Chapter 599
By the banks of the Di River, on the shore of Feiying.
The owner of Liu Ye Villa is called Liu Changsheng.
Changsheng is a beautiful wish, but the rivers and lakes are turbulent and the wind and rain are volatile. Liu Changsheng dares not pin his hopes on longevity, and just hopes to live a little longer.
But now it seems that even this small wish to live a long life may not be fulfilled.
Because three days ago he got news.
The contemporary Demon Lord, who defeated the Allied Forces of the Four Kingdoms on the North Road, is coming to visit Liu Ye Villa today.
This happened a month ago.
The Demon Lord, who had disappeared and could not be found by anyone, suddenly descended upon the Northern Front.
Following him were not only the masters of the Demon Sect, but also a group of mountain people dressed in strange costumes.
As soon as these people made their move, the sky and the ground were filled with poisonous insects.
The sudden confrontation caused the Four Kingdoms coalition to suffer greatly.
In fact, they had suffered such losses more than once. Previously, they had been poisoned by the insects, causing their offensive to slow down and nearly losing everything.
Fortunately, the Four Kingdoms were powerful, and even if they suffered some losses, they were not unable to recover.
However, they never expected that just as they had gathered their strength and were planning to attack the Jinchan defense line in the Beidao Line with one fell swoop, they would receive this frontal blow.
The armies of the Four Kingdoms were all so disoriented that they could not find their way around.
Just as they were in a state of chaos…they discovered an appalling truth.
In front of Tianyuguan, Jiang Ran set up a banquet.
The rulers of the Four Kingdoms were all guests at the table.
The four countries attacked Jinchan, and knowing that Jiang Ran, the supreme leader of the Demon Sect, was on good terms with Jinchan, naturally they had to sit back and avoid giving the Demon Sect leader an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
For the generals of the four countries, they all thought that their emperors were all safe and sound.
They never imagined that these four were actually invited to a banquet in front of Tianyuguan.
The holding of this banquet made the four countries have to lay low.
At the banquet, Jiang Ran proposed the Alliance of the Heavens.
In short, the content was that the four countries would cease fighting and withdraw their troops, and for 20 years, they would not invade Jinchan again.
They would also have to cede territory and pay reparations to Jinchan.
Naturally, the rulers of the four countries refused, but the consequences of their refusal were also very simple: Jiang Ran helped them replace their emperors, and then let the new emperors come and continue the negotiations.
Although they were rulers of the country, not everyone was willing to die.
The emperor of Zhao was the first to agree to Jiang Ran’s proposal, and he affixed the imperial seal of Zhao to the pact.
Of the remaining three, the emperor of Qing had been appointed at the last minute and was inexperienced.
Seeing that the emperor of Zhao had already agreed, he naturally followed suit. After all, he had only just become emperor and really didn’t want to die at Jiang Ran’s hands so soon.
And to be honest… the emperor of Qing also needed this opportunity.
This chaotic war between the five countries was not what he wanted.
After a period of unrest, Qing was already the weakest of the five countries.
They really needed time to recuperate.
The Holy Emperor of Qiuye then asked about Princess Xiyue.
After learning that she was fine, he also agreed.
The Emperor of Li was a little more troublesome, insisting on not backing down.
He said that even if he died, there would be a new emperor who would continue to appoint generals to attack Jinchan.
They could accept defeat, but they could not accept such a cowardly retreat.
This made the atmosphere, which had seemed a little relaxed, suddenly become tense.
In the end, Jiang Ran looked at him for a long time, then suddenly stood up and made a slash in the direction of the army formation of the country that had left.
Liu Changsheng recalled the expression on the face of the person who had told him these things at the time.
It was an expression of extreme fear.
No matter how that person organized his words, he could not describe the horror of that slash.
All he knew was that the army formation of the country that had left had lost more than 30% of its strength because of that slash.
The blood soaked the North Road, and even the sky seemed to have split open in a huge crack!
It was only after this that people realized… This was the ninth of Jiang Ran’s Nine Dazzling Swords… It was called: No More Life!
