Sovereign of the Three Realms - Chapter 1797

Chapter 1797: 1797

The Vermilion Bird and Long Xiaoxuan were pleased for Jiang Chen that the Warmspring empyrean cultivators had submitted to him . However, the young man had no intention of bringing them along just yet .  

“Lu Che,” he said, “since you’ve joined me, I’ll make things simple . If you aid me wholeheartedly, you will be blessed beyond comprehension in the future . If you betray me though… I’m sure I don’t need to go there . ”  

Lu Che hastily pointed toward the sky to swear, “Don’t worry, master . Now that we’ve surrendered to you, we have no intention of treachery . Moreover, it may have been our fortune to fall into your hands . It would’ve been easy for you to kill us all . ”

These men were most skilled at judging their situation . As they said before, they knew when to cut their losses .

Jiang Chen had taken them in as slaves due to other considerations . He had little foundations in Myriad Abyss, save for some reputation thanks to his affiliation with the Eternal Sacred Land, and certainly almost nothing in terms of manpower .  

The sacred land made for a superb patron . It had the venerated forefather, the three primes, and countless experts . Unfortunately, its current position meant that there was little Jiang Chen could rely on .

In fact, the sacred land may very well need to rely on him in the future .

Therefore, forming his own faction to strengthen the forces at his command was worthy of consideration .

Originally, he’d wanted them to go to Winterdraw, but abandoned that prospect after a moment of thought . These people added together were roughly equivalent to Yan Wanjun, and the old man wouldn’t necessarily be able to keep them in line . He didn’t imagine they would listen in the first place . They followed his orders, but no one else’s .

It was better to let them move about freely for now .

“You lot, go to Miracle City for now . Make yourselves comfortable there and be ready to answer my summons . Remember, you may do what you like in that city, but make sure to keep yourselves in good shape . You are my servants – if I do not allow you to die, then you should not die!”

“Understood!” The cultivators heaved an internal sigh of relief after hearing Jiang Chen wouldn’t bring them along . They had their freedom… for now .

They definitely couldn’t return to Warmspring Island . Miracle City wasn’t a bad place to stay for awhile . It was certainly a much more bustling city .

“Alright, all of you can leave . ” Jiang Chen dismissed his crew with a final declaration . His consciousness seal ensured that they had nowhere to escape to . As long as they lived, he could call them to him with a single thought .

The Vermilion Bird suddenly laughed after Lu Che and his friends departed . “It’s been awhile, young master Chen . Both your cultivation and your style have improved in that time . You toy with even empyrean experts easily, with minimal resistance . ”

“Hahaha, you played a big part in helping me intimidate them, Senior Vermilion . ” Jiang Chen had indeed used the bird’s strength to his advantage .

“No need to call me ‘senior’ anymore . Otherwise, Xiaoxuan will be upset . ‘Old brother Vermilion’ is fine . I’m much older than both of you, but my heart is still young . ” The sacred fowl was quite pleased after its rebirth .

Jiang Chen tossed a pill casually toward his draconic friend . “Brother Dragon, this is a Crowning Empyrean Pill . It will give you a free level in the empyrean realm . ”

Long Xiaoxuan’s eyes brightened as he caught the pill .

 The Vermilion Bird sighed . “Humanity’s most remarkable aspect is your wisdom . The human bloodline is weak by itself, but you have several advantages . An affinity to fuse other races’ bloodlines into their own and an all-encompassing wisdom difficult for other races to comprehend are just two of them . That intellect shines through especially in the area of pill dao . ”

Jiang Chen wasn’t proud . To his knowledge, there were races more adept at pill dao than humanity . Their only detriment was that their reproductive ability was far inferior in return .

Man and beasts chatted about what had transpired in the time they were apart . Jiang Chen was sincerely pleased to hear that the Vermilion Bird was now a demigod, a half-step divine .

Long Xiaoxuan, on the other hand, was fourth level empyrean – just like Jiang Chen . The young man was secretly gratified by this; he’d thought the dragon was already fifth or sixth level at first . It seemed he’d been mistaken . Still, the dragon carried astonishing power for fourth level empyrean .

“I worked very hard and had a Crowning Empyrean Pill to get me to fourth level empyrean, Brother Dragon . I’m a bit envious that you got there so easily . ”

Long Xiaoxuan wasn’t particularly proud of its own achievement . He admired that Jiang Chen had gotten to fourth level empyrean as well . After all, the young man had only been a great emperor when they’d separated .

It had been only a few years since then . The speed at which Jiang Chen had cultivated was nothing short of miraculous for a human .

