Prince Zhao's martial strength was no less than that of the Cuihua Pavilion Master. Even though the Cuihua Pavilion Master currently held the upper hand, Prince Zhao was confident that he possessed superior martial power. On top of that, he had his own treasure trump cards. So who would ultimately prevail was still anyone's guess.
At the very least, in Prince Zhao's eyes, he did not consider himself cornered. Even if the Cuihua Pavilion Master had outmaneuvered them and gained the edge in scheming—
Prince Zhao believed that all schemes ultimately had to be carried out through absolute strength.
As long as his absolute strength remained superior, it didn't matter how precise the other party's schemes were. He had nothing to fear.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen had been quietly moving through the fog-sea formation the whole time Prince Zhao and the Cuihua Pavilion Master traded barbs. His target was the earth-attribute treasure.
As for the struggle between Prince Zhao and the Cuihua Pavilion Master, he honestly couldn't care less right now.
Because trapped within this fog-sea formation, Jiang Chen could already see the fate awaiting Prince Zhao and the others—and it was nothing short of a dead end.
The Cuihua Pavilion Master suddenly let out a sinister laugh.
"Kid, you might as well stop looking around. I never imagined that despite all my plans being so flawless, you'd still manage to break through one link in the chain!"
When the Cuihua Pavilion Master said this, everyone was thoroughly bewildered. None of them understood why the Pavilion Master would suddenly spout such a seemingly nonsensical remark.
Only Jiang Chen knew the Cuihua Pavilion Master was directing those words at him.
He let a faint laugh escape his lips and spoke in an indifferent tone: "Surname Cui, I truly admire your ambition, and I admire your cunning. But don't you think there's no irreconcilable blood feud between us?"
The moment Jiang Chen opened his mouth, everyone was dumbfounded once more.
Even Prince Zhao stood frozen, staring in the direction of the voice. He had to strain his ocular arts to their fullest before he could make out that the person speaking was indeed his subordinate, "Xiao Cheng."
Elder Zhang was equally perplexed: "Xiao Cheng, what's going on with you?"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly: "I'm not Xiao Cheng. The real Xiao Cheng is already dead."
"What?" Elder Zhang was genuinely startled. "Then who are you?"
Prince Zhao's brow furrowed: "Kid—you dare lay hands on someone from my royal household?"
Jiang Chen's tone turned cold: "Your royal household, so what? Is your royal household really that great? If it were, how could you be locked up in here like a stray dog with its tail between its legs?"
Prince Zhao nearly coughed up blood from rage: "You! Fine, fine, fine—I never expected that my Red Cauldron Central Domain could produce such talents. First the Cuihua Pavilion Master, and now you, freak of nature. State your name, boy."
Jiang Chen gave a contemptuous smile: "Caring about my name right now is the last thing you should be worrying about. Earlier, when I kindly warned you not to fall for the Cuihua Pavilion Master's trap, you didn't listen. So don't blame me for switching sides now."
Prince Zhao's face turned ashen with a dark cloud of rage hanging over him.
Obviously, the other party really had warned him earlier.
He simply hadn't taken it seriously at the time, believing that seizing the treasure was the top priority. Who could have guessed that the Cuihua Pavilion Master would appear so quickly?
Elder Zhang hurriedly said: "Friend, whether you're Xiao Cheng or not—right now we share the same position. The Cuihua Pavilion Master won't spare us, and he won't spare you either."
Jiang Chen offered a light smile, then turned his gaze toward the Cuihua Pavilion Master: "That really depends on what the Cuihua Pavilion Master has to say about it."
The Cuihua Pavilion Master wore a peculiar grin: "Kid, are you trying to make a deal with me? You stole my woman and destroyed the most critical link in my Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite. Do you think you're still in any position to negotiate?"
Jiang Chen replied in a flat tone: "I may not have the standing to ask for your forgiveness, but I absolutely have the standing to make you negotiate with me."
"Oh?" The Cuihua Pavilion Master's smile deepened.
"I can start killing right now. Every person I kill is one less guarantee for your Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite. If I wipe out every last one of them in one go, your Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite is finished. Your so-called Demon Emperor summoning plan will be all but bankrupt."
As Jiang Chen spoke these words, he wore a smile on his face, but to everyone else listening, his tone was deeply sinister.
Even the Cuihua Pavilion Master was genuinely taken aback.
Right now, the Demon Emperor was in the critical stage of awakening within the altar and couldn't come over yet to enjoy the blood offering. If the other party went on a killing spree at this moment, it was entirely possible that all the blood offerings prepared for the Demon Emperor would be destroyed.
Originally, within that altar, the Cuihua Pavilion Master had prepared eighty-one—nine times nine—pure yin female cultivators, all for the purpose of performing the Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite, which would allow the Demon Emperor to break free from his seal and awaken.
And Wei Xing'er's birth time, along with her bloodline talent, happened to be the most suitable for the Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite. Wei Xing'er was virtually the critical link in the entire rite.
Without her, the Blood Sacrifice Grand Rite's power would be reduced to at most one-third of its full effect.
That was precisely why the Cuihua Pavilion Master had sent four rogue cultivators to intercept Jiang Chen. However, Jiang Chen's Sky Whale Flowing Light Escape was far too fast—even the four rogue cultivators couldn't catch up with him.