Li Mengning had not taken the wrong road, but the Domain Breaking Talismans had run out along the way, so the two could only rest for the night in a nearby city.
The next day, the local city lord personally saw them off and dispatched a tower ship. They finally returned to Yuyi City by dusk.
As for what Jiang Lan had left to do, no one dared ask.
The startling upheaval on the Blood-Colored Plateau spread throughout Danzhou Prefecture that very day, then became the talk of the neighboring great prefectures. Countless people discussed and speculated over it.
That same day, many sects and factions dispatched experts to investigate.
Even the Sky Monitoring Department and the Immortal Suppressing Department sent many people over, immediately sealing off the surroundings of the Blood-Colored Plateau.
The beast tide caused by the rampaging demon beasts was swiftly quelled as well, never reaching the nearby towns.
The Great Xia Dynasty possessed deep national strength, with strict rules and orderly governance beneath its rule.
Even immortal sect lineages did not dare act recklessly. A mere beast tide naturally could not cause much of an impact.
It was only because the Blood-Colored Plateau was too unusual and involved the Blood Immortal Sect, which had once brought calamity upon the Nine Provinces Continent.
Thus, every cultivator who had visited the Blood-Colored Plateau that day was seized without exception for questioning and investigation.
Not even the disciples from the great sects who had gone there to train were exempt.
Of course, there were certainly still some fish that had slipped through the net.
But ever since its establishment, the Immortal Suppressing Department had never been mere decoration. It naturally had methods to trace back and deduce the scene of that day.
The Blood-Colored Plateau was, after all, located within Great Xia. Such a shocking phenomenon appearing so suddenly naturally stirred every side and drew widespread attention.
Every cultivator who had personally witnessed those streams of blood-colored smoke piercing through the heavens that day had been shaken to the core.
When they later spoke of it with those around them, their voices were filled with astonishment and disbelief. Some suspected that a peerless treasure had emerged on the Blood-Colored Plateau, while others suspected that some supremely powerful existence had broken through while cultivating within it.
After the many blood-colored mists within the Blood-Colored Plateau dispersed, vast ruins hidden there were completely exposed before the world.
Following the Immortal Suppressing Department's investigation, they quickly reached the conclusion that the phenomenon on the Blood-Colored Plateau might be connected to remnants of the Blood Immortal Sect.
As they gradually unraveled the threads of the investigation, the Immortal Suppressing Department fixed its sights on the Myriad Laws Sect in Danzhou Prefecture.
That very day, numerous riders clad in golden armor and wielding Dao artifacts and Heavenly Blades descended upon the Myriad Laws Sect through clouds and mist, riding Fierce Beasts as they conducted a thorough search.
Later, they personally slew several elders of the Myriad Laws Sect and took away several Blood Immortal Sect remnants who had been hiding within.
However, none of this had anything to do with Jiang Lan anymore.
Song Youwei was clever and quick-witted. As the demonic maiden of the Blood Immortal Sect, her status was comparable to that of the saintesses and holy sons of the various top great sects. Naturally, she would not expose herself so easily.
If she had been exposed, then even if the Immortal Suppressing Department had only learned that she might be connected to him, she would have secretly informed his father and thoroughly erased every trace Jiang Lan had left behind.
"Young Master, there is still no news whatsoever regarding Lin Fan. We have, however, caught quite a few people with similar appearances."
"We also have not found anyone in the shops or medicine halls of the major cities seeking to purchase Yang-attribute herbs..."
"However, Mr. Chu should arrive in Yuyi City tomorrow."
When Uncle Ying came to report the news, Jiang Lan was leisurely drinking tea in the courtyard. The tea fragrance curled through the air, rich and refreshing.
Before him, several graceful and beautiful women sang softly and danced elegantly. Gauze draped over their bodies, exposing fragrant shoulders and skin like jade and snow. All of them were renowned courtesans and pure performers from Yuyi City's various pleasure districts.
"It does not matter. It seems Lin Fan's accomplice is much smarter than I imagined."
"Knowing that treating Lin Fan would expose them, they would rather let him suffer the torment of his cold ailment." Jiang Lan set down his teacup and smiled faintly.
He could afford to wait one day.
Once Lin Fan's matter was resolved, he could devote himself fully to dealing with his "good elder sister."
He simply wondered whether Lin Fan could still hold himself back after learning that he intended to take Su Qinghan as a concubine.
