Chapter 244

Chapter 244

The rumor about the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Clan joining the Primordial Holy Land was nothing more than a baseless claim that no one had ever taken seriously, not even the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Clan themselves.

However, coming from her mouth, the situation changed entirely. Combined with Jiang Chen’s words of acceptance, it subtly gave the Heavenly Fox Clan an excuse to follow through.

In the end, the entire affair would turn into a situation where the Vermilion Bird Saintess had unnecessarily contested a piece of divine stone with a Heavenly Fox girl—one that appeared to have no value whatsoever.

Worse, the Vermilion Bird Saintess had personally oppressed the Heavenly Fox Clan, attempting to forcibly steal the stone.

This naturally led others to wonder whether the alliance of the ancient imperial clans was intentionally warning or oppressing the Heavenly Fox Clan. The Vermilion Bird Saintess, being extremely clever, quickly foresaw the unfolding developments and the various consequences.

Regret began to rise within her. If she had known this would happen, she would have kept quiet and left immediately instead of engaging in useless verbal sparring.

Everyone present, except for a few, had more or less figured out the situation, including Tian Mingyue. Her gaze flickered with uncertainty, her thoughts unclear. Her eyes darted between the Vermilion Bird Saintess and Jiang Chen, unsure of what to make of it.

The three of them now stood like representatives of three different factions, with the Heavenly Fox Clan caught in the middle of deciding between two great powers.

Eventually, Tian Mingyue’s gaze locked onto Jiang Chen. Almost at the same moment, Jiang Chen turned his eyes toward her. His gaze was clear, like the surface of a mirror-clear river, without a trace of impurity.

From this, Tian Mingyue gained some insight. He had recognized her, and he was extending goodwill toward her. Yet, Tian Mingyue had never appeared in public, and none of the great powers of the Nine Heavens Realm knew of her existence.

This was why, even with her unique presence, the Vermilion Bird Saintess hadn’t recognized her. If she had, none of this would have happened. Tian Mingyue, being present on behalf of the Heavenly Fox Clan, might have given some face to the Vermilion Bird Saintess.

“Baseless nonsense! The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox Clan is one of the core forces of the ancient imperial clans; how could they join the humans?” the Vermilion Bird Saintess retorted coldly, as if trying to salvage her dignity and retract her earlier words.

“What about the ancient imperial clans? Back in the day, when the Eternal Emperor united all races to exterminate the demons, did you ancient imperial clans ever think about racial differences?” Jiang Chen’s voice remained steady.

“If I remember correctly, the Eternal Emperor only sought to preserve the human race, while your ancestors knelt before the humans, begging for protection.”

“Surely you haven’t forgotten that, have you? Though a million years have passed, you ancient imperial clans seem to have grown arrogant, forgetting who saved you, who you knelt before to survive. Or has your so-called pride forced you to forget such things?”

“Whether human or otherwise, we are all creatures of the Nine Heavens Realm. With the seal of the Ancient Desolate Demon Domain weakening and the demons preparing to return, we should be joining forces.”

“Instead, you are protecting your own interests and viewing other forces as enemies, oppressing those who won’t join you. You have turned the very humans who once saved you into your greatest enemy!”

“Your ungratefulness will eventually be punished!” Jiang Chen’s cold voice echoed, silencing the entire area.

It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, as if time itself had frozen. The Vermilion Bird Saintess was left speechless, for Jiang Chen’s every word was true, leaving her with no room to refute.

The survival of the ancient imperial clans was indeed due to the protection of the Eternal Emperor, who was human and represented the entire human race. Without his approval, the ancient imperial clans wouldn’t have survived or been taken in to save themselves.

Of course, the ancient imperial clans had contributed greatly in the battle back then, and this couldn’t be denied, but their ultimate victory was due to the Eternal Emperor. Without him, the so-called ancient imperial clans would have been nothing more than a cluster of ants.

“Well said! The ancient imperial clans are indeed ungrateful!”

“It’s true, the Heavenly Fox Emperor did many things to protect the Southern Region back in the day. If it weren’t for the Heavenly Fox Emperor guarding the forbidden zone, the Southern Region would have long been overrun!”

