It was not just Irose; the other Throne martial artists present were all seasoned in battle. They, too, had realized that the Divine Visage often struck only once, without any immediate follow-up.
This meant that until the Divine Visage unleashed its next strike, they were free to attack as they pleased. While they were not yet certain of the exact interval, a single test would tell them.
Archbishop Merton of the Primordial Sect had appeared to halt just now, yet the entity he manipulated from within the fissure had not stopped. Just as the Divine Visage launched its attack, the creature rapidly surged before the avatar, morphing into a colossal, monstrous head.
In one bite, it clamped down on everything from the Divine Visage's chest upward. From the perspective of onlookers, it looked as though it had completely supplanted that upper portion of the visage's body in an instant.
Yet in the very next moment, the creature suddenly ballooned outward. Its body seemed punctured with gaping tears, through which beams of pure, lucid light radiated outward. As the clear light intensified, the monstrosity was torn apart all at once.
Lucid light, flowing like lustrous water, washed over Real Man Long Xian's Divine Visage. The foul filth raining down dissolved and was purified the instant it touched that light.
The remaining scraps tumbled to the ground, merging back into the mist flowing from the fissure. A creature seemed to issue a furious howl from within, as though eager to charge once more.
Yet before it could take another step, the Divine Visage pressed a hand down toward it. Instantly, a ring-shaped cloud of dust erupted across the ground. Swelling currents of air tossed the airships in the sky like vessels on a colossal wave, rocking them violently.
A massive crater was gouged into the earth. Illuminated by the radiating pure light, even the protective mist shrouding the entity was stripped away entirely, leaving behind only a mangled, fragmented remnant struggling to support itself.
Only now could those nearby roughly make out what it was: a gigantic worm-like creature bristling with countless legs and feet, its back covered in bizarre heads resembling burl-like knots. At this moment, it was barely sustaining itself on the mist trailing from the fissure.
Aboard the airship, Lily wanted to take a photograph, but Briggs covered her eyes with his hand, his stern voice ringing by her ear: "Do not look at that thing."
Paying the creature no further heed, the Long Xian Divine Visage reached out and grasped again, actually ripping a strand of invisible golden light from its own body.
This was the light shone upon him earlier by the New Light Cult. It had clung to him, resisting complete dispersion even by the spiritual fire shielding his perimeter.
Yet this rapid sequence of actions completely overturned everyone's earlier assumption that he could not strike in continuous succession.
In truth, regarding him as an individual, their judgment had been spot on. However, he could not be regarded as a solitary entity. Although the four guarded separate quadrants, the esoteric ritual effectively bound them into a single whole.
Thus, when necessary, the other Zhenren or the esoteric ritual itself could share the burden, offsetting the physical strain of consecutive strikes.
Only if attacks were launched simultaneously from multiple fronts to pin down each of them would the avatars truly be restricted to striking only at intervals.
As for now, a single Throne martial artist could never exert that kind of pressure. Given their current colossal scale, even if they stood motionless, an opponent could not even breach their spiritual fire, causing mere harassment at best.
Irose had returned to the front by now and initiated a telepathic exchange with Merton.
He believed that the two of them lacked sufficient penetrating power to breach the stronghold. Since those in the other directions were achieving little, it would be better to concentrate everyone on a single front.
From what they had gathered earlier, among the three others, Igor and Field were confirmed to walk the Visage of the Aberrant, which undoubtedly granted them some form of aberrant power.
When faced with such absolute might that defied frontal breakthrough, perhaps only aberrant powers could counter it. However, the pair had never disclosed what specific aberrant powers they possessed.
At that moment, the active conscious entity accompanying them—tasked specifically with tactical analysis—transmitted a message. The conscious entity believed that the Federation government should possess more intelligence on the Tianji Sect and urged them to obtain it from the Federation so they could formulate a more targeted approach.
Hearing this suggestion, the golden eyes beneath Irose's mask remained entirely unruffled. "Archbishop Merton," he said, "what do you think?"
Merton replied in a deep voice, "I say there is no need to ask. We should simply attack using our own methods. Even if we fail to breach it, it does not matter."
Irose chuckled softly and said in an unhurried tone, "So be it."
Both were well aware that the most anxious party was not them, but the Federation. If they failed to break the deadlock and dragged this out long enough, that Celestial Master might return, and when that happened, the Federation would suffer the greatest loss.
If they proactively sought help from the Federation now, the Federation would merely gain unilateral leverage over them. It was far better to wait a little; they were confident the Federation would provide the right answer before long.
