However, that alone was clearly insufficient to convince the Xuanwu Divine Beast.
"What? You want to convince me to join your squad?" The Xuanwu Divine Beast's tone carried unmistakable mockery.
Clearly, in his eyes, this was an utterly absurd notion.
The Vermilion Bird Divine Avian smiled leisurely. "What's wrong with joining us? Under the current circumstances, shouldn't our four great divine beast bloodlines work together toward a common goal? It's only natural, isn't it?"
The Xuanwu Divine Beast yawned languidly instead. "Since ancient times, the four great divine beast bloodlines have never gotten along. The Dragon and Phoenix fought bitterly — battles to the death were commonplace. I have no idea what reason you could possibly have for living in harmony. Even less can I imagine getting along with you all."
"If it weren't for Chen Shao, we might not have gotten along either. But with Chen Shao here, we have a leader we rally behind, shared interests — and naturally, a foundation for harmony." The Vermilion Bird spoke with complete candor.
He genuinely wanted to persuade the Xuanwu Divine Beast. Regardless of whether he could succeed, he was truly putting in the effort.
Only, this Xuanwu Divine Beast was clearly not so easily swayed. His temperament was that of a stubborn mule — once he set his mind on something, it was nearly impossible to change.
Successfully winning over this Xuanwu Divine Beast would require far more than a few passing words.
"You have shared interests? That's your business. I have none with you — not even a common language. So I won't trouble myself with it."
The Xuanwu Divine Beast yawned again, his eyes flashing with a vicious glint as he stared at Jiang Chen. "Kid, you were supposed to be my next meal. I didn't expect you to actually break through my hundredfold gravity and take to the air. That did surprise me. Most human cultivators are cowards. A kid like you with genuine ability is truly rare. A few human youngsters have come here before, but they all ended up as a delicious meal in my belly. Hahaha!"
Jiang Chen's expression remained impassive. He too spoke in the ancient Beast Language. "By age and cultivation, I ought to call you Senior Xuanwu. However, your actions hardly seem worthy of that title."
"Hmph, hmph. Kid, you're quite bold. If not for this flat-feathered Vermilion Bird here, even if you could fly away, I would have plenty of ways to make you my next meal."
"You're far too confident," Jiang Chen said flatly. He knew this Xuanwu Divine Beast was formidable — perhaps even on par with the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian.
But Jiang Chen was no longer a defenseless target that the Xuanwu could bully at will. Perhaps in a direct confrontation, he truly couldn't match a divine-path being.
However, Jiang Chen had his own methods of self-preservation. As for the Xuanwu thinking he had Jiang Chen cornered — Jiang Chen simply refused to believe that.
"Oh? You want to try?" The Xuanwu Divine Beast let out a strange laugh.
"I'd actually like to try," Jiang Chen replied with a faint smile. "If you can't devour me the way you devoured those other genius cultivators, then what?"
"Oh? How did you know I have a Devouring Divine Ability?" The Xuanwu Divine Beast paused, slightly startled.
This Devouring Divine Ability was one of the Xuanwu's inherited powers — a truly fearsome technique. Under normal circumstances, anyone with cultivation weaker than the Xuanwu who was caught in its Devouring Divine Ability would have virtually no chance of escaping a fate as its next meal.
So when this Xuanwu Divine Beast claimed to have devoured several human cultivators before, Jiang Chen had no reason to doubt it. But that must have been a very long time ago.
Otherwise, why had no one among the Ten Great Sacred Lands mentioned the dangers of this tenth island? Why hadn't even the jade slip's mission briefing referenced it?
"I not only know you have a Devouring Divine Ability, I also know you possess the Xuanwu Corpse Accumulation Qi — a power of truly astonishing magnitude." Jiang Chen spoke with a half-smile.
The Xuanwu Divine Beast possessed several innate divine abilities.