Xia Tianze took in a deep breath and forced out a dry laugh. “Alright. Tell me, what other factions have you simply… encountered? Feel free to let it out all at once. I’m prepared now.”  

Jiang Chen chuckled in much the same way. “Does Veluriyam Capital count?”

“I suppose so!” Xia Tianze tilted his head in utter bewilderment. “You’re here, aren’t you? It’s clear enough that Veluriyam Capital’s heritage is all but yours.”

“What about that test, senior?” asked Jiang Chen.

“Forget about that. My test would be worth something if you were seventh level empyrean realm. You’re a demigod, aren’t you? The trial’s practically a joke for you.” Xia Tianze found this both odd and amusing.

He had always considered his duty a particularly weighty one, and had resolved to subject anyone who did come here to the strictest of examinations. And yet, the only youth who had managed to come this far would find his test superfluous…

There was no point giving a demigod a challenge designed for seventh level empyrean realm.

“What else? Out with it all,” he sighed.

“I mentioned it before, right? The Primosanct Sect’s ancient site was opened to me in the process of fighting the celestial demon lord.”

“Sure, the Primosanct Sect too. That’s four. Any more?” Xia Tianze sounded almost expectant.

“That’s it. Just those four, I guess,” Jiang Chen replied sadly.

“Just those four?” The ancient expert grew mildly upset. “Kid, don’t you know that any one of them is an endless treasure trove unto itself? You think four is too few?”

“It’s not that, I’m just…” Jiang Chen’s explanation held little water.

“Greedy!” Xia Tianze rolled his eyes. “There were only two great formation sects among the ancient ten, and you managed to find both of them.”

Suddenly, he recalled something. “You said you got your hands on the Earth Bodhisattva Orb?” he remarked joyfully. “And the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect’s heritage too!”

“Yes,” replied Jiang Chen candidly.

“Then… then you should know about the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement, yes? Great Divine Veluriyam organized those two sects to set it up.” Xia Tianze grew solemn.

“I’ve heard a few things about it. Venerated Skysoarer mentioned the matter to me as well. He told me how our sect and the Earth Bodhisattva Sect divided much of the responsibility, with the remainder assigned to a wandering formation master.”

“The wandering master… Pei Xing, I believe his name was. A peculiarly prodigious genius in the ancient times, refusing to be beholden to any faction despite widespread desire for his allegiance. 

“Great Divine Veluriyam wanted to corral him into one of the palaces here, but never had the chance to meet him in person. After the great formation was complete, that old boy snuck off somewhere. I wonder whether the demons got him, or if he just managed to find a great hiding place.” Xia Tianze seemed to genuinely regret Pei Xing’s absence.  

“He left the human domain for greener pastures,” Jiang Chen smiled faintly.

“How do you know that?” countered a baffled Xia Tianze.

“Senior Pei Xing went to Myriad Abyss Island. He left his heritage in a secluded place there,” replied Jiang Chen.

“A place that you must have come across by coincidence again, eh?” Xia Tianze appended.

“How do you know that?” gasped the young man.

“I’d be stupid not to have guessed. That’s what you would've said next, no?” Xia Tianze was more impressed by Jiang Chen with every minute. As an ancient expert, he'd seen more than his fair share of superb geniuses.

Still, Jiang Chen was monumental in an unprecedented way. The ancient expert couldn’t pick out any example he had witnessed back then who could compare to the youth before him.

Fortune, character, talent, and potential, his modern genius surpassed the ancient forebears in every way. A preposterous proposition, but an observation that rang true.  

“That’s very insightful, senior. I have inherited senior Pei Xing’s heritage as well,” confirmed Jiang Chen.

Xia Tianze’s eyes blazed with fervor. “Excellent! It should be no problem for you to set up a new Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement, then?”

“Uh, there is a problem.” Jiang Chen found himself a little scared by the question.

“What problem?” Xia Tianze probed seriously.

“You must not have participated in the initial setup process, senior. If you had, you would know that the human and financial resources aren’t something the current human domain can afford.”

“Don’t worry about the spirit stones. Great Divine Veluriyam left untold riches alongside Veluriyam Capital’s heritage for you to use.”

“Well, money isn’t the only object. The formation requires very capable formation masters who are roughly each other’s equals. To set it up through one man’s efforts alone… that’s very, very difficult.”

“Alright, but can you do it?” Xia Tianze pressed bluntly.

“Er…” Jiang Chen thought about this for a few moments. If he reached divine realm, he would be talented and astute enough to probably pull it off.

However, he would still need a sufficiently abundant store of spirit stones and other resources to use, as well as a group of empyrean formation experts who listened to his every command.

As long as those were in place, he had a good chance of it.

“To set up a new formation would be an overly ambitious endeavor, requiring a tremendous amount of work…” Jiang Chen began to muddle the waters. He neither confirmed nor denied his ability to do so.

“Stop repeating yourself. Give me a clear answer. Can you, or can’t you?” Xia Tianze was intent on squeezing a proper response out of him.

“I can’t say it’s impossible, but I don’t see a real reason to, yeah?” Jiang Chen sighed.

“You don’t see a real reason? Are you saying you want to take the demons head on?” Xia Tianze snorted.

“The foundations of the ancient formation are still around, right? We just need to fix it up and restart it. It should work as well as a new one. Why reinvent the wheel?”

Restart the formation?

This rather technical suggestion was a bit out of Xia Tianze’s element. He didn’t know nearly as much about formations as Jiang Chen did. Nevertheless, he was delighted. “You can do that?”

“I’ve been working hard towards that end. It took me an improbably huge amount of effort to gather the resources I needed. A herculean task in its own right!”

“Resources?” What came next from Xia Tianze’s mouth crushed Jiang Chen utterly. “What a waste of time. If you’d come in earlier and gotten your hands on Veluriyam Capital’s heritage, that wouldn’t have been a problem in the first place.”

It was Jiang Chen’s turn to be floored.