The crowd stood behind Emperor Pillzenith, casting hesitant looks at the palace that had appeared out of nowhere. Not even the locals knew what was going on. Its sudden appearance was simply too suspicious. They were all peerless experts in the human domain, but fear of death was only human nature.

“Who’s willing to go in and take a look?” Emperor Pillzenith asked coldly.

The great emperors looked at one another, but no one volunteered.

“Daoist Luo Jue, since this is your territory, why don’t you go in and have a look? Perhaps this residence is actually an ancient secret realm that’s recently emerged.” Emperor Pillzenith glanced at the faction leader.

His target frowned. “There’s no past record of this place. Its sudden emergence is simply too suspicious. I’m afraid nothing good will come out of this if we enter. This is a setup!”

Send me in first? Luo Jue was no fool. He wouldn't have hesitated if this encounter had been with a past Jiang Chen, but the one now was no longer someone to be underestimated.

Emperor Shura, Old Ma, and even Big Horn had been slain by that brat. He clearly had the ability to kill great emperors. Luo Jue was a very confident man, but he didn’t think he was any stronger than Emperor Shura.

Naturally, he wouldn’t want to be on the front lines.

Emperor Pillzenith frowned. “Daoist Jue Luo, don’t forget that you’re the one who gains the most from that brat’s death. Moreover, this is your territory. You have first pick of any treasure or heritage within. If we go in first, you’ll have to relinquish your rights.”

The holy emperor shook his head without hesitation. “So be it.”

Emperor Pillzenith was rendered speechless by the faction leader’s timidness. He turned his head towards the crowd. “Any volunteers?”

Nobody volunteered despite his expectant gaze. This wasn’t child’s play. Nobody was dumb enough to enter the residence alone. 

……

At this very moment, Jiang Chen was sitting cross-legged in a hidden corner within the palace. The dwelling that Guo Ran had left behind was extremely well-designed. Jiang Chen could see everything that was happening around the palace.

The effects of one’s cultivation was also enhanced compared to the outside world. Moreover, it was built like a maze. If Jiang Chen wanted to play hide and seek, those bastards would never be able to find him.

It was equipped not only with a disorientating formation, but also an empyrean slaughter formation that would easily decimate great emperors into dust.

Jiang Chen would never want to use this trump card unless there was no other option. He was meditating as every passing second was inexplicably precious. He’d been travelling across multiple regions for the past few months, but never forgot to cultivate. 

Despite being so diligent, he wasn’t able to achieve the desired results due to constant traveling. Fortunately, his talents were far beyond the common person. Even though he hadn’t entered closed door cultivation, his cultivation speed was still incredibly quick.

All of a sudden, his expression changed. Somebody had entered the palace!

Through his consciousness, he noticed a figure probing through the entrance vigilantly. The man took each and every step with extreme caution as though he was walking through a mountain of daggers and a sea of fire.

It was Pillfire City’s Emperor Heartcloud. He was one of Emperor Pillzenith’s loyal deathsworn. Since nobody had volunteered, he offered to be the first to scout the unknown palace.

Only one? Jiang Chen was a little disappointed. He didn’t want to waste the a charge of the restriction on a single person.

Unless there was a supreme spatial art expert amongst the group, they would have an extremely hard time locating him if he didn’t voluntarily reveal himself. Moreover, he’d already fully refined the abode. He was the overlord of the territory and could set the rules within this finite space. A bold thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

I was only able to kill Emperor Shura, Old Ma, and Big Horn with the aid of others. Come to think of it, I’ve yet to kill one with my own strength.

He then shifted his glance towards the palace. This is my territory. I’m the one who sets the rules! Even a great emperor won’t have a chance against me here!

Even the person in question was shocked by his own thoughts. There was simply no way an initial emperor realm cultivator could kill a great emperor. But such thoughts have surfaced nonetheless.

It was like a swarm of ants crawling around in his mind. The itch was almost unbearable. He wanted to give it a try! 

Mm. I mustn’t be hasty. There needs to be a plan first. One could only imagine how difficult it’d be to kill a great emperor without the restriction. Everything would fall apart with a single mistake.

Granted, there was no need for him to be afraid of failure because he could easily get away thanks to the numerous mazes found within. There’s no harm trying since there’s little risk!

Jiang Chen took inventory of his many trump cards. The magnetic golden mountain, Bewitching Lotus of Fire and Ice, Featherflight Mirror, Pentecolor Divine Swords, Imperial Advent Defense and Onslaught Talisman… to name just a few.

He could also call upon powerful formations such the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation, Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation, as well as the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation.

After a brief but thorough contemplation, he had a plan.  

Mm. I’ll incorporate formations into my attacks and when he least expects it, finish him off with the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation. His most powerful attack method was currently the Heavenly Chalice Sword Formation. He hadn’t fully mastered it yet, but there was no doubt of its lethality.

He was also in the possession of the Pentecolor Divine Swords. He hadn’t fully mastered the sword technique either. Even if he had, it would still be weaker than the formation. After all, the addition of strength from a formation added power that ordinary weapon attacks couldn’t measure up to.

Within one of the many spaces, Jiang Chen began to lay down the Great Dream of Spring and Autumn Formation, an extremely powerful restrictive formation. He completed it as quickly as he could and moved on to the Eight Trigram Boulder Formation.

A formation within a formation!

He wanted to restrict his enemy and attack when least expected. He was unable to fight a great emperor head-on at his current cultivation level. He could only resort to sneak attacks. Moreover, it would only work if the enemy’s guard was down. This opportunity may or may not appear, but if it did, it would only last for a fraction of a second.

Jiang Chen had to make complete use of that brief timing. As long as his timing was correct, the Heavenly Sword Chalice Formation would most definitely kill the enemy.

After all preparations were made, he turned into a flash of light and moved towards Emperor Heartcloud. 

Right now, he needed to lure the enemy into the trap. Moreover, he had to be subtle or the enemy might not take the bait. The enemy was clearly an overly cautious old fox who would never pounce unless he had complete confidence.

Jiang Chen didn’t seek Emperor Heartcloud out. Instead, he calculated the opponent’s route and continued cross-legged meditation while waiting for his opponent’s arrival. He was trying to make it seem like a chance encounter.

Emperor Heartcloud was indeed an extremely cautious and vigilant man. His heart was filled with regret after volunteering. He found the palace a little eerie after some exploration, but hadn’t found any lethal traps just yet.

However, he didn’t let his guard down because of that. Quite the opposite in fact. How could there be no traps in a palace as suspicious as this?

As he walked, he noticed a tiny sliver of consciousness in front of him. It was such a weak and tiny ripple that he almost failed to notice it. His heart sunk. As expected, there’s someone in the palace! Is that brat hiding in here?

He remained vigilant and didn’t rush forward. Instead, he slowed down his movements and analyzed the consciousness in detail. As he slowly made his way forward, the strength of the consciousness only became stronger.

Suddenly, he heard a low gasp as though the person in question was startled by something. Whoosh! The person turned into a flash of light and shot away.

Hmm? Did the brat notice me? Emperor Heartcloud hesitated for a second but quickly gave chase.

“Brat! You’re surrounded! You won’t escape fate even if you grow wings!” Emperor Heartcloud growled deeply and dashed towards the beam of light.

He was still a little anxious but couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer. He’d finally found the brat after such a long search. His trip into the palace would’ve been for naught if he let the brat flee.

Eager to please his superior, Emperor Heartcloud’s vigilance had dropped by a great half.

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