The Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's reaction to this affair was one of mingled shock and fury — yet it was not without its benefits.
For a long time, the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect had been eager to invade the Myriad Phenomena Region with force, but they had never found a suitably noble pretext.
Now, at last, they had one!
The destruction of their Purple Light Branch was, from the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect's perspective, nothing more than a minor strategic blemish — nowhere near enough to cripple them.
However, it gave the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect legitimate grounds to enter the Myriad Phenomena Region.
And so, after the initial wave of outrage, the sect's higher-ups dispatched a large number of inspectors — though inwardly, every one of them was secretly delighted.
The Myriad Phenomena Region was currently in complete disarray, dominated by the Eternal Sky Capital and the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain. This was something the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect had long found unacceptable.
After all, the sect had been laying plans in the Myriad Phenomena Region for a very long time and had made numerous arrangements — they had simply been outmaneuvered by the Eternal Sky Capital's deeper scheming.
In the end, it was the Eternal Sky Capital and the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain that controlled the bulk of the region's territory, while the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect was left scraping for scraps in some forgotten corner.
How could the Nine Yang Heavenly Sect ever be satisfied with that?
…
Leaving aside the fact that the Myriad Phenomena Region had once again descended into chaos, Jiang Chen was at this moment in a remote, isolated area of the Sword Field Central Domain, three thousand meters underground, anxiously working to remove the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse from Huang'er.
The Soul-Soothing Wood had been obtained.
Treating the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse required nothing more than a piece of Soul-Soothing Wood. This wood was the finest material in existence for purifying the divine soul and calming the spirit.
Even across the Myriad Heavens Planes, the Soul-Soothing Wood was commonly used for precisely this purpose.
That said, the Soul-Soothing Wood found in the Myriad Heavens Planes was far older and of much superior quality compared to what was available on the Divine Abyss Continent.
Still, for Huang'er's needs, the grade of Soul-Soothing Wood Jiang Chen had obtained was more than sufficient.
The treatment process was not especially complex, but it was extremely time-consuming. According to Jiang Chen's estimates, it would take at least three to five months.
Doing the math, three to five months meant that by the time he hurried back to the Glass King City, he might well miss the opening ceremony of the Glass King Tower Assembly.
However, the first event was the Alchemy Duel, and Jiang Chen had nothing left to prove in the Dao of Alchemy. The Glass King Tower's Alchemy Duel did not particularly interest him.
After all, in the world of alchemy, he was already the absolute authority in the Glass King City. Even Peacock Sacred Mountain relied on him. When it came to competing against the Pill Fire City, his reputation as "Zhen Danwang" needed no further validation through the Glass King Tower's Alchemy Duel — and Grand Emperor Peacock probably had no expectation that he would participate anyway.
The treatment process dragged on, but Jiang Chen was exceedingly careful, tolerating not the slightest error.
Driving out the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse was, truth be told, not entirely without risk for Jiang Chen either. The curse was simply too aggressive.
However, Jiang Chen had the experience of his previous life and understood the curse's characteristics thoroughly, so the procedure remained steady throughout.
He implanted the essence of the Soul-Soothing Wood into Huang'er's consciousness sea, then used his own divine sense to gradually force the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse outward, where the purifying power of the Soul-Soothing Wood dissolved it layer by layer, like unwinding silk from a cocoon.
The Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse was a blood curse of tremendous power, but in this world, every force had its counter. The Soul-Soothing Wood could purify the curse precisely because it was the curse's natural bane.
Three months later, when the last wisp of the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse's residue was purged by the Soul-Soothing Wood, Jiang Chen finally let out a long breath of relief.
"It's done."
Jiang Chen's eyes were bloodshot, his expression one of extreme exhaustion.
Months of continuous exertion had drained even his formidable divine sense to its absolute limit.
Huang'er, on the other hand, was lighter than she had ever been. After being freed from the Hundred-Lifetime Heartbound Curse, the shadow that had perpetually coiled around her consciousness sea was finally, completely gone.
Sensing the ease that ordinary people took for granted, even the perpetually serene Huang'er felt a mist rise in her beautiful eyes.
She held Jiang Chen tightly in her arms, unwilling to let go for even a moment. This man was her sky, her earth, her everything.
Seeing how he had pushed himself to such extremes for her sake, Huang'er's heart ached beyond measure.
"Brother Chen, knowing you is the greatest happiness of Huang'er's life," she murmured dreamily, her voice barely above a whisper.
Watching Jiang Chen sleep soundly in her arms, Huang'er's cheeks flushed crimson. She leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, her clear eyes brimming with limitless love.
Huang'er had been a quiet and tranquil soul since childhood, never having formed any deep impression of any young man. But this man before her — she would gladly give her life to protect him.
After three or four days of recovery, Jiang Chen's mental strength was fully restored. Only then did he have the time to take stock of his gains.
His battle with Lü Shinan had yielded a grand cauldron — a fine defensive treasure.
There were also the eight statues from King Shangping, which were far from ordinary. His only regret was failing to obtain the formation disk, whose whereabouts remained a mystery.
Lü Shinan had also carried some valuable items, and his wealth was staggering — all of it now belonged to Jiang Chen.
Furthermore, in the territory of the Wood Demon tribe, Jiang Chen had acquired a batch of Heaven Grade spiritual medicines. These were genuine Heaven Grade articles.
More than a dozen specimens ended up in Jiang Chen's hands, bringing his total collection of Heaven Grade spiritual medicines to nearly twenty.