"What? Jiang Chen is actually willing to accept the challenge?"
"Tsk tsk, this kid locked himself away for a whole month—don't tell me he was cramming his alchemy studies, scrambling at the last minute?"
"Could be! In my opinion, Elder Yun Nie must have put him through some kind of crash course training over this past month."
"Tsk tsk, whoever wins gets a spot in the Phantom Wave Mountain Alchemy Tournament. I'm thinking, should I go give it a try myself?"
"A thousand high-grade Origin Spirit Stones—do you even have that kind of money?"
"Sigh, looks like this is rich people's game."
In an instant, the entire Danxia Valley was buzzing with discussion, hearts stirred with restless ambition.
Clearly, the spots in the Phantom Wave Mountain Alchemy Tournament were immensely tempting. But the requirement of a thousand high-grade Origin Spirit Stones was a formidable barrier, leaving many eager yet powerless.
After all, coughing up that many high-grade Origin Spirit Stones at once—even for a core disciple, it would take several years' worth of stipend.
Without backing from one of Qian Dao Palace's elite families, it was simply impossible to possess that kind of wealth.
At Dan Chi's Villa, Palace Master Dan Chi and Elder Yun Nie sat across from each other, both looking completely at ease.
"Palace Master, where on earth did you find this freak of nature? For a young man to be this composed—it's truly rare," Elder Yun Nie said with a smile.
"Truth be told, when I forged an alliance with the Treasure Tree Sect, it was a gamble with real risk. But looking at it now, I bet right. This Jiang Chen has become the sect's touchstone, filtering out every last mediocre person." Palace Master Dan Chi sighed lightly.
Elder Yun Nie nodded with a smile. "More than a touchstone—he's a demon-revealing mirror. This time, all manner of ghouls and monsters have shown their ugly true faces."
Palace Master Dan Chi's expression turned serious as he shook his head gently. "Elder Liancheng, Elder Jingu, and that Ouyang De from your Herbal Hall… anyone else?"
"Just those three are enough to shake the very foundations of our Qian Dao Palace," Elder Yun Nie said, his tone sharpening. "Palace Master, this is the time for you to use decisive measures—subdue them once and for all."
"Yun Nie, when I act as I do, the one who suffers the most is actually your Herbal Hall. Yet I never expected that the ones who would stand by me most steadfastly in the end would be your Herbal Hall as well. Back when I chose you to be Supreme Elder, it was the single best decision I ever made."
Elder Yun Nie spoke solemnly. "The way I, Yun Nie, conduct myself—I place the sect's greater interests above all else, and personal concerns are always secondary. Though your methods are bold and forceful, Palace Master, you don't act for selfish reasons either. When it comes to the bigger picture, you and I are the same kind of people. If I don't support you, who would I support?"
Though these two men differed slightly in their philosophies, at the core they were both people who thought in terms of the sect's greater good—truly kindred spirits.
"This round of rumors really was, as you said, a demon-revealing mirror. Who would have thought that even someone as respected as Elder Liancheng would wade into these murky waters," Palace Master Dan Chi said, a trace of regret in his voice.
"Elder Liancheng is a man who follows his instincts. Though he has some personal concerns, he's no great villain. I actually think his involvement in this affair doesn't run very deep. It's most likely because of Shen Qinghong that the others leveraged his influence. From what I know of Elder Liancheng, he's not the type to stir up trouble and bring harm to the sect."
This from Elder Yun Nie actually caught Palace Master Dan Chi by surprise.
After all, at the sect's upper echelon meeting not long ago, Elder Yun Nie and Elder Liancheng had slammed the table and shouted at each other—their friction was well known.
Yet now, at this critical moment, Elder Yun Nie was willing to stand in Elder Liancheng's position and speak on his behalf.
"Yun Nie, your integrity and sense of public duty over personal grievance—truly the bearing of a wise man," Palace Master Dan Chi praised.
"You flatter me, Palace Master. Compared to your grand vision, I've simply done what was my duty," Elder Yun Nie replied modestly.
"Ha ha, don't be too modest. Yun Nie, when it comes to grand vision, Jiang Chen is the one who pulled off the real masterstroke this time. First he shuts himself away for a month, ignoring the outside world, then suddenly opens his cave dwelling and announces he'll accept challenges. This move alone will crush every last rumor in one blow and send his reputation soaring."
"This Jiang Chen truly does have a knack for the extraordinary," Elder Yun Nie said with a smile. "And it seems as though this young man has some kind of magic—everyone around him just keeps becoming more and more outstanding. Take Mu Gaoqi—who could have guessed before that Mu Gaoqi would turn out to be so impressive?"
"This time, by throwing out that challenge announcement and attaching a thousand Origin Spirit Stones as the stake, he's pulled off an even more brilliant move. On one hand, it solves his resource crisis. On the other, it sets a barrier that makes anyone without sufficient strength think twice before stepping forward."
Elder Yun Nie chuckled. "I'm rather curious to see how these people are going to save face this time."
Palace Master Dan Chi's eyes lit up. "Yun Nie, the way you're talking, it sounds like you have tremendous confidence in Jiang Chen's alchemy talent? Even those former geniuses from the Sovereign District couldn't surpass him?"
"Mu Gaoqi possesses the Innate Wood Spirit Body at the highest level, and even he had to bow to Jiang Chen. Those people in the Sovereign District—even Ling Bi'er might not necessarily surpass Jiang Chen. As for the rest, trying to challenge Jiang Chen in alchemy would simply be asking for humiliation."
When it came to alchemy, Yun Nie held absolute authority, and his judgment was nothing short of extraordinary.
With him saying this, Palace Master Dan Chi had even less reason to doubt.
He had once risked everything to ally with the Treasure Tree Sect for Jiang Chen's sake, and that decision had brought considerable pressure upon him within the sect. A number of senior elders had voiced their objections, only to be forcefully suppressed by Dan Chi.
Now, the more dazzling Jiang Chen's performance became, the more leverage Dan Chi had to justify his original choice.
The reason he had never offered Jiang Chen any overt support was, on one hand, to observe Jiang Chen's ability to adapt on his own; on the other, he didn't want to give the upper echelon ammunition—the impression that Jiang Chen could only stand in the sect because of his personal patronage.
Now, through sheer facts, Jiang Chen was steadily dismantling every piece of that narrative, steadily adding weight to the conviction behind Dan Chi's original decision.