I Can Extract Divine Power

Afterward, the plaque released a ray of white light that soared into the sky.

The sky was a vast blue, with puffs of white clouds drifting in the sunlight.

But when the ray of white light soared upward, the clouds were instantly scattered.

Then, the illusory projection of a massive palace appeared in midair.

The palace was magnificent, exuding an ancient and profound aura.

Above the main entrance hung a plaque inscribed with the three words: "Celestial Pride Hall."

Eunuch Chen pointed from midair. A terrifying, formless aura condensed at his fingertip, then shot out and slammed into the gates of the Celestial Pride Hall.

BOOM!

A sudden roar erupted. The aftershock shattered the clouds in the sky, twisting them into a massive vortex.

The gates of the Celestial Pride Hall swung open, and a golden staircase descended from the sky, touching down on the ground.

The staircase glittered as if made of pure, luminous gold, suffused with a solemn and dignified air.

After the staircase appeared, Eunuch Chen clasped his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.

"Ascend the golden staircase to enter the gates of the Celestial Pride Hall. Once you are inside, I won't elaborate on the rules. There is only one that all of you must remember."

The crowd looked toward Eunuch Chen, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

The prodigies from the other nations had long heard stories about the Celestial Pride Hall.

Although they were not the strongest representatives from their respective nations, any benefits they could reap within the Celestial Pride Hall would make their future paths significantly smoother.

Even as prodigies of their factions, they had all poured immense effort into earning this trip to the Celestial Pride Hall.

Such excitement was only natural.

Eunuch Chen kept his hands clasped behind him, his posture unchanging as he continued to gaze up at the Celestial Pride Hall.

Four words slowly escaped his lips.

"Life and death are fated."

Merely four words, yet they carried an incomparably powerful aura.

For Cultivators, the path of Cultivation was one of defying the heavens and overcoming all obstacles. They naturally understood the great terror that lay between life and death.

The crowd nodded, saying nothing more. Then, starting with the person at the front, they began to ascend the golden staircase one after another.

Shen Bai followed from behind. The moment his foot touched the golden staircase, he felt a powerful force tugging at him, as if trying to pull him up toward the Celestial Pride Hall.

Although the staircase was long and steep, for a Cultivator, it was hardly exhausting.

Before long, Shen Bai, along with Zhou Qing and the others, stepped through the gates of the Celestial Pride Hall.

The moment Shen Bai set one foot inside, he immediately felt a peculiar sensation wash over him from all directions.

He felt a warm radiance envelop his entire body, as if he were basking in a world of gentle sunlight.

However, the sensation lasted only for a moment before vanishing without a trace.

When the world before his eyes cleared, Shen Bai found he was no longer at the entrance to the Celestial Pride Hall, but had arrived in a peculiar Space.

The area was a chaotic void, a vast expanse of white. Aside from the solid ground beneath his feet, nothing else existed.

'What's going on? I came in with Zhou Qing and the others. Why am I in this strange Space all alone?' A sliver of doubt rose in Shen Bai's mind.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

The reason was simple: the vast whiteness around him was changing.

The luminous white landscape vanished completely, replaced by an open wilderness.

Lush green grass lay underfoot, and the sky was a vast canvas of blue and white.

Everything here felt so real that if Shen Bai hadn't known he was inside the Celestial Pride Hall, he would have thought he had arrived on an actual grassland.

Shen Bai, however, was not particularly surprised by the fantastical scene before him.

After all, the Emperor had told him not long ago that at least seventy percent of the Celestial Pride Hall remained unexplored.

Each region was a mystery, unknown even to the Saint Martial Emperor himself.

'So it's not just me. The others must have been separated as well. This certainly disrupts my plan,' Shen Bai thought, drawing Cold Moon from its sheath.

His plan had been to first deal with the Saint Martial Emperor's task, and then give the prodigies from the other nations a sound thrashing.

But now that everyone was separated, Shen Bai couldn't even find them. That part of the plan would naturally have to wait.

'Oh well. Let's see what treasures this place holds.'

Shen Bai put his previous thoughts aside and decided on a new course of action.

He had three main objectives for this trip.

The first was the Saint Martial Emperor's task.

The second was Prime Minister Cao's request.

And the third was to reap some benefits for himself within the Celestial Pride Hall.

To be honest, for Shen Bai, reaping benefits was the most important goal.

Without another thought, Shen Bai began to survey the surrounding grassland.

A fiery red glow ignited in his eyes, his pupils turning the color of the sun.

Now that his Void-breaking Red Eye had reached Level 5, its Investigation range was even greater.

Under the sweep of his Void-breaking Red Eye, he immediately detected something amiss.

Not far ahead, perhaps a few hundred meters away, lay a pile of skeletons.

After a moment's thought, Shen Bai circulated the Qi in his body, executed Divine Thousand Miles, and sped toward the pile of bones.

...

Meanwhile, as Shen Bai made his way toward the skeletons, Zhou Qing and the others were breaking out in a cold sweat from shock.

After stepping into the Celestial Pride Hall, they too had found themselves in an unfamiliar environment.