Chapter 709: Gifting Huang’er an Opportunity

As for the Ninesuns Sky Sect, Elder Hao also brought a large group of elites back to the inn they were staying at.

“Elder Hao, are we really just going to let it go like this? Venerated elder Chen Lei has declared that he will seek revenge for Cao Jin’s death…”

Elder Hao sneered as he answered in a dark mood, “Let it go? Of course not! However, Cao Jin’s death probably has nothing to do with the Eternal Celestial Capital.”

“Are they really not responsible for this?” The Ninesuns Sky Sect crowd were all surprised by this revelation.

Elder Hao frowned and said, “What’s the current situation of the Eternal Celestial Capital?”

“They’re acting suspiciously, like they’ve found a clue. They all look very confident in themselves. Could it be that they’ve found something about Jiang Chen?”

Elder Hao nodded, “Watch them closely regardless of what happens. I suspect that Cao Jin’s death may have something to do with that Jiang Chen.”

“Ah?” The crowd were taken aback when they heard that. It was obvious why they couldn’t quite wrap their heads around that revelation. They had heard a lot about Jiang Chen lately. He’d been trapped in Mt. Rippling Mirage, but had somehow appeared at the Myriad Grand Ceremony. They’d heard that the entire Myriad Grand Ceremony had been blockaded, but he’d mysteriously slipped through Great Scarlet Mid Region’s grasp with ease. They’d even heard that Jiang Chen had returned to the Myriad Domain and dealt a severe blow to Gong Wuji, killing the man’s most beloved grandson. These first rank sect disciples had to admit that Jiang Chen’s repeated, almost legendary performances had stunned them greatly.

Once upon a time, Jiang Chen had just been a small fry in the sixteen kingdom alliance. If it hadn’t been for the murder of Long Juxue, no one would know of his existence. It was because Jiang Chen had murdered Long Juxue and ruined the Ninesuns Sky Sect’s plans for the sixteen kingdom alliance that they’d first heard mention of this character.

Of course, the reason they remembered Jiang Chen wasn’t because he’d successfully destroyed their plans, but because Long Juxue had been the cultivation furnace that senior brother Yong Xingyun had selected for himself. Yong Xingyun was the third ranked out of the top ten true disciples in the Ninesuns Sky Sect. The fact that Jiang Chen had dared destroy senior brother Yong Xingyun’s plans was the biggest reason why everyone in Ninesuns Sky Sect had committed this name to memory. They’d never imagined that Jiang Chen could grow so swiftly in just a few years. But how could he possibly kill one of their ten true disciples, Cao Jin?

Why did this sound so utterly ridiculous?

However, Elder Hao wouldn’t be so bored as to create an imaginary enemy after that large battle not long ago. With his temper, such acts were beneath him. Everyone exchanged looks with each other; he was serious.

“Elder Hao, Jiang Chen was said to be at the initial stage sage realm. Even if he did run into some fortune, he still shouldn’t be a match for Cao Jin.”

“Indeed, Cao Jin is half step emperor realm. He may be ranked ninth among the top ten true disciples of Ninesuns Sky Sect, but even an initial stage emperor realm wouldn’t dare claim that they could beat him with absolute certainty.” The crowd threw in their opinions one after another. The meaning behind their words was quite obvious. Jiang Chen might be a monstrous genius, but he shouldn’t be able to threaten Cao Jin at his current level. They didn’t even think that a person who could kill Cao Jin existed in the entirety of the Myriad Domain.

Elder Hao sighed, “Under normal circumstances, I too would believe that Jiang Chen is absolutely not a match for Cao Jin. However, according to the latest results of the sect’s investigation, Cao Jin once suffered a loss when he visited the Regal Pill Palace. After that, he joined hands with the second rank pill king Shi Zhen and formation genius Wu Heng, and all signs point to the fact that they headed to Mt. Rippling Mirage. I don’t need to tell you that Jiang Chen was the only living person present there at the time. Even if Jiang Chen hadn’t killed Cao Jin personally, he must’ve used a restriction or killing move already present inside Mt. Rippling Mirage. If we then factor in today’s incident where the Eternal Celestial Capital’s hunt for Jiang Chen was coincidentally interrupted by Cao Jin’s Ocean Cover being delivered to Gong Wuji... It’s obvious that the purpose of the delivery was to antagonize the two sects into fighting each other. Therefore, there’s a ninety nine percent chance that the mastermind behind this all is Jiang Chen!”

Although Elder Hao had not seen any of this with his own eyes, the plethora of clues were almost all pointing towards Jiang Chen. Moreover, none of the deductions he’d made based on these clues contradicted each other. Accounting for all the factors, Jiang Chen’s name practically bent over backwards to present itself as the answer. Everyone’s expressions was ugly as they processed Elder Hao’s analysis.

“I can’t believe that brute Jiang Chen is so cunning!”

“Sigh, as much as a genius as Cao Jin was, he was too reckless in the end. What a shame!”

“If that Jiang Chen really is this despicable, then we cannot possibly let him off easy, Elder Hao!”

Elder Hao sneered, “Let him off easy? Of course not! Have you forgotten what we’re here for?”

The crowd came to a sudden realization. Indeed, what exactly are we here for? They were here to take advantage of the confusion! They were here to capture the Myriad Domain geniuses who’d made a trip into the Paramount Realm! Without a doubt, Jiang Chen had just made the top of their target list.

They’d originally had a lot of targets to capture, such as the Great Cathedral’s Xiang Qin, Yue Baize and more. But now, Elder Hao realized that Jiang Chen was their true top target. In fact, he was even more important since they had lost all contact with the spy they had sent into the Regal Pill Palace after he entered the Paramount Realm.

