Sovereign of the Three Realms

Jiang Chen sneered inwardly. Do these two bastards still want to trick me even now?

“Fear not, senior brother Jun. Since this Lin Hai has dared offend our Regal Pill Palace, I will finish him off first!” Jiang Chen proclaimed, the hypocrisy clear only to him.

Lin Hai felt a rush of anxiety flood him after hearing those words. Having fought an intense battle, the two of them were like arrows at the end of their flight—they had scarcely any stamina left. They might have had a way to salvage the situation if it’d been any other ordinary genius. But of all people, it had to be the unfathomable genius that even Xiang Qin had bowed down to. Lin Hai was possibly not even Jiang Chen’s match when in peak condition, never mind his currently exhausted state. His expression changed almost immediately, “Junior brother Jiang, our sects have always been united and harmonious. Your fellow senior brother and I only fought a battle of pride, it wasn’t one to the death.”

Jiang Chen deliberately assumed a solemn expression, “This palace is no doubt an inheritance left behind by a powerful cultivator. Instead of sharing it, I would rather claim it for the Regal Pill Palace in its entirety.”

Lin Hai responded hurriedly, “If junior brother Jiang Chen so wishes, I will forfeit my share.”

“No. It will be detrimental to our business if you blab after leaving this place!” Jiang Chen’s gestures seemed to speak of his absolute resolve.

It was now Jun Mobai’s turn to be anxious off on the side. If Lin Hai really was killed off, Jun Mobai’s guilty conscience would weigh even more heavily. But even beyond that, if Jiang Chen later discovered Jun Mobai’s identity, the latter would have neither the confidence nor the means to deal with this top disciple. Additionally, if he were to simply watch and not help, Lin Hai might reveal everything in his irritation and drag Jun Mobai down with him.

Jun Mobai hurriedly spoke up as his thoughts came to a close, “Junior brother Jiang, let’s not resort to murder yet. Lin Hai has already expressed his sincere thoughts. After all, the Regal Pill Palace and the Dark North Sect have always had friendly relations. If they discover that we killed their number one genius, I fear that our relationship will hit rock bottom. Then, our enemies would no longer be the Sacred Sword Palace alone…”

This train of thought was extremely reasonable under normal circumstances. But it rang quite comically for Jiang Chen with the knowledge that one of them was a disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, and the other from the Eternal Celestial Capital. They still wanted to play tricks even under these circumstances!

Jiang Chen pretended to be deep in thought, and then finally concluded, “Since it’s like this, I will treat senior brother’s wounds first. Here, please ingest this healing pill.”

Jiang Chen casually tossed a pill towards Jun Mobai. Jun Mobai was an undercover disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect and thus inherently paranoid. He found himself in quite the predicament after receiving the pill. Do I take it or not?

It was apparent from this that he had always held a sliver of wariness against Jiang Chen. He was worried on one hand that Jiang Chen might have already seen through their identities, but was also thinking about the palace on the other. Even if Jiang Chen hadn’t seen through the two, he might also seek to hoard the inheritance for himself and possibly consider killing the two.

Jiang Chen noted Jun Mobai’s hesitation, “Senior brother Jun, do you not trust me?”

Jun Mobai was suddenly at a loss for words. Did he not trust Jiang Chen? How could he possibly answer in the affirmative? Who knew whether Jiang Chen would turn hostile if he felt that Jun Mobai was suspicious of him? So Jun Mobai was all smiles. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I’ve already taken a healing pill. I’ll keep the one you’ve just given me for later use. There is no need to waste such precious medicine.”

Jiang Chen’s face turned solemn, “It appears that you don’t trust me after all.”

“Junior brother, you and I belong to the same sect. There’s no need for suspicion. Would I possibly trust Lin Hai of the Dark North Sect over you? We are of the same sect, and should support each other in the Paramount Realm.”

Jiang Chen nodded, “In that case, keep the pill for later use. Let me help you up.”

Jiang Chen walked up with his hand extended. Jun Mobai took in a deep breath. He knew this was his only chance. Opportunity never knocks twice! His surging murderous was carefully concealed as Jun Mobai prepared to deliver the coup de grace as soon as the unguarded Jiang Chen walked over. Just as Jiang Chen was about to reach out, he suddenly halted with a hint of spurious amusement in his eyes. “Senior brother Jun, there’s just one more problem…”

“What is it?” Jun Mobai asked in surprise.

“It’s like this. I encountered a few people in Mt. Rippling Mirage; a true disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect, a fatty and a pill king.”

“Mt. Rippling Mirage? Disciples of the Ninesuns Sky Sect?” Jun Mobai was shaken, “Junior brother Jiang Chen. Why didn’t you mention this before?”

Jiang Chen scratched his head. “I didn’t want the other sects to ask me too many questions, so I omitted some of the details.”

“Could you have been mistaken? Mt. Rippling Mirage is definitely inaccessible to normal people. Even a true disciple of the Ninesuns Sky Sect might not be able to enter at will.”

Jiang Chen laughed. “Then perhaps I mistook them for someone else. However, I did obtain an item from that person.”

“What is it?” Jun Mobai asked curiously.

