Journey to the West: I have Nine Golden Crows Inside Me-Chapter 1661: Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, feeling humiliated a thousand and eighty-fold

Chapter 1661: Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, feeling humiliated a thousand and eighty-fold

To be able to refine top-tier Innate Spiritual Treasures, it proves that the achievements of the Upper Qing Saint in the art of artifact refinement surpass even the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign.

As for Jiang Chen, who can now refine Innate Treasures, it’s evident that he has surpassed his predecessors. The Queen Mother remarked that Jiang Chen truly inherits the mantle of the Upper Qing Saint—not an exaggeration, but the truth.

"You flatter me, Your Majesty, you flatter me!"

Jiang Chen replied humbly with a smile. This was praise that others could offer, but he could not accept, for Duobao was his senior brother, not his junior.

In front of outsiders, he still had to uphold the dignity of Daoist Duobao.

On this side, Jiang Chen and the others were having an enjoyable conversation. Meanwhile, on the other side, in the chaotic skies beyond Heaven, within the Taoist field of the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, a group of Chan Sect Golden Immortals had rather grim expressions.

Because, just moments ago, when the surging sword energy erupted from Sumeru Mountain, the Immortal Slaying Four Swords, long refined by the Chan Sect Golden Immortals, suddenly grew restless with the tendency to break free from their control.

This change undoubtedly revealed that their mastery over the Four Swords was not as strong as they assumed. Should they face Jiang Chen, he might claim them in a single move.

"Master, what’s happening? Why did the Immortal Slaying Four Swords suddenly lose stability and show signs of escaping our control?"

The head of the Chan Sect Golden Immortals, Guang Chengzi, looked at the Immortal Slaying Sword shaking uncontrollably in his hand, and asked Primordial Heavenly Sovereign with some uncertainty.

Beside him, Master Yuding, Daoist Tianzun, and Chi Jingzi shared similar looks of concern.

When the Immortal Slaying Sword Array was broken, those four Innate Killing Swords fell into their possession.

The Immortal Slaying Sword was taken by Guang Chengzi, the Immortal Execution Sword by Chi Jingzi, the Immortal Entrapment Sword by Master Yuding, and the Immortal Extinction Sword by Daoist Tianzun.

Since obtaining the Four Swords, the remaining disciples of the Chan Sect had always used the ambient sword energy to temper their magic power. With this, they finally restored the destroyed Taoist foundation from the Investiture of the Gods period and found an opportunity for advancement.

No wonder the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, in his fury, resorted to such measures against the Three Sky Fairies.

It was truly unbearable that the twelve true disciples he painstakingly nurtured hadn’t the chance to mature before being completely crippled by Yun Xiao in one move. If the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign didn’t feel anger, it would be strange.

Back during the Investiture of the Gods, the twelve Chan Sect Immortals had already reached the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal stage, their Five Vital Breaths gathering in their chest, and Three Flowers flourishing atop their heads, only a hair’s breadth away from ascending to the Dao Venerable Realm.

Yet in the Nine-Bends Yellow River Array, Yun Xiao’s wrath sealed their three flowers and extinguished their five breaths, crippling them entirely.

Afterwards, though they rebuilt their cultivation, they didn’t rely on their own efforts but rather consumed the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill refined by the Saint of Taiqing.

Having one’s cultivation crippled might not have been entirely bad—if they could rebuild from scratch, it could signify a thorough breakthrough, paving the way to ascend as Innate Dao Sovereigns with ease thereafter.

However, the twelve Golden Immortals lacked patience and did not choose to cultivate anew. Instead, they opted to consume the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill. Cultivation boosted by external forces could never compare to the tempered progress of their past efforts.

Although the twelve Golden Immortals restored their cultivation, they undermined their Taoist foundations, and lost all possibility of further advancement.

As for Ci Hang, Puxian, and the other four Golden Immortals, their defection to the Buddhist door was driven by the lack of progress within the Chan Sect. Having no alternative, they chose to embrace Buddhism and reincarnated to cultivate anew.

In simpler terms, they regretted it. Had they known earlier about the severe repercussions of consuming the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, they might have never resorted to it.

