Chapter 726: Come Out

“The Secret Treasure Map is in Zone Nine of the Holy War Secret Realm. I stumbled into that place by accident while fleeing from my enemies back then. Due to my lack of strength, I only managed to see a small fraction of the Hong God’s Secret Treasure Map…”

A deep sense of regret and a hint of hatred crossed Yao Yueye’s face.

Back then…

It was precisely because of the pursuit from those enemies that his Martial Dao foundation was severed.

A Six Extremes Genius was left stuck at the Early Stage of the Emperor Realm for the rest of his life.

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. In a deep voice, he asked, “Zone Nine of the Holy War Secret Realm? Tell me about this Holy War Secret Realm.”

Jiang Chen had already learned about the Holy War from Zuo Yu.

It could be described as the grandest Martial Dao event in all of Zhongzhou, organized by the Four Great Dominators of Zhongzhou.

Any genius who performed exceptionally in the Holy War would have a chance to gain the favor of the Four Great Holy Lands and become one of their disciples!

One had to understand.

The Four Great Holy Lands controlled the Life Vein and the entire structure of Zhongzhou.

Each Holy Land possessed unparalleled resources and heritage. Anyone who managed to enter any one of them was guaranteed a bright and limitless future!

A look of deep reminiscence filled Yao Yueye’s eyes as he began to speak. “There are ten Holy War Secret Realms in total. Each one is incomparably vast. Even the smallest, the Zone One Holy War Secret Realm, is larger than the Eastern Continent and Beizhou combined. It is said that the ten war zones of the Holy War Secret Realm are battlefields left behind from the Primordial Era, and a True God has fallen in each one!”

“Zone Nine is the Holy War Secret Realm second only to the Tenth District.”

Yao Yueye continued, “All geniuses participating in the Holy War are randomly assigned to the various war zones. But if you want to cross between zones, you must pass through the zone barriers. However… the barriers are made of Annihilation Gang Wind and Void Storms, and there are even many powerful Void Beasts within them. So, very few people ever choose to cross between zones!”

Jiang Chen’s heart stirred.

‘This Holy War Secret Realm is somewhat similar to the Celestial Fate Hunting from before.’

‘The only difference is that for the Celestial Fate Hunting, you had to exchange for a Void Transmission Talisman to cross regions, while the Holy War Secret Realm has zone barriers between its war zones.’

‘Yao Yueye has refined my Soul Seed, so he’s absolutely loyal to me. I don’t have to worry about him lying.’

Jiang Chen stood up and said, “Come with me for now. In a couple of days, I’ll be heading to Zhongzhou, and I’ll naturally participate in the Holy War!”

“Master, about the Emperor Yuan Pill…” Yao Yueye asked anxiously.

Jiang Chen glanced at him and smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. It won’t be long before an Emperor Yuan Pill delivers itself to our doorstep!”

“Er…”

Yao Yueye was completely baffled.

‘An Emperor Yuan Pill will deliver itself to us?’

He didn’t understand what Jiang Chen meant, but now that the Soul Seed had been planted, it was useless to have regrets. He had no choice but to follow Jiang Chen and leave.

Jiang Chen brought Yao Yueye to find Duann Tianya and Hai Zheng. The four of them shared drinks and chatted, having a grand time.

Both men were very surprised to see Yao Yueye following Jiang Chen. After all, Yao Yueye was an expert at the Early Stage of the Emperor Realm, and a Six Extremes Genius to boot. Duann Tianya had once invited him to join Heaven’s Edge Sea Pavilion, but Yao Yueye had refused. They never would have expected him to become Jiang Chen’s follower.

Duann Tianya recalled the Cyan Ox Child telling him to befriend Jiang Chen. The corners of his mouth lifted into a sincere smile. “Demon Elder, you sure are lucky to have become Brother Jiang’s attendant!”

Yao Yueye was taken aback and gave a slight nod, though inwardly he was unimpressed.

He figured Duann Tianya was just praising him out of respect for Jiang Chen’s position as the vice-leader of Heaven’s Edge Sea Pavilion.

But then…

Hai Zheng, who was beside them, also nodded and sighed with great earnestness, “If not for my responsibilities to my race, I too would wish to follow Brother Jiang!”

This time,

Yao Yueye was utterly dumbfounded!

Duann Tianya’s comment was one thing; he could understand it as a way to curry favor with Jiang Chen and make him feel more of a connection to Heaven’s Edge Sea Pavilion. But Hai Zheng was an Overlord himself, backed by the powerful Sea Dragon Race! Normally, he wouldn’t even give the time of day to an ordinary expert at Emperor Realm Perfection. Why was he so respectful toward Jiang Chen?

