If Jiang Yuan didn't break through to Heavenly Immortal, how could Mu Jiao gather the Exotic Fruits and transform into an Innate God and Devil?
And for the Exotic Fruits to ripen ahead of time, how could it be possible without paying a price? He would definitely have to invest a large amount of precious resources.
Earlier, Jiang Yuan hadn't thought things through, so this hadn't occurred to him. Now that he'd seen Mu Jiao, he suddenly remembered that besides the Xuanshan Clan, he could also gather Nine Sons' Essence Blood through Mu Jiao.
This was the person who cared about him most!
He could ask Mu Jiao for help without paying any price at all. All it would take was a few empty words.
And given Mu Jiao's status and position, having him collect Nine Sons' Essence Blood would surely be far more efficient than relying on the Xuanshan Clan.
"Nine Sons' Essence Blood? No problem."
"Then I won't take your savings. Just consider it a loan from me. Once you've made progress in your cultivation, you can pay me back double."
Mu Jiao's heart tightened, but he feigned nonchalance as he spoke.
Collecting Nine Sons' Essence Blood wouldn't be difficult for him. The problem was, what Daoist scripture was Jiang Yuan cultivating that he needed Nine Sons' Essence Blood to break through—and in such great quantities, too?
This was no small matter. When the Nine Sons' Essence Blood was fused together, it could restore part of the Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood. If Jiang Yuan needed it to break through, then there was no need to guess: once he succeeded, his combat strength would be astonishing, and he could claim Honored Rank among those of the same realm.
How could that be good for him? The stronger Jiang Yuan became, the more likely he was to get out of control. Mu Jiao was raising an Exotic Fruit. If the fruit he raised turned around and killed him, that would be a joke.
Still, it shouldn't be a problem. Thinking of his own cultivation at the sixth heaven of the Heavenly Immortal realm, Mu Jiao calmed down again.
So what if Jiang Yuan succeeded in breaking through and claimed Honored Rank among those of the same realm? According to the Mystic Sect's latest research, the Heavenly Immortal realm should be divided into three realms: Heavenly Immortal, Profound Immortal, and Golden Immortal.
The first four heavens were Heavenly Immortal, the middle four were Profound Immortal, and the last four were Golden Immortal.
His cultivation at the sixth heaven of the Heavenly Immortal realm put him squarely in the middle stage of the Profound Immortal realm. Even if Jiang Yuan became a Heavenly Immortal, he would still be a whole major realm above him.
No matter how powerful one was at Honored Rank among those of the same realm, that was still only within the same realm. Could Jiang Yuan really cross an entire major realm and kill him?
After all, Mu Jiao was a prodigy himself, among the best of his peers—not some ordinary Heavenly Immortal. Who could cross realms to kill him?
After talking himself through it, Mu Jiao grew even calmer. He bade the two farewell, then returned to the Dragon Palace to gather Nine Sons' Essence Blood for Jiang Yuan.
"I can't help feeling he cares more about your affairs than you do."
Watching in the direction Mu Jiao had left, the Xuanshan Clan said with a strange tone.
"Of course. He's already started treating me as his property. Everything he's doing now might seem to be for my sake, but it's really all for himself. That's why he's so invested."
Jiang Yuan gave a scornful laugh, his tone mocking. Mu Jiao was greedy beyond measure, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. He deserved to be made a sucker and squeezed for every last bit of value.
"People really shouldn't be too greedy. Once greed takes hold, the heart slips out of one's control, and even one's actions become incomprehensible."
"The wisdom our ancestors left us, telling us to rein in our greed, wasn't without reason."
The Xuanshan Clan was speechless. Greed really did blind a person. Mu Jiao had seemed clearheaded before, so how had he become like this—hopelessly stupid?
Jiang Yuan smiled without replying. Mu Jiao wasn't actually stupid; he'd fallen under the Wisdom-Reducing Halo. No matter how clever he was, it wouldn't help.
