Chapter 1710 - 1709: The Power to Stop

It seemed as if the Pavilion Master had already anticipated it; they would come.

Thus, the hiding place was certainly not as simple to find as it appeared.

The 23 high-ranking officials realized this issue as well.

So they searched very urgently.

They had a premonition, as if the Pavilion Master was on the verge of a breakthrough. Time was extremely pressing, because if he truly broke through, all of them would become obedient slaves.

They had no choice.

The 23 high-ranking officials began to expand their divine sense, searching everywhere.

After a round of searching, they regrouped once more.

"Did you find him?"

"No, we didn’t. If the Pavilion Master wishes to hide, I’m afraid it will be very difficult for us to find him. What do we do now?"

Everyone furrowed their brows tightly, realizing the gravity of the issue, as the Pavilion Master’s strength and cultivation surpassed theirs. If he didn’t willingly meet them, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

"Don’t worry. He shouldn’t hide too far. If he wants to break through, there are only two ways. One is by opportunity; the other is by seeking a breakthrough chance in a time-space rift. The former is extremely rare to encounter, and the latter is very dangerous, requiring constant depletion of one’s life force. It also needs to be done in a secure location where a time-space rift can be created."

"He’s right. In terms of a time-space rift, we can calculate it. The proportion of the Pavilion Master’s life force consumed by a time-space rift can help us deduce which rift he might be in, or a few possible ones. We’ll split up and search."

"Not necessarily."

An elderly high-ranking official stepped forward.

He understood how to think and also understood the Pavilion Master’s temperament.

"The Pavilion Master is not one to take risks. Having been with him for so long, I’m sure we all understand him. The Pavilion Master would never easily enter a time-space rift. That makes no sense. Time-space rifts merely accelerate time, and cultivating within them doesn’t significantly increase the probability of a breakthrough. I think this possibility is very low."

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed.

"Makes a lot of sense. He never does anything he’s not confident about."

"You mean he encountered some opportunity?"

"Yes. Only with some opportunity would he be so bold and 100% confident of achieving a breakthrough."

"If it’s an opportunity, then where would he be?"

Finding the Pavilion Master was the most pressing matter at hand.

Everyone began to ponder.

At that moment, another high-ranking official stepped forward.

"I think he might be at his home. What do you all think?"

"At home?"

"That doesn’t seem possible, does it? You know the Pavilion Master hasn’t been home for a long time. Moreover, the place he lived has already been vacated; no one lives there anymore. It was later concealed, probably to make room for other Divine Race members."

"Go check it out. If there’s a possibility, we shouldn’t let it go."

"Alright."

The 23 high-ranking officials quickly reached a consensus.

They left the place where they frequently held meetings.

The safest place is often the most dangerous place, and vice versa. He understood this principle well, so the likelihood of finding the Pavilion Master there was low.

They moved swiftly.

Then headed towards the Pavilion Master’s home.

To say they walked, they were actually using the ability of Shrinking Ground to Inches.

Soon, they arrived at the Pavilion Master’s home.

Simultaneously, one of the high-ranking officials activated the array’s concealing mechanism.

Then the 23 officials all stepped into a teleportation array.

Their bodies and minds vanished entirely.

A flash of white light followed.

The 23 people arrived at a very spacious place.

This was a massive but tranquil small hill.

Of course, this small hill meant it was a survival secret realm within a special space they were seeking. Every high-ranking member of the Divine Race had one.

However, the secret realm was very dull, and as it was personal space, many wouldn’t enter their secret realm regularly.

It now seemed very likely that the Pavilion Master was indeed in the secret realm.

Because.

Upon entering, they sensed a trace of human presence.

This indicated someone had recently been there.

The person appearing there couldn’t be another high-ranking official or Divine Race member; it was only the Pavilion Master himself.

"Be careful, everyone, he should be here."

When they sensed this presence, they were almost certain the Pavilion Master was here.

As the 23 of them appeared within the secret realm,

a faint voice drifted over.

"Everyone’s here?"

Everyone was taken aback, staring in astonishment at a small wooden house ahead.

They were all too familiar with this voice. Who else could it be but the Pavilion Master?

They hadn’t thought the Pavilion Master would actually be here.

Though they had guessed and were mentally prepared, they hadn’t expected to find him so smoothly.

Given the Pavilion Master’s strength and cultivation, if he truly wanted to hide, it would indeed be difficult for those present to find him.

Why then was he so easily found?

There was only one reason.

It was intentional.

Just then,

the Pavilion Master’s figure suddenly appeared in front of the wooden house.

He practically appeared in an instant.

With a smile on his face, dressed in white robes,

his gaze briefly scanned over the 23 people.

Then he said again,

"I’ve been waiting for you all for a while. I also guessed you would come looking for me. So, tell me, what brings you to me?"

One of the high-ranking officials,

felt quite surprised.

But he mustered the courage and said, "The Divine Race is in chaos now; we need you to come forward and lead a meeting. But during the recent meetings, you haven’t shown up. The people of the Divine Race are anxious. If this continues, the Divine Race will head towards downfall. The advancements of Earth’s human civilization are accelerating rapidly. This isn’t a viable solution..."

"Is that the reason you came looking for me?"

"Yes."

"I’m afraid that’s not all, is it?"

"..."

Being seen through like this felt truly awful.

It was not their first encounter with the Pavilion Master, so they were quite familiar with his temperament and personality.

Although they anticipated it would be like this, confronting the Pavilion Master and experiencing it firsthand was indeed not a pleasant feeling.

"Pavilion Master, our purpose here is simple. We hope you can come forth and lead a meeting. After all, you’re the strongest of us, and you’re also a member of the Divine Race. You can’t vanish at a time like this."

It was made quite clear.

The 23 came here with the purpose of making you appear.

But there was another underlying purpose, which was to interrupt your cultivation.

"I remember 10 million years ago, the 25 of you similarly appeared before me and said the same thing. Back then, do you know why I agreed with you?"