‘Yes, that’s what it is—respect!’

Yao Yueye simply couldn’t fathom it…

Jiang Chen chuckled and raised his cup. “You two brothers are too kind!”

He drained it in one gulp.

Jiang Chen then said, “My two brothers, I plan to leave Heaven’s Edge Island and head for Zhongzhou!”

“Oh?”

The two of them were startled. They exchanged a look and asked, “When are you leaving?”

“Tonight.”

Jiang Chen thought for a moment.

‘My every move is undoubtedly being monitored by experts from the Demon Flood Dragon Race and the Yaksha Race. Even though my strength has greatly improved, those two races have countless experts. There are even those stronger than Duann Tianya. For now, I don’t have the confidence to deal with beings like that. It’s best to be careful.’

“Alright. I’ll create a diversion on Heaven’s Edge Island tonight and have Little Zuo lead you away. Also, when you get to Zhongzhou for the Holy War, if you run into my two eldest, I’ll have to trouble you to look after them!” As he spoke, Duann Tianya took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Jiang Chen. “There are one hundred trillion Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals in here. I can see you practice a Body Refining Technique, and Body Refining consumes the most resources. I hope this can help you!”

Jiang Chen’s eyes flickered.

‘One hundred trillion Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals!’

Even for someone as wealthy as Duann Tianya, this was an astronomical sum. Seeing Duann Tianya’s solemn expression, Jiang Chen accepted the Storage Ring. “Thank you, Brother Duann. If there’s ever anything you need my help with in the future, I, Jiang Chen, will go through fire and water for you!”

Beside them, Hai Zheng took out a translucent scale.

He placed the scale in Jiang Chen’s hand and said with a smile, “Don’t forget our agreement… This is a Reversed Scale left behind by a former Demigod ancestor of my Sea Dragon Race. Give it to the young dragon; it should be able to accelerate her growth!”

“Alright!”

Jiang Chen accepted the Reversed Scale and said in a solemn voice, “Once Bao Bao breaks through to the Emperor Realm, I will fulfill my promise!”

“Mm!”

Hai Zheng smiled and went back to savoring the delicious food. It was much better than what the chefs in his Sea Dragon City could make!

Meanwhile, Yao Yueye felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his head buzzing.

‘A Reversed Scale from a Demigod Sea Dragon Race Ancestor? A hundred trillion Upper-Grade Spirit Crystals? Each of those is something that would make even an Emperor Realm Perfection expert’s eyes turn red with envy, and they just gave them to Jiang Chen?’

He realized once again that he had truly underestimated his new young master!

「That night…」

On Heaven’s Edge Island, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi suddenly erupted into chaos.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two figures shot into the sky. It was Duann Tianya and Hai Zheng. They stood in mid-air, cold expressions on their faces. “Hai Zheng, you dare to secretly drink the fine wine I’ve treasured for years?! I’m going to cut off your Dragon penis and use it to make wine!”

“Hmph! It was just a single jar of wine! I’ll give it back to you!” Hai Zheng opened his mouth and spewed a column of water.

RUMBLE!

The column of water shot toward the heavens, and the longsword in Duann Tianya’s hand slashed across the sky.

The two of them clashed.

A battle between two experts at the Emperor Realm Perfection level attracted the attention of countless powerful individuals, throwing the entire Heaven’s Edge Island into chaos.

No one noticed that while Duann Tianya and Hai Zheng were fighting, a group of people was passing through a sea channel and leaving the vicinity of Heaven’s Edge Island.

High in the sky, in the midst of their heated battle, Duann Tianya and Hai Zheng exchanged a look and spoke at the same time: “Enough fighting! Let’s go get another drink!”

The two of them returned to Heaven’s Edge Sea Pavilion.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, they gazed in the direction Jiang Chen’s group had gone. Hai Zheng said, “I have a feeling that by the next time we see him, the two of us won’t be a match for that little guy anymore!”

Duann Tianya was stunned for a moment, then a look of anticipation appeared on his face as well.

「On the Azure Sky Sea.」

Jiang Chen, Zuo Yu, and Yao Yueye emerged from the undersea tunnel. Zuo Yu said, “Vice-Pavilion Master, we’re nearly a thousand miles from Heaven’s Edge Island. We should be safe now!”

“Not so fast.”

But Jiang Chen just smiled faintly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He looked toward a patch of empty space beside them. “Since you’ve come all this way, why are you still hiding? Show yourselves!”