The Gale Dharma King was very tactful. Without waiting for
Jiang Chen took one look at the antidote and said coolly, "Let me examine it."
The Gale Dharma King obediently handed it over and swore, "This antidote is absolutely genuine. If there's anything wrong with it, may heaven and earth strike me dead!"
In this phase of mere survival, the Gale Dharma King naturally dared not cause any trouble. He only wanted to curry favor with Jiang Chen and earn his forgiveness.
After studying the antidote for a moment and examining the physical condition of Ye Chonglou and the others, Jiang Chen nodded. "It'll work. This is the real antidote."
After taking the antidote, Ye Chonglou and his companions were flooded with shame. "Young Master Jiang Chen, we've been nothing but trouble for you time and again."
Jiang Chen smiled. "Old Master, what are you saying? These are turbulent times. In my opinion, you should all refrain from returning to the Treasure Tree Sect for now. Go to the Young Master's estate in Glazed Royal City instead. It's solid as a fortress — I guarantee you'll have no worries whatsoever."
Upon hearing this, the old master beamed with delight. "If we can go to the Young Master's estate, what more could we possibly ask for?
Tang Hong was enormous in stature. Among ordinary humans, he was nearly twice the size of some people. While he couldn't compare to the giants of the Stone Colossus Tribe, his physique was certainly distinctive enough.
"Brother Chen, thank you." Tang Hong scratched his head. He was an open-hearted fellow, and he and Jiang Chen had originally bonded through fighting.
However, ever since their time at the Treasure Tree Sect, the gap between them had grown wider and wider, gradually turning their once-intimate relationship into something more distant.
Now, standing before Jiang Chen, Tang Hong felt a pang of inferiority.
Jiang Chen patted him on the shoulder. "Old Tang, you've truly wasted these years lingering in a mundane kingdom. With your talent and potential, you should have gone to Glazed Royal City long ago!"
Jiang Chen actually felt some regret. The reason he hadn't brought Tang Hong to Glazed Royal City before was that he'd been worried the Treasure Tree Sect people would read too much into it.
After all, the Treasure Tree Sect had long since come to regard Tang Hong as their finest successor. If Jiang Chen had carelessly snatched him away, he feared the Sect would think him overbearing.
But the current situation made things perfectly clear. The smaller sects and minor factions of the past either merged, went into hiding, or were obliterated entirely.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.
That was the simplest truth of all. When the tide of great events arrived, no one could afford to stand apart from it.
The Treasure Tree Sect had actually kept a low profile. In the mundane kingdoms, they shouldn't have drawn any significant attention. Yet who could have guessed that the Wind Cloud Sect, with their tentacles reaching everywhere, would seize this very moment to capture them?
Fortunately, there was Jiang Chen.
"Now is no time for catching up. Leave this place at once. Take my Lesser Feather Command and find the Glazed Royal City army. I'll send people along the way to protect you."
They were still on Wind Cloud Sect territory, and Jiang Chen had the Nine Palaces Maze Formation trapping the sect's higher-ups. If those people broke free, the threat they posed would be immense.
After all, this was enemy ground.
Jiang Chen summoned the Gold-Munching Mouse clan and had them escort the Treasure Tree Sect group out immediately.
The Gale Dharma King, at this point, was like a quail — meek and docile, perfectly obedient in front of Jiang Chen.
"Very well. Your death sentence may be spared, but you won't escape punishment."
Even as the words left Jiang Chen's lips, the Gale Dharma King crumpled to the ground.
Jiang Chen hadn't taken his life. He simply tossed the Gale Dharma King into a corner and returned to the scene of battle.
This time, Jiang Chen's target was
However, as he approached the Nine Palaces Maze Formation, a jolt of surprise ran through him. He had discovered that
The Nine Palaces Maze Formation, wielded by Jiang Chen, was currently operating at only a fraction of its true power. It was simply insufficient to firmly imprison a powerhouse of Shu Wanqing's caliber.
If Shu Wanqing found a way out, it would be like releasing a tiger back into the wild.
The problem was that the four Stone Colossus brothers had not yet arrived to join forces. If Shu Wanqing broke free, Jiang Chen would have no choice but to activate the Mesmerizing Puppet to stand a chance against him.
But with Jiang Chen's current strength, he could simultaneously control at most two Mesmerizing Puppets. Fighting Shu Wanqing with that would be an uphill battle at best.
From his estimation, Shu Wanqing should possess at minimum a Heavenly realm, third-level cultivation — a full level above a second-level Heavenly realm powerhouse like Xiahou Jing.
Though the third level of the Heavenly realm still fell within the minor tier and hadn't broken through into the middle tier, the differences between each sublevel within the Heavenly realm were sharp and distinct.
Unless one was a rare prodigy, bridging even a single level within the Heavenly realm was extraordinarily difficult.
When Jiang Chen drew near and saw Shu Wanqing on the verge of escaping, he wasted no words. He simply raised his hand and loosed an arrow.
Shu Wanqing had been entirely focused on finding a way to break through when he suddenly sensed a lethal threat hurtling toward him from behind. In the split second that followed, he twisted his body and barely dodged the first arrow.
But Jiang Chen's archery had long since reached a divine level.
After the first arrow, two more flew in almost simultaneous succession.
Shu Wanqing's movement technique was by no means slow, but Jiang Chen's arrows were faster still.
Pfft!
The terrifying arrow plunged deep into Shu Wanqing's thigh.