Countless figures were busy at work on the vast plains. As they shifted boulders and used Genesis Qi to dig up the soil, numerous buildings swiftly took shape. A town that could hold thousands of people rose from the plains at an astonishing speed.

The town was naturally constructed by the various factions of Hunyuan Heaven. It would be their initial base of operations.

Numerous Genesis Runes had been inscribed into the ground, forming a barrier that enveloped the entire town. The barrier’s sole purpose was to seal off Genesis Qi, and with it in place, they would be able to avoid Earth Disasters.

Without the barrier, another Earth Disaster would quickly arrive since so many people were gathered in a single place, creating an area abundant in Genesis Qi fluctuations. If another Earth Disaster occurred, the entire Hunyuan Heaven force might even be wiped out.

A tall tower swiftly took shape at the town’s center, and it was crowned by a jade-like mirror glimmering with numerous Genesis Runes.

This was the Qi Observation Tower, and its function was to pick up any ancestral qi flow within a ten-thousand-mile radius. Normally speaking, a place flowing with a tremendous amount of ancestral qi would very likely be an ancestral qi branch channel.

It was not difficult to construct the Qi Observation Tower, and practically all of the factions had been taught how to. However, every use of the tower required a tremendous amount of Genesis Qi. Hence, the numerous factions needed to work together to activate a single scan. This was why they needed to cooperate during the initial phase.

As time passed, the various factions would gradually scatter into smaller teams. After all, branch channels were not that abundant, and being gathered together would make it more difficult to split the limited resources, causing conflicts to arise.

With the various factions focused on a singular task, the Qi Observation Tower was completed in half a day, and their respective representatives soon gathered under the tower.

Zhou Yuan and Qin Lian stood at the front. The nine regions had the best spots, while the other top-tier factions were lined up behind them.

Guan Qinglong raised his head. He gazed at the white-jade mirror atop the tower and nodded. “Let’s begin.”

A beam of azure Genesis Qi shot out from the top of his head. The azure light gave off a formidable and imposing aura as it charged into the white-jade mirror like an azure dragon.

Rumble!

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuan, Qin Lian and the others also circulated their Genesis Qi. In an instant, countless streams of Genesis Qi whizzed out and poured into the mirror. As the Genesis Qi poured into it, light began to swirl in the mirror. A flash of light suddenly shot out and cast itself into the endless sky.

After several dozen breaths, the light fell back from the sky into the mirror.

Bzzbzz!

The mirror vibrated as an image began to form on its surface.

The representatives stared at the mirror in excitement.

Swish swish!

A string of light grew from the mirror, stopping at the tower’s halfway point, and slowly formed a glowing picture.

Mountains and rivers could be seen in the picture. It was likely a projection of the surrounding area. A mysterious faint yellow qi emerged on the image, gradually dyeing certain locations in a faint yellow hue.

Desire filled everyone’s eyes as they stared at the yellow areas. These areas were rich in ancestral qi and were likely to contain ancestral qi branch channels.

Of course, this was not absolute. The Qi Observation Tower could only scan the surface, and it couldn’t probe deep into the mountains or underground. Hence, luck was still an important factor.

It was more than possible that a location marked yellow would yield either nothing or only a tiny branch channel, while those seemingly fainter yellow areas might contain a large branch channel.

Of course, the possibility of that happening was minimal.

Zhou Yuan curiously observed the picture. Although the faint yellow qi was only a reflection created by the Qi Observation Tower, it still gave off a mysterious and ancient aura.

He swept his gaze across the entire map and found several districts covered in darker yellow qi. These spots likely contained a substantial amount of ancestral qi, and they would soon become the various factions’ main targets.

A thought suddenly struck him while he was observing. Since the flow of faint yellow qi was only shown at the surface, could he borrow the Decoder Saint Rune’s power to take a deeper look and get a better picture?

Zhou Yuan immediately activated the Decoder Saint Rune. He had nothing to lose by trying.

An ancient Saint Rune began to rotate in his pupils as the scenery before his eyes changed. He concentrated on the suspended map, carefully inspecting it. Sure enough, changes began to occur to the flows of the faint yellow qi.

