Chapter 1781: Lit the Primordial Sky-Imprisoning Gourd

The Ancient Sage of Yunhuang arrived at precisely the moment the Realm Lord of the Other Shore rebuked Jiang Fan. It was no coincidence in his eyes.

The Nine Nether Demon Venerable looked at Jiang Fan with a peculiar gaze. Could this boy truly be someone connected to the Ancient Sage of Yunhuang? Why did the Ancient Sage protect him so readily? The Realm Lord of the Other Shore seemed to realize something too, glancing down at Jiang Fan with a flash of suspicion in her eyes.

Was the Ancient Sage of Yunhuang intervening on Jiang Fan's behalf? Recalling the last time Jiang Fan summoned her clone, the Ancient Sage even helped Jiang Fan extort her, which made her even more certain. But what was so special about Jiang Fan to warrant such treatment from the Ancient Sage of Yunhuang? She withdrew her gaze and looked towards the multicolored auspicious clouds, asking, "Ancient Sage of Yunhuang, do you truly intend to ignite a war between our two realms?"

The Ancient Sage of Yunhuang calmly replied, "The words of Venerable Xinghuo represent my will." The Middle-earth Realm would not only fight but initiate the conflict! This would continue unless the Underworld Realm voluntarily retrieved the Pavilion Realm Artifact and closed the passage between the two realms. Jiang Fan was surprised.

Could the Ancient Sage of Yunhuang's goal be to force the Underworld Realm to withdraw the Pavilion Realm Artifact, thus solving the problem once and for all? After all, she couldn't permanently guard the continent. But if that were the case, why would she let the Asura Saint Son return to the Underworld Realm? If she had killed the Asura Saint Son, she could have easily opened the passage between the two realms herself, couldn't she? Perhaps she had an even deeper objective.

The Realm Lord of the Other Shore scoffed, "Fine! My Underworld Realm awaits your arrival. You will come but never leave!" Immediately, a thousand-foot shadow descended, enveloping all the Asura Emperors present and carrying them away from the eleventh level. The multicolored auspicious clouds also slowly dispersed.

Jiang Fan quickly called out, "Ancient Sage, wait! Do you have any other instructions regarding this battle?" The multicolored auspicious clouds continued to dissipate without pausing, quickly vanishing from everyone's sight. However, a faint voice still drifted over: "Watch the road closely."

A large question mark appeared above Jiang Fan's head. He looked at the Great Libationers and Sages, whose question marks were even bigger than his. *We ask for instructions, and you tell us to watch the road? What kind of riddle is this?* He was speechless, muttering inwardly, "Can't that old hag just speak clearly?"

*Crack, boom!* An arm-thick bolt of lightning struck down without warning, hitting Jiang Fan and making his hair stand on end. Jiang Fan wiped his face, knowing this would happen. Now, he couldn't even curse that old hag in his mind.

The Nine Nether Demon Venerable asked in surprise, "Are you... alright?" Jiang Fan skillfully smoothed his hair and said, "I'm used to it. Let's go quickly, before the Realm Lord of the Other Shore retaliates." He added, "That wretched woman is even worse; be careful."

The words had barely left his lips when a fire dragon suddenly shot out from the Underworld Realm, fiercely lunging at Jiang Fan. *Oh no! She heard him!* Everyone quickly moved Jiang Fan, narrowly escaping back to the tenth level. The Nine Nether Demon Venerable couldn't help but chuckle, "To be struck by two Saint-tier cultivators in one day, you are truly the first in Middle-earth."

Jiang Fan gave a wry smile. Seeing Asura King Ayu standing far off, hesitant to approach, he said, "Esteemed Great Libationers, please return to your respective states and quickly mobilize strong cultivators from each state to gather at the tenth level. Speed is crucial in war. If the battle between the Underworld Realm and the Ancient Giants gains the upper hand, and they can spare troops, we will be in great trouble."

Everyone felt a sense of solemnity. Winning this battle would be incredibly difficult; their only strategic opportunity lay in the Underworld Realm being preoccupied. Once they freed up their hands, things would become troublesome.

The Great Libationer of Taicang State nodded, "All combat-ready forces can be mobilized within half a day at most. Before that, we must fulfill a promise." Jiang Fan paused, then remembered that after he won first place in the Ancient Wilderness Hunt, the Great Libationers had said he performed outstandingly and wished to present him with a grand gift, promising to help him acquire anything within Middle-earth. Now that conflict was reigniting, the Great Libationers decided to fulfill their promise to Jiang Fan before the major battle.

Jiang Fan's heart stirred, and excitement showed in his eyes as he quickly took out the Primordial Sky-Imprisoning Gourd! He had known what he wanted ever since then: to use the Law Power of the Great Libationers to light up the yellow gourd area of the Primordial Sky-Imprisoning Gourd! Once activated, the yellow gourd could absorb Sages into it! This would be precisely what was needed for the battle against the Underworld Realm.

"I would like to ask the Great Libationers to use your Law Power to illuminate the yellow area."

The Laughing Great Libationer of Myriad Demon State laughed heartily upon hearing this: "Aren't you being too polite? We offered you anything in Middle-earth, yet you ask for our Law Power? It truly seems you don't consider us your own." Compared to Jiang Fan's immense contributions, a little Law Power was nothing. Although the treasure in Jiang Fan's hand was extraordinary, any Great Libationer could activate it easily, so what kind of request was this? Jiang Fan handed the gourd to her, saying, "Then please, senior, you go first."

The Laughing Great Libationer smiled, "Easy!" She pressed her palm onto the gourd, and her Law Power surged into it like a tide. She thought it would activate effortlessly, but to her surprise, only about ten percent of her Law Power was consumed, and the gourd's orange area merely gained a slight sheen. "This... it's fine, girls who laugh a lot usually have good luck."

The Laughing Great Libationer continued to infuse power. Soon, more than half of her Law Power was depleted, and the orange area only began to brighten, still far from being fully activated. Not long after, the Laughing Great Libationer exhausted all of her Law Power. The orange area was completely lit up. She could no longer smile, staring blankly at the gourd with a look of existential doubt: "Even a Realm Artifact wouldn't require this much Law Power to activate, would it?"

Jiang Fan shrugged and handed the gourd to the Crying Great Libationer of Guixu State, saying, "Senior, please try it too." The Crying Great Libationer placed her hand on it. Soon after, her face turned pale, and her frail body trembled, clearly showing signs of Law Power exhaustion. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "Boo hoo hoo, I'm utterly useless. I can't even light up a single gourd."

Jiang Fan then took the gourd to the other Great Libationers one by one, and each of them exhausted their Law Power. As a result, even after the last Great Libationer of Taicang State had used up all her Law Power, the yellow area still wasn't fully illuminated. It was glowing, but not enough to be usable. Jiang Fan clicked his tongue in amazement, "This is too difficult, isn't it?"

According to his estimation, illuminating the yellow area required the Law Power of a Sage in the Three Calamity Realm. Yet, even with the combined efforts of nine Great Libationers—two in the Two Calamity Realm and seven in the One Calamity Realm—they couldn't fully light up the yellow gourd! The Great Libationer of Taicang State's face was slightly pale. "I'm sorry, we can only help you this much."

The Laughing Great Libationer could no longer laugh. "I actually believed you had good intentions and wanted to give us an advantage! I was too naive, boo hoo hoo." And just like that, the Laughing Great Libationer turned into the Crying Great Libationer. Their only comfort was that they could finally leave.

"Great Libationers, wait!" Jiang Fan took out some Law Wine and said with a smile, "Nobody leaves today until the yellow gourd is fully lit."