Tongtian flew into a rage.
The might of a Sage erupted without restraint at that moment.
The Great Powers were both shocked and regretful when they saw this.
They were shocked by Tongtian's heaven-shaking, earth-shattering strength.
They regretted forgetting that Tongtian was a Sage. Earlier, when Yuanshi had disdained Jiang Chen, they had subconsciously assumed that Tongtian no longer wanted to take Jiang Chen as his disciple.
At the same time, even Jiang Chen was somewhat unable to react.
He had become an immortal on the spot, countless Great Powers had fought to take him as their disciple, and Tongtian had flown into a rage...
Everything had happened within just a few breaths, leaving his mind temporarily frozen.
But before he could recover, Tongtian spoke again.
"Forget it. I'm not someone who forces others to become my disciples... Tell me, Jiang Chen, whom do you wish to take as your master?"
This time, Jiang Chen finally came to his senses.
He knew that the time to make his decision had arrived.
However, he did not hesitate. He immediately bowed to Tongtian. "Your disciple Jiang Chen pays respects to Master!"
"Of course I was joking. The moment Tongtian said he wanted to take me as his disciple, I had already made my decision."
The Great Powers fighting to take him as their disciple had merely been a minor interlude. But when he saw Tongtian suppressing those Great Powers alone, a feeling arose in his heart: A true man should be like this.
Of course, more importantly, he was currently downloading Tongtian's cultivation. He had originally been planning to find a way to get close to Tongtian, and becoming his disciple happened to solve that problem, allowing him to download continuously without interruption!
"Good, good, good! Good disciple, from now on, you are the Senior Disciple Brother of my Interception Sect, and the first disciple of the Three Pure Ones!"
As soon as Jiang Chen finished speaking, Tongtian seemed to have won a victory. His mood soared, and he laughed heartily.
Then, as if he had thought of something, he waved his hand. A spiritual treasure surrounded by radiant light appeared before Jiang Chen.
"Since you have become a disciple of my Interception Sect, I'll give this spiritual treasure to you!"
"The Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, an Innate Spiritual Treasure!"
The moment the spiritual treasure appeared, before Jiang Chen could say anything, a Great Power beside them suddenly cried out in alarm.
Many Great Powers looked at it with burning eyes. If they had not been considering that it was a gift from Tongtian to Jiang Chen, they might well have attacked and snatched it!
There was no other reason—the spiritual treasure was simply too powerful.
Each of the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls was a Mid-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. Together, the twenty-four pearls formed a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. If the other twelve pearls could be found, they could even be combined into a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
A Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure! Even some Grand Unity Golden Immortals did not possess a single one. Yet now, Tongtian had given one to Jiang Chen, leaving the Great Powers envious beyond measure.
They were not the only ones like this. Even Jiang Chen was attracted by the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls.
Unlike the others, he knew the true function of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. They could evolve the heavens, with each pearl representing a world!
The Thirty-six Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were equivalent to the Thirty-six Heavens. Their power against enemies was immense. It would not be an exaggeration to say that possessing them was like having the aid of thirty-six Grand Unity Golden Immortals!
However, this required another spiritual treasure called the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to work in tandem with them. Jiang Chen guessed that, if nothing unexpected had happened, the Heaven-Measuring Ruler should currently be in Ran Deng's hands.
Ran Deng was a Great Power who had attained enlightenment in the Purple Firmament Palace. With Jiang Chen's Earth Immortal cultivation, seizing it was clearly impossible. Fortunately, he had the God-Tier Download System. In the future, he only needed to encounter Ran Deng and download the Heaven-Measuring Ruler from him. In other words, the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls' ability to evolve the heavens was practically assured.
Moreover, taking a step back, even if he did not use them to evolve the heavens, Jiang Chen could still sacrifice the spiritual treasure and thereby speed up the system's download process.
Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Chen's mind, but his movements did not stop. He accepted the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls and bowed to Tongtian.
"Thank you for the treasure, Master!"
He had received such a fine spiritual treasure immediately after becoming Tongtian's disciple. In the future, he could continue downloading things from Tongtian, and he would even have a Sage as his backing. There was no doubt that he had profited enormously from taking this master.
"These two are my senior brothers, and also your Martial Uncles. I imagine you know their names. Hurry and come pay your respects to them."
Tongtian accepted Jiang Chen's salute. Then, as if he had thought of something, he introduced Laozi and Yuanshi to Jiang Chen. Seemingly afraid that his words were not explicit enough, he added, "Don't worry. Neither of them is stingy."
At this point, anyone who was not a fool could understand Tongtian's unspoken meaning.
He was clearly helping Jiang Chen ask Laozi and Yuanshi for meeting gifts!
Hearing that their own brother had set them up like this, Laozi and Yuanshi both raised their brows and looked at Tongtian in surprise. But before they could say anything, Jiang Chen spoke.
"Your nephew pays respects to the two Martial Uncles!"
Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. He bowed to Laozi and Yuanshi in turn.
By this point, he had paid his respects, and Tongtian had deliberately said that they were not stingy. Even if Laozi and Yuanshi did not want to give a meeting gift, they could no longer avoid it.
The two exchanged a glance. Neither had expected to fall into Tongtian's trap. Helpless, they could only take out their spiritual treasures.
Fortunately, they were Hongjun's disciples and had countless treasures in their collections. They immediately planned to take something of a slightly lower grade to deal with the matter.
