In the martial world, it was not as though spatial divine abilities — the kind that could hide Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed — did not exist. Spatial divine abilities were truly wondrous, and many powerful cultivators had achieved remarkable mastery in that domain.
In his previous life, Jiang Chen had seen his fair share of wonders. Even on the Divine Abyss Continent, he had encountered spatial divine abilities before.
Yet this time, he was both surprised and deeply impressed.
He had to admit — he had been completely in the dark about this arrangement beforehand.
"Since ancient times, the universe has been vast within one's sleeve, and eternity has stretched within the space of a gourd. Many powerful cultivators could tuck half a landscape within a flick of their sleeve, or capture stars and grasp the moon within a single wine flask. This alchemy furnace must belong to someone extraordinarily skilled in alchemy."
At the thought of this, Jiang Chen's heart grew calmer.
A guardian who excelled in alchemy — that was someone Jiang Chen welcomed with open arms. In that particular arena, he possessed absolute confidence. He felt that as long as he could successfully meet the guardian of this fifth palace, his chances of breaking through were more than promising.
When it came to the Dao of Alchemy, Jiang Chen truly had unwavering self-assurance.
But at this stage, it clearly was not yet his turn to dwell on such matters. What profound significance did the alchemy furnace before him truly hold?
Jiang Chen suspected that by the time one reached the fifth palace, much of the trial revolved around matters of personality and individuality. The guardian of this fifth gate would certainly possess a distinctive character.
Just from this setup alone, Jiang Chen could tell — it was remarkably stylish.
An alchemy furnace capable of creating an entire void — that was far beyond what an ordinary person could accomplish. It required not only mastery of alchemy but, most importantly, formidable spatial divine abilities.
Beyond that, one would need extraordinary skill in artifact forging as well. Otherwise, how could this alchemy furnace have been crafted to contain such a wondrous and profound spatial marvel?
Jiang Chen was no stranger to the eight positions of the Qiankun Bagua — the Eight Trigrams of Heaven and Earth.
However, escaping this alchemy furnace clearly required more than simply knowing the positions of those eight trigrams. The knowledge underlying the Bagua was incredibly deep, and mastering it was no easy task. Applying that knowledge to a practical problem made it all the more difficult.
The air around him was growing steadily hotter.
Jiang Chen knew that this furnace was genuinely treating him as an alchemical ingredient. But he was not the least bit discouraged.
After all, he was a living, breathing human being.
When it came to alchemy, he had seen people who used living humans as catalysts for their pills. But he had never resorted to refining a living person entirely for the sake of a pill.
That was, without question, the most inhumane approach imaginable.
At the very least, Jiang Chen was incapable of such a thing.
Of course, the furnace's current objective was clearly not to refine him, but rather to test his skill.
Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.
These were the Eight Trigrams.
They corresponded to eight natural phenomena of heaven and earth: Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Water, Fire, Mountain, and Lake.
Jiang Chen activated his spiritual sense, carefully observing every minute detail of the Qiankun Bagua gates surrounding him.
"Back in the Myriad Heavens Great World, there was a technique related to the Primordial Eight Trigrams — the Primordial Bagua Formula. I still remember how it went: 'Qian is three unbroken lines, Kun is three broken lines, Zhen is like an upright bowl, Gen is an overturned bowl, Li is hollow in the center, Kan is full in the center, Dui is missing at the top, and Xun is broken at the bottom.'"
In his mind, Jiang Chen mentally cycled through every trigram image described in that formula, running through them one by one. Suddenly, something stirred within his heart.