Chapter 58: Chapter 57: You Have Chosen the Path of Death

Jiang Lan had originally planned to let Xiao Yingyue stall Lin Fan, giving him a chance to slip away. He would then personally deal with Lin Fan when he inevitably caught up.

Before obtaining the Immortal Embryo Creation Dew, he had no intention of revealing his cultivation in front of others.

He just hadn’t expected Xiao Yingyue to try and bring him along in her escape.

The woman had a bit of a conscience, but not much. She’d only brought him along because she was afraid of the Prime Minister’s Mansion settling scores with her later.

This forced him to alter his plans slightly.

"You have the nerve to be casually strolling around at a time like this?"

Just as Xiao Yingyue was about to act, even at the risk of exposing her identity, she noticed Jiang Lan’s attitude. He seemed completely unconcerned, and a flicker of suspicion appeared in her beautiful eyes.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that Jiang Lan was far too nonchalant. Even while fleeing for his life, he showed no signs of worry.

’Does he really have something to fall back on? Or is it some life-saving treasure?’

"We can’t escape anyway, so there’s no point in living in constant fear, is there? If we’re going to die no matter what, does it really matter what we do before it happens?"

Jiang Lan smiled, found a clean, green stone, and sat down, looking perfectly relaxed.

’Xiao Yingyue felt that despite all her years of life and cultivating her composure, she was still far inferior to him.’

She said faintly, "You have no cultivation. It doesn’t matter how many life-saving treasures you have on you; Lin Fan has countless ways to kill you."

"If he throws you into this abyss, do you think you’ll have any chance of surviving?"

Jiang Lan sighed and said, "That’s why Miss Xiao needs to figure out a way to hold this guy off. Once my men get here, we can survive."

"Otherwise, neither of us will make it out of this alive."

Xiao Yingyue had always prided herself on her state of mind. After many years of cultivation, it was as solid as a rock, not easily disturbed.

But tonight, Jiang Lan had repeatedly provoked her to the point where she was grinding her teeth in frustration.

’Before, she’d thought he was nothing like the rumors—that he was humble, gentle, and sincere.’

’But now... why did she have the nagging feeling that he was actually quite ruthless?’

"If we survive tonight, Young Master Jiang, don’t you forget that you owe me a favor."

A piece of fine white cloth appeared in her flawless, jade-like hand. Tucked into it was a dense row of silver needles, shimmering with a faint, rosy luminescence.

Jiang Lan gave her a slightly surprised look.

’Looks like Xiao Yingyue is really planning to risk it all. Even without her cultivation, she’s determined to use her Taiyi Mysterious Needle Technique.’

’But those are just ordinary silver needles. They probably won’t do much. I can’t rely on her.’

"So, you have nowhere left to run?"

Just then, from the dense forest nearby, came the sound of footsteps crunching on dry leaves.

An indifferent voice followed.

Lin Fan’s figure emerged. His gaze fell upon Jiang Lan and Xiao Yingyue, radiating a cold, murderous intent. He looked at them as if they were already dead.

After a long chase, the two were finally cornered, with nowhere left to run.

"You’re right, we have nowhere to run. That’s why I’ve been waiting for you."

As he spoke, Jiang Lan dusted off his robes and slowly got to his feet.

Lin Fan’s gaze fell on him, turning cold.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Xiao Yingyue, however, said nothing, her expression cold.

She struck first, knowing full well that Lin Fan would never let her go.

With a flick of her slender wrist, a sheet of silver light bloomed in the Void. Countless needles, as dense as rain, flew out and swarmed toward Lin Fan.

"Child’s play."

Lin Fan’s expression was aloof. The Sword Intent before him formed an impenetrable barrier.

CLANG! CLANG! Sparks flew as all the incoming needles shattered on impact, turning to dust.

Xiao Yingyue was unfazed. The very moment she had thrown the needles, a faint mist had already begun to spread.

"I’ve been on guard against this trick of yours. If you hadn’t ingested that Rouge Rest Grass, I might have been a little wary. But as you are now, you’re no better than a cripple in my eyes."

"You could have chosen to live, yet you insisted on aiding a tyrant, helping this scoundrel harm me."

"You are courting death."

Lin Fan’s figure vanished like a phantom. Holding his breath and Concealing Qi, he avoided the faint mist entirely.

He knew Xiao Yingyue was a master physician, capable of marking him with a fluorescent substance without his knowledge, so he was also on guard against poison.

"He’s truly a handful."

Xiao Yingyue’s fine brows knitted together.

’Honestly, Lin Fan’s techniques and combat experience were far beyond what someone his age should possess.’

’He felt more like a battle-hardened Sword Cultivator, tempered by a thousand trials.’

SHIING! SHIING! SHIING!

The next moment, with a casual wave of his hand, Lin Fan sent several streaks of Sword Aura whistling through the air. They were like solid Long Swords, brilliant with divine light and radiating a piercing sharpness, cutting off all of Xiao Yingyue’s escape routes.

Without her cultivation, Xiao Yingyue couldn’t use her Magical Power, let alone unleash any Divine Power Technique.

She could only endure the blow with her physical body. She let out a muffled grunt and stumbled back several steps, her body swaying as a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Her picturesque face was now an icy mask.

’As a Supreme Elder of Medicine King Valley, this was the first time in her life she had ever suffered such a humiliating defeat. If she had her cultivation, she would have slapped Lin Fan to death long ago.’

"Such a powerful physical body. It seems your cultivation was quite formidable at its peak."

"But that’s all it is."

"You can’t stop me."

Lin Fan shot her a surprised glance, but his expression quickly returned to its usual indifference.

