Jiang Chen didn’t have Elder Shun depart immediately. Instead, he checked on the elder’s crippled meridians. They still had a chance to be restored. He decided to keep the elder here for a while to fix the latter’s meridians and restore his power. Strength in martial dao was crucial to survival in Myriad Abyss.
Hope sparked up in Elder Shun’s ashen heart upon hearing that he could be treated.
Through perseverance, Jiang Chen ended up achieving the improbable feat of repairing Elder Shun’s meridians. Although he couldn’t restore the elder’s cultivation instantaneously, the elder would be able to find his way back to his peak in a year or two.
“Elder Shun, this is a Crowning Empyrean Pill. It can unconditionally advance an empyrean cultivator up a level.”
“Crowning Empyrean Pill?” Elder Shun started. “Didn’t the sacred land say it’s still in development?‘
Jiang Chen smiled. “I can refine it anytime.”
“You’re a miracle maker, young man. I’m curious what’s going on with you. I don’t believe there’s anyone who’s qualified enough to be your teacher.”
Jiang Chen sighed softly. There were many qualified to mentor him, but they were all from his past life. No such person existed on the Divine Abyss Continent.
Elder Shun accepted the pill readily. There was no way he could turn it down at this stage. It’d been years since he last cultivated. He had to catch up quickly. The pill could save him decades or even centuries of hard work.
Jiang Chen brought up the fact that Yan Wanjun was on Winterdraw Island.
“Alright, I’ll go search for Chu Xinghan. As soon as I find him, I’ll take him to Winterdraw and see if we can teleport to the human domain to meet up with Huang’er.”
“Good! That’ll be ideal.” Jiang Chen approved of his plan. There was no love left to lose between Elder Shun and House Yan. It wasn’t a bad idea for the elder to move to the human domain.
The elder looked at Jiang Chen with a smile, his gaze filled with appreciation. “Shao Yuan, did you restore Winterdraw island to make it your territory?”
“I did. There’s a portal leading to the human domain there, which makes the island a valuable strategic node. Besides, the great formation there is under my control. Not even Rejuvenation Isles will be able to break in.”
“Right, the human domain is threatened by the demons. It’s bound to become a main battlefield sooner or later. It’s smart of you to build your own force and establish a hub for both offensive and defensive purposes.” Elder Shun admired Jiang Chen for his strategic thinking. “When do you plan on returning to the human domain?”
“I’ll return after I finish with my business in the sacred land. Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything useful about the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement, which is crucial to human domain’s effort in deterring the demons.”
Elder Shun thought for a moment before responding. “You are a rare once every ten thousand years genius for the human race, Jiang Chen. There must be a reason for your appearance. I admire you for what you’ve done for the human domain. However, the formation can only stop humans from being attacked by demons, through directing the enemies elsewhere.
“The demons will filter into other races’ territories through other channels. Once they conquer those places, they’ll keep attacking and invade the human domain through different entrances. As long as the demons exist, there will be no peace on this continent. Not even in Myriad Abyss.”
Jiang Chen smiled ruefully. “Myriad Abyss Island was never a peaceful land.”
Elder Shun paused. “What do you mean?”
“The illusion of peace is only maintained through the sacrifice that the ten sacred lands have been secretly making. It’s said that the nightmare plaguing the continent started from Myriad Abyss in the ancient times...”
Jiang Chen explained how Myriad Abyss had been keeping the plane’s coordinates a secret and defending the realm from outside invaders.
Elder Shun gaped. “Does this mean the ten sacred lands have been protecting the island since eld? That they have been and still are risking their lives to fend off foreign invaders?”
“That’s right. We’re fortunate that there hasn’t been a large-scale invasion like the demons launched in the ancient times. Otherwise, the ten sacred lands won’t be able to keep everything under control. I speculate that they’ve only been met with adventurers passing through the plane since then. Or Myriad Abyss would’ve been ravaged by war already.”
Elder Shun fell silent with a grave expression.
