Sure enough, exactly as Jiang Chen had predicted, at the start, five or six Sacred Lands had shown interest in Gongxi Hu. But before long, the remaining ones were intimidated by the Hundred Sacred Lands' aggressive talent-poaching momentum, and they withdrew one after another.
The momentum behind the Hundred Sacred Lands was genuinely terrifying, and the rewards they offered were extravagantly generous beyond belief.
Fortunately, over at the Eternal Sacred Land, the Grand Master had received Jiang Chen's instructions and didn't dither. If Jiang Chen had been this solemn about it, then this arrogant genius must have had something exceptional going for him.
Most geniuses were incredibly proud and carried eccentric quirks to boot.
This Gongxi Hu clearly fell into that same category of peculiar prodigies. Having personality wasn't the scary part — as long as it didn't become a liability, there was no issue.
After all, youthful arrogance was a phase everyone had to go through.
The competition quickly entered a white-hot stage. Apart from the Eternal Sacred Land still locked in a tug-of-war with the Hundred Sacred Lands, the other Sacred Lands had all pulled out.
The Hundred Sacred Lands, seeing the Eternal Sacred Land competing against them, were thoroughly vexed. They repeatedly increased their offers and heaped on heavier promises.
The Eternal Sacred Land refused to be outdone, escalating in kind.
Eventually, the two sides reached a stalemate. It came down to verbal persuasion.
The Hundred Sacred Lands made a sharp pitch: "Gongxi Hu, we can see it too — you possess an Innate Fire Spirit Body, and you have a natural passion for refining pills. As everyone knows, our Hundred Sacred Lands has always had an impeccable reputation for pill refinement across the Myriad Abyss Island. If you come to us, you will absolutely receive the finest resources, the finest guidance. Moreover, the Sacred Land would consider placing you among the very top tier of geniuses in terms of cultivation, granting you the treatment that only the absolute elite enjoy."
There was no denying it — the Hundred Sacred Lands truly admired this Gongxi Hu.
However, Gongxi Hu remained completely unruffled, not so much as a twitch of his eyelids. He merely offered an obviously perfunctory smile.
Then, with a gaze full of interest, he looked over toward the Eternal Sacred Land's side, clearly wanting to hear what they had to say.
The Grand Master smiled and spoke: "Gongxi Hu, a young man with as much personality as yours is truly rare. But here at the Eternal Sacred Land, it's precisely the kind of genius we welcome most. I won't beat around the bush — Grandmaster Shi Xuan, whom the Hundred Sacred Lands proudest of, is currently still serving as our Eternal Sacred Land's pill slave. They claim their pill mastery is superior? Let me point out something: which of the hottest pills on the Myriad Abyss Island right now — the Taiyi Heaven-Mending Pill, the Heaven-Pillar Pill — came from the Hundred Sacred Lands?"
"Every single one of these popular pills comes from the Eternal Sacred Land," the Grand Master added.
Those words were bound to ruffle some feathers, but the Eternal Sacred Land and the Hundred Sacred Lands had never exactly been on friendly terms. With both sides clearly getting fired up in this rivalry, the Grand Master naturally wasn't going to hold his tongue or worry about diplomatic niceties.
Hearing the Grand Master speak like that, the Hundred Sacred Lands grew anxious: "Your Eternal Sacred Land just got lucky — you stumbled onto some ancient pill formulas and managed to produce two pills by sheer chance. Besides those two pills, what else does your Eternal Sacred Land have to show? Foundational pill knowledge? A comprehensive pill system? A thorough talent cultivation mechanism — which of these does your Eternal Sacred Land possess? To put it bluntly, your Eternal Sacred Land is nothing more than a pill-realm upstart! Those Taiyi Heaven-Mending Pills, Heaven-Pillar Pills — given enough time, our Hundred Sacred Lands will be able to reverse-engineer and develop them too!"
The tone from the Hundred Sacred Lands made it abundantly clear they had thoroughly torn off the mask of civility.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen was not pleased.
Originally, he had not intended to interject, content to let both sides showcase their persuasive talents.