After taking stock, Jiang Chen realized that the trump cards he possessed were truly extraordinary in number. Any single one of these items, placed in the hands of an ordinary genius, would be enough to elevate that person into the ranks of a first-tier genius.
And yet, he alone held so many of them. Thinking it over, Jiang Chen felt that his fortune was anything but ordinary. Even the Peacock Emperor, upon activating his Wisdom Eye of the Myriad Heavens, had seen that his fortune ran deep.
Jiang Chen naturally agreed wholeheartedly. To have survived the shattering of the Myriad Heavens and been given the chance of rebirth — that was a level of fortune far beyond what any ordinary person could possess.
With fortune like this, as long as he didn't deliberately court disaster, there would be no major problems.
This was clear from his past experiences. After his sect was destroyed and he was hunted by two first-rate sects, he had still managed to live perfectly freely and unburdened.
That was fortune.
Of course, fortune alone was clearly not enough. If a person actively sought their own doom, then even the greatest fortune under heaven would be futile.
In the martial arts world, there were many geniuses blessed with great fortune. But not every such genius would ultimately grow to maturity.
Many geniuses who possessed great fortune ultimately fell short due to flaws in their character — that was a common occurrence.
Yet Jiang Chen never let his great fortune make him arrogant.
After making his decision, Jiang Chen went into seclusion.
Refining the Flying Feather Divine Wings was his most pressing task. Training in the Five Thunder Divine Sound Sword also needed to be placed on his schedule.
However, mastering sword techniques was by no means something that could be accomplished overnight. Jiang Chen did not intend to begin training immediately; instead, he planned to first nourish the sword with his qi and cultivate a bond with the Five-Colored Divine Light Sword.
A Heaven-grade divine sword was no ordinary divine weapon. Put simply, a sword of this level already possessed spiritual energy of its own, and if one was fortunate enough, it might even nurture a sword spirit.
The Five-Colored Divine Light Sword did not appear to possess a sword spirit, but this was actually good news for Jiang Chen. If it had a sword spirit, he would need time to communicate with it and build a rapport.
With no sword spirit, things were simpler.
Of course, if Jiang Chen shared a destined bond with this divine sword, long-term qi nourishment could potentially give rise to a sword spirit belonging to him and him alone.
If he could nurture a sword spirit, the power of the Five-Colored Divine Light Sword would undoubtedly increase dramatically, becoming his true life-bound weapon.
To train in the Five Thunder Divine Sound Sword, he first needed to familiarize himself with the divine sword. Ideally, he would come to know it as intimately as a part of his own body, so that his efforts would yield twice the results.
When Jiang Chen announced his seclusion, no one on the outside was surprised. The Taiyuan Pavilion was already running smoothly, and nothing major was happening at the Peacock Sacred Mountain.
Somewhere in the Glass Royal City, a middle-aged man stood in a courtyard, frowning. "Pill King Zhen has gone into seclusion? Is it true seclusion, or a pretense?"
This middle-aged man was a spy left behind in the Glass Royal City by Pill Fire City. He had always served Pill Fire City, gathering intelligence.
This time, Pill Fire City had used a secret letter to scheme against Jiang Chen, and in their view, success was guaranteed. Therefore, before the Pill Pinnacle Emperor departed, he had specifically instructed the man to keep close watch on Pill King Zhen's movements and report back to Pill Fire City the moment any news came.
Obviously, the Pill Pinnacle Emperor was simply waiting for the news of Pill King Zhen's death.
But after so many days had passed, no news of Pill King Zhen's death had emerged. The Taiyuan Pavilion continued on as before. If Pill King Zhen had truly met with misfortune, the Taiyuan Pavilion could not possibly remain so calm.
Let alone the Taiyuan Pavilion — even the entire Peacock Sacred Mountain could not possibly remain so composed.
A Pill King capable of changing the fortune of the Peacock Sacred Mountain — if he had died suddenly for no reason, it would be stranger than strange if it didn't cause an enormous uproar.
And yet, the Glass Royal City was currently as calm as still water, everything perfectly peaceful. In every street and alley, rumors spread of how Pill King Zhen had thwarted Pill Fire City.
"Could it be that Pill King Zhen never even opened those secret letters?" The middle-aged man racked his brains but could not figure it out, and in the end could only arrive at this explanation.
"Perhaps Pill King Zhen has simply been too busy lately — overwhelmed with social engagements, with no time to read those secret letters. Otherwise, poison letters personally crafted by His Majesty the Pill Pinnacle Emperor — there's no way this kid wouldn't fall for them. Hmm, I mustn't be hasty. I'll wait patiently. Perhaps during this seclusion, when he's bored, he'll remember those secret letters. Once he opens them, that will be the end of this kid. Dying alone in his cultivation chamber during seclusion — that would be the best outcome of all. Hahaha, by the time anyone discovers he's dead, investigating will be all the more difficult."
The middle-aged man consoled himself thus.
...
Another secret base in the Glass Royal City — this one was a stronghold of the Undying Heavenly Capital.
Several Holy Dharma Kings of the Undying Heavenly Capital had gathered at this stronghold.
There was the Holy Dharma King surnamed Ke who had negotiated with the Royal Court Great Family last time, as well as the Holy Dharma King surnamed Mu who had sealed the gates of Wanyi City.
These two Holy Dharma Kings were among the very top echelon of the Undying Heavenly Capital. Their status, even when compared to the Sect Master of the Undying Heavenly Capital, would not be far off.
At this moment, these two Holy Dharma Kings had come together, along with several other lower-ranking Dharma Kings — ordinary Dharma Kings of Gong Wuji's caliber.