The Eternal Sacred Land’s stance was more than enough for Jiang Chen. He didn’t actually want the faction to help him raid House Yan for his girl; that would be far too crude. As long as the sacred land took a hardline attitude in front of outsiders, that was enough for his purposes.

The lack of disagreement from Jiang Chen prompted a follow-up from Ziju Min. “There’s another important thing I have to tell you. Xiahou Zong has emerged from closed door cultivation!”

“He’s out?” Jiang Chen’s eyes grew keen. “Has he made any moves?”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“Not for now. Don’t worry, House Xiahou isn’t the sort to keep things on the down low. Even if Xiahou Zong was going to fetch your girl, many other preparations would need to be made. The tournament of geniuses for Eternal Divine Nation is in only a few months’ time. Since he’s just finished closed door cultivation, there’s no way he’ll go right back to it. He can’t make use of a cultivation vessel anyway, so your beloved is safe for now, and we will keep abreast of any developments.”

Jiang Chen became both serious and thoughtful.

“Don’t worry too much for now, Shao Yuan,” Ziju Min consoled. “If you can defeat Shi Xuan, none of this will be a problem. Do you understand what I mean?”

The corner of the young man’s mouth curled, revealing a proud smile. “Shi Xuan... Xiahou Zong...” he muttered quietly.

These two were nothing more than obstacles in Jiang Chen’s way. His objective—pulverize everything that hindered him!

“How goes the preparation for the festival, Elder Ziju? Is Shi Xuan coming or not? It won’t mean anything if he’s not present.”

“Don’t worry, unless Shi Xuan has closed his doors to the world on pain of death, he has no reason not to come when faced with such attractive bait. He’s probably the furthest thing from an ascetic you’ll find. Are you still going to insult him as planned?”

“If he’ll come out of greed, why dirty my mouth over it?” Jiang Chen smiled coolly. “Plus, insulting him isn’t as interesting as crushing him outright. Sadly, he’s not likely to be the kind of person to commit suicide over a loss. His heart seems more steadfast than that.”

Ziju Min sighed softly. “I suppose you’re right. He’s not the kind of person to be easily swayed by his emotions. He wouldn’t die over being upset.”

“Regardless, I’ll try my best,” Jiang Chen laughed.

He was absolutely sure he would win against Shi Xuan, but he wouldn’t necessarily be able to replicate how the man had driven Elder Zimu nuts. Someone without a personality flaw wouldn’t drop dead over something as mundane as a loss.

......

The Eternal Sacred Land was hosting a pill dao festival of grand proportions. Called the ‘Skymender Festival’, it was named for the Taiyi Skymender Pill.

Invitations from the faction alone wouldn’t command much of an attendance, given its lack of expertise in pill dao. But the presence of a single Taiyi Skymender Pill with the messengers was more convincing than any paper could be.

When they got wind that this miraculous pill was the product of the sacred land’s private research, the recipients’ tunes changed completely. Furthermore, there was to be an demonstration at the festival of the pill’s origins!

Everyone was astonished and curious about the Taiyi Skymender Pill. They wanted badly to find out what the Eternal Sacred Land, a faction that was historically weak in pill dao, had in store. Was this amazing pill really the product of the sacred land’s secret research?

The very prospect of it sounded incomprehensible.

The Ten Divine Nations knew the level of the Eternal Sacred Land’s pill dao. It didn’t make sense for such explosive news to come from there. Moreover, the messenger had insinuated that the Taiyi Skymender Pill wouldn’t be the only feature at the festival.

Any inquiries were met with the rather response that those interested would find out more at the festival itself. A wave of interest swept up the Ten Divine Nations’ pill dao experts without them realizing it.

The various divine nations and sacred lands were exceptionally courteous to the Eternal messengers. Hand-written letters were drafted in return, stating the parties’ certain attendance.

Moreover, the other sacred lands were exceedingly generous. They traded the pills the messengers had brought for Taiyi Dragonscale Fruit from their own stock. The name of the Taiyi Skymender Pill overtook Myriad Abyss almost overnight. It was the hottest talk of the pill dao world across the realm.

