Chapter 322 - 305: Why Are You All So Silly
Zhao Xuanji led the way through a heavily guarded secret passage deep within the Imperial Palace, one riddled with traps and Divine Soul Restrictions. He then stepped onto a narrow, spiral staircase that descended into the depths, only wide enough for a single person.
The staircase seemed endless, spiraling downward for at least a thousand steps.
Upon reaching the last step, the space before them opened up dramatically.
Qi Yun’s pupils contracted, an almost imperceptible movement.
This was... the core of an inverted meteorite.
A massive spherical space, roughly a hundred zhang across, appeared before them.
The space was a strange, semi-transparent crystalline structure of dark silver.
Within the crystal, it was as if the fragments of a billion stars and magnificent nebular dust had been frozen in time. They swirled slowly, emitting a soft, mysterious glow that illuminated the entire space.
The most eye-catching feature was at the "top" of the spherical space, where a giant, perfectly clear crystal over ten zhang in diameter was embedded.
Within the crystal... a torrential flood of light and shadow surged violently.
Countless images, sounds, symbols, and lines of cosmic law flickered, flowed, and were annihilated in a frenzy.
"This place fell within the borders of my Great Cang a hundred years ago, following a rare, massive tremor from beyond the heavens."
Zhao Xuanji’s voice echoed in the strange space, carrying a barely perceptible reverence. "Its material and structure belong to no substance known to the Cangque Realm.
What’s even stranger is that once you enter its core, it forms a kind of absolute ’isolation’.
No Divine Soul fluctuations, Divine Soul transmissions, or karmic connections can pass through.
Likewise, all information from the outside world, including the surveillance of Heaven’s Will, is completely blocked and distorted."
He pointed to the deep darkness overhead. "Without this place, even with our ambition to defy the heavens, we would never dare to discuss ’Operation Jingzhe’ so frequently.
The slightest mention would be sensed by Heaven’s Will, resulting in the annihilation of both body and soul."
He looked at Qi Yun, his gaze holding both inquiry and a trace of lingering doubt:
"The cooperation you speak of has immense implications.
This place is where we show our sincerity and ensure the safety of our conversation.
I must ask... what gives you the confidence to claim you can restrain Heaven’s Will?"
Evidently, even though Qi Yun had exposed the plan’s core tenets and weaknesses, displaying a startling grasp of intelligence, Zhao Xuanji still had his doubts. He wasn’t sure if Qi Yun truly possessed the "power" to be the critical "variable" they needed.
Gathering intelligence is not the same as having practical power.
Especially when their adversary was the supreme, insurmountable Heaven’s Will!
Qi Yun heard him but did not answer immediately.
He slowly paced to the edge of a floating platform, his gaze sweeping over the crystalline walls where starlight flowed. He then looked up at the deep darkness and the torrent of distorted light and shadow that blocked the surveillance of Heaven’s Will.
His fingers unconsciously brushed against the platform’s cold edge.
A faint sense of familiarity, almost an illusion, flashed through his mind like lightning.
’This material... fallen from beyond the heavens... could it be from Profound Yellow?’
He quickly suppressed the fleeting thought.
He turned around to face Zhao Xuanji’s scrutinizing gaze, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint, placid smile.
"Since Your Majesty wants to see..."
Before he even finished speaking, the disguise he had maintained—that unremarkable aura that allowed him to blend perfectly into the Cangque Realm—suddenly receded like an ebbing tide!
In its place, a terrifying aura exploded forth—heavy, vast, and domineering, originating from the fundamental laws of another great world, an aura capable of propping up an entire Heaven and Earth!
It was a power that was more fundamental, more profound, and closer to the very source of the "Dao"!
BOOM—!!!
The entire spherical space trembled violently!
The dark-silver crystalline walls, awash in flowing starlight, began to hum deeply. The nebular dust on their surfaces flared, its Flowing Light intensifying as if subjected to a powerful external stimulus!
The deep darkness overhead also seemed to ripple slightly.
A distinct tremor could be felt underfoot.
Zhao Xuanji bore the brunt of it!
In his eyes, the seemingly ordinary young Daoist instantly became a complete world unto himself—one that was arrogant and domineering.
The pale-golden Emperor Dragon Qi around him flared instinctively, its draconic phantom roaring, yet it wavered violently under the force of that immense aura, nearly dissipating completely!
With a muffled groan, Zhao Xuanji’s face turned instantly pale. He staggered back several steps until his back hit the cold crystal wall, where he barely managed to steady himself. His eyes were filled with horror and disbelief!
’This... What Realm is this?!’
’What kind of power?!’
’Even the legendary Yang Gods shouldn’t have such a despair-inducing presence!’
As the Great Cang Emperor, he had come into contact with many true Cultivators, even the most powerful among them, the Yang Gods.
Their Divine Soul pressure was certainly terrifying, but it mostly manifested as spiritual erosion, manipulation, and destruction.
But the aura this man released was a purer, vaster weight—one that carried with it infinite cosmic principles and energy!
It was like a mortal of flesh and blood facing a ten-thousand-ren Divine Mountain that was toppling over!
It had nothing to do with technique; it was purely an absolute gap in essence and sheer magnitude!
Merely the release of an aura, not even an attack, was enough to make him—an Emperor blessed by the fortune of his Dynasty—feel his Divine Soul waver and nearly suffocate!
This was absolutely not a level that could be reached by any known cultivation system in the Cangque Realm!
Qi Yun retracted his aura as suddenly as he had released it.
Calm returned to the spherical space. Only the Flowing Light on the crystal walls, which had not yet completely subsided, and Zhao Xuanji’s ragged breathing proved how terrifying that brief outburst had been.