Sovereign of the Three Realms - Chapter 1886

Chapter 1886: 1886

During the leap between the fourth and fifth palaces, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but dwell on Mad Fiend . The old man who had seemed incomprehensible initially seemed much more reasonable now .

The protector had been in the Six Palaces of Heritage from the ancient era to the present . In the process, he had been deprived of his freedom and had to bear the pain of losing his wife and younger sister .

One or two days of this would’ve been bearable, but it had been over a hundred thousand years . It’d be hard for anyone to last that long unchanged .

For a time, Jiang Chen was filled with great sympathy .

What Mad Fiend had gone through reminded him of his father, the Celestial Emperor .  I wonder how father is doing now?

If a heavenly cataclysm had really been unleashed, even someone as great as a celestial emperor wasn’t guaranteed to remain safe . Where might his father be now?

No pain was as harsh as separation from one’s loved ones .

The continual increases in his cultivation and the introduction of higher and higher tiers of information fueled his curiosity about what had happened in his previous life .

“I must attain godhood . When I do, I will be able to solve the mystery of the chain seal in my consciousness . I will be able to see what clues father has left me . ” Jiang Chen quite looked forward to it .

He arrived at the fifth palace in no time at all . As soon as he entered, he felt like he was in a different world .

The fifth palace was a sequestered space, strangely cut off from the outside world . There was nothing here: no buildings, life, or any distinguishing features . The very air was stagnant .

It was as if this world was perfectly still .

“Hmm? What’s this?” Jiang Chen looked all around him . There was nothing but emptiness and stillness, with seemingly no connection to the true and material .

This place was more silent than death itself .

Jiang Chen swept his eyes and consciousness across the expanse, taking in the oddity of the quietness here .

“Is this really the fifth palace?” He began to doubt where he was . He simply couldn’t understand what he was witnessing . “No . Even in the void, complete stillness is impossible . This has to be an illusion! It has to be!”

Jiang Chen kept reinforcing this notion to himself .

Clang!

A majestic and somber bell suddenly rang by his ear .

In the next moment, the world before him underwent a drastic change . Stranger sights appeared in front, beneath, behind, and all around him . Countless runes drifted bizarrely through the air like wraiths .

Jiang Chen opened his eyes, then braced himself . The leaping runes reminded him of something .

“Suspended runes?” he remarked with some astonishment .

In the world of martial dao, there was a particular kind of ability that didn’t require materials or use a medium to etch runes in thin air . A runic formation could be built using nothing but empty air as the basis .

It wasn’t a proper formation, since it lacked a foundation and other trappings of one . But it was just as potent and diverse as a real formation . In fact, it was more mysterious in some ways .

As an experienced man, Jiang Chen had an inkling of what the glowing tadpoles swimming in midair meant .

Thankfully, he had some basic knowledge about them . If he stood still, he would probably be able to avoid triggering the runes’ effects . If he tried to rashly move about, the opposite would happen .

As such, he stayed as still as he could while examining the environment around him . No set of runes was absolutely flawless . Just like formations, they were hardly indestructible .

To find the chinks in their defenses however, required a sharp eye and a capable hand . A complex suite of skills and abilities .

In other words, Jiang Chen possessed all of the necessary qualities for success . Though his strength hadn’t yet been perfected, his experience could guarantee calm and poise before the suspended runes .

A challenger who was ignorant of what he saw would likely approach and investigate . Once he did, he would be mired in a great deal of trouble by triggering the runes’ effects .

Jiang Chen gave the runes a once-over with his consciousness . They weren’t particularly offensive . In fact, they seemed to dance with a strict purpose .

It was a safe assumption that they were present here as a test, rather than a lethal trap .

Even so, he didn’t dare move lightly . The Veluriyam Pagoda’s six palaces were to test anyone who ventured in .

If he was trapped, he would be admitting defeat . That was an obvious kink to passing all of the palaces . He decided to sit and wait for now .

Carefully scrutinizing the landscape around him, he found several patterns in the runes’ operation .

As long as he had the requisite clues, he was confident he could break through the blockade and enter the true fifth palace to greet its master . If he couldn’t even get through this much, he would be looked down upon .

Jiang Chen drew on as much of his previous life’s memories as possible . Details and snippets about suspended runes flashed before his eyes . His mind whirred with an urgency that stirred it into thought .

“These suspended runes clearly have some sort of a pattern . They’re following a diagram of some sort . Sadly, I’m inside of it, which means I can’t make heads or tails of it . If I could see a broader picture, perhaps I would have a few more clues . ”

Jiang Chen seriously considered this, scattering his consciousness into every corner as he did so . He wanted to observe the runes from as many perspectives as possible .

His method paid off immediately . The multiple points of view he received were very telling, and the spectacle he witnessed became more and more amazing as time went on .