When Chen Chuan had traveled to North Lailusi, he had needed to search for the way, but on the return journey, that was no longer necessary.
Although he had deliberately lingered abroad for a time to deal with Xiang Boqing and cover his tracks, he spotted the coastline of the Northern Ying Continent before daybreak.
Hovering above the churning sea, he saw Mount Turama bathed in the morning sunlight. The fresh morning sun dispelled the haze of the night before, and alongside the morning breeze drifting from afar and the rising swell of ocean waves, it seemed as if the entire world was awakening to this radiant light.
Chaoming caught up at this moment, circling around him.
He watched the slowly ascending morning sun for a moment before turning into a streak of flowing light and flying away once more. Before long, he crossed the vast expanse of land, slowing slightly as he drew near Kawatua.
Less than two days had passed since his departure. Atop the Great Temple of Hatikan, Quezatec guards adorned with feather ornaments and holding spears stood upon the temple terrace, maintaining constant vigilance over the surroundings.
Suddenly, they saw a gleam of light approaching from the distant sky, reflecting sunlight so intensely that it was almost blinding. Their expressions tightened at once, and they sent an alert inside.
Fortunately, Ikus soon cast down a soothing power, putting the startled upper echelon of Kawatua at ease.
Once the ball of light reached the sky above Hatikan, the luminescence dispersed, and Chen Chuan descended slowly toward the ground.
Akhtawa had rushed over as soon as he heard the alert. Watching the imposing external implant shedding bands of dazzling light as it slowly touched down upon the open platform at the mountain peak, he appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he could not help feeling admiration and envy.
He wondered when Kawatua would ever possess such technology and equipment. He had seen Federation external implants before, and they truly provided substantial combat assistance to martial artists. As a former Federation fighter, his understanding of technological advancement ran far deeper than that of the First People.
Chen Chuan walked down the steps, striding until he stood before him. His glowing eyes behind the visor looked over, and he said, "Mr. Akhtawa, did anything happen in Kawatua while I was away?"
Akhtawa offered him a respectful bow and said, "Mr. Chen, everything has been completely normal these past two days. Thank you for your concern."
Chen Chuan nodded and walked toward the lower section of the temple, asking, "How is the matter regarding the sacred gates we discussed earlier progressing?"
Walking down beside him, Akhtawa said, "Deputy Delegation Leader Lu expressed his support, and both the High Priestess and the Grand Chieftain are willing to move forward with it. Following the spiritual guidance left behind by the old priest, I have located seven sacred gates, and combat dolls have already been deployed inside. We will soon be able to harvest the first batch of resources from them. Kawatua has decided to turn these resources over to Great Shun to offset the costs of introducing technology and equipment."
He waved his hand across the empty air before him, and a light screen appeared, displaying text and diagrams detailing some of the resources that might be obtained this time.
With the compromise faction wiped out, the conservatives were no longer a significant force. Kawatua was now fully implementing field connectivity, gradually transforming the place into something resembling a Center City.
Chen Chuan glanced over it and said, "Keep half for yourselves first."
The aid Great Shun had provided over the years was substantial; by comparison, this small amount was merely a token gesture. In truth, Great Shun could have taken nothing at all. Yet Great Shun accepting these goods was actually a form of support that helped suppress the opposition—because taking them signaled that Great Shun had a stake in the matter.
Moreover, these resources would later be reinvested into Kawatua under the name of "subsidies."
Akhtawa understood this principle and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you for your support, Section Chief Chen."
When the two reached the bottom of the temple, Deputy Delegation Leader Lu was already waiting there. Relieved to see Chen Chuan return safely, and considering that Chen Chuan had been gone for less than two days, he assumed it could not have been anything major. After stepping out of the temple, Chen Chuan inquired with Deputy Delegation Leader Lu and confirmed that nothing had happened; there was currently no movement below the Life Plateau.
Upon returning to the manor, he took off his external implant, sent a telegram to Delegation Leader Xie, and then went back to his room.
Having settled an old grudge and cleansed his mind and body, his next task was to devote himself entirely to cultivation and find a way to break through to the next realm.
After washing up and changing into fresh clothes, he fed Chaoming, then sat down, took out the Xuejun Saber, and wiped it down. Once finished, he retrieved the three weapons taken from Xiang Boqing and set them before him.
After a night, all three weapons had fully recovered. He picked them up and wiped them clean one by one, reviewing the battle in his mind. This time, he had used Xiang Boqing to temper himself, identifying his current shortcomings one by one.
If he fought a martial artist of this caliber again, he would know how to counter them and would do his utmost to avoid exposing his weaknesses. Therefore, encountering problems in battle was not entirely a bad thing; next time, he would know how to improve.
After wiping the three weapons in turn, he admired them for a while before placing them into a storage chest specially prepared for them.
