While they were conversing with each other, a messenger reported that Emperor Coiling Dragon had come for a visit. Emperor Coiling Dragon was of course, the Coiling Dragon clan lord. Back then, Jiang Chen had lent him a hand by gifting a Pinecrane Pill that extended his lifespan by a thousand years. As a result, Emperor Coiling Dragon had overcome the bottleneck in his cultivation and entered the great emperor realm in one go. He was now officially the eighth great emperor of Veluriyam Capital.

Jiang Chen had participated in Emperor Coiling Dragon’s crowning ceremony prior to leaving Veluriyam Capital. Today, the emperor’s visit not long after the young lord’s return must indicate some serious business to discuss. Jiang Chen didn’t dilly dally. He immediately set out to meet the great emperor.

Emperor Coiling Dragon had brought young master Ji San with him as well. His friend had grown noticeably stronger and ascended into emperor realm after this period of separation. This shocking improvement caused Emperor Coiling Dragon to regard young master Ji San even more highly than before. For the past few years, the young man’s cultivation had improved in an almost vertical fashion, and the powers of his bloodline had awakened continuously. It was to the point where even Emperor Coiling Dragon felt a little envious.

However, what the great emperor didn’t know was that dragon bloodline essence Jiang Chen had gifted young master Ji San was the main reason for this drastic improvement. Young master Ji San’s dragon blood was transformed thanks to the stimulation of this essence. As a result, many memories of inheritance had awakened in his mind. Most importantly, his bloodline was had been greatly improved. That was the main reason his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

The current young master Ji San could absolutely stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the top rate young lords of Veluriyam Capital. At this rate, he might surpass them all completely in just three to five years, including Emperor Shura’s greatest disciple, Li Jiancheng.

“Long time no see, Emperor Coiling Dragon, Brother Ji. You both look much better than you were before.”

“Haha, brother, don’t think I haven’t heard about you! It seems that you’ve made a name for yourself again during your trip! Right now, everyone is gossiping that you disguised yourself as Sir Shao and made a name for yourself in Pillfire City, Tilted Moon Region and even Great Yu Upper Region! You’re famous everywhere,” young master Ji San teased.

“Ah? Everyone knows all of this?” Jiang Chen was slightly caught off guard.

“Yeah, it did. Is there a problem?” Jiang Chen’s reaction surprised young master Ji San in turn.

Jiang Chen wasn’t sure how to react. He figured that the Han brothers of the Great Yu Sky Sword Sect must have spread the news to increase his fame. This meant that more and more people would learn about the name of Pill King Zhen in the Upper Eight Regions. The intention behind their actions was good, so Jiang Chen couldn’t find fault. Most importantly, he had already returned to Veluriyam Capital. He no longer needed to worry about being attacked on the road.

“Alright, let us talk business, Ji Ole Third.” Emperor Coiling Dragon tapped the table once with his finger. Young master Ji San chuckled before sitting down with proper posture.

“Your Majesty, what might you like to address today?” A bit of astonishment appeared in Jiang Chen’s eyes.

“Young lord Zhen, both you and His Majesty, Emperor Peafowl have left Sacred Peafowl Mountain for almost a year. Sacred Peafowl Mountain is quite empty during this period, and the state of Veluriyam Capital is... turbulent beneath the surface. You may not know this, but Emperor Shura left Veluriyam Capital for a short trip around the time the two of you were gone, followed by Emperor Skysplitter. A few months ago, Emperor Petalpluck announced sealed doors seclusion and didn’t look like he was coming out any time soon... Even the boisterous Emperor Mountaincrush seems to have become much quieter during this time. Emperor Void is the only one who kept in touch with me, and we are both worried about the same thing.”

“What is that you’re worried about?” Jiang Chen asked solemnly.

“We are worried for Emperor Peafowl’s safety,” Emperor Coiling Dragon declared gravely.

“What do you mean?” Jiang Chen frowned. He didn’t think that anyone in Veluriyam Capital would dare attack Emperor Peafowl. He didn’t think anyone could succeed either.

If Emperor Peafowl was so easy to deal with, he couldn’t have ruled Veluriyam Capital so firmly for three thousand years. There were no petty schemes that could bridge the chasm of strength that represented Emperor Peafowl.

“Don’t you think that Emperor Shura and Emperor Skysplitter’s time of departure this time is a little queer? Emperor Peafowl has always enjoyed travelling alone, but we haven’t heard anything from His Majesty since his departure. It may just be a coincidence, young lord Zhen, but... there’s no one in Veluriyam Capital who isn’t aware of Emperor Shura’s ambition. Young lord Fan’s death quieted his ambitions a little, maybe he thought that Emperor Peafowl would give up the throne to him, but after you were made the young lord of Sacred Peafowl Mountain, this precarious balance was disrupted once more.”

“Has his ambition reared its head again?” Jiang Chen asked with a smile that didn’t reach the eye.

