When Real Man Chonghua saw Irose step forward while Ming retreated to establish communion with the Tianji Plate, he knew at once that this round could hardly be sustained.
Had Irose been just a moment slower, Chonghua could have turned the entire situation around.
Yet Irose was exceptionally skilled at seizing his moment. In truth, the man had arrived long ago. He could clearly have joined Ming in besieging Chonghua from the start, yet he had deliberately held back, only stepping up at this critical juncture.
In his current state, even if Chonghua could suppress his opponent tactically, there was no way he could achieve a swift victory in mere moments. That meant he was powerless to prevent Ming from communing with the Tianji Plate.
Left with no other choice, he had to resort to another plan. Just then, Irose swept his scepter forward, splashing a bright radiance across the space. In a single flash, the light penetrated Chonghua's Divine Visage—even the spiritual fire along the perimeter failed to obstruct it.
Chonghua realized immediately that this was a consummate technique in the application of the Visage of the Divine, and the opponent's scepter likely possessed an augmenting effect as well.
Relying on his consummate understanding of the Visage of the Divine, he quickly grasped most of the potential consequences. This method of attack targeted gaps specifically; so long as his own condition was incomplete and flaws remained, the attack would unfailingly infiltrate his body.
Moreover, the radiance carried a potent defilement. If he found no way to expel it, it would steadily erode his divine qi and transmute it into something similar.
Yet he was not worried. Precisely because the power was intensely invasive, its nature was not one of sudden eruption, but rather a relatively gradual process.
From this, he could discern that although the Pontiff of the New Light Cult had an impeccable grasp of timing and no small measure of strength, he was actually inclined toward caution in combat.
And it was precisely this manifestation that showed him he had not completely lost his chance in the present situation.
His turning thoughts did not impede his movements in the slightest. The moment the radiance fell upon him, he once more invoked the art of Divine Empyrean Rainbow Crossing. His entire being transmuted into divine light and shot away, heading straight for the fissure above the great hall.
At the same time, he sent a wisp of message outward through his spirit to Gao Xu and Long Xian.
His judgment was impeccably precise. Though Irose knew he ought to find a way to intercept him, having witnessed the battle between Chonghua and Ming just moments before, he knew well that a Zhenren of the Tianji Sect possessed extraordinary combat prowess and myriad methods; the slightest carelessness could see him falling into a trap.
Furthermore, he feared that pressing too hard would drive Chonghua to fight to the death. Thus, he chose to remain where he stood without moving, merely waving his scepter to release a swath of flickering radiance in an attempt to block Chonghua.
This time, Real Man Chonghua acted with utter decisiveness. He made no preparations to evade, staking everything on a headlong rush toward the fissure. If Irose had judged the moment correctly and blocked him with full force, Chonghua would have had to clash head-on, and the outcome might well have been defeat.
Yet he had judged correctly that the man would not do so. The divergence in resolute willpower and mindset meant the radiance posed no real obstacle. In a flash, he plunged into the fissure.
The instant he crossed into the world beyond, he spun and touched down. All around him were specks of starlight, alongside hung long scrolls of scripture penned in gold seal script and Xuan Sect ritual implements.
Here, too, the Tianji Sect had arranged an esoteric ritual. If anyone dared to charge in after him, he could immediately turn it against them.
And beyond these, there was another circumstance unknown to Ming and the other two.
He looked upward. Hanging above was a radiant precious mirror encircled by gold adornments worked in cloud-and-thunder patterns.
This was the Tianji Sect's Pufang Mirror. Only through the radiance emitted by this object could the connection between the two worlds be linked and stabilized for the long term.
Moreover, a wisp of power was stored within the mirror, which could be unleashed in moments of crisis.
Taking a deep breath, he quickly restored the deficiencies within his body, though he seemed temporarily unable to expel the New Light's defilement.
Still, it would not pose much of a hindrance for the moment, so he could ignore it for now.
The instant his divine qi recovered, he immediately reached out to commune with the power hidden within the mirror.
Within the great hall, Real Man Ming devoted his full attention to communing with the Tianji Plate. As a Zhenren of the Tianji Sect, achieving this without anyone interfering was hardly difficult. In an instant, he assumed control over the entire esoteric ritual.
Relying on this, he drew his divine qi upward and once more communed with the Empyrean Lord's visage. Light and mist manifested over him again, and in just a moment, the Empyrean Lord Divine Visage stood there once more. Though he did not expand hundreds of meters tall, remaining the size of an ordinary man, the power he wielded was no different.
Meanwhile, atop the cantilevered galleries on both sides of the hall, Real Man Long Xian could finally hold out no longer. Under the combined assault of Igor and his companion, he blasted apart into masses of golden light and lucid qi with a resounding roar.
Real Man Gao Xu followed closely in his wake. Fortunately, both had received the spiritual sense sent by Chonghua, telling them not to resist with force, so they had dispersed their divine qi of their own accord.
Surrounded by so many enemies, it was virtually impossible for them to restore their Divine Visages; their foes would never grant them that chance. Yet they trusted Chonghua's arrangements, and so had acted without the slightest hesitation.
