"I told you to co in, so just co in!"
Jiang Fan grabbed her like a little chick and brought her back to the secret chamber.
Bam—
As the door of the secret chamber closed, Xia Chaoge’s heart pounded uncontrollably, her mind too flustered to think straight.
She knelt obediently on the ground, her head slightly bowed:
"Martial Uncle, what are your instructions?"
Jiang Fan sat on the stone stool, eyes calm and powerful as he watched her, fingers tapping lightly on the stone table.
"Chaoge, this is the second ti you’ve given a Holy Angel Feather. Do you plan to continue hiding your identity as from the Angel Clan?"
Xia Chaoge’s body tensed suddenly, and she involuntarily took a deep breath, her heart nearly stopping.
In her clear and pure eyes, a complex emotion shimred.
She knew this day would co, that as Jiang Fan continued to interact with the alien races, he would eventually discover what a golden feather ant.
It just ca sooner than she expected.
She lowered her head, not daring to et Jiang Fan’s eyes, and said, "Martial Uncle... please let keep calling you Martial Uncle."
"Chaoge is from the Angel Clan, but I’ve never hard the people of Central Earth, nor have I intended to deceive you, Martial Uncle. It’s just... I didn’t know how to tell you."
"I’m scared..."
Jiang Fan’s treatnt of alien races had already been answered by the fate of the Half-Giants in Heavenly Heritage City.
No distinction between male, female, young, or old—complete extermination!
How would she dare to reveal her identity?
Jiang Fan remained silent, scenes of his interactions with Xia Chaoge flashing through his mind like a carousel.
The beautiful girl who studied dicine to heal the world under Shangguan Sheng.
The calm and serene girl who only smiled brightly when she saw him.
The disciple-niece who shielded him from a deadly blow with her body on Boundary Mountain.
...
Scene after scene, like it all happened yesterday.
But he never imagined she would be an Angel Clan hidden by his side.
He suddenly didn’t dare to ask Xia Chaoge about her reason for hiding in Central Earth.
For fear the truth would create a racial conflict, following the path of Red Sleeves.
The conflict with Red Sleeves already weighed heavily on Jiang Fan’s heart; how could it be any less with Chaoge?
If he really had to stand against Xia Chaoge, Jiang Fan doubted whether he’d have the courage to strike her with his sword.
Without hearing Jiang Fan’s voice, Xia Chaoge grew more fearful.
But it wasn’t death she feared, rather that Jiang Fan would abandon her from then on.
She buried her head deep, tears glistening in her eyes, voice trembling lightly: "Chaoge... did I disappoint you, Martial Uncle?"
Jiang Fan let out a long sigh and said, "Why... did you co to Central Earth?"
Xia Chaoge’s body shivered, head buried deep in her chest, feeling like a thief caught by the person she cared about most.
That exposure of ugliness, the revealing of filth, filled her with a sense of utter embarrassnt.
Her usually calm heart was, for the first ti, filled with a bitter taste, even her mouth seed to taste it.
"Speak!" Jiang Fan’s tone was heavy.
Xia Chaoge closed her eyes in pain and said, "I was ordered to co to Central Earth to search for the Void Ancient Tree."
Void Ancient Tree?
A flash of astonishnt crossed Jiang Fan’s face, followed by relief, and then a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.
He was astonished that the Void Ancient Tree within him was coveted by the Angel Clan.
Relieved that only this tree would warrant the Angel Clan sending soone to infiltrate Central Earth specifically to find it.
And he smiled because Xia Chaoge’s objectives didn’t harm Central Earth’s interests, thus avoiding conflict.
He ntally exhaled in relief.
But Xia Chaoge, feeling increasingly humiliated, lowered her head, tears welling as she choked out:
"Martial Uncle, I’m sorry, I’m not a good person... I ca to Central Earth with a purpose..."
"I disappointed you."
She could imagine the look in Jiang Fan’s eyes as he regarded her right now.
