Chapter 563: Destroying Ding Tong
As an earth sage realm genius, Ding Tong was a true disciple even in the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Although his strength was too lacking to rank him among the ten great true disciples, he was still strong enough to rank within the young sect geniuses’ top three hundred. He had partic.i.p.ated and survived many of the Upper Eight Realms’ trials by fire, walking the line between life and death multiple times. However, all of those experiences paled before the sense of fear that flooded his body at this moment. The Regal Pill Palace genius who had seemed to be prey, had in fact been looking at him as prey all along.
He’d acted so nervous and frightened earlier plainly because he wanted to toy with Ding Tong and solicit intelligence.
Ding Tong suddenly realized that despite him treating Jiang Chen as a fool, the tragic truth was that he was the real fool.
Wham, wham, wham!
No matter how Ding Tong charged it, he was unable to break through the black cage that trapped him. He was on the verge of panic as he roared loudly, “Jiang Chen, just what trick are you using? What the h.e.l.l is this? Don’t tell me that this is a formation!”
A faint smile crossed Jiang Chen’s face as he casually responded, “Ding Tong, aren’t you a genius of the Ninesuns Sky Sect? Decisive and resolute, don’t you view all life as common dirt? What seems to be the problem? Now that you’re experiencing that feeling for yourself, how does it feel?”
Ding Tong bit out his words. “Jiang Chen, I confess that I underestimated you, but do you dare do anything to me? If I fall here, the entire Myriad Domain will accompany me as my grave offerings!”
“And who are you trying to scare, huh!” Jiang Chen sniffed dismissively and shouted, “Brother Long, stop playing. I have no more time to waste; make your move!”
A speck of light the size of a mustard seed suddenly flashed in the air, transforming into an enormously large figure which bared its fangs and brandished its claws.
“A… a true dragon!” Ding Tong’s eyes went wide like he was scared witless. His face was ashen as a bitter taste filled his mouth.
“Jiang Chen… I surrender, I surrender!” Ding Tong’s very soul was lost in the depths of fright as the aura of a true dragon descended on him. How could he not realize his death was practically staring him in the face? Even the proudest genius would feel a primeval fear rising within them when faced with impending death.
But now that things had developed to this points, how could Jiang Chen be so foolish as set the tiger free to return to its mountain? Long Xiaoxuan’s body danced as he flexed his claws, whipping through the air to snag Ding Tong’s body. The latter was as helpless as a newborn chick in front of the dragon.
“Mercy, mercy!!” Ding Tong screamed hoa.r.s.ely. “Don’t kill me Jiang Chen, I’ll be your dog!”
“Brother Long, do you think I need this kind of dog?” Jiang Chen smiled.
Long Xiaoxuan chortled and opened his mouth, throwing Ding Tong in. Ding Tong didn’t even have time to protest when the dragon’s mouth closed with a sickening crunch.
Crunch, crunch.
Ding Tong’s cry of agony hadn’t even echoed before Long Xiaoxuan swallowed, very like he was eating a plate of stir fried beans. Ding Tong’s soul core didn’t even have time to flee. With Long Xiaoxuan’s cultivation level at peak sage realm, and his body of a true dragon, he was capable of battling first or even second level emperor realm experts as long as he had a bit more time to mature. A mere sixth level sage realm Ding Tong was incapable of summoning even the slightest defense in front of Long Xiaoxuan’s Dragon Domain.
The Dragon Domain was one of the dragon race techniques that Jiang Chen had bequeathed to the dragon back them. A technique that used draconic aura and scales to form a cage in mid air, bluntly put, it was a true qi forcefield that sealed the opponent. It was notoriously difficult to escape since the draconic aura alone could cause the collapse of a weaker opponent’s consciousness.
For all his faults, Ding Tong had still been the disciple of a great sect in the end, so his performance had been up to par. Long Xiaoxuan had obviously reached an initial level of success in the Dragon Domain technique. A normal sixth level sage realm cultivator would’ve had his consciousness shatter right where he stood, never mind trying to break free of the Dragon Domain.
Ripples of emotion still rocked Jiang Chen’s heart as he watched Long Xiaoxuan swallow Ding Tong. Jiang Chen didn’t regret Ding Tong’s death, but his appearance had greatly shocked Jiang Chen. Although he had an ace fighter in the form on Long Xiaoxuan now, Jiang Chen still felt the information he’d learned to be highly alarming.
First and most importantly, the Tristar Sect was the Sky Sect’s p.a.w.n in the Myriad Domain! That alone testified to the amount of time the Sky Sect had been laying the groundwork for their plan, as well as how a.s.sured they were of success in the Myriad Domain. With this, Palace Head Dan Chi’s great ambitions of uniting the Myriad Domain was diametrically opposed to the desires of the Sky Sect.
Although this conflict was still in the shadows, once it was brought forward to the light, it would not take much for the Sky Sect to swiftly crush the Regal Pill Palace.
“i must find a way to let Palace Head Dan Chi know of this.” Jiang Chen felt that his sense of honor impelled him to do so. However, how should he bring it up? Tell the palace head that he killed Ding Tong, a sixth level sage realm genius himself? What would the palace head think after that? Would he be able to keep Long Xiaoxuan’s secret?
It was altogether obvious that he wouldn’t be able to spill the truth. And even if he did reveal the Tristar Sect as the Sky Sect’s p.a.w.n, his current ident.i.ty wasn’t enough to make anyone in the Myriad Domain believe him. It would only plunge the Regal Pill Palace into deep suffering and maybe even incite conflict beforehand.
