Although the situation outside seemed to worsen with each passing day, everything around Jiang Chen continued to proceed in an orderly fashion, and the trends only seemed to grow more favorable.
On this day, Divine Venerable Jaye came to find Jiang Chen.
"You're leaving?" Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised.
"Heh heh, the Eternal Sacred Land isn't my home. If I don't leave and just keep hanging around here, am I supposed to be guarding their gates for them? They haven't even paid me." Divine Venerable Jaye spoke with a half-joking tone.
"But..." Jiang Chen hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "That old man Guangdu, after his defeat last time, must bear a grudge against you. If you go back now and he happens to find your territory and cause trouble for you, what will you do?"
Divine Venerable Jaye laughed aloud. "That just proves you still don't understand that old scoundrel Guangdu. He certainly holds a grudge against me — he'd love nothing more than to tear me to pieces. But I guarantee you, during this period of time, he absolutely will not come looking for trouble with me."
"Why not?" Jiang Chen asked, puzzled.
"He's a man who sees the big picture. Right now, the situation on Wanyuan Island isn't particularly favorable for him. The most urgent thing he needs to do is rally his old subordinates and gather his forces to face you all once again. Until the situation on Wanyuan Island becomes clear, he absolutely won't think about coming after me. Besides, he may not even know I've gone back. And even if he did know, he may not be able to find where I am. Even if he found it, breaking into that secret realm would take time. I'm not just going to sit there and wait to be bullied, am I?"
After all, both of them were cultivators of the Divine Dao, and Divine Venerable Jaye had his own survival principles.
Since Divine Venerable Jaye had put it this way, Jiang Chen felt he could no longer keep insisting. Any further would come across as distrust of Divine Venerable Jaye.
The man was, after all, a cultivator of the Divine Dao, not a child — he couldn't possibly need Jiang Chen of all people to shelter him.
"As for Huang'er, I won't be taking her with me this time. I suspect she wouldn't want to come with me anyway. Nor would I want her to risk danger alongside me. Perhaps I should admit that, by staying with you, Huang'er's safety is actually the most secure."
Divine Venerable Jaye was even more broad-minded than Jiang Chen had imagined, and toward the man his granddaughter had set her heart on, he was all the more magnanimous — never stingy with his praise.
Jiang Chen, however, didn't take the other's courtesy for granted and hurriedly shook his head in modesty.
"Jiang Chen, remember this — you've been staying here at the Eternal Sacred Land these past few days. I personally think that's a safe choice, but it may not necessarily be the best one." Before leaving, Divine Venerable Jaye felt there were still some things worth pointing out to the young man.
Jiang Chen paused briefly, then fell into thoughtful contemplation.
"I understand the principle of pressing the advantage against a retreating foe. But at this stage, if I leave the Eternal Sacred Land and leave this mess behind, the two Sacred Lords absolutely won't be able to withstand any counterattack. If that old man Guangdu were to make a sudden return, the Eternal Sacred Land would fall into his hands."
Jiang Chen, too, had his own difficulties.
He knew that the best option right now would actually be to join forces with the Divine Dao ancestors of the Ten Great Sacred Lands, concentrating superior forces to wipe out the desperadoes from the Infinite Prison.
But he simply couldn't bring himself to leave the Eternal Sacred Land unguarded.
Divine Venerable Jaye's tone grew indifferent. "When the time comes, sacrifices must always be made. At this stage, which is more important — the Eternal Sacred Land, or the bigger picture? And beyond that, are you reluctant to part with the foundations here, or reluctant to part with certain people?"
Jiang Chen had a clear answer to that question in his heart.