The Glazed King City was a true paradise for rogue cultivators.
The climate was pleasant, the living conditions far less cutthroat than those in Pill Fire City, and the degree of tolerance toward outsiders was arguably the highest among the entire Upper Eight Domains.
It was no exaggeration to call the Glazed King City a rogue cultivator's paradise.
Take the Geng brothers — Geng Qianchi and Geng Qianzhang — for example. After their last escort mission bringing Mu Gaoqi and the others back, they had lingered in the Glazed King City for quite some time and had grown increasingly fond of it.
On top of that, the Peerless Great Emperor had expressed interest in settling down here, so the Geng brothers also decided to stay for the time being.
Compared to the northern regions of the Upper Eight Domains, the southern scenery here felt refreshingly novel to them. Most importantly, the Peacock Sacred Mountain and the Taiyuan Pavilion offered a wealth of cultivation resources. Since they were all on familiar terms, they had no worries about resource access whatsoever.
When the Peerless Great Emperor and the Geng brothers learned that Jiang Chen was heading to the Red Cauldron Central Domain, they all offered to accompany him.
Jiang Chen knew they meant well, but bringing more people along would only make things more cumbersome.
After all, who in the world didn't know the Peerless Great Emperor's reputation by now? Wherever he went, he attracted attention.
And at this point, the entire Upper Eight Domains already knew that the so-called Pill King Shaoyuan was none other than Young Lord Zhen Dan — the Pill King of Peacock Sacred Mountain.
If the Peerless Great Emperor showed up alongside him, people would immediately guess that Young Lord Zhen Dan had appeared as well.
That would be detrimental to keeping his movements discreet.
All of this, of course, was the handiwork of the Han brothers from the Sky Sword Sect of Summer Yu. In their eagerness to promote Young Lord Zhen Dan's appointment as their Guest Pill Emperor, they had spared no effort in publicizing the fact that Young Lord Zhen Dan was the very same Shaoyuan who had recently shaken the northwestern reaches of the Upper Eight Domains.
Thanks to the Han brothers' efforts, Young Lord Zhen Dan's fame had spread once more, making him the talk of the entire Upper Eight Domains.
It had to be said that the Han brothers' intentions were good, though they did harbor a touch of self-interest.
The positive side was that Jiang Chen's reputation had been disseminated on a far broader scale, extending his legendary story from the Glazed King City across the entirety of human territory.
Back when Jiang Chen had defeated Pill King Jilang in the domain of the Myriad Beast Pills at Peacock Sacred Mountain, the argument had been that he held the home-field advantage. Pill Fire City's camp had claimed that Pill King Jilang simply hadn't been prepared, and that the loss wasn't a big deal — he simply hadn't taken it seriously enough.
But this time, with the Moon God Sect's Moon God Treasure Tree, neither party had known in advance that it would become a contest. Both sides had been equally unprepared.
Pill King Jilang had been completely helpless, while Young Lord Zhen Dan had resolved the Moon God Treasure Tree matter with effortless ease.
One couldn't necessarily say that Young Lord Zhen Dan had thoroughly surpassed Pill King Jilang, but it at least demonstrated a great deal.
The once-invincible Pill King Jilang — hailed as an undefeated legend among his generation — had now lost to the same person twice.
Invisible to the public eye, Pill King Jilang had become nothing more than a stepping stone for Young Lord Zhen Dan.
Because Young Lord Zhen Dan's reputation now preceded him, every move Jiang Chen made had to be handled with the utmost caution. No one knew how many pairs of eyes across the human territories were watching his every step.
…
The Red Cauldron Central Domain was no stranger to Jiang Chen. Yet with each passing visit, the fury in his heart refused to diminish by even a fraction.
Though the destruction of the Myriad Formations Domain had been orchestrated by the Indestructible Heavenly Capital, the Red Cauldron Central Domain had served as the main force — even if they were merely tools of the Indestructible Heavenly Capital, they were still one of the chief culprits.
What was more, the bounty and pursuit order that the Red Cauldron Central Domain had issued against him all those years ago was still active — and had been increased several times over.
However, Jiang Chen had no intention of going on a rampage through the Red Cauldron Central Domain just yet. First, the timing wasn't right. Second, the primary purpose of this trip was to rescue Wei Xing'er.
Wei Xing'er had once given him considerable assistance at the Royal Capital's auction house. That was a significant favor.
Moreover, through that encounter, Jiang Chen had seen another side of Wei Xing'er. Regardless of what kind of temptress she had been in the past, the fact that she had risked herself for the Myriad Formations Domain was enough to convince Jiang Chen that she was worth saving.
Wei Xing'er's identity in the Royal Capital of Red Cauldron was the young madam of the Cuihua Pavilion.
The Cuihua Pavilion was a major power in the Royal Capital. In terms of wealth, scarcely more than a handful of organizations in the capital could rival it. In terms of influence, no more than twenty could surpass it.
Even the fourth-rank sects scattered across the Red Cauldron Central Domain had to tread carefully in the presence of the Cuihua Pavilion. The only ones that truly merited its attention were the few third-rank sects in the region.
It could be said that in the Royal Capital of Red Cauldron, apart from the imperial family itself, there were virtually no forces capable of making the Cuihua Pavilion bend its head.
The Cuihua Pavilion's headquarters occupied the most prestigious district of the Royal Capital.
Jiang Chen had already arrived in this neighborhood, and the Cuihua Pavilion's headquarters was now visible in the distance.
Taking in the scene, he noticed something unexpected — the entrance to the Cuihua Pavilion was bustling with activity, the wide gateway packed with a throng of people.
A sea of faces stretched before him.
"Hmm? What's going on?" Jiang Chen found himself somewhat surprised.
According to his intelligence, the Cuihua Pavilion was a powerful organization that specialized in dealing in all manner of rare and exotic treasures. It effectively monopolized the high-end market for such goods throughout the entire Red Cauldron Central Domain.
Because the Cuihua Pavilion dealt exclusively in premium rarities, it was a place that ordinary rogue cultivators could never afford to set foot in.
That alone should have made it impossible for the Cuihua Pavilion to ever see a scene like this — a festive crowd packed shoulder to shoulder as if celebrating a holiday.