“To be honest with you, Prime Puresmoke, I come from the human domain. I traveled to Myriad Abyss not only for my dao partner Yang Qinghuang, but also to track down the ancient Earth Bodhisattva Sect. It’s serendipity that I chanced upon its heritage here.”
“What?” Puresmoke paused. Jiang Chen’s real ident.i.ty was no secret in Eternal Divine Nation, but it was still news to the prime. She was surprised that he came from the human domain.
“I’m about eighty percent sure I can help the Martial Sacred Land eliminate the rebellion, but I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?” the prime asked in a low voice.
“I want information about the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement. You know as well as I that the formation played an important role in the ancient demonic war, which, unfortunately, didn’t do that much damage to the demons.
“Over the years, the formation has lost its power. I’m looking for information about the formation’s establishment, seeking ways to restore and reactivate it.” Jiang Chen added seriously, “The formation is crucial to the human race.”
Puresmoke stared at Jiang Chen blankly, like he was a monster and huffed wryly. “You have tremendous foresight, Sir Jiang Chen. However, given the human race’s ability and wealth, do you really think we’ll be able to activate the formation again?
“In the ancient times, there were the ten great sects. Only through the combined resources and effort of several factions was the formation activated - and with great difficulty. The formation is too large and involves too many aspects. Within the human race, no faction can afford to activate the formation on its own.
“Even if we manage to gather enough resources, we don’t have the formation masters we need. Formation masters back then were more skilled and powerful than those of today. Even then, activating the formation was extremely taxing and the effort was almost in vain. If the three factions hadn’t worked together, the attempt would’ve never been successful...”
Prime Puresmoke knew the heritage of the Earth Bodhisattva Sect well, including the details of this important formation.
“We’ll find a way to gather the resources, and I can solve the problem of the formation masters,” Jiang Chen responded seriously. “However, I have to first know every little detail about activating the formation, especially the parts the Earth Bodhisattva Sect was responsible for.”
“The Earth Bodhisattva was the one in charge,” the prime declared proudly. “Even the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect and the wandering formation master Pei Xing were only a.s.sistants.”
That wasn’t completely accurate. The three factions each had their parts. True, the Earth Bodhisattva Sect had taken on more difficult and large-scale tasks. It was understandable that its descendents would think of the sect as the leader.
“Prime Puresmoke, this is an urgent matter. I’m sure you want to get right down to business as well. I just have one question for you: is there room for negotiation about my request?”
Prime Puresmoke thought for a moment. “Our heritage, especially those from the ancient times, are carefully protected. This seat can’t give you a promise now. You’ll need our divine forefather’s permission.”
“So I can’t get an answer without talking to the forefather?”
Prime Puresmoke sighed. She didn’t want to turn Jiang Chen down. Deep down, she greatly appreciated the young man and wanted to fulfill his ambitions, but the sacred land had its own rules.
She couldn’t just give outsiders access to their heritage, especially those only the sacred land possessed. The Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement was considered the top most secret within the sacred land.
Puresmoke had access to the information, but she wasn’t authorized to show it to others.
“It looks like Prime Puresmoke doesn’t have the final say, do you?”
“Sir Jiang Chen, vanquis.h.i.+ng the rebellion is an urgent matter. In this state of emergency, I may be able to negotiate with you on behalf of the sacred land. In order to save the sacred land, this seat is willing to suffer the punishment if a problem arises in the future.”
Jiang Chen’s eyes lit up in pleasant surprise. “Oh? So you’re agreed?”
“No, no, I only said that I can negotiate with you,” the prime rushed to clarify.
“Is there a difference?” Jiang Chen paused. He was preoccupied with thoughts about the formation and hadn’t considered anything else.
“Yes, there is. You’ve made your conditions clear. Now it’s my turn to bargain with you.” The prime’s tone was mischievous.
“Please do elaborate.” Jiang Chen was lost.
“The Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement is recorded in an ancient text in detail. This seat can help you get the information. However, I have one little request for you in addition to helping us stop the rebellion.”
