Elder Crane felt somewhat reassured after hearing Jiang Chen's words.
"I won't make empty promises. This human territory—I will be taking temporary custody of it. I shall wait here for Young Master Jiang Chen's triumphant return. I can also guarantee that regardless of whether any Celestial Realm experts came to attend the Martial Dao Tea Conference this time, none of them will ever dare cause trouble in the Radiant Celestial Capital again! If anyone steps out of line, I will make them regret it for the rest of their lives!"
This promise from Elder Crane carried even greater weight.
Jiang Chen cupped his fists and bowed respectfully. "With Elder Crane's word, I can set out with a much lighter heart."
Elder Crane had obtained even more secrets from Jiang Chen, which put his mind further at ease. On top of that, the cultivation technique from the "Grand Celestial Dao Scripture" meant his trip had been more than worthwhile.
After seeing Elder Crane off, Jiang Chen wasted no time. The next thing on his agenda was to upgrade the defensive array of Celestial Peacock Mountain.
The previous Nine Mystic Flying Formation had already fallen behind the current situation in terms of its tier.
When Jiang Chen had originally set it up, the Nine Mystic Flying Formation was designed to defend against peak emperors of the Dan Zhi Great Emperor's caliber. It had no capacity to withstand Celestial Realm experts.
Now, Jiang Chen needed to upgrade the formation—elevating the Nine Mystic Flying Formation into the Hundred Mystic Flying Formation, strong enough to repel attacks from Celestial Realm experts.
The upgrade was an enormous undertaking, consuming a staggering amount of resources.
But Jiang Chen was far from lacking in resources. The spoils obtained from Shu Wanqing alone were more than sufficient to fund the entire upgrade.
Among Xiahou Jing's former subordinates, both Elder Mo and Elder Peng had been Celestial Realm experts, and a considerable amount of resources had been confiscated from them as well.
Jiang Chen had more than enough resources to complete the formation upgrade.
Approximately three months later, the Hundred Mystic Flying Formation was successfully upgraded.
Jiang Chen wasn't satisfied with just the Hundred Mystic Flying Formation. He also integrated the ancient cave dwelling of the Middle Celestial Realm expert Guo Ran into the Young Master's estate.
Should any unforeseen crisis arise, his trusted confidants could retreat into this cave dwelling.
Within the dwelling was also a terrifying restriction—refined over the course of Guo Ran's entire lifetime. It could instantly kill any cultivator below the Middle Celestial Realm.
Even a Middle Celestial Realm expert who barged in recklessly would suffer severe injuries if struck by this restriction.
With this additional layer of security, the Young Master's estate now boasted two lines of defense.
Coupled with the eight Stone Golem brothers and several experts who had broken through to the Celestial Realm, the Young Master's estate was brimming with formidable cultivators.
Even so, Jiang Chen still felt the preparations were not quite perfect.
He called the Well Emperor and the Peerless Emperor to his side and instructed them, "Once I depart, the Young Master's estate will depend on you two to hold things together. If powerful enemies attack and the Hundred Mystic Flying Formation cannot hold, you must use this."
Jiang Chen handed a Storage Ring to the two of them.
"Inside are large quantities of the Wind-Soul Dispersing Powder, along with the antidote. These are ready-made tools. If any unwelcome intruders breach the defenses, feel free to treat them to a taste of its power."
The Wind-Soul Dispersing Powder was colorless and odorless—equally effective for both offense and defense. Even Patriarch Bitter Bamboo of the Barbarian Race had not been immune to it.
The Well Emperor chuckled. "With all this in place, Celestial Peacock Mountain is essentially impregnable."
"We still can't let our guard down. In times of upheaval, enemies can come from directions you and I might never anticipate."
The Well Emperor nodded solemnly. "Understood. Rest assured, Young Master. With Elder Mo and me here, we will absolutely hold the fort."
Jiang Chen had complete faith in these trusted allies.
The Well Emperor was shrewd and calculating; the Peerless Emperor, resolute and decisive—both were people he could entrust with great responsibility.
Jiang Chen then sought out the others one by one, offering his final instructions to each.
Afterward, he descended the mountain and headed to the Taian Pavilion in the Radiant Celestial Capital, where he found Patriarch Bitter Bamboo.
Patriarch Bitter Bamboo had been exiled here by Jiang Chen, and life had been rather leisurely. He understood perfectly well that Jiang Chen had placed him here precisely because he still didn't fully trust him.
In truth, Patriarch Bitter Bamboo harbored no real ambitions anymore. Having come this far, he had no choice but to accept his fate. Otherwise, a single thought from Jiang Chen could end his life.
"Bitter Bamboo, you've been living the easy life these days?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.
Patriarch Bitter Bamboo answered with a bitter grin. "Easy or not, I have no choice but to accept it. I heard that Young Master Jiang Chen recently held a Martial Dao Tea Conference, and a great many human Celestial Realm experts came to attend?"
"Oh? You heard about that too?"
Patriarch Bitter Bamboo sighed. "I always thought your human race had virtually no Celestial Realm experts. If I had known the truth, the Barbarian Race would never have launched this war—it would have been sheer suicide!"
A note of regret crept into his voice.
Had he known the humans possessed such reserves, they would never have ventured so deep into the heart of human territory. They would have been content with mere raids along the border.
Jiang Chen, however, felt no sympathy for Patriarch Bitter Bamboo.
The victor takes the throne; the loser is branded a bandit. Patriarch Bitter Bamboo had started this war, and being captured was his own doing. Jiang Chen would not go soft on him just because he now expressed remorse.
With men like this, releasing them was the same as setting a tiger back into the wild. Once their wounds healed, they would forget the pain and come stirring up trouble all over again.