When Irose saw Chen Chuan's saber-bearing figure standing before him, his golden pupils dilated behind his shattered mask.
He had originally hoped to buy enough distance to break out of a certain perimeter, thinking Chen Chuan might temporarily lack the time to deal with him. Yet he had never imagined Chen Chuan would arrive so swiftly. By the look of it, had the others already been dealt with?
He came to a halt.
Escaping was clearly impossible now.
In truth, had it been possible, he would have preferred to dissolve his Divine Visage beforehand. Yet he had observed earlier that the Mystic Void Fire burned through mind and spirit as well; it did not even require contact with physical flesh.
And the only reason Chen Chuan released the Mystic Void Fire after blowing his opponents apart was likely to ensure they had no way to resist, thereby maximizing the outcome of his victory.
If he voluntarily dispersed his physical vessel, there would still be a remnant wisp of spirit that could not dissipate in time. Should Chen Chuan sense it and strike preemptively, Irose would only have outsmarted himself. Thus, his only choice had been to withdraw in one piece.
He stared at Chen Chuan and tightened his grip on the scepter in his hand, a dazzling fire of spirituality surging across his body.
Comparing pure combat prowess, he had zero chance of victory in a direct clash; from start to finish, it might not even take a few seconds.
Yet combat was fought in more ways than one. He possessed means unbeknownst to his opponent; applied properly in tactics, he might not be entirely without a chance.
Knowing evasion was futile, he brandished his scepter and charged straight ahead, intentionally or otherwise positioning the distant New Light Cult fissure directly behind him.
Seeing his actions, Chen Chuan's gaze flickered slightly.
From stopping upon seeing him to launching an assault, Irose had barely hesitated, charging forward despite knowing he was outmatched.
Had it been Drakholm, such recklessness would have made sense, but it was utterly inconsistent with Irose's earlier conduct in battle.
Throughout his flight, Irose must have anticipated being pursued and would not have gone without making preparations. Did his present choice stem from having something to rely on?
These thoughts flashed through his mind, yet his hands did not slow in the slightest. The instant Irose charged in, Chen Chuan pivoted his body and swept his long saber in a simple, clean horizontal slash.
The blade made contact with the scepter first. The fire of spirituality imbued within the staff was extinguished in a flash, followed by the weapon being sent flying by an unmatched force. With unabated momentum, the saber crashed into Irose's body—a head-on collision whose outcome was never in doubt.
Irose had attempted to concentrate all the fire of spirituality across his body forward in defense, but it proved utterly futile. Under the impact of the domineering force riding the blade, his physical body exploded in an instant into scattered gore and flesh.
From within this carnage, scattered motes of light flew outward—his dispersing divine qi, seemingly seeking to flee in all directions.
Yet in that very moment, a brilliance like a blazing sun blossomed, causing every outward-fleeing wisp of divine qi to falter and slow.
Amidst that expanse of radiance, Chen Chuan raised his eyes, shifted his stance slightly, and swept his saber outward once more!
A streak of mystic, unfathomable fire pulled out, showering across the fleeing wisps of divine qi. The moment the divine qi was touched, it caught fire instantly.
Yet among them, one wisp of divine qi was exceedingly peculiar. The moment the Mystic Void Fire scorched it, something seemed to trigger; it instantly dissolved into a beam of golden light, shooting straight toward Chen Chuan and landing upon his body in the blink of an eye.
Observing this, Irose's remnant divine qi felt a surge of exhilaration.
It worked!
This item was a relic preserved within the New Light Cult. As long as it made contact with a target—provided the target did not possess higher-tier power—it would invariably strip them of all resistance in an instant.
However, if hurled like a projectile, any martial artist could easily parry or evade it. But if it sustained near-destructive damage, it would launch an active counterattack before its destruction—a counterattack that could not be blocked.
This step had been a gamble. He had to deploy the item at the exact moment he was scorched by the Mystic Void Fire to minimize Chen Chuan's vigilance as much as possible.
Fortunately, he had observed earlier that the burning of the Mystic Void Fire was a process: the stronger the mental power, the longer the scorching lasted.
And in this regard, he held the advantage. Through the New Light Cult's unique esoteric rituals and methods, every single cult member present today had a portion of his divine qi lodged within them.
This meant they were bound into a unified whole; any of them could be considered him. So long as the spirits of those New Light Cult members were not completely consumed by the Mystic Void Fire, he would not truly perish.
And once the relic succeeded and Chen Chuan lost all resistance in an instant, Irose could execute the secret arts of the New Light Cult to possess his body. Not only would this reverse the tide in a single stroke, but it would also grant him a vessel that was practically perfect.
Chen Chuan watched the radiance fall upon him, unraveling into wisps of light that coiled around his body.
Simultaneously, the remnant divine qi suddenly converged toward the center before shooting straight toward him.
At that moment, a brass button in the pocket of his coat suddenly flickered. It was the relic Fan Zhentong had given him.
There was nothing overly extraordinary about it; it simply had the ability, twice a year, to weaken or neutralize the effects of other relics or aberrant powers.
