Real Man Chonghua looked up toward the distant sky, keeping his upright fingers steady as he drew upon a secret art once more.
Guided by this pull, the remnant divine qi of Gao Xu and Long Xian plunged upward into the fissure.
He intended for the two to fall back inside rather than clash head-on with those people, for a direct confrontation was bound to be unwinnable.
As for what to do next...
At this moment, with another shift of his thought, the radiance cast over the hall by the Pufang Mirror suddenly receded.
With a thunderous rumble, all of Tianji Peak violently jolted as a surge of immense power seemed on the verge of erupting.
The upheaval put everyone on high alert. Having just witnessed the Tianji Sect's formidable methods, they all fell back into the distance.
Although Durant and the other two remained outside, their attention was entirely focused inside the hall. As the primary overseers and executors of this operation, they acted conservatively; so long as Chonghua did not attempt to reconnect with the Tianji Plate, they were in no hurry to strike.
Had Ming been present, he would have known what Chonghua was preparing to do. However, most of his divine qi had been blasted away, and recovering it would take time, leaving him in no position to warn them.
Real Man Chonghua had completely given up on communing with the Tianji Plate, and had no intention of letting anyone else use it.
Therefore, he completely severed its connection to the constellation esoteric ritual and even to the Pufang Mirror.
Because the three precious artifacts were tightly linked, having virtually never been separated since the sect's founding except in rare, extraordinary circumstances, their resonance had long since fused into a single whole. Severing them instantly triggered turmoil below.
From this moment on, even if someone managed to take control of the Tianji Plate, they would no longer be able to channel the power of the Empyrean Lord from beyond the heavens.
Yet this alone was not enough. The enemy's objective was surely to sever their guidance and close the fissure to prevent the Celestial Master from returning.
Thus, there was one more thing he had to do: make it impossible for the fissure to close!
Amid the rumbling of Tianji Peak, the hand seal he held swiftly shifted again. A beam of light imbued with an esoteric aura burst from his person, surging directly into that trace of a fissure.
At that instant, the entire fissure was swept up by this light, merging into one with it as it ascended high into the sky. It came to a halt right where everyone could see it simply by looking up, and began to steadily expand.
He had removed the hall's ritual bindings on the fissure, leaving only the ritual in the world beyond to temporarily hold it in check.
On the other side of the fissure, Gao Xu and Long Xian coalesced once more. One glance told them what he intended to do, drawing a deep sigh from both. Yet there was no time for idle thoughts; they could not waste the opportunity Chonghua had created for them. Settling their minds, they threw their full strength into sustaining the ritual on their side.
Chonghua's eyes flashed again, and his entire being dissolved into the beam of light soaring into the heavens.
He was transforming his profound body into a rainbow to erect a golden bridge, using himself as the link between the Pufang Mirror's radiance and this world.
Once unleashed, it appeared as a pillar of lucid light soaring into the heavens to connect with the overhead fissure, while its lower end dropped straight down atop the Tianji Great Hall, seemingly tying the heavens and earth together through this single bond.
What supported this rainbow light now was power drawn from within the fissure. So long as energy continued spilling into this world through the rift, the fissure would not close. Conversely, severing that energy required cutting down the great rainbow. The two sustained each other—though this was not without a way to break it.
He had anchored a portion of his divine qi onto a certain object. As long as this object was not discovered, there would be no problem.
However, if this state lasted too long, he might truly turn into a golden rainbow, forever unable to regain his original form.
Yet according to the revelations of the heavenly secret, this was a necessary step. And so long as it helped the Tianji Sect survive this calamity, he was willing to pay that price.
When the Throne martial artists present saw this development, though they did not understand what it fully signified, they had seen Gao Xu's and Long Xian's divine qi retreat into the fissure. Deducing that this was likely tied to arrangements inside the rift, they realized destroying it would probably require entering within.
Yet none were willing to cross over directly. They had no idea what lay beyond, and Chonghua's earlier strike against Ming's Divine Visage was still fresh in their minds. They preferred to play it safe.
Uncertain of the circumstances, Durant and his two companions did not act rashly either. After a brief wait, Real Man Ming's divine qi finally began to reassemble bit by bit, though it still appeared insubstantial and nebulous; full recovery was clearly still some time away.
The Federation could not afford to wait that long. Durant addressed him directly: "Real Man Ming, we need you to look at what's going on. We need your assessment right now."
By now, Ming had already sensed that the Tianji Plate had been severed. Looking up at the colossal fissure and the sweeping rainbow, he said in a grave voice, "Form and ritual unbound, a golden rainbow beyond the heavens..."
"What?"
Ming gave a brief explanation of the situation.
Fantner looked up toward the fissure and asked, "So with this thing here, the Celestial Master can still return? And we can't destroy it now?"
Ming said coldly, "There is no need to destroy it directly. This technique is bound to have an anchor planted in this world. As long as we find that anchor and destroy it, the fissure will lose its guiding pull and close on its own, even if people are holding it from the other side."
"An anchor? Where is it? Can you find it?" Crossal asked from the side.
Ming did not answer. His gaze swept around, then suddenly lifted, catching sight of the Tianji fish swimming overhead.
With the ritual severed and the fissure lifted to the apex of the sky, this object ought to have become useless, yet he instinctively sensed something amiss about it.
