Chapter 734: Intra-Sect Friendship

After Gouyu came to, Xue Tong and the others also woke up one after another. Jiang Chen wasn’t in a rush to unseal the senses of the others from the Regal Pill Palace. These particular people were those of his inner circle. After parting ways for almost a whole year, they had too many things to say to each other. If he were to unseal everyone else’s senses now, it would sour the atmosphere instead. Just like Gouyu, everyone was surprised to see Huang’er’s true appearance. They’d never imagined that the ugly-looking Miss Huang’er was in reality an outstanding beauty. There was nothing wrong in calling her a goddess who had descended to earth. Even Gouyu, for all her competitiveness, was completely convinced by Huang’er’s temperament and beauty and felt no resistance towards her whatsoever. She naturally came to the firm opinion that Miss Huang’er was the most perfect match for the young master.

Of course, there were psychological reasons behind her acceptance. Back in the Regal Pill Palace, Gouyu had been close enough with Huang’er to be called sisters. Even before this revelation, Huang’er’s behavior, temperament and grace had already won over those in Jiang Chen’s circle. Now that Huang’er had revealed her true countenance, not only did they feel not repelled by it, they even thought of it as the way it was supposed to be. It was only right that Huang’er’s natural and unrestrained manners, amiable and approachable temper, and extraordinary qualities were complemented with an equally unrivalled beauty. Everyone’s voices grew thick with emotion as they described their experience.

“Young master, countless experts descended on the Regal Pill Palace back then, and the great formation didn’t even last an hour under their attacks. All of the sect experts who’d sustained the formation were slaughtered to the last in just an hour’s time. At that time, Elder Yun Nie had come to Rosy Valley to gather up the geniuses and retreat, but we recalled the young master’s instructions and chose not to escape. Instead, we convinced Elder Yun Nie to hide with several dozen others inside the formation. To its credit, at first, they weren’t able to break through the formation at all. But later, an even more powerful emperor realm cultivator appeared and joined hands with several other emperor realm cultivators to attack the formation in unison. Only then did they finally managed to break through the formation. As a result, all of us became captives…” Gouyu talked about that day in great detail. The sheer desperation of that battle was so vivid in her story that they felt as if they truly were present then. “Young master, those people had originally wanted to kill us all. However, it sounded like they spared us because they wanted to interrogate us about a certain pill recipe. At first, Elder Yun Nie refused to submit even in the face of death and said not a word. However, the enemy began to kill a Regal Pill Palace disciple for every question that went unanswered. After killing a dozen or so people, they hauled Mu Gaoqi in front of Elder Yun Nie… and…” Gouyu cast a glance at Jiang Chen, looking a bit hesitant as to whether she should continue.

Jiang Chen waved his hands and said, “Continue.”

“If Elder Yun Nie still refused to speak, then Mu Gaoqi would be slaughtered too. Therefore, Elder Yun Nie finally revealed the pill recipe. Young master, if it wasn’t for the pill recipe, we might have been killed outright by the enemy already. Those people were extremely savage, and they’d never planned to leave anyone alive at all. In fact, they were going to execute us on the spot after obtaining the pill recipe. However, someone brought up the fact that they had a group of slavers at their place, and they could sell us to them and earn quite a lot of spirit stones…”

Gouyu didn’t know from beginning to end who had destroyed the Regal Pill Palace or taken them captive. They naturally didn’t know where they’d been sold to either.

Jiang Chen more or less understood the entire situation after Gouyu had finished her tale. He actually felt relieved after hearing her story. He had to admit to feeling a bit of hesitation when he discovered that the Longevity Pill recipe had fallen into the hands of the Eternal Celestial Capital. Although he didn’t believe that Elder Yun Nie was a coward, it was a fact that he’d leaked the Longevity Pill recipe. Now that he learned that Elder Yun Nie had done it to save Mu Gaoqi, the last bit of suppressed emotion clogging up Jiang Chen’s heart had vanished completely.

Xue Tong asked, “Young master, who on earth did the Regal Pill Palace provoke? Was it the Ninesuns Sky Sect?”

“The Ninsuns Sky Sect was indeed involved in this matter, but the main culprits are the Eternal Celestial Capital and the Great Scarlet Mid Region. The Eternal Celestial Capital was the mastermind, and the Great Scarlet Mid Region acted as the butcher’s knife. Moreover, the Regal Pill Palace was not the only victim of this incident. The entire Myriad Domain and in fact almost every sect, regardless of their size, have been eliminated.”

“What?” Gouyu and everyone else was greatly shocked by this news, especially Gouyu, “What… what about the sixteen kingdoms alliance?” The sixteen kingdoms alliance might be a small place, but it was still their home.

“There is no news from the sixteen kingdoms alliance, but I notified the Precious Tree Sect about something like this a long time ago. They should have put some countermeasures in place. As for the secular kingdoms, they never even entered these forces’ eyes. No matter how idle those bastards are, they wouldn’t eliminate the lowest of kingdoms,” Jiang Chen explained. He knew that Gouyu was worried for the Eastern Kingdom. It was her home after all, and the place where her relatives lived. To a sect, a secular kingdom was like an ant beneath an elephant’s foot. It was doubtful that they would even see it, much less bother to eliminate it.

If a sect had rooted out and razed even a place like that, then they would literally draw ire from all sides. The cultivation world had its own unspoken rules. If they had really gone to bully a tiny ant, then even the heavenly laws wouldn’t be able to tolerate such a despicable action, much less societal customs.

“Young master, how did you find us?” Wen Ziqi was naturally shy, and hadn’t spoken a word till now.

The answer to this question however, would be quite lengthy. Jiang Chen smiled easily, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you guys about it in the future.”