For a martial artist of the Visage of Man, it was the most practical kind of tool. When he faced Guang Yong earlier, he had refrained from using it, knowing even fiercer battles might lie ahead.
And now was the perfect moment to make use of it.
In truth, he could have used his second self to evade a measure that acted directly upon his body. But not knowing the object's precise function from the outset, he had chosen the safer path.
Watching the incoming divine qi, he twisted his waist and brought his saber back without hesitation.
A crescent arc of saber light flashed across his front, and the fire of spirituality upon the blade instantly tore this portion of divine qi to pieces!
The scattered fragments of divine qi flew outward into the surrounding Mystic Void Fire, instantly catching flame.
At the same time, the high-ranking members of the New Light Cult who had accompanied Irose burst into flames one after another without any fire touching them, reduced to scattered charcoal across the ground within a mere ten-odd seconds.
Chen Chuan waited for a while until the Mystic Void Fire burned itself out completely and he could no longer perceive the faintest trace of Irose's presence. Only then did he withdraw his gaze.
Then, with a flash of light around him, he appeared directly beside the fissure opened by the Primitive Cult.
The moment he materialized there, the Primitive Cultists standing beside the fissure collapsed in unison.
Above, the propellers of the Primitive Cult airships ground to a halt instantly; after several violent shudders, the vessels began plummeting one by one.
Chen Chuan walked straight up to the fissure, twirled the Xuejun Saber in his hand, and slashed. As a brilliant flash of snow-white saber light swept across, the fissure was mended in an instant.
Around him, the falling airships crashed into the ground, quickly erupting into massive fireballs amidst rumbling detonations, which then billowed into thick, rolling black smoke that drifted high into the sky.
Having settled matters here, Chen Chuan turned and departed. He soon arrived near the other fissure belonging to the New Light Cult, resolving it in the exact same manner.
Many senior members of the New Light Cult had already perished under the pull of the Mystic Void Fire earlier. The remainder knelt unconscious where they were, but before long, as the New Light Cult airships plunged from the sky and slammed into the earth one after another, the fiery blasts of the explosions swiftly swallowed them whole.
Having finished all this, Chen Chuan glanced at the Tianji fish beside him.
Ever since he achieved the Dongxuan View, the creature had remained by his side. Right now, trailing a wisp of golden light, it circled rapidly around him, appearing exceedingly delighted.
He looked up once more at the figure in the sky.
Ming's avatar stood there, having taken no part in the assault from beginning to end.
While Chen Chuan was using these opponents to test his own strength, Ming was also observing, searching for Chen Chuan's weaknesses. Yet the findings left him utterly disappointed.
At least from his current level of perspective, Chen Chuan possessed not a single flaw or vulnerability. In other words, stepping forward would bring no outcome other than throwing his life away.
Looking at him now, Chen Chuan said calmly, "Speaking of which, I ought to thank you."
Had it not been for the bindings of the esoteric rituals Ming had laid down, his breakthrough this time likely would not have been accomplished so smoothly and uninterruptedly.
Ming's avatar looked at him with a cold sneer rising on his face. In the next instant, his form was sliced apart by a long saber that emerged from midair, the scattered fragments of divine qi instantly snuffed out by the blade's fire of spirituality.
Yet throughout the process, he showed not the slightest intention to resist, seemingly letting Chen Chuan do as he pleased.
Watching the avatar's divine qi dissipate, Chen Chuan looked through the haze-filled sky toward higher altitudes. Flashes of light were erupting in rapid succession near Tianji Peak, accompanied by rumblings echoing down from time to time. Durant was likely trading blows with the Emperor.
It was time to resolve the next matter.
Radiance shimmering about him, he slowly rose into the air and flew toward the high heavens.
At this very moment, aboard the Sky Behemoth, observers were peering downward with great effort. However, the fierce battle below had stirred up massive volumes of dust that drifted all the way to the zenith. Compounded by the rolling smoke and flames from multiple exploding airships crashing down, sunlight from above could barely reach the ground, leaving them completely unable to discern the situation below.
Furthermore, they dared not venture too close to the battlefield, which meant they could at most catch glimpses of flashes bursting occasionally beneath the smoke and dust.
Inside the combat command center, Cassian glanced at his wristwatch. Two minutes had already passed, yet no communication had returned from the other side.
After a brief consideration, he attempted to initiate contact, asking over the channel, "Gentlemen, what is the situation now?"
Yet no reply came across the channel—only the rustling echo of static.
He frowned slightly, thinking it might be caused by field turbulence.
"It's nearly three minutes..."
"Sir, look!" someone gasped.
Hearing the voice, Cassian looked up and peered out through the broad viewport at the front of the Sky Behemoth.
Because the airship had lowered its altitude to avoid the aerial battle between Durant and Capa, the sunlight appeared somewhat dim under the thick soot and haze, and visibility was poor.
Yet where the rolling black smoke and brilliant radiance interwove, a figure hovered in midair. The high-collared coat about him fluttered continuously in the wind, a long saber trailing luminous mist grasped in his hand, and a long red scarf spiraled around him, billowing ceaselessly.
Chapter 1320