Supreme Emptiness

Chapter 2239: Chapter 2283: Severing One’s Own Cultivation

Jiang Fan crouched down out of curiosity to take a closer look. The glittering objects were irregular, thin fragments about the size of fingernails. They were incredibly sharp, easily slicing into the floor and embedding themselves at various depths.

”What are these?” he wondered, his heart pounding in shock. Even the sharp claws of the Taotie Divine Beast could only leave shallow white scratches on the cage. Yet, these glittering fragments were peerlessly sharp!

Qing Jiu walked over, a faint glimmer swirling in her beautiful eyes. ”There are some memories lingering within these fragments. They must have peeled off a person’s body.”

As she spoke, she tapped her eyes with two fingers. A subtle power released from her gaze, blanketing the glittering fragments. Broken memory scenes rose from the crystal shards, projecting into midair.

It was the blurry silhouette of a man’s back. It wasn’t because the image itself was unclear; rather, an invisible force interfered with their vision, preventing them from focusing on the figure. This scene was strikingly similar to when Jiang Fan had viewed the portrait of the Ancient Saint of Cloud Desolation!

The answer to what realm this person was in was obvious. The Saint Realm! The Daqian Crown Prince was actually a powerful Saint Realm expert!

However, what he was doing in the memory made Jiang Fan and Qing Jiu’s eyes widen in shock. They saw him circulating some sort of Cultivation Technique, and his Saint cultivation transformed into streams of profound power that poured out of his body!

Qing Jiu narrowed her eyes and said, ”He’s destroying his own cultivation!”

Jiang Fan looked around and replied, ”The Sumeru Divine Prison must have some kind of restriction that suppressed his cultivation. To escape, he had no choice but to cripple himself.”

”Does that mean the Daqian Crown Prince has already fallen to the state of a mortal?” Countless doubts and suspicions flashed through his mind. If the Daqian Crown Prince had become a mortal, it meant he could hide in any world without being discovered. He wondered what realm the man had recovered to by now.

Not long after, the Daqian Crown Prince’s cultivation was completely dispersed. But he wasn’t finished. Clenching his jaw, he let out a low, agonized roar. Ice-crystal-colored meridians bulged all over his body, and wisps of an unknown, ice-crystal-colored current peeled away from them. They fell to the floor, effortlessly embedding themselves into the ground.

Even Qing Jiu couldn’t understand it. ”Is this some kind of special meridian?” She glanced at Jiang Fan. It seemed he also possessed some strange meridians capable of stimulating the Five Elements Power.

Jiang Fan shook his head. ”I don’t know, but it’s definitely not simple.” He inhaled sharply and drew a glittering fragment into his palm from afar. It felt indescribably cold to the touch.

Qing Jiu also made her move, pulling out the glittering fragments one by one. Soon, she held a handful of them. Spreading them in her palm, she studied them closely. As if discovering something, her fingers sifted through the shards. The seemingly irregular fragments actually pieced together into larger chunks in her hands.

Jiang Fan’s eyes lit up. It was just like when the Void Map had been pieced together to form the map of the Daqian Divine Kingdom! He immediately collected the remaining crystal fragments and worked with Qing Jiu to assemble them.

Moments later, a palm-sized Ice Crystal Round Plate appeared in their hands. The front was engraved with the character for ”Daqian,” while the back featured carvings of a sun and a moon.

”What is this?” Qing Jiu asked in confusion, staring at the sun and moon patterns.

Jiang Fan traced the patterns with his thumb, a look of pity in his eyes. ”It’s the national emblem of the Daqian Divine Kingdom. A sun and a moon, the alternation of day and night—representing that light will forever shine upon the Divine Country.”

Having read so many ancient texts from the Daqian Divine Kingdom era in the Martial Vault, how could he not have seen the national emblem of the Divine Country? Its meaning was vividly clear. The founders of the Divine Country aimed to create a nation of light. No darkness, no injustice. All citizens of the Divine Country could live in the sunlight, embrace the present, and look forward to the future.