Must be a look of disdain, right?
In his eyes, her image had certainly collapsed, right?
At this thought, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, feeling a sense of emptiness as if nothing mattered anymore.
Jiang Fan almost reached out to help her up but refrained, as he hadn’t finished asking his questions.
There were many things he was curious about.
As he pondered, he pulled out a stack of ancient books with various languages written in them and threw them in front of Xia Chaoge.
These were the ancient texts of various races that Xia Chaoge had obtained for him at Boundary Mountain, filled with the languages of all races. Thanks to them, Jiang Fan had learned the Demon Race’s script and later found great use in the Demon Race’s operations.
But back then, acquiring these ancient books required rit points in exchange.
Jiang Fan had always been curious about how Xia Chaoge acquired them, considering she didn’t have enough rit points back then.
"How did you get the ancient texts? You didn’t have enough rits to exchange for them, did you?"
Xia Chaoge looked, her eyes darkened, and said, "Does Martial Uncle suspect of stealing them?"
"I didn’t steal them. I exchanged rit points along with a hairpin magic artifact I carried with ."
A hairpin magic artifact?
At Boundary Mountain, a top-grade magic artifact was a top-level treasure all across the Continent, only possessed by the Supre Elders of the Nine-Sect.
Xia Chaoge didn’t seem to have any magic artifacts back then, right?
She only helped exchange for them after he asked Commissioner Luo about the ancient texts in the treasury.
Jiang Fan’s gaze softened considerably; this girl always silently cared for him.
Thinking for a mont, he asked, "After each major cultivation advancent, you’ve had new Cultivation Techniques, Magical Treasures, and even the lost Yin Yang Heaven of the Ten Thousand Tribulations Holy Temple. Why is that?"
Xia Chaoge took out a jade pendant from her garnt and said, "Before I ca from the Heavenly Realm, the elders gave a large Space Storage Device."
"Whenever my cultivation reached a certain level, it would unlock a portion of the space."
Oh, so that’s how it is.
Another mystery resolved in Jiang Fan’s mind, and he curiously asked further,
"The Five-Colored Spirit Liquid you gave to bind the Five Magnetic Yuan Mountain, it was actually your blood, right?"
Xia Chaoge nodded slightly.
Jiang Fan continued, "Before Boundary Mountain, you were injured several tis. Why was your blood the sa as the Human Clan’s?"
If it had revealed itself as five-colored back then, her identity would have been exposed long ago.
Xia Chaoge said, "It’s the jade pendant’s concealing effect. Only when the blood leaves my body at a sufficient distance does it reveal a five-colored hue."
Oh.
Jiang Fan understood.
All questions answered, only one last question remained.
"How does the Angel Clan know the Void Ancient Tree is in our Central Earth, on the Continent?"
Xia Chaoge confessed everything honestly, shaking her head, "The Angel Clan actually doesn’t know where the Void Ancient Tree is."
"They’ve sent people to infiltrate every world, exploring the most suspicious places."
Jiang Fan quietly sighed in relief; so they were casting a wide net.
Yet Xia Chaoge nearly caught him with her net.
Jiang Fan thought for a mont and asked, "How were you searching then?"
Xia Chaoge replied, "It’s quite easy. According to a prophecy from the Divine Capital, the Void Ancient Tree sprouted over a year ago."
"With the Void Ancient Tree’s miraculous nature, it would soon grow into a towering tree, making it impossible not to notice."
"Since Divinity Transformation can’t enter the Continent, the Angel Clan suspected this place was where the Void Ancient Tree sprouted, so they sent to infiltrate years in advance."
"But, I didn’t find the Void Ancient Tree."
"It probably isn’t in Central Earth."
Jiang Fan laughed.
The Void Ancient Tree had sprouted and existed on the Continent, but it hadn’t grown in the present world.
It had grown within his soul.
That was sothing no world could have predicted.
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