The Nine Lion Venerable truly admired Jiang Chen and personally hosted a banquet in his honor. During the feast, he sought Jiang Chen's opinion on the matter of forming an alliance.
Jiang Chen did not hold back his views. He said that given the current trend of events, as long as the heritage of the Myriad Spirit Sect remained intact, forming an alliance with the Great Sacred Hall would not necessarily be a bad thing.
Compared to becoming a vassal of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect, this form of alliance was comparatively more acceptable.
The Nine Lion Venerable could see it too — in the current situation, remaining independent was clearly difficult. A mere sect from the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms alliance could be crushed by others with a single finger.
Under such circumstances, whether one wished for it or not, finding a suitable patron was the wisest choice.
After catching up with Liu Wencai for a while, Jiang Chen bid farewell and descended the mountain. As he parted, he smiled and said, "Wencai, I look forward to seeing you again in the Myriad Phenomena Territory."
Tang Hong swaggered forward and punched Liu Wencai squarely in the chest. "Three years from now, if you can't make it onto the Myriad Phenomena Hidden Dragon Ranking, don't you dare call yourself my brother."
Liu Wencai laughed heartily. "Same goes for you."
Tang Hong cracked his knuckles, the pops echoing one after another. "I've already made up my mind — if I can't make the Myriad Phenomena Hidden Dragon Ranking, I swear I'll never return to the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms!"
Tang Hong was physically robust and rough around the edges, but such a person possessed unwavering resolve. Now that he had a new goal, he would naturally charge toward it with great strides.
After leaving the Myriad Spirit Sect, Jiang Chen summoned his Golden-Winged Sword Birds for flight and caught up with the main group half a day later.
A few days later, the group arrived at Dan Qian Palace.
Dan Qian Palace was situated in the heart of the Myriad Phenomena Territory. The vast expanse of land it controlled was at least ten times that of the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms alliance.
The various factions under its rule, big and small, were as numerous as the hairs on an ox.
Factions at the level of the Four Great Sects numbered in the dozens, even reaching into the hundreds, within the territory governed by Dan Qian Palace.
Even some Sixth-Rank Sects and Fifth-Rank Sects submitted meekly under the dominion of Dan Qian Palace.
The training grounds of Dan Qian Palace were nothing short of spectacular. Amid the sprawling deep valleys, palaces and cave dwellings dotted the landscape. Within a thousand-li radius, Dan Qian Palace's protective formations were everywhere.
Without a guide, anyone attempting to reach the core of Dan Qian Palace would suffer at least a hundred attacks from the formations, if not more.
"Jiang Chen, once you have your sect tokens in the future, these ordinary formations won't attack you. However, some core areas cannot be entered without prior authorization. Otherwise, once the formations activate, even a Saint Dao powerhouse could suffer greatly."
A Fourth-Rank Sect would naturally possess many forbidden zones.
After entering Dan Qian Palace, Dan Chi brought them to the Internal Affairs Hall and arranged temporary accommodations.
"Jiang Chen, since you've just arrived, you'll enjoy the same treatment as the disciples of our Dan Qian Palace. But the rules of Dan Qian Palace must still be followed. Your identities will be assigned according to your respective cultivation levels. I trust none of you have any objections?"
Even in an alliance, rules still had to be observed.
Jiang Chen smiled. "Of course. If we outsiders were given special treatment, it would be unseemly and impossible to win anyone's respect."
The others nodded one after another, indicating they had no objections to this arrangement.
Since Dan Chi had come in person, the Hall Master of the Internal Affairs Hall naturally dared not be negligent and received them personally.
Jiang Chen was at the Origin Realm in cultivation. At Dan Qian Palace, disciples at the Origin Realm were already considered core disciples.
As a result, Jiang Chen received a core disciple's token.
Tang Hong had entered the Heavenly Spirit Realm and obtained an inner disciple's token.
Lian Canghai, Xie Yufan, and Tie Dazhi — the three of them were still a step away from the Heavenly Spirit Realm and could only begin as probationary inner disciples.
In any case, probationary inner disciples were still better than outer disciples.
Dan Qian Palace's abundant resources and vast territory were no idle boast.
Inner disciples — even probationary ones — were each assigned a private courtyard cave dwelling. Though they were somewhat small and situated close to those of other inner disciples, at least they offered a private space, unlike the outer disciples who had to live together in crowded quarters.
As a core disciple, Jiang Chen's living arrangements were at an even higher tier.
Dan Qian Palace had a Danxia Valley, where a thousand cave dwellings had been carved out for geniuses at the core disciple level and above.
As a core disciple, Jiang Chen was granted the qualification to reside in Danxia Valley.
Moreover, the resource allocation for core disciples was exceedingly generous.
Though there was still a considerable gap compared to the true disciples, as a newcomer, Jiang Chen could not very well make too many demands.
Status and treatment had to be earned through strength.
Having just arrived, there was no need to be so greedy. Once time had passed, his strength had risen, and his reputation had spread, these things would naturally fall into place.
Furthermore, the Hall Master of the Internal Affairs Hall had also mentioned that Dan Qian Palace did not object to disciples exchanging labor for resources. For instance, taking on sect missions was the best way to earn resources.
Many of Dan Qian Palace's true disciples obtained their resources through this method.
Especially those cultivation maniacs — the regular resource allocation was far from enough to satisfy their cultivation appetites. Where would their resources come from? The only solution was through this kind of avenue.