Chapter 1084: Grabbing the Fragments

On the vast plain, countless figures were busily moving huge rocks, while Origin Qi was used to control the earth, causing soil to erupt from the ground and rapidly form houses and buildings one after another.

A town capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people was rising from the plain at an astonishing speed.

This town was, of course, built by the combined efforts of various factions from Hunyuan Heaven, as it would serve as their initial base.

Numerous Origin Runes were carved into the town's foundation. These runes formed a light barrier that enveloped the entire town, and its sole purpose was to shield Origin Qi.

With this shielding barrier, they could avoid detection by the earthly calamities.

Otherwise, with so many people gathered in one city, the intense fluctuations of Origin Qi would likely attract the next wave of earthly calamities very quickly. If that happened, one powerful surge could potentially wipe out their entire force.

In the center of the town, a tall tower was rapidly taking shape, and at its apex stood a luminous mirror, like a piece of jade.

On the mirror's surface, numerous Origin Runes flickered into and out of view.

This was the "Qi Observation Platform." Its function was to project the flow of Ancestral Qi within a radius of tens of thousands of miles. Generally, places with a significant flow of Ancestral Qi were likely to contain Ancestral Qi veins.

The construction of this Qi Observation Platform was not difficult; almost every major force had been specifically taught how to build it upon arrival. However, activating the platform each time required immense Origin Qi support. Therefore, to survey a range of ten thousand miles, multiple forces had to cooperate.

So, at least during this initial phase, all forces were united.

But as time passed, the various factions would likely gradually disperse into smaller teams. After all, Ancestral Qi veins weren't found everywhere. If they stayed together, it would easily lead to a "too many monks and too little porridge" situation, which would then cause conflicts.

The Qi Observation Platform's construction, with the combined efforts of all forces, was completed in less than half a day.

Consequently, the leaders of all major forces gathered at the base of the tower.

Zhou Yuan and Qin Lian stood at the very front, a spot reserved for the Nine Regions. Other top forces were positioned behind them.

Guan Qinglong looked up at the white jade mirror at the tower's peak, nodded slightly, and said, "Let's begin."

As his words fell, he was the first to act. A beam of green Origin Qi shot up from the crown of his head. The green light was sharp and domineering, like a circling green dragon, and it slammed directly into the white jade mirror.

At the same time, Zhou Yuan, Qin Lian, and others also activated their Origin Qi. In an instant, thousands of Origin Qi rainbows whistled out, all submerging into the white jade mirror.

With such immense and vast Origin Qi pouring in, a luster immediately began to flow across the white jade mirror's surface. The next moment, a beam of light suddenly shot up from within the mirror, disappearing into the boundless sky.

Hum!

As the light beam fell, the white jade mirror immediately began to vibrate. Upon closer inspection, images of mountains and rivers seemed to be forming on its surface.

The leaders of all forces eagerly stared at the mirror.

Whoosh!

From the white jade mirror, beams of light descended, gradually forming a luminous map in the mid-air beneath the tower.

Within the map were mountains and rivers, presumably depicting the landscape within a radius of tens of thousands of miles.

At this moment, mysterious pale yellow streams of Qi diffused outwards, gradually tinting certain areas with a pale yellow color.

As they gazed at the pale yellow areas, a fervent glint appeared in everyone's eyes, because those areas were where Ancestral Qi was abundant, likely indicating the presence of Ancestral Qi veins.

Of course, this was not absolute, as the Qi Observation Platform could only detect surface conditions. It could not truly detect what lay deep within the mountains and earth, so at that point, it would still come down to luck.

It was very possible that one might find an area covered by pale yellow Qi only to gain nothing or merely a minuscule, insignificant vein.

Conversely, areas that appeared to have faint Qi might unexpectedly contain a large vein.

However, this possibility was relatively small.

Zhou Yuan also observed with curiosity. Even though the pale yellow Qi streams were merely projections from the Qi Observation Platform, they still exuded a mysterious, ancient aura.

His gaze swept across the map, noticing several areas with a thick concentration of pale yellow Qi. He presumed these areas contained a considerable amount of Ancestral Qi.

And clearly, these areas would soon become the primary targets for the various major forces.

As Zhou Yuan watched, a thought suddenly struck him. These pale yellow Qi streams before him were merely surface phenomena. He wondered if he could use the power of the Saint Rune of Breaking Obstacles to see through the obscuration and perceive things more clearly.

Thinking this, Zhou Yuan immediately activated the Saint Rune of Breaking Obstacles. There was no harm in trying, after all.

Deep within his pupils, the ancient Saint Rune began to swirl. The scene before him immediately shifted. His gaze focused on the map in mid-air. As he stared intently, subtle changes indeed began to appear in the pale yellow Qi streams.

