The ancient scriptures didn’t interest Jiang Chen one bit. He’d already committed to memory a vault’s worth of scriptures that were much more profound in every aspect. However, the scriptures belonged to the human race and should percolate back to society.

He flipped through them briefly, a rough plan already in mind. 

After that, he went through the rest of the items in Shu Wanqing’s storage ring but found nothing else of use. Just as he was about to conclude his findings, a box hidden in a corner caught his eye.

Hmm? Why’s a box wedged into this tiny crevice? 

His curiosity was piqued; he was taken by the box that’d appeared after everything else had been accounted for.

He picked it up but didn’t open it in a hurry. He placed it far away and tapped a concealed weapon on the box’s lock.

Kerchunk!

The lock snapped opened, revealing the contents inside.

Contrary to his expectation, there was no trap. Just to be sure, he activated God’s Eye to check if there were any hidden dangers before drawing close to the box.

It was decorated very exquisitely on the inside and was divided into three partitions.

Each partition contained pill-like objects. Jiang Chen shook when he saw them. They were too familiar!

“Martial dao relics?” He couldn’t believe his eyes!

These martial dao relics were quite similar to the one he’d just refined, except they were of much higher quality. These were clearly great emperor level relics!

“How in the world did that old man get his hands on these?” Questions flooded his mind as empyrean masters typically didn’t have much use for great emperor relics.

But avid collectors wouldn’t care about that. Any treasure, as long as it was valuable, had a place in their collection. However, collecting three martial dao relics of great emperor quality was still a very impressive feat.

They were extremely rare after all. Most cultivators nearing the end of their lifespan would still bear some hope for a miracle to happen. Not everyone had the courage to give up on their dreams and distill their martial dao essence into a relic. It simply wasn’t realistic.

Even if they did have the courage, it’d be a waste of effort if they didn’t possess the secret arts to do so.

“Haha! Why’s the old man so much more likeable all of a sudden?” Jiang Chen cast away all negative thoughts upon setting his sights on the relics. A pleasant surprise had been waiting at the end after all!

These would be extremely useful. He could hardly think of anything better!

These relics will truly speed up my cultivation once I’ve broken through to great emperor. It’s not like the empyrean realm will be a hop, jump, and a skip away, but it will greatly decrease the time I need to breakthrough.

His heart fluttered. It was the first time he’d felt that life was so exciting and worth looking forward to. He’d taken another step closer to the heavenly planes!

They’d be almost within reach once he’d entered empyrean realm. The thought alone was enough to cause his lips to curl up involuntarily.

Even though it’d been decades since he reincarnated in the Divine Abyss Continent, his memories hadn’t diminished one bit. In fact, they only became clearer with each passing moment. He cherished his family, friends, and peers in his current life, but his father from the life before would always remain in his heart.

The love between father and son could never be replaced.

Father, wait for me. You’re celestial emperor of the Taiyuan Realm. Even the destruction of the heavenly planes would not kill you. I don’t know if you have anything to do with my reincarnation, but I do know that you’re the reason why my previous life was filled with a million years of wonderful memories despite my yin constitution. I will always remember the sacrifices you’ve made to concoct the Sun Moon Pill… 

Father, I’ll find you soon!

Jiang Chen was filled with indomitable resolve. The droplet-shaped chain seal in his consciousness sensed his resolve and trickled a few drops of clear liquid. The tear-like liquid was vividly radiant as the ancient cosmos and seemed to contain indescribable power.

A chill ran down his spine.

“What’s going on? The chain seal reacted to my resolve?” He was thrilled by seal’s sudden reaction. 

Father must've planted his will into my consciousness in the form of the seal! The water droplets… they have such depth and power to them…

His instincts told him that the water droplets contained enough power to destroy the entire world over if released. Not even the strongest of empyrean masters could exude that much power. In fact, they'd instantly turn into dust before such immense strength.

The seal is simply too profound. It seems that father definitely had a hand in my reincarnation. Perhaps the seal is some kind of safety charm or crystallization of father’s hopes?

His heart squeezed tightly when he recalled his father’s love. It took a while before he finally collected himself. The seal had returned to its dormant state, a silent guardian in his consciousness.

His heart brimmed with warmth. His father had doted on him greatly in his previous life. Even though they'd been torn apart, his love and care was still ever present.

Perhaps father is why I’ve been able to thrive in this world like a fish in water? Without his blessing, would my memories be enough to bring me so much success?

Jiang Chen had always thought that his meteoric rise to the top in the Divine Abyss Continent had solely been due to his massive vault of knowledge. But it was now apparent that he was giving himself too much credit.

The higher he climbed, the more complicated everything became. Things could no longer be taken at face value. His success must all be due to the fortune that his father had bestowed upon him!

This cheered him up greatly. He set Shu Wanqing’s ring aside and moved on to Xiahou Jing’s ring. He sighed after messing around with it a little.

Storage rings from Myriad Abyss Island are protected by a much more sophisticated seal. Even at my current cultivation level, I'm still unable to open it. Oh well, I’ll put it aside and try again after I've broken through to great emperor.

He wasn't in a hurry. Xiahou Jing was a genius from House Xiahou, but he wasn't the most talented and was still very young. There was no guarantee that his ring would have better loot than Shu Wanqing's. In fact, it was more likely to be inferior.

Of course, Jiang Chen’s main priority wasn't to loot the treasures inside, but to find clues or hints about the situation at Myriad Abyss Island was. By analyzing these treasures, he could find out just how powerful House Xiahou really was.

After sorting out his emotions, he exited closed door cultivation.

“Eh? Young lord, you…” The Jiao brothers immediately noticed the change in Jiang Chen’s aura. However, their reaction was within the young lord’s expectations.

“It’s merely a small breakthrough, nothing to write home about. I've already imparted the secret art needed to refine the empyrean decrees to you, make good use of it and remember that time is of the essence.” Jiang Chen advised solemnly.

The brothers exchanged wry glances. They considered themselves geniuses in the cultivation world, but compared to Jiang Chen, their speed was that of a snail’s.

Breakthroughs seemed as mundane as eating and drinking to their young lord. He was made one almost every other day, rendering everyone speechless.

Judging by his aura, it was likely that he was now only a step away from great emperor. He was already such a frightening being in the emperor realm, one could only imagine how scary he'd be once he'd broke through!

The two were filled with shock and reverence. Following a young lord like him was probably their greatest fortune and guarantee as the world descended into chaos.

The Embittered Savages were Jiang Chen’s immediate concern upon exiting.

He couldn't understand why their army had remained motionless and refrained from moving out. It almost seemed like the war-hungry tribe was content with only conquering the northwestern corner of the human domain.

“Young lord, this is extremely suspicious. War and pillaging is in their blood. Like locusts, they’re born to be warmongers. There's no way they'd be content with just the remote bit of land they've gotten. The longer they remain motionless, the more concerned I become.” Emperor Wellspring had become Jiang Chen's most trusted advisor. His ability to see the big picture and judgement were both extremely sharp.

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement. “Agreed. I can only imagine that they're concocting some kind of grand scheme.” Of this, he had no doubt. However, what exactly was the nature of their plotting? He pondered long and hard, but to no avail. Perhaps they planned to recruit the secluded experts?

But that didn't make much sense either. Which respectable human would willingly be a dog for an alien race?

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