: she's the Empress of the Dark Asura race, captured through a strategic plan. Those three young ones are her children, captured casually. As for those two who are neither young nor old and don't even have names, I just picked them up along the way; they're not important."

At Jiang Fan's introduction, the Asura Empress's family wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, all lowering their heads, too ashamed to face anyone. The two who didn't even have names felt profoundly offended. Just picked up? Not important? Are you even speaking human language?

The entire scene fell silent, everyone staring blankly at the six Asuras: one Asura Empress, three Five-Crowned Asura Kings, one Four-Crowned Asura King, and one Nine-Aperture Asura. What was even more surreal was that the Asura Empress was actually the Queen of the Dark Asura race! This was the wife of the Nine Hells Asura Emperor! She was the second-most important figure in the Dark Asura race, second only to the Nine Hells Asura Emperor!

Heavenly Province had fought life-and-death battles with the Dark Asura race but hadn't managed to slay a single Asura Emperor. Yet Jiang Fan, far away in Taicang Grand Province, had captured this major figure alive? Even more preposterous, he had even apprehended their entire family!

Sage Leng Yue gasped, "This... this is a greater achievement than anything I did in Heavenly Province! I feel like even being first on the Nine Monuments doesn't do justice to his contributions anymore?"