The speculation completely subverted how the three primes perceived Shao Yuan.
God incarnates were uncommon. Over the past couple of hundred thousand years in Myriad Abyss history, very few geniuses had been recognized as true incarnations of divine spirits.
Most were merely imposters who couldn’t prove their claims, while many of the real incarnations’ awakenings were incomplete, recovering only part of their memory from their past lives.
There were also those who’d recovered a majority of their memory, but they’d reincarnated into a host with limited potential. Despite their awakening, the limitations prevented them from becoming as strong as other geniuses.
Thus, the martial dao world was sometimes fair.
Without the right body and the appropriate natural talents, even a god incarnate couldn’t achieve greatness. What was more, those whose memories awakened too late in life would miss the best age for cultivation, hindering their future progress.
In Myriad Abyss history, very few people possessed both extraordinary talent and awakened when they were still young. Most of the time, they became leading figures of the generation.
It took a long while for the three primes to finally recover from their shock.
“How confident are you about your speculation, Elder Ziju?” the first prime asked in a low voice.
“Seventy to eighty percent,” admitted Ziju Min.
“What did Shao Yuan himself say?” the first prime added.
“I don’t think he’s aware of the possibility himself. Since his memory hasn’t fully awakened, he still believes that his knowledge comes from his ancestral heritage. No matter what, his memories are a treasure trove of information. The two pills he presented exceed the peak of Myriad Abyss Island as we know it.”
The first prime’s eyes shone brightly. “If the two pills work as he says, we will have a once in ten millennia opportunity. We will greatly increase our power and benefit generations to come.”
Ziju Min hesitantly said, “First Prime, Shao Yuan has implied that he wishes that we won’t force him to surrender the recipes for the pills.”
The first prime paused. “He isn’t willing?” A wry smile tugged at her lips as she added, “It’s natural that he’d like to keep his personal knowledge his. He’s just joined us. It’s unreasonable to expect him to contribute the recipes for free.”
It’d be inappropriate for Ziju Min to vocally affirm her reasoning. “That’d be a little unreasonable, but Shao Yuan is a loyal man. I believe that as long as we don’t betray his trust, he’ll come to see us as his home. Even if he doesn’t give us the two pills, it’s better to work with him than to have him turn to other factions.”
“Other factions?” The first prime stilled. “No, that mustn’t happen. Even if Shao Yuan isn’t going to give the pills to us, he can’t give them to the others.”
Ziju Min smiled wryly. “This subordinate has to admit it’s not entirely impossible.”
“What do you mean?” the first prime asked nervously. They couldn’t afford to lose the two pills to others. It’d be a serious blow in more ways than one.
Ziju Min was quiet for a long moment, agonizing over if he should stay silent. Finally, he sighed and said, “Do you know why Shao Yuan’s so eager to gain our support, First Prime?”
“Why?”
“Because his target is Xiahou Zong.”
“What? Is there any bad blood between them?”
“Not exactly,” said Ziju Min. “But Xiahou Zong’s going to take the woman he loves—Yan Qinghuang from House Yan.”
Three pairs of eyes widened in collective shock. They struggled to come to terms with the revelation.
After a long stretch of silence, the first prime smiled with a tinge of resignation. “Do you mean to say that Shao Yuan joined us for a… girl?”
“That’s right.” Ziju Min sighed. “When I first invited him to join us, he turned me down without hesitation. The second time, it still took me a lot of time and effort to change his mind. I was able to succeed only because House Yan treated him with too little respect and disappointed him.”
“Yan Qinghuang, Xiahou Zong...” muttered the first prime. She chuckled. “How interesting.”
The second prime laughed brightly. “I didn’t expect a love story to be involved. Shao Yuan sure is a ladies’ man.”
Their mood lightened once they understood Jiang Chen’s motivation.
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“First Prime, it makes sense for Shao Yuan to seek us for support. He can’t possibly go against House Xiahou on his own.”
“Agreed. Other than us, no factions in Eternal Divine Nation dare make an enemy out of House Xiahou.”
The three primes had first been worried that the young genius had joined the sacred land for ulterior motives or personal agenda. Their concerns were rendered unwarranted with this explanation. The young genius’ motivation was shockingly simple—love.
