Calculating the time, less than half a month remained before the Martial Tower Competition.
During these fifteen days,
This would be a battle to test his own strength, so unless absolutely necessary, Jiang Chen didn't want to rely too heavily on equipment — especially those heaven-defying artifacts.
Martial Dao realm, martial Dao comprehension — many things could only be improved through actual combat. Jiang Chen understood this full well.
"My breakthrough to the seventh level of the Saint realm owes no small part to the countless battles I've fought along the way, large and small. This Martial Tower Competition will attract prodigies galore. If I don't seize this chance to test my own martial Dao level, I'd be a fool."
In many of Jiang Chen's previous battles — particularly those where he fought above his level — he had essentially relied on equipment.
Of course, Jiang Chen was also confident that in a pure martial Dao exchange without equipment, he would absolutely crush opponents at the same level. Jumping up one or two tiers would pose no great pressure either.
The trouble was that every battle was a life-and-death struggle. You might hold back your equipment, but your opponent wouldn't.
So this competition was a once-in-a-millennium trial opportunity.
Naturally, if everyone else brought out their equipment, it would be difficult for Jiang Chen to stay out of it entirely.
This trip to the Wastelands had yielded considerable gains for Jiang Chen.
Even more formidable were the eight statues, though unfortunately the formation disc had eluded him.
Jiang Chen was deeply curious about these eight statues. He felt that in the hands of King Shangping, they had never been utilized to their full potential.
Lu Shinan's defensive cauldron, since its owner was already dead, had lost all of Lu Shinan's personal imprint upon it.
Jiang Chen claimed it as his own with ease.
But as for the eight statues — though King Shangping was dead, the formation disc remained unfound, which left Jiang Chen somewhat frustrated.
However, upon careful study of the eight statues, Jiang Chen sensed that they contained a faint, unfathomable aura of immense will.
They were definitely no ordinary junk.
"Looking at these statues, King Shangping's death severed his connection with the formation disc. It seems King Shangping must have crafted the formation disc himself to command the eight statues. The pity is that he could only harness a fraction of their power. If he had managed to activate even a tenth of their true might, I'm afraid the one who fell that day would have been me."
The more Jiang Chen studied the eight statues, the more a chill crept through his heart.
Thinking back, he had truly been lucky. Without the Emperor's Arrival Armor Talisman, facing these eight statues, he would likely have been the one to fall.
"King Shangping was indeed blessed with fortune to obtain such a treasure. A pity he ultimately lacked the fate to truly enjoy it." Jiang Chen turned the eight statues over in his hands, harboring a nameless fondness for them.
He had a premonition that if he could use these eight statues well, they would be ten or a hundred times more powerful under his command than they had ever been under King Shangping.
Jiang Chen was the type to act the moment a decision was made. With ten to fifteen days still to spare, he decided to try crafting his own formation disc to command the eight statues.
He wasn't aiming for perfect control — just the most basic excavation of power would suffice. Drawing out even a tenth of the statues' formidable strength would be enough to make them a devastating offensive tool.
"No wonder that even my most powerful Star River Severing only left a faint scratch on these statues. And looking at them now, they actually possess a self-healing function. The mark I left with the Star River Severing has vanished entirely."
Jiang Chen examined the eight statues with growing astonishment. They appeared to be lifeless objects, yet possessed the self-healing capability that only living beings had.
"The world is vast and full of marvels. These eight statues are certainly no ordinary treasures. Let me try crafting a formation disc to put them to use."
Back when he fought King Shangping, though Jiang Chen had recognized the statues' power, he hadn't placed too much importance on them.
After all, he possessed numerous treasures capable of countering them — the Origin Magnetic Gold Mountain, the Green Stinging Spirit, the Ice Fire Demon Lotus, and more.
But now it seemed he had underestimated their true power.
"Perhaps with King Shangping's level of spiritual consciousness, he never discovered the true greatness of these eight statues. A brilliant pearl left buried in dust — what a waste."
With this thought, Jiang Chen stepped out of his sealed chamber and headed outside.
Just as he reached the door, he spotted Shen Sanhuo leading two people, standing there with a somewhat furtive air, clearly having waited for Jiang Chen for quite some time.
"Senior Brother, these two arrived at the Taiyan Pavilion half a year ago, saying you had sent them here on your instructions. I didn't dare act on my own authority, so I sent them out on some errands. They've just returned today to report. When they heard you were back, they insisted on seeing you."
Shen Sanhuo also looked somewhat uneasy, afraid that he might have been deceived. Though the two carried tokens of identification, there was no guarantee there wasn't some trick involved.
Jiang Chen laughed. "You two made it here safely at last. Good — I've been so busy since my return that I haven't had a chance to come see you."
These two were none other than the old friends Jiang Chen had rescued from the Crimson Cauldron Central Domain some time ago.