Jiang Chen was practically trembling with excitement at this moment. He never would have guessed that the eight small statues he had obtained from King Shangping contained such earth-shattering secrets.
"Is Saint Dan — is he still here?" The divine consciousness spoke with a tinge of melancholy and sorrow.
Jiang Chen answered honestly: "At the very least, Saint Dan no longer exists in this world. Perhaps he achieved perfection and ascended to the Myriad Heavens Planes. Perhaps he passed away and was reborn. The Desolate Ancient Era — that has to be hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of years ago, hasn't it?"
Jiang Chen didn't actually know exactly how many years had passed since the Desolate Ancient Era. But even from the Ancient Era to the present was already at least a hundred or two hundred thousand years.
So for the far more distant Desolate Ancient Era to be several hundred thousand or even a million years old wasn't an exaggeration at all.
After all, the Desolate Ancient Era was very likely the dawn of civilization on the Divine Abyss Continent.
The divine consciousness was clearly stunned: "A million years? It's been that long?"
"Yes. After the Desolate Ancient Era came the Ancient Era. During the Ancient Era, the Demon Race invaded, forever changing the history of the Divine Abyss Continent. The Divine Abyss Continent today is at its weakest, most destitute point. Perhaps this is precisely the kind of era that needs your Giant Stone Clan — those Desolate Ancient titans — to emerge and shake things up!"
Jiang Chen shamelessly flattered the Giant Stone Clan member at just the right moment.
"The Ancient Era? What era is that? Is it later than the Desolate Ancient Era? The Demon Race? Where did that race come from? The Divine Abyss Continent has no such clan."
Born in the Desolate Ancient Era and having never experienced the Ancient Era, the Giant Stone Clan naturally had no idea what the Demon Race was, let alone what had happened during the Ancient Era.
"The Demon Race is an extraterrestrial clan that invaded the Divine Abyss Continent."
"The Divine Abyss Continent is home to countless powerful races. What kind of power could this so-called Demon Race possibly possess, to dare cause trouble on the Divine Abyss Continent?"
"Heh, it's a long story. Perhaps it would be better for you to learn about it firsthand after your revival. The Demon Race is infamous across the Myriad Heavens. As long as the demons endure, the Divine Abyss Continent will never know peace. No other race will ever enjoy a tranquil life."
The Giant Stone Clan member flew into a rage: "There's such a thing? Does this Demon Race have three heads and six arms or something?"
"They don't merely have three heads and six arms — they possess many Divine Abilities, many techniques." Jiang Chen deliberately goaded him on purpose. "Your Giant Stone Clan was one of the most formidable races of the Desolate Ancient Era. This Demon Race, perhaps, is even more terrifying than your Giant Stone Clan."
"Impossible! In the Desolate Ancient Era, there were precious few races more powerful than our Giant Stone Clan. Humph — if our Giant Stone Clan hadn't been too honest, and if our reproduction rate hadn't been so limited, the rulers of the Divine Abyss Continent would have been us!"
There was a deep sense of racial pride and identity in the creature's words.
Jiang Chen didn't deny it, chuckling: "It's just a shame your Giant Stone Clan lacked the ambition, and the audacity, to dominate. But enough idle chatter — I'm going to perform the secret technique to revive you first. You must cooperate with me. If you don't, the technique will fail, and your soul and body will never have another chance to reunite."
Hearing this, the divine consciousness hastened to reply: "Of course, of course — I will absolutely cooperate. You are a disciple of Saint Dan, and likewise a great benefactor of our Giant Stone Clan. We will do exactly as you say."
The Giant Stone Clan had always been clear about gratitude and grudges. For even a small kindness, they would repay it tenfold — let alone the kindness of saving their very life.
Jiang Chen nodded: "Rest assured. I will do everything in my power to revive all eight of your Giant Stone Clan brothers."
For Jiang Chen, as long as the secret technique existed, he had the confidence to pull it off. When it came to technical execution, Jiang Chen had always been supremely self-assured.
In his previous life, when he couldn't cultivate at all, he had still become a renowned alchemy grandmaster across the Myriad Heavens — let alone now, when he could cultivate and possessed exceptional talent to boot.
Jiang Chen followed the same procedure, locating the seal points on the enormous statue. What this colossal statue sealed was the Giant Stone Clan member's physical body, and the sealing power was even more cunning and intricate.
Through Jiang Chen's relentless efforts, the seal was gradually cracked open, bit by bit.
"All right. The seal around the exterior of your body has been broken. Prepare yourself — I will use the secret technique to transfer your soul into your body. Remember, this is the most critical step of the entire revival process. If it's not done correctly, your soul and body will never reunite."
Jiang Chen emphasized this repeatedly.
This was absolutely no scare tactic. This was the final step, and the most difficult one. Soul and body had been separated for so long — the question of whether they could mesh, whether they could harmonize, whether there would be any accidents during the transfer…
All of these demanded the utmost caution.
Jiang Chen used a special artifact to draw out the Giant Stone Clan member's soul.
His hands formed a rapid series of seals, and Jiang Chen shouted: "Go!"
A brilliant beam of light surged forth under Jiang Chen's guidance, hurtling at tremendous speed directly into the Giant Stone Clan member's body.
Whoosh!
The moment the soul entered the body, the surface of that massive physical form began to ripple violently. Crack after crack appeared across the skin, spreading outward.
The cracks kept spreading, peeling away layer after layer of dead skin, which fell away in sheets.
And beneath it, new skin and new textures kept emerging.
This was the signal of life restarting. This was the sign of vitality surging forth!
Jiang Chen let out a long, deep breath as he watched the scene unfold. He knew that this perilous process had finally come to an end.
Most importantly — he had succeeded!