Chu Zhennan's Battle Saint Physique provided immense advantages in combat, growing stronger the longer the battle lasted, often achieving breakthroughs mid-fight. Though Chu Zhan's Diamond Battle Physique was only King-grade, his mastery of body refinement stood unparalleled within the Chu family, making the current duel between these two warriors surprisingly evenly matched.
"Not bad. If we could activate the Chrono Pagoda just once, their strength would improve dramatically!" Long Yuan mused. Even just one month in the first layer would equate to nearly a year inside. For the current Chu family, a year's time was enough to elevate their power to another level entirely. As for essence stones - after plundering so many resources from the Beast Taming Sect, the Chu family now possessed enough to operate the Chrono Pagoda's first layer continuously for several months.
This was Long Yuan's assessment, but the surrounding major powers had no intention of giving the Chu family this development time. Several days later, Chu Jingyue entered the Dragon Emperor Palace to seek an audience.
"Report from the Heavenly Dragon Abyss has arrived!" Chu Jingyue announced.
"Oh? Still no Emperor-tier experts making a move?" Long Yuan's lips curled in a cold smile. "Do they truly look down on me so?"
"Beast God, what should we do?" Chu Jingyue asked with concern.
"What do you mean 'what should we do'? Since they've come knocking at our door, naturally we'll exterminate them!" Long Yuan replied calmly. "Unless you have no interest in those holy lands' accumulated treasures?"
Chu Jingyue gave an awkward laugh. While he certainly coveted those holy lands' resources, hearing about their numerous Emperor-tier weapons and talismans had given him pause.
"Truthfully, those Emperor-tier weapons and talismans aren't the real problem. I wouldn't fear them even if they came by the dozens," Long Yuan stated. "The true difficulty lies in their refusal to show themselves openly, instead skulking in the shadows. If possible, we should gather them all in one place so I can eliminate them in a single stroke."
With his current power, eradicating those holy lands would be as easy as snapping his fingers. But in Long Yuan's view, the Chu family were the true protagonists here. Matters they could handle themselves should be left to them - how else would the entire family temper itself? After all, Long Yuan's own ascension to the pinnacle of power still depended on the Chu family's growth."Gather them together, you say?" Chu Jingyue pondered. "Leave this matter to us!"
"Oh? You have a method?"
"Not yet, but with so many capable minds, we'll surely devise one!"
"Very well. If you can lure them together, I'll handle their extermination." Long Yuan preferred staying reclusive, only acting at critical moments while spending his days leisurely cultivating - this was his ideal lifestyle.
Heartened by the Beast God's assurance, Chu Jingyue departed with renewed confidence. After he left, Long Yuan flicked his fingers, sending several streaks of light piercing through the void into the Heart Refining Pagoda. These were recent system rewards he'd obtained.
Over time, Long Yuan had discerned the system's reward structure: part belonged to him personally, while another portion was designated for the Chu family. He'd deposited the Chu family's share into the Heart Refining Pagoda - Saint-grade weapons, Saint-grade Physique Sources, Saint-grade Martial Soul Sources, along with twenty Physique Enhancement Pills and twenty Martial Spirit Enhancement Pills each. Without exaggeration, these treasures within the Heart Refining Pagoda would be considered supreme even across the entire Mortal Realm!
As for the Emperor-tier body refinement technique "Cosmic Star Technique" he'd obtained earlier, Long Yuan decided to wait before transmitting it - perhaps until after Chu Tianyang broke through to Martial Saint realm.
Returning to Qingyang City, Chu Jingyue immediately summoned the elders and clan ancestors to discuss their mission. "Gather all our enemies together?" Chu Tianyang frowned. "This is no simple matter. These Saint-grade forces are scattered throughout the Qian Region's periphery. If they attack, they'll likely strike from all directions simultaneously. To concentrate them in one location..."
"I believe we'll need the Heavenly Dragon Abyss to mediate this," one elder suggested after contemplation. "It would be inappropriate for us to intervene directly."
Chu Jingyue nodded. "Consider this - their elaborate schemes stem entirely from fear of the Beast God. Our seven-star Chu family holds no significance in their eyes. Therefore, their focus remains fixed on the Beast God. We can exploit this very point to lure them together!"
After extensive discussion, they formulated a plan. Several days later, the Heavenly Dragon Abyss summoned the Divine Fist Sect, Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and other participating factions under the pretext of discussing strategies to eliminate the Chu family's Demon Emperor. However, as this was merely preliminary discussion, each sect only dispatched one elder-level expert rather than mobilizing their full strength.
Watching these developments, Elder Golden Saint sighed inwardly. If all the major powers had gathered their full might, a single message from him could have annihilated them all. What a pity the timing wasn't yet right!
"Elder Golden Saint, you claimed the Heavenly Dragon Abyss possesses a method to deal with the Chu family's Demon Emperor. Out with it already!" The Divine Fist Sect's Iron Fist Saint demanded impatiently.
"First, I must share tragic news," Elder Golden Saint said solemnly. "Our Heavenly Dragon Abyss' Elder Jiao Yun has fallen."
"What? Jiao Yun is dead?" The gathered elders gasped in shock. Jiao Yun had been a peak Demon Saint!
"Could it be...?" Sword Dawn of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect paled, seeming to realize something.
"Indeed," Elder Golden Saint confirmed gravely. "Slain by the Chu family's Demon Emperor. Elder Jiao Yun ventured deep into Chu territory to gather intelligence for Hell's Gate's mission, only to perish there." He sighed, eyes brimming with feigned sorrow. In truth, Jiao Yun had died by Golden Saint's own hand - necessary since Jiao Yun's faction maintained deep ties to Hell's Gate. Had he discovered the Heavenly Dragon Abyss' allegiance to the Chu family, their entire spy operation would have been compromised.
Iron Fist Saint slammed his metallic fists together with a clang, roaring: "That damned Demon Emperor dares strike at us even now? We should march immediately and grind his bones to dust!"
"Patience, Iron Fist," Sword Dawn cautioned. "We're dealing with a genuine Emperor-tier entity here. Unless we can deliver a crippling blow in one strike, we'll be the ones dying." He then frowned. "Jiao Yun's Emperor-tier weapon - it didn't fall into the Demon Emperor's hands, did it?"
"Fortunately not. Fearing mishap, he left it behind in the Heavenly Dragon Abyss before departing."
"Good. That would have been disastrous otherwise." Sword Dawn pressed further: "Did Jiao Yun uncover any intelligence about this Demon Emperor before his death?" None present had ever seen the Chu family's Demon Emperor, relying solely on hearsay until now.