But just then, Jiang Chen spoke again.
"Master's cultivation is so profound, yet I never expected him to be the junior brother of the two Martial Uncles. Doesn't that mean their cultivation is even more profound, and that the spiritual treasures they possess are of an even higher grade?"
Jiang Chen muttered under his breath.
Although he was muttering, every person present was a Great Power with immense divine abilities. Naturally, they heard every word he said.
When they heard the first few flattering words, Laozi and Yuanshi felt somewhat pleased. But when they heard the final sentence, even though they had already become Sages, they could not help losing their composure. The corners of their mouths twitched.
So the earlier flattery had all been intentional. His true goal was actually the spiritual treasures in their hands!
And he had even specifically mentioned higher-grade spiritual treasures. Now, even if they wanted to use slightly inferior treasures to get by, they could not!
It was not only Laozi and Yuanshi who lost their composure. Even the Great Powers nearby clicked their tongues in amazement. This was a matter concerning two Sages!
Jiang Chen was actually extorting spiritual treasures from Sages in public?
After clicking their tongues, they felt even more envious. They knew that Jiang Chen's plan had succeeded.
Who did not know that, after reaching the Sage realm, the thing they cared about most was their reputation? Now that Jiang Chen had said this, if they brought out spiritual treasures inferior to the earlier Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, the news would probably spread throughout the Primordial World before long. Clearly, that was impossible.
Precisely because they had thought of this, all the Great Powers revealed looks of envy. A single High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure was enough to make them drool. What about treasures even higher-grade than a High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure?
Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures?!
And two of them?!
For a moment, the Great Powers were filled with complicated emotions. They felt that comparing oneself to others was infuriating. They did not even possess a single High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, while someone else already had one High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure and two Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures!
However, one person present was not envious. Instead, he nearly laughed aloud. That person was Tongtian.
He had not expected his newly accepted disciple to be so clever. Not only had Jiang Chen understood immediately, he had also climbed up the pole he was given. When Tongtian thought of how his two senior brothers had successively fallen into the hands of master and disciple, he could not help finding it amusing.
As everyone wore different expressions, Laozi and Yuanshi looked at Jiang Chen and pointed a finger. The next moment, two treasures appeared in the sky from thin air.
Yuanshi's meeting gift was a banner. The banner was one foot seven inches long and entirely yellow-black. Countless strands of Mysterious Yellow Qi floated around it, while its innate Dao Rhyme was incomparably dense. It was clearly no ordinary spiritual treasure.
The treasure Laozi gave was not a spiritual treasure but a pill the size of a dragon's eye. Even so, when the pill appeared, most people's breathing stopped for a moment, and they all looked at it with bloodshot eyes!
Yuanshi said, "This is one of the Five Elements Banners of Heaven and Earth, the Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Wuji Apricot-Yellow Banner. When used to attack, it can illuminate ten thousand golden lotuses, making all things impossible to break. When used for protection, it repels all evil and makes ten thousand techniques unable to invade. If the other four banners can be found, it can evolve a supreme formation that forms a world!"
Laozi said, "This pill is the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir. I spent ten thousand years refining it before it was completed. It possesses the power to transform creation. An ordinary person who consumes it can enter a state of sudden enlightenment, thereby greatly increasing their strength!"
After Yuanshi and Laozi finished their introductions, the Great Powers nearby began breathing even more rapidly, the greed in their eyes completely undisguised.
The Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure Wuji Apricot-Yellow Banner!
The Nine-Turn Golden Elixir that could let one enter sudden enlightenment!
The Great Powers were stunned. These meeting gifts were far too lavish!
There was no need to say much about the first Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. It was within everyone's expectations. But the appearance of the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir instantly ignited the flames of desire within the Great Powers.
As everyone knew, spiritual treasures were precious. However, compared with something that could enhance one's own strength, a treasure that enhanced strength was clearly even more valuable. After all, everyone knew that spiritual treasures were external objects, while strength was everything!
Not to mention that, at their level, advancing even one step was extraordinarily difficult. They had long since reached a realm that could not be broken through merely by relying on time. They needed a great opportunity. And now, the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir was precisely that great opportunity!
Under the temptation of breaking through, how could they not covet the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir?
Without the Great Powers needing to say anything, even Jiang Chen was overjoyed.
The reason he had followed the opportunity to extort his two cheap Martial Uncles was to improve his own strength. In the face of strength, what did dignity matter? Although he could obtain these things through the God-Tier Download System, receiving them directly was simply too satisfying.
Amid his delight, Jiang Chen hurriedly accepted the meeting gifts, seemingly afraid that Laozi and Yuanshi would regret it. He quickly said, "Thank you for the gifts, Martial Uncles!"
Seeing Jiang Chen express his thanks, the expressions of the deceived Laozi and Yuanshi finally improved. Although they still looked rather sour, the matter had reached this point, and the two could do nothing about it.
Now, back to Jiang Chen.
After thanking Laozi and Yuanshi, he seemed to think of something. His heart stirred as he swept his gaze over the many Great Powers who had previously fought to take him as their disciple. Finally, his eyes landed on Tongtian, and he asked eagerly,
"Master, are these people Martial Uncles too?"
As soon as his words fell, the Great Powers were dumbfounded.
What did he mean?
Before you continue