Jiang Chen produced the Moonshatter Awl with a twist of his hand. Jun Mobai’s heart spasmed painfully when he saw it. Although he was a spy, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the Ninesuns Sky Sect. Moreover, back when Cao Jin had caused a ruckus at the Regal Pill Palace, he’d used this Moonshatter Awl to attack the sect’s great defensive formation. Jun Mobai had been within the Regal Pill Palace at that time and was naturally able to recognize both the item and its wielder. Seeing Cao Jin’s Moonshatter Awl in Jiang Chen’s hands, Jun Mobai was momentarily stunned. However, he swiftly regained his composure and exclaimed with feigned surprise, “Junior brother Jiang Chen, is the Cao Jin you mentioned a blue-browed youth?

Jiang Chen nodded, “Senior brother Jun, how did you know?”

Jun Mobai felt his heart pounding as it filled with boundless fear. He realized that the enormously powerful senior brother Cao Jin might have been slain by Jiang Chen! “Junior brother Jiang Chen is truly impressive! That blue-browed youth is indeed a genius of the Ninesuns Sky Sect. He once came to the Regal Pill Palace to cause trouble and used this weapon back then!”

Jiang Chen said with a face full of delight, “He was someone from the Ninesuns Sky Sect after all! Hahaha, fantastic!”

Jun Mobai inquired further. “Then… then what happened to Cao Jin?”

“I killed him. He had a lot of good stuff on him,” Jiang Chen replied, his tone completely unperturbed.

Jun Mobai felt all his hair stand on end. It was at this moment—

With no forewarning, a beam of golden light shot out from Jiang Chen’s eyes and into Jun Mobai’s pupils. The latter felt his entire body tremble momentarily as an intense pressure started to constrict his soul. His blood, veins and even consciousness began to feel increasingly sluggish. What’s going on?

Jun Mobai felt like he’d plunged into an icy cave. A realization struck him—but by that time, the second beam of light had already penetrated his eyes.

Wave after wave…

Waves of golden light penetrated his pupils as the solidifying power of the Evil Golden Eye invaded his eyes.

“Jiang Chen… you!” Jun Mobai had realized by now that he’d fallen prey to Jiang Chen’s plot. He’d actually been on his guard against Jiang Chen, but had still failed to protect himself against this move despite all his defensive measures.

Lin Hai nearby had quickly grasped the situation and realized that their identities had been compromised the minute he saw Jun Mobai fall to Jiang Chen’s plan. He was frightened out of his wits, as the need to escape consumed his thoughts. However, how could he possibly outrun Jiang Chen in his current state? He turned to flee, but as he ran, he discovered that the yellow sands in front of him had been replaced by a boundless glacial realm covered in brilliant, white snow.

“Jiang Chen, you played the pig to eat the tiger!” Lin Hai clenched his teeth, knowing that he had also been schemed against. He had entered Jiang Chen’s formation. He saw everything clearly now. Jiang Chen had been deliberately stalling for time in talking to them. He’d been looking for a way to take them both out at the same time.

On the other side, Jiang Chen was also well aware that if he’d attacked them rashly, the two could escape by activating their escape talismans or other secret methods, to say nothing of the potential lethal final strikes that the spies from a first rank sect could use. Although he was confident that he could handle one head on, he wasn’t able to kill two head on. Thus he’d feigned civility and spoken of trivial things, giving his opponents the illusion that there was still a chance to kill him. This way, his enemies wouldn’t immediately think of fleeing. After all, judging from their attitudes, both of them greatly coveted Emperor Featherflight’s inheritance.

He’d been manipulating the formation that would trap Lin Hai as he’d played for time. He’d activated it to ensnare Lin Hai while he himself delivered a killing blow to Jun Mobai. He’d also needed an opportunity to deploy the Evil Golden Eye in that fatal blow. Under normal circumstances, Jun Mobai would be shielded by his impenetrable mental defenses. That was why Jiang Chen had mentioned Cao Jin, in order to cause some fluctuations in his consciousness. That momentary weakness induced by fear was all he needed for the Evil Golden Eye to invade.

Everything went just as Jiang Chen had planned. He’d grasped the perfect moment to attack, and although Jun Mobai had reacted after the Evil Golden Eye had penetrated his consciousness, it was far too late. That one opening had opened the floodgates to a series of attacks. In his exhausted and weakened state, there was no way for him to gather a defense. Countless strands of metallic energy flowed steadily into him, and after a few breaths, he’d transformed into a golden statue. Seeing Jun Mobai turn into metal, Jiang Chen felt more confident about his Evil Golden Eye. Compared to when he’d first started practicing the Evil Golden Eye, its power had grown exponentially.

Jiang Chen hopped into the formation after taking out Jun Mobai. He hadn’t utilized the formation to kill, but rather to restrain Lin Hai from fleeing with an escape talisman. All escape and evasion arts were rendered ineffective inside the formation. And it was apparent that Lin Hai did not possess any powerful formation splitting technique or weapon.

Hatred flashed within his eyes when Lin Hai saw Jiang Chen step into the formation. “Jiang Chen, it’s impossible for you to be a Regal Pill Palace disciple! There’s no need to hide it any longer! Tell me, which first rank sect do you belong to? I remember that only the Ninesuns Sky Sect and Eternal Celestial Capital were privy to information about the Featherflight Emperor. Did another sect come to know about it? And had even concealed themselves so well!” Lin Hai gnashed his teeth indignantly, his tone full of resentment and an unwillingness to accept the situation.