"Jiang Chen, since you have already arrived here, the heritage and legacy of the Glazed Royal City shall belong to you from this day forward. The entirety of the Glazed Royal City's inheritance is contained within this ancient city. Within the Glazed Palace, there are several items that this old man wishes to give you personally, as a meeting gift. They are yours to keep for your own. As for the ancient Glazed Royal City's legacy and inheritance, I hope that you will carry them forward and let them flourish. Let the Glazed Royal City's tradition shine upon the Human Domain for all eternity, generation after generation, never to be extinguished — what say you?"
The Glazed Great Sovereign's gaze was solemn as he fixed his eyes upon Jiang Chen, like a dying emperor delivering his final, earnest instructions to his heir.
Jiang Chen could see that the Great Sovereign's gaze was gradually growing unfocused, and he knew that this remnant of divine consciousness would not last much longer.
After all, the Great Sovereign's true body had been gone for two hundred to three hundred thousand years. Without the support of a true body, such a wisp of divine consciousness could not possibly persist for long.
If the true body still existed, such a spiritual avatar would have the backing of that body and could endure at least ten times longer. But without it — a solitary wisp of consciousness without any special preparations made — it was virtually impossible for it to endure.
The key was that the divine consciousness the Great Sovereign had left behind could communicate back and forth.
If it were merely a wisp of consciousness embedded to pass on final arrangements and settle affairs, with no need to interact with the inheritor, that would have been far simpler.
Back in the Illusory Wave Mountain secret realm, within the inheritance site of the Danxiao Ancient Sect, Jiang Chen had encountered exactly this kind of consciousness remnant. It could only guide in a one-way fashion and could not communicate with him at all.
What made the Glazed Great Sovereign so formidable was that the consciousness he had left behind could converse with Jiang Chen and even possessed the capacity for independent thought.
Such a consciousness was essentially a fragment of the soul anchored to this statue. The amount of divine sense and Divine Ability required to sustain it was ten or even a hundred times greater than that of a simple one-way imprint.
"With the Great Sovereign above, I, Jiang Chen, swear to carry forward the Glazed Royal City's legacy as you have instructed, to exterminate the demon race upon these lands, to set the trajectory of the Heavenly Dao back onto its proper course, and to ensure that the Divine Abyss Continent shall never again be beset by invaders for all eternity!"
Jiang Chen's words rang out with iron conviction, brimming with sincerity.
"Good, good, good! When I first made this decision, I did wonder — what kind of reward would come to me for leaving this inheritance to a successor of the future? What manner of inheritor would the heavens bestow upon me? Now it seems the heavens have not failed me, and the heavens have not failed the Divine Abyss Continent! Ha ha ha!"
The Glazed Great Sovereign's demeanor was remarkably hearty and open. Though his energy was all but spent and the moment of oblivion was not far off, his laughter held nothing but joy and magnanimity — not a trace of sorrow.
Such a transcendent state of mind left even Jiang Chen feeling a deep sense of admiration.
Having lived through two lifetimes — past life and present — he doubted he could ever achieve such openness and equanimity himself.
"All right, Jiang Chen. I have little time left. Let me give you a rough overview of the situation. The matters you are most concerned about, I have already recorded on a jade slip. It lies beneath my statue — you will find it when the time comes. It includes the sealing methods used on the spirit veins and how to unseal them, as well as the sealing methods for the inheritance opportunities scattered throughout the land. Of course, I had no way of knowing the exact locations of the other factions' sealed sites, but I did make certain educated guesses about their general methods."
Jiang Chen smiled. "Your foresight was true, Senior. The inheritances of the Sacred One Sect, the Danxiao Ancient Sect, and the Dizang Gate — this junior has already obtained them."
"Oh?" The Glazed Great Sovereign blinked in mild surprise, then broke into a smile. "In that case, you truly are a person of great fortune. Their inheritances were extremely well hidden. To think that you—"
At this point, the Glazed Great Sovereign paused and let out a soft sigh. "Of course, because the Sealing War against the demons was so rushed and hasty, perhaps some among them did not have the time to make adequate preparations. I, on the other hand, had long been planning for this, so I had far more time to prepare."
The exact reason no longer mattered.
"Jiang Chen, the inheritances of the ten great leading factions of antiquity are no trifling matter. If you are able to obtain them, it would be best to keep them all under your own control. In my jade slip, you will find a general outline of where the ten great leading factions were distributed. You can study it for yourself at that time. Remember — these inheritances must never fall into the hands of someone whose heart is crooked. Otherwise, even if the Human Domain enjoys a period of stability, it will inevitably descend into civil war in the long run."
This was perhaps the Glazed Great Sovereign's deepest concern — the very thing he feared most.
Jiang Chen straightened his expression. "This junior will do everything in his power to ensure that these inheritances find worthy and honorable successors. They will absolutely not fall into the hands of treacherous villains."
"Good, very good, very good indeed. Once the spirit veins are unsealed, the Human Domain will recover the splendor of the ancient era. Within a century, its glory will be restored. I am truly looking forward to it — though sadly, I shall not live to see it. But Jiang Chen, you must remember: you must never let the demon race's claws extend into the Human Domain again."
"This junior has engraved it upon his heart. I will first activate the Myriad Spirits Celestial Locking Formation to divert the first wave of the demon calamity away from the Human Domain. Then I will focus on development and strive to continuously bolster the Human Domain's combat strength, keeping the enemy at the gates. The demon army will not be permitted to set foot within the Human Domain."
This required no reminding from the Glazed Great Sovereign. Both by reason and by sentiment, Jiang Chen had no intention of letting the demon race invade the Human Domain again.
After all, this was where his home and his loved ones were.
A demon invasion would only heighten the danger for everyone he held dear.
"Well said, well said. You are young and have achieved greatness early, yet you have not lost your head. That you can be so measured and prudent — it shows that the Human Domain is truly blessed by heaven. In your hands, the Human Domain will surely flourish and reclaim its former glory. Perhaps it will even see the return of the wonders of the ancient age!"
The Glazed Great Sovereign was genuinely delighted. He had considered the matter of his successor before, but had not harbored particularly high hopes.
Today's meeting had shown him that this inheritor's quality far exceeded his estimates. It even gave him a feeling that this young man might very well surpass his teacher — green born of indigo, yet finer than indigo itself.
"As for the Glazed Royal City's legacy and tradition, I will not boast about them. The treasury, the pill recipes, the medicinal gardens, and the Scripture Pavilion — you may inspect them yourself in due course. These are inheritances meant for future generations, and I trust you know how to distribute them fairly. What I want to speak of now are the meeting gifts. While I still have a breath left, let me tell you about them."
Though the entire inheritance was being given to Jiang Chen, a true legacy required a great many people to carry it forward, to branch out and spread — only then could the tradition truly thrive.
The meeting gifts, on the other hand, were personal presents.
Jiang Chen spoke with solemn respect. "This junior is grateful for Senior's generosity and would not presume to decline. Please, Senior, show me what you have."
"Haha, good! Young man, you are not pretentious, not affected. I appreciate that. As the Great Sovereign of the Glazed Royal City, I did have quite a few treasures in my possession. Alas, fighting against the demon race required me to carry many of them and use them up along the way. What I have left for you is, I must admit, rather modest."