The coalition of the four countries was powerful, but even the combined strength of the entire country could not stop Jiang Ran’s three slashes.
Even if the emperor of the country had any ambitions, in the face of Jiang Ran, who was like a natural disaster, he could only obediently put his seal on this alliance.
Thus, the five-nation war that had raged for several months came to an end.
The four countries fled in disarray, each paying a huge sum of wealth to Jinchan and ceding three cities each.
Jinchan has since become the most powerful country among the five.
After this incident, some people speculated that even with Jiang Ran’s internal strength as a demon master, it was impossible for him to strike a second blow without killing someone.
Otherwise, the combined forces of the four countries would not have been able to withstand his attacks.
Why would they have signed this alliance?
However, some people believe that Jiang Ran did not want to kill too many people.
After all, it would be really against the will of heaven to slaughter millions of people with one’s own strength.
Throughout Jiang Ran’s actions, although there have been many killings along the way, he has not killed anyone indiscriminately.
In terms of the demon emperors of these demon sects over the years, Jiang Ran is a rare decent person.
Therefore, he would not wipe out the Four Nations.
Some people agreed with this view, and asked, “If not, how would the descendants of Chu Nanfeng, who were once the best in the world, follow Jiang Ran and help him?
Some even said that the evaluation of Jiang Ran in the Jinzhan righteous sect was extremely high.
Many famous schools and righteous sects recognized him as the supreme demon sect leader…
Amidst all the conflicting opinions, someone else also pointed out a point.
The Heavenly Alliance was itself an unequal treaty.
It clearly stated that the four countries could not invade the Golden Cicada, but it did not say that the Golden Cicada would not invade the four countries.
After this battle, the Golden Cicada’s power would surely grow by leaps and bounds. Once they had enough food and supplies, and their troops were strong and powerful, they would inevitably begin to unify the realm.
For a time, such news spread like wildfire.
But when the Grand Princess Shan Yuzhe announced that the Golden Cicada Emperor Shan Yuzhi had passed away, and that before he died he had left a decree announcing that he would bequeath the throne to Shan Yuzhe.
And a coronation ceremony was held on an unspecified date.
The whole world was in an uproar.
Throughout history, there have been precedents for female emperors.
But now that the Golden Cicada is in a great position, can this female emperor suddenly take over and make a difference?
Some say that a woman’s heart is not as broad as a man’s… This is nonsense.
But others believe that the reason why the Demon Lord is helping Jinchan so much is because he is intricately connected to the Empress.
It is obvious that the Empress is in power, but in reality, the Demon Lord is behind the scenes.
It is just that the Demon Lord is not a member of the royal family and cannot ascend the throne directly, which is why the Empress is in charge of Jinchan.
Some people also say that Shan Yuzhi died at the hands of Jiang Ran.
In the chaos of the war between the five countries, it seems that the biggest winner is Jinchan, but in fact the biggest winner is Jiang Ran, the supreme master of the martial arts world and the supreme leader of the Demon Sect!
Over the past month, all kinds of news have been floating around the martial arts world.
It has caused chaos throughout the world.
But Liu Changsheng could never have imagined that the supreme master of the martial arts world and the supreme leader of the Demon Sect would suddenly come looking for him.
Standing by the bank of the Di River, looking at the surging water, his heart was truly racing.
But then he heard a voice behind him:
“Master, there’s an old man over there who looks dejected. Is he going to jump in the river?”
The voice was that of a girl, sweet and a little weak.
Liu Changsheng frowned slightly, wondering who’s child was so rude?
He couldn’t help but turn around to take a look. As soon as he did, he let out a low groan.
It wasn’t just one or two people who had come.
It was a group of people.
The one talking was a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, with a pretty face.
She looked a little pale, as if she were unwell.
Next to her was a young man.
He was dressed in white, carrying a gourd in his hand, and was extremely handsome.
There were also four beautiful women.
The one next to the young man in particular was so beautiful that she looked like a fairy from the heavens.
Looking further, there were two more people.
an old man with a hooked nose and a man with a scar on his face.
The old man had a small wooden knife hanging from his waist.
