Jiang Chen grew anxious: "Senior, no matter how difficult it is, how can you say we can't handle it if you don't even tell us? We won't know until we try!"
Great Emperor Shaoyang nodded in agreement: "Vermilion Bird Divine Creature, Young Master Jiang Chen is one of the finest geniuses of our human race. Even compared to the geniuses of antiquity, he wouldn't fall short. Perhaps the contingency left behind by the ancient Shengyi Sect was waiting for Young Master Jiang Chen all along!"
Great Emperor Shaoyang was currently at his wit's end. Instinctively, he felt that this Young Master Jiang Chen might well be a hope for the human race's future.
Setting everything else aside, when everyone else had charged straight into the core of that formation, only Young Master Jiang Chen had reined himself back at the cliff's edge and refused to enter.
That single detail alone was enough to prove that Young Master Jiang Chen was fundamentally different from the rest.
"Follow me!"
The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature understood that the current situation was beyond its ability to change. It was responsible for guarding this place, but it could not dictate how affairs here would unfold.
The affairs of the human race would ultimately have to be handled by the human race itself.
Jiang Chen and Great Emperor Shaoyang exchanged a glance. Understanding passed between them in an instant, and they followed the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature's lead, flying off at speed.
The Purple Smoke Sect ancestor, who had been shrinking in a corner the entire time, hurried after them and called out: "Young Master Jiang Chen, wait for me!"
The Purple Smoke Sect ancestor's current mood was beyond the power of words to describe.
What had happened in the sealed area had left him utterly unable to calm down. He felt both terrified and incredibly fortunate.
If he had wavered at that moment and followed the others into the sealed area, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
Either he would have been shredded by that black great net, or he would have already become a puppet of the Heavenly Devil Lord.
Jiang Chen followed the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature along the way and couldn't help asking: "Vermilion Bird Divine Creature, since you've deduced that the Heavenly Devil Lord's devil consciousness hasn't recovered to the degree we imagined, why don't we seize this chance to..."
"Seize this chance to do what? Go kill him?" The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature let out a strange laugh.
"Well..." Jiang Chen had in fact been thinking exactly that, but hearing the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature's tone, he suddenly felt his idea was somewhat foolish.
"The ancient Shengyi Sect was powerful enough, wasn't it? Even they could only seal this Heavenly Devil Lord—they couldn't kill him! The devil race's vitality is tenacious. Wildfire can never burn them out; when the spring winds blow, they spring back to life again. Killing ordinary devils, though not easy, is still achievable. But killing a Devil Lord? The difficulty is far too great."
"The devil race's vitality is indeed tenacious, that's true. But that doesn't mean they can't be killed, does it?" Based on his memories from his previous life, Jiang Chen actually knew a fair amount about the devil race.
The devil race was indeed formidable in battle, and their vitality was truly extraordinary—they could be called undying cockroaches. However, that absolutely did not mean the devil race was unkillable.
Forget about Heavenly Realm Devil Lords—in the myriad worlds, many god-level devil lords had similarly been slain.
The reason they were considered unkillable on the Divine Abyss Continent was partly due to their tenacious vitality, but the greater reason was that the strength of the Divine Abyss Continent simply wasn't sufficient—there were no powerhouses capable of killing devils with ease.
No race possessed absolute perfection.
However, Jiang Chen didn't feel like debating the matter with the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature.
Knowing what he knew was one thing, but his current cultivation was, after all, only at the mid-tier Imperial Realm. The methods from his previous life for slaying devils had no practical viability for him right now.
The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature led them downstairs and out of the Shengyi Sect palace.
After leaving the palace, the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature picked up speed. Jiang Chen and the others followed close behind. Before long, they arrived at the foot of a towering peak to the west.
"Vermilion Bird Divine Creature, where are we going?"
"Up the mountain." The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature kept its words brief.
This peak faced the Shengyi Sect palace from a distance, the two mirroring each other. In terms of grandeur, they were evenly matched, complementing one another.
Before long, the Vermilion Bird Divine Creature brought Jiang Chen to the mountaintop.
The summit was a sheer cliff face, not a blade of grass growing on it, as smooth as a mirror.
"What is this place?" Jiang Chen couldn't help asking.
"The Shengyi Summit. In ancient times, this was where the disciples of the Shengyi Sect were sent to reflect on their mistakes." The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature offered a rare explanation.
"Oh, so this is where the ancient Shengyi Sect banished its errant disciples." Jiang Chen looked around.
"Do you see this place? Do you sense anything different?" The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature prompted.
"Hmm? What are you trying to say?" Jiang Chen was momentarily taken aback, but after a moment, he detected a faint trace of something unusual.
"There seems to be killing intent—an overwhelming killing intent surging."
Jiang Chen extended his divine sense and swept it across the surroundings.
"Your divine sense really is something extraordinary. That Emperor-realm fellow next to you is like a block of stupid wood—he didn't notice a thing, but you picked it up first." The Vermilion Bird Divine Creature was referring to Great Emperor Shaoyang.