The Special Affairs Bureau's command center was located here. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary complex of military buildings, but its interior was far larger than anyone would imagine.
Han Songyue personally greeted them at the entrance.
"Mr. Chen, this way, please."
The group passed through layer after layer of security checks and entered the core area.
Dozens of screens lined the walls of the enormous command hall, displaying live monitoring data from the direction of Penglai's thirty-six islands. Satellite images, ocean currents, charts of spiritual energy fluctuations...
The hall was packed. There were researchers in white coats, officers in military uniforms, and people in all manner of attire, each with a distinctive air—
They were representatives of the major sects.
Han Songyue led Chen Hao inside, introducing people as they went. "Mr. Chen, this is our chief advisor, Jiang Lü, the White Cloud Abbey Abbot and leader of the Dragon Gate Sect."
An elderly Daoist approached, his face lean, three strands of long beard hanging down over his spotless robes. The instant he saw Chen Hao, his pupils contracted slightly.
A cultivator's ability to sense the powerful was instinctive.
The young man standing before Jiang Lü possessed an unfathomable aura. He was like a calm sea whose bottom could not be seen.
"Jiang Lü pays his respects, Mr. Chen." He cupped his hands in a respectful salute.
Chen Hao nodded in acknowledgment.
Han Songyue continued leading the way, introducing them one by one.
"This is Master Huijue, the abbot of Shaolin."
An elderly monk in a kasaya pressed his palms together. "Amitabha, Benefactor Chen."
"Zhang Xuanzhen, leader of Wudang."
An elderly Daoist with a transcendent bearing swept his horsetail whisk aside. "I've long heard of you."
"Abbess Jingci, leader of the Emei Sect."
"Xu Yunda of the