This wasn't Jiang Chen engaging in alarmism — it was the simple truth.
If the Ten Great Sacred Lands of the Myriad Abyss Island lost control over the domain and allowed descendants of those ancient deserters from the Demon Sealing War to seize power, the Myriad Abyss Island would be stripped of all its fighting spirit. All that would remain would be a horde of selfish, self-serving cultivators.
In such an atmosphere, who would venture into the outer realms to destroy the enemies beyond? Who could defend their homeland out there? That was absolutely not something descendants of deserters could accomplish.
Of course, Jiang Chen had no intention of spelling all of this out right now.
After all, Yan Qingsang and Huang'er were both descendants of those ancient deserters. Though their particular bloodline still carried some spine, their status and standing were far too limited to influence the bigger picture.
Besides, they had already severed ties with the Yan family. Their standing as Yan family members had been formally revoked.
On the Star Fate flying vessel, Jiang Chen enjoyed a rare stretch of leisure. Each day he immersed himself in the written works left behind by Senior Pei Xing, and the gains were considerable.
Pei Xing had truly been a grandmaster of formations. Just looking at the arrays he had deployed on Winter End Island, Jiang Chen had already held his formation expertise in high regard. Now, as he studied Pei Xing's writings in greater depth, he found himself increasingly unable to resist the urge to slam the table in admiration.
He had to admit — many of Pei Xing's insights into formations compelled genuine respect.
"I never imagined Senior Pei Xing had such profound mastery of the formation path. No wonder he was qualified to co-chair the Myriad Spirits Divine Locking Formation alongside the grand alchemists of the Danxia Ancient Sect and the Dizang Gate."
Jiang Chen was practically buzzing with excitement. Gazing at row upon row of Pei Xing's works, he felt he truly needed to study every single one carefully.
The Myriad Spirits Divine Locking Formation in particular — although Senior Pei Xing had only overseen one portion of it, he was bound to have accumulated a wealth of insights.
If Jiang Chen could find the writings covering Pei Xing's section of the Myriad Spirits Divine Locking Formation, he would surely gain a far more thorough understanding of the array.
He hadn't located them yet, but Jiang Chen was confident that somewhere among these works, they had to be recorded.
Sure enough, perseverance paid off. Ten days later, Jiang Chen discovered a volume that contained a substantial amount of content devoted entirely to the Myriad Spirits Divine Locking Formation.
The text spanned tens of thousands of characters, all dedicated to describing this single formation.
It went far beyond merely outlining the portion Pei Xing had managed — it included his observations on the formation as a whole, his assessments of its capabilities, and a great many fine details on every conceivable aspect. The coverage was remarkably thorough.
Jiang Chen treated the volume like a priceless treasure.
"Truly — I searched everywhere and found nothing, only to stumble upon it right beneath my nose." For a long time, Jiang Chen had been vexed over the Myriad Spirits Divine Locking Formation. He had already mastered the insights from the Danxia Ancient Sect's portion.
Now, he had mastered Pei Xing's portion as well. In fact, Pei Xing's insights were even richer and more detailed than those of the Danxia Ancient Sect.
"This Pei Xing was probably a true grandmaster of formations in the ancient era — a genuine prodigy of the craft." Jiang Chen's admiration for Pei Xing continued to deepen.
The Star Fate flying vessel sailed for nearly twenty days before finally drawing close to the territory of the Rejuvenation Island Domain.
Once back within the Rejuvenation Island Domain's borders, Jiang Chen no longer kept up such a conspicuous profile. The Rejuvenation Island Domain had clearly fallen into steep decline. After the last upheaval caused by several families from the Duowen Divine Kingdom, the domain's vitality had been badly depleted. They had paid a steep price — vast quantities of wealth plundered, and many lives lost.
The Rejuvenation Island Domain now kept an extremely low, obedient profile.
After entering the domain's territory, Jiang Chen did not rush off to Winter End Island. Instead, he made a detour to Six Leaves City within the Rejuvenation Island Domain.
When he had first arrived at Winter End Island, he had encountered a band of robbers and had made a promise to a stocky, iron-tower of a man surnamed Fang — to deliver the contents of a Storage Ring to his daughter.
Jiang Chen had not forgotten that promise. He still remembered that the iron tower of a man had a daughter named Fang Yingying.
When Jiang Chen had fled Winter End Island, the urgency of the situation had left no time to visit Six Leaves City. Now, with the crisis resolved and the entire world unaware that he was the former Emperor Jiang, the joint pursuit order across the Rejuvenation Island Domain had long since been forgotten.
Clearly, after so many years, the Duowen Divine Kingdom families' joint pursuit order had expired.
Upon arriving in Six Leaves City, Jiang Chen spent a bit of effort tracking down Fang Yingying. Her cultivation was reasonably impressive, and she now had a dao companion.
Jiang Chen handed over the iron tower man's belongings to Fang Yingying.
The gift left her thoroughly stunned. By the time she thought to ask about her father's whereabouts, Jiang Chen had already vanished.
Jiang Chen did not linger in Six Leaves City for long. Upon leaving, he headed straight for Winter End Island.
Winter End Island had indeed become a wasteland. It had always been an extremely remote location, and once the formations had failed and the Rejuvenation Island Domain found them beyond repair, they had simply abandoned the island.
The current Winter End Island was, for all intents and purposes, completely deserted.
This suited Jiang Chen perfectly. He encountered no obstacles whatsoever on the way. It was plain to see that Winter End Island had become a nightmare for the entire Rejuvenation Island Domain.
No one in the domain was willing to set foot there — a forsaken island, situated at such a vast distance. The Rejuvenation Island Domain had absolutely no interest in it.