When he thought about an enormous organization such as the Sky Sect setting up its plans throughout the Myriad Domain, Jiang Chen felt a heavy weight on his heart. No matter how much of a fuss the Regal Pill Palace kicked up, no matter how domineering the Great Cathedral was, they would still just be trampled by the Sky Sect’s absolute power. The only reason the Sky Sect had yet to make their move was because they hadn’t finished setting up the chessboard, or had some other reservation holding them at bay.
Once open conflict was triggered and there was no need for subterfuge, there was no force in the Myriad Domain capable of standing up to the army of the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Even all of the sects added together in the Myriad Domain wouldn’t const.i.tute a tenth of the Sky Sect. Two or three emperor realm cultivators from the Sky Sect and a host of sky sage realm experts would be enough to sweep the entire Myriad Domain, to say nothing of anything else. This was the danger from the greater picture of things.
And on the individual level, Jiang Chen was already being targeted by a true disciple of the Sky Sect before he’d even left the Myriad Domain, and a true disciple ranked in the top three of the sect at that! If Ding Tong’s words were to be believed, Yong Xingyun’s strength as of right then sat at the peak of the sage realm, half step emperor realm. If this kind of cultivation really did descend on this area, then even Long Xiaoxuan would likely only be able fight him to a draw, much less Jiang Chen.
However, an ace fighter such as Long Xiaoxuan shouldn’t be deployed in the first place. Accidental exposure might just create the situation of defending the front door from the wolf but letting the tiger in the back. If he didn’t reveal Long Xiaoxuan’s existence, he might only elicit Yong Xingyun’s attention. But if he did reveal the former, then he’d elicit attention from the entire Divine Abyss Continent. Even the old t.i.tled Great Emperor monsters would come to try and enslave the dragon. After all, having a dragon steed would be an unheralded glory in the Continent.
“Strength, it all comes down to not having enough strength in the end,” Jiang Chen sighed. Although he had Long Xiaoxuan as a trump card, he still felt a deep sense of inadequacy when faced with such an enormous ent.i.ty as the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Even if he could reveal Long Xiaoxuan at any time, the dragon’s current strength wouldn’t be able to easily contend against the Sky Sect. Despite his rate of cultivation shooting forward recently, Jiang Chen’s physical foundations from the Eastern Kingdom were simply too poor. If it hadn’t been for all his fortuitous occurrences, he likely would’ve still been dithering about in the spirit realm.
Compared to peers his age, Jiang Chen already counted as a top genius of the Myriad Domain. But those of the Upper Eight Realms were born with golden spoons in their mouths. Their innate potential and the resources available to them were all greatly superior compared to Jiang Chen. The only advantage he had were the memories from his past life, but even those were unable to replace the effects that cultivation resources brought.
Compared to the top geniuses who’d benefited from long term access to rich resources, Jiang Chen had only been able to draw upon proper resources after he’d entered the Regal Pill Palace. However, he’d only joined the sect for less than a year, a completely insignificant amount of time. Yet, Jiang Chen firmly believed that as his resources continued to grow richer, his training would certainly be able to catch up.
“Let’s not think so much. The harvest in Mt. Rippling Mirage is the perfect opportunity to acc.u.mulate resources. This comes about once every thirty years, and who knows if I’ll even be in the Myriad Domain in the next thirty years?” Jiang Chen flung aside all these random thoughts and decided to treasure what was at hand.
So what of the Ninesuns Sky Sect! Even someone as strong as his father in his past life, the Celestial Emperor of all realms, had been destroyed in the face of the cataclysm! The Sky Sect was a first rank sect alright, but it was far from a good reason for Jiang Chen to halt in his path. He believed that the Sky Sect would absolutely investigate Ding Tong’s death, but once Mt. Rippling Mirage was sealed, it would be very difficult for the Sky Sect to launch their investigation. Unless they blatantly destroyed the restrictions around Mt. Rippling Mirage and forcefully tried to blunder in, but even then time would still wash away clues. Who could tie it to Jiang Chen then?
Not to mention that even if Jiang Chen admitted that he killed Ding Tong, likely no one would believe him, not with Ding Tong’s cultivation level. There were also no signs of battle at the scene. Long Xiaoxuan had instantly killed Ding Tong, so any clue left behind would be even harder to discern. He looked around and ascertained that there were no traces of anything before hastily leaving the area.
Jiang Chen finally stopped at a place a few hundred kilometers away after traveling for half a day. He looked around and discovered that he was close to a lake. The lake was a glossy blue mirror, as if a natural gem embedded into the ground. It reflected the green mountains in the surroundings, further enhancing the view. When Jiang Chen saw how stunning the scene was, he immediately recognized it as a place endowed with the energy of the universe. A place such as this would absolutely be nurturing treasures.
He looked around and noted no signs of any human tracks. Apparently this was a place yet to be discovered by anyone. He extended his consciousness and surveyed the area with the G.o.d’s Eye, actually noting more than a few true saint rank spirit herbs dotting the landscape.
“This is a good place alright! Truenet Flower, Moonheart Gra.s.s, Snakeform Ganoderma, Azure Vine…” Jiang Chen’s eyes roved over the spirit herbs brightly, quickly identifying all of the true saint spirit herbs. Spirit herbs at this level were no ordinary items. Any of them were exceedingly precious. With Jiang Chen’s current position in the Regal Pill Palace, he’d likely have to go to quite a degree of effort to obtain true saint rank herbs. But it was precisely this level of herbs needed to refine true saint rank level pills.
In particular, the Saintnet Pill! If cultivators at the peak of the origin realm obtained this pill, then their chances of successfully a.s.sailing the sage realm would rise by thirty to fifty percent. This meant to say that even if one hadn’t properly set up the foundations for the sage realm, this pill would still give them a great boost to succeed when they were trying to ascend to the sage realm!