At this point, everything seemed to be progressing in the direction Ming and the others desired. The resistance within the sect had been thoroughly purged. But right then, the fissure overhead suddenly erupted with brilliant light, and a scalding beam capable of melting anything spewed forth, rushing straight toward Real Man Ming.
Because the light arrived the instant it shone, there was simply no way to dodge it. Struck by this power, the Divine Visage he had just restored shattered and dispersed in an instant.
Barely a breath or two after reclaiming the might of an Empyrean Lord, he had been beaten right back to his original state!
Though struck by this blow, Ming was startled but not panicked. Even if his visage was broken and scattered, he had merely lost a single exchange.
At worst, he could try again shortly. He refused to believe Chonghua could counter him every single time!
As the thought crossed his mind, realization suddenly dawned. Chonghua's objective was definitely not merely to scatter his Divine Visage, but rather to...
His spirit radiated outward at once, transmitting a thought to the gathered Throne martial artists:
"Stop him, quick!"
Yet at that very moment, the talismans plastered throughout the great hall suddenly began to flicker, turning into crisscrossing streaks of golden light. This was the Golden Light esoteric ritual. Once the Pufang Mirror's power descended, it could directly reflect and refract the remaining force throughout the hall.
Now, the Throne martial artists who had entered the hall all sensed the danger. They had maintained an underlying wariness toward the Tianji Sect's esoteric rituals and preparations from the start, and having just witnessed Ming's plight, they immediately withdrew from the great hall upon seeing this turn of events.
With their retreat, Real Man Chonghua returned to the hall. He cast a glance at Ming, who was attempting to gather and restore his Divine Visage; the errant golden beams had not harmed him.
Without Chonghua's guidance, the power within the Pufang Mirror would not affect disciples of the Tianji Sect, just as Gao Xu and Long Xian had remained unharmed by the radiance.
Now Chonghua had recovered at least the greater part of his strength. So long as he quickly drove Ming out and was granted just a brief moment, he could retake control of the Tianji Plate.
Yet just as the thought crossed his mind, a premonition of danger rose within his heart. A series of spiritual impacts suddenly pierced in toward him from across the hall—the work of the Throne martial artists who had just retreated outside.
Dividing his Divine Visage outward, Chonghua evaded every spiritual impact while simultaneously manifesting over a dozen duplicates of himself, encircling the freshly reconstituted Ming.
However, though he could dodge them, the dispersed divine qi of Gao Xu and Long Xian could not. Most of it was swept away and extinguished at once. Fortunately, having reached their realm, so long as a wisp of divine qi remained, they could restore themselves given enough time, so their lives were in no danger.
Looking upon the Chonghuas appearing in all directions, Ming stood as though facing a formidable enemy, not daring to distract himself by communing with divine qi. Yet thankfully, so long as he remained here, Chonghua could not bypass him to reclaim control of the Tianji Plate.
At that moment, several of the Real Man Chonghuas charged toward him, while the rest remained motionless above.
Real Man Ming could not fathom his intentions, but there was no way he would yield his position. If Chonghua forced him back and communed with the Tianji Plate in that very instant, it would take merely a breath. Thus, facing every single Chonghua present, he dared not let his guard down in the slightest.
So at this moment, he likewise divided his Divine Visage, matching the number of opponents before him.
Yet the moment he took this step, he knew things were amiss—he had made a grave error.
The glabella of each and every one of Chonghua's visage duplicates flashed, releasing a synchronized spiritual impact from the center of their brows.
At this moment, Ming displayed the impressive foundation befitting a Zhenren of the Tianji Sect. Knowing he could not withstand the assault, he split off even more Divine Visage incarnations in an instant.
Yet even as he shifted, Chonghua matched his transformations accordingly. For every additional incarnation Ming created, Chonghua manifested another.
Because the rate of multiplication was so rapid, dozens of figures of the two men appeared within the hall in the blink of an eye. Yet Chonghua held the upper hand; each of his incarnations unleashed a spiritual impact against Ming.
Thus, after a flash of radiance, all of Ming's Divine Visages present were extinguished in an instant. Had a wisp of his divine qi not remained anchored within the layers of heaven, he would have been slain on the spot by Chonghua.
If Chonghua's previous victory over him had been a triumph of technique, this time it was pure, unadulterated suppression by force.
Having purged Ming, Real Man Chonghua ought to have moved to manipulate the Tianji Plate. Yet he sighed inwardly, halting in his tracks.
He sensed that Durant and his two companions had already arrived up front, their spiritual force already bearing down upon him. He had no chance whatsoever to proceed.
The other side held an overwhelming advantage in numbers. No matter how formidable his personal strength, he was powerless against these odds.
Even so, he did not give up. Raising his hand into a hand-seal, he chanted aloud the sacred title of the Tianji Sect's Mysterious Ancestor.
At the cost of permanently sacrificing a portion of his own divine qi, he unleashed the Tianji Ferrying Art.
The Tianji Sect believed that a variable of change existed within all affairs. So long as he could find that single thread of a turning point and act in accordance with it, he might yet salvage the situation and cross over this tribulation.
As the secret art was invoked, myriad intricate threads of heavenly mechanics flowed through his heart. In that very instant, he seemed to grasp hold of something, and a brilliant light suddenly flashed across his eyes.
Chapter 1303