Chapter Ninety-Three: Another Fatal Ambush

“Human form is the Tao body. One must admit it: among all beings in this world, humankind is the darling of heaven. In the vast expanse of creation, with its billions of races, any being that seeks true attainment must eventually take on a human shape.”

“So that is how it is. What will you do with me? And with my family?”

“You? Since you know my secret, I certainly cannot let you live. As for your family? Rest assured, I will not trouble them.”

“And I should thank you for that?”

“Of course.”

“Listen, since you know I inherited the legacy of the Pure Tripod Sage, you should also know this: for a million years, you have nurtured countless people and led them away, yet none ever succeeded. Even when you yourself were reborn and cultivated anew, you still were not summoned away. Why is that?”

“You mean the spirit of the mansion?” Nangong Rou smiled. “The Pure Tripod Sage had immense boldness. He refined his blessed cave dwelling into a portable mansion and naturally gave rise to a mansion spirit to manage it. That is also why, after my rebirth, I was not summoned away.”

“The mansion spirit he awakened has existed for at least a million years. And you think you can beat it?” Jiang Fan laughed coldly. “Do you really believe you have me completely in your grasp? Besides, with my mortal body, it would be impossible for me to obtain the true inheritance. The Pure Tripod Sage’s treasures could not possibly be on me.”

“Hahaha!” Nangong Rou burst into laughter. “You little rascal, you really are slippery!”

Jiang Fan’s heart sank.

This was the strategy he had prepared, but it seemed useless.

“I am skilled at divination. Moreover, during these million years of ruin and decay, in order to find the Pure Tripod Sage’s inheritance, I devoted myself to the study of celestial numerology and raised my art of deduction to the very limit of what I could master.” Nangong Rou lifted her round chin. “That day, when you appeared in the contest with Yuan Kun, I already sensed that, somewhere in the dark, a mighty existence had utterly perished. And the spiritual liquid I asked you for only confirmed it further. Lower-grade spiritual liquid means nothing to me, but what you produced had not the slightest impurity and was terrifyingly pure. In this world, such a thing simply could not exist. Only the inheritance mansion left behind by the Pure Tripod Sage could possess such spiritual liquid, and so it was no wonder that I concluded the inheritance mansion was on you. Jiang Fan, my dear cousin, I was right, was I not?”

“You can talk until the sky falls and it still changes nothing about one fact!” Jiang Fan said with a sneer. “The mansion spirit is powerful, certainly comparable to an immortal. Who could possibly kill it? Why would it die? Nangong Rou, all that you have said is nothing but conjecture.”

Nangong Rou fell silent at once.

“There is one more thing I do not understand,” Jiang Fan said. “You said reincarnation had collapsed, so how were you reborn? Could it be that even immortals can be reborn?”

Nangong Rou suddenly smiled. “Reincarnation? That is my greatest secret. But it seems you have forgotten that my art of deduction is unmatched under heaven. You have hidden yourself well, but not well enough to escape these eyes of mine. You are the greatest flaw of all, and I can even discern traces of your spiritual fluctuations. I am very curious: why did the mansion spirit die? At most, you are only a nominal disciple, so why would the inheritance mansion be on you? It makes no sense, truly no sense. But I only need to confirm one thing. It is dead, and the treasure is on you!”

“Haah...”

“Since I have made my move, I will leave no room for error. Give up already.”

“I do not want to die. Will you spare me? After all, this body bears your bloodline, and for so many days I have called you cousin. For the sake of that kinship, spare my life!” Jiang Fan gave a bitter smile, revealing a pleading look. “I have not yet seen the splendor of rivers and mountains, not yet taken wife and raised children, not yet met the heroes of the world. To die like this, I truly cannot accept it. Cousin, if you fear that I might reveal your secret, you can simply erase my memories of today. Then I can still remain your good little cousin. I promise you, once my cultivation reaches fruition, I will certainly teach Song Gan a lesson on your behalf!”

“Take out the inheritance mansion, and I may consider sparing your life.” Nangong Rou still smiled.

Jiang Fan remained silent.