“You can say that.” Emperor Coiling Dragon sighed. “Young lord Zhen, now that you’ve returned, you must strive to run Sacred Peafowl Mountain well. Make some noise and let everyone know that Sacred Peafowl Mountain is still as strong as ever. Only then will the populace maintain their faith and continue to support us. Otherwise, if Emperor Shura manages to gather enough forces to attack us from all sides, Sacred Peafowl Mountain would be in a dangerous situation. We do not want to be on the wrong side of the wheels of history.”

“Brother, you must not take this lightly. The only reason Veluriyam Capital was peaceful for three thousand years was because Emperor Peafowl had absolute authority in this place. Now that His Majesty is gone, a lot of people is soon to bare their fangs and show their ugly faces.”

It wasn’t the first time Jiang Chen had witnessed the cruel fight for power. Emperor Peafowl had long since been wary of Emperor Shura’s kind. The latter had been mentioned more than once during their conversations.

Emperor Shura was the kind of person who might stake everything he had for the sake of grasping power. But on the other hand, he might not necessarily be willing to fight to the death for the future and destiny of Veluriyam Capital. To put it bluntly, he was a power hungry person. He wanted power, but not the responsibility that came with said power.

This was the greatest difference between Emperor Shura and Emperor Peafowl. Emperor Peafowl’s heart was big enough to hold every person beneath the heavens, but Emperor Shura’s eyes were set on his status only.

Jiang Chen dared not treat Emperor Coiling Dragon’s sincere advice carelessly. He had to be on his guard no matter what Emperor Shura’s recent actions might be. After all, there was no telling if his enemies might pull a trick or two behind his back even if they appeared to be at a standstill for now.

More importantly, Jiang Chen was the only young lord left in Sacred Peafowl Mountain. If he was gone, no one would be able to inherit Emperor Peafowl’s legacy. All Emperor Shura needed to do then was to wait for Emperor Peafowl to pass him the throne.

If Emperor Peafowl didn’t return from his trip after a long time had passed, Emperor Shura didn’t even need to wait for Emperor Peafowl to pass the throne to him. He could simply coerce the populace into accepting him as the next ruler of Veluriyam Capital in the name of the greater good. This was an invisible battle between two sides.

The first step of caution Jiang Chen took was to improve his residence’s defense. The residence had its own defensive formations, but they were not his own creations. Therefore, the young man decided to give them an upgrade.

He possessed the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect’s formation disk and formation flag. The possibilities available to him increased widely as a result. He originally had two sets of formation flags; a primary flag and a secondary flag. He had used the secondary formation flag to arrange a formation at the entrance of the desolate wildlands. It was to prevent more human cultivators from serving themselves up as food for the demon race.

The primary formation flag was still with him. The formation Jiang Chen had set up previously could hold back a peak emperor realm cultivator without problems. However, the same couldn’t be said about a great emperor. Today, he would try to set up a formation that even a great emperor couldn’t break through in a short period of time.

After rummaging through his options for a very long time, Jiang Chen finally chose a particular formation from the ten great ancient formations of the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect. It was called the Nine Sparks Petalstorm Formation.

This formation didn’t have many variations, but it was a defensive formation that boasted some offensive capabilities as well. Nine sparks made up the defensive positions of the formation and the formation itself. The petal storm was the formation’s method of attack. Any attackers who attacked the formation would be retaliated with a rain of radiant, violent flying flowers.

Although the formation’s offense wasn’t as strong as its defense, it boasted a great number of projectiles. Anyone who attacked the formation must first consider if their defenses could hold out against the sheer number of projectiles, and it made it difficult for the attacker to launch a full offensive against the formation. In a way, the formation’s offense increased its own defensive power.

Of course, the Nine Sparks Petalstorm Formation took a long time to set up. Luckily for Jiang Chen, he had a set of the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect’s formation flags with him. It would save him a lot of energy in the process.

The heart of this formation was its etching. The inscription of the formation lines was extremely important to maximize the output of this formation. While the tier of a formation determined the formation’s power, the same could be said about the level of the formation’s arrangement.

The Nine Sparks Petalstorm Formation was a sky rank formation. With proper arrangement, it could contain not one, but two or even three great emperors for a time. This was a massive project, and the amount of spirit stones used was staggering as well. Luckily for Jiang Chen, he had plenty of spirit stones right now.

Everyone donated some spirit stones to Jiang Chen when they heard that he was arranging a great formation. Even Liu Zhen threw half of his wealth into the formation. Those in the young lord’s residence weren’t aware that Liu Zhen had more than a billion spirit stones in his pockets, earned from the sale of the Radiant Celestial Grass. Thus, many were shocked by this charismatic display. They couldn’t help but be impressed by the low key origin realm cultivator’s grand gesture.

Liu Zhen had continuously maintained a low profile in the young lord residence. It was because he couldn’t find a reason to puff himself up. Everyone in this place were closer to Jiang Chen than he was. For example, Jiang Chen’s sect mates, personal guards and family all shared closer relationships than him. It was why he kept a low profile and donated so many saint spirit stones this time. He wanted to assimilate into this larger family more.