’Things have come to this; it’s impossible for either of them to escape alive.’

’But for some reason, he had a nagging feeling that something was off. He felt that tonight might not go as smoothly as planned.’

Jiang Lan, in particular, had been unnervingly calm from start to finish, showing no signs of concern.

That breezy, casual demeanor made Lin Fan deeply uncomfortable... and irritated.

"Without seeing Jiang Lan begging desperately for his life, he felt that the frustration in his heart would never be vented, and his Dao Heart would never be clear."

’Is he planning to jump into the abyss at the last second to try and save himself?’

"Whatever. Best not to drag this out. I’ll grant you a quick end, you worthless cur."

Lin Fan’s gaze grew cold. In a flash, his figure appeared directly in front of Jiang Lan.

The Long Sword in his hand, incomparably sharp and wreathed in an ancient light, slashed down in an instant.

But in the next instant, the expected spray of blood never came.

The indifferent look on Lin Fan’s face twisted into one of utter disbelief.

A terrifying, immense force shot up his arm, making the web of his hand go numb and nearly knocking the Long Sword from his grasp.

A fair, slender hand, looking as if it were carved from jade, had caught his Long Sword, holding it fast as if it were clamped in a vice.

No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break it free.

"You..."

A chill shot up Lin Fan’s spine. As he stared at Jiang Lan’s deep, unfathomable expression, an incredible, absurd thought took root in his mind.

’This guy... he’s not an ordinary person?’

’But I never detected the slightest fluctuation of cultivation from him.’

’Even the rumors about him never once mentioned that he possessed any cultivation.’

In that instant, an indescribable chill swept through Lin Fan’s entire body.

He knew something was terribly wrong. His scalp tingled, and he tried to let go of his Long Sword and retreat.

But the hand suddenly tightened. A terrifying force pulsed from it, and with a SNAP, the Long Sword shattered into a thousand pieces.

Lin Fan couldn’t even see the movement. The Void before his eyes seemed to blur for a split second, and then he felt a hand grip his neck, lifting him off his feet.

"I said I’ve been waiting for you. Why are you trying to leave now?"

Jiang Lan was smiling faintly, but his eyes were devoid of emotion.

He tightened his grip slightly, and Lin Fan’s face immediately turned deathly pale, his eyes wide with horror and disbelief. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"What?"

Seeing Lin Fan held in Jiang Lan’s grasp like a helpless chick, struggling just to move... ...Xiao Yingyue, still bleeding from the corner of her mouth, froze completely. When she finally processed what she was seeing, her limpid eyes trembled and constricted.

Her shock was every bit as profound as Lin Fan’s.

’No wonder he was so calm and composed the entire time. So this is why.’

’He hid his true strength so deeply.’

’All these years, no one knew he had cultivation. Everyone just treated him like some spoiled, good-for-nothing heir...’

Her mind reeled. She stared intently at the figure dressed in white purer than snow, and then let out a long, quiet breath.

’Suddenly, so many things made sense.’

’To think she’d lived for so long, only to misjudge someone so badly, and so repeatedly.’

"You seem to be having a hard time believing this."

Jiang Lan looked at Lin Fan, whose face was ashen and stripped of its earlier composure, and gave a casual smile.

The very instant he seized control over Lin Fan’s life and death...

...a vast and dense Power of Destiny surged from the ether, pouring into his Mud Ball Palace like a bursting dam.

’As expected of this world’s original protagonist, truly favored by heaven and earth.’

’Neither Su Qinghan nor Ye Ming could even compare to the amount of destiny he possessed.’

"You... you hid your power... so deeply..."

"I... misjudged you..."

Lin Fan’s expression was utterly ghastly as he forced the words from his throat.

He finally understood the source of that nagging feeling of wrongness he’d had.

It wasn’t that Jiang Lan had some hidden trump card or powerful backer.

It was that he himself was a terrifyingly powerful expert. Judging from that single move, his strength might even surpass that of his own Sixth Realm guard.

Lin Fan had considered many possibilities, but never this one. Now, beyond his trembling shock, there was only deep regret and a bone-chilling terror.

Jiang Lan just smiled faintly, offering no reply as he gradually tightened his grip.

Lin Fan’s eyes bulged. He flailed his arms and legs, his Magical Power erupting as he desperately tried to struggle.

But Jiang Lan’s hand was as immovable as a mountain. A faint, blood-colored light coiled around it, making it look as flawless and perfect as if carved from Blood Jade. It pressed down with an irresistible, terrifying force.

All his struggles were in vain.

In the end, all he could manage were choked gurgles as his face went from deathly pale to ashen, and finally to a deep, bruised purple.

His pupils, filled with indignation and terror, slowly dilated. He seemed unable to believe that he would die just like this.

With a sharp CRACK, Lin Fan’s neck went limp, his head lolling powerlessly to the side.

"Did you really think I didn’t know about your Golden Cicada Rebirth Soul Technique?"

Jiang Lan’s expression remained unchanged, but a blood-red halo flashed through his deep, pool-like eyes.

Lin Fan’s physical body seemed to ignite with an invisible Netherworld Fire. Countless threads of his life force scattered, only to be plundered by Jiang Lan.

His flesh and limbs began to shrivel and dry out, until they looked like the withered branches of a dead tree.

At the center of his brow, the bone began to glow. A hazy, indistinct Ancient Sword materialized, enveloping a faint cluster of Divine Soul light, apparently trying to flee.

But Jiang Lan was already prepared. Within his eyes, a Blood-colored Treasure Bottle materialized.

Bobbing gently, it pulsed with a bloody light, sending out crimson wisps that instantly coiled around the fleeing soul.