A genius of the Earth Saint rank, this Ding Tong was one of the true inheritors even within the Nine Sun Heaven Sect. Though he was far from ranking among the top ten true inheritors, he could at least make it into the top three hundred young geniuses of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect.
In the Upper Eight Regions, he had participated in countless trials and faced numerous dangers, but never before had he felt such primal terror of imminent death as he did at this moment.
This youth from the Palace of Dan Qian, whom Ding Tong had considered a guaranteed prey, had somehow ended up viewing *him* as the quarry.
His earlier pretense of fear and tension now appeared, clearly, to be a deliberate act to mock Ding Tong and draw out his words.
In a sudden, chilling realization, Ding Tong understood that he had been treating Jiang Chen as a fool all along.
But the reality of this moment made him tragically discover that *he* was the true fool.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
No matter how Ding Tong slammed against it, he simply could not break through this black cage.
Panic truly set in for Ding Tong now. He bellowed: "Jiang Chen, what devilish trick did you use? What is this cursed thing? Don't tell me it's a formation!"
Jiang Chen offered a faint smile, his tone leisurely. "Ding Tong, aren't you a genius of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect? Aren't you the one who kills decisively and views other lives as grass? How does it feel now, getting a taste of what it's like for *your* own life to be worthless?"
Ding Tong snarled through gritted teeth: "Jiang Chen, I admit I underestimated you. But what do you dare do to me? If I, Ding Tong, fall here in the Myriad Phenomena Region, then the entire region can prepare to be buried with me!"
"Who are you trying to scare?"
Jiang Chen gave a cold laugh and called out: "Brother Long, enough games. I don't have time. Make your move."
In the void, a speck of light no larger than a mustard seed flickered abruptly, expanding into a colossal form bristling with claws and fangs.
"A... a True Dragon!"
Ding Tong's eyes went wide, his expression frozen as if struck dumb, his face drained of color and his mouth tasting of ashes.
"Jiang Chen... I surrender! I surrender!"
Witnessing the might of the True Dragon, Ding Tong was truly scared out of his wits. How could he not know that death was upon him?
Even the proudest genius, when suddenly faced with death, felt fear as instinct.
But by now, how could Jiang Chen possibly release a tiger back to the mountains?
Dragon Little Xuan's true form writhed, its five claws converging as it swiped through the void. Ding Tong's body, like a small chicken, offered no resistance and was seized directly in the giant claw.
"Mercy! Have mercy!" Ding Tong shrieked continuously. "Jiang Chen, don't kill me! I'm willing to be your dog!"
"Brother Long, do you think I need a dog like this?" Jiang Chen said blandly.
Dragon Little Xuan gave a strange grin, opened its maw wide, and with a crisp *crunch*, tossed Ding Tong straight into its mouth.
*Crunch. Crunch.*
Like munching on roasted beans, Ding Tong's screams were cut short before they could even escape. He was devoured by Dragon Little Xuan, his very soul not fast enough to flee.
With Dragon Little Xuan's strength at the peak of the Saint Realm, coupled with its True Dragon physique, as long as it matured slightly, it would absolutely have the power to battle even one or two realm emperors.
This Ding Tong, merely at the sixth level of the Saint Realm, stood absolutely no chance against Dragon Little Xuan's Domain of the True Dragon.
The Domain of the True Dragon was one of the dragon clan techniques Jiang Chen had previously imparted to Dragon Little Xuan. It used dragon might in conjunction with dragon scales to construct a void cage.
In simple terms, it was a True Dragon aura field that locked down the opponent.
A weak opponent, faced with dragon might, would not only be unable to escape but would likely suffer instant spiritual collapse under the sheer pressure.
Ding Tong, being at least a disciple of a major sect, showed some resilience.
And Dragon Little Xuan's cultivation of this Domain of the True Dragon was clearly only at an initial stage. Otherwise, with Ding Tong's sixth-level Saint Realm power, his spiritual consciousness would have collapsed on the spot, let alone be able to ram against the Domain.
Watching Dragon Little Xuan devour Ding Tong, Jiang Chen's heart remained unperturbed.
This Ding Tong's death was well-deserved, but his appearance had given Jiang Chen a tremendous shock.
Although he now had the formidable fighter Dragon Little Xuan, Jiang Chen felt this incident was a colossal warning.
First, the Three Star Sect was actually a pawn of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect within the Myriad Phenomena Region. This showed the Nine Sun Heaven Sect had been plotting for a long time and was determined to claim the region. As such, Palace Master Dan Chi's ambition to unify the Myriad Phenomena Region was in direct conflict with the Nine Sun Heaven Sect's plans.
This conflict hadn't erupted yet, but once it surfaced, the behemoth that was the Nine Sun Heaven Sect could crush the Palace of Dan Qian in mere moments.
"I must find a way to inform Palace Master Dan Chi about this," Jiang Chen felt it was his duty. But how could he explain it?
Tell Palace Master Dan Chi that he had eliminated Ding Tong? A genius of the sixth level of the Saint Realm?
If he revealed this, what would Palace Master Dan Chi think? Could Dragon Little Xuan's secret still be kept?
Obviously, this couldn't be said directly.
Moreover, even if he revealed that the Three Star Sect was a pawn of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect, in his position, no one in the Myriad Phenomena Region would believe him. Instead, he would only plunge the Palace of Dan Qian into dire straits.
He might even precipitate the conflict prematurely.
The thought of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect, that colossal entity, plotting against the Myriad Phenomena Region weighed heavily on Jiang Chen's heart. No matter how the Palace of Dan Qian clamored, no matter how powerful the Grand Sanctum seemed, in the end, before the absolute strength of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect, they were all just pawns.
The reason the Nine Sun Heaven Sect hadn't struck immediately was surely because their plans weren't fully in place, or they still had some reservations.
Once they dropped all pretenses and had no more misgivings, once the armies of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect arrived, the Myriad Phenomena Region's strength would be utterly insufficient to oppose them.
Even if all the sects in the Myriad Phenomena Region combined, they likely wouldn't amount to one-tenth of the Nine Sun Heaven Sect.
Not to mention, the Nine Sun Heaven Sect only needed to dispatch two or three realm emperors, accompanied by a group of Heavenly Saints, to sweep across the entire Myriad Phenomena Region.