As Jiang Chen expected, six sacred lands showed initial interest in Gongxi Hu. Soon however, the other sacred lands were deterred by the fierceness with which the Flora Sacred Land fought for the young genius and opted out.

Flora’s aggression was intimidating, and their promises impossibly generous.

Fortunately, the first prime of the Eternal Sacred Land had also made a generous offer as per Jiang Chen’s instructions. The haughty genius must have been remarkable in some aspect for Jiang Chen to give her such serious advice.

Most geniuses were proud and somewhat quirky. Gongxi Hu was no exception. There was nothing wrong with having a strong personality as long as it didn’t come back to bite him.

Everyone had young and reckless spate in their youth.

The competition for Gongxi Hu quickly grew fierce. Other sacred lands had given up one after another, leaving Eternal in a gridlock with Flora.

Enraged by Eternal’s interference, Flora made increasingly generous offers.

Eternal gave as good as they got.

In the end, both made as good an offer as they could. It all came down to which side could give the better sales pitch.

Flora cut right to the chase. “We can tell you have a wood spirit constitution, Gongxi Hu, and that you’re partial to refining pills. The Flora Sacred Land is well known in Myriad Abyss for our foundation in pill dao. If you join us, you’ll get the best resources and receive the best guidance. What’s more, we’ll consider you one of the top most geniuses and treat you accordingly.”

Flora’s appreciation for Gongxi Hu was apparent.

However, the young man remained calm and didn’t so much as blink. A lazy, noncommittal smile was his only reaction. He shifted his gaze to the Eternal Sacred Land, waiting for them to speak up.

The first prime smiled. “Gongxi Hu, there aren’t a lot of young men with a personality like yours, but you’re the kind of genius we want the most. I’ll get straight to the point. Master Shi Xuan, the pill sovereign Flora was most proud of, serves us as a pill slave. Flora claims to be the dominant faction in pill dao, but the Taiyi Skymender and Crowning Empyrean Pill, which are the hot topic of Myriad Abyss, aren’t their work.”

After a pause, she added, “They were developed by us.”

Her response was meant to antagonize, but Eternal and Flora had never been on friendly terms. The fight for the young geniuses was riling up both sides. It was only natural that the first prime would disregard her manners and go hard on Flora.

Flora quickly retorted, “You simply got lucky and stumbled upon two ancient recipes. What else do you have? You have no basic knowledge in pill dao, no robust pill dao discipline, or a mature education system for pill dao experts. To be frank, you’re nothing but an upstart newcomer in pill dao! You have the Taiyi Skymender Pill and the Crowning Empyrean Pill, but we’ll one day reverse-engineer the pills and refine them.”

They had torn down the thin veil of civility between the sacred lands.

But Jiang Chen was perturbed.

Originally, he’d planned to stay out of the fight and let the two sacred lands do their thing. However, as the creator of the two pills, of course he’d be displeased with the way Flora talked about his work.

“Wait a minute.” Jiang Chen stroked his chin with a half smile. “I can’t help but notice the flaws in your response. What do you mean by a lack of discipline and an education system? What do you mean by an upstart newcomer in pill dao?”

The representative of Flora scoffed derisively. “You know what I mean.”

“Alright, let’s put that aside and assume you’re simply jealous,” Jiang Chen said coolly. “Did you say you’d one day refine the Taiyi Skymender and Crowning Empyrean Pills?”

“That’s right! People like you won’t understand our illustrious history in pill dao.” The man from Flora was very prideful.

Jiang Chen laughed. “Dream on! Let me put it this way, you aren’t going to successfully refine the pills in a hundred - no, a thousand years.” He made his contempt clear.

“You... you’re arrogant, young man! A thousand years? Do you honestly think your pills are that good?”

“Oh, they are,” Jiang Chen said with a smile. “I was being conservative in my estimation. Given your capability, you won’t be able to refine the pills even after several millennia.”

The Crowning Empyrean Pill was considered a premium pill even in the heavenly planes. There were only a handful of people who could refine it.

The Taiyi Skymender Pill wasn’t as complicated. Refining a Crowning Empyrean Pill, on the other hand, required exceptional attention to detail. No one in the Flora Sacred Land would be capable of doing it.

That, Jiang Chen could guarantee.

He’d competed with Master Shi Xuan and knew the pill sovereign’s ability. Since Shi Xuan set the bar of the Flora Sacred Land, that gave Jiang Chen a good idea about their pill dao.

Gongxi Hu listened to the two sacred lands argue with great interest. He was enjoying the show. Cackling, he turned to the Flora Sacred Land and shrugged.

“My apologies, it seems that the Flora Sacred Land is on the losing side. According to my analysis, you may have once been the top pill dao faction in Myriad Abyss, but no more. Young lord Jiang Chen’s outstanding talent forces me to reevaluate Eternal’s pill dao. Even if both factions are on equal footing, the young lord’s charisma alone gives Eternal an edge.”

“So!” Gongxi Hu pulled his lips into an infuriating grin. “I choose the Eternal Sacred Land. I want to be close to senior brother Jiang Chen’s charisma.”

He was calling Jiang Chen a senior brother even before joining.

The first prime’s eyes lit up with delight. They were not only getting a new genius, but also striking a blow on the Flora Sacred Land!

The Eternal Sacred Land had defeated Flora head-on in the conflict. Nothing felt better than that.

All the attention the Flora Sacred Land had gotten before didn’t matter. The Eternal Sacred Land had won a crucial battle! The first prime couldn’t be more pleased.