"Any movement?" Jiang Lan asked casually.
Lin Fan was struck by the Jade Sea Celestial Heart. Even if someone rescues him, he'll be left with a cold ailment that, for the time being, can only be suppressed with Flame Sun Attribute Medicinal Herbs.
Flame Sun Attribute Medicinal Herbs are quite valuable and are only sold in large shops and apothecaries within major cities.
"There's been no movement for now. However, a message came from the Imperial Capital. It said that Mr. Chu will be making a trip here to personally ensure the young master's safety."
Ying said respectfully. When he mentioned "Mr. Chu," he couldn't help but show a hint of reverence.
"Oh? Mr. Chu is coming as well?"
Jiang Lan was somewhat surprised.
This was a famous Tributor of the Prime Minister's Mansion, a Seventh Realm Dharma Realm cultivator of immense power.
In the current Nine Provinces Land, the existence of a Seventh Realm Dharma Realm expert was enough to stand at the apex of power, looking down upon all of creation.
As for Eighth Realm Tribulation Bridge Realm experts, they were exceedingly rare, their whereabouts ethereal and almost never seen.
Ying said respectfully, "I hear that Mr. Chu is coming this way to handle a matter for the master. The madam also has something to give to you, young master. Mr. Chu can protect you and resolve this assassin issue along the way."
The matter of Lin Fan's "assassination" attempt on Jiang Lan was, frankly, unbelievable to the current Prime Minister's Mansion.
Although the Prime Minister's Mansion had made many enemies over the years, those who dared to so brazenly "assassinate" Jiang Lan were few and far between.
Everyone knew the Prime Minister had only one son. If anything happened to him, it would shake the very heavens of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The Prime Minister's wrath was not something anyone could withstand.
"With Mr. Chu on his way, I can rest easy."
Jiang Lan smiled. In Lin Fan's current heavily injured and weakened state, Ying, a Sixth Realm cultivator, was actually more than enough to kill him.
However, just to be safe and to prevent any other unforeseen accidents, he had called for reinforcements from the Prime Minister's Mansion.
There was another reason he had Ying specifically use the Jade Sea Celestial Heart as Lin Fan fled.
Besides protecting him, the Jade Sea Essence within the Jade Sea Celestial Heart would also latch onto the enemy's Divine Soul.
As long as one held the other Jade Sea Celestial Heart, one could remotely sense its location.
The item his mother was having Mr. Chu deliver was precisely that other Jade Sea Celestial Heart.
After Ying left, Jiang Lan's gaze fell upon the table of medicinal food before him.
Although this cooked meat still contained abundant qi and blood, it provided him with very little Life Force. Perhaps it was because it was dead, having long lost its vital essence.
Jiang Lan frowned slightly. 'It seems I'll have to rely on living individuals to increase my Life Force...'
He had actually tried it just now. He could manipulate the Life Force of the servant girls in the City Lord's Mansion, who had no cultivation.
If he wished, he could easily take their lives, just as he could with plants and other living things.
He could even directly perceive their life status to judge their physical condition and even deduce their lifespan.
However, this process was mentally draining. The farther away they were from him, the weaker his ability to sense and manipulate them became.
Jiang Lan also tried to see if he could manipulate the Life Force of Ying, a Sixth Realm cultivator. But even when his mind was drained and he felt dizzy, he could not shake the foundation of Ying's life.
A Sixth Realm Divine Power Realm Cultivator had long since achieved Illuminating Nether to understand themselves and had constructed a Soul Palace.
Under normal circumstances, the Heaven and Earth Void Qi surrounding their body formed a natural armor, making them impervious to external forces.
Unless they were extremely weak, heavily injured, and completely defenseless, it was basically impossible for him to touch their life's origin with his current abilities.
However, when it came to ordinary First Realm Physical Body Realm or Second Realm Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators, as long as they were close enough, he could still manipulate their Life Force.
This was more or less what Jiang Lan had guessed. His degree of control over life was closely related to his own mental strength and cultivation level.
If he had the cultivation of a Fourth Realm Illuminating Nether Realm expert like Su Qinghan, manipulating the life of a Sixth Realm Cultivator like Ying probably wouldn't be difficult.
'The only uncertainty now is Lin Fan, and whether he'll be rescued by Xiao Yingyue...'
'I really don't know where in Jiangling County Xiao Yingyue is. And if she shows up early, it means the plot is no longer developing as I know it. Where she might appear has become an unknown.'
After finishing the medicinal meal, Jiang Lan returned to his courtyard to rest.
He now had two choices before him.
The first was to wait for his prey to walk into the trap. With Su Qingyao in his hands, he wasn't worried that Lin Fan wouldn't show up eventually. But this method was too troublesome and time-consuming.
The second was to trap the turtle in a jar. No matter who rescued Lin Fan, once Mr. Chu delivered the Jade Sea Celestial Heart, he could determine where Lin Fan had landed after breaking through the Void. Then, he could lay an inescapable net to hunt him down. Lin Fan would have no chance of escape.
But right now, either choice required time.
'Actually, this period is more than enough time for me to do something else. The existence of the Destiny Dao Fruit is enough to conceal my body's condition. Even someone with a high cultivation level wouldn't be able to see anything amiss...'
'Raising my strength is still the most important thing.'
Jiang Lan searched his memories, pinpointing the location of the Blood Immortal Sect's ruins.
Thousands of years ago, the Blood Immortal Sect burst onto the scene. Its followers spread like a plague, sweeping across the entire Nine Provinces Land and causing boundless disaster.
Many dynasties, kingdoms, and Noble Sects were destroyed and vanished during that time.
Later, it was the Great Xia Dynasty that led the charge to eliminate them. It united with numerous Immortal Sects and fought for several hundred years before finally forcing the Blood Immortal Sect into retreat, leaving it severely wounded and causing it to fade away.
But Jiang Lan, who was familiar with the plot, knew that the Blood Immortal Sect would make a comeback in the future, once again plunging the Nine Provinces Land into misery and suffering.
Naturally, he had no interest in stopping the Blood Immortal Sect. What interested him was the sect's Blood-colored Forbidden Canon.
Within it was a Heart Technique called the Infinite River of Destiny Scripture.
This was the most compatible Cultivation Technique Jiang Lan could think of for his Destiny Dao Fruit. In fact, because he could directly manipulate Life Force, the drawbacks of the Infinite River of Destiny Scripture could be perfectly resolved.
'The part of the plot where the Blood Immortal Sect's ruins are revealed is still some time away, but that won't stop me from intercepting it early...'
Suddenly, a faint, pleasant, and ethereal fragrance drifted to his nose, accompanied by a tranquil aura that felt like a cold spring.
Jiang Lan's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Next time, remember to knock before you enter."
"…"
A tall, slender, beautiful figure appeared silently behind Jiang Lan. She wore a simple cyan light gauze over a slightly loose, long cage-like skirt. Her hair was styled in a cloud-like bun, adorned with a slanted jade hairpin. A misty veil gently concealed her fair and flawless, fairy-like face.
Her pair of clear, glazed-porcelain eyes held not a trace of emotion. She was like an ice sculpture, radiating a frosty aura that warned others to keep their distance.
If Su Qinghan's coldness was like that of lonely snow in deep mountains, then the woman before him was a veritable ten-thousand-year-old iceberg.