Since entering the Federation, he had collected quite a few weapons. These three were clearly the most valuable. He wondered if he would gain anything else before leaving the Federation.
For now, the Federation had shown no response. He actually hoped they would mount an offensive. Not only would that give him the opportunity to clash with more Federation powerhouses, but it would also test and hone Kawatua's organizational and defensive capabilities.
Seeing that the sunlight outside was pleasant, he walked out into the courtyard, brewed a hot drink, and sat down in a rustic rattan chair.
With a shift of his intent, the esoteric ritual book gifted to him by the High Priestess floated over and settled in front of him. Using his spirit to turn the pages, he slowly read through it while sipping his hot drink, as Chaoming came over and lay down beside him.
After resting and relaxing for about a day, his spirit unwound, and the mutated tissue inside his body gradually adjusted to peak condition.
Come evening, he returned to the training chamber, took out the long feather, and with a stroke, tore open a fissure. Carrying a case filled with cultivation medicines, he stepped into the Sacred Tree airspace.
He felt the abundant energy here. He still needed to cultivate here for a period, aiming to push his cultivation progress to the peak attainable within this realm in the span of a month.
After walking a few paces forward, he sat cross-legged, opened the case first, and then took out the Xuan bamboo slips gifted to him by Akhtawa, untying and spreading them before him.
Because he had employed many techniques of the Xuan Sect throughout his cultivation—especially for lighting the purple lamp, which utilized an exceptionally sublime method—a mere stir of his spirit immediately resonated with the Xuan record.
Profound chimes echoed from the bamboo slips. Here within the fissure, where the vital energy was almost tangible, golden talismans could be seen drifting out from the slips, swirling around his body in rhythm with his breath.
He took out the three medicines, swallowing some and applying others externally. Then, with a thought, his spiritual visage materialized behind him and began absorbing the dense energy here.
Meanwhile, below the Life Plateau, things were bustling with activity as telegrams flew back and forth in frequent exchanges.
With that group of politicians expelled from the mountain, the Federation learned the specifics of the situation and completely abandoned their scheme to disintegrate Kawatua from within. The voices of the hardliners were steadily rising.
The East and West Coasts engaged in a rare dialogue and reached a consensus: to resolve the Kawatua issue, force had to be used.
On the day Chen Chuan had previously left Kawatua, news had actually leaked out, but the Federation made no move.
First, although an internal consensus had been reached, they had not yet settled on when to take action, let alone mobilize personnel.
Second, they were uncertain whether the news of Chen Chuan's departure had been intentionally leaked to bait them into attacking. After suffering repeated setbacks at Chen Chuan's hands, they were unwilling to commit further resources lightly.
Even so, they still had to keep up appearances, and they needed to exert a certain amount of pressure on Kawatua. As a result, Kawatua received continuous reports recently that the Federation was gathering formidable martial artists, preparing to settle things once and for all.
This caused tension in Kawatua to reach an unprecedented level. Still, knowing that Great Shun remained steadfast in its support, and most importantly, that Chen Chuan was still here, they found a degree of reassurance.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed.
Atop the cloud islet, Chen Chuan slowly opened his eyes. He saw countless green leaves fluttering down from above, blanketing the ground, while the air all around was filled with the fresh scent of vegetation.
He looked up and felt as though the Sacred Tree had drawn closer—not in terms of physical distance, but in that establishing a spiritual connection seemed much easier now.
This was no illusion. In such an ideal cultivation environment, combined with the peak condition attained after his battle with Xiang Boqing, his cultivation had progressed at remarkable speed. Over the course of this month, he had finally reached the pinnacle of the realm of the Longevity View.
Wisps of pure white mist drifted from his body, swirling around him like trailing ribbons of jade.
He sensed his current state. Without question, he was far stronger now than he had been a month ago. Because advancing at this stage grew increasingly difficult the higher one climbed, even the slightest increment represented tremendous progress.
If he were to fight Xiang Boqing in his state of the union of spiritual visage and physical body now, he could at least hold his own for a time, rather than having to retreat into the fissure within a few exchanges.
Even so, his chances of victory relying solely on his physical body remained slim; he had to find a way to cross that threshold.
Yet at this point, he finally encountered the problem he had anticipated: it was nearly impossible to break through that solid barrier in one go using conventional methods.
Because his foundation was simply too solid, breaking through naturally demanded far greater force—not only his own strength, but also pressure from an external force.
Where, then, was he to find such an opportunity?
Aside from this, he also needed to grasp the balance point regarding the seed before breaking through. If he succeeded there, he would be able to bring both spirit and flesh across that threshold simultaneously.
Thinking this over, he tried to probe his condition—it seemed that, for now, he was still just a tiny bit short?
Chapter 1265