In truth, the Saint of Taiqing’s intention was to teach them a lesson: cultivation has no shortcuts. What you perceive as a shortcut will inevitably come at a cost.

Clearly, this lesson was one that the twelve Chan Sect Golden Immortals would remember for a lifetime.

While Ci Hang, Puxian, and their peers chose to defect and reincarnate to cultivate anew, Guang Chengzi and the others opted for another path—using the sword energy of the Immortal Slaying Four Swords to temper their Taoist foundations and undergo rebirth to reconstruct their cultivation base.

After endless years of effort, both the defectors like Ci Hang and those who stayed behind like Guang Chengzi succeeded. Their foundations were restored, and they ascended to the Dao Venerable Realm.

Yet they also paid a heavy price for their greed—they wasted countless years, delaying their advancement. Those who were once inferior now far surpassed them in cultivation.

This is why, as Saint’s personal disciples, their cultivation level was still inferior to those of other Great Divine Transcendents’ students.

Had they not wasted so much time, with their talents and background, they would now have reached at least the late Quasi-Saint stage, if not the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm.

Instead, they found themselves in their current state—not far removed from the middle Quasi-Saint stage, having barely severed one corpse.

"Do you truly believe you can refine the treasures of a Saint? Even as your master, I am uncertain I could fully refine the Immortal Slaying Four Swords. Their true master has always been your uncle, not you."

"Back then, you claimed the Four Swords by sheer power, sparing Upper Qing the embarrassment of forcibly reclaiming them from you. Thus, the swords remained in your possession all this time."

"But what is not yours will never truly be yours. Now, after all these years, the Immortal Slaying Four Swords should return to their rightful owner."

"Of course, Upper Qing won’t trouble you personally. Since it was my disciples who took the Four Swords back then, it will now be his disciples who reclaim them from your hands."

"The recent disturbance of the Four Swords was Jiang Chen greeting you, telling you that soon he will come and take the Immortal Slaying Four Swords away."

The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign cast an impatient glance at his disciples below and explained somewhat irritably.

Could he not be irritated?

Comparison is the thief of joy. Initially, he thought his disciples were quite alright—though slow in their cultivation, they were solid and well-grounded, with promising futures.

But as soon as he thought of Upper Qing’s disciples, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s opinion shifted. His disciples? Utterly useless.

Not to mention comparing them to Jiang Chen; even against Duobao, they fell woefully short. How could there be such an immense disparity among the disciples of Saints?

Once these thoughts brewed, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign inevitably looked at his disciples with resentment, his tone inevitably becoming harsher.

"Well..."

Upon hearing the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s explanation, Guang Chengzi and the others visibly paled.

To speak truthfully, four or five hundred years ago, they disregarded Jiang Chen entirely. Even three or four hundred years ago, they weren’t convinced of their inferiority to Jiang Chen.

But since two or three hundred years ago, they’ve come to understand—no matter what, they could not stand against Jiang Chen, even together.

Jiang Chen was a peerless being comparable to Saints. How could they hope to rival him? Let alone a fight—they might perish just from crossing paths.

Now, hearing the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign mention Jiang Chen’s plans to target them, how could they not fear?

"You all..."

Seeing his disciples’ reaction, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign grew even angrier. He wanted to reprimand them but opened his mouth only to find himself unable to say anything.

What could he say?

Accuse them of lacking resolve?

But against Jiang Chen, who in this Heaven and Earth wouldn’t feel afraid? Fear was natural—what could be done against Jiang Chen’s overwhelming reputation?

"Don’t worry. Jiang Chen won’t deal with you personally."

"Your trouble will come either from his subordinates or from disciples of the Jiejiao Sect like Yun Xiao and Zhao Gongming from the past."

After a long silence, the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign finally spoke, his words heavy with humiliation.

His painstakingly nurtured disciples didn’t even have the qualifications to stand as foes against Jiang Chen. To him, this was not only disgraceful but a crushing blow, invalidating all his efforts.

"If it’s Jiejiao disciples, that’s manageable."

At this, Guang Chengzi and the others couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. With foes from Jiejiao rather than Jiang Chen himself, they might stand a chance.

The disciples of Jiejiao were formidable in the past, but the present was a different story.