Sovereign of the Three Realms

The countless angles he took, near and far, changed the outline of the runic pattern each time. Moreover, the pattern itself seemed to be shifting. That was interesting.

"The mysteries imbued in these runes are more varied than I expected."

Inspiration flooded him. He had a good idea of what was up now. The shapes the pattern made gave meaning to the array of the runes. For example, swords signified killing. Dragons and tigers, excitement and power.

He analyzed everything he saw.

"A tree? What does its abundance mean?" Jiang Chen found the newest image odd. That couldn't be a sign for danger.

The pattern shifted once more. A green plain, with all kinds of spirit herbs growing from it.

"The creator of these suspended runes is a tasteful individual. Drawing such beautiful images with them… that's hardly common."

He beheld the pretty pictures with a mixture of astonishment and enjoyment.

"Hmm? Is that a bird? A pigeon perhaps, or a dove? If it's a dove, that's a sign of peace and safety, no? Maybe I should try something with it." Now that Jiang Chen had a plan, he became even more calm.

He patiently watched for further changes to the pattern, new images born out of the chaos.

After a long while, the dove appeared once more.

"Now!"

He decisively took the opportunity to fire himself into that patch of space, backed by the incredible speed of the Kunpeng Meteoric Escape.

Whoosh!

He crossed the expanse of the void in a single instant, before the dove could change to something else. He was finally free from the area of suspended runes.

Before he could land, the runes burned away like a shower of meteors. They blazed with radiance before disappearing into nothingness. There was peace all around him once more, as quiet as things had been before.

The suspended runes' restriction was entirely gone.

"So I guessed right?" Jiang Chen wasn't particularly pleased about his success. Things were exactly as they should've been.

And yet, the tacit sameness of the empty space all around him made his scalp tingle.

"Surely the protector of this fifth palace is a true master of dimensional abilities. That he's created such a space here… perhaps he's greater than all of his predecessors."

The Six Palaces of Heritage were sure to become more difficult as he went further in. As their purpose was to select an heir however, an opportunity would be left for the challenger.

He saw no reason to be discouraged. Even the most minute of clues could be found.

Above all, he was supremely confident in himself. If the Veluriyam Pagoda was to fall to anyone, it would be him.

Jiang Chen didn't believe there had been any young geniuses capable of surpassing him in the previous hundred thousand years, nor would there be any after.

Calming his heart once more, he sat down cross-legged within the serenity of space. He was waiting for that slim window to arise. The quiet wouldn't last forever.

The fifth palace would have a sign of some sort to guide him.

Rather than stumble about like a headless fly, it was better to remain in place to meditate and observe. He would find the lone path of escape that much faster then.

In no time at all, he heard the somber sound of an ancient bell ring. This toll was even dignified and austere than the last.

Jiang Chen braced himself.

The last time the bell had rung, suspended runes had appeared immediately. There was sure to be more this time as well.

The runes he expected didn't appear.

Instead, he felt the space all around him heat up. Without warning, the landscape became a brilliant red, as if countless embers had flared simultaneously to life.

In the next moment, the entire place was engulfed in a sea of flame.

The fire consumed all with a grand majesty, transforming from radiance into a scorching inferno before long.

How could this be?

Where had the fire come from? Or the heat before it, for that matter?

Jiang Chen was shocked. The place he was in was so big! How could it simply catch on fire like that? Was there something he hadn't noticed?

He quickly got his answer.

The blaze illuminated all with its light. His field of view broadened; he could see the boundaries of this place! There were actual walls here. Eight gates demarcated the enclosing walls, taking the eight bagua positions. They were bizarrely astounding to behold.

In other words, he was in a very large room rather than a boundless expanse of space.

In fact, all this looked more and more like a huge pill cauldron. He'd taken the place of a small piece of refining material, small enough to be totally negligible.

This was a terrifying thought!

His first stop in the fifth palace to be inside a pill cauldron had been the last of his expectations. He could predict a great many things, but he'd never experienced anything like this before.

A real live human being transported into a cauldron? And caught up in the process of refinement?

The young man was completely taken aback. This had entirely turned his assumptions about the fifth palace upside down!