Jiang Chenâs focus was on the Great Formation. He did care about Myriad Abyss Island, but it didnât warrant as much of his attention at the moment.
After all, he hadnât been in Myriad Abyss for long and wasnât that attached to it. Moreover, although the sacred land had treated him well since he joined, it still didnât feel like home.
Therefore, this warning was all he was going to issue. The rest was up to the senior executives. He wasnât going to make it his own concern. Even if he chose to intervene, itâd be after he reactivated the Great Formation.
âBy the way, when is this grand competition?â asked Jiang Chen.
âIn less than four months.â
Jiang Chen nodded. âAlright, Iâll go.â
The venerated forefather was overjoyed. âThatâs wonderful! Youâll be able to take the top spot easily. Itâs an opportunity to make a name for yourself, Jiang Chen, and itâll be your first step in becoming a legend in Myriad Abyss. Remember not to be too arrogant or unapproachable. Itâll do you good to seize the opportunity to befriend talented cultivators from different factions.â
Elder Ziju had said the same thing.
To put it simply, there was an alliance forming, and the Eternal Sacred Land wanted to be its head. Jiang Chenâs performance was a crucial part of that. Itâd be ideal if he could help the sacred land become the alliance head.
That was why the sacred land kept urging Jiang Chen to participate in the competition. At the end of the day, it too harbored ambitious about the alliance.
Jiang Chen nodded after a bemused pause. âIâll do my best, but I hope the venerated forefather will think hard about the stones I need.â
That was his priority. He couldnât possibly extort the stones from someone now, could he? If he could have, he would have, and heâd need the right target to boot.
The forefather pounded his chest. âWorry not, Iâll get you your ten percent of stones and the ingredients for refining the Crowning Empyrean and Taiyi Skymender Pill.â
The negotiation left the forefather in a good mood. He hadnât expected to convince Jiang Chen with only ten percent of the stones.
Heâd been worried that the young man would ask the sacred land to gather all of the stones, which was why heâd started out wailing about their poverty and refusing to give a clear answer.
This outcome was a great relief.
Once heâd left, Ziju Min excused himself as well. He could tell Jiang Chen was unhappy, so he didnât stay to be a bother.
Only after that did the Vermilion Bird and the other divine beasts emerged from the shadows.
The bird shook its head. âArenât the ten sacred lands the rulers of Myriad Abyss Island? How can the forefather be so stingy? Youâve fallen for his tricks, Jiang Chen.â
âTricks?â asked Jiang Chen.
âHe appealed to your sympathy on purpose so that he could give you the least amount of reward in exchange for your cooperation. I believe the sacred land can afford to give you a lot more spirit stones. He simply doesnât want to offer more to aid the human domain.â
As an ancient divine beast, the bird had seen it all. It was thus more insightful in many cases.
Jiang Chen laughed wryly. Upon consideration, he had to admit the bird was right. The Eternal Sacred Land had deep foundations to begin with, and they had gained quite a lot of wealth after resolving the rebellion. They couldnât be that poor. The offworld battles took a lot to sustain, true, but more in terms of human resources. Material costs might be high as well, but not so high that the sacred land couldnât keep its members fed.
Nevertheless, Jiang Chen didnât have too many complaints.
The sacred land had its own set of problems. From its standpoint, it was only natural that it would be reluctant to shoulder too big a part of the spirit stones needed for the great formation.
However, Jiang Chen couldnât help but feel bitter towards the sacred land for their manipulation. The place felt a lot less like home now. If they considered him part of the family, they wouldnât have gone that far in manipulating him.
âWeâll focus on cultivating for now. A chaotic world is inevitable. Only strength can ensure our safety when it comes.â Jiang Chen never forgot the importance of strength.
âYouâre right.â The Vermilion Bird nodded. âStrength ensures that you have a voice. The forefather is a good example. He can no longer order you around and instead has to buy your cooperation.â
There were still roughly four months until the competition arrived.
Jiang Chen planned to gather the rest of the stones before the end of the competition. After that, heâd set out for the human domain immediately and do all he could to reactivate the Great Formation.
As for House Yan, they had been putting a lot of effort into rebuilding. Jiang Chen couldnât possibly rain on their parade. They were free to put their efforts into the wrong thing.
If the world did fall into chaos, House Yanâs reconstruction wouldnât mean much.
The family only had a few talented members left, which wasnât enough for them to achieve much. While Yan Qianfan was under Divine Kasyapaâs protection, the divine master wasnât necessarily going to provide House Yan with much help.
After all, he was the one whoâd destroyed House Yan. Itâd be slapping his own face to help rebuild it. Besides, what if House Yan decided to take revenge against him after its rise? Heâd have dug his own grave.
Given Jiang Chenâs understanding of Divine Kasyapa, he wasnât someone who would do such a thing.
Nevertheless, Jiang Chen wasnât interested in interrupting when the Yan family was in such high spirits. Whatever they did, it wouldnât matter all that much.
Huangâer was observant enough to guess his thoughts. Noticing that Jiang Chen didnât offer much opinions about House Yanâs rebuilding, she realized that he wasnât that optimistic about it.
âBrother Chen, grandfather and the others are focusing solely on rebuilding House Yan. Do you not approve?â Huangâer asked gently. âDonât worry. I wonât tell them.â
Jiang Chen sighed faintly. âTroubled times of chaos are upon us, Huangâer. Even the sacred land may fall. How is House Yan going to recover its peak? Survival is key in an age of conflict. One can only rebuild when the world is stable. If not, a single incident will be enough to destroy what youâve worked for no matter how many times youâve started over.â
Huangâer nodded thoughtfully. âYouâre right, Brother Chen. Iâll try to persuade them.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âTell Qingsang to focus on cultivating. Let your grandfather, father, and uncle do what theyâre doing. Theyâre in the heat of the moment. They may not listen to reason.â
Huangâer shook her head. âI have to try. You know as well how painful it is fall when you feel the most hope. The sudden change is difficult to accept.â