Sovereign of the Three Realms

Lin Yanyu quietly departed for Pillfire City after three days. Jiang Chen, however, wasn’t in such a hurry. He was the young lord of Sacred Peafowl Mountain. It was a position where even the smallest decision could lead to great repercussions. He had to straighten out some problems in Veluriyam Capital before he could leave. The capital might seem calm on the surface, but trouble lurked underneath. Emperor Shura and his faction were as ambitious as ever. He was summoned by Emperor Peafowl immediately after he returned from Taiyuan Tower.

“Jiang Chen, I will be departing for the desolate wildlands tomorrow. The responsibilities you have to shoulder will become much greater from now on. Be prepared.” 

“So soon, Your Majesty?”

Emperor Peafowl sighed gently. “I would have left much earlier if I hadn’t waited to see your accomplishments in the Veluriyam Pagoda.”

Jiang Chen didn’t know what to say. The ancient demons had become a thorn in Emperor Peafowl’s heart.

“Your Majesty, please be safe on your journey.” He knew that the emperor wasn’t easily swayed by others. He was a man with a strong sense of responsibility.

“Someone has to do this. I only wish to contribute a little something to the cause.” Emperor Peafowl sounded a little worried.

“The human race has survived since the ancient times because of our unity. Your Majesty is someone of great use to the human race. Your life should come first regardless of the occasion,” Jiang Chen advised.

“Mm. I know my limits. I’m only there to investigate the demons’ movements. I will not throw myself into the pits of hell like an ignorant fool.” The emperor knew exactly how much was at stake. He could serve a much greater purpose by being alive rather than dead. Only by living could he fight against the demons. The dead, no matter how valiant, were of no use to the cause. The emperor didn’t want to make it sound like he was walking on a path of no return. He knew fully well that the ensuing war after the arrival of the demonic calamity would be long and drawn out. It wasn’t something that could end in a single day even if the human race went all out.

Jiang Chen laughed. “There will be enough wood to fuel the fire as long as the hills remain green.”

Emperor Peafowl roared with laughter. “Don’t worry, young lad. I may have lived for thousands of years, but I’m not sick of living yet! I’ll have to count on you to stabilize the situation in Veluriyam Capital. The water may seem calm on the surface, but there are deep currents underneath. Be careful.”

Jiang Chen pondered for a moment before he came clean. “Your Majesty, I am also preparing for an excursion.”

“Oh?” He had mentioned this before, but the emperor had never thought that the young lad would be in such a hurry to leave.

“I haven’t heard any news about my father ever since he left the sixteen kingdoms alliance and came to the Upper Eight Regions. I have to search for him. Also, I’ve heard that my birth mother was forcefully taken away by her family to the Upper Eight Regions when I was still a boy. My father came here to search for her, but there has been no news of him. As his son, my worries and anxiety grows with each passing day.”

Emperor Peafowl nodded. “Matters related to your parents should demand immediate action. Feel free to use the resources that you have in Sacred Peafowl Mountain. Don’t forget that you are now the young lord and the owner of the Progeny Feather Medallion. The Peafowl Guards and the four monarchs will listen to your every command as long as it’s within your possession.”

“Mm. I will not hesitate to use it if I have to. However, I have to approach this matter with stealth due to some circumstances. I’m worried that the Eternal Celestial Capital and various other factions might target my father if I’m too brazen with my search. It will only make matters worse.” Jiang Chen had described the reality of things.

 “That’s a good point. I agree, you should resolve this matter quietly.” Emperor Peafowl pondered for a while before he flicked his finger and sent a storage ring flying to Jiang Chen. “Take this as a small present from me.”

An Imperial Advent Defense Talisman, two escape glyphs, and one Imperial Advent Onslaught Talisman were found within the ring. The Imperial Advent Defense Talisman was meant for defensive purposes. The one Jiang Chen had received from Ji San long ago could be used twice. The escape glyph required no explanation. It could instantly teleport a person to safety. The Imperial Advent Onslaught Talisman, however, had the exact opposite effect of the Imperial Advent Defense Talisman. It was equivalent to a single attack from an emperor realm expert. Both of these talismans could be used thrice.

These glyphs and talismans were incredibly valuable. Jiang Chen was filled with gratitude. “Your Majesty, these are very precious talismans!”

The emperor smiled in response. “They’re precious, but far less valuable than the kunpeng bloodline you’ve given to me. It might come in handy if you ever find yourself in a dangerous predicament during your journey.”

They’ll definitely come in handy! Jiang Chen wasn’t the original owner of the kunpeng bloodline. He had given it to the emperor without any personal cost. However, these talismans were the result of the emperor’s blood, sweat, and tears. They weren’t just any common talismans. These had to be refined from the blood of an emperor.

