Jiang Fan’s expression changed.
Ancient Saint of the Continent?
He quickly grabbed the tattered painting and unfurled it.
He was too curious about what that Ancient Saint looked like.
But at first glance, Jiang Fan was greatly disappointed.
The face section of the painting was inexplicably blurry, as if it had been soaked in water after being painted.
He could only barely discern where the features were, but couldn’t see them clearly at all.
Even the outline of the cheeks was unclear.
"Even a ghost wouldn’t make out this, right?" Jiang Fan muttered.
No sooner had he spoken.
Hua Xin was startled: "Hey! You courting death?"
"How dare you criticize the portrait of an Ancient Saint?"
"Please don’t drag me into this."
Jiang Fan’s heart tightened.
He immediately remembered when he had once just muttered a sentence in support of the Great Sun Demon Emperor.
Within days, he was almost struck by lightning while walking on the road.
He hurriedly clasped his hands together and prayed to the heavens.
"Words of a child, great luck."
Not sensing anything unusual, he turned his gaze back to the painting.
Though the face was blurred, the other parts remained.
It depicted a woman in a light green dress, exuding an ethereal aura.
She was tall yet delicate, with the gentle grace of a willow by the river, softly swayed by the breeze.
She stood straight, her hands gently folded in front of her lower abdomen, her demeanor composed and serene.
There was no way to connect this with the "ruthless" person Hua Xin spoke of.
"I don’t know why, but there’s always a feeling of déjà vu."
Jiang Fan studied the scroll, pondering with his hand under his chin.
"It’s like I’ve seen someone before, but I just can’t remember who."
Hua Xin pouted: "What are you thinking?"
"Could you have met an Ancient Saint?"
"All nine Ancient Saints of Central Earth are enigmatic figures, never revealing their holiness to people."
Jiang Fan was skeptical: "So where does my sense of familiarity come from?"
Hua Xin said: "The Ancient Saints represent the faces of all beings; it’s normal for you to feel familiar."
Continuing to examine, he suddenly noticed something and, holding the scroll, looked closely.
He was surprised to find, in the furthest corner of the scroll,
a colorful rooster pecking at bugs on the ground.
Jiang Fan touched the feather on his chest, his expression a bit dazed.
He thought of the tomb of the Earth Phoenix Great Sage at the base of the Spirit Beast Sect’s mountain.
A wooden sign casually inscribed with "Xiao Feng’s Tomb."
the rooster in the painting was the Earth Phoenix Great Sage back then?
And the one who erected the monument was... the Ancient Saint?
Was it possible that the reason the Ancient Saint remembered him and struck him with lightning was because he had dug up the Earth Phoenix Great Sage’s tomb?
The tomb was dug by the Divine Movement Sect!
He merely made use of what was wasted, finding a chicken feather of the Earth Phoenix Great Sage from the pile of dirt.
Just as the thought arose.
The feather on Jiang Fan’s chest suddenly became scorching hot.
Fortunately, with his now advanced cultivation, it no longer pained him.
"Alright, alright, I didn’t say you’re useless."
Jiang Fan said helplessly.
But judging by the feather’s reaction, there’s no doubt it’s the one in the painting.
"A chicken-raising Ancient Saint?"
"Hmm, from now on, I’ll pay extra attention to women who raise chickens."
With the scroll stowed away, Jiang Fan casually tossed the painting back, saying:
"The painting is old at a glance, but it’s not worth a bun; I suggest you keep it yourself."
Wu Manyue rolled her eyes, reluctantly pulled out a broken spirit stone the size of a fingernail from her bosom.
It was brimming with rich Spiritual Energy.
It was a crystal stone.
But not an ordinary crystal stone.
"Top-grade crystal stone fragment, in exchange for three Dragon Heart Blood Lotus Seeds."
Top-grade crystal stone?
Jiang Fan showed curiosity: "This is the first time I’ve seen one."
Wu Manyue sneered: "Isn’t it?"
"Top-grade crystal stones are highly sought-after in Taicang State, with prices but no market."
"I heard Vice Building Owner Gu of Jiangshan First-class Building spent a fortune to buy top-grade crystal stones from our Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master."
"Although this is just a small piece, someone will definitely scramble for it."
Are top-grade crystal stones that popular?
He suddenly remembered how he had tens of thousands of Crystal Tokens yet to be exchanged for crystal stones at the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
Could these Low Grade crystal stones be condensed into top-grade ones through Mountain River Tripod?
"Hey, do you want it or not?"
"If not, I’ll sell it to someone else."
"Yes." Jiang Fan handed her three Dragon Heart Blood Lotus Seeds.
Wu Manyue giggled and immediately hid the Dragon Heart Blood Lotus Seeds deep in her bosom.
After confirming that the rest were all discarded items, Jiang Fan got up to take his leave.
Just before leaving, something came to mind.
"By the way, are you staying or leaving?"
Looking at Wu Manyue’s clearance stall, Jiang Fan roughly guessed her intent.
The underworld can no longer be accessed, making the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion worthless to her.
With her profit-driven nature, she likely wouldn’t start over with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion in Taicang State.
"Why, can’t bear to leave me?"
"If you beg me, I’ll stay."
Wu Manyue cast a charming look, giggling.
Jiang Fan returned a roll of the eyes and turned to leave.
Watching his silhouette fade into the distance, Wu Manyue’s smile gradually disappeared, and her crystal eyes dimmed.
She sighed softly in disappointment:
"There’s no feast that lasts forever, is there?"
"See you again if fate allows."
Her stall was still there.
But she was nowhere in sight.
Jiang Fan had arrived at the cultivation hall.
He chose a cave dwelling and took out the Thousand-year-old Clam Meat, beginning to strive for Ninth Layer of Core Formation Perfection.
Chen Silin, in her ink-wash style long dress, was also quietly following, arriving at the entrance of his secret chamber.
Her appearance was still as exquisite and pretty as ever.
But her aura had changed from its former fresh liveliness, displaying a bit of noble aloofness.
Even more astonishing was.
Her eyes, once normal brown,
had turned a pale moonlight color.
Like two small moons.
In her mind, Chen Silin’s anxious voice resonated.
"Moon Venerate, what are you planning to do?"
"You’re not allowed to hurt him!"
It turned out that Moon Venerate had overtaken her will.
As Chen Silin’s cultivation kept progressing, Moon Venerate was nourished too, her soul growing stronger.
She finally managed to suppress Chen Silin’s soul and temporarily control the body.
"Relax, he’s always taken good care of you, why would I harm him?"
"It’s just that he took my Moon Realm."
"I need to take it back."
"Even if it’s just a small piece, someone would definitely fight over it."
It was only then Chen Silin breathed a sigh of relief, though her heart was rather heavy.
It turned out that Moon Venerate had taken over her will.
Ever since the Connecting Sky Black Pillar appeared, Moon Venerate had been urging her.
Pushing her to leave and return to her former Moon Palace.
She just couldn’t bear to leave and didn’t dare to tell Xu Youran and Jiang Fan.
The worry that she might not be able to reclaim the Moon Realm from Jiang Fan.
If he sees through you and rips you from my body, maybe it’ll be too late!
"My husband is very powerful!"
Moon Venerate smiled faintly, brushing a finger across her eyes.
"Don’t worry, unless he reaches the Nascent Soul Realm, he won’t notice anything unusual about me!"