It had to be said that Palace Master Dan Chi's strength, when measured against the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect, perhaps wasn't worth mentioning for the time being. But his ambition, his breadth of vision, and his foresight were something even Jiang Chen had to admire.
For the master of a sect to make such a "cutting off one's own arm" decision was no easy feat.
Only someone with that kind of resolute decisiveness could hope to accomplish great things.
"Palace Master, though the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect is powerful, compared to the ancient sects, they're really nothing all that special in the end. I believe that if the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect tried to forcibly suppress the Myriad Phenomena Region for their own selfish gain, the entire world would condemn them for it. Even if they could succeed for a time, it absolutely wouldn't last."
Jiang Chen didn't know what the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect's true plans were, but he believed that on the Divine Abyss Continent, no single power could cover the sky with one hand.
What worried him most wasn't the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect at all—it was the rumored ancient demon tribe.
Jiang Chen's concerns clearly weren't unfounded.
Back when he'd been in the Eastern Kingdom, he'd once returned to the Jianghan fief. On a piece of spirit land there, he'd encountered something bizarre.
His cousin Jiang Yu had been the one to discover it.
Spiritual medicine planted on that land had matured overnight.
Jiang Chen had a very vivid impression of that incident. He'd sent people to investigate at the time, and although the investigation hadn't been particularly thorough, it had already revealed that the surrounding area of that spirit land was covered with all manner of strange sealing forces.
Jiang Chen's strength had been feeble back then, so he hadn't dug deeper. But even then, he'd judged it to be an omen of great calamity.
Looking back now, the claim that the Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance was a place where demons were sealed might not have been without basis.
Recalling it now, Jiang Chen felt that omen was truly terrifying. If it ever fully erupted, let alone the Eastern Kingdom—even the entire Myriad Phenomena Region probably couldn't withstand it.
Moreover, during the Dragon Awakening trials in the Eastern Kingdom, Jiang Chen had encountered a spirit beast called Mang Qi at the edge of the Endless Caverns.
That place was equally strange.
Mang Qi had been sealed there—apparently since ancient times—and yet it had somehow never died.
From the ancient era to the present, how many countless years had passed?
If Mang Qi were merely a spirit beast at the Spirit Realm, how could it have lived so long?
Spirit beasts did enjoy longer lifespans than humans, but not to such an absurd degree.
Thinking more carefully, the Endless Caverns where Mang Qi resided were also full of unanswered questions. Jiang Chen could now almost certainly say that the strength Mang Qi had displayed back then was merely the tip of the iceberg. Its true power was absolutely not as simple as it had seemed.
A spirit beast at merely Spirit Realm cultivation couldn't have survived from ancient times to the present. Even a ten-thousand-year-old turtle wouldn't have that kind of lifespan.
One Eastern Kingdom—yet it harbored so many abnormalities. Back then, Jiang Chen's strength had been nothing more than a pitiful True Qi Realm, and he'd been completely oblivious to these matters, never thinking deeply about them.
Now, upon serious reflection, it was riddled with strangeness from every angle.
Jiang Chen naturally hadn't forgotten that he'd made a pact with Mang Qi to find a way to free it from its seal. And the seal binding Mang Qi was the "Myriad Spirits Locking God Formation."
"The Myriad Spirits Locking God Formation?" Jiang Chen's eyelids twitched suddenly as something clicked into place.
Palace Master Dan Chi noticed Jiang Chen's odd behavior and was taken aback.
But Jiang Chen didn't speak. Instead, he pressed both hands to his temples and fell into deep thought.
The Myriad Spirits Locking God Formation—when Mang Qi had mentioned this formation, Jiang Chen truly hadn't had any recollection of it.
But now that he thought about it, the texts of the Danxiao Ancient Sect had actually mentioned this very formation.
Those records had stated that it was an extraordinarily powerful sealing formation, one that not even the Danxiao Ancient Sect could deploy on its own.
The texts had further noted that the Danxiao Ancient Sect had joined forces with several other formation sects, and together they'd agreed to cooperate in deploying a "Myriad Spirits Locking God Formation."
Putting the two together, Jiang Chen suddenly felt cold sweat drenching his back.
"Could it be… could Mang Qi actually be an ancient demon…" The moment this thought crossed his mind, his entire body felt as though it had plunged into an ice cellar.
At this realization, a chill crept up Jiang Chen's spine.
He had sworn a Heavenly Dao oath to help Mang Qi escape its seal!
If Mang Qi truly was an ancient demon, then hadn't he already been played by the creature?
But Mang Qi had also sworn an oath—if Jiang Chen freed it, it would submit to him as its master and obey his commands. That too was bound by a Heavenly Dao oath.
The more Jiang Chen thought about it, the more his head ached. But as things stood, overthinking wouldn't help.
With his current strength, forget about the ancient demon tribe—even before the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect, he was still nothing.
"Palace Master, for the Myriad Phenomena Grand Assembly, we really do need to prepare for multiple contingencies." Jiang Chen steered the conversation back to the Grand Assembly.
"Mm. The Grand Assembly is still about half a month away. In the meantime, I'll make some arrangements. Jiang Chen, your identity is also a focal point right now. Don't reveal it for now—we'll see how things stand when the time comes."
Jiang Chen's current identity was extremely awkward. The six great sects, because of the Ancient Medicine Garden affair, would certainly hold some prejudice against him. And his name had entered the Nine Suns Heavenly Sect's field of vision again and again—they might well have their eyes on him by now.