It was a deeper, more profound sight.

A surge of pleasant surprise arose in Zhou Yuan's heart. The Saint Rune of Breaking Obstacles was indeed effective; his bold experiment had clearly yielded excellent results.

While Zhou Yuan was engrossed in experimenting with the Saint Rune of Breaking Obstacles, the leaders of the various forces were already growing restless.

At a certain moment, Guan Qinglong, Wang Xuanyang, Dong Ye, and other leaders from various regions directly unleashed their Origin Qi and were the first to act.

From Tianyuan Region's side, Qin Lian made her move. Her Origin Qi reserves were stronger than Zhou Yuan's, who had not yet used his "advancement" technique. Therefore, in this situation requiring a scramble, it was more suitable for her to act.

A stream of Origin Qi shot out from her palm, directly rushing into the luminous map.

Qin Lian's target was extremely clear: one of the areas that appeared to have the densest pale yellow Qi.

According to the rules of all parties, this luminous map could be directly shattered. If someone set their sights on a particular area, they could directly attack and intercept that fragment of the map. Naturally, if the same area was targeted by more than one person, a struggle was inevitable.

This struggle was not a direct, full-blown fight, but rather a contest on a microscopic level.

It depended on who could repel the opponent's Origin Qi and seize the map fragment first. In a sense, this was also a demonstration of one's own strength.

The Nine Regions were the first to make their move, as this was a privilege they enjoyed. Other forces could only wait for them to finish before attempting to seize fragments themselves.

Qin Lian was fully focused. Her stream of Origin Qi instantly reached the luminous map fragment she had targeted. Then, with a swirl of Origin Qi, she was about to seize the map fragment and withdraw.

"Heh."

But just as she was about to succeed, a soft chuckle seemed to echo, and a black and white beam of Origin Qi shot out from the side like lightning. The beam directly collided with Qin Lian's Origin Qi.

A subtle hum resonated. In that instant, the two streams of Origin Qi furiously eroded and bombarded each other.

In just a few breaths, they clashed hundreds of times.

However, the black and white Origin Qi ultimately gained the upper hand, directly forcing Qin Lian's Origin Qi to fly back. Immediately, the black and white Origin Qi moved ahead, seizing the luminous map fragment Qin Lian had targeted.

"Wang Xuanyang!"

Qin Lian was enraged, her cold gaze directly falling upon Wang Xuanyang, who was not far away.

Wang Xuanyang glanced at her and chuckled lightly, "If your skills aren't up to par, don't be so eager to snatch."

With a slight smirk, he looked at Zhou Yuan beside Qin Lian. He said playfully, "I thought Elder Zhou Yuan would make a move. Still preferring to hide?"

Wang Xuanyang gently fanned his black and white feather fan, smiling, "I feel a bit bad about taking the spot you were eyeing. Here, I'll give you a few pieces; choose for yourselves."

As he spoke, the black and white Origin Qi within the luminous map shimmered, sending several map fragments near him flying towards Qin Lian's stream of Origin Qi.

Some low chuckles spread through the surroundings.

The few map fragments casually kicked out by Wang Xuanyang only had faint pale yellow Qi lingering around them, incomparable to the fragment he had just seized. Clearly, Wang Xuanyang was deliberately trying to humiliate them.

Zhou Yuan's gaze, however, was fixed on the map fragments Wang Xuanyang had casually tossed out, and a strange glint flickered in his eyes.

Qin Lian's beautiful eyes flashed with anger, but she knew this was not the time to tangle with him. With a thought, she ignored the flying fragments and was about to look for other targets.

But at this very moment, Zhou Yuan's faint voice suddenly reached her ears.

"Choose the third map fragment from the left."

Qin Lian's beautiful eyes widened, and she looked at Zhou Yuan incredulously, clearly not understanding what he meant. Wang Xuanyang's actions were deliberate and meant to humiliate them; were they actually going to walk into it?

"You didn't mishear. Grab it, quickly!" Zhou Yuan urged in a low voice.

Qin Lian's beautiful eyes flickered rapidly, but ultimately, trusting Zhou Yuan, she gritted her teeth. Her Origin Qi swirled, seizing the map fragment Zhou Yuan had mentioned, and she withdrew from the luminous map.

When Qin Lian emerged with the map fragment, the surroundings briefly fell silent, followed by uncontrollable laughter.

They simply assumed Qin Lian had lost her composure due to Wang Xuanyang's provocation.

Qin Lian's pretty face was icy cold, and she glared at Zhou Yuan resentfully. A low voice reached him.

"Even if you are an Elder, you owe me an explanation!"