The moment the vast spiritual light entered their bodies, it blended seamlessly with the spiritual vigor of Real Man Chonghua and the other three. Brilliant specks of light immediately surfaced within their flesh, dimly revealing flickering meridians and astral essence.
High in the ethereal reaches above Tianji Peak, across each of the four quarters—east, south, west, and north—several constellations revealed themselves, flashing into view in sequence for a moment.
Chonghua and his companions each followed the path of the Visage of the Divine, and all of them cultivated the Divine Talisman Faction of the Xuan Sect's orthodox Mystic Refining Celestial Body.
Normally, the practice of the Visage of the Divine entailed sending one's spirit beyond the celestial realm to seek a form that harmonized with the "divine self," slowly seizing its power bit by bit, and then supplanting that god with one's own spirit to transcend the mundane world.
Yet the Xuan Sect's Divine Talisman Faction operated differently. As a great faith passed down from antiquity, generations of predecessors within the Xuan Sect had engaged in offerings, joint contemplation, and even self-sacrifice to construct images of supreme gods, mystic celestials, numinous officials, and heavenly generals.
These gods resided in the layered heavens, possessing neither self nor sentiment, existing only as manifested forms. A Zhenren who received the orthodox scriptures of the Xuan Sect could anchor their spiritual vigor to these canonized forms and borrow their power for personal use.
If one continued along this path of cultivation, upon mastering the art and integrating the divine visage into oneself, one could claim the divine station, establishing oneself as the singular sovereign of that form—never again to be borrowed by another.
The Tianji Sect had originally been an offshoot of the Xuan Sect. Successors practicing this method were originally only able to claim loose, unorthodox divine visages. But over time, their sect had grown in prominence, and the various divine visages enshrined by their Divine Talisman Faction had gradually surpassed their predecessors. Were this development to continue, they might one day replace the old mainstream.
However, relying solely on the present cultivation of the four Zhenren, they could not draw upon much of the Heavenly Lords' divine might. Thus, they made use of the constellation ritual, using Tianji Peak as a conduit to unify heavenly intent and human mind into one. Then, with the aid of the Tianji Plate—the secret treasure of the Tianji Sect buried beneath the peak—they shifted the Visage of the Divine from the illusory to the corporeal, thereby briefly grasping a fraction of a Heavenly Lord's prowess.
As they unfolded their methods and activated the esoteric ritual, Mount Tianji resounded with mystic tones and clear bells. Dense, billowing clouds seeped from the towering peak, swirling outward and spiraling upward.
This caused flowing ripples of clear light to cascade around the mountain, converging layer upon layer toward the summit before falling as droplets of pure dew upon the four Zhenren. Meanwhile, subterranean flames stirred at the mountain's base, flaring upward with dazzling brilliance like a crucible refining a treasure.
Amid this fusion of fire and water, this meeting of yin and yang, four figures wrapped in golden light slowly rose above the clouds and mist, ascending to a height of nearly three hundred meters in a single breath.
Then the mist gradually parted. Looking again, four celestial lords bathed in radiant golden light stood stationed on the four sides of Tianji Peak.
Each celestial lord bore a distinct appearance, yet all possessed solemn features, lightning-like gazes, wide sleeves, and high collars. Ribbons of mist trailed behind their backs, while their robes were adorned with mountains, rivers, constellations, and wondrous mystic patterns. Wisps of auspicious clouds and splendid prismatic glows hovered around them, rendering their massive forms semi-translucent and elusive, shrouding their full likeness in an aura of fathomless mystery.
Such a tremendous disturbance naturally drew the gaze of the Federation forces participating in the offensive.
Seeing celestial beings glowing with flowing radiance suddenly manifest on all four sides of Tianji Peak, those unacquainted with the truth wore expressions of shock.
"What is that? A field phantom?"
Some immediately tried switching off their cochlear worms and boundary credentials, but even then, the spectacle ahead remained clearly visible. They could not help but wonder if it was some sort of projected light effect.
Yet among the many martial artists present, several soon sensed that something was amiss.
Aboard an airship, Briggs spoke in a low voice: "No, that isn't a light projection. That's a spirit visage."
"A spirit visage?"
Lily raised a hand to shield her face from the fierce wind tossing her hair, straining her eyes to see.
Her father was a martial artist and ran a martial arts periodical, so she was well aware of the data and analyses regarding ordinary spirit visages.
She could not help asking curiously, "Can a spirit visage be this massive?"
Briggs said gravely, "An ordinary spirit visage could never reach such proportions. But with the Xuan Sect, which originated from the East Continent, it is hard to say. That sect is one of the oldest national religious traditions in the world. Combined with certain rituals, it might just be possible." He sighed with feeling. "This offensive truly isn't going to be simple."
Just as he could see it, the other martial artists were naturally able to make accurate assessments as well.
When evaluating the combat strength of a spirit visage, typically the larger the stature, the more formidable its sustaining power.
Of course, a spirit visage could be enlarged outward according to a martial artist's will—theoretically, expanding it several times over was feasible—but apart from the visual effect, doing so was meaningless. It would not increase one's strength in the slightest; whatever power was originally there would remain unchanged.
Yet from the four Zhenren, they felt an indescribable sense of oppression. It could essentially be determined that this was no hollow deception.