According to their intelligence, Jun Mobai hadn’t come out of the Paramount Realm. They’d also heard that the Great Scarlet Mid Region sects that’d attacked the Myriad Grand Ceremony and locked down the Paramount Realm had captured a bunch of geniuses who’d emerged. However, Jun Mobai was not amongst that group of captives. As a pawn of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, Jun Mobai possessed many trump cards that could’ve helped him escape unhindered. Moreover, the group of captives had ultimately been rescued by someone else. They deduced that the person most likely to have rescued them was also Jiang Chen.

If Jun Mobai really had been amongst those freed captives, he would have tried to contact the Ninesuns Sky Sect. However, they hadn’t received any such signal. All the clues pointed to Jun Mobai’s death in the Paramount Realm. But he’d entered the Paramount Realm to carry out a special mission. He would not have involved himself in pointless conflict. So, why had Jun Mobai perished in the Paramount Realm?

Elder Hao deduced that Jun Mobai had most likely discovered some clues inside the Paramount Realm. If the clues really were related to Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance, then the situation would be complicated. Just who had killed Jun Mobai?

The Ninesuns Sky Sect’s upper echelon had made their deductions, and they all thought that the Great Cathedral’s Xiang Qin and Yue Baize were the only ones who had the raw power to kill Jun Mobai. Of course, Jiang Chen was one of the suspects as well. After all, Jiang Chen did defeat Xiang Qin in the Myriad Grand Ceremony. But he’d just been a secondary suspect. But after this incident, Elder Hao was now listing Jiang Chen as a primary suspect and their number one target. Whether or not Jiang Chen had really discovered Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance in the Paramount Realm, Elder Hao felt that he had to capture Jiang Chen as soon as possible!

“Everyone, your mission is to do all you can to capture Jiang Chen. We absolutely must not allow Jiang Chen to fall into the Eternal Celestial Capital’s hands!” Elder Hao wasted no time in giving out new orders when his thoughts had travelled to this point. “Remember, Jiang Chen must be captured alive at all cost!”

“Also, deploy all the available forces we have to obstruct and hunt down Jiang Chen along the routes to Veluriyam Capital. If necessary, you may shed all pretenses of cordiality with the Eternal Celestial Capital!” Elder Hao was this operation’s highest authority. Naturally, his words were law.

Someone came in with a report at this time, “Elder Hao, Gong Wuji has departed personally towards the northwest with a large group of men.”

After a moment’s astonishment, Elder Hao hurriedly ordered, “We depart immediately.”

They had failed to track down Jiang Chen, but there was a dumb tactic they could use; chase after the Eternal Celestial Capital wherever they went. He would definitely be able to find Jiang Chen as long as he stuck close to Gong Wuji.

…...

Huang’er was slightly surprised as the two of them travelled. This was because Jiang Chen had slowed down so much that they weren’t even travelling at half their usual speed. In fact, it didn’t look like they were escaping a pursuit. They looked like they were on a vacation. After watching the sun dip below the horizon, Jiang Chen found a relatively secluded spot and entered deep underground as usual. This time however, he summoned the little cicada.

“Hi~ Do you need anything, big brother Chen?” The little cicada’s life had been pretty comfortable as of late. Ever since it’d been baptized by the wood spirit spring, its bloodline had been improving by leaps and bounds.

Jiang Chen chuckled and said, “Little cicada, I want to borrow a drop of blood from you…”

Jiang Chen was prepared to haggle with the little cicada, but to his surprise it grinned and answered without hesitation, “Big brother Chen, I’ll give you anything you ask for.”

Jiang Chen was slightly surprised by its words. He discovered that the little cicada’s tone and expression were growing more and more like a human’s. Could it be that this little cicada was about to assume human form?

“Teehee, big brother Chen, I’ve already entered the sage realm, but I planned to cultivate some more before attempting my transformation! Here you go! Here’s a drop of blood for you.” The little cicada had bartered a couple of times with Jiang Chen and had haggled greatly with him at the beginning. But after the baptism of the wood spirit spring, the little cicada had taken Jiang Chen for its master and the two of them had gotten closer. It was obvious that the little fellow understood that a race like it needed a powerful patron to survive. Jiang Chen was without a doubt its best choice.

Jiang Chen was about to say some more after he received the droplet of blood, but the little cicada didn’t give him a chance to say a word, “Big brother Chen, I’m going to cultivate now. When I can transform I’ll talk to you and relieve your boredom then, okay?”

The little fellow flashed and vanished immediately. Jiang Chen chuckled and shook his head. He looked at Huang’er. She was no longer surprised by Jiang Chen’s various fortuitous encounters. It wasn’t really surprising that a man who possessed even a true dragon would possess a Thundercloud Cicada too.

“Miss Huang’er, this is a drop of cicada blood. Please refine it.”

“Me?” Huang’er was slightly surprised by this.

“Mmhmm. This cicada blood will ensure that you’re immune to poison and lightning. It is incredibly precious,” There were no arrogance in Jiang Chen’s eyes, just complete sincerity.

“I… I haven’t done anything to earn it though,” Huang’er was shocked when she heard of the benefits of refining cicada blood. Even in her world, there were very few people who dared to claim that they were immune to poison and lightning.

“Miss Huang’er, I would never hurt you,” Jiang Chen’s eyes were sincere.

They could both see the sincerity in each other’s eyes. Huang’er was a worldly child, and wasn’t the type to play coy. After a moment’s thought, she nodded, “Okay. I owe you a great favor again, Sir Jiang.”

Jiang Chen also smiled cheerfully when he saw Huang’er accepting his gift without hesitation.