After a brief deliberation, they invited Igor and the other two to regroup, preparing to pool everyone's strength for a concerted breakthrough.
Aboard the Empyrean Behemoth, Durant and his two companions watched from afar, showing no inclination to step forward and assist.
Yet they knew perfectly well in their hearts that such attacks were essentially futile. The Divine Visages of the Tianji Sect's Four Zhenren, reinforced by the esoteric ritual, were sufficient to withstand assaults up to a certain threshold.
In other words, so long as the intensity of an attack did not exceed the collective limit the Four Zhenren could endure, it was entirely ineffective.
Fortunately, they had an inside agent in Ming and knew precisely where to strike. For now, they merely needed Irose and the others to stall in their frontal assault, thereby naturally prompting their own follow-up measures. They could not play their trump cards right from the start, as doing so would likely heighten vigilance within the Tianji Sect and jeopardize the entire operation.
Meanwhile, in the command airship, Cassian and Olin watched the battle unfold ahead. While they were not combatants, after listening to the active conscious entity's analysis, they sensed that the offensive was likely bogging down.
Cassian spoke into the communication channel, asking, "What about the one from Xiaojue Temple? Still no contact?"
A voice came through the channel: "Yes, sir. There has been no reply to any of our transmitted signals."
"Strange."
Cassian could not help but frown. He sensed that something was amiss, yet could not fathom what it was. A Throne martial artist could never vanish without a trace. Could he merely have been delayed for some reason?
Was it an arrangement by the Tianji Sect? After all, he had traveled alone.
Olin considered this, then asked, "Is it possible that Xiaojue Temple is merely brushing us off?"
Cassian did not dismiss the possibility, but instinctively doubted it. Xiaojue Temple had a solid reputation in such matters, and their relationship with the Tianji Sect was hardly amicable. He leaned toward the explanation that some unforeseen incident had occurred.
"Let us wait for now," he said. "Even if he fails to arrive, it will not affect the overarching situation."
For he knew that although things looked unfavorable at the moment, they had an inside agent within the Tianji Sect. Since that person had not yet made a move, it meant the decisive moment had not arrived.
Olin stepped aside and issued an order, dispatching an airship to search for him. After all, there had to be a reason, and even if they found nothing, they needed an accounting. Moreover, he did not want any unexpected disruptions to compromise the operation.
In the midsection of the airship, Durant waited a while longer. Seeing that the assault by Irose and the other four made no headway, and that they showed no intention of altering their tactics, he realized they would not exert themselves to the utmost. There was no need for his side to wait any further.
He said in a low voice, "Time for us to move as well."
Fantner and Crossal nodded in agreement.
Though this assault on the Tianji Sect was waged under a civilian pretext, state power was very much at work behind the scenes.
To ensure the operation went without a hitch, the East and West Coast parties had each contributed, bringing forth two incomparably precious Grade 1 relics.
Grade 1 relics were extraordinarily rare; if used properly, they could unleash immense effects. Crucially, that these two relics could be used in tandem was all the more exceedingly rare.
Fantner walked to the side and brought out a metal case he carried with him. When opened, it was filled with liquid.
Reaching inside, he pulled out a crimson sphere that appeared to be condensed from vapor.
A power seemed to churn within the sphere. Even when wrapped in his spiritual fire, it trembled faintly, profoundly unstable, evoking an intense sense of danger even at their close proximity.
The object's function was exceedingly crude and violent: it unleashed a devastating explosive blast meant specifically to crack open fortresses. Yet against the Tianji Sect's formidable defenses, this alone was insufficient, necessitating the coordination of another relic.
At that moment, Crossal said, "I'm ready here." With that, he drew a pebble-like object from his pocket. It appeared utterly mundane, looking like something one could pick up off the roadside anywhere.
This item was called the "Detonator," and its function was to magnify the power of an explosive object by three to five times.
The item could be used five times in total, and with each use, the potency of the subsequent detonation would increase. It had already been used twice.
This "detonation" was conceptual; it could be triggered by simple physical impact, applied to a spiritual impact, or even tied to an attack of mental power. When someone had once probed its properties with mental power, they had nearly set off its effect.
Notably, any impact or collision of sufficient force was deemed a "detonation," so merely dropping it by accident would count as a use. Once its remaining three uses were exhausted, the item would vanish completely.
Under normal circumstances, when enemy dispositions remained uncertain, they would never squander such relics. Now, however, with accurate intelligence in hand, they could employ it for a targeted strike.
Durant cast a glance at it, muttered, "Let's begin," and then slowly drifted out of the airship with Fantner and Crossal, ascending into the open sky.
Chapter 1300