Now that he had strength and confidence, Jiang Lan had begun considering whether he should cast a long line to catch a big fish.
Before he possessed strength, the first matter he had placed above all else had been killing Lin Fan.
But with his current strength, killing Lin Fan, honestly speaking, was no different from crushing an ant to death.
In the original plot, the person who had provided Lin Fan with the greatest help and benefits during this period was the extraordinary woman he had encountered by chance, Xiao Yingyue.
After Xiao Yingyue recovered her strength, she was currently at least at the Seventh Realm, the Dharma Aspect Realm.
As the Grand Elder of Medicine King Valley, her beauty remained forever youthful, and there were virtually no traces of time upon her. No one knew how many years she had cultivated for.
Later in the plot, she could even contend against supremely powerful existences at the Eighth Realm, the Tribulation Bridge Realm.
The Tribulation Bridge Realm differed from the many realms before it. It was divided into nine steps, and every step brought an earth-shaking transformation.
Yet even someone who had only just stepped into the Tribulation Bridge Realm possessed strength far beyond anything the Dharma Aspect Realm could compare to.
Of course, compared to her strength, the most formidable thing about Xiao Yingyue was her art of medicine and poison.
"This is a very dangerous woman, but if I can make her serve me, she will be of enormous benefit and help to me..."
"But I can try snatching her away first."
Jiangling Commandery, Qingshui Village.
The mountains towered majestically, their peaks green and valleys lush. Sheer cliffs rose along both banks, thin mist winding around the mountains. A broad, gentle river flowed downward with the terrain, and fishing boats drifted across its waters.
Village homes stood in neat order along both banks, gray brick houses with tiled roofs lined up one after another. Cooking smoke curled upward, and the air was thick with the warmth of everyday life.
Inside a cleanly swept gray brick house, Lin Fan lay on a bed, his face pale and his lips tightly pressed together. Due to hypothermia and excessive blood loss, his complexion carried a sickly pallor.
A closer look would reveal a thin layer of frost forming around his body, already spreading to the corners of the bed.
Even the window lattice beside him was covered in ice crystals like dew droplets.
Though a brazier burned inside the room, its charcoal fire could not bring him the slightest warmth. His entire body trembled incessantly from the cold.
"Jiang Lan..."
Lin Fan repeated that name in his heart. Though his expression was incomparably calm, his eyes were cold to the extreme, killing intent sharp and biting. His fists loosened and clenched tightly again, repeating several times.
He had never hated anyone so deeply.
Even the disciples who had betrayed him in his previous life seemed nowhere near as hateful as Jiang Lan.
He was an out-and-out, despicable and shameless scoundrel.
The humiliating and miserable state he had fallen into today was entirely thanks to him.
In his previous life, when had he ever been so bedraggled and lowly, needing a fisher girl to save and care for him?
Suddenly, the door of the house was pushed open. A small, thin figure entered carrying a steaming bowl of fish soup. She glanced at Lin Fan lying on the bed, then pointed at her mouth, signaling for him to drink the soup.
She was a girl with a somewhat yellowed complexion. Her hair was dry and yellow from malnutrition, and she wore patched hemp clothes. Yet her eyes were large and bright.
Unfortunately, she could not speak and could only make incoherent sounds from her mouth.
"Thank you."
Lin Fan struggled to sit up on the bed, thanked her, and took the bowl of fish soup from her hands. The broth had been boiled milky white, with a few vegetable leaves and chunks of tofu floating within.
After a few mouthfuls, he finally felt somewhat warmer all over. But it lasted only a moment before the bone-piercing cold pain swept over him again, turning his face pale once more. He nearly groaned aloud.
During this time, even circulating his energy was difficult. The meridians throughout his body felt as though they had been blocked by countless shards of ice.
Not to mention using his cultivation, even sensing the Eternal Calamity Sword was exceedingly difficult.
The mute girl looked at Lin Fan with some concern, unable to understand why he was like this.
She had seen Lin Fan two evenings ago while fishing by the river.
At the time, he was unconscious, his clothes covered in blood. River waves had washed him onto the shore, and the water around him had frozen solid, carrying a piercing chill.
Though she did not know Lin Fan's origins, she had been kind-hearted since childhood. Without hesitation, she dragged him straight back to her home.
The sky had been dim at the time, and she lived at the secluded end of the village, so no one noticed her.
Lin Fan had awakened that night, but he could not move. Thus, over the past few days, she had personally cooked fish soup and cared for him.
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