Emperor Leon Vance treats Ian Song as a blade to use against the Ji Clan.
To avoid giving the emperor any leverage, the Ji Clan willingly set aside their grudge and handed over the Radiant Emperor’s Treasure Vault Secret Key. Ian knows word of him accepting the Ji Clan’s key will soon reach Emperor Leon’s ears.
As for the schemes of both sides, Ian Song doesn’t take them to heart.
As for which side he’ll ultimately stand with?
The Ji Clan is out of the question. As for the emperor—well, that depends on how he performs.
An hour later.
Ian Song left the Ji Clan estate safe and sound.
When he got home, he found Drake Liu, Flora Thrall, Rosie Ning, and the others all gathered in the main hall waiting for him.
"Boss, the Ji Clan didn’t do anything to you, right?" Drake Liu jumped up as soon as Ian walked in, full of concern.
"I’m fine!"
"Weird. What’s the Ji Clan really up to?" Drake Liu looked puzzled, and the others showed the same confusion.
Ian Song smiled. "I’ll explain it all later. For now, everyone go get some rest—I’ve got a few things to take care of."
After a quick word with his crew, Ian slipped into the study. With a flicker, he entered the Divine Temple.
He’d spent several years cultivating inside the Divine Temple, and Chloe Snow’s cultivation had steadily risen—she’d reached the peak of late Soul Division and was now pushing toward the Fusion realm.
"Chloe, take a break from training for a minute!"
Ian called Chloe over.
"Big brother!"
Although only two or three days had passed outside, it had been seven or eight inside the Divine Temple. Chloe was thrilled to see Ian again.
After chatting for a bit, Ian took out the final Treasure Vault Secret Key.
Instantly, the jade pendant Chloe wore began to heat up. She quickly took it off, and as soon as the two pendants touched, a gentle light bloomed. Half a moment later, the glow faded, revealing a pale-gold pendant in their hands.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the jade pendant turned into a streak of light and shot off into the distance—the Radiant Emperor’s Remnant Soul inside was clearly trying to escape.
You think you can get away?
Inside the Divine Temple, Ian Song is the absolute master—he controls everything. Where could the Radiant Emperor’s Remnant Soul possibly run?
With a single thought, the pendant flew right back into his hand.
"Not so sneaky now!"
Ian snorted, reached out, and forcibly yanked the Radiant Emperor’s Remnant Soul out of the pendant. Without a word, he wiped out its consciousness and refined it into a bundle of pure power for Chloe to absorb.
A year passed inside the Divine Temple.
After fusing the fifth bundle of the Radiant Emperor’s Remnant Soul, Chloe broke through to the Fusion realm. Her soul was still far stronger than ordinary Fusion cultivators, and at least until she reached the Tribulation realm, she wouldn’t face any bottlenecks.
"Let’s head out!"
With a light shout, Ian Song brought Chloe back to the outside world. He looked at her and asked, "Can you sense the location of the Treasure Vault?"
"There’s a faint feeling. I think it’s somewhere to the south," Chloe said hesitantly.
"Let’s go!"
Ian grabbed Chloe’s hand and used the Art of Great Teleportation to leave the imperial capital. After dozens of jumps, they were millions of miles away.
"What about now?" Ian asked again.
Chloe said happily, "The feeling is much stronger—I’m sure it’s to the south!"
Ian kept teleporting south with Chloe, and in less than half a moment, they were tens of millions of miles from the imperial capital.
"Big brother, the feeling’s getting stronger—it’s right over there!"
Chloe pointed in that direction.
"Alright, let’s go!"
Three more teleports later, Ian and Chloe appeared atop a snowy mountain.
"Big brother, the Radiant Emperor’s Treasure Vault should be right there."
Chloe pointed at a patch of empty space.
Activating his Clairvoyant Vision, Ian peered through the void. Soon, he saw a massive palace hidden within the shifting layers of space.
In the next moment, Ian casually sliced open the void before them, then stepped inside with Chloe. In a flash, they caught up to the swiftly moving Treasure Vault within the spatial interlayer.
The palace was a seamless whole, protected by countless formations and restrictions.
With his mastery of formations, Ian instantly saw the intricacies: seven layers of formations and nineteen layers of restrictions guarded the vault. Only by passing through all of them could one reach the main gate.
Even for Ian, breaking through all these defenses would take at least ten days.
But he had a better way.
"Collect!"