If he hadn't heard from Yu Gong that these two had only a lukewarm relationship with Old Man Guangdu, Jiang Chen would never have entertained the notion of bringing them under his wing.
After all, when dealing with Yu Xian and Pan Yuan and the others before, Jiang Chen had been ruthlessly decisive. The four Divine Dao cultivators from the Bright Sacred Land and the Rising Sun Sacred Land had been given no choice at all.
But these two — it was solely because of Yu Gong's assessment of them that a choice existed at all.
The blue-haired middle-aged man was inwardly groaning. An Jiaye's words had made the situation painfully clear. An Jiaye, plus two Divine Dao spirit beasts, plus a Jiang Chen…
They had already arrived at the Nirvana Sacred Land?
If that was the case, then the two of them were nothing more than turtles in a jar, were they?
"Friend An, I've long heard that you and Lord Guangdu are at odds. Must you really push things this far? Not only do you disregard the bonds we forged together through hardship in the Infinite Prison, but you'd actually side with the Ten Great Sacred Lands?" The blue-haired middle-aged man felt little loyalty toward Old Man Guangdu.
But he held a strong sense of identity with the Infinite Prison as his origin.
In his logic, the Ten Great Sacred Lands of Myriad Abyss Island should be their enemies.
An Jiaye laughed coldly. "You only see the Infinite Prison. I see further — I see that we belong to the Divine Abyss Continent, that we belong to this plane. The Infinite Prison was merely a stop along our path of martial cultivation, albeit one that lasted a rather long time. At the end of the day, I am a cultivator of the Divine Abyss Continent. Standing from the perspective of the Divine Abyss Continent, if Old Man Guangdu's ambitions are allowed to spread, that would be anything but a good thing."
"How can you say that? Would Old Man Guangdu ruling the Divine Abyss Continent really be worse than the Ten Great Sacred Lands?" The blue-haired middle-aged man refused to concede.
"That old fool Guangdu is ruthless and vicious. Everything he does is calculated solely to maximize his own gain. He never considers the bigger picture, never thinks about the lives of the common people. A man like that might suffice as a regional leader, but as a leader of an entire plane, he is clearly unfit."
Though An Jiaye himself was wilful in his conduct, even eccentric. Otherwise, he wouldn't have exterminated the entire Yan clan in a momentary fit of emotion.
But when it came to matters of principle, An Jiaye was far from confused.
"If Lord Guangdu isn't fit, then are the Ten Great Sacred Lands and their breed of hypocrites any better? From what I know, the Ten Great Sacred Lands aren't exactly united in harmony either." The blue-haired middle-aged man was not convinced.
"Whether the Ten Great Sacred Lands are fit or not, I couldn't care less. But I know one person who certainly is. I will support only him."
"Who?" the blue-haired middle-aged man asked in a low voice.
"Jiang Chen. The young lord of the Eternal Sacred Land." An Jiaye's tone was calm and matter-of-fact.
"Ridiculous! A young man — no matter how extraordinary his talent — what kind of waves could he possibly stir up in such a short time? The situation across the Divine Abyss Continent is on a hair trigger. Can one young man really influence the outcome?"
An Jiaye smiled faintly. "As the saying goes — never underestimate the young and poor. This young man you're questioning defeated both the Left and Right Protectors, repelled Old Man Guangdu himself, and seized both the Bright Sacred Land and the Rising Sun Sacred Land. Right now, with a single word from him, he could bring the two of you down as well. A young man like that — do you really think he can't influence the situation? Don't you think the current situation has already been shaped by his hands?"
An Jiaye posed these questions in a leisurely, unhurried manner.
The blue-haired middle-aged man was struck speechless. Indeed — come to think of it, hadn't the current state of affairs across Myriad Abyss Island already been molded by Jiang Chen?
Before Old Man Guangdu launched his assault on the Ten Great Sacred Lands, everyone's attention had been fixed on the grand elders of those Sacred Lands. Though Jiang Chen's name had been mentioned before, he had been dismissed as a promising young talent who posed no real threat for the time being.
But it was precisely this young man who had risen like an unexpected force, gathered a following of his own, and altered the entire course of the war across Myriad Abyss Island.
The atmosphere at the scene had grown exceedingly heavy.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light streaked through the void. From the clouds above, a figure flickered into view — Jiang Chen. His eyes blazed like lightning, shooting two piercing beams of light directly at the blue-haired middle-aged man.