It was as if he was now viewing it on a deeper and more detailed level.

Excitement and surprise flooded Zhou Yuan’s heart. The Decoder Saint Rune worked! His bold attempt had resulted in an amazing outcome.

While Zhou Yuan was testing out the Decoder Saint Rune, the representatives of the various factions were already stirring restlessly.

Boom!

At a certain moment, bursts of Genesis Qi erupted from Guan Qinglong, Wang Xuanyang, Dong Ye and the other nine region representatives as they made their moves.

On the Tianyuan Region side, Qin Lian was the one to act. Her Genesis Qi foundation was stronger than Zhou Yuan without Promotion, making her the more appropriate candidate to vie against the others.

A stream of Genesis Qi shot out from her palm, heading straight towards the glowing map.

Qin Lian’s target was extremely clear. It was one of the areas with the highest concentration of faint yellow qi.

The map could be broken, so whoever fancied a certain district only needed to snatch the corresponding fragment. Of course, the same piece would likely be targeted by more than one person, making clashes unavoidable. Such clashes would, of course, not be real battles but more like mini competitions.

The victor would be the first one who managed to force away the other competitors’ Genesis Qi and claim the map fragment for themselves. In a certain manner of speaking, it was still a display of one’s strength.

The nine regions were the first wave to move because it was their privilege, while the other factions could only wait for their turn.

Qin Lian was fully focused. Her Genesis Qi instantly arrived and swiftly wrapped around the fragment she had chosen.

“Hehe…” However, a soft chuckle sounded just as she was about to withdraw. A beam of black and white Genesis Qi suddenly arrived from the side and collided with Qin Lian’s Genesis Qi.

Thud!

The two forces frantically began to erode and blast each other, clashing over a hundred times in a span of a few breaths.

However, the black and white Genesis Qi ultimately gained the upper hand and sent Qin Lian’s Genesis Qi flying. It quickly took the opportunity to swallow the map fragment she had been targeting.

“Wang Xuanyang!” Qin Lian icily glared at the nearby man.

Wang Xuanyang returned the glare with a glance and a faint smile. “If you’re less skilled, don’t be so quick to act next time.”

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he looked towards Zhou Yuan and mockingly said, “I originally thought that grand elder Zhou Yuan would be the one to move, but it seems that he prefers to hide?”

Wang Xuanyang gently waved his fan. “I do feel a little bad for snatching the piece you had your eyes on. Here, I’ll give you guys a few pieces to choose from.”

Black and white Genesis Qi shuddered as it sent several nearby map fragments shooting towards Qin Lian’s Genesis Qi.

Laughter sounded from the surroundings.

Weaker yellow qi swirled around the map fragments kicked over by Wang Xuanyang. They were clearly not on the same tier as the one he had snatched away, and he was obviously trying to humiliate them.

However, Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered with a strange light as he stared at the map fragments.

Rage boiled in Qin Lian’s eyes, but she understood that this was not the time to bicker. She ignored the fragments shooting towards her Genesis Qi and began to find another target. However, Zhou Yuan's voice was suddenly transmitted into her ears, “Select the third map fragment from the left.”

Qin Lian’s eyes nearly popped from their sockets as she looked towards Zhou Yuan in disbelief, clearly not understanding his intentions. Wang Xuanyang was purposely trying to humiliate them, and they were going to voluntarily play along?

Zhou Yuan urged in a low voice, “You heard me right. Quickly grab it!”

Qin Lian’s eyes rapidly flickered in hesitation, but she ultimately chose to trust Zhou Yuan. She gritted her teeth as Genesis Qi swept out, grabbing the map fragment before withdrawing from the map.

When Qin Lian withdrew the map fragment, the surroundings fell silent before quickly filling with roaring laughter.

To them, Qin Lian had lost her rationality due to anger.

Qin Lian’s face was ice-cold. She hatefully glared at Zhou Yuan as she growled, “Even if you’re a grand elder, you’d better give me an explanation!”