Sovereign of the Three Realms

The Prince of Shangping had repressed himself for so long. When he saw Jiang Chen fall into his hands, he no longer needed to hide anything. He shed his mask of geniality and instantly displayed his true character. When Jiang Chen heard this, he abruptly raised an eyebrow. His gaze was filled with killing intent. “Prince of Shangping, do you think that you can suppress me just because you’ve put everything you have into this scheme?”

The Prince of Shangping appeared as if he was about to say something, but a sharp shriek resounded from the area beside them, cutting him off. When he heard this shriek, his expression instantly changed. Naturally, he could identify that this voice belonged to his aide. “Ole Shen, what happened?”

Jiang Chen only smiled chillingly. He knew that the mint ginseng had found its target. As expected, countless tentacles lashed out from beside them. Stream after stream of green fog billowed rapidly towards the Prince of Shangping.

The other’s pupils contracted violently as he dodged in a flurry. He could vaguely sense that a strong binding power lay within that green fog. Within the space obscured by the fog, more than a few hundred wart-covered tentacles shot successively towards him at lightning speed. He was completely dumbfounded. His longsword soared into action, slicing apart a few dozen tentacles. However, the moment a tentacle was split apart, it regenerated almost instantly. This regenerative ability was ludicrous, to the extent that the Prince of Shangping wanted to break down in tears.

Jiang Chen chuckled darkly. Suddenly, he raised his hand. A small golden mountain appeared at the center of his palm. With a single hand seal, countless tadpole-like characters began to orbit around him. Without warning, the miniature mountain expanded into a hill before ruthlessly crushing the Prince of Shangping.

The prince had many tricks to his name and was well versed in formations. He was also bolstered by the eight statues and his own arts were quite strong. As a cultivator well-versed in formations and in possession of the eight statues, his innate power was also remarkable. And yet, today’s events had truly opened his eyes. The techniques and abilities of this mysterious youth actually outmatched him in terms of both number and prowess. As the golden mountain engulfed the space overhead, the Prince of Shangping felt as if the sky was falling down. His wits had deserted him out of sheer terror from the immense shock he felt. He still possessed several techniques that had not yet been used, but under the pressure of this titanic mountain, he was suddenly rendered incapable of activating any of his vast repertoire of tricks.

Similar to the green fog, the golden mountain actually also carried a binding power with it. These two different kinds of binding power caused the Prince of Shangping to feel as though his body no longer obeyed his commands. How would he dare continue the fight?

He didn’t even have time to retrieve his eight statues. He activated a talisman and used it to quickly shatter the golden binding power before rapidly hurtling away from the mountain. The magnetic golden mountain’s shining rays might travel quickly, but they were still a hair behind the speed of the escape mechanism granted by his talisman. Even after it had smashed into the ground a few times, it was still unable to block his path of escape.

As soon as the Prince of Shangping fled, the formation around them greatly weakened. When Jiang Chen broke the formation with his Moonshatter Awl, the eight statues also lost their connection to it. One by one, they ceased their flailing and toppled to the ground like deflated balloons. Jiang Chen had no qualms about sweeping these eight statues into his storage ring. The statues were extraordinary. Even numerous blows of his Galaxy Slash had only scratched them instead of shattering them entirely. In order to destroy these statues with his current level of power, Jiang Chen would have to slash at them repeatedly for at least two hours. And even then, he might barely be able to eliminate one of them. This kind of spectacular durability truly amazed Jiang Chen. However, he was currently in no mood to admire these statues. After retrieving the Bewitching Lotus of Fire and Ice, he called the mint ginseng back as well and praised it, “Not a bad show. Some credit goes to you in this.”

One glance at Ole Shen’s shriveled corpse told Jiang Chen that the mint ginseng had completely drained the body of its essence. Jiang Chen didn't feel a twinge of sympathy for him as he helped Huang’er up and left the area. He had been trapped in battle within this formation for a good two hours and hence, didn’t want to waste any more time. The Imperial Advent Defense Talisman could maintain its defensive power for another two hours. He had to take advantage of this time to cross this sinister valley as soon as possible.

If Jiang Chen had been alone, he would have been fine with surviving in this place for ten to fifteen days. But Huang’er’s Generation Binding Curse couldn't withstand the aggravation of even a little bit of yin qi. At this point, Jiang Chen hated that he wasn’t able to instantly find the Requiem Wood and cure her illness.

…...

On the other hand, the Prince of Shangping had run a long distance but fear still lingered in his heart. His face was deathly pale. From time to time, he glanced behind him, worried that Jiang Chen was still pursuing him. “Bastard, that brat acted like a weakling to lure the tigers out!” The Prince of Shangping’s eyes were filled with fury. All along, he had thought that he was the one trying to lure and kill those tigers. He had never expected that his opponent would be even more vicious than him and conceal himself even more deeply than he had!

“Just where did that brat come from?” The more the Prince of Shangping considered the entire situation, the more he felt that something didn’t quite add up. “Even if he was a great disciple of a first-rank sect, he couldn’t possibly possess such power, right?”

The Prince of Shangping had seen plenty of such disciples. To tell the truth, he had even killed many of those kinds of disciples. Although great disciples of a first-rank sect did indeed know numerous techniques, they were still lacking in power compared to an emperor realm cultivator like him. Moreover, the equipment that the Prince of Shangping owned was also considered to be at a top-level existence amongst cultivators.