The man had empty hands, and there was a faint look of hope in his eyes, but he was afraid to let the flame ignite.
What made Liu Changsheng feel bad was that although such a large group of people had come,
besides hearing the boy’s voice, he hadn’t heard any other movement.
Either these people were not human…or they were far superior in martial arts.
Thinking this, he heard the young man laugh:
“Don’t worry, he’s not jumping into the river, he’s just worried.”
“Master, how do you know he’s worried?”
The young girl had an innocent and charming face.
The young man laughed:
“You don’t understand, your master is now the most difficult person in the world.
”Whoever I go to, they’ll be worried.”
Liu Changsheng’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he hurriedly took a few steps to come up to him, clasped his hands in a fist, and bowed to the ground:
“Liu Changsheng, owner of Willow Leaf Manor, greets the Demon Lord!”
The person who came was naturally Jiang Ran.
Apart from the poetic and picturesque, and the ones who surprised the frost and snow, there were Jiang Tianye and the old drunkard Duan Dongliu.
As for the little girl, she was Su Qing’s daughter.
Jiang Ran had told Su Qing at the time that after the matter was over, he would find them and then take his daughter Su Yan’er as his disciple.
As the Demon Lord, Jiang Ran naturally kept his word.
Therefore, after the Alliance of Heaven and Earth ended, and after he helped the princess ascend the throne as empress, he went to the country of Li.
He travelled thousands of miles and took Su Yan’er with him.
After this incident, he came to Willow Leaf Villa in great haste.
Liu Changsheng had no idea why Jiang Ran had come to see him, and as he looked at him, he felt immense fear.
In particular, Jiang Ran did not immediately tell him to stand up.
Instead, he looked down at him and said,
“I heard that beneath your Willow Leaf Manor there is a dungeon that no one knows about.“
”…“
Liu Changsheng felt as if a hand was clutching his heart, preventing him from breathing.
He forced himself to speak:
”Yes…there is!“
”How is the person being held inside?“
”Is that why you are here?”
Liu Changsheng looked at Jiang Ran in surprise.
However, he saw a cold murderous intent in Jiang Ran’s eyes, and his heart tightened even more. He quickly said,
“The person is unharmed!
“I dare not slacken for even a single day, and dare not let her escape or kill herself.
”Moreover… in my opinion, her mind is far superior to ordinary people. Even though she has been imprisoned alone under the Di River for many years, she has not gone mad in the slightest.
“I’m afraid that your wife’s wishes will never be fulfilled.”
Jiang Ran sneered:
“Your wife? Xia Rou?”
“…I don’t know your name, but you have done us a great favor, and I must repay you.“
”Do you know who the person is that you are holding in your dungeon?“
”I don’t know, but I know…you once said that the person is extremely vicious and evil, and it is a pity that they died, but it is too easy…”
Liu Changsheng was really gritting his teeth when he said this.
He had already figured out that the Demon Lord was here for the person in the dungeon.
Today, Liu Ye Manor will most likely come to an end.
Jiang Ran, however, sighed and glanced at Jiang Tianye and the old drunk.
They both saw their hands and feet tremble slightly, and they took a step forward almost at the same time. But just as the old drunk was about to go any further, it seemed as if he had thought of something, and he stopped in his tracks.
Jiang Tianye, on the other hand, grabbed Liu Changsheng by the collar:
“Take me! Take me to her!”
“Yes!”
Where would Liu Changsheng dare to hesitate?
The moment Jiang Tianye had made his move, he had felt like the end of the world had come.
This shows that not to mention Jiang Ran, the Demon Lord of this world,
he is afraid that he cannot resist if anyone else around him makes a move.
Resisting is a dead end.
Although Xia Rou had done him a favor in the past, helping her imprison such a troublesome character, the favor had long been repaid.
Naturally, his own life is more important now.
Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
However, Jiang Tianye could not help but roar:
“If you have agreed, why haven’t you left yet?”
His voice was like thunder, and the rolling sound waves made the Di River rumble and the water ripple. Liu Changsheng nearly died from the sound, and he cried out with a sad face,
“Senior, you have to help me first before I can leave.”
