The grand ceremony came to a lively and festive close. The happiest of all were Gu Xintang and Ali.
On the very day the ceremony was held, the Peerless Great Emperor and his Dao Companion Lady Yun announced that they would take Gu Xintang as their adopted son.
This decision surprised even Jiang Chen, for he had never heard the Peerless Great Emperor hint at such a thing before.
Jiang Chen understood, however, that the Peerless Great Emperor must have seen reflections of his own youth in Gu Xintang — an emotional resonance between them.
Gu Xintang becoming the Peerless Great Emperor's adopted son might seem like a simple detail. But it sent a powerful signal to the outside world.
It was also a warning to that Sun Yuan: stop probing, stop trying to meddle. Otherwise, he would be going against the Peerless Great Emperor himself.
It had to be said that Gu Xintang, who had been utterly obscure within the Moon God Sect, suddenly became a figure of great interest. Those who had not thought highly of him before immediately changed their impression.
Sometimes, fate works in mysterious ways — a single change in the smallest detail can alter your entire life.
Previously, given Gu Xintang's status and standing, there was no room for him to advance within the Moon God Sect. That was precisely why Ali's family had not been particularly optimistic about him.
But now, after becoming the Peerless Great Emperor's adopted son, that situation was bound to change dramatically.
Everyone had to reckon with the fact that Gu Xintang now had an adopted father at the Great Emperor level. Such a figure — within the Moon God Sect, no one could afford to ignore him.
Aside from the Sect Master, no one would dare bully him anymore.
This was the very definition of a rising tide lifting all boats. A textbook example.
After the ceremony concluded, the Peerless Great Emperor found himself busy. The Moon God Sect elders who had attended the ceremony all extended invitations to him one after another, each eager to host a banquet in his honor.
The first to extend an invitation was the family of Third Master Jing. The old ancestor of the Jing family, upon hearing how Third Master Jing had turned an enemy into a friend alongside the Peerless Great Emperor, was thoroughly astonished. After berating Third Master Jing, he ordered him to make absolutely sure the Peerless Great Emperor and Young Master Shao were invited to a banquet.
A Great Emperor-level rogue cultivator like the Peerless Great Emperor was someone everyone wanted on their side.
The Peerless Great Emperor did not refuse these invitations. Jiang Chen personally disliked such events, but in order to gather intelligence about his mother, he held his nose and attended quite a few of them.
After several busy days, he had finally managed to deal with all the social obligations. At that point, Third Master Jing once again sought out Jiang Chen in a secretive manner.
"Young Master Shao, if I may ask — back in Pill Fire City, during the Bounty Arena, that Young Master Shao who participated… that was you, wasn't it?" Third Master Jing asked cautiously.
"It was. Why do you ask?" Jiang Chen was slightly taken aback.
Third Master Jing lowered his voice mysteriously. "I just wanted to confirm. I heard that back then, there was a Mark King Mission — a pill-related task that had gone unsolved for eight hundred years — and in the end, it was resolved by you, Young Master Shao?"
"That's right." Jiang Chen did not deny it.
Third Master Jing nodded. After a pause, he said in a low voice, "Young Master Shao, just now the old ancestor of the Jing family told me something. He said that the Moon God Sect seems to have recently extended invitations to many Pill Kings from Pill Fire City. Apparently they've encountered some kind of unsolvable problem. They've been using every personal connection available among the Moon God Sect's upper echelons, reaching out everywhere to find top-tier experts in alchemy."
Jiang Chen's interest was piqued upon hearing this. "What do they need pill masters for?"
Third Master Jing shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure what it's about specifically. But from what I understand, this matter is extremely important — even the three Sect Masters have been drawn into it. And they've issued a death order: within three months, they must find a top-tier Pill King capable of solving the problem."
Jiang Chen pondered for a moment, then asked, "Who have they invited?"
"The highest-level Pill Kings in our Slanting Moon Upper Domain are all within our Moon God Sect. Obviously they can't solve it themselves. Otherwise, they wouldn't be reaching out to outsiders. I hear they've invited a batch of Pill Kings from Pill Fire City. Apparently even Pill King Jilang was invited, and Pill King Qingfeng, Pill King Guyue, and Pill King Tianya…"
These Pill Kings were all renowned figures in Pill Fire City — top-tier Pill Kings at the quasi-Pill Emperor level.
Jiang Chen knew several of these names. Pill King Jilang was his old rival, one he had crushed at Peacock Sacred Mountain in the Glazed Tile Royal City.
It could be said that Jiang Chen's reputation as Pill King Zhen had been built upon defeating Pill King Jilang. So it would have been hard for Jiang Chen not to have an impression of him.
Pill King Qingfeng was someone he had just dealt with at the Bounty Arena not long ago. Though the man had a foul temper, he was principled — a Pill King who kept himself clean, conservative in his thinking but noble in character.
As for Pill King Guyue and Pill King Tianya, Jiang Chen had heard their names but had never interacted with them. He knew they were both famous quasi-Pill Emperor-level Pill Kings in Pill Fire City.
"Are they all from Pill Fire City?" Jiang Chen asked.
"The Pill Kings from several surrounding domains in our region are all based in Pill Fire City. Pill Kings from other places wouldn't have much higher skill than those in our Slanting Moon Upper Domain." Third Master Jing was stating a plain fact.
The truth was, Pill Fire City's influence was simply overwhelming. It cast such a long shadow that across the surrounding domains — whether Upper, Middle, or Lower — there were no Pill Kings who could truly be called top-tier.