Having received a clean answer from Jiang Chen, the venerated forefather willingly handed him the written order.
The young man put it away into his belongings without much ceremony. He hadnât seen the spirit herb vault here yet; it was sure to be one of the best in Myriad Abyss, with a commensurately rich store of materials. Jiang Chen rather looked forward to it.
Returning to his residence, he beckoned to his companions excitedly. âOld Brother Vermilion, Brother Long, are you interested in raiding some supplies?â
âRaiding what supplies, exactly?â the Vermilion Bird asked lazily.
âThe spirit herb vault here in the Eternal Sacred Land. How about it? Are you interested?â Jiang Chen tossed the order into the air, his tone enticing like he was luring little children.
Long Xiaoxuanâs eyes lit up. âThe spirit herb vault? The one here? I want to go. Why would I not?â
The Vermilion Bird chuckled. It glanced at Long Xiaoxuan with a look that belied its opinionâthe dragon was still too young and simple.
Long Xiaoxuan voiced its mild displeasure. âJust tell me what youâre thinking, Old Brother Vermilion. Why look like youâre constipated?â
The Vermilion Bird clucked as it shook its head. âWhere has your grace gone, Little Dragon? You are a member of a noble lineage, yet your behavior is so crude.â
Long Xiaoxuan shrugged. âYou two are a bad influence.â
âNot I,â the Vermilion Bird chuckled. âI am the most elegant of birds.â
âWhat do you mean by that, eh?â Jiang Chen interjected in a huff. âAre you implying itâs my fault? I see youâre not interested. Alright, Iâll go get rich on my own. Whyâre you throwing away my goodwill like that, huh?â
The Vermilion Bird chuckled. âGifts are often accompanied by difficult requests. Young master Chen, the Eternal Sacred Landâs generosity is no doubt coupled with a mission.â
âVery perceptive. Iâm not getting the herbs for free, no.â Jiang Chen repeated the gist of what the venerated forefather had said to him. âOld brother, look. I have to go on the missions the sacred land sends me on anyway. This way, I can extract something extra to sweeten the deal. This is a rare opportunity for acquisitionsâI wouldnât miss it if I were you.â
âNormally, Iâd go even without anything to get out of it,â the Vermilion Bird snapped, âbut breaking through to divine realm is my top priority right now. Donât you know how long Iâve waited for this day? Can you bear to see me stew like this?â
âYouâll break through sooner or later.â Jiang Chen grinned. âThat you havenât yet just means the timing hasnât arrived. Maybe a few more fights or experts eaten will get you there without any work at all. Brother Long needs to increase his strength just as much as you need to break through, no? Xiaoxuan needs chances to fight in practical combat. Itâll be a waste of the dragon bloodline otherwise!â
Long Xiaoxuan nodded several times in succession. âYes, yes, of course Iâll go. Thereâs food and fighting to be had. No reason for me to refuse!â
The dragon never passed up chances to improve its cultivation.
âBrother Vermilion, what difference will a few months make for your trip to Hell King Island? Plus, you canât just sit around to cultivate all day and expect to get anywhere fast.â
âAh, kid!â The Vermilion Bird was vexed. âAlright, fine. Iâll go on another of your wild escapades. But this is the last one! After that, Iâm definitely going back to Hell King Island.â
âDonât worry. Maybe you will have already broken through to divine realm already by then. You wonât need to go there anymore.â
âI hope so.â
Man and the two beasts were eager to raid the spirit herb vault when another visitor was announced. House Yanâs Yan Zhenhuai, apparently.
âYan Zhenhuai?â Jiang Chen blinked, then nodded to himself. That young man was worth seeing. He had a pretty good impression of the young genius. House Yan was wising up at last.
âShow him in.â He waved a hand.
Yan Zhenhuai was quickly escorted in. He was reasonably at ease as he came in. âI still instinctively want to call you Shao Yuan, but I reminded myself to call you âBrother Jiang Chenâ from now on.â He smiled wryly.
âHaha, you can use whichever name you like. Did you have something to tell me, Brother Zhenhuai?â Jiang Chen cut straight to the chase. He had raiding to do!
âItâs like this. The house has sent a group of experts into the Boundless Prison. However, theyâve encountered a bit of a problem.â
Jiang Chen furrowed his brow. âThe three months your house promised are up, arenât they? I havenât gone to House Yan because I was waiting for you to finish the task. Now you tell me thereâs a bit of a problem? House Yanâs failed, then?â
Yan Zhenhuai was somewhat helpless. âThe Boundless Prison is a complicated place. The house made a promise it couldnât necessarily fulfill because it was pressed at the time. Itâs very difficult to find two people and bring them out from the Boundless Prison in three months. Even the experts themselves might not be able to return in that time.â
âSo thereâs no need to save Huangâerâs parents, is that what you mean?â Jiang Chenâs tone turned icy.
