Trying to find the root flare on a recently planted tree. Please help!

I bought this Eastern Redbud at a local nursery and planted it last weekend. I followed their instructions and planted it the same level as they had it in the pot.
I’ve been diligently watering!

I’ve been reading all week about root flares and how they should be exposed, so I started doing some digging around the base. There’s so many roots growing up around the trunk and it’s so discouraging. It seems like it was planted far too deep.

I don’t think I’ve made it to the root flare yet at all. Do I cut all these roots out and keep going down and clearing everything out? I really don’t want to kill this thing by just cutting everything out willy-nilly.

I can fix the grade around this tree easily if I need to.

Any help would be appreciated!

Do I keep going? Can I cut out all the roots I’m finding on the way down to the flare? It’s hard to even dig at all, there’s so many roots going everywhere!