A day later, Director Lei and Lan Shengu completed all preparatory work for stripping the ritual nodes, a process that went far more smoothly than expected.
However, dismantling esoteric rituals required intense mental concentration without the slightest margin for error. Esoteric rituals from the ancient era in particular differed greatly from modern ones, demanding tentative, cautious probing at every step. Thus, over the course of the day, the toll on their mental and physical stamina was immense.
Once finished, they took a brief respite and consumed some restorative medicine. Feeling their spirits revived, they went together to see Chen Chuan.
Director Lei spoke up: "Section Chief Chen, we have finished the preparatory work and request permission to begin stripping the esoteric ritual now."
Chen Chuan looked at the two of them and asked, "Director Lei, Consultant Lan, are you both holding up fine?"
Director Lei said in a deep voice, "No problem at all. We originally anticipated it would take up to two days at most and prepared ourselves to work continuously without rest. Taking only one day puts us in an ideal position to proceed to the next step. The ancient scourge inside has likely sensed our movements; we cannot afford to give it too much time to prepare."
Lan Shengu agreed, "Indeed, Section Chief Chen. We are in prime condition right now, just right for seeing it through in one sustained effort."
Chen Chuan looked at them again. Confirming that neither was pushing beyond their limits, he said, "Very well, I approve your request. Director Lei, you and Consultant Lan may proceed freely. If any unexpected situation arises, leave it to me."
Director Lei nodded solemnly.
After conferring with Lan Shengu, each led their people to different designated positions. At several other spots, members of the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau stood somewhat nervously, wearing their boundary credentials while checking their synchronized pocket watches from time to time.
Dismantling and destroying the ritual nodes within the secret vault had to be accomplished simultaneously, while the outer containment ritual would be activated the very next moment; there had to be a precise interval between the two.
Yet this window was also when accidents were most likely to occur. Once the ritual within the vault was dismantled, the fissure, losing its isolation, would indeed no longer be able to sustain itself independently—but the restraints holding the ancient scourge would likewise be dismantled in large part.
This would cause its power to return at an accelerated pace.
During this span, there had to be sufficient force to suppress it, granting the ancient scourge no opening to break free.
Once their preparations began, Chen Chuan raised a hand to signal. Zalnik and his companion immediately moved into their prearranged positions. Viewed from above, they and Chen Chuan formed a triangular encirclement around the statue.
He did not need the two to do much—merely use their biological fields to block any trans-limit force that might leak out when the time came.
The primary issues, should any arise, would be his responsibility to resolve.
After waiting a little longer, flare guns went off simultaneously in every direction with a sharp pop. After a brief interval, another sound rang out—the final round of synchronization to prevent anyone from erring due to mental bewitchment.
Chen Chuan, however, considered that unlikely. Whatever their eventual goal, their immediate action was to dismantle the binding ritual, so the ancient scourge would not interfere with them at this moment.
Director Lei kept a steady eye on the sky above. After a while, they entered the final one-minute countdown. At this stage, a shot was fired every ten seconds.
Time ticked steadily onward until the appointed moment arrived. As the flare gun fired, he thrust the jade ruler in his hand directly into a crevice in the cliff wall.
At that exact instant, across twenty-eight distinct positions, Lan Shengu and all the Esoteric Cult Bureau members drove their jade rulers into the prepared crevices.
The entire ritual within the vault had drawn upon the innate power of Mount Jiao. With this flow severed, its original order fell into chaos. Deprived of the anchor points that sustained it, the first thing affected was the fissure that had been torn open later on.
The fissure, which had expanded to over forty meters in length, now flickered erratically and grew extremely unstable, as though on the verge of vanishing at any second.
At the same time, practically the second after the ritual nodes were destroyed, another flare gun rang out, launching a signal flare high into the sky. The moment the Esoteric Cult Bureau members at the foot of the mountain spotted it, they were to immediately activate the substitute sealing ritual.
Yet though the flare had been fired, not a single member of the Esoteric Cult Bureau down below saw it. In their eyes, the mountain remained dead silent, showing no signal at the appointed time, leaving them unable to proceed.
Meanwhile, where Chen Chuan stood, the moment the vault's ritual was stripped away, it was as if an illusory barrier had vanished, laying the entire temple bare.
A potent surge of force, hovering between illusion and reality, rushed outward from within and slammed against his biological field.
Ripples washed across his field, yet he remained unmoved. Taking a single forward stride, he materialized on the projecting ledge deep within the vault in the very next instant. He looked ahead.
