Jiang Chen studied the patterns from afar, then up close — and what he saw changed with every shift in perspective. Moreover, these patterns were not fixed in place.
In other words, the patterns themselves were continuously transforming. This discovery struck Jiang Chen as rather intriguing.
"The patterns keep changing, which means these Void Runes are in motion. Each shifting configuration represents a different hidden meaning."
Inspiration flooded Jiang Chen's mind in a torrent. Once he grasped this, confidence settled in his heart. He now believed that the shifting patterns were an allegorical language embedded within the Void Runes.
For instance, when Jiang Chen saw the shape of blades and swords, it almost certainly signified slaughter and combat. At other times, he could make out forms resembling dragons soaring and tigers leaping — undoubtedly a harbinger of fierce conflict.
Jiang Chen analyzed the ceaselessly shifting patterns with growing focus.
"A great tree? Such a thriving, flourishing tree — what does that mean?" He found it somewhat puzzling. A tree, by all logic, should not be an ominous sign.
In the next instant, the shapes transformed again, giving way to patches of verdant grass and clusters of spiritual treasures resembling all manner of Spirit Medicines.
"The creator of these Void Runes must have had a remarkably refined sensibility. To craft something so beautiful within a Void Rune formation — that is truly a rare thing."
Jiang Chen gazed at these magnificent, ever-changing patterns with a mix of astonishment and genuine enjoyment.
"Hm? This shape looks like a bird in flight? It seems to be a dove?" Jiang Chen observed the patterns, his mind turning over possibilities.
Having watched for a while now, he was beginning to develop a sense of the underlying logic.
"If it's a dove, then it symbolizes peace — safety, perhaps. Maybe I should try approaching from that angle?"
With this new line of reasoning, Jiang Chen felt not impatience but an even deeper calm settle over him.
He watched patiently as the patterns continued to shift, conjuring one strange and wondrous configuration after another.
After a long stretch of time, the shape that resembled a dove appeared once more.
"Now!"
Jiang Chen's mind turned decisive in a flash. He transformed into a streak of brilliant light, pushing the Celestial Kunshu Escape Technique to its absolute limit, and shot toward that patch of void.
Whoosh!
A perfect arc of light sliced through the void. Before the dove-like pattern could fade, Jiang Chen crossed the expanse in a single bound.
He had leapt beyond the Void Rune formation.
Before Jiang Chen's figure even touched the ground, the surrounding void erupted — patch after patch of Void Runes blazing like perfect meteors burning through their final remnants of heat, completing their last procession before scattering into radiance and vanishing utterly into nothing.
All around, silence returned. The space reverted to the same profound stillness he had encountered when he first arrived.
The prohibitions of the Void Runes had completely disappeared without a trace.
"Gone? So my guess about the method was correct after all?" Jiang Chen felt no wild elation — it was as though everything had simply fallen into place as it should.
Still, gazing at the serene void surrounding him, back to the same quietude as when he had first entered — that sensation, in truth, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
"The master of this place is without question an extraordinary spatial grandmaster. To create such a fathomless, mysterious space within the Fifth Palace — the foundation of whoever presided here may well be greater and more magnificent than that of the first four palaces."
At this thought, Jiang Chen found himself growing neither restless nor impatient.
He understood perfectly well that the farther one progressed through the Six Palaces of Inheritance, the greater the difficulty would become. And yet, since the Six Palaces existed to select an inheritor, they would naturally leave the challenger at least a slender thread of opportunity.