Even the Peacock Emperor was rendered speechless, a rueful smile escaping him. Wasn't he just searching for a needle in the ocean? What were the odds that a random person from the Myriad Domains would happen to know Dan'er?
Seeing Jiang Chen's expression, the Peacock Emperor could tell that Jiang Chen didn't know Dan'er either.
"Your Majesty, besides these things, don't you have any other useful information at all?"
The Peacock Emperor smiled bitterly. "She always refused to say anything. All she ever mentioned was that she came from the Myriad Domains. Her identity, her origins, the sect she came from — she never spoke of any of it."
"Perhaps she was a woman who suffered heartbreak?" Jiang Chen sighed softly.
The Peacock Emperor shook his head. "It wasn't heartbreak, exactly. She simply couldn't forget a certain man. Perhaps that man was her daughter's father. When the Myriad Domains were shattered, how many tragedies like this occurred? All of it — the work of the Myriad Spirits Heavenly Capital."
Though the Peacock Emperor didn't know Dan'er's background, he had made certain guesses. He had always believed that the man in Dan'er's heart must have perished during the destruction of the Myriad Domains.
Dan'er had loved with absolute devotion and couldn't recover from that blow, which was why she kept sealing herself off from the world.
At the words "Myriad Spirits Heavenly Capital," a sharp gleam flashed through Jiang Chen's eyes. Those four words had clearly struck a nerve, dredging up memories of that catastrophe in the Myriad Domains.
The last time he'd passed through the Myriad Domains on his way to the Barbarian Lands, the sight that greeted him was one of utter devastation — everywhere, the desolate aftermath of catastrophe, completely stripped of the vitality it once had.
Just as the Peacock Emperor had said, the calamity that befell the Myriad Domains had produced countless tragedies like Dan'er's.
Even within the Dan Origin Palace alone, how many had been torn apart by death and separation?
And all of it — the work of the Myriad Spirits Heavenly Capital, the sin of the Scarlet Cauldron Central Region.
The Peacock Emperor had clearly noticed that he'd touched on Jiang Chen's painful memories, and he hurried to console him. "In the world of martial arts, these things happen every single day. But the destruction of an entire domain — that's something that might not happen once in several hundred or even a thousand years. The Myriad Spirits Heavenly Capital and the Scarlet Cauldron Central Region have committed such sins, doing evil without ever doing good. Their fortune will erode sooner or later. Yesterday's Myriad Domains will be their tomorrow."
Jiang Chen smiled coldly. "Their fortune may be damaged, but we martial cultivators will never sit around waiting for heaven to punish them. This debt — I will settle every last coin with them, sooner or later."
The Peacock Emperor smiled leisurely. "In truth, you already possess a preliminary degree of that kind of strength. Never mind the Myriad Spirits Heavenly Capital for now — the Scarlet Cauldron Central Region? You certainly have the power to handle them."
"I won't stir up trouble prematurely." Jiang Chen could tell that the Peacock Emperor's words carried a probing edge, and he declined flatly.
He truly had no intention of seeking revenge just yet. His wings weren't nearly strong enough. Though he was the young lord of the Peacock Sacred Mountain, he couldn't very well drag the mountain's forces into a personal vendetta.
It wasn't that it couldn't be done — he simply didn't want to seize every opportunity to mobilize the Peacock Sacred Mountain's power the moment he ascended to the position of young lord.
Most importantly, the timing simply wasn't right.
Seeing how composed Jiang Chen was, the Peacock Emperor felt genuinely pleased. His earlier words had indeed been something of a test — he wanted to see whether this young man might suddenly grow impulsive with his newfound status.
Jiang Chen's performance left the Peacock Emperor thoroughly gratified.
Smiling, the Peacock Emperor continued, "The reason I called you here today is to speak with you privately about the main tower of the Glazed King Pagoda."
"Oh?" Jiang Chen blinked, looking at the Peacock Emperor with curiosity.
"The Glazed King Pagoda has been passed down for a hundred thousand years. In the ancient era, only the main tower existed. The Martial Tower and the Alchemy Tower were built later by successive generations of powerhouses in the Glazed King City. The opportunities and legacies within those two towers were left behind by powerhouses of successive eras after the ancient period. But the main tower of the Glazed King Pagoda alone — that dates back to the ancient era. Enshrined within it is the Heavenly Mandate Decree of the very first founder of Glazed King City. It carries the fortune of our Glazed King City across a hundred thousand years."
"The main tower is an independent world. You may think of it as a formation world, or you may think of it as a secret realm. In short, even if I were to enter personally, I could not freely roam the main tower of the Glazed King Pagoda. How many secrets lie within that tower, how vast it truly is — only the ancient predecessors who cultivated the Glazed King Pagoda would know. Since the ancient era, countless Glazed King City powerhouses have entered the main tower, yet every person's experience and perception has been entirely different. Moreover, each person gets only one chance to enter, and they must be under sixty years of age. Once past that age, the Glazed King Pagoda will absolutely reject them. So even for me, I entered only once, back in my youth."
Jiang Chen asked, puzzled, "I recall that during the Ranking Tournament, the seven great emperors were all watching from inside the Glazed King Pagoda?"
"Ha ha — we were indeed within the main tower. But that was merely the outer portion of the main tower, not inside the main tower's formation proper. When we speak of entering the main tower of the Glazed King Pagoda, we mean entering the formation itself. The main tower world has four tiers. The nine geniuses from your First Interval will all enter the highest tier. What opportunities await you there, I cannot say with certainty, but a single day of cultivation within that realm is equivalent to a month in the outside world. Even at the lowest tier, one day inside equals five days outside. That is precisely why everyone fights so fiercely for the Young Lord Ranking — because every scion of Glazed King City gets only one chance to enter before the age of sixty. And that single opportunity, more often than not, determines a destiny utterly different from everyone else's."
The Peacock Emperor smiled at Jiang Chen as he finished speaking. "Does that make things clear?"
"One day in there equals a month outside. And for the highest tier — if we can stay for two years, that's equivalent to sixty years in the outside world?" Even Jiang Chen was amazed.