Even though they were in the underground world with limited space, for two people in love, this time together was a luxury beyond measure.
They both knew that given their current circumstances, such closeness was exceedingly rare. Once the month was up, this brief reunion would inevitably end, and they would return to the way things were before.
That was why they treasured every moment of this hard-won time together.
It was precisely for this reason that Jiang Chen stayed by Huang'er's side in the underground world for a full twenty-four days. Of course, during this period, he had not neglected his martial cultivation either.
Over twenty days of focused training brought him considerable improvement.
When Huang'er noticed the changes in Jiang Chen, she gained a whole new appreciation for his martial prowess. She realized that her beloved was no ordinary figure. Perhaps one day, Xiahou Zong would truly be crushed beneath her love's feet—and the entire Xiahou clan might one day be trampled under Chen-ge's boot as well.
It was true that Chen-ge's strength had not yet reached completion, and among the Ten Great Divine Kingdoms, he was still a rather insignificant player.
But within Chen-ge's martial potential lurked a tremendous power—an energy capable of destroying the entirety of the Myriad Abyss Island.
Of this, Huang'er was absolutely certain. It was no illusion.
Perhaps, just as Chen-ge had said, he did not truly belong to this world. Perhaps he was a deity from another realm who had been reincarnated and awakened to his former memories.
Otherwise, how could the Divine Abyss Continent possibly produce such terrifying potential?
"Chen-ge, twenty-four days have already passed. There are only six days left before we have to leave. If you don't head back out soon, I'm afraid Yan Qingsang will be cursing up a storm."
Huang'er was unwilling to part with Jiang Chen as well, but she knew that if he didn't leave soon, it would start to interfere with what really mattered.
Jiang Chen sighed. "It's already been twenty-four days? I thought only ten-odd days had gone by."
Though loath to part, Jiang Chen was still a rational man.
The two returned to the surface from the underground world. After making plans with Huang'er, Jiang Chen set about getting to work in the Yellow Dragon Domain.
In high spirits, Jiang Chen worked with remarkable efficiency.
That seal within his sea of consciousness seemed to resonate powerfully with the ancient jade of this primordial land. This made his search immeasurably more productive.
Originally, Jiang Chen hadn't been all that interested in the ancient jade. He had obtained a raw jade stone from the Yellow Oriole Valley ages ago and still hadn't gotten around to processing or developing it.
But the seal in his sea of consciousness was behaving with extraordinary activity.
This forced Jiang Chen to take it seriously. It seemed he had underestimated the allure of this ancient jade.
The seal in his sea of consciousness had now become Jiang Chen's barometer.
If the seal reacted violently, then whatever he had found was undoubtedly important and well worth his attention. Conversely, if the seal showed no reaction, then it was probably nothing of consequence.
Though Jiang Chen couldn't explain why, he had absolutely no doubts about the seal's warning function.
This seal had almost certainly been left behind by his father, the Heavenly Emperor of his previous life. Why his father had placed this seal, Jiang Chen had yet to find an answer.
Nevertheless, Jiang Chen regarded the seal as his father pointing the way for him. And so he placed his complete faith in it.
Under the seal's guidance, though Jiang Chen had only five or six short days, his efficiency was astonishing. He was even more effective than following a map—wherever he walked, wherever there was an unusual fluctuation, wherever his seal reacted most strongly, that was where he directed his efforts.
In this manner, he made a find roughly every half hour. At times, he would uncover something in as little as a quarter of an hour.
By the end, things went so smoothly that Jiang Chen collected nearly three hundred raw stones in total. And he could guarantee that every single one contained ancient jade within.
Those that were questionable, he ignored entirely—he only sought out ones he could confirm.
Of course, simply picking up three hundred raw stones would have been far too conspicuous. Jiang Chen also collected tens of thousands of worthless raw stones along the way.
These stones could never yield any ancient jade.
They were merely there to throw others off the scent.
With this haul, Jiang Chen guessed that even if all the competing groups combined, no one would be able to match his total.
Perhaps some teams with ten members put together still wouldn't come close to what he had gathered.
Others mined these raw stones through luck, while he was outright cheating.
Only on the very last day did Jiang Chen assume the appearance of Shao Yuan's demon sense and head to the agreed-upon meeting place, where he found a nearly frantic Yan Qingsang.
"You bastard—were you hiding from me?" Yan Qingsang's eyes were red with anxiety.
"Brother Yan, that's hardly fair. I was doing this for your own good. You have a bet going with those people, don't you? If I'd stayed by your side for all thirty days, what would they have thought? Even if you won, they'd just say you cheated."