As expected, the headless colossus was stirring. Accompanied by the resonant, bell-like chimes, spectral figures flew out from the chains wrapping its body, swooping around it in loops while incantations echoed out—voices that seemed to drift from unimaginably far away yet rang with crystal clarity.
Yet even such formidable binding force seemed unable to halt the statue's motion. One of its hands slowly lifted, gripping the anchor of the opposing chains with a crunching crackle, as though attempting to rip the connection free.
At that very instant, however, its wrist was seized firmly by another hand emerging from the atmosphere, freezing it in place.
Just as its other hand began to rise, it too was clamped down by a second hand, rendering it completely immobilized. At that moment, its headless torso twisted, "looking" toward Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan stood above, retrieved the statuette, and looked calmly at the colossus. With a sudden flex of his five fingers, crack—the entire statuette was crushed beneath his grip. He opened his palm, letting the powdered stone fragments drift down.
An explosive surge of fury seemed to erupt from the headless divine statue, accompanied by a wave of power far mightier than before billowing outward.
Yet though this force appeared formidable, by the time it reached Chen Chuan, it had lost all potency, sweeping past him like nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Chen Chuan understood that the entity had likely drawn upon the not-yet-collapsed fissure to pull trans-limit power from beyond.
In the past, this might have posed no issue, but under the restraint of the Ring of the World, doing so was practically impossible.
By doing this, the ancient scourge had instead squandered an opportunity to turn the tables, and such a move would not go without a cost.
Sure enough, the release of this power immediately caused the flickering fissure to rapidly seal shut. Deprived of this conduit for channeling power, the headless divine statue restrained by the spiritual visage seemed to grow powerless all at once.
Right then, the Esoteric Cult Bureau members stationed before the ritual at the foot of the mountain spotted figures sprinting down from above in the distance. As they ran, they yanked a long cord extending down the mountain, attached to which were rows of bells that shook violently, ringing out loud and clear.
These were men Director Lei had arranged well in advance. He had anticipated that if the signal flares failed to get through, fighters in the team would dash down at full speed to deliver the message manually.
This method proved effective. Every one of them wore a jade pendant to guard against mental invasion; even if the ancient scourge could induce cognitive illusions in ordinary people, it could not interfere with them—to say nothing of Chen Chuan and the others actively suppressing it.
Having received the clear signal, the Esoteric Cult Bureau members below dared not tarry, immediately initiating the esoteric ritual they had prepared beforehand.
As the ritual activated, an invisible force converged toward the temple in that very instant.
Over several millennia, the people of this world had elevated the design and application of esoteric rituals to an entirely new plane. Many subtleties and intricacies far surpassed what the ancient era could match; not only did they swiftly fill the void left by the stripped ritual, but they had also made finer and more rational adjustments tailored to the present conditions.
The results were remarkable. On Chen Chuan's end, the headless statue seemed to bear an immense weight; its shifting torso suddenly sank, while its two upraised arms snapped and crumbled to dust. If its torso had originally been standing, it now seemed forced down into a seated crouch, curling in on itself.
The chains responded in kind, constricting inward layer upon layer and binding it far tighter than before. Finally, the headless divine statue fell completely silent, utterly motionless.
Witnessing this, Chen Chuan knew the ritual was complete. He gave it a couple more glances, and upon confirming that nothing was amiss, he dispersed his spiritual visage, stepped out, and found Zalnik and his partner.
The two were still holding their positions steadfastly, appearing wholly unaffected by the shockwaves.
When he inquired, they replied that in their era, they had encountered many such "gods" and dealt with them frequently, possessing ample experience in the matter. Although this one seemed rather formidable, they could still withstand it.
Chen Chuan understood. In ancient times, gods and men indeed coexisted; never mind the New Era, even the end of the Old Era had been like that.
It was merely that on the Eastern Continent, the genuinely powerful gods had all been placed under the restraint of the two religions. According to historical records, the closer one drew to the New Era, the rarer such entities became—a trend driven by many factors.
A moment later, Director Lei and Lan Shengu arrived to report, confirming that the ritual was a success. Apart from a single unexpected variable during the process, all other steps had unfolded according to the original plan. Under normal circumstances, such a ritual could guarantee over a century without complications.
In reality, however, it would not need that long, for once the Great Impact arrived, everything could be altered.
Chen Chuan trusted their expertise, but as Section Chief of the Defense Department, he conducted an inspection according to protocol anyway. Confirming that there were no issues, he arranged personnel to seal the temple away entirely and announced that, apart from the Esoteric Cult Examination Bureau members stationed to watch over the site, everyone else would evacuate in stages.
Chapter 1040