Jiang Tianye then came back to his senses and threw Liu Changsheng away.
Liu Changsheng rolled on the ground like a dog eating shit, and after getting up, he did not dare to complain, and hurriedly led the way, leading Jiang Ran and the others into Liu Ye Villa.
The people in Liu Ye Villa did not dare to act rashly either. Their master was in such a sorry state, so what would they dare to do?
They followed Liu Changsheng all the way into the dungeon, and the winding and twisting path was even more hidden.
Eventually, they arrived in front of an iron door. Liu Changsheng took out the key with trembling fingers, twisted it open, and knocked on it. After a while, there was a clacking sound, and the door opened wide.
Strange shadows fell from the ceiling, and the cold, damp cave came into view.
A black stone bed was there, and a person was sitting cross-legged on it.
Messy hair blocked his view.
But both the old drunkard and Jiang Tianye recognized the person at first glance.
“A-Yang…”
Jiang Tianye whispered, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
He realized only after he had recovered that he was worried about disturbing not the woman in bed, but his own dream.
He just felt that this was like a beautiful dream, and if he wasn’t careful, he would wake up from it.
The sound entered her ears, and the person in the bed slowly raised her head.
Her hair hid her face, making it hard to see clearly, and her grey hair showed that she was not young.
After a long silence, she spoke in a raspy voice:
“Who…”
In the darkness, a figure gradually approached.
The woman’s pupils finally changed, her pupils suddenly constricted, and she reached out to touch the scar on Jiang Tianye’s face.
She whispered to herself:
“It’s exactly the same… I thought that if you were still alive, the scar on your face would look exactly like this.
”I was right.“
”…You’ve always been smart, so of course you were right.”
Jiang Tianye tried hard not to cry, but the tears still flowed down her cheeks:
“I have been to Dishui many times, and I have walked here many times… Why, not once have I come to Willow Leaf Manor to ask Willow Changsheng if there is someone being held in the dungeon.
“Otherwise, otherwise… my A Yang would not have suffered so much.”
“Why are you still… so stupid?”
Her finger tapped Jiang Tianye’s forehead:
“What kind of crazy person would go back and suspect someone who has done them no wrong of imprisoning their wife?”
She suddenly fell silent after saying this.
Her body trembled slightly:
“Are you really here?
”This time, it’s not a hallucination?“
Jiang Tianye couldn’t help but shed big tears upon hearing this:
”It’s not a hallucination, it’s not a hallucination, I’m really here!“
He hurriedly embraced the woman in his arms: ‘Look, I’m really here, I’m not a hallucination, I have temperature.’
”It really is you… I knew it, I knew you would find me.”
Madam Qingyang finally came back to her senses, biting her lips, her eyes also brimming with tears.
But the old drunkard said with a smile:
“I advise you not to believe him too much. He is, as usual, unreliable. If it weren’t for Ran this time, I’m afraid he would have died without knowing that you are still alive.”
“Brother Duan?”
Madam Qingyang then noticed that there were other people present.
Their eyes met, and they were both overcome with emotion:
“Brother Duan…you…you look so old…”
“Time does not forgive people.“
Duan Dongliu smiled:
”You two are not much better.“
”Right, Ran!“
Jiang Tianye suddenly perked up:
”A-Yang, our son, our son!
“Ran, he has become a talent!
”He is now the number one expert in the world!
“He is the new Demon Lord.
”The Demon Sect is in his hands, and it has become the national religion of the Golden Cicada.
“Oh yes, he’s also found you several daughters-in-law.
“There’s the Holy Maiden of our Demon Sect, the Holy Maiden’s sister, the heroic sisters of the martial world, and the current Empress of the Golden Cicada!”
Lady Qingyang was taken aback, and subconsciously grasped Jiang Tianye’s hand, which was trembling with excitement.
“Where is he?”
“Ran!”
Jiang Tianye called out hurriedly:
“Come and meet…”
But there was no sign of Jiang Ran.
