Wei Jieâs mood had clearly been agitated. He seemed a little emotional. Jiang Cheng could understand Wei Jieâs dejection. House Wei had been collateral damage in this matter from the very beginning, the most innocent of victims. The Coiling Dragon Clan lord might have been somewhat affected, but as a man with his cultivation on the eve of dissipating, it would take a heaven-defying method to reverse fate.
âYoung master Jie, in your situation, you should in fact clearly explain yourself to the clan lord.â There were only so many suggestions Jiang Chen could offer.
âThe clan leader is magnanimous. He is aware of our Houseâs loyalty. However, those beneath him donât share the same views. People in the clan, and also the noble houses under the clanâs banner were jealous of our Houseâs status to begin with. They wouldnât pass by an opportunity to supplant us. They slander and suppress us again and again. Even if weâre innocent, their wagging tongues make us guilty.â
Jiang Chen was also aware of the effects of slander. Situations like these truly couldnât be explained away with a few words. House Weiâs awkward situation wasnât one that could be overturned with the wave of a hand.
Wei Jie suddenly thought of something, his eyes betraying a little hope and eagerness. âBrother Zhen, I heard that back then in the Myriad Domain, you once refined a pill called the Longevity Pill that can prolong someoneâs life for five to eight hundred years. Is that true?â
Jiang Cheng laughed in spite of himself. This Wei Jieâs schemes truly reached far enough, he even accounted for the Longevity Pill. He shook his head with a soft sigh. âThe Longevity Pill is only useful for cultivators at the sage realm, itâs of no use to cultivators at the emperor realm. It might even worsen the situation instead.â
Hearing it might worsen the situation, Wei Jian couldnât help but be reminded of his Houseâs previous pill kingâs disaster. Once bitten, twice shy. His expression suddenly froze. âIs it absolutely useless?â
âIt might possibly be somewhat useful, but thereâs a greater probability of side effects occurring.â Jiang Chen knew Wei Jie was very keen on seizing the opportunity to restore their relationship with the Coiling Dragon Clan. Only, it wasnât something he could achieve with the Longevity Pill, because the Longevity Pill was only suitable for sage realm cultivators. There was actually a pill that could extend an emperor realm cultivatorâs life. It was called the Pine Crane Pill. Jiang Chen even had one of the two main raw materials required: the first sky-level spirit plant heâd obtained from Mt. Rippling Miragesâthe Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine. That pineâs cone was one of the main materials required to refine the Pine Crane Pill.
As to the other ingredient, it was a Goldencrown Cloudcraneâs heart, also a spirit beast very hard to come by. The Goldencrown Cloudcrane might not be the Invisible Chameleon Cloudpineâs match when it came to rarity, but when comparing them one to one, a Goldencrown Cloudcraneâs heart was even more precious than a Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine cone. After all, one Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine could produce many pine cones, while a Goldencrown Cloudcrane only ever have one heart.
Of course, this thing was a mere passing thought in Jiang Chenâs mind. He didnât even plan on refining the Longevity Pill, to say nothing of an earth shattering pill like the Pine Crane Pill. His identity would inevitably be exposed as soon as he refined the Longevity Pill. It was hard to tell how many people would keep a close watch on him by then. Not to mention that the Pine Crane Pill was a pill at least ten times more valuable than the Longevity Pill. With Jiang Chenâs status and identity, he simply couldnât handle everything the Pine Crane Pill would bring with it. Even House Wei wouldnât be able to. This matter might be somewhat possible only if Jiang Chen were to cooperate directly with the Coiling Dragon Clan.
However, no one could read a manâs heart. Jiang Chen had already suffered once because of the Longevity Pill. It was unrealistic to ask him to take out the Pine Crane Pill now for no rhyme or reason. Let alone, amongst the materials needed to refine this Pine Crane Pill, the Goldencrown Cloudcraneâs heart wasnât easy to collect at all. He had no desire to leap into a quagmire of his own volition.