If that was the case, the power they possessed was terrifying indeed. Even if they had not yet broken through to the upper tier of power, they had already surpassed the bounds of an ordinary Throne martial artist.
At present, the Federation's airships were eliminating zhisuo across various directions. The one closest to Tianji Peak belonged to the Gigagods Flora Company.
Klaus Field, a Throne martial artist of the company, was aboard this very airship.
He had a peaked, mountain-shaped hairline with his hair combed straight back, a remarkably lean frame, and handsome features tinged with a streak of malice.
Having just obliterated a zhisuo below, he raised his head, and upon seeing the scene before him, a dangerous light brimming with intrigue flashed in his eyes.
He leaned slightly, extended one arm outward, and splayed his fingers. As his muscles bulged, a massive sphere of light gathered in his palm.
Seeing this, the airship captain immediately notified all personnel to brace for another shockwave.
After gathering his energy for a moment, Field blasted this spiritual impact straight toward the position where Real Man Longxian stood.
At that instant, countless gazes converged on the scene, many eager to see the result of this strike.
Yet disappointment awaited them. Perhaps because the blast had entered the inner perimeter of the esoteric ritual, the spiritual impact weakened significantly once it traveled into the distance. By the time it reached Real Man Longxian's divine visage, the moment it touched the outer golden flame, it merely stirred a tiny ripple before vanishing entirely.
Without question, this was due to the powerful field generated by the esoteric ritual, which drastically diminished the impact's force.
Even so, it had still hit its mark in the end, retaining a portion of its might, yet it had failed to shake the visage in the slightest. This proved beyond doubt that the colossal divine visage was no mere display, but an actual, tangible force.
Fortunately, it appeared that the four Zhenren could not stray too far from Tianji Peak; otherwise, the subsequent battle would be difficult to predict.
In another direction, Igor crouched at the edge of an airship's balcony, his slender arms dangling before his knees as he stared fixedly at the divine visage of Real Man Gaoxu ahead.
All at once, he sprang forward, lunging straight toward Real Man Gaoxu.
In the sight of the onlookers, a beam of purplish-red light shot forward in an instant. Yet just as it was about to collide, it suddenly veered aside, circling and wheeling around the godlike divine visage. It looked as though he were probing, searching for a flaw.
Compared to that colossal visage, his figure seemed almost like a firefly, yet his speed was astounding, tracing glowing halos of light around the divine visage in a flash.
At that moment, the divine visage seemed to take notice of this spectacle. Its half-closed eyes opened, and it slowly raised a hand, its long sleeve sweeping lightly. Clearly its movements were slow—so clear that even ordinary people could track them—yet Igor was utterly unable to dodge, caught by the edge of the palm.
A burst of brilliant light erupted in the sky. With a thunderous boom, Igor crashed to the ground, kicking up a plume of dust.
He had been swatted down with a single slap!
The personnel on the airships behind happened to meet the emotionless, indifferent gaze of the divine visage at that moment, their breath catching in their throats as though their hearts had stopped beating.
Further back, the three Federation Throne martial artists—Durant, Fantner, and Crossal—witnessed the spectacle as well.
As official representatives of the Federation, they were unlike the outside Throne martial artists; they knew the specific details and plans, so they were not surprised in the least.
Fantner kept his hands tucked into his trouser pockets and remarked, "This is just as Ming described beforehand."
Ming had informed them in advance: backed by Tianji Peak, the core axis of the great constellation ritual, once the esoteric ritual was activated and paired with their secret arts, the four Zhenren would experience an immense surge in strength, capable of holding off several times their number at the same tier.
Although the four Zhenren could not leave the inner perimeter, they had no need to. All they had to do was stall for time until the Celestial Master returned from beyond the heavens, and the Federation's operation would be declared a failure.
Cassian's voice sounded over the communication channel: "Respected sirs, should we inform the forward combatants of some of the details?"
Durant said gravely, "No need. We proceed according to plan. Let them go up and test the waters first."
"Understood, sir."
Meanwhile, as the zhisuo were steadily destroyed, the airships from all directions had formed an encirclement around Tianji Peak.
Among them, the Primordial Sect and the New Light Cult had destroyed the most zhisuo and brought the largest forces.
By now, the upper ranks of both cults could sense that even after destroying so many ritual nodes, the power of the esoteric ritual had not diminished in the least—it was practically ineffective.
Beyond the thirty-six zhisuo, the Tianji Sect's esoteric ritual also incorporated seventy-two scenic sights. But if they had to fight their way through all seventy-two scenic sights as well, it would take far too long.
Moreover, the seventy-two scenic sights were all geographical wonders. If all of them were destroyed, the geography and environment of the entire state would suffer catastrophic damage, something the Federation would never permit. Thus, after brief consultation, they decided to abandon that approach and switch to another method.
The Primordial Sect and the New Light Cult had each brought large numbers of followers and vast amounts of ritual paraphernalia precisely for such a contingency.
The airships of both cults began spreading outward, coming to a halt at spaced intervals. Cultists then continuously descended from the airships to the ground, laying out ritual items below. Before long, guided by religious music, the cultists on the airships and the ground began chanting aloud in unison.
Chapter 1297