Not only him, but Tang Shiqing, Tang Huayi, Ye Jingshuang, Ye Jingsue, and Su Yan’er were also nowhere to be seen.
“They just went out a while ago.”
Duan Dongliu chuckled lightly:
“You two, go have a good chat first. But this isn’t the place to talk, so come out when it gets a little more lively.
”Let’s go somewhere warmer and drier…”
Meanwhile, at Willow Leaf Manor, in a pavilion in front of the dungeon.
Tang Huayi looked at Jiang Ran:
“How did you know that Madam was still alive?”
She had actually been curious about this for a long time.
At that time, Jiang Ran suddenly had Xia Rou brought in, and directly let him use the mind demon thought to interrogate Xia Rou, who was only gasping for breath.
As a result, he actually learned the news that Madam Qingyang was still alive.
It truly shocked everyone.
However, no one could guess why Jiang Ran was able to make such a judgment.
Jiang Ran smiled:
“It was mainly Xia Rou’s crazy mentality that made me feel that she would not easily let… her die.
”Moreover, before she was about to die, she once said, ‘You will never win.
“This sentence made me feel very interesting.
”What is winning and what is losing?
“She plotted to kill me and failed, so why hasn’t she lost yet?
”There must be something we don’t know…
“If… she is still alive.
“We don’t know, thinking that after killing Xiarou, everything would be over.
”Although they are obviously close relatives and have not been separated, they will not be able to see each other for the rest of their lives.
“Can this be considered Xiarou’s victory?
”If… Jiang Ran committed suicide for this reason, that life and death would still be a tragedy.
“Can this also be considered Xiarou’s victory?
“So, I thought about it for a moment, and I felt that apart from the fact that she was still alive, it was really impossible for Xia Rou to say those words.“
”…You made that judgment at the very moment when she was about to die?“
Tang Huayi looked at Jiang Ran helplessly:
”That’s terrifying.“
As soon as she finished speaking, she was hit on the head by Jiang Ran:
”No matter how terrifying it is, you are about to become your husband.“
”It’s obviously brother-in-law.”
Tang Huayi’s mouth curled up into a smile, while Ye Jingxue sighed with emotion:
“An, they are busy right now, moving the disciples of the hundred tribes in the 100,000 great mountains towards Jincan.
”The Empress is busy right now, with her feet up.
“The four countries have been pacified, and they won’t be able to fight again for twenty years, but they definitely won’t give up easily.
”Jinge seems to have decided to marry Bailu after the New Year.
“He has now been appointed as the Grand General by the Empress, and has settled in the capital ever since.
“Xuanyuan Yidao intends to continue his conquests and wants to expand his influence beyond Jincheng.
“By the way, the invasion of the Thousand Forging Hall from the country of Li was suppressed by the alliance of the Sea Fairy of the Mirage Sea and the witches at sea.
”The pawn you left behind also played its part and was eventually taken away by that woman at sea.
“I don’t know what will happen.
“Even Shi Ming went with Chu Yuniang to travel to Zhao Country, wanting to hone his sword with the remaining forces of the Yin Feng Valley and the Thousand Forging Hall.
“In this short period of time, a lot has really happened, as if everyone has found their own goal.”
“Luo Qingyi sent a message this morning, saying that the house has already chosen a location and is ready to start construction.”
Tang Shiqing said,
“It will take at least a month before it can be built.”
Ye Jingshuang looked at Jiang Ran:
“Brother Jiang, now that you have found your biological parents, what are you going to do next?”
“After the house is completed, naturally it will be full of decorations, and I will marry you all.”
Jiang Ran smiled:
“The proper status must be given.
”After this matter is over, I will go find Shan Yuchen…
“to discuss the affairs of my organization.
”The next chapter of this world will also begin!”
He still had a fatal illness that had not been completely cured.
However, this was no longer a problem for him.
It was just a matter of time.
Therefore, by now, Jiang Ran’s heart was completely clear.
He stood up, looked at Su Yan’er, who was running among the flowers not far away, and looked up at the sun in the sky.
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind him:
“Ran!”
Jiang Ran turned around and smiled slightly.