This spatial gate appeared to hold no mystery whatsoever.
Yet the moment Jiang Chen stepped through it, an indescribable sense of wonder washed over him. When his feet touched the ground, he found himself standing in a completely isolated space.
The space resembled a private grotto dwelling.
But this grotto was remarkably bare—there was only a single stone stele standing in the most prominent position within the chamber. Behind the stele stretched an ancient stone wall.
Jiang Chen stood before the stele. A hazy glow had begun to materialize on its surface, slowly dispersing outward until the face of the stele became smooth as a mirror.
In the next instant, a shadow surfaced upon the stone face.
"Future descendant who stands before this stele—you are fated with Dongyan Island, and fated with this old man. I am Pei Xing. In the ancient Demon Sealing War, I survived a hundred battles and kept a wretched remnant of my life, eventually arriving at Wanyuan Island. But I refused to associate with those cowards. I came upon this desolate island by chance and carved out a domain of my own, settling here in peace…"
The inscription on the stele left Jiang Chen gaping.
So Dongyan Island did have a history. And that history was nothing short of staggering. The island's founding ancestor had been a cultivator from the ancient Demon Sealing War who had come to Wanyuan Island. However, this Senior Pei Xing—who had participated in the Demon Sealing War—clearly had no desire to mingle with the deserters of that conflict. So he had carved out his own secluded domain and hidden himself away.
This was the true origin of Dongyan Island.
"In my lifetime, seventy percent of what I mastered pertained to formations, and thirty percent to martial arts. In the ancient Myriad Heavens Locking God Formation, I served as one of three principal formation masters, standing alongside grandmasters from the Ksitigarbha Gate and the Danxiao Ancient Sect…"
Jiang Chen's astonishment deepened. He had never expected the owner of Dongyan Island to have such a monumental background. This man had been one of the three principal formation masters of the legendary ancient Myriad Heavens Locking God Formation.
The so-called principal formation masters were the chief architects responsible for that great formation. There had been three in total. The other two had been representatives of the two most renowned alchemy sects of antiquity. Pei Xing alone had been the exception.
To have stood on equal footing with those two giants of the ancient alchemy world through sheer personal talent alone—that spoke volumes about Senior Pei Xing's abilities, and Jiang Chen couldn't help but feel genuine admiration.
"No wonder. No wonder formations and restrictions are everywhere along the way—one linked to the next in endless succession, overwhelming the eye. So the root of it all lies here."
Now that he knew the truth, Jiang Chen could only sigh with wonder.
"This stele was refined with the accumulated effort of my entire life. It anchors the fortune of this land, commands its feng shui, and controls every formation on Dongyan Island. He who claims this stele claims Dongyan Island."
Following that, the inscription on the stele went on to clearly demonstrate, step by step, how to refine the stele and through it, command every formation and restriction on the entire island.
Jiang Chen's only remaining emotion was elation.
"As the saying goes—when the path seems to dead-end at the foot of a mountain, another village appears through the willows." Jiang Chen was so excited he wanted to burst out laughing. Senior Pei Xing had left behind Dongyan Island, and it held this very secret.
Judging by the place, it was clear that no one before Jiang Chen had ever broken through here. No one had comprehended this formation. No one had entered that spatial gate. And no one had set foot in this chamber.
Naturally, no one had ever laid eyes on this stele.
Which meant that Jiang Chen was the very first lucky soul to enter this place since Senior Pei Xing had refined the stele.
In that moment, Jiang Chen felt that he was somehow destined to have a profound connection with formations.
The Danxiao Ancient Sect's formation heritage had fallen into his hands. The entirety of the Danxiao Ancient Sect's forbidden inheritance grounds had been swept up by him in one fell swoop.
Though he had not yet located the ruins of the Ksitigarbha Gate, he had obtained their sect-guarding treasure, the Ksitigarbha Origin Pearl.
And now, he had come into yet another inheritance left by Senior Pei Xing.
After the stele inscription had demonstrated the refinement process, Jiang Chen silently committed every step to memory. At last, the shadow on the stone face let out a soft sigh: "It is a pity that my vital essence was gravely damaged during the ancient Demon Sealing War. I have no hope of achieving any further breakthroughs in this lifetime. A pity, truly a pity. I possessed no worldly treasures throughout my life—only this True Yuan-Suppressing Stele, and a flying vessel that I used for travel. All of the knowledge and texts I accumulated in my lifetime are stored within that vessel. Once this stele is refined and pulled free, the ground will collapse. Beneath the collapse lies my Star Destiny Flying Vessel."
Good fortune truly came in pairs. Beyond the stele itself, Senior Pei Xing had also left a flying vessel behind. For Jiang Chen, this was a godsend.
For a time, Jiang Chen was beside himself with excitement.
He realized that he could finally break free. He could finally leave Dongyan Island.
Just then, an intense light blazed across the surface of the stele once more. In the next instant, the image on the stone face shifted to show the world outside.
And there it was—Kuang Han and the other two Mid Heavenly Domain powerhouses had already been tracking his trail and were slowly making their way to the outer perimeter of the great stone formation.
"Damn it—these three are truly cunning, hounding me this relentlessly. When I jumped through the formations, I must have left traces of my spiritual consciousness and true essence fluctuations, allowing them to follow my trail. Otherwise, how could they have so easily unravelled the mysteries between these formations?"
Jiang Chen refused to believe that even as Mid Heavenly Domain powerhouses, they could hold a candle to him in terms of formation mastery. In that regard, he had every reason to look down on them.
He absolutely refused to believe these three had broken in through their own abilities. They had followed his trail, plain and simple.
Jiang Chen felt a pang of regret and a measure of helplessness.
He had done nearly everything perfectly, but it was impossible to jump through formations without leaving even the faintest ripple of true essence fluctuations.
Unless Jiang Chen's strength surpassed that of the three pursuers, erasing all traces within such a short span was simply not feasible.
Fortunately, the three were clearly being extremely conservative and cautious. They were lingering outside the great stone formation, pacing back and forth, not daring to rush in rashly.