The Crimson Cauldron Emperor had been slain, marking the complete collapse of the Crimson Cauldron imperial house.
Sea Dominator led his own forces to sweep through the imperial palace. Before long, the sons and grandsons of the Yan imperial family were either cut down or captured — not a single one escaped.
With the assistance of the three great sects, a second sweep was carried out throughout the Crimson Cauldron Imperial Capital. Thus, the Yan family's roots in the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain were ripped out entirely.
The sweeping operation naturally triggered panic in the capital, but Jiang Chen quickly stepped forward to address the populace.
"Everyone, the Crimson Cauldron imperial house colluded with the Eternal Immortal Domains to invade the Myriad Domains, destroy our sect, and slaughter our brothers. Today, I take my revenge — and I will execute only the Yan imperial family and their cronies. Everyone else will remain untouched. There is no need for alarm."
Jiang Chen's words gradually steadied the turbulent spirits of the Crimson Cauldron Imperial Capital.
"Young Lord, the situation in the Crimson Cauldron Imperial Capital is settled," Sea Dominator asked with a smile. "Those fourth-rank sects that invaded the Myriad Domains back then — how should we deal with them?"
"The entire Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain is already under our control. Those sects are nothing more than turtles in a jar — hardly worth worrying about," Jiang Chen replied with a faint smile. "Sea Dominator, divide your forces into four groups and march to suppress the Qitian Sect, Bamboo Joint Sect, Golden Talisman Sect, and Holding Zither Sect."
"Jiao Yun, take two groups and suppress the Four Symbols Sect and the Windcloud Hall."
"Jiao Feng, you also take two groups and suppress the Mystic Flame Sect and Nine Wave Sect."
"Brother Mo, accompany me to the Thunder Sound Sect and the Giant Kun Sect!"
These two sects, Jiang Chen naturally intended to deal with personally. They were the ones that had laid siege to Pill King Palace, and he would handle them with his own hands.
That very day, Jiang Chen led his army and descended upon the Thunder Sound Sect and the Giant Kun Sect with overwhelming force. The two sects had already received word beforehand, but the entirety of the Myriad Domains had been sealed off by Jiang Chen's people. While these two great sects were still hesitating over whether to disband, the army under Jiang Chen's command had already arrived at their gates.
Originally, these fourth-rank sects had already been severely weakened after the last disastrous attempt to hunt down Jiang Chen. Their strength was hardly superior to the fourth-rank sects of the Myriad Domains any longer.
Under Jiang Chen's direct supervision, how could they possibly withstand the fierce assaults of the Peacock Guard? Moreover, Peerless Sovereign was standing by as reinforcement.
Pill King Palace's Palace Master Dan Chi and Elder Yun Nie vented years of humiliation to their hearts' content. Facing the down-and-out Thunder Sound Sect and Giant Unfathomable Sect, they unleashed their full might, cutting through the enemy leadership like vegetables on a chopping block.
Palace Master Dan Chi, in particular — his half-step Sovereign cultivation was a colossus in the eyes of the diminished Thunder Sound Sect and Giant Kun Sect. In a blaze of fury, he personally slew at least a dozen of their high-ranking figures.
As for the Pill King Palace disciples who had undergone years of training in the Glazed Kingdom City, their strength had grown tremendously. They too discovered that the fourth-rank sects of the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain were nothing special after all.
Back when they had still been at Pill King Palace, those sects had seemed like insurmountable giants. But after years of tempering, with their horizons and power both elevated, the Thunder Sound Sect and Giant Kun Sect no longer even merited their attention.
Their own strength far surpassed those so-called prodigies of the fourth-rank sects. In the clash of geniuses, the talented disciples of Pill King Palace swept through them with crushing dominance.
……
Three days later, the slaughter across the entire Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain finally came to a halt. The Yan imperial family and their remaining loyalists had been purged completely clean. Even the handful of stragglers who had slipped through could not escape the vast net that had been cast across the domain.
And every single one of the fourth-rank sects had been uprooted!
After this battle, the landscape of the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain was utterly rewritten. The history of the domain henceforth entered an entirely new chapter.
"Young Lord, the situation is settled. The only powers of note remaining in the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain are the three third-rank sects and a scattering of weak fifth- and sixth-rank sects. Every faction that had ties to the imperial family has essentially been purged clean."
"Young Lord, this Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain really is vast in territory."
"Young Lord, why not take the entire domain under our control? Turn it into a garden estate for our Glazed Kingdom City?"
Suggestions poured in from every direction.
Jiang Chen smiled but gave no immediate answer. "I have my own plans for this matter. There is no need to rush. Let the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain sit for a while."
The others were perplexed, unable to figure out what Jiang Chen was really thinking.
"Young Lord, now is truly the perfect time to seize the domain. With the Crimson Cauldron imperial house fallen, the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain is in a vacuum. If we don't take it now, won't we be throwing away a golden opportunity?"
Jiang Chen waved his hand. "The Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain will certainly come under our control. However, the time has not yet come. Everyone, destroying the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain was only the first step. The next step is to restore my homeland and rebuild the Myriad Domains. Are you all willing to accompany me on a journey back to the Myriad Domains?"
"We are willing," the crowd declared in unison.
"Young Lord, why not seize the domain now while we have the momentum?" Peerless Sovereign also voiced his own question.
Jiang Chen chuckled. "Leave it to the three great sects for now. With the domain in a power vacuum, they will inevitably fight amongst themselves. Once they've spent their strength biting at each other's throats and the domain is thrown into complete chaos, I'll return to take control of the situation. By then, everything will fall into place."
Peerless Sovereign fell into thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up. "Brilliant!"