There wasn’t much to distract Jiang Chen on the way. He was able to focus wholly on his cultivation. His goal was clear: He wanted to ascend to ninth level empyrean and seize the opportunity to push for divinity as soon as he could. That day couldn’t come fast enough.

It wasn’t difficult for him to do so. With the life essence of the divine cultivators he’d acquired, he was able to boost his cultivation without much difficulty.

As soon as he set foot into Veluriyam Capital, he had a feeling that he was going to make his breakthrough. He returned to the Sacred Peafowl Mountain in preparation.

News of his return spread through the human domain.

Everyone was shocked to hear that Jiang Chen was ascending to ninth level empyrean, which was something members of the human domain didn’t even dare dream about.

That level had been a rare sight since the ancient times. Even the reclusive empyrean experts were mostly at initial or mid empyrean. None of them had even reached advanced empyrean!

In comparison, Jiang Chen had ascended to ninth level empyrean after two trips to Myriad Abyss. There was no denying that he had become the supreme leader of the human domain.

No one within the Upper Eight Regions, Mid Regions, and Lower Regions could question his status as the overlord of the human domain.

The human domain no longer had the need to put on great fanfare regarding their might. Even the first tier sects from Upper Eight Regions were no match for Veluriyam Capital.

There was now an abundance of talents in the capital other than Jiang Chen, including his old subordinates and the different factions within the capital.

The overall strength of the human domain continued to improve, but the progress was most dramatic in Veluriyam. Empyrean cultivators were no longer the minority in the domain.

Jiang Chen could see the changes for himself. Nonetheless, the domain fell short compared to Myriad Abyss in both foundation and strength.

Although his addition would give the human domain an edge over Myriad Abyss, the collective power of the domain was still inferior. That wouldn’t change even though Jiang Chen could overpower the ten sacred lands.

Even Veluriyam Capital, the most powerful faction of the domain, was no match for any of the ten sacred lands.

Jiang Chen summoned his subordinates in the capital to introduce them to his new underlings. It shocked everyone in the capital to see gods serving Jiang Chen with their heads lowered.

They knew Jiang Chen was a remarkable young genius, but this was still beyond their imagination. Despite their growth, divine cultivators were still the thing of legends to them.

“Everyone, it’s good that the human domain has become substantially stronger over the past few years. Given such a positive feedback cycle, we’d be sure to catch up with Myriad Abyss after a thousand years.

“However, these are trying times. We don’t have a thousand years. We may not even have ten. According to my estimations, demons will invade in the near future. Fortunately, there’s an ancient formation - the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement - protecting the human domain. I’ve found a way to reactivate it and have prepared the necessary spirit stones. I plan to do so this month.

“Once the formation is activated, it’ll separate the barren land where the demons are sealed from the human domain. Demons will have to take a long detour around the continent to reach us, which offers us great protection. We will no longer be the demons’ first target.”

Everyone was thrilled by the news.

The human domain was a far cry from before. People didn’t shy away from bringing up the subject of demons. Jiang Chen had long given orders for Veluriyam to spread the news about the coming demonic invasion. The constant reminder instilled in all minds a sense of urgency.

That was also why the human domain had improved so quickly. No one wanted to be helpless when the demons attacked.

“Young lord Chen, just how powerful are the demons?” asked Mo Wushuang, Jiang Chen’s old friend. As someone close to reaching advanced empyrean, he was among the top cultivators in the human domain.

Jiang Chen sighed faintly. “To be honest, I can’t really tell you. There’s no evidence telling us how powerful the ancient demons were. However, we fought a demon sovereign in Myriad Abyss. He was a mid divine cultivator and a mighty fighter. It’s a stroke of luck that we were able to kill him.”

Mid divine realm!

Those three words greatly shocked all those assembled.

They couldn’t even begin to imagine how powerful the demon must be. They didn’t even know if there were any human cultivators who were that strong in the ancient human domain.

“Are the demons truly that formidable a race, young lord Chen?” Emperor Coiling Dragon asked with a rueful smile. He was no longer a great emperor cultivator, but an empyrean one.

“Perhaps they’re even more formidable than we expect. Don’t panic though. No matter how powerful the demons are, they’ve failed to conquer the continent in the ancient times. This time, they won’t be any better than they were at their peak. We stand a chance of winning this war.”

Jiang Chen offered them comfort. If he hadn’t gone to Myriad Abyss, the human domain would be like an egg dashing against a stone when facing the demonic army.

Even in a weakened state, he speculated that the demons were at least several times more powerful than Myriad Abyss.

Without Jiang Chen, the human domain’s power was at most a hundredth of the demonic race, or even less. It would be an arduous fight.

“Keep cultivating. Once the formation is activated, the human domain will be the safest place to be when the demons invade.”

Solidarity wasn’t a problem in the human domain, and the people respected Jiang Chen’s authority. The only problem was how weak everyone other than he was.