The conference room fell silent for a long time before people gradually began to speak.
"Chairman Liu, what do you think?"
The middle-aged men below looked towards Liu Xing on the main stage.
This was no small dilemma; if handled poorly, both sides would suffer significant losses.
"After this incident concludes, we will visit this person named Zhang Tian. I will go personally," Liu Xing said softly.
"We must show our sincerity. Someone like him, if mishandled, will stand against us."
The others nodded in agreement.
"However, I believe our chances are still quite high," Liu Xing continued.
His steady tone indicated he could handle the broader picture.
"Chairman Liu, please elaborate."
All eyes in the audience turned to Liu Xing.
"His strength is formidable, and his influence is substantial. The Nine Gates Group was merely a minor waypoint on his journey. His public emergence this time is definitely not as simple as clearing his name."
As Liu Xing spoke, everyone looked at him, somewhat bewildered.
"Chairman Liu, are you suggesting he has other motives?" another middle-aged man asked, puzzled.
Liu Xing nodded and said calmly, "Do you think someone who has always operated in the shadows, even as the mastermind behind countless corporations, would care about his reputation?"
"Would he willingly offer up his memories?" Liu Xing countered.
After he spoke, the others fell silent. He was right. After watching the videos for so long, they understood Zhang Tian better. He was cautious, never overlooking even the smallest detail. For such a person to willingly participate in an experiment was clearly impossible. Therefore, the only conclusion was that Zhang Tian had other plans, and everything he had said earlier was merely to mislead them. His true intentions remained unknown.
"If that's the case, he must have other objectives. What could they be? Could it be world destruction?" someone exclaimed, a hint of panic in his eyes. When a person reached unimaginable power, it was bound to cause some unease.
"Not necessarily. If he had such intentions, he wouldn't be sitting there. He must have other plans," Liu Xing reassured them. "Don't panic; let's observe for now."
The others said nothing more and turned their attention to the screen.
On the screen, Zhang Tian and the others had reached the deepest part of the bookshelves. Zhang Tian's gaze was fixed ahead, a trace of regret in his eyes. In front of him now stood several more shelves, but to his disappointment, they were all empty. Seeing the bare shelves, Zhang Tian felt a pang of regret. After all, the books in this place generally became more valuable as one went further back. The complete absence of books in the last few rows clearly indicated they had been taken by those who came before.
"With so many books, only these two shelves are missing. I suspect the missing books are of extraordinary significance," Hu Bayi said in a low voice.
"We've just discovered the quality of the elixirs and the refining techniques. The items further back should be even more precious than what we've seen so far," Zhang Tian murmured, soon shifting his gaze.
"This."
Just as Zhang Tian and the others were lamenting the missing books, a voice suddenly rang out. Zhang Qilin appeared before them, holding two blue, crystal-like objects. Clearly, these were formation stones.
"Formation stones?" Zhang Tian looked around. He hadn't expected formation stones to be hidden in a place like this. But how did they end up here?
"Found them over there," Zhang Qilin said, pointing to a spot before Zhang Tian could ask. "By the way, you've been searching for a while. Have you found anything useful?"
Zhang Tian diverted his attention from the formation stones to Zhang Qilin. Zhang Qilin had been exploring for a considerable time, and Zhang Tian was curious if he had discovered anything.
Zhang Qilin nodded. "The notes on alchemy and some other things were very helpful to me," he said softly. Though he didn't elaborate, his satisfaction was evident.
"As long as it's useful, that's what matters. Now, are there any other crystals here?" Zhang Tian finally brought up the matter of the formation stones. He felt it would be disrespectful to focus on the stones first. Showing concern first, then mentioning other discoveries, would foster better rapport.
Zhang Qilin's heart warmed. Although Zhang Tian's words were understated, they were thoughtful and effective.
"No, I only found these," Zhang Qilin shook his head. Zhang Tian nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"If that's the case, I suspect these crystals are meant to activate a larger formation," Zhang Tian said gravely. Given the current situation, a grand formation was inevitable, explaining the presence of these formation stones.
Hu Bayi nodded in agreement. "I estimate the formation's location is likely in that golden-domed area in the center. We should search thoroughly there. Since there was an underground space before, I suspect there might be one in the center as well," Hu Bayi continued.
Zhang Tian nodded. He had been thinking the same thing. If the previous area had an underground space, it was highly probable that the central area did too.
"When we return to the central mountain range later, we'll investigate whether there's an underground space," Zhang Tian said. The others all nodded.
"Shall we take these?" Hu Bayi asked Zhang Tian.
Zhang Tian nodded decisively. With a wave of his hand, the shelves began to disappear from their original locations. Simultaneously, within the illusory space, rows of shelves materialized out of thin air.
When the shelves appeared, Queen Jingjue, who had been resting, was stunned. "Good heavens, has Zhang Tian gone mad? He keeps throwing things into the space one after another. Is he completely devoid of morals?"
"What's going on?" Queen Jingjue frowned slightly. She looked at the series of frames being tossed in, her brow furrowed. Although the spatial dimension of this place was vast, the area around the spiritual spring was not particularly large. To expand her space, Queen Jingjue would have to venture further into the Cultivation Store. The true size of the entire illusory space was unknown. Queen Jingjue only knew that within this space, she could never reach an end. This was precisely what made the illusory space so terrifying: no time, no age, only boundless mountains and rivers. This alone was enough to drive a person mad.
As more and more shelves were brought in, Queen Jingjue instinctively wanted to push them aside. But just as she was about to act, a voice reached her, "Queen, I beg you, these books are very important to us. Please place them in an open area."
As Zhang Tian's voice faded, Queen Jingjue's hand froze.