At this point, it was perfectly reasonable for Lin Hai to harbor such thoughts.
After all, within the Myriad Manifestations Domain, how could anyone possibly be so monstrous as to kill a true disciple of the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect — and scheme against both him, Lin Hai, and Jun Mobai to boot?
Lin Hai absolutely refused to believe that any genius from the Myriad Manifestations Domain could accomplish such a feat.
Among all the talents in the Myriad Manifestations Domain, Xiang Qin stood far above the rest — the strongest native genius the domain had ever produced. But even against such a prodigy, Lin Hai was confident that both he and Jun Mobai had their ways of dealing with him.
As for someone at Cao Jin's level — far above both Lin Hai and Jun Mobai — even Xiang Qin would be utterly crushed if he ever crossed paths with him.
And yet this Jiang Chen had actually managed to kill even Cao Jin?
Could this Jiang Chen be the pinnacle genius of some first-rate sect? A Sovereign Realm powerhouse?
Lin Hai's mind was consumed by doubt and terror, desperate to find answers in Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen regarded him with a faint smile.
"Brother Lin Hai, I must say — you've been hiding your depths quite well." Jiang Chen spoke with unhurried ease.
"Drop the act, Jiang Chen. Don't tell me you're not a first-rate sect's spy planted in the Myriad Manifestations Domain?" Lin Hai snarled.
"Whether I'm a spy or not is no concern of yours. Emperor Feiyu... ha ha, I'm rather curious — what exactly about Emperor Feiyu drew the interest of two first-rate sects? And for over a thousand years, no less — with such relentless persistence? You even went so far as to plant sleeper agents?"
Lin Hai's brow furrowed. "You don't know?"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "I don't — but I've pieced together a thing or two from your conversation. So, will you come clean on your own? Or shall I pry it out of you?"
Lin Hai threw his head back and laughed. "Come clean? I am a disciple of the Imperishable Heavenly Capital — I would sooner die than surrender! Jiang Chen, if that fool Jun Mobai hadn't fought me to mutual destruction, do you really think I'd fear you?"
Jiang Chen smiled again, unperturbed. "So you mean to put up a fight?"
Lin Hai's expression darkened. "Hmph — if you want to kill me, you'll pay a price!"
"Oh?"
Jiang Chen wasted no more breath. With a flick of his Formation Soldier Beads, three sharp cracks rang out as a Heavenly Saint Realm golden-armored warrior and three Earthly Saint Realm golden-armored warriors materialized, completely surrounding Lin Hai.
Lin Hai's face went pale. "Jiang Chen, is tricks all you know? If you've got the guts, face me in open combat!"
"Face you in open combat? I'm afraid you'd only dirty my hands."
Jiang Chen had no interest in wasting time. He commanded the golden-armored warriors to launch a frenzied assault on Lin Hai. Lin Hai was already spent — a spent arrow at the end of its flight — and these warriors had one supreme advantage: they feared nothing, not even death. They swarmed him all at once, and in short order, Lin Hai was beaten to the ground.
Jiang Chen walked over and looked down at Lin Hai, whose breath came in faint, wispy threads. His first move was to claim the command flag. It was a fine treasure — Jiang Chen had sensed from the start that this banner was no ordinary artifact. Whether for offense or defense, it was remarkably powerful.
It had been this very banner that allowed Lin Hai to claw back again and again during his clashes with Jun Mobai.
Beyond the banner, Jiang Chen unceremoniously claimed Lin Hai's Storage Ring as well. Jun Mobai's Storage Ring received the same treatment — he took everything.
Dispatching the two had cost him a fair amount of effort, and Jiang Chen was not inclined to dawdle. He walked to the palace in the lake and gazed up at its towering grandeur, not daring to be careless.
After all, those dark green lake waters were powerfully corrosive. Even Lin Hai and Jun Mobai had been deeply wary of them.
Though Jiang Chen had cultivated the Divine Demon Nine Transformations Golden Body, he had no desire to pit it against the lake's corrosive dark-green waters.
So he shook Lin Hai's command flag and used it to shield himself.
Jiang Chen knew with certainty that this cave dwelling was not a structure native to the Myriad Manifestations Extreme Realm — it was most likely a pocket-realm dwelling that could be carried on one's person.
Generally, to carry such a dwelling on one's person, one had to refine it and make it one's own.
And to refine such a dwelling, one had to locate its core nexus. Only by mastering the core nexus could one truly command such a structure.
Had it been any other powerhouse from the Divine Abyss Continent, they might have been deceived by the palace, assuming it was a structure native to the Myriad Manifestations Extreme Realm.
But Jiang Chen possessed the wisdom of his past life, and would not so easily be fooled by appearances.
The Myriad Manifestations Extreme Realm had such feeble life energy — no one would have been bored enough to build a palace here. Besides, this place was clearly unsuitable for establishing a sect.
It seemed that both Lin Hai and Jun Mobai could use some secret art to lock onto the divine sense imprint associated with Emperor Feiyu.
Of course, such a lock-on must have its conditions. Without having entered the Myriad Manifestations Extreme Realm — or at least drawing close to this area — it likely could not be done.
Otherwise, judging by how Lin Hai and Jun Mobai spoke, it seemed they had been searching for Emperor Feiyu for over a thousand years — and had never managed to find him.
On top of that, with so many things they had to be cautious about — they couldn't exactly conduct a sweeping carpet-search across the Myriad Manifestations Domain. That was why they had resorted to this covert infiltration method to track down Emperor Feiyu's whereabouts.
Jiang Chen mulled it over. "Emperor Feiyu must have fled to such a hidden place to escape the pursuit of the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect and the Imperishable Heavenly Capital. In that case, this palace may well be filled with traps and mechanisms. If I barge in rashly, I might end up being attacked."