As time passed, the alchemy competition at Illusory Wave Mountain drew ever closer.
After merging with the Golden Cicada Bloodline, Jiang Chen spent every day either cultivating or laying down the Nine Gates Burning Heaven Formation. If he had devoted himself solely to the formation, it would have taken roughly one month. But cultivating and building the formation at the same time meant it would take at least three months.
Fortunately, two months had already elapsed since he first began, and there were still over two months until the alchemy competition at Illusory Wave Mountain. By the math, he had more than enough time.
The art of formations was something Gouyu, Ye Chonglou, and the others knew nothing about. Seeing Jiang Chen busy day in and day out, they could roughly guess at what he was doing.
One day, hearty laughter echoed from the back mountain—it was Tang Hong, who had broken through to the Yuan Realm.
Not long after Tang Hong's breakthrough, Gouyu also advanced to the Yuan Realm.
It was as if these breakthroughs triggered a chain reaction. Half a month after Gouyu's breakthrough, Xue Tong experienced a sudden moment of enlightenment and smoothly advanced to the Yuan Realm as well.
With this, Tang Hong had earned the qualification to enter Danxia Valley, fair and square.
As for Gouyu and Xue Tong—they were Jiang Chen's attendants. Jiang Chen decided to have a serious talk with them.
"Gouyu, Xue Tong, you've both broken through to the Yuan Realm. In Pill Dao Palace, that's more than enough to qualify as core disciples. If you remain as my attendants, you won't be able to have independent cave dwellings. But if you join Pill Dao Palace, you can become core disciples and receive your own caves."
Xue Tong immediately grasped what Jiang Chen meant and shook his head, his tone resolute: "My life, Xue Tong, is devoted solely to following Young Master. The status of some sect disciple holds no appeal compared to serving at Young Master's side."
Gouyu's beautiful eyes flashed with reproach. "Jiang Chen, have you been looking for ways to shake me off this whole time? Even if I can't be your woman, I'm still going to follow you. Those so-called sect disciple identities mean absolutely nothing to me."
Jiang Chen smiled bitterly. Looking at these two determined figures, he knew right then that neither of them would ever betray him.
Gouyu fixed him with a fierce glare: "If you dare give us another choice like this in the future, I won't be so forgiving. Hmph!"
Among all of Jiang Chen's followers, Gouyu had an unmistakable presence as the elder sister of the group. Whenever she had the moral high ground, she would challenge even Jiang Chen himself—straightforward and unafraid to speak her mind.
The dual breakthroughs of Gouyu and Xue Tong struck the remaining followers with fierce motivation.
In just a few short months, all of Jiang Chen's followers had surged in strength, each one advancing to the peak of the Spirit Realm.
This sent shockwaves through the outside world. When Jiang Chen first arrived, the strongest of his followers had been at most at the Earth Spirit Realm. Now, two had reached the Yuan Realm, and the rest were at the peak of the ninth level of the Spirit Realm.
Such miraculous transformation in so short a time left all of Pill Dao Palace both astonished and brimming with pressure and motivation. If the people who came from the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms possessed such terrifying martial talent, what excuse did the disciples of Treasure Tree Sect have for slacking?
It had to be said that Jiang Chen's arrival had brought an unexpected catalyst to Pill Dao Palace, driving its younger generation to cultivate with far greater urgency and purpose.
One month before the alchemy competition at Illusory Wave Mountain, Jiang Chen finally completed the setup of the Nine Gates Burning Heaven Formation.
With the formation finished, Jiang Chen let out a long, relieved breath.
Through his meticulous arrangement, the formation had achieved at least fifty to sixty percent of its potential power. Once activated, it could keep even Celestial Saint-level powerhouses at bay.
Jiang Chen refined five formation jade slips.
He gave one to Ye Chonglou, one to Gouyu, one to Xue Tong, and one to Miss Huang'er. He kept the last one for himself.
Ye Chonglou, Gouyu, and Xue Tong were all his own people, so they needed no explanation.
Huang'er accepted the jade slip from Jiang Chen and smiled gently: "Young Master Jiang trusts Huang'er so; Huang'er will certainly keep watch over this formation for Young Master Jiang."
Huang'er had been living here, keeping mostly to herself, occasionally visiting with Gouyu and Wen Ziqi. Her life was exceedingly simple yet wonderfully pleasant, and her spirits were high.
Deep in her heart, she had long since come to regard this place as half a home—a sanctuary worth protecting in the depths of her soul.
"Miss Huang'er, make sure to visit the Wood Spirit Spring for a cleansing each month. It will be quite beneficial for you. However, the Wood Spirit Spring is of the utmost importance and must not be exposed. That is why I went to such great effort to set up this formation—incorporating the inner mountain gates into the defensive array."
Huang'er cleared her throat with a delicate sound: "Young Master Jiang's talent is remarkable. This formation must be extraordinary indeed."
Jiang Chen chuckled: "It's nothing grand—just some tinkering. If a crisis arises, you can activate the formation. Under normal circumstances, there's no need to worry."
"Miss Huang'er, remember to visit the spring for cleansing each month. Of course, if you enjoy it, feel free to go whenever you please—it won't cause any problems."
"Thank you for your generous kindness, Young Master Jiang. Huang'er will hold it dear in her heart."
Huang'er was genuinely moved. She had deliberately made herself look so ugly, originally not wishing to reveal her true face. Now, thinking back, that gesture seemed somewhat unnecessary.
Jiang Chen, this magnanimous gentleman, had fulfilled Elder Shun's request to the fullest, going out of his way to care for her—even sharing something as precious as the Wood Spirit Spring, this vital innate spiritual site, without a shred of reservation. He had never once slighted or ignored her because of her ugly appearance.
It was clear that Jiang Chen was not a man who judged others by their looks.
Now that she reflected on it, Huang'er felt deeply ashamed of her earlier choice to disguise her features. She had never been the type to be so affected, but a single misguided impulse had led her to alter her appearance into this unsightly form, and now she had no idea how to extricate herself from it.