Chapter 495: Universal Anticipation

Less than a day had passed since the Guardian Array of Chilian Palace was activated when it automatically lifted its full defensive barriers. This was because Heng Yi and the others clearly realized that against those five beings at the Mahayana stage, over twenty at the Tribulation stage, and more than four hundred at the Refining Void stage, the array’s defensive barrier was as fragile as paper, offering no real obstacle at all. Rather than keeping it active—wasting spirit stones and possibly angering some Mahayana powerhouse—it was better to leave the gates open. If they wanted to enter, let them; no one could stop them anyway.

This approach was approved by Princess Xueyu and Li Jiu. They stationed themselves outside the mountain gates of Chilian Palace but did not enter the main hall, clearly unwilling to disturb Su Che, who was in seclusion, to avoid irreversible consequences. Only Princess Xueyu went alone outside the main hall, sensing things silently. Somehow, she determined that Heng Yi and the others were telling the truth—Su Che was indeed in seclusion. With her confirmation, Li Jiu and the others had no more doubts and settled in, patiently waiting for Su Che to emerge.

Even Lord Lintian did not try to create any obstacles for Lin Feng. Whether he feared complications or still held some affection for his son, he didn’t want to push Lin Feng into a dead end unless absolutely necessary. Only he knew his true thoughts…

Over twenty days passed in this wait. Princess Xueyu had been right—no Mahayana powerhouse should be underestimated. Just over twenty days later, instead of Su Che emerging, they faced an even more complicated situation.

Other teams searching for Su Che successively brought along the Forging Star! The first to arrive here was a Mahayana powerhouse named “Tianqiu Shangren,” who, of course, brought along a group of subordinates at the Tribulation and Refining Void stages in his magical space. Princess Xueyu and Li Jiu had anticipated this situation. Despite the difficulties, they had no choice but to explain immediately to Tianqiu Shangren the severity of the situation if Tianyu failed to break through to the Deity stage during his seclusion.

The logic was simple: to find out the location of the black pagoda, Tianyu couldn’t die, let alone perish with his original spirit dissipating.

Following them were over fifty powerful cultivators at the Mahayana stage, such as the “Ancestral Master of ASRock,” “Moon Lord of Dusk Rain,” “Sovereign of Famous Swords,” and “Saintess Hua Li,” along with large groups of subordinates each led by them. Including the first to arrive, the Snow Jade Fairy and Li Jiu’s group, there were a total of sixty-two at the Mahayana stage, over 150 at the Tribulation stage, and more than 1,700 at the Refining Void stage… Nearly two thousand formidable cultivators, rarely seen in the cultivation world, gathered within the small Chilian Palace. It was truly an extremely astonishing sight. It must also be said that Su Che had immense influence—so many powerful cultivators gathered here, patiently waiting for him to successfully emerge from seclusion… What’s more interesting is that the other supreme sects on Forge Star were completely unaware of this, having no idea so many powerful cultivators had arrived on Forge Star. This was because Chilian Palace was tightly sealed; not even a fly could escape, and all communication methods were blocked from leaving the palace’s gates. Ignorance can be a blessing—some things are better left unknown; otherwise, those Yuan Ying cultivators on Forge Star would surely be terrified and constantly anxious, a truly unbearable experience. Of course, during this time, the ones who felt the worst, suffering the most agony, were Heng Yi, Lin Feng, and the others. Heng Yi and his companions were extremely conflicted, torn between hope and despair… They hoped their master would succeed in advancing and emerge safely, yet they also wished for this day to drag on as long as possible. After all, aside from themselves, there were over sixty at the Mahayana stage, over a hundred at the Tribulation stage, and over a thousand at the Refining Void stage, all waiting eagerly for this moment. With wolves and tigers surrounding them, how could these weak lambs escape this crisis? A crisis seemingly without a solution! No matter how hard Heng Yi and the others tried, they couldn’t think of any way out. It was a situation of certain death—how could there be any solution? The only hope was that their master could break through to the Divine Transformation stage, Refining Void stage, Tribulation stage, Mahayana stage… all in one go, and even then, must achieve immortality, using the immense power of a true immortal to overwhelm all rivals and intimidate the weak… But was that possible? It was nothing but a dream! What made Heng Yi and the others utterly desperate was that this crisis was indeed a situation of certain death, without any hope of resolution—no glimmer of light in sight! If life is hard for lambs, then how do wolves and tigers fare? It can be said they’re not much better off either.

Especially those powerful beings at the Mahayana stage—how could they have anticipated what would happen once Tian Yu emerged from seclusion? If that black pagoda wasn’t on him, it would have been different; but since it was indeed on him, there was no doubt that the fierce battles and struggles among those at the Mahayana stage from decades ago would unfold once again. In the last battle, over a dozen beings at the Mahayana stage perished—so how many would die this time? A total of sixty-two beings at the Mahayana stage were divided into nine factions. Among them, the group led by the Snow Jade Fairy had the fewest members, but their overall strength wasn’t the weakest. This was because Li Jiu was an experienced Mahayana practitioner on the verge of ascension, as well as an extremely rare master of formation art. Through his powerful formations, he could not only multiply the combat strength of all his members but also exert overwhelming pressure on enemies through the formation space. Additionally, there was the enigmatic Snow Jade Fairy, revered by all Mahayana practitioners—her true strength remained unknown to everyone… The entire Chi Lian Palace was immersed in an extremely intense atmosphere of tension and oppression. Normally, lower-level cultivators below the Golden Core stage would stay hidden in their caves, afraid to go outside, as even stepping outside would leave them gasping under this oppressive pressure. It was not only difficult to breathe normally but also extremely hard for their hearts to beat, causing unbearable suffering. As a result, many chose to remain in seclusion, forcing themselves to practice meditation to numb their anxiety and fear. Within a few thousand miles around the mountain gate, not a bird flew, not an insect chirped—everything was dead silence. The insects, fish, birds, and beasts had long perished, unable to withstand this tangible oppressive aura. Their already weak life forces had long vanished, dissipating into nothingness. Those still alive were waiting—whatever the reason, they were all waiting for that person to emerge from seclusion… The person everyone was eagerly awaiting, Su Che, was completely unaware of everything happening outside. He remained immersed in the supreme bliss of the Great Void State. Thanks to the gift of the Tears of the Stars, he had attained this once-in-ten-thousand-years Great Void State, which he cherished deeply and enjoyed to the fullest, forgetting everything—even the importance and dangers of advancing to the Divine Transformation stage. No matter what happened outside or within himself, as long as the Great Void State persisted, Su Che felt as if he were in a beautiful dream, never wanting to wake up. Days turned into weeks, months, half a year, a year…