“This was only a hundred thousand years ago, and yet the ancient imperial clans have already forgotten their gratitude and are now trying to oppress the Heavenly Fox Clan!”

“I remember that the forbidden zone was closest to the Vermilion Bird Clan back then. If not for the Heavenly Fox Emperor’s intervention, the Vermilion Bird Clan would have been wiped out long ago!”

“This Vermilion Bird Saintess is truly an ingrate, completely forgetting the kindness shown by the Heavenly Fox Clan, and now using her strength to bully a young Heavenly Fox girl!”

Jiang Chen’s words immediately drew cheers and applause from the crowd, while also reminding some of the events of the past. In every era when an emperor emerged, the forbidden zones would never remain quiet, especially during the time of the Heavenly Fox Emperor, when the forbidden

zone nearly devoured the entire Southern Region. If not for the Heavenly Fox Emperor’s intervention, the Southern Region might have suffered the same fate as the West Desert.

Hearing the angry voices from the surrounding crowd, the Vermilion Bird Saintess’s expression shifted, her anger boiling over as she led her people away.

Staying any longer was pointless; not only could she do nothing more, but she would also give Jiang Chen even more favor and add pressure to the ancient imperial clans.

As Jiang Chen watched the Vermilion Bird Saintess leave, his gaze became deep and contemplative, his thoughts unknown. After a brief moment of thought, he crouched down and gently patted the head of the Heavenly Fox Empress.

Perhaps it was because she had witnessed Jiang Chen standing up against the Vermilion Bird Saintess for her that she didn’t resist his touch.

“How about following me?” Jiang Chen said softly. “The Vermilion Bird Saintess can’t do anything to me, but dealing with you would be easy for her. If you leave now, there’s no guarantee that you won’t be killed by her before you get far.”

Truth be told, the Heavenly Fox Empress’s head felt very comfortable—more so than Jing Muyu’s head from a few years back. Maybe it was the fact that she was an empress that brought a unique sense of emotion to the act.

After all, touching the head of an empress was something incredibly rare and could be considered an earth-shattering event in any era or world.

It was like touching a tiger’s whiskers—utterly shocking and exhilarating.

“Little one, why don’t you come with us?” Yan Ruyu squatted down beside Jiang Chen, attempting to persuade the Heavenly Fox Empress as well. The two of them looked almost like child traffickers, trying to lure a child away.

“To think you dared call the Empress ‘little one!’” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but glance at Yan Ruyu, surprised.

He had thought that patting the empress’s head was already an audacious move, but it seemed he had been too conservative. Yan Ruyu had taken things to an even more extreme level, directly calling the Empress “little one.”

“When the Empress awakens fully, Ruyu is going to be in big trouble!” Jiang Chen thought to himself.

“Alright,” the Heavenly Fox Empress responded.

Despite being young, she was incredibly intelligent. She knew that her current situation was different from the past, and wandering alone was no longer an option.

Furthermore, she could feel the genuine goodwill from both Jiang Chen and Yan Ruyu, so she naturally agreed to follow them. And just like that, Jiang Chen managed to “abduct” the Heavenly Fox Empress.

Tian Mingyue watched them leave, her expression calm and composed. She had considered stepping in to take the Heavenly Fox Empress away, as she was, after all, a member of the Heavenly Fox Clan. It would have been ideal to bring her back to the clan.

However, she realized that the Vermilion Bird Saintess had likely already set her sights on the Heavenly Fox girl. Keeping her close would have been unsafe, and Tian Mingyue wasn’t willing to reveal her own identity. Thus, she gave up the idea.

Besides, staying with Jiang Chen was far safer for the Heavenly Fox Empress than staying with her.

“It might be time for my father to make a decision,” Tian Mingyue thought to herself. “Joining the Primordial Holy Land might not be such a bad idea after all.”

After everything that had happened, along with Jiang Chen’s deliberate gestures of goodwill, Tian Mingyue had come to realize that the differences between races weren’t as insurmountable as they seemed.

Moreover, compared to the ancient imperial clans, the Primordial Holy Land appeared to be much more welcoming. More importantly, the Primordial Holy Land was superior to the ancient imperial clans in every way.