Emperor Yunlan was somewhat surprised. Before coming here, they had already deduced the situation on the ground.
Their prediction was that the Heavenly Dragon Sect would definitely play contrarian. They would need to be taught a lesson before they understood to retreat when faced with difficulty.
As for the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect, they figured it would be more sensible.
Now it seemed that although the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's tone was more irksome, its attitude was resolute. Don't even think about excluding the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect from the Chenxiang Valley secret realm.
Emperor Yunlan pondered for a moment, as if contemplating something.
After a brief pause, he seemed to have received an answer from somewhere, and nodded. "My Dan Fire City has always conducted matters with fairness, ensuring that everyone gets a share. This Chenxiang Valley involves the Boundary Monument Realm, and naturally all the major powers should sit down together in peace to discuss our shared fate, rather than squabbling here and making the situation worse."
Emperor Yunlan's attitude actually shifted, giving off the impression of a broad strategic vision emerging.
However, when Jiang Chen heard this nauseatingly hypocritical performance, a chill suddenly flashed through his heart.
Dan Fire City had actually begun learning to perform — learning to hide its ambitions in front of the public.
"So this Dan Fire City is also seeking to change," Jiang Chen thought warily. A Dan Fire City like this might be even more terrifying.
A domineering power was not frightening.
What was frightening was a power with many strategies, many schemes, and a very thick skin.
The Dan Fire City of now, since their last parting, had actually begun changing its approach — no longer relying purely on brute force, nor on sheer dominance.
"Could it be that after suffering several defeats at my hands, the Dan Fire City is also making changes?"
Previously, Dan Fire City had been humiliated repeatedly in front of Jiang Chen.
As the number one force in alchemy, Dan Fire City had always given people the impression of arrogance and dominance, leaving very few cultivators in the world who truly had a favorable opinion of them.
With the appearance of the Glazed Royal City, Dan Fire City's standing in the jianghu had nearly plummeted.
But a starving camel is still bigger than a horse. If Dan Fire City had realized the problem and begun making changes and adjustments, such a Dan Fire City would be even more troublesome.
"That old fox Dan Ji is truly cunning as a ghost," Jiang Chen cursed inwardly, watching Emperor Yunlan's performance.
"Fengming Lower Domain is the master of this Chenxiang Valley. Whatever we do, whatever decisions we make, we ought not to exclude the host from the matter, right?"
"Furthermore, most of the people here today came because of the Boundary Monument Realm. Everyone is worried that if the Boundary Monument Realm is destroyed, it will affect the fortune of the human race. So everyone's starting point is the same. Since our starting point is the same, what reason could there be not to discuss things calmly?"
Listening to Emperor Yunlan's words, Jiang Chen was utterly dumbfounded.
When had Dan Fire City become so noble? Worried about the Boundary Monument Realm? Worried about the fate of the human race?
To Jiang Chen's ears, this was simply the biggest joke in the world.
"Long Baxiang, this Emperor knows that Fengming Lower Domain is very close to your Heavenly Dragon Sect. Your being here is like being a local snake. You should cherish this land more than anyone else."
"Hmph, just nonsense," Long Baxiang said coldly. "I, Long, say the same thing — my Heavenly Dragon Sect arrived first, and no one is going to push us out."
The Heavenly Dragon Sect's attitude was unwavering.
This secret realm had been spreading like wildfire recently, and everyone could see that this Chenxiang Valley secret realm was likely harboring some treasure about to emerge.
As for maintaining the Boundary Monument Realm and protecting the fate of the human race — that was all rubbish.
These people had never been that noble!
"If your Heavenly Dragon Sect doesn't want to leave, that's fine. However, this Chenxiang Valley secret realm must follow a principle of order, and there must be a fair set of rules. This code cannot be violated by my Dan Fire City, nor by your Heavenly Dragon Sect. Once everyone enters, no one can violate it."
Emperor Yunlan was giving Long Baxiang a convenient way to save face.
Long Baxiang picked up on the meaning. He didn't believe that Dan Fire City feared his Heavenly Dragon Sect. Rather, Dan Fire City likely had its own ambitions and didn't want to waste limited manpower and energy on an outright fight.
Long Baxiang went along with it readily: "That's more like human speech. As long as there are fair rules, my Heavenly Dragon Sect will absolutely comply."
Hearing these great powers and major sects brazenly discussing distribution matters already made the people of Fengming Lower Domain and the surrounding domains feel quite bitter inside.
"This Chenxiang Valley secret realm has attracted so many friends for a reason, after all. This Emperor proposes that our various powers should first..."
Emperor Yunlan had clearly prepared thoroughly along the way — his speech was articulate and seemingly well-reasoned, so much so that Jiang Chen was almost taken in.
But he had to admit, Emperor Yunlan's proposal was very clever.
If this were following Dan Fire City's previous style, they would have simply declared a takeover and banned everyone else from entering.
Hogging everything to themselves had always been Dan Fire City's familiar rhythm.
But this time, they weren't hogging anything — instead, they proposed a plan of sharing blessings and bearing hardships together. This only made Jiang Chen more vigilant.
Every single step was completely unlike Dan Fire City's previous style.