Since the entire formation network of the Danxiao Ancient Sect—both inner and outer—was under Jiang Chen's control, he could easily probe for anything out of the ordinary.
Jiang Chen first examined the inner sanctum. His spiritual consciousness spread outward, sweeping over the Inheritance Tower, the Inheritance Cave Dwelling, the Patriarch Cliff, the Burial Mound…
Nothing was wrong within the inner ruins of the Danxiao Ancient Sect.
His spiritual consciousness jumped again, leaping to the three-tiered altar within the Ancient Medicine Garden in the outer sector.
At that moment, Jiang Chen finally understood the meaning of those three tiers of the altar—they clearly corresponded to the three founders and the three levels of the Inheritance Tower.
The altar extended outward, past the lake, and still nothing was amiss.
His consciousness probed further, sweeping through the interior of the Ancient Medicine Garden itself—no trace of abnormal formation fluctuation anywhere.
Jiang Chen's spiritual consciousness continued expanding outward, and suddenly—
It froze, locking onto the entrance of the Ancient Medicine Garden, before the great waterfall.
Three figures stood at the mouth of that massive waterfall, furiously attacking the Huanbo Grand Formation that shrouded its exterior.
"Who are they?" Jiang Chen observed the three through the formation, his spiritual consciousness concealed so that it would not be detected.
Yet every single one of them was a complete stranger. And yet, their strength was terrifyingly formidable.
The blue-browed youth in particular radiated an astonishing aura and pressure—one that Jiang Chen had never encountered even across the entirety of the Myriad Domains. Even Xiang Wentian, Patriarch of the Grand Sacred Hall, did not possess such a piercing presence.
"This… could they not be from the Myriad Domains?" Jiang Chen was stunned. Then, in a flash, he noticed something—the bearing of these three bore a faint resemblance to Ding Tong's.
Not just Ding Tong—even the inspector from the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect he had encountered at the Treasure Tree Sect.
"Disciples of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect?" Jiang Chen's instincts were razor-sharp, and he quickly identified their origin.
"What are they doing here?" Questions swarmed his mind, but he immediately realized that the Three Star Sect must have leaked the information.
Before everyone had entered the Ancient Medicine Garden, all parties had sworn a Heaven-and-Earth Oath. Jiang Chen had known all along that the Three Star Sect was colluding with the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect, so he had specifically warned Elder Yunnie to seal off every escape route the Three Star Sect had.
In theory, the Three Star Sect would never dare to reveal anything—unless they wanted to suffer total annihilation.
And yet, seeing these three Nine Sun Heavenly Sect disciples, Jiang Chen had an intuition that the Three Star Sect had indeed betrayed the secret.
He did not know how the Three Star Sect planned to evade the judgment of Heaven and Earth, but he was almost certain that only the Three Star Sect had the motive to leak information about the Ancient Medicine Garden to the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect.
Moreover, judging by the situation, they had likely leaked it only to the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect.
Otherwise, more than just these three disciples would have shown up.
Jiang Chen's spiritual consciousness, though powerful, could not yet cover the entirety of the Danxiao Ancient Sect's inner and outer sectors. He had discovered these three enemies, but could not hear what they were saying.
However, he quickly devised a plan.
He immediately left the Inheritance Tower, stepped out of the cave dwelling, and returned to the area near the altar. Using its teleportation formation, he transported back to the altar platform in the Ancient Medicine Garden.
He then released a swarm of Gold-Munching Mice and gave his orders: "Go. Find out what they're up to."
The Gold-Munching Mouse had long been cultivated into Jiang Chen's eyes and ears.
Before long, through the mice, Jiang Chen effortlessly ascertained the three visitors' intentions.
Sure enough, these three were from the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect. And judging by the way they were "breaking" the formation—they weren't breaking it at all. They were using a special technique to pry open a brief gap in the formation and slip through.
This formation-splitting divine ability was something Jiang Chen had heard of in his previous life.
He hadn't expected that disciples of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect would possess such an advanced technique. That raised his estimation of them slightly.
"The Upper Eight Domains really live up to their reputation. A skill like this would be absolutely dominant in the Myriad Domains—they can even slip through ancient formations. Impressive, in its own way."
Though Jiang Chen despised the arrogant Nine Sun Heavenly Sect, he knew that a first-rate sect was not to be trifled with.
A mere Ding Tong—a second-rate disciple of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect—had already been so difficult to deal with. Each of these three was no worse than Ding Tong.
The blue-browed youth in particular had depths of power that were utterly unfathomable. Jiang Chen estimated that even if this man had not yet reached the Imperial Realm, he was not far off.
Against three such enemies, even summoning Little Xuan, the odds of victory would be no better than fifty-fifty.
And Little Xuan was a trump card that absolutely could not be revealed.
Once exposed, the consequences would be endless.
For a time, Jiang Chen sank into deep contemplation. How could he ensure a flawless victory and eliminate all three?
If this were the Jiang Chen of two years ago, encountering three such opponents, he wouldn't have given it a second thought—retreat would have been the only option.
And whether he could even escape would have been an open question.
But two years of bitter cultivation had dramatically strengthened him and bolstered his confidence. On top of that, Huanbo Mountain was now his own territory. All of this made Jiang Chen feel that he just might have a chance to fight.