Along the stretch leading from the cave entrance to Gem Lake, a scattering of barricades and simple fortifications had now been thrown up, while a large number of bio-engineered creatures were deployed along the route.
While useless against martial artists, these would still pose a hindrance to small scouting and assault teams.
Because transmitting information grew exceptionally difficult once deep inside an esoteric ritual, a temporary telegraph station had also been established here.
When Chen Chuan arrived at the telegraph station, a message from the delegation happened to come through. It informed him that the runner he had sent over had reached his destination safely, and that the information had already been cross-checked and verified.
Back on the day he slew the three Secret Palace martial artists, he had intermittently wired several detailed telegrams to Delegation Leader Xie, while dispatching a separate messenger carrying a ciphered letter so that both sides could cross-verify the intelligence.
Upon receiving the news, Delegation Leader Xie had replied promptly, his words brimming with praise as he expressed gratitude for Chen Chuan's dedication. He concluded with the hope that they could hold the Throat of the Star Spirit and ensure it was not seized by the Federation during this crucial window.
As for the three Secret Palace martial artists Chen Chuan had slain, he was told that although it was a major incident and the Federation was likely to react fiercely, the delegation would do everything in its power to manage the fallout and feed him intelligence. He needed only to concentrate on fulfilling his mission.
Chen Chuan knew that the true trial still lay ahead.
Behind every Secret Palace martial artist stood immense interest groups. If these individuals had not been assembled for the planned offensive against Kawatua, he likely would never have crossed paths with them. In fact, aside from Master Shiraishi, the others would probably have gone out of their way to avoid colliding with him directly.
The Federation was probably still trying to verify the reports or debating countermeasures and solutions. Three short days were hardly enough for them to mount a response.
Once they confirmed the situation, what followed would likely be a full-blown tempest. The Great Shun delegation could mediate, but at most they could only buy a bit of time. The ensuing pressure would ultimately fall on his own shoulders to withstand.
Personally, far from feeling intimidated, he welcomed such a challenge.
Yet for the Throat of the Star Spirit, it would have to weather substantial risks in the meantime. True security might only be achieved once Elder Gale located and took control of the esoteric ritual mechanism here.
In truth, Chen Chuan had hardly sat idly by. When he released the Blood Hunt Cavalry earlier, he had deliberately left a mark on a key figure. By sensing the distance and direction of that marker, he could roughly gauge the group's movements.
Over the past few days, he could tell that they had never truly left, lingering and circling near the foot of the mountain. That meant the enemy had not given up, or was perhaps awaiting further orders.
As he was deep in thought, Awan, the young First People hunter, came rushing out from behind, calling loudly, "Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen..."
Chen Chuan put down the telegram and walked over. "Don't rush. Catch your breath."
Panting, Awan rested his hands on his knees before saying with evident excitement, "The Elder says... we found the entrance to the mechanism! The Elder... has something to discuss with you..."
"Oh?"
Chen Chuan's eyes brightened slightly. Decisively, he brought Awan along as they turned back into the depths of the Throat of the Star Spirit, heading toward the site under the youth's guidance.
Along the way, he asked Awan a few questions and learned that the spot was not far from the central terraced platform. However, there were no obvious markers on the outside; they had only managed to deduce its location and find it after uncovering records left behind by past priests.
When they arrived, Elder Gale and all the assembled First People were gathered there, their gazes filled with excitement and delight as they looked upon a shimmering gateway opened before them. Its border was formed by slender branches interlacing outward from several trees.
Chen Chuan studied it for a few moments. As expected, it was a fissure.
Upon spotting him, Elder Gale hurried forward to meet him, speaking in reasonably passable Shun: "Mr. Chen, you are here."
Chen Chuan stepped closer and asked, "Elder Gale, is there something you need my help with?"
"It is like this," Elder Gale said with a trace of helplessness. "After finding this place, we managed to go inside and look around, and we have confirmed the location of the ritual hub. Yet even with the key to unlock it, we must still perform a ritual to gain the ancestors' approval..."
Listening to his explanation, Chen Chuan learned that the ritual was exceptionally intricate. Setting aside several prerequisites, independently conducting such a rite required a minimum of three high-ranking priests officiating together.
Elder Gale barely qualified as one; he had received priestly training, after all, and possessed some experience presiding over rites. But the tragic reality was that among the living Isutar people, aside from himself, only one priest remained.
Yet that priest was advanced in age. Leaving aside whether he could even endure the rigors of a long journey, traveling from the tribe would take at least half a month under the best of conditions, with no telling what dangers might arise along the way.