The refining process was extremely complicated and was accompanied with a very low success rate. Great emperors didn’t typically refine many of these talismans, as the price to pay in terms of blood and energy was simply too high. Talismans of this caliber were never given to anyone except for the closest of families and those highly regarded.

Emperor Peafowl had refined less than thirty of these talismans throughout his entire life. It would take him two to three years to restore himself to his original state after the creation of a single talisman. Since it couldn’t be mass produced, every single great emperor had very few of these talismans. Every single one of them was invariably rare and precious.

Jiang Chen was very grateful when he accepted the talismans. He could tell that the emperor was regarding him as a nephew or a son. “I will be eternally grateful for Your Majesty’s generosity.”

The emperor laughed heartily in response. “This is what a man should be like! Don’t be hesitant! You deserve it! Cloudsoar Monarch often mentions that our allies have encountered various kinds of fortune ever since you appeared in the Capital. All forms of deterioration and decline were turned on their heads, helping Sacred Peafowl Mountain earn the trust of the citizens once more. The negative rumors after young lord Fan’s death are also no more. These are the fruits of your labor, are they not?” 

Jiang Chen was slightly embarrassed. “It was my duty. It’s nothing to write home about.”

“Haha! If your achievements are nothing to write home about, then my achievements over the years must be a joke! I was never able to deal as big of a blow to Pillfire City as you dealt them!” The emperor smiled. “Throughout my years of rule, I’ve never seen anyone conquer the ninth obelisk either.”

“Also, the Coiling Dragon clan lord should have seen his cultivation disperse and fall by now. Aren’t you the reason he’s still alive? Not even an empyrean expert can reverse the fates and escape from death at the end of one’s life. And yet, you have the ability to extend the life of a dead man. Isn’t this another one of your contributions?”

Jiang Chen hadn’t reported to Emperor Peafowl about the clan lord’s situation because he knew that it would enter his ears sooner or later. It was just that the Pinecrane Pill had to remain a secret. Otherwise, trouble might brew in Veluriyam Capital again after he had just resolved the issues caused by the Longevity Pill.  He was hesitant to speak, but came clean in the end. “Your Majesty, the clan lord should be fine from now on. He should have no problem living for another millennium.”

“Another millenium?” The emperor could no longer stay in his seat. “Are you telling me that the clan lord will live for another thousand years?”

Jiang Chen nodded. “A thousand years is a conservative estimation. If all goes well, he should live for another thousand two hundred years.”

“Did you give him a Longevity Pill? Didn’t you say that the Longevity Pill is useless for emperor realm cultivators? Don’t tell me… it was misdirection all along?” Emperor Peafowl was visibly excited.

“I didn’t give him the Longevity Pill, as its effects would likely backfire. Of this I have no doubt. The pill I gave him was a hundred times more valuable than the Longevity Pill. It’s a pill that can extend even a great emperor’s life by a thousand years.”

“What? There’s a pill that works on emperor realm cultivators too?” The emperor was flabbergasted. His mind was drawing a blank. “Jiang Chen, this isn’t a joke, right?”

Jiang Chen smiled wryly. “Indeed, I’ve chosen not to speak about it because it does defy all logic. However, I’ve decided to come clean because Your Majesty will likely find out the truth sooner or later.”

“It seems that you’re still hiding a lot of secrets from me.” Emperor Peafowl said with a faint smile on his face. He couldn’t hold himself back from asking more questions. “What kind of pill is it? I’ve traveled the human domain for thousands of years, and yet I’ve never heard of a pill that is so out of this world. The entire human domain might go into a frenzy if rumors about your pill spread through the lands. Great emperors from all corners of the world might crawl out of their caves in search for you.”

“That is precisely why I’ve decided not to disclose this information to anyone. It’d be troublesome if everyone came asking for the Pinecrane Pill.”

“The Pinecrane Pill?” The emperor seemed a little surprised. “Both the pine and the crane possess long life. It’s truly a fitting name!” he muttered to himself.  

“The two are one of the reasons for its name, but the biggest reason is because the pine and the crane are both the main ingredients in the pill.”

The emperor waved his hands. “You needn’t tell me about the ingredients of the pill. I only have one question left in my mind. Can this pill be mass produced?”

Jiang Chen shook his head. “Definitely not. The ingredients for the pill are extremely difficult to gather. Two sky rank ingredients, the Goldencrown Cloudcrane heart and the Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine, are the main ingredients of the pill. Moreover, the facilitating ingredients don’t exactly come cheap either.”

The two sky rank ingredients alone deemed it unsuitable for mass production.