“Do not think of hiding inside it either!” Nangong Rou went on. “Outside, there is the Nangong clan and the Jiang family.”

“You are this cruel?” Jiang Fan’s face twisted.

“A pack of ants can hardly be called my blood relatives. To be born of such people is an insult to me!” Nangong Rou said suddenly, cold as ice. “This body of mine will be abandoned sooner or later. So long as you hand over the inheritance mansion, I can promise you this much: I will not touch them in the future.”

“Really?” Jiang Fan said, and suddenly stepped forward, throwing a punch as he roared, “Die!”

Bang!

Power surged and recoiled; Jiang Fan was driven back.

Nangong Rou was utterly unharmed. Between them, a barrier had appeared out of thin air. “This is my arrangement. In here, let alone you, even a Heavenly Immortal would be useless! If I had not awakened so recently, with my strength still recovering, why would I have to go to such trouble?”

“Ah, you truly will not leave me a way out.”

“I already told you.”

“Very well. You must swear to spare my family.”

“You want me to swear? Hahaha, you are not qualified. Believe it or not, I can simply refine you. The inheritance mansion will still be mine!”

“Do you believe me if I say that once I enter it, I will cultivate all the way to the peak of the Earth Immortal realm, then come out and kill you?” Jiang Fan’s expression twisted, his heart filled with raging fury.

Nangong Rou’s eyelid twitched. “Fine. In the name of Heaven’s Dao, I swear that so long as you obediently hand over the inheritance mansion, I will not harm your family in the slightest.”

“Good.” Jiang Fan let out a breath of relief. He looked around with a forlorn, unwilling air, then finally sat down against the wall and pointed to his own head. “The Jade Spring Mansion is inside my mind. I cannot move it. If you have the ability, take it yourself.”

As he spoke, he closed his eyes, as though he had fallen asleep.

Nangong Rou pressed a palm to his forehead and urged her power, but her expression changed. “Why is there a small space inside his mind? With all my strength, I cannot even shake it. The Jade Spring Mansion is in there too, and all his will has gone into that place. I cannot even enslave him anymore. Strange...”

A look of hesitation appeared on her face.

“The inheritance mansion of the Pure Tripod Sage... If I kill him now, it will surely fall into a spatial rift. To find it again later would be nearly impossible!” Nangong Rou’s expression changed again and again, before finally settling. “No matter. With my primordial spirit, suppressing his consciousness will be effortless, and with the power of this great array added to it, there will be no mistake!”

A flash appeared at her brow, and a tiny illusory figure flew out, plunging directly into the space within his mind.

“Such a vast reserve of soul essence—this is the mansion spirit’s?” Nangong Rou was stunned, then overjoyed. “Hahaha! With these, I can definitely replenish my origin. Add the seed of creation lotus, rebuild this body, and I may yet have a chance to ascend to the summit, perhaps even to surpass the Emperor!”

“Hm? Why has Jiang Fan’s will vanished?”

“There is still a point of light here. What exactly is it?”

“I cannot deduce it at all. Is he inside there, or inside the Jade Spring Mansion?”

“This boy’s mind is no ordinary one. He cannot be allowed to live. First I should investigate what this point of light is; it must be related to this mental space. As for the Jade Spring Mansion? If he dares stay inside, I will kill his family and forcibly refine the mansion. It will only cost more time, nothing more.”

The moment Nangong Rou made contact with the point of light, her entire primordial spirit was involuntarily drawn inside, and the next instant a shriek rang out.

Then an incomparably pure force of soul surged back out, though it was still not even a tenth of the old steward’s, and it left behind hardly any fragments of memory.

“Phew, one more taken care of.”

“Curiosity killed the cat. There is nothing false in that saying at all.”

“This calamity has finally passed.”

“From now on, I will cultivate in peace and go nowhere else!”

Jiang Fan had just gone to another world. After sensing what had happened here, he hurried back. Only after sighing in relief did he feel a wave of lingering fear.

What if Nangong Rou had not been curious and had not investigated the point of light?

Nothing would have happened.

Jiang Fan no longer dwelled on it. Instead, he quickly began rifling through the memories that were about to vanish from Nangong Rou’s mind.