Locking his eyes onto it, he declared, "It's on the Tianji fish!"
The instant the words left his mouth, the Tianji fish gave an agile flick and transformed into a streak of golden-red light, shooting toward the distant sky.
Among the Throne martial artists, Igor erupted with spiritual fire the moment he saw it and gave chase in a flash.
The Tianji fish was exceptionally swift. It was already one of the Tianji Sect's treasures, and now that a wisp of Chonghua's divine qi was attached to it, it flew faster still, putting vast distance between them in an instant.
The Tianji fish did not need to remain confined to that spot. In theory, so long as it remained in this world, it could maintain its link to the fissure. Had it not taken a moment for the divine qi to saturate it earlier, it would have fled even sooner.
As the two sped through the air one after the other, a figure appeared in the distant sky. From the direction it flew, the Tianji fish seemed to be heading straight for this person.
Igor glanced ahead. The person wore a porcelain-glazed mask with a vertical red line between the brows and held a long saber in hand, a crimson cord trailing from the hilt and fluttering behind him. He stood poised in midair as the Tianji fish zipped past his ear.
Igor surged forward. This person's appearance here at such a time was odd, but gave off nothing concerning; the presence of a Throne martial artist was distinct, and he was certain this person was not one. That meant there was no danger.
Moreover, the person was directly blocking his path. A cruel gleam entered Igor's eyes. Maintaining his momentum, he let his spiritual radiance surge, intending to smash the man to pieces.
Yet at that moment, he saw the opponent raise a hand. Just as Igor was about to crash into him, his vision blurred, and a roar detonated in his mind. For a split second, his consciousness went completely blank; by the time he came to his senses, he was plummeting downward.
Those watching from behind saw everything with perfect clarity: as Igor charged in, the man had casually struck him with a single punch, blasting him straight into the ground and kicking up a massive plume of dust.
The scene was almost identical to when Igor had been swatted down by the Divine Visage earlier.
And after reaching the man, the Tianji fish did not fly away; instead, it circled and darted around him. This sight drew the attention of everyone present, their gazes converging upon the newcomer.
A reinforcement for the Tianji Sect?
To swat Igor out of the sky, he ought to have been another Throne martial artist. Yet the impression he gave off suggested otherwise, which felt contradictory.
Durant looked toward Ming, hoping for an answer, but Ming remained silent, merely staring at the Tianji fish, his thoughts inscrutable.
Beside them, Crossal stared fixedly at the figure for a few moments before saying in a low voice, "He's not from the Tianji Sect. He's with the Great Shun delegation."
"From Great Shun?"
Durant frowned.
Fantner was surprised, narrowing his eyes. "Could Great Shun have gone back on its word and decided to intervene?"
Durant's expression turned exceedingly solemn. If Great Shun truly intended to intervene, the entire nature of the situation would change completely.
He immediately transmitted a message to the rear with his mental power, instructing Cassian and the others to clarify the matter as quickly as possible.
Chen Chuan swept his gaze across the figures ahead. Every single person standing there was a Throne martial artist; gathered together, they radiated an overwhelming pressure.
Yet this did not intimidate him in the slightest. On the contrary, the fighting spirit in his chest was surging fiercely.
He glanced at the Tianji fish circling beside him; faintly, it seemed to be trying to convey some message to him.
Aboard the airship behind them, Lily and Briggs also noticed something unfolding in the distance. Lily raised her camera toward the scene, and when she got a clear look at the figure, she let out a sudden gasp, her face lighting up with shock and excitement.
"It's Chen!"
Tugging excitedly on Briggs's arm, she cried, "Uncle Briggs, it's Chen!"
Briggs was startled and asked in disbelief, "That Chen?"
"Yes! It's him!"
Lily was utterly certain. Pausing to think, she added, "Uncle Briggs, do you think he's here to support the Tianji Sect?"
Briggs shook his head. "Whether he is or not makes no difference. He's only a Secret Palace martial artist. He can't change anything here."
Lily countered stubbornly, "But just now, it looked like... um..." It had all happened too fast for her to see clearly, so she added, "Chen beat Mr. Crossal before!"
Briggs said gravely, "He may indeed qualify to battle a Throne martial artist, but that was against only a fraction of their power. Catching someone off guard might earn a win, but once a Throne martial artist gets serious—"
Mid-sentence, a blinding flash of light burst across the sky.
Just as Chen Chuan was sensing the message from the Tianji fish, he noticed a spiritual impact surging toward him. His eyes flashed. Raising a hand, he pressed forward. With a booming crash, radiant energy flared. Amid the flashing light, Igor lunged toward him with a ferocious snarl, his body ablaze with purplish-red radiance as he drove a fist forward.
Chen Chuan's hand dropped, clamping firmly around Igor's arm and instantly extinguishing the spiritual fire burning upon it. He said calmly, "You're bothering me."
Igor's pupils constricted.
As Chen Chuan spoke, he yanked the man toward him. Releasing his grip on the Xuejun Saber with his other hand, he closed his fingers into a fist alight with white-gold flames and slammed it into Igor's abdomen. A brilliant radiance flared from his knuckles, and accompanied by a spray of concussive spiritual impact, Igor's entire body instantly blew apart!
Chapter 1304