What a pity. This light only shone above the Divine Country for a hundred years.

Qing Jiu came to a sudden realization and asked, ”Then, what is this Ice Crystal Round Plate?”

Jiang Fan shook his head. ”I’m not sure. We’ll have to look into it to find out.” He would need to find an opportunity to look through the Daily Life Record.

Qing Jiu let go, yielding the Ice Crystal Round Plate to Jiang Fan. ”This is yours, too.”

”Wouldn’t that leave you with nothing?” Jiang Fan asked. She had yielded the Water of Life to him, and now even this mysterious crystal plate. Was this woman, Qing Jiu, really so kind-hearted?

To his surprise, a gleam of intelligence flashed in Qing Jiu’s eyes. ”Then you can do me a favor in return.”

Jiang Fan immediately understood. Qing Jiu’s goal was the remains of the Ten Thousand Earth Saint! However, despite arriving here months ago, she still hadn’t managed to retrieve the remains, likely lacking the necessary means. That was why she refused everything else here—she was selling Jiang Fan a favor. She wanted to ask for his help.

Jiang Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ”So this is what you were waiting for!”

He recalled that back in the Central Earth, when the Sword Saint left with Liu Qingxian, he had reminded him to visit the Sumeru Divine Prison again if he had the chance. The Sword Saint had left something on his remains inside the cage. Since he was already here, he might as well go take a look. And while he was at it, he could help Qing Jiu obtain the Ten Thousand Earth Saint’s remains...

Wait!

Jiang Fan suddenly froze, exclaiming in shock, ”Qing Jiu, the remains of the Ten Thousand Earth Great Saint are still in the cage?”

Qing Jiu was equally confused. ”Why? Shouldn’t his remains be inside?”

A sudden chill ran down Jiang Fan’s spine, and he hastily looked around. The last time they intruded, Wang Chongxiao had used an Array Stone to melt the Array, causing the Ten Thousand Earth Saint’s remains to fall out. A demon youth had tried to forcefully seize the body, but the moment his hand touched it, he had been reduced to a pile of black ash on the spot.

But when did the remains return to the cage? And who had restored the Array? Could it be that there was another living person hiding in the shadows of this Sumeru Divine Prison? The thought made his blood run cold!

”Are you going to help or not?” Qing Jiu asked, frowning.

Jiang Fan hesitated for a moment before saying, ”I advise you to give up on the remains.” He then recounted his previous experience in the Sumeru Divine Prison.

Brilliant as she was, Qing Jiu immediately realized the implications and covered her red lips in surprise. Besides the terrifying Divine Beast, was there also a fearsome person hiding in the dark within the Sumeru Divine Prison? Then all those times she had tried to break the Sealing over the past few days... A wave of lingering dread washed over her at the thought.

Jiang Fan said, ”The remains of a Saint are not something we can covet. Let me see if I can find anything useful on the Sword Saint’s remains. If I do, I’ll share some with you.”

Qing Jiu had always been calm. Hearing this, she decisively gave up on the Ten Thousand Earth Saint’s remains and said, ”Let’s first see what the Sword Saint left behind.”

Jiang Fan then turned to Dharma Seal, whose body was radiating streams of Buddha Light, resonating with the Buddhist Scripture on the walls. It seemed he had entered a state of epiphany on the spot. These Buddhist Scriptures were a huge boost for Dharma Seal.

A moment later, Dharma Seal slowly withdrew his gaze, the light of wisdom in his eyes growing even brighter. ”Thank you for making this possible, Master.”

Jiang Fan showed a gratified expression. Without a word, he took out the Immortal King’s Undying Bell and said, ”We’ll leave the same way we came in.” Just in case the Divine Beast or the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis was outside, the Immortal King’s Undying Bell could still provide some defense.

Dharma Seal nodded and stood behind Jiang Fan. Qing Jiu hesitated for a second, but then naturally took her place in front of him. Jiang Fan straightened his back and declared, ”Let’s go!”