“Now it all makes sense, Jiang Chen. I used to think the sacred land was too pushy, but now it seems it hasn’t been forceful enough. All of them have done so much for Myriad Abyss. It’s only reasonable for them to claim most of the resources and rule over the nations.”
He was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Many factions here were composed of descendents of deserters from the ancient demonic war, but that didn’t mean the island was populated with only cowards. There were still some hot-blooded individuals, such as Elder Shun, Huang’er, and Yan Qingsang.
“Elder Shun, this is a serious matter. Please keep the information to yourself before the sacred lands make the collective announcement. There could be serious repercussions if this is leaked beforehand. The sacred land keep it a secret because they fear it’ll bring instability and further undermine the sacred lands. Since the uprising has been squashed, I believe they will soon expose the secret they’ve been keeping.”
Elder Shun was puzzled. “Jiang Chen, if the sacred lands always intended to let the public know the truth, why haven’t they done so to this day?”
“The ten sacred lands could stand against the incursions in the ancient times. It wasn’t until a few hundred years ago that they started having troubles. The fight outside the realm took too heavy a toll and depleted their resources and manpower, which led to their decline. They weren’t going downhill for no reason. The sacrifice they’ve made is simply too great.”
“I understand now. I understand everything. With that said, those usupers are indeed sick bastards. The sacred lands were forced to shed blood both on the inside and outside.”
Elder Shun always admired those who were both competent and responsible. The burden that the sacred lands impressed and won him over.
He clapped Jiang Chen’s shoulder. “I can tell the Eternal Sacred Land has high hopes for you. You’re irreplaceable to the human domain now, and you’re going to be irreplaceable to Myriad Abyss one day. Perhaps you’re here to save the Divine Abyss Continent. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future!”
Elder Shun left the sacred land once he’d mostly recovered. His conversation with Jiang Chen gave him hope and a sense of duty. He had to persist and pick himself up.
Jiang Chen started cultivating after the elder’s departure. He’d accumulated a great deal of energy from the countless battles he’d fought in the uprising. He was close to reaching fifth level empyrean.
As long as nothing in the sacred land required his attention after his breakthrough, he’d return to the human domain and visit the Six Palaces of Heritage. They topped the list of locations he wanted to visit.
Every palace had brought Jiang Chen a great many surprises, and each was more exciting than the previous. The palaces had obviously been established for the heir of Veluriyam Capital. Jiang Chen had every right to the heritage since he’d inherited Veluriyam’s dao.
Jiang Chen had killed many empyrean experts during the uprising, each of whom possessed an empyrean decree, which was of great value. The decrees could greatly strengthen the human domain.
His biggest gain was the divine decree he acquired from the Xiahou forefather.
Its value would’ve been unimaginable even in the ancient times. Every divine cultivator had overcome countless challenges in order to reach godhood. Every one of their deaths meant a great loss.
After three months, Jiang Chen entered the next stage of martial dao and ascended to fifth level empyrean. Long Xiaoxuan made a breakthrough as well not long after, ascending to sixth level empyrean, still keeping one level ahead of Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen wasn’t surprised by the dragon’s diligence in cultivation. He knew it’d been driven by the Astral White Tiger. He missed the tiger a little. It’d stayed in Cloud Camel mountain for a long time. What progress has it made, I wonder?
But the tiger had started out late. No matter how quickly it improved its cultivation, it’d be hard pressed to catch up with the dragon anytime soon.
Of course, Jiang Chen couldn’t rival any of the four beasts in cultivation efficiency. The bloodlines of the divine beasts were formidable. Although he had incorporated some divine bloodline in him as well, he was no match to direct descendents like them.
Still, he was satisfied with the speed at which he progressed.
It was a miracle in itself for someone his age to reach fifth level empyrean. If he hadn’t possessed memories from his past life and had grown up like all other geniuses, the best he could’ve done was reaching great emperor, and even that wasn’t a guarantee.