“Don’t be dissatisfied, young master Chen,” the Vermilion Bird intoned . “I’ve never seen anyone cultivate as quickly as you, even in the ancient times . I have the odd feeling that you have no limit when it comes to cultivation . You can break through whenever you want! I’ve seen plenty of human geniuses and greats, but you’re one-of-a-kind . You defy my understanding of your race . ”

This was high praise indeed from the sacred beast . Long Xiaoxuan followed up with some applause of his own . “Young master Chen’s talent is very rare among humans . I’m not familiar with Myriad Abyss Island, but he’s on a different level from anyone in the human domain . ”

“Alright, you two have given me more than enough compliments . I may need your help this time . ”

“Just say the word, young master Chen . ” The Vermilion Bird was in a good mood . Jiang Chen had saved its life, so it had a duty to help with anything he asked .

“Do you need help getting your girl? The one named Huang’er, yes? Let’s go to Eternal Divine Nation right now and grab her . ” The Vermilion Bird spoke with great bravado .

“No, no, please don’t misunderstand . I have Huang’er already, and have sent her back to the human domain . Right now, we have a different issue…” Jiang Chen elaborated upon his experiences in the Eternal Sacred Land as well as their current plight .

“Without the Eternal Sacred Land,” he emphasized, “I wouldn’t have been able to save Huang’er nearly as easily . I owe them one for that . Plus, I have a promise with the sacred land’s venerated forefather . I can’t just abandon them . ”

The Vermilion Bird nodded . “You’re as responsible and principled as always, young master . That’s what I appreciate the most about you . So not everyone here in Myriad Abyss is terrible then! The ten sacred lands have managed an admirable effort so far . They must’ve made countless sacrifices to defend Divine Abyss’ gates from then ‘til now . There are many bad humans, but also some whose selfless exploits deserve to be immortalized . ”

The sacred fowl had a very particular sense of duty . Its relationship since ancient times with humanity entitled it to a degree of authority . “What do you think, Xiaoxuan?”

“Sure, I’ll come . I have to do it for young master Chen’s sake . ” There was a passionate heart beneath Long Xiaoxuan’s flippant exterior . In truth, he possessed greater affection for Jiang Chen than perhaps even the Vermilion Bird .

He had weathered many storms in life with the young man . Jiang Chen had taken perfect care of him all the while, which made it difficult to be anything other than grateful .

“Alright, we’ll go together . ” The Vermilion Bird was overjoyed .

“Right, where’s Little White? How’s it doing?” Long Xiaoxuan suddenly remembered the Astral White Tiger which’d always been his rival .

Both beasts wanted to surpass the other, which had sparked a fierce rivalry that was still ongoing . That didn’t mean they were on bad terms though . Quite the opposite: they admired each other in a way .

Thus, Long Xiaoxuan’s missing the tiger it hadn’t seen was understandable .

“Little White has found a fortuitous opportunity somewhere recently,” Jiang Chen smiled . “It speeds up the tiger’s cultivation an incredible amount . I feel that the opportunity is immensely valuable – likely more meaningful than even Hell King Island was for you, old brother Vermilion . ”

“Oh? You would go that far to describe it?” The Vermilion Bird’s eyes lit up .

“Mhm,” Jiang Chen inclined his head . “You’ll know when you get there . That tiger found an ore vein that has great affinity for his attribute . He took to the place like fish to water . I wager that in a few years, he’ll become a completely different beast . ”

The Vermilion Bird roared with laughter . “Looks like you have to start working hard yourself, Xiaoxuan! Little White’s fortune far excels anything we have here . ”

Long Xiaoxuan nodded, his expression becoming somber . Clearly, the dragon’s inborn pride didn’t want it to lose in him competition against Little White . Moreover, he had begun cultivating earlier than the tiger .

Though Little White was still a bit behind, that was no longer a guarantee with the ore vein in play . After all, he was an Astral White Tiger . He could fast-track its cultivation to a concerning speed as well .

“When it comes to cultivation, everyone has his own path,” Jiang Chen laughed . “Maybe you’ll find a similar blessing one day that propels you into divinity?”

In the world of martial dao, opportunities were the hardest thing to pin down . There were surprises everywhere . Something that might seem to be initially insignificant might lead to a motherlode in the end .

“Look at me now,” the Vermilion Bird consoled . “I lived in Divine Abyss Continent in the ancient times, but I’m still only a demigod . Why? Because it wasn’t time for my fortunes to turn yet . My life was up without an opportunity for rebirth . Thankfully, I came to know young master Chen . Without him, perhaps the ruins of the Primosanct Sect would’ve been my gravesite as well . ”