Chapter 345 173: Jiang Ran, You Scoundrel

But his madness was different from the ordinary kind, making it hard to notice at first glance.

"Sorrow for All Ages! The Greatest Sorrow of All Time!"

After pulling out the steel needle, the old man suddenly threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"An illusion, an illusion… It's all an illusion!

"No one in this world could ever master the Greatest Sorrow of All Time…

"The Demon Sect's elixir of immortality is the greatest lie in history!

"These disciples of the Demon Sect... These fiends!

"They… they take pleasure in trapping and killing people with a monstrous lie… We're nothing more than a joke to them."

In the time it took the old man to stop and rant, Jiang Ran had nearly caught up to him.

But upon hearing the man's words, he couldn't help but glance at Tang Huayi.

'What does this old man mean?'

'The Greatest Sorrow of All Time isn't one of the Eighteen Celestial Demon Records, but a lie concocted by the Demon Sect?'

'Knowing the character of those Demon Sect fiends, it's exactly the kind of thing they would do!'

'They would absolutely spread a lie about immortality, tricking people into undergoing countless hardships to search for it, using any means necessary to achieve their goal… only for them to discover it was all for naught.'

'Watching such a drama unfold would make them die of laughter.'

But when Jiang Ran looked at Tang Huayi, he found that she was also looking at him.

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Ran couldn't quite decipher the meaning in Tang Huayi's gaze.

The old man was now within a palm's strike of him.

He lashed out with the Thirteenth Mad Demon Claw of Kun, but the old man suddenly roared with laughter, violently flinging Zhi'Er, who was clinging to him.

Jiang Ran froze.

'This man loved his son more than his own life. How could he throw his son away at a time like this?'

'Then again, he was a madman. How could he be judged by common sense?'

He immediately closed his hand, catching Zhi'Er in his grasp.

The old man let out a wild, crazed laugh.

"I'll take all of you with me and my family!!!"

His actions were utterly irrational. After shouting this, he suddenly spun around.

He threw himself directly into the pool of lava below.

This turn of events once again took everyone completely by surprise.

After all, things hadn't escalated to the point where he needed to die.

Even if Jiang Ran caught him, he'd merely be a prisoner. Why be in such a rush to die?

And it wasn't just him who would die.

FZZZT! FZZZT! FZZZT!

A series of sounds echoed from all four corners of the array. Jiang Ran whipped his head around and saw that the chains connecting the swords had all snapped out of thin air.

His face instantly turned grim.

The Heavenly Dipper Array above the lava pool was inextricably linked to the lava itself.

The slightest disturbance could affect the entire system.

One misstep, and the lava would erupt…

Now, with the chains broken and the Array constantly being disrupted, the entire lava pool was probably going to explode!

And in fact, it was just as Jiang Ran had thought.

As the chains snapped, the once-calm pool of lava began to boil, with plumes of molten rock bursting forth.

Tang Huayi's expression changed, and she quickly shouted:

"Get over here, now!!"

"Coming."

How could Jiang Ran not know this was a critical moment?

He spared a final glance at where the old man had fallen, then grabbed Ruan Yuqing, clutched Zhi'Er in his other hand, and blurred into motion, heading for Tang Huayi and the others.

The old man had destroyed the network, completely breaking the Array.

Therefore, Jiang Ran no longer needed to follow the Array's pathways.

The Array was riddled with holes anyway, its patterned eruptions now completely chaotic.

He executed the Celestial Nine Steps directly, his form dissolving into a blur of afterimages, and appeared before Tang Huayi in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Dao Wuming and the others were also hastily retreating, glancing back as they went to see if Jiang Ran could escape.

Tang Huayi, however, didn't retreat. Instead, she moved forward, as if wanting to go and meet him halfway.

She didn't relax until Jiang Ran's figure landed beside her.

"Go, go, go!!"

Jiang Ran glanced back. The entire Array was collapsing. The central platform, along with the sarcophagus, was sinking into the lava pool.

He felt a twinge of regret; he'd been quite interested in the character for "Sorrow" that was nailed to the coffin lid.

'Too bad. It's gone now.'

He immediately turned and sprinted back the way they came with Tang Huayi.

The path Tang Huayi and the others had taken was a winding tunnel leading down. Though not particularly spacious, it was infinitely better than the cramped raider's tunnel from before.

The group used their Lightweight Techniques to race upward.

They finally slowed to a stop when they reached the hall where they had previously found Feng Wu.

Looking back, they saw the lava hadn't surged this far. They were safe.

Jiang Ran let out a breath, released Ruan Yuqing, and set Zhi'Er down.

The child, who had been so energetic just moments before, jumping and bouncing, now visibly wilted the moment Jiang Ran put him down.

He managed to curl up on the ground before closing his eyes and ceasing to breathe.

He was dead!

Everyone gathered around, staring at the body, momentarily speechless.

Tang Huayi, ever blunt, spoke up:

"Did you squeeze him to death?"

"…Why would I do that?"

Jiang Ran's brow furrowed. He reached out to check the body, then shook his head softly.

"He's dead, all right… And from the looks of it, his life force was already completely spent."

The group fell silent once more.

Dao Wuming sighed.

"Golden Bell Silver Thread was once a famous figure in the martial world, yet he met such a tragic end... It truly is lamentable."

"Golden Bell Silver Thread?"

Jiang Ran gave Dao Wuming a surprised look.