But then again, Shao Yuan was young. It was understandable that he’d be driven by his feelings. Such was the way everyone acted in their youth.
“Elder Ziju, how is this related to the possibility that he’ll give the two pills to other factions?” asked the first prime.
Ziju Min hurriedly explained, “Of course it’s related. Shao Yuan won’t give up on Yan Qinghuang. If she ends up becoming Xiahou Zong’s cultivation vessel, he’ll blame us for not supporting him. Joining us will have turned out to be all for nothing. He won’t be loyal then, will he? It’s possible that he may leave and even turn against all of Eternal Divine Nation.”
It was common for love to beget hatred in the martial dao world. In Myriad Abyss, it wasn’t unprecedented for someone to destroy a faction, a country, or even an isle for a woman.
The three primes exchanged a look. They had to admit that Ziju Min had a point. Young people were often decisive. They loved and hated easily. If the sacred land disappointed Shao Yuan, there’d be no reason for him to stay.
The first prime thought for a long moment. “If Shao Yuan can complete the Flames of Vengeance, I promise that we will support him in a fair fight with Xiahou Zong. House Yan may be afraid of offending House Xiahou, but we aren’t! I believe the venerated forefather will agree with me. We aren’t going to let go of any real geniuses!”
The first prime was finally demonstrating the strength of a superior position.
Seeing her determination, the second prime nodded in agreement. “Well said. If he can complete the mission, there’s no reason for us not to support him!”
“Agreed,” the third prime added concisely.
“About the convention...” prompted Ziju Min.
“Elder Ziju,” the first prime spoke up. “Tell Shao Yuan that if he can produce the two pills and meet our inspection, the three of us will spare no effort in holding the event.”
“Right, I’ll tell him immediately,” Ziju Min said excitedly. “It’s on him if he can’t produce the pills. Then he’ll have no one else to blame!”
In truth, he was firmly convinced that the young genius would be able to refine the two pills, or he wouldn’t have made the proposal with such confidence. He went off to make the necessary arrangements without wasting any time.
He first relayed the good news to Jiang Chen, then started collecting the ingredients for the pills. Those used in refining Taiyi Skymender Pill could all be found in the sacred land. He’d have to purchase those for the Crowning Empyrean Pill elsewhere.
“I can give you all the ingredients for the Taiyi Skymender Pill tomorrow, Shao Yuan. Those for the Crowning Empyrean Pill will take at least half a month to collect. Will that be alright?”
“Half a month? That should work.” Jiang Chen nodded after a pause. “I’ll finish refining the two pills in a month. Then we’ll spend two months preparing for the exchange and promoting the pills. We must make sure that Shi Xuan comes in person.”
Three months would be enough for all that. The sword competition was about six months away. He would have ample time remaining to prepare for that.
Although he had to prepare the two pills, he still spent most of his energy on cultivation.
Ever since he’d ascended to empyrean realm, he’d been improving himself continuously. That was the only thing he could do before his fight with Xiahou Zong. He had to reach his full potential before their fated battle.
Ziju Min didn’t disappoint. He brought Jiang Chen all the ingredients for Taiyi Skymending Pill the next day.
“There are three Taiyi Dragonscale Fruits in our inventory, Shao Yuan. I could only bring you one. There’s no room for failure.”
Every fruit can only be used to refine one cauldron of pills. If Jiang Chen failed, the fruit would have been wasted. That was why Ziju Min said that he mustn’t fail.
Jiang Chen smiled. “The process of refining the Taiyi Skymending Pill is complicated, Elder Ziju, but I’m confident that I’ll succeed.”
“How many pills can you yield in a cauldron?” Ziju Min couldn’t hold in his curiosity.
“Hard to say. About seven to a dozen. It all depends on if the refining process goes smoothly.”
Ziju Min was excited to hear the impressive figure. He clapped Jiang Chen on the shoulder. “The first prime has made you a promise, Shao Yuan. Rest assured, if you can produce the two pills, the three primes will devote everything to hold the convention. Even if you fail to defeat Shi Xuan, as long as you show them what you’ve got, we will support you in your fight against Xiahou Zong!”