Contrary to expectations, Huang’er actually smiled and spoke up, “Your young master is acting humble. Please allow me to tell you this story.”

Huang’er wasn’t a talkative person, but she’d experienced firsthand Jiang Chen’s innumerable efforts during this trip and the terrible hardships he’d undergone to save his people. It was not a story she wanted to go untold.

She started from the Myriad Grand Ceremony and described everything that had happened up until their rescue. The story greatly stunned and moved everyone. The young master had traveled over several million kilometers into the Upper Eight Regions, braving innumerable obstacles and dangers, all to save them from disaster. How could they not be moved by this act? If the young master hadn’t been strong enough, or if the young master had been any later, they would’ve been sold off as slaves already. If that happened, then not even the young master with all his power would have been able to find them again. Everyone was touched and grateful for their good fortune when their thoughts reached that point. They knew very well what kind of life a slave faced.

When they thought of the amount of opponents Jiang Chen had obliterated along the way, they couldn’t help but feel the pleasure of vengeance suffuse them. Although they hadn’t taken revenge personally, they all felt their blood boiling as they listened to Huang’er’s narration. No matter how fierce or terrifying their opponents were, they were never able to escape their young master’s grasp. In fact, their young master had even killed dozens of emperor realm cultivators! It was only now that they realized just how incredible and wonderful their young master was!

“You may keep this in your heart, but please don’t tell the other Regal Pill Palace disciples about this. Although we are at Veluriyam Capital now, the Eternal Celestial Capital and the Great Scarlet Mid Region won’t give up just like that. The Ninesuns Sky Sect is also waiting for an opportunity to jump into the fray. That’s why we absolutely cannot let our guard down!” Jiang Chen reminded them.

They all nodded, “You’re right, young master. We’ve become your burden once, and we mustn’t drag you down a second time.”

“Mm. We won’t be able to leave Veluriyam Capital for now. Here at least, those forces wouldn’t dare to act wantonly. We may very well be hunted down again the moment we leave.”

“We obey your orders, young master.”

“Yeah, we’ll do as you say, young master.”

Jiang Chen nodded as the crowd stared at him. He had in fact formed this plan long before today.

“We’ll be living in Veluriyam Capital for the foreseeable future. However, we’ll have to change some of our identities. The Regal Pill Palace will become a thing of the past until we can fully guarantee our own safety. No matter what, our identities are our greatest secret. I’ll think of a way to help you all settle in,” Jiang Chen cast another glance at the unconscious fellow sect disciples. “I’ll have to arrange these people properly as well. If any one of them is exposed, we will all fall prey to disaster.”

Huang’er also remarked, “Considering the number of people involved, this will need proper planning. Sir Jiang, in my opinion, it’ll be best if we build a force of our own in Veluriyam Capital. If people are relocated into someone else’s domain, it’s only a matter of time before they’re exposed.” It was a certainty that they would be interrogated and investigated if they were to live under someone else’s roof. As a result, it was very likely that their real identities would be exposed. If they had their own force, then they would have their own territory and no fear of investigation.

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment and said, “I’ve given it some thought. We will definitely draw a lot of attention if we were to establish a sect in Veluriyam Capital. I personally think that there’s no need for us to do that. If we must build a force, then we should establish a business group or operate a store. That’d be the safest method.”

It was quite normal for a sizable store to accommodate several dozens of people. It’d also be much easier to make arrangements for these people and hide their identities.

“Mm, that’s a good idea,” Huang’er nodded in full agreement. Gouyu and the others naturally had no opinions regarding this matter. Right now, they only wanted to avoid becoming Jiang Chen’s burden and dragging him down. They wouldn’t mind whatever Jiang Chen planned to arrange them. Seeing that no one else had an opinion to offer, Jiang Chen cast a glance at his other sect mates, “Let’s wake these people up. They are our sect mates, and I hope that they wouldn’t act stupidly.”

If he were to be frank, he hadn’t stayed at the Regal Pill Palace for long enough to form connections with these people. He had no real feelings for the others, and the only reason he even bothered to care, arrange and rescue these people was his principles and morality. Their rescue was for Palace Head Dan Chi’s sake and as a member of the Regal Pill Palace. If these people chose to act stupidly and disobey his arrangements, then he would have no qualms in employing a more forceful method.

As their senses were unsealed, the Regal Pill Palace disciples slowly awakened from their slumber. Everyone’s first reaction when they fully woke was that they were dreaming. Some of them even thought they were dead already. More or less, their reactions were similar across the board.

Jiang Chen didn’t speak up immediately. He waited until they had calmed down a little before speaking to Shen Trifire, “Shen Trifire, do you still remember me?”

Shen Trifire was one of the top geniuses in Regal Pill Palace. He was steady and had a clearer mind than most. “Senior brother Jiang, were you the one who saved us?”

Shen Trifire was very smart, and had placed himself in a very good position. Although he was quite a bit older than Jiang Chen, and had entered the Regal Pill Palace much earlier, he still addressed Jiang Chen as his senior brother. This way of addressing was rather quick thinking on his part. If he were to call Jiang Chen junior brother Jiang, he would sound too arrogant and full of it. But if he were to call Jiang Chen brother Jiang, he would sound a little too distant and fail in displaying the relationship between sect members. Right now, Shen Trifire knew better than anyone just how important this relationship was.

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PS. There will be some celebratory releases today in honor of volareversary, volare is two years old! I will also be doing a live reading of my new novel, Phoenix Ascending, at 10am GMT+8! That’s 9pm US EST 12/14, so please tune into the volare Discord then~ The new novel will launch this weekend!