Nearly everybody wondered how the Taiyi Skymender Pill had been researched in the first place. Who had come up with this remarkable pill? Was it an ancient pill recipe that had been lost to some corner of history?

Regardless of its origin, the Taiyi Skymender Pill was to be a source of fortune for the Eternal Sacred Land.

Pills with this kind of effect were a completely unexplored territory in Myriad Abyss. If the pill could pass the test of time, it would be enormously beneficial to the sole manufacturer.

Within Flora Divine Nation’s Sacred Flora Mountain, its sacred land’s pill dao giants were gathered together.

As the sacred land with the highest pill dao level among the ten, Flora Sacred Land had a plethora of pill dao masters. Each person in attendance here could take charge of a faction’s pill dao business in the outside world.

Though the Flora Sacred Land wasn’t among the best in martial dao, it was the undisputed best in pill dao. It benefited from both the divine nation’s traditions and geographical location. Furthermore, it cared about raising pill dao geniuses more than any other faction.

It occupied a unique position in Myriad Abyss. Its climate and ground were especially suitable for the growth of spirit herbs—a natural garden. Many spirit herbs unable to grow anywhere else were happy to take root in Flora Divine Nation’s soil. Still, others that yielded average crops elsewhere grew with exceptional vigor here.

The superior land and water gave the divine nation an undeniable advantage in procuring spirit herbs, which translated directly to proficiency in pill dao.

It occupied the same state of importance in Flora Sacred Nation as the Eternal Sacred Land did in its own. Within it, Shi Xuan was considered equivalent to a forefather.

The other two pill dao forefathers who’d lived for several millennia or more had raised the hundred-year-old pill dao master to their own level. In fact, they’d intentionally gaven up a portion of their authority to Shi Xuan in hopes that he would improve the sacred land’s pill dao through his oversight.

After all, Shi Xuan’s youthfulness afforded him a huge advantage. He was less than a hundred, practically a young man in the pill dao world. They tried their best to cultivate Shi Xuan in every way—reputation, skill, and status.

For his part, Shi Xuan was clever enough to cooperate wherever he could. On the surface, he showed commensurate respect to his elders. Thus, he had quickly risen up through the ranks without making many enemies.

A single Taiyi Skymender Pill was placed within a jade plate upon a table before the crowd. Its color and aura were both exceptionally tempting.

“Honored forefathers, what do you think of this Taiyi Skymender Pill?”

The forefathers traded a look, then chorused in unison. “One look is enough to tell the pill is obviously extraordinary. The man behind it is clearly no lightweight.”

“Absolutely. The pill has been refined with impeccable splendor.” The two forefathers had only the highest of compliments for the pill.

“What do you think, Shi Xuan?” They were curious as to what their young charge thought.

Though Shi Xuan was only a hundred years old, he dressed like an otherworldly immortal. Right now, his gaze was concentrated upon the Taiyi Skymender Pill. After a long while, a conflicted look made its way into his narrowed eyes.

He sighed softly. “Sharp eyes as always, venerated forefathers. I can’t find a flaw with the pill from any angle. It seems completely natural. This is the work of a true master.”

“Flawless? Entirely natural? The work of a true master?” The two forefathers were both shocked. Shi Xuan was known for his incredible haughtiness and general aloofness. And yet, he was defying expectation by praising the pill.

If Shi Xuan couldn’t find any problems with the pill, then it really was flawless.

“This is odd,” one of the forefathers blurted out. “We all know what kind of skill the Eternal Sacred Land has in pill dao. How can a faction of their resources come up with a pill of this level? I just don’t understand.”

“Perhaps they were lucky enough to dredge up an ancient pill recipe somewhere,” the lankier forefather speculated. Neither believed such incredible skill possible from the Eternal Sacred Land.

Shi Xuan shook his head gently. “The pill recipe can be the product of fortune, but the method of refinement is even more fearsome. I’ve never seen such a perfect masterpiece in all my years,” he praised. “Since when did the Eternal Sacred Land have such a prodigious master?”

“After Elder Zimu dropped dead, Ziju Min apparently took his leadership post. That man is inferior to his predecessor, so I don’t think this pill comes from his hands. We wouldn’t be ignorant of him otherwise.”