The Peacock Great Emperor's visit had, from start to finish, never asked Jiang Chen for any commitment, nor made any condescending demands of him.
If one had to describe this visit, it was like a lonely elder who had taken an interest in a young man coming to pay a visit—as though they were friends separated by generations.
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, a faint smile appeared on the Peacock Great Emperor's face.
"Jiang Chen, just as you once told the third young master of the Ji family—fate. I've presided over the Liuli Royal City for several thousand years, and never before has a single person earned my admiration the way you have. I have nothing else to give you but this: in the Liuli Royal City, so long as your heart is true, you may do as you please and act as you see fit. No matter what trouble you stir up, I will take care of it for you."
Having said that, the Peacock Great Emperor smiled faintly, tapped a finger lightly, and all the formations and scenery before them vanished in an instant. The Peacock Great Emperor himself had disappeared without a trace.
Only a lingering voice remained by Jiang Chen's ear: "Jiang Chen, remember to attend the Peacock Grand Gathering."
Jiang Chen was silent for a long while, lost in thought.
This conversation with the Peacock Great Emperor had been very rewarding for him.
The next day, Young Master Ji Third came rushing over again, this time bringing another piece of news.
"Brother, I'm feeling a bit down. Just got word that the Peacock Grand Gathering has added a whole bunch of new slots. Nearly all the great clans under the Peacock Great Emperor have been invited to send a batch of their younger generation."
"Oh? They've expanded the invitation list?" Jiang Chen smiled.
"Exactly!" Ji Third said, somewhat dejectedly. "Just yesterday I was thinking how we were the only great clan with a young member in the first wave of invitations. I was feeling a little smug about it. Who'd have thought it'd all evaporate by today. How tragic."
Ji Third's tone really did carry a note of disappointment.
After all, everyone enjoyed feeling special.
If everyone was going, there was nothing special about it anymore.
Jiang Chen, however, just smiled. "Brother Ji, there's nothing to be upset about. At least you were in the first batch of invitations, weren't you?"
Ji Third blinked, then laughed. "That's true! Being on the first invitation list is something to brag about—more impressive than being on the second wave, at any rate."
Then, as if remembering something, Ji Third added, "Oh right, brother, there's one more very important thing I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
"It's about the Longevity Pill. The Peacock Sacred Mountain received your Longevity Pill and owes you a huge favor. So they've been discussing this matter recently."
"Any result?" Jiang Chen asked casually.
The Longevity Pill still wasn't circulating on the market. The last batch refined by the Royal Court Clan—aside from two pills set aside for testing—
had all been seized by the Peacock Guard. None had made it to the open market.
So, in the Liuli Royal City, the Longevity Pill was still nearly impossible to come by.
"According to the Clan Lord, the Peacock Sacred Mountain has already put forward a proposal."
"Let's hear it."
"The preliminary idea is an equal five-way split."
"An equal five-way split? What does that mean?" Jiang Chen didn't quite understand.
"The Peacock Sacred Mountain counts as one party, the Panlong Clan counts as one party, the Wei family counts as one party, you count as one party, and the Danqian Palace counts as one party," Ji Third explained in detail.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt a slight stir in his heart. The Danqian Palace was getting a share too? The Peacock Sacred Mountain was really giving him face.
However, Jiang Chen immediately realized this was likely the result of the Peacock Great Emperor's personal involvement.
"Materials will be covered by the Wei family. Pill King manpower will be provided by the Peacock Sacred Mountain and our Panlong Clan. You and the Danqian Palace will receive a technical share."
The so-called "technical share" meant that by providing the pill recipe, one would hold equity through the formula. This was perfectly reasonable. The distribution was, by any measure, extremely fair.
"Brother, if you have any objections, feel free to raise them. They're still in the stage of soliciting your opinion."
Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head. "The distribution is very reasonable. I have no objections."
"Great, I'll go back and tell the Clan Lord right away." Ji Third was delighted. After all the back and forth, the Longevity Pill recipe had ultimately ended up in their hands.
But then Jiang Chen suddenly thought of something and said, "There's one more thing we need to watch out for."
"What?" Ji Third asked quickly.
"The Longevity Pill recipe was stolen by Imperishable Heaven. In fact, the pills the Royal Court Clan refined were provided by Imperishable Heaven. It's just that without my personal guidance, the pills they produced were of inferior grade. But they do have the recipe, and for the Longevity Pill's future market, that will always be a hidden threat."
Ji Third nodded gravely. "That's a fair point."