After considering for a moment, Jiang Chen decided not to push things too far. This Canghai Great Emperor, as one of the Asura Great Emperor's most trusted confidants, could still be quite useful if he switched sides at the critical juncture.
First, it would serve as a deterrent to the remaining forces of the Asura Great Emperor's faction, letting them know that the Asura Great Emperor was fundamentally incapable of achieving anything — even his most loyal follower, Canghai Great Emperor, had abandoned him.
Second, the Peacock Great Emperor's disappearance was almost certainly connected to the Asura Great Emperor in some way. Given the relationship between Canghai Great Emperor and the Peacock Great Emperor, this fellow must know something about the inside story. However, Jiang Chen suspected that Canghai Great Emperor had not been directly involved. After all, when the Peacock Great Emperor had left the Glazed Royal City, the Asura Great Emperor had departed shortly afterward — but Canghai Great Emperor had remained behind in the Glazed Royal City the entire time. Moreover, the fact that Canghai Great Emperor had the courage to defect suggested it had no direct connection to the Peacock Great Emperor's disappearance. If he had been directly involved in that, there would have been no room for surrender.
Third, pulling off a clean sweep in this round of suppression would be no easy task. After all, their opponents were all Great Emperor-level powerhouses. But with Canghai Great Emperor serving as an insider, the situation might well be different.
Furthermore, if Jiang Chen accepted Canghai Great Emperor's surrender, it would also send a message to the entirety of the Glazed Royal City — that Young Lord Zhen was magnanimous. Even someone like Canghai Great Emperor, who had offended him deeply, could be accepted if he offered his allegiance. This would be of great benefit to winning the hearts of the people in the Glazed Royal City.
The most crucial point was that the Great Emperors who served as Jiang Chen's inner circle — Panlong Great Emperor, Nirvana Great Emperor, and Mo Wushuang — were all relatively upright and principled people.
In other words, Jiang Chen's subordinates lacked someone like Canghai Great Emperor: a yes-man willing to do whatever dirty or exhausting work was required.
Recruiting Canghai Great Emperor would be a case of making use of something otherwise worthless — cultivating him into a guard dog whose sole purpose was to handle those unsavory tasks that alienated people. That, too, had its value.
Someone inevitably had to do those kinds of jobs. Nirvana Great Emperor wasn't suited for it. Panlong Great Emperor wasn't suited for it. Mo Wushuang was equally unsuited.
But having taken in Canghai Great Emperor, he was perfectly suited for such underhanded work!
With that decided, Jiang Chen resolved to give Canghai Great Emperor a chance. Naturally, he had to prepare for both contingencies — in case Canghai Great Emperor's surrender was a ruse.
"Gentlemen, excuse me for a moment." Jiang Chen cupped his fists in a brief salute and glided out of the great hall. Once he reached the outer perimeter, he summoned the Gold-Munching Mouse King.
"Old Gold, this Canghai Great Emperor has sent a soul-transmission talisman to this Young Lord offering his surrender. Go communicate with him and probe whether his intentions are genuine. If they are, come back and report to me immediately. I have a plan in mind," Jiang Chen instructed.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King let out a mischievous chuckle. "You got it! Looks like Asura really is that bastard after all — this time he's walked right into the trap himself."
From Jiang Chen, the Gold-Munching Mouse King obtained Canghai Great Emperor's precise location. It wasn't far, and before long, he had arrived in the underground passage beneath Canghai Great Emperor's feet.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King was also very cautious. After sensing for a while and confirming that only Canghai Great Emperor was present, he finally dared to probe upward through the ground.
Canghai Great Emperor was, after all, a Great Emperor-level powerhouse. The moment the Gold-Munching Mouse King entered his range of spiritual perception — even from underground — Canghai Great Emperor immediately became alert.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King sensed Canghai Great Emperor's wariness and decided to simply emerge from beneath the earth.
"So you're Canghai Great Emperor?" Having broken through to the Emperor realm, the Gold-Munching Mouse King had long since acquired the ability to take human form, and he had naturally learned the human language as well.
Canghai Great Emperor was momentarily startled when a massive golden mouse burst out of the ground. "And you are?"
"My Young Lord heard that you intend to abandon darkness for the light and sent me to size you up. If your surrender is sincere, my Young Lord says he's willing to give you a chance."
"Oh?" Canghai Great Emperor had transmitted his message to the Young Lord's estate, but he hadn't harbored much hope.
"My Young Lord has only one question — were you directly involved in the Peacock Great Emperor's disappearance?" the Gold-Munching Mouse King asked sternly.
"I was not. I knew about it, but I absolutely was not directly involved!" Canghai Great Emperor hurried to assure him.
"Would you dare swear an oath on it?" The Gold-Munching Mouse King was a cautious one by nature.
"I swear by my inner demons — I was absolutely not directly involved. At the time, I remained in the Glazed Royal City the entire time, so direct involvement was impossible." Canghai Great Emperor grew frantic, rushing to explain. He knew this was his only chance to switch sides. If he failed to grasp it, he was finished.
Moreover, from the way Young Lord Zhen was conducting himself, it almost seemed as though he already knew they had been lurking nearby?
The Gold-Munching Mouse King smiled coldly. "Canghai Great Emperor, I must say — you've made a wise decision. Otherwise, your time would have run out very soon."
"Hmm?" Canghai Great Emperor shuddered.
"Enough with the pleasantries. You think you're so clever — as if my Young Lord didn't know you were hiding in this area?" The Gold-Munching Mouse King pressed his attack on Canghai Great Emperor, dismantling his psychological defenses one step at a time.
"What?" Canghai Great Emperor's face drained of color.
"Now then — what can you offer to convince my Young Lord that your surrender is genuine? And how many of you came this time?" The Gold-Munching Mouse King was reveling in this. Being able to put on airs in front of a human Great Emperor gave the ordinarily timid Gold-Munching Mouse King an immense sense of satisfaction.
Canghai Great Emperor was growing desperate. "This time, besides myself and the Asura, there are three other Emperor-realm cultivators arranged by Emperor Danji — their cultivation is roughly on par with mine. Please relay this to Young Lord Zhen: I, Canghai, am willing to swear by my inner demons that if my surrender is not sincere, I will immediately suffer inner-demon backlash and perish, and my descendants shall be slaves for all generations to come."
Hearing such a vicious oath, the Gold-Munching Mouse King was satisfied. "Good, good — those who recognize the times are truly wise men. You may have been a scoundrel before, but at least you had the sense to abandon darkness for the light. My Young Lord is magnanimous and will certainly give you a chance. Just wait."