“What is it?” Jiang Chen asked faintly. If the prime got greedy and asked for more than the sacred land deserved, he’d be very disappointed. This was his test of the prime as well.
Noting the steel in his voice, Prime Puresmoke smiled. “It’s a simple enough request. I only ask for you to agree to a collaboration regarding the Taiyi Dragonscale Fruit.”
Jiang Chen smiled back in understanding. “You want to increase the fruit’s value through me.”
“That’s right. The fruit’s value is limited before being refined as the Taiyi Skymender Pill. The Martial Sacred Land is willing to work with you. The split of the profit is negotiable.”
“What do you propose?” Jiang Chen asked with a smile.
“I’d like to hear your thoughts.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t opposed to such a deal. He extended five fingers. “I’ll be straight with you. How about half and half?”
That was reasonable. Jiang Chen was contributing his skills, which couldn’t be replaced. It’d make sense for him to even ask for sixty percent of the profit. After all, Taiyi Dragonscale Fruit could be found elsewhere. Although the Martial Sacred Land produced the most, they didn’t have a monopoly over the fruit.
Prime Puresmoke quietly considered the offer. Should she bargain with him and try to increase their share?
She decided against that when she saw Jiang Chen’s expression and smiled. “Alright, half and half. That’s very reasonable.”
Jiang Chen clasped her hand to seal the deal.
Prime Puresmoke was pleased. “Sir Jiang Chen, I hope you’ll consider the collaboration a friendly exchange rather than a calculated deal.”
Jiang Chen shrugged. “That’s not important. We each get what we want, don’t we?”
Prime Puresmoke nodded slightly. She knew her decision was risky. If the divine forefather disapproved, she’d be in a world of trouble.
Of course, turning Taiyi Dragonscale Fruit into pills could bring the sacred land great profit in the long term. Her contribution should be able to make up for her wrongdoing.
After all, information about the great formation wasn’t a secret they had to keep. When the demons invaded, they’d have no choice but to release all the information. They wouldn’t even be compensated for their loss. Her deal with Jiang Chen was greatly beneficial for the sacred land.
A weight lifted from Jiang Chen’s heart. He was going to get exactly what he’d been missing. He’d inherited knowledge from both the Ancient Crimson Heavens Sect and Pei Xing, leaving only the Earth Bodhisattva Sect’s part, which was also the most essential.
“Prime Puresmoke, may our collaboration create a new and brighter future for the human race.” Jiang Chen cupped his hands.
“Good. You’re decisive, young genius. This seat is impressed. However, the text is stored in our headquarters. I won’t be able to give it to you while we’re here.”
“That’s quite alright. I just ask for the text to be handed to me once the headquarters are liberated.”
Jiang Chen’s conviction was infectious. Prime Puresmoke declared, “This seat will take this leap with you even though my future is on the line.”
“Alright, we don’t have time to waste. Let’s come up with a solution to the sacred land’s problem.” Jiang Chen was driven.
The Martial Sacred Land was in a worse state than the Eternal Sacred Land had been. With the formation heritage from the Earth Bodhisattva Sect, Martial’s defenses were stronger, but it suffered a greater shortage of talents than Eternal.
The Martial Sacred Land had lost its dominance over the nation in terms of absolute power. It wasn’t capable of launching a counter-attack against the rebels.
“The divine experts are locked in a battle. We may disregard them at the moment. That leaves these people as our biggest threats. Forefather Goldenbell has fallen. Now we should go after the remaining three. Once a couple of them die, the rebels will fall apart on their own!”
Apart from the divine forefather, the rebels had four demiG.o.d forefathers on their side. The rebellion indeed possessed ridiculous power.
Unlike the rebellion alliance in Eternal Divine Nation, the rebels here only had one divine forefather. However, the four demiG.o.ds were enough to overwhelm the Martial Sacred Land. After all, they didn’t have as many elites as their counterparts in Eternal.