âThen, Brother Zhen, will you sell Longevity Pills in Taiyuan Tower? If you sell it, I fear youâll be immediately recognized. Itâd be detrimental to you.â
Jiang Chen shook his head, âI will refine the Longevity Pill in the future, but the time isnât ripe yet.â
âItâs better this way. The Veluriyam Capital might be formidable, but itâs still hard to guard against the Eternal Celestial Capital and the Ninesuns Sky Sect secretly causing trouble.â Wei Jie nodded in understanding.
That was one of the reasons why Jiang Chen rather appreciated Wei Jie. At the very least, this young man knew discretion, knew the importance of things, knew when to advance and knew when to retreat. He wouldnât force someone into something. He could put himself in the otherâs shoes and think from their point of view. That was a virtue rarely seen from the scions of noble houses. âYoung master Jie, tell your father when you go back that if your house doesnât find me lacking in qualification, Iâm not opposed to being House Weiâs guest pill king.â
Wei Jie was overjoyed when he heard. âBrother Zhen, are you serious?â
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, âDo you think Iâm someone to speak recklessly?â
Wei Jie slapped his thigh. âThatâs great! I never dared to ask you upfront out of fear Iâd implicate you. But in fact, you might not necessarily be in such a great danger.â
Jiang Chen smiled. âI came all the way here from the Myriad Domain. Do you think the path was lacking in danger? Am I not still here anyway?â
âThatâs true, but you still need to be on your guard. How about I send you my personal butler and protector Qixia so he can act as your bodyguard?â Wei Jie suggested.
âNo need for that.â Jiang Chen waved it off, his refusal firm. Wei Qixia might be a powerhouse at the first level of the emperor realm, but Jiang Chen truly had no use for him. If there were a situation he himself couldnât handle, then one more Wei Qixia would also be useless.
Their conversation concluded, Wei Jie went back home in high spirits, carrying good news with him. The benefits of having Jiang Chen as their Houseâs guest pill king was obvious for all to see. House Wei was going to break away from the awkwardness of not having a pill king, while his Houseâs pill business would once again go back on track. Everything was developing in a favorable direction!
Wei Jie felt his entire body overflowing with enthusiasm and motivation. His feelings for Jiang Chen nowadays were almost akin to adoration and blind trust already. In particular, that scene Jiang Chen had defeated Pill Master Yu had made Wei Jie realize even more deeply that this genius from the Myriad Domain, whoâd hacked his way through a mountain of corpses and blood, would also one day illuminate the Capital with his extraordinary abilities. Heâd been fortunate enough to meet such a genius. It that wasnât luck, then he didnât know what luck was. House Wei might still be in a difficult spot for now, but Wei Jie firmly believed that they was bound to soar in Jiang Chenâs wake, ascending like a boat rising with the tide.
...
Jiang Chen was about to cultivate after seeing off Wei Jie when Long Xiaoxuan transmitted a message to Jiang Chen, âYoung master Chen, I think Iâm going to break through to the emperor realm. You better find a place and make some preparations. Dragons breakthroughs come with a vast aura and momentum, so I donât want to do it in the center of the Capital.â
Jiang Chen didnât know if he should be happy or worried instead at the sudden news. He was happy because Long Xiaoxuan was finally breaking through after spending so long at the pinnacle of the sage realm. The dragon was definitely going to make a terrific hired thug as soon as he entered the emperor realm. With the dragonsâ innate dominating power, Long Xiaoxuan could probably face a powerhouse at the fifth or sixth level emperor realm head on without falling downwind even at initial stage emperor realm, He might even withstand a later-stage emperor realm at the seventh level without suffering defeat.
After all, for the lineal descendants of the dragons, the higher their cultivation, the stronger the power of their bloodline would manifest, and the more ridiculous their fighting power would be. It wasnât an exaggeration to say that Long Xiaoxuan would increase his fighting prowess tenfold in the blink of an eye after breaking through to the emperor realm.
