Jian Chen stood ten kilometres away and watched all of this coldly. Determination flooded his eyes. This time, the Grand Exaltâs cultivation method would be his. No one could stop him, not even the elders who had reached the Primordial realm.
The difficulty in opening the miniature world was far greater than the artifact spirit had expected. The space at the bottom of the valley twisted for an entire day, and it still did not open completely.
Only a fist-sized tunnel had appeared at its centre.
The tunnel led to the miniature world where the legacy of the former master of the Tower of Radiance resided.
However, the tunnel was just too small right now. It was only the size of a fist, and it constantly twisted and collapsed, preventing people from entering it.
âChang Yang, why are you here as well?â Donglin Yanxue arrived beside Jian Chen with her eight retainers. She also stared at the twisting space within the valley sternly and said to Jian Chen, âYou have to be careful. No matter what happens, you shouldnât approach it. Although youâre a great genius, your cultivation is still far too low after all. Once unexpected danger crops up, youâll struggle to protect yourself.â
Donglin Yanxueâs voice was filled with care.
Jian Chen remained silent as he stared directly at the valley. He did not say anything. Donglin Yanxue and he were fated to be on different paths in life. If they were too close, he would even end up causing trouble for her.
After all, he possessed Martial Soul Force. He was a member of the Martial Soul lineage, and the Martial Soul lineage was fated to oppose the Radiant Saint Hall.
At the same time, a majestic divine hall stood above the clouds on the Desolate Plane, looming over everything.
Within a sacred hall in the divine hall, over a dozen people had gathered together. There were men and women, and they varied in age. But without a single exception, all of them gave off terrifying presences that were enough to shake up space.
They were peak experts who stood at the apex of the plane, the supreme existences who could make the entire plane shake from a few simple gestures.
Of course, they were not native to the Desolate Plane. Instead, they had gathered here from the other planes and planets across the Saintsâ World for the Anatta Tower.
âAfter so many years of searching, basically all the cultivators on the Desolate Plane have been checked. Weâve all personally peered into the identities of the Godkings and Infinite Primes, but weâve failed to find a single trace of Jian Chen...â said a golden-robed, burly, middle-aged man.
âNo, weâve still missed some people. Out of the Godkings, there are three who are undertaking trials within a miniature world, and they still havenât emerged. There are still six people below Godking and due to various reasons, we havenât been able to check them. If Jian Chen is on the Desolate Plane, he must be hiding among the nine of them. Itâs just that all nine of these people come from peak organisations on the Desolate Plane, and we canât put pressure the native organizations too much. After all, our actions in the past few years have already made them furious. If we really go too far, theyâll start resisting,â an old woman who sat before the golden-robed man said with a raspy voice.
âIndeed, we cannot go overboard with the native organisations. If they manage to persuade the Celestial Sword Saint and get him to stand up for them, weâll have bitten off more than we can chew...â
âIâve learnt about these nine people in detail. Weâve managed to investigate the origins of three of them. They entered miniature worlds controlled by their clans many years ago to undertake trials, so theyâre unlikely to be Jian Chen. Out of the remaining six people, one of them is the great-grandson of a Chaotic Prime. He had been heavily injured, and only an incomplete soul remains. As a result, itâs impossible for him to be Jian Chen either...â
âIn other words, the remaining five people are the most suspicious...â
âThe last five people come from the Radiant Saint Hall, the North River Cult, the Daoist Sect of Origins, the Caoyang clan, and the Daohuang Empire...â
âItâs only five organisations. We might as well press them forcefully so that they hand over the five of them immediately. Weâll be able to look into their identities...â
âI donât think thatâs a good idea. Those from the Daohuang Empire and the Caoyang clan have visited the Sword God Mountains several times already, requesting the Celestial Sword Saint to stand forward for them. I think we shouldnât be too unruly on the Desolate Plane just in case we displease the Celestial Sword Saint. Weâve all witnessed the Celestial Sword Saintâs strength. Is there anyone who can block a strike from him?â
Everyone fell silent from that. Ever since they visited the Sword God Mountains together and a peak expert was almost beheaded, they had become fearful of the Celestial Sword Saint.
It was also from then on that the outsiders began to hold back, no longer willing to act too recklessly on the Desolate Plane.
âIn my opinion, we should split up into five groups and proceed to the five places. We can wait there. Once the five people emerge from the miniature worlds, weâll investigate them immediately and get to the bottom of their identities...â suggested a white-robed old man after a while of thought.
âIt looks like thatâs the only thing we can do right now...â
...
The experts gathered there reached an agreement very soon. They immediately set off.
On the surface, they seemed like they had banded together, but this was only to stand up against the native organisations of the Desolate Plane. Their objective was just to find Jian Chen. Once Jian Chen was found, their relationship would immediately dissolve, and they would contend against one another for the Anatta Tower.
The leader of the Radiant Saint Hall sat on the throne within the Radiant Saint Hall with an ugly expression. The eight vice-leaders sat below him to the two sides.
At this moment, the eight vice-leaders sat there with sunken faces as well. They stared at the three men in the centre with displeasure.
âYou want to stay here for a long period of time for a disciple who hasnât taken the blood test? Hmph, what do you think our Radiant Saint Hall is?â barked the leader of the Radiant Saint Hall. Clearly, he was furious.
The three men in the centre of the hall all possessed tremendous presences. They were experts at the same level as the leader of the Radiant Saint Hall.
âPlease calm down, leader. We are only doing this for the first majesty of the Heavenly Palace of Bisheng. We just want to find Jian Chen sooner so that we can hand over the Anatta Tower,â the three men smiled. They did not care about the leaderâs fury at all.
âChang Yang is a Radiant Saint Master, so how can he be Jian Chen? Youâre looking for the wrong person,â Xuan Zhan growled. He was the only existence among the eight vice-leaders who dared to stand up to the three experts.
This was because he was only a step away from the same level of cultivation. Who knows when he would break through.
âWho said fighters canât be Radiant Saint Masters? The Martial Soul lineage is the best example of that. Regardless, itâs still like what we said before. Anyone, as long as they havenât been verified by us, might be Jian Chen in disguise.â
âHmph, what logic!â The leader of the Radiant Saint Hall snorted coldly.
After that, a gleam of light flashed through Xuan Zhanâs eyes. After some thought, he stood up and said, âIâll go watch over the Tower of Radiance.â