Did Mu Jiao really think all the Merit Jiang Yuan possessed was for nothing? If anyone dared scheme against him, their intelligence would be reduced to nothing.
That was right—Merit was just that mysterious. It could not only increase cultivation, refine treasures, strengthen Destiny, and protect the primordial spirit, but also make enemies lose their wits and stumble at every turn.
Otherwise, why would the world hold Merit in such high regard? It had nothing but advantages and no drawbacks.
"Now that Mu Jiao's helping you, do you still need me to gather Nine Sons' Essence Blood for you, as you asked earlier?"
Coming back to his senses, the Xuanshan Clan asked Jiang Yuan.
"Yes. And not just Nine Sons' Essence Blood. True Dragon Essence Blood, too. I want as much as you can get."
You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. No matter what, Mu Jiao wasn't one of his own, so Jiang Yuan had to be on his guard against him.
"All right, then."
The Xuanshan Clan nodded and prepared to leave for the Dragon Palace as well, to run around taking care of things for Jiang Yuan.
As for the possibility that Jiang Yuan might let things get out of hand and end up dying at Mu Jiao's hands, that was impossible.
The Xuanshan Clan knew very well that Mu Jiao's father, Mu Longbo, wouldn't protect him forever, but Ancestor Sui would keep protecting Jiang Yuan until he had grown strong enough.
With Ancestor Sui to back him up, how could Jiang Yuan possibly lose? Even if Mu Longbo came in person, father and son would still die together. He wouldn't be able to harm Jiang Yuan in the slightest.
This scheme had been unfair from beginning to end. At first, it was unfair to Jiang Yuan. Now, it was unfair to Mu Jiao.
Since the Nine Sons' Essence Blood hadn't all been gathered yet, Jiang Yuan didn't continue his seclusion. Instead, he wandered around among the Human Race, intending to experience firsthand the changes of recent years.
As he wandered, he made an unexpected discovery: he actually saw members of the Demon Clan among the Human Race.
This was highly unusual. The Demon Clan might be the current overlord of Heaven and Earth, but with the Wu Clan ruling the land, the Demon Clan's living space on the ground had long since been squeezed away, forcing them to move to the heavens.
Those unwilling to leave had either been killed by the Wu Clan or secretly killed by the Ten Thousand Races.
That was right. Aside from the Wu Clan, the Ten Thousand Races on the ground were also deeply hostile to the Demon Clan.
They weren't as strong as the Wu Clan and didn't dare slaughter the Demon Clan openly, but they still had the nerve to strike in secret—and plenty of it.
The Primordial World was vast and boundless. The Wu Clan alone didn't have enough people to wipe out every member of the Demon Clan who remained on the ground. Yet, looking across the land now, the Demon Clan had all but vanished.
The reason was that the Ten Thousand Races had struck in secret. Using the Wu Clan's name as a pretext, they had killed every member of the Demon Clan left on the ground.
As for why the Ten Thousand Races hated the Demon Clan so much, the Demon Clan had only itself to blame. First, in its early days, it had campaigned against the Ten Thousand Races everywhere, forcing them to join in order to expand its power.
After one battle after another, the weaker-kneed races had all surrendered and become part of the Demon Clan.
Those with backbones who hadn't been wiped out by the Demon Clan were the Ten Thousand Races now living on the ground. They all bore a blood feud against the Demon Clan, and if they got the chance, they certainly wouldn't show it any mercy.
Second—and most importantly—
After the Demon Clan established the Heavenly Court and took control of the Zhou Heaven Starry Sky, the first thing it did was intercept all the boundless starlight that should have flowed to the Primordial World, keeping it for its own use.
At once, the whole Primordial World was up in arms. There wasn't a soul who wasn't cursing the Demon Clan.
The starlight meant to nourish the entire Primordial World had been intercepted by the Demon Clan and used to nourish a single race.
This act of selfishness and self-interest had filled the Demon Clan's enemies with hatred and put it at odds with every race.
From that moment on, the Demon Clan had incurred a great karmic debt against the Ten Thousand Races. Every race wanted it dead.