His thoughts distracted for a moment, Jiang Chen then composed himself. He asked, âBrother Long, about how far off are you?â
âSomewhere between a month and three. Maybe even closer.â
Jiang Chen thought a moment. Taiyuan Towerâs grand opening was in three days. He would be relatively freer after that. When the time came, he would find a remote spot, deploy a concealing formation and suppress as much as he could the signs of Long Xiaoxuanâs breakthrough. Otherwise, the dramatic heaven and earth phenomena during a dragonâs breakthrough would certainly attract attention from all parties. He didnât want Long Xiaoxuan to stir up a hornetâs nest.
Jiang Chen nodded. âLeave it to to me. After you break through to the emperor realm, your cultivation in the secrets of dragon shapeshifting should also come to fruition. By then, you can transform into human shape and move about in broad daylight inside the Capital without needing to worry like now.â
Long Xiaoxuan snorted softly, âThis world full of mundane temptations might not be to this dragonâs liking anyway.â
Dragons were ever like thus, haughty, posers. Jiang Chen didnât believe Long Xiaoxuan would ever come to dislike the mortal world. He chuckled mischievously, âWeâll see when the time comes whether you like it or not. Donât tell me you want to be always hiding. Isnât that really boring?â
âDonât delay with the preparations,â Long Xiaoxuan snorted, but he didnât say anything further.
Wry disgruntlement mingled with happiness in Jiang Chenâs sigh, âI never thought I would be fated to a life of playing nanny. I have to worry about my fellow sect disciples, and now that itâs over, I have to worry about these guys instead.â
Long Xiaoxuan breaking through the emperor realm was good news when all was said and done. It would have spared him a lot of trouble when he came to the Capital if Long Xiaoxuan had already broken through to the emperor realm back in the Myriad Domain. Jiang Chen silently sighed with emotion. In spite of himself, his thoughts veered to those people from the Regal Pill Palace. He wondered how they were now.
He hadnât heard a word from Palace Head Dan Chi. Elder Yun Nie and Mu Gaoqi were certainly still in Veluryiam Capital, but he didnât know whether House Sikou had sold them or kept them for themselves. This was also a matter he had to investigate as soon as possible. If House Sikou were using the two themselves, then he had to rescue them no matter what. Apart from Mu Gaoqi and Elder Yun Nie, there was also sister Ling Biâer. Back the in the Regal Pill King Palace, when the several of them had separately returned to their own dwellings, Jiang Chen had been surrounded, Shen Qinghong captured, but Ling Biâer had seized an opportunity to run away. He wondered where was Ling Biâer nowadays?
Jiang Chen was rather concerned about Ling Biâer. He knew that this frosty senior sister of his had tacitly pledged her heart to him already. Back then in that desperate situation in the Paramount Realm, Ling Biâer clearly could have hoped to make good her escape alone, but she didnât run away by herself. Jiang Chen wasnât a dunce. How would he fail to see these feelings? Their friendship was something Jiang Chen had no reason whatsoever to disregard, to say nothing about the feelings between man and woman.
Apart from Ling Biâer, there was also her father and her younger sister. The two of them should have come to the Veluriyam Capital and met up with him, but neither of them had arrived even after so long. Jiang Chen was also somewhat worried. Only, he had so many things vying for his attention at present. He was too busy to inquire about Ling Su and Ling Huiâer. He could only hope that they would arrive safe and sound, that the Eternal Celestial Capital or the Ninesuns Sky Sect hadnât captured them. It would be enormous troubles otherwise.
Jing Chen mused for a moment, but he simply had too many things to attend to. So he simply stopped thinking about them, sat down cross-legged, and started cultivating. He hadnât stopped his cultivation during these days. With the assistance from countless Heroic Sage Pills, his cultivation pace was blistering. Heâd lacked resources before, but his cultivation speed had been frightening even back then. Now that his resources were abundant, his cultivation speed would naturally be surging. There were already faint signs of him breaking through the fourth level of the sage realm.
âWho knows. I might well first break through to the fourth level before Brother Longâs breakthrough!â