However, from everyone else's perspective, he was simply being protective of his own treasures. Still, no one could really complain — these were his rare pill recipes, and it was clearly unreasonable to expect him to hand them out for free.
No matter how optimistic they were, none of them harbored such naive fantasies.
The real reason they kept making these requests was to make Jiang Chen feel a twinge of guilt. That way, they could more easily press their actual demands.
"Young friend Shao Yuan, we all understand that the Taiyi Heaven Restoration Pill formula is a guarded secret, and we have no intention of taking advantage of you. All we'd like to ask is this — when it's convenient for you, would you be willing to visit our territories and help us refine some of these Taiyi Heaven Restoration Pills? As for compensation, so long as it isn't excessive, we'll happily offer whatever you ask."
This was the true intention of most of the factions.
They possessed the Taiyi Dragon Scale Fruit but had no idea how to refine it. This Shao Yuan, however, knew the process. If they could invite him over, they too could obtain the Taiyi Heaven Restoration Pill.
In the world of alchemy, such arrangements were quite common. After all, the rewards for such work were generous.
As a general rule, a single session of refining would yield enormous returns. For this reason, most alchemy masters rarely turned down such opportunities — unless they belonged to the tiny handful of truly paramount figures.
Those titans no longer cared about any compensation, because the resources they controlled were so vast that there was simply no need to seek out additional rewards.
Jiang Chen, however, had clearly not yet reached that level.
For a moment, Jiang Chen was genuinely tempted. But money was not his primary consideration. What he was thinking about was expanding his network of contacts — extending it across all Ten Great Divine Kingdoms.
If he could build goodwill with as many major powers across the Myriad Abyss Islands' Ten Great Divine Kingdoms as possible, it would be enormously beneficial to him.
Whether it came to competing for Huang'er or seeking clues about the Myriad Spirits Soul-Locking Formation — both of these goals required connections.
Without sufficient connections, anything Jiang Chen tried to accomplish in the Myriad Abyss Islands would be hampered. Nothing would go smoothly.
For this reason, he did not flatly refuse the request.
Instead, he offered a mild smile. "I, Shao Yuan, am hardly an unfeeling man. I understand everyone's sentiments. Should I find myself traveling through the Myriad Abyss Islands in the future and happen to pass through your esteemed territories, I certainly won't disappoint anyone."
This promise had not been approved by the three Grand Holy Sovereigns.
The three Grand Holy Sovereigns felt a degree of unease upon hearing it. However, given Jiang Chen's strength and accomplishments, they could no longer afford to completely disregard his decisions.
After all, a genius of his caliber was no longer someone the three Grand Holy Sovereigns could simply discipline at will. A talent like this — whether they wanted to pamper him or not, they had to.
What if, without proper care, he simply flew away one day?
If a genius like this chose to leave, every one of the other nine Divine Kingdoms would welcome him with open arms. Even the Hundred Gods Kingdom would have no objections whatsoever.
With that thought, the three Grand Holy Sovereigns suppressed their lingering displeasure.
When the other attendees heard Jiang Chen's words, their impression of him improved dramatically. This young man wasn't so bad at navigating relationships after all!
It seemed that all the earlier provocations against the Hundred Gods Sacred Land and that Shi Xuan — all the sharp words and verbal jabs — had been due to the old enmity between the
"Young friend Shao Yuan, you're not just saying nice things to keep us happy, are you?" someone asked with a half-joke.
"Yeah, we're really counting on it."
Jiang Chen laughed. "When I, Shao Yuan, give my word, it's as solid as a nail driven into the ground. Should the opportunity arise, I certainly won't decline."
Since he had put it so plainly, no one questioned his sincerity.
The Restoration Pill Assembly continued in a very relaxed atmosphere thereafter. During the feast, Jiang Chen — thanks to the Taiyi Heaven Restoration Pill — became the star of the entire event.
Whenever the discussion turned to alchemy, Jiang Chen was quick with his words, frequently offering startling insights. He conversed freely with the alchemy giants of the Myriad Abyss Islands, showing not the slightest trace of nervousness.
It was as though he had attended such gatherings a hundred times before — utterly at ease, completely unruffled.
Even Ziche Min watched with undisputed admiration. Some geniuses were simply born for grand stages, and this Shao Yuan was unquestionably one of them.
The alchemy giants who had come to the Eternal Sacred Land represented over ninety percent of all the major alchemy figures in the Myriad Abyss Islands. Among them were several whose standing even Ziche Min couldn't approach.
Their level of mastery far surpassed his.
Yet Shao Yuan handled them all with ease. It was clear that his depth of knowledge in alchemy was in no way inferior to theirs.
Jiang Chen's outstanding performance also saved Ziche Min from a great deal of embarrassment. After all, if events like these had been left to Ziche Min to handle, his depth of alchemical knowledge would have been somewhat inadequate.
It was precisely on occasions like this that differences in caliber became apparent.
As the assembly drew toward its close, the Eternal Sacred Land "casually" revealed another enormous secret.
This secret was that the Eternal Sacred Land was secretly developing a Cauldron Heaven Pill — a pill that could unconditionally elevate a Heavenly Realm expert by an entire level.
The moment this bombshell dropped, the entire venue erupted in uproar.