After the spirit veins were restored, the human domain underwent a period of rapid growth.
Everyone knew that this was a great opportunity. In this first wave after the spirit veins’ restoration, the frontrunners would be able to better position themselves for the future.
As the man at the heart of the entire land, the ruler of the human domain naturally perceived this. In fact, Jiang Chen could already scent the animosity in the air.
None of it was directed toward him or Veluriyam Palace, but the various sects and factions were beginning to rub against each other in a bad way.
The civil strife that the human domain had been free from for a long time was beginning to resurface. Such was the squabbling nature of humanity.
Jiang Chen took all of this in with his own eyes, but he had no intention whatsoever to interfere. For the past while, he cultivated within Veluriyam Palace in order to avoid interaction with the outside world.
Many factions were clever enough to want to devise a strategy based on his attitude.
Because of his unexpected disappearance, these same factions were momentarily directionless.
His stance was quickly construed as tacit permission. Some factions declared in secret that he was allowing survival of the fittest to take place.
Competition among the factions would spur a mutual increase in their strengths. This would erect a firmer foundation upon which the war against demons could be conducted.
This was a fabulous way of putting things and casted bad behavior in a good light.
Rivalries in the human domain slowly heated up in an ugly way.
Jiang Chen remained impassive and behind closed doors.
In the third year of his cultivation, he successfully broke through to second level divine realm, opening up one more link upon the chain seal in his consciousness.
This linked node materialized as a second memento; a rope of faded gold, a belt that his father had refined for him in his previous life.
Though he had worn it all the time back then, his father had never told him whether there was anything special about it.
Its appearance before him a second time demanded that he treat it exceptionally. He supposed that just like the Measure of Heaven, this belt was special as well.
Just like the ruler, he needed to spend more time to comprehend its purpose. Jiang Chen was confident that his father had a reason for doing all this. He wouldn’t hide two useless items for so long!
The seventh year of his cultivation, he broke through once more. He was third level now, the peak of initial divinity.
Normally, even though the experience from his previous life had granted him a solid foundation in his current one, it still wouldn’t have yielded such effortless breakthroughs in the divine realm.
However, the Amaranthine Clouddew Fruit induced another transformative change in him. As one of the foremost treasures of creation in the heavenly planes, its effects were beyond extraordinary.
Furthermore, Jiang Chen was coincidentally one of the people who knew how best to make use of it.
All of these reasons culminated in the smoothness of his cultivation.
However, he didn’t push on after reaching third level divine realm. There was no meaning to pursuing speed in godhood.
Even the brightest geniuses in the heavenly planes practiced caution after reaching divinity. The heavenly dao was fair, and demanded balance from all who walked upon its path.
Accelerating his cultivation in an overtly intense way would only draw a divine tribulation upon him. That was a calamity that every god feared with excellent reason.
Gods much preferred fighting other gods, even to the death, rather than enduring a divine tribulation.
These tribulations had far too much variance. Sometimes, they were only a minor misfortune that disappeared immediately afterward.
Other times, they could lead to the death of the god and all those around him.
Having lived more than a million years in the heavenly planes, Jiang Chen knew full well its dangers.
Afterwards, another link disappeared from the chain seal. So this was the rule!
Every time ascended a level, the chain seal would open one of its links up to produce a treasure protected within.
This time, he received a mirror.
Again, it was a well-used relic of his past life. The mirror possessed a curiously smooth surface and a classic design. This was another valuable artifact, no doubt.
A ruler, a belt, and a mirror.
These mundane keepsakes from his past daily life needed to be treated more seriously.
After spending a period communing with the three items, Jiang Chen was certain about their value.
However, how exactly to use them was another matter. Perhaps he needed an opportunity to spark their power. Before the necessary trigger occurred, these three items would be quite ordinary and useless to him.
He wasn’t going to give up just yet though.
Since he was behind closed doors, he became obsessed with the idea of fully grasping the three treasures’ secrets.
He was certain that his father had done something to them to seal their power – through formations or runes, possibly.
As long as he could make one treasure give up its mysteries, he could use the pattern to access all three.
Jiang Chen tried his best to remember the details of the time his father had spent with him.
Some minutiae buried in history might be able to inspire him, or at least give him a clue to follow.