Naturally, although the Prince of Shangping might call himself a wandering cultivator, in reality he couldn't strictly be considered as such. It was just that he enjoyed going on adventures and doing the same kinds of things that wandering cultivators generally liked. He had always been confident in his equipment and treasures. He felt that even if he wasn’t considered to be amongst the top cultivators in the human domain, he would at least be one of the best. However, the opponent he had encountered today had caused him to taste bitter defeat. As of now, he had escaped with his life. Although he was devastated by the result, he continued to silently ponder over the losses and gains from his battle.

“That brat’s defensive power may even be at great emperor realm. He didn’t shy away from the blows of the eight statues at all. Not a single hair on him was ruffled. Could that be the power of the Imperial Advent Defense Talisman?” The Prince of Shangping had not thought of this earlier due to his panic. But now, upon careful consideration, he could make a few conjectures about what had happened.

“As expected, this brat should have the blessings of some great emperor realm cultivator.” As this occurred to him, the Prince of Shangping felt the beginning of a headache. “No, I can’t let this brat live any longer. If he leaves, will there be any place left for me in this world?” The Prince of Shangping might have a powerful backing, but the person he had offended today was under the protection of a great emperor. If word of this spread, there would be hell to pay.

“Wait a minute…” When the Prince of Shangping thought of Jiang Chen’s abilities, he was struck by a sudden flash of inspiration. “The brat’s techniques, I seem to have seen them before somewhere? But it’s definitely my first time seeing them… If I’d encountered him somewhere before, I’d definitely remember him. But why do I keep thinking that he seems a little familiar?” The Prince of Shangping’s brain vaguely seemed to have latched onto a particular train of thought, but he was unable to piece together the puzzle. He racked his brains further.

“So many vines, suffused with ice and fire attributes… Eh?” The Prince of Shangping’s expression abruptly changed before he leapt up in revelation. “It’s him?!”

At that moment, he finally found the final piece of the puzzle he had been looking for. When he had been traveling around the world, he had visited numerous places. When he had passed by the Great Scarlet Mid Region, he had come across an incredibly exaggerated bounty poster. And the person worth such a bounty had been called Jiang Chen...

“Jiang Chen… Right, Jiang Chen!” The Prince of Shangping’s eyes suddenly shone with rays of epiphany. “When the Eternal Celestial Capital invaded the Myriad Domain, the Capital’s Holy Kings dispatched countless armies in vicious pursuit. The Great Scarlet Mid Region’s reputation was also severely damaged. And the target of their pursuit, wasn’t it this Jiang Chen? His techniques and equipment seem to match this guy very well. Could it be him?” As the Prince of Shangping mulled over this line of thinking, he felt that it made more and more sense.

“It’s him. It’s definitely him!” The Prince of Shangping’s mind continued to spin. “This damn brat... you’re being targeted from all sides and yet you strut into the desolate wildlands in such a carefree manner! Ah, the bounty posters did mention that he had a companion. It must be that friend he was carrying in his arms.” As he considered the situation, the bitter taste of defeat completely disappeared.

“Even the Eternal Celestial Capital suffered at the hands of this brat. I didn’t know about him, so it’s only natural that I lost a little to his nonsensical techniques.” Although the Prince of Shangping was willing to admit his loss, there was no way that he would just let bygones be bygones. Rather, his number of grievances had only increased.

“If this brat has so many techniques, it’s no surprise that the Eternal Celestial Capital fell to him. No, even my eight statues fell into his palms. What’s more, what right does this brat have to own so many heaven-defying treasures? Why should he be the one to control these things?!” The Prince of Shangping couldn't accept this. “I must kill that brat! I’ll quench the hatred in my heart, take his treasures, and turn him over to the Great Scarlet Mid Region for bounty.”

The Prince of Shangping might have been driven into a corner but that was only because of the unexpected pressure of the magnetic golden mountain. He still had some techniques up his sleeves. Although he might not be able to triumph over his opponent, he still had some combative power.

“I underestimated him previously. I didn’t expect that that brat would hide his strength so that he could prey on the strong.” The Prince of Shangping comforted himself. “I’ll slowly set another trap. This time, the trap must be foolproof enough so that the brat won’t have an escape route.” He had experienced many battles in his life. He might have suffered a slight setback, but his fighting spirit still remained intact.

“Those tentacles might be terrifying but they can be dealt with. Only... if I’m covered by that golden mountain, things won’t be so easy.” He carefully considered the tactics he would use to oppose Jiang Chen. After a brief second, a plan had formed in his mind. And at that same moment, his ear twitched before he suddenly turned around and shot into the nearby undergrowth.

The sound of light footsteps sounded out from across him. A figure floated out from the forest as it called out, “Prince of Shangping?”

When the Prince of Shangping heard this voice, he could immediately tell that this was not his death-sworn enemy. His pounding heart immediately relaxed. He walked out calmly and gazed towards the newcomer, apathetically asking, “Ole Brother Lu, why are you here?”

This person, who was dressed like a scholar, had also been one of the members of the alliance formed outside the valley. His name was Lu Shinan. Back then, he had actually sought Jiang Chen out to form a secret alliance, but had been firmly shot down.

Lu Shinan looked at the Prince of Shangping in shock, “Your Highness, why do you look so beaten up? Have you encountered any danger?”

The Prince of Shangping huffed coldly, “This has nothing to do with you, Brother Lu. Anyway, why have you suddenly appeared here?”

Lu Shinan smiled bitterly, “I was pursuing a trail but it seems that the trail mysteriously ends here.”

“What trail?” The Prince of Shangping asked without inflection.

The smile remained on Lu Shinan’s face. “It’s not convenient for me to reveal what it is. Since the Prince of Shangping is occupied, this junior will not disturb you. I’ll leave first.”

A light went off in the Prince of Shangping’s head as he suddenly spoke up, “Wait a moment!”