The power of the Fusion Heaven Realm surged around Mu Changge. With a wave of both hands, he threw out a ball of light.
The light soared into the air and exploded mid-air.
Half the sky trembled. Mu Changge formed a hand seal, seemingly unlocking something.
After a long moment, the light in the sky began to expand, crushing the surrounding space.
"Activate the formation," Mu Changge shouted.
Behind him, the peak masters of the nine branches each took out a token. As their tokens lit up, the entire Nine Heavens Imperial Sect seemed to quake.
A rumbling sound echoed from the mountaintop. The Nine Heavens Grand Formation activated, condensing countless streams of spiritforce that surged toward the sky above Dao Mountain.
This was the core of the Nine Heavens Grand Formation, the convergence point of all spiritforce.
As the energy gathered, it created a storm that roared like rolling clouds.
The entire sky was engulfed.
When the light expanded to a certain range, a loud boom sounded, and the entire sky began to shift.
Images appeared in the heavens: primeval forests, deserts, snowy mountains, hundred-foot-tall monsters, and chilling screams.
Scenes flickered across the sky until it all became illusionary.
"This is quite the trick," Xu Zimo commented with interest.
The sky above displayed scenes as if they were right in front of them.
In reality, Xu Zimo knew the sights were actually tens of thousands of miles away.
They were just projections from within the ruins. The real marvel was that Mu Changge had opened a space gate from within the Nine Heavens Sect.
A gate that connected to the ancient ruins, linking two places tens of thousands of miles apart.
One end of the gate was in the Nine Heavens Sect, the other within the ruins.
“Everyone, proceed,” Mu Changge said with a smile.
Xu Zimo followed the hundred or so others, stepping into the space gate.
Once everyone entered, Mu Changge waved his hand again.
The space gate closed, and the sky’s projection stabilized.
It now displayed a full map of the ancient ruins.
"This is the projection of the ruins. Whatever they experience in there, we can see it all clearly from out here," Mu Changge explained.
"Who do you think will enter the main clan this time?" the Divine Heaven Mountain Lord Changqing asked with a smile.
The others sat on prepared seats nearby. Jade Heaven Mountain Lord Wang Yuntian chuckled and said, "The heirs of each branch have the best chances. Whether a dark horse appears, we’ll see."
"I think Grand Heaven Mountain has it rough this time. Their Imperial Son is the weakest one," Scenery Heaven Mountain Lord Qi Hai said with a laugh.
"Let’s not jump to conclusions before results come in," Lin Beisheng said calmly. "Otherwise, you’ll just slap your own face later."
"Sounds like Mountain Lord Lin is very confident," Qi Hai replied, still smiling.
"Do Elders Mu and Qin have any favorites?" Wang Yuntian asked the two main clan elders.
"We only care about the results, not the rest," Mu Changge said leisurely while watching the projection.
"Grand Heaven Mountain has underperformed for several generations," Elder Qin added blandly.
Lin Beisheng’s face darkened, but he didn’t dare refute.
Only he knew that Qin Hansheng had a bias against the Grand Heaven branch.
Thousands of years ago, when the Nine Heavens Sage passed away, the Nine Heavens Technique was split into nine volumes, each given to a branch.
Many years ago, Qin Hansheng had visited the sect, hoping to borrow the Grand Heaven volume. But the branch’s core techniques weren’t something others could casually access.
So Lin Juemie had refused him outright. No one had expected that Qin Hansheng would now be the elder sent from the main sect.
As the crowd chatted, they continued watching the projection in the sky.
...
After entering the space gate, Xu Zimo found his vision engulfed in darkness.
A spatial force enveloped him, causing his body to feel weightless as he shifted between dimensions.
From one realm to another.
After about ten minutes, Xu Zimo felt the spatial force weakening.
Suddenly, he lost control and began to fall.
He quickly stabilized himself and looked around.
He was on a vast plain, with only a few scattered trees nearby.
No sign of life around.
Before he could fully take in the scene, a bolt of lightning shot toward him.
He dodged it instantly.
The bolt struck the ground and blasted out a large crater.
Then it shot toward him again, faster this time.
Xu Zimo reached out and caught it in his hands.
Looking closely, he realized it wasn’t lightning, it was a silver snake.
The snake struggled, its body crackling with electricity.
Xu Zimo casually crushed it, then looked around again.
There was some kind of force in the ruins that prevented flying.
Xu Zimo could resist it if he wanted, after all, his Godly Monarch realm strength was more than enough to overpower the rules here.
From the hilltop, he scanned the plains, vast and seemingly endless.
In the distance, there was a forest. Giant trees stood tall across the land.
According to the event rules, they had to find Nine Heavens Tokens to enter the main clan.
Xu Zimo didn’t care about the tokens, he had his own people to deal with first.
He walked across the plains. Though he appeared to move slowly, each step crossed a huge distance.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the forest.
The forest looked ancient, each tree thick enough for several people to encircle with their arms.
Branches and leaves intertwined above.
There was no sun in the ruins, yet the forest was still bright.
At the entrance stood a stone tablet.
It looked recently erected. On it were four characters: Demon Mist Forest.
Xu Zimo guessed it was a marker placed by the main clan.
He closed his eyes slightly, scanning the forest with his divine sense.
As the range of his sense grew, the forest’s immense size surprised him.
It felt endless, and even his divine sense became entangled within it.
Without further thought, Xu Zimo stepped into the forest.
The moment he entered, something felt off.
His vision, once clear from outside the forest, was now obscured by thick mist…