Thus, they had no choice but to find an alternative. His plan was to tutor a few people present in the ceremonial rites. Mastering the elaborate etiquette in just a few days was no easy task, but they had to bite the bullet and try.
In truth, had the officiants not been required to be First People—and Isutar people at that—the Great Shun esoteric ritual specialists could have stepped in to substitute.
However, this meant the Shun personnel would likely have to remain and assist with defense for a longer period.
Apart from this, there was also the matter of sacrificial offerings.
Elder Gale said with an apologetic expression, "To conduct the ritual, we need many of the offerings from the Ancestral Altar. We had previously promised these to you, Mr. Chen, but now we must ask to borrow some back."
He quickly added, "Not too many—only what is necessary for the ritual will suffice. And we will find a way to repay you. Once we establish contact with the sacred beasts in the Ancestral Corridor, we can repay you twofold, Mr. Chen."
Chen Chuan understood completely. Only by speeding up their progress could he extricate himself from this assignment; the sooner it was accomplished, the safer it would be.
"Elder Gale," he said, "securing the Throat of the Star Spirit benefits us both. Take whatever you need and make use of it. Do not worry about me."
Elder Gale thanked him gratefully, wasting no time before gathering his chosen candidates to begin practicing the ritual.
He knew formidable enemies had attacked from outside and that Chen Chuan had driven them off and slain them. Those devils would almost certainly keep sending more people. His own people could offer little help in terms of combat, so expediting the completion of the ritual was the greatest assistance they could provide.
Seeing that matters here were well in hand, Chen Chuan inspected the various posts and spoke with the squad members. Morale remained high, and no one had trouble adjusting. Currently, the busiest among them were the esoteric ritual team and the technical specialists.
Stepping into this place was like entering a treasure trove for them, filled with subjects worthy of study. After all, when the Federation swallowed the First People's lands and treasures, they had gained an immense windfall.
At present, Great Shun and the Federation each had their technological strengths and weaknesses. In the field of implant technology, the two stood on roughly equal footing, but the Federation held a significant lead in mutated flora systems. Rumor had it that their new generation of high-energy algae was nearly perfected.
Once successful, it could trigger an entirely new revolution—and the Federation owed part of that advantage to what the First People had amassed over generations.
The sacred sanctuary of the Throat of the Star Spirit teemed with mutated plant species the technicians had never encountered before. This had driven them to conduct research around the clock over the past few days, and they had even cabled the delegation requesting that additional technical experts be dispatched from the homeland.
Chen Chuan instructed an orderly to take good care of the experts while he refrained from disturbing them. Returning alone to his tent, he fed Chaoming, poured himself a warm drink, and pulled several bark books from a soft storage bag nearby. Leaning back against a thick bolster, he held them up and slowly browsed through them.
These had been presented by Elder Gale; alongside a few accounts of esoteric ritual arrangements, they contained First People cultivation texts and various historical records.
He could not read the script of the First People, but fortunately, the Sacred Land Warriors of the past could not read it either. The written script was held exclusively by the priests, while knowledge was primarily passed down through pictorial imagery and spiritual power. In truth, this was far more practical than plain text; a physical medium carrying script could hold only limited information, whereas spiritual impressions were far more direct.
These treasures of the sanctuary had once been reserved only for those who held the deepest devotion to their ancestors and gods, yet now he was free to peruse them as he pleased. It only went to show that without sufficient martial force, any rule was no better than scrap paper.
The First People's cultivation possessed its own distinct system. Among the ancient methods, the supreme lineages were the four paths of the Sun, the Mountain, the Raging River, and the Earth. Records of them were contained here, though incomplete—it stood to reason that such legacies would never be recorded entirely in written form.
Yet he did not mind. Even what lay before him offered plenty of inspiration. He still remembered his duel with Takoda, whose Raging River lineage had left a deep impression on him; there was no telling whether martial artists in the Federation practiced these ancient arts as well.
Beyond that, several unique training techniques proved quite refreshing.
Just as he was absorbed in his reading, the telephone inside the tent suddenly rang. It was connected to an internal line. Picking it up at once, he heard an orderly report that an urgent telegram had arrived at the station from the delegation, with explicit instructions that he read it immediately upon receipt.
Upon hearing this, he hung up, exited the tent, and crossed over to the telegraph station on the other side of the lake, taking the dispatch handed to him by the orderly standing at attention.
He brought it up and read it. There were only a few short words:
"Go! Evacuate immediately!"
Chapter 1090