âNot at all. The house is trying its best. I came for two reasons: first, at the behest of the patriarch, to request a small extension. Second, to privately request you to forgive House Yan for this small misstep. Iâm sure Huangâer is kind enough to hope that you give House Yan some leniency, even though sheâs broken with the house already.â
âYouâre certainly right on that count.â Jiang Chen nodded. âIf I wasnât taking Huangâerâs feelings into account, House Yan would not deserve mercy. I donât mean to offend you, Brother Zhenhuai, but thatâs the truth.â
Yan Zhenhuaiâs expression was wry. âIndeed,â he sighed. âHouse Yan bears almost all of the blame. A single mistake has blossomed into a chain of blunders. Several opportunities were offered and missed. Not just the patriarch, but all of the other members are culpable as well.â
âHuangâer included?â Jiang Chen frowned.
âOh, no! Huangâer did nothing wrong. Meeting you was the first step towards normality.â
Jiang Chen smiled a little. âNever mind all that. An extension is reasonable enough, but how long should it be? I canât just let House Yanâs efforts go on indefinitely. If the house canât even do this much to redeem itself, that proves it doesnât have the right to remain in the capital. There are many other factions stronger and more loyal, arenât there? They wait for the sacred landâs support.â
Yan Zhenhuai had nothing to say. Yes, there were many houses stronger than House Yan right now. If the sacred land was unsatisfied with the houseâs attempt at atonement, it was quite possible it would be pushed aside for another.
There was nothing he could really do, given his position. He gestured toward the door. At his signal, several burly men brought in several chests.
âBrother Jiang Chen, these are a token of House Yanâs contrition. There are three chests in total for your records.â Yan Zhenhuai was just straight up offering gifts.
Jiang Chen perused them through a half-smile, but didnât move. Was House Yan resorting to bribery?
Seeing his hostâs impassivity, Yan Zhenhuai clapped. âOpen them up for Sir Jiang to see.â
The chests were opened to reveal empyrean spirit stones, resources, spirit herbs, and other valuables.
âIs House Yan willing to pay such an expensive cost?â Jiang Chen was mildly astonished.
âBrother Jiang Chen, the patriarch means to ask for three more months. Each month of additional delay after that will mean another chest owed⊠as compensation for your frustration.â
Jiang Chen swept his gaze across the three chests. âIâll accept these gifts,â he stated coolly, âbut these three extra months are final. Do not test my patience. Iâm only giving this one chance.â
Though it was rude to answer a smile with a slap, Jiang Chen did feel rather annoyed. How could he not? Despite taking three months, House Yan had completely failed in their task.
He liked the gifts objectively, but couldnât forget himself because of them.
After the verbal warning, Jiang Chen sent Yan Zhenhuai off.
He knew that his own strength was somewhat insufficient to venture into the Boundless Prison just yet. If House Yan couldnât pull it off in the end, though, he would have to head in himself.
âI hope House Yan wonât disappoint me too much.â Jiang Chen wanted to forgive House Yan. That was why heâd given it the chance to redeem itself. If the house couldnât grasp that chance, though, there was nothing he could do.
Yan Zhenhuaiâs visit had dampened his cheery mood.
The three boxes of goods had involved a reasonable amount of effort. Jiang Chen toyed with their contents for a few moments, then smiled faintly. âTake whatever you want, Brother Long. Donât be too modest.â
The dragon snickered. âOh, I wonât.â
The Vermilion Bird lacked interest in items of this caliber. âYoung master Chen,â it asked, âthe Taiyi Skymender Pill exists for ascension from great emperor to empyrean. Is there something for empyrean to divine?â
Jiang Chen glanced toward the bird. âWhatâre you trying to ask, Old Brother Vermilion?â
âHaha, I just wanted to know whether something like that exists.â
âIt does.â The young man nodded readily. âHowever, I donât think Divine Abyss has the requisite materials.â
âWhat materials? Tell me. I mightâve heard of them.â The Vermilion Birdâs eyes lit up.
âOld Brother Vermilion, you donât need pills to help you break through to divine realm. Trust me, donât overthink things. Youâve been stuck on your breakthrough for a while now. The act of doing so has become an inner demon. If you keep on going like this, it will only be harmful to your cultivation,â Jiang Chen gently reminded.
He had felt the sacred fowlâs clear restlessness as of late. Perhaps godhood was too great of an attraction, a fixation for countless millennia. Now that the bird had the chance to get there, it thought about it every waking moment. As time went on, an inner demon began to form.
This was not a good sign.
The Vermilion Birdâs expression froze in thought.
âYoung master Chen, do you really think I can break through to divine realm with no problem?â it asked once more out of concern.
âIf you let your inner demon get the best of you, you can forget about achieving divinity for the rest of your life. A shadow of it is already beginning to appear. You must control yourself and destroy it, lest it trouble you in the future,â Jiang Chen warned.
The Vermilion Bird had indeed changed somewhat over the past few days. It had become a little harder to understand. Jiang Chen hadnât paid it much mind at first, but the bird seemed to be developing an inner demon.
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Man, how low House Yan has fallen and how trite they are to be offering a bribe. And this is an unexpected development for Moltres! O_O