What the Aspect of Frenzy possessed was a near-manic offensive style and a spiritual power capable of inflicting intense mental shock upon an opponent; among the five aspects, its combat prowess was second only to the Aspect of Wrath.
Yet facing Chen Chuan's punch, it still held no noticeable advantage. What madness? What frenzy? Beneath absolute power, all was crushed in an instant.
No different from the Aspect of Stillness, it was blasted in a single breath into a sky full of mangled flesh and blood.
With another aspect broken, a smiling face manifested from the void. This time it was the Aspect of Delight, whose combat strength was actually inferior to the former. Thus, the moment it appeared, it was dispersed by another arriving fist, following in the footsteps of its predecessor in the blink of an eye.
After landing three punches, Chen Chuan had gained a general understanding of Wan Ke's condition.
He was not entirely ignorant of ancient gods; from the preceding transformations, he had already deduced that Wan Ke's external visage likely originated from the Five-Faced Demon.
No wonder this man dared to arrive in his true form. An ordinary opponent would indeed find him difficult to deal with; even if one expended immense effort to defeat or kill him, he would restore himself completely in the turn of an eye, leaving open the risk of being overthrown by a counterattack.
Against Chen Chuan, however, he could gain no advantage. For no matter how Wan Ke changed, he could never transcend his original level of power—which made almost no difference to Chen Chuan.
Opposite him, as the aberrant power circulated, the Aspect of Wrath—arguably the strongest in combat among the first four aspects—shifted into being.
Yet though it seemed extraordinarily ferocious, completely distinct from the preceding aspects, its actual performance was no different: before it could even utter a roar of rage, it was swallowed and annihilated within a blaze of platinum-golden radiance.
In just a fleeting moment, all four of Wan Ke's aspects and four bodies were eradicated, and from within that void, yet another aspect surfaced.
This was the final aspect: the Aspect of Manifest Transformations. At this stage, all the advantages and disadvantages possessed by the other aspects would converge upon him at once.
Yet through his second aberrant power, he could discard all the disadvantages and retain only the facets advantageous to combat, maximizing his fighting strength.
From the shift in qi, Chen Chuan also sensed that his opponent's transformation this time was somewhat different.
Realizing that his opponent might unleash even greater strength, a look of seriousness touched Chen Chuan's face. With a shift of intent, white mist steamed outward from his body—he was employing the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing method.
Furthermore, to ensure nothing went awry, he channeled the Grand Firmament Forms at the same time. Seen from the ground, the space surrounding him was visibly distorted.
Just as he clenched his fist, an unexpected variable suddenly arose. High above, the white-phosphorus-like cluster of light that Wan Ke had initially hurled into the sky plummeted downward, striking toward him like a spiritual impact.
At that very moment, Wan Ke instantly condensed his form and lunged toward Chen Chuan under cover of the strike. Sharp claws formed at the tips of his fingers, and the pale-white spiritual fire surging over him turned the sky blindingly white in an instant.
Ever since learning Chen Chuan's identity, he had already prepared for the worst-case scenario where every single one of his forms would be shattered. He had laid out his plan in advance, staking his chance for a counterattack on this final form.
His third aberrant power possessed the ability to swallow visages, but it required a brief moment to activate. That spiritual impact might buy him a sliver of opportunity; if he successfully swallowed his opponent, retaliation would become virtually impossible.
Everything was planned meticulously, yet just as he lunged forward, he met a pair of deep, tranquil eyes. The other man paid no heed whatsoever to the spiritual impact falling from above; that fist drove straight for Wan Ke's face.
He watched helplessly as the fist grew larger and larger. Though his consciousness could barely keep up, his body could mount no reaction at all.
Right at that juncture, the void rippled, and that Maohaiqiu leapt out, slamming into him.
The Maohaiqiu could fly and conceal itself at blistering speed, and what was more, it could pull its master into a void field to evade disaster.
Earlier, it had hidden itself in that field in the nick of time, thus escaping the devastation of Chen Chuan's fist.
Now, seeing its master in mortal danger, it leapt out once more in an attempt to knock him clear. This, too, was a contingency Wan Ke had prepared beforehand: if things proved truly untenable, it could carry him away to escape the crisis.
The moment the Maohaiqiu's foreclaws touched Wan Ke, his body rippled like water, appearing to slip into some kind of void.
Just as the fading illusion spread across his body, a figure adorned in magnificent feathers flashed past, its four claws lunging forward to latch onto the Maohaiqiu in a vice grip.
That single grasp tore right through the spiritual fire enveloping the creature while plunging a surge of jin into its flesh, forcing its massive frame to stutter for a beat.
Consequently, half of Wan Ke's body slipped into etherealization, while the other half remained exposed outside, unable to fully phase away.
Boom!
Chen Chuan's punch landed squarely on Wan Ke's head. That exposed half of his body instantly disintegrated into flying gore and bone.
Immediately afterward, a dazzling spiritual impact erupted from the face of Chen Chuan's fist. Struck by this concussive blast, thread-like fissures splintered across the entire void field.
Letting out a whimper, the Maohaiqiu pushed Wan Ke away with all its might, but in the blink of an eye, the beast itself was torn to shreds by the tidal wave of spiritual fire.
Furthermore, after shattering the obstacles before it, the momentum of that impact surged onward. Behind them, the colossal Sky Whale happened to lie directly along its path; in mere moments, the massive hull shattered with a thunderous roar, its burning wreckage tumbling toward the earth in a shower of glittering sparks.
Having been shoved aside, Wan Ke had narrowly escaped a fatal blow. Yet his condition was far from optimistic: only most of his head and a small fraction of his torso remained intact, riddled with copious amounts of spiritual fire that impeded his body's self-regeneration.
At this moment, he also saw that under the barrage of falling spiritual impacts from above, Chen Chuan was submerged in blazing light.
A moment later, as the light dispersed, Wan Ke's pupils shrank to needlepoints: he saw Chen Chuan standing there completely unscathed, platinum-golden spiritual light flowing over the surface of his body like viscous water, completely repelling all the damage.
At this juncture, a peculiar gleam surfaced in his eyes, and he focused his gaze intensely upon Chen Chuan.
This was one of his secret arts for observing enemies: with a single glance, he could peer through his opponent's fundamentals and devise targeted counters. Earlier, he had lacked the opportunity entirely; now, he only wanted to see clearly just how powerful the man who defeated him truly was.
Yet beneath that gaze, his heart shook violently. For what he saw was not a man at all, but a dense swirl of mist-shrouded purple qi, ethereal and vast, without beginning or end.
"You... you are actually..."
Wan Ke had never imagined that the opponent fighting him from beginning to end was merely a power avatar?!
He was instantly overcome with shock: if even an avatar possessed such might, what unimaginable power would his true self command?
Chen Chuan seemed to notice his gaze. Turning his eyes toward the floating mangled remnants, he swept outward with the hand holding the Xuejun Saber. Wan Ke's remaining flesh and bone burst into pieces, inch by inch.
At the same time, an ethereal spark of flame drifted from the blade, showering across the fragmented mind and shattered gore, igniting them in an instant.
The flames expanded rapidly, spreading upward along the spiritual ties toward the upper heavens.
Right at that moment, an alien qi suddenly welled forth, faintly coalescing into a shimmering silhouette.
The figure seemed composed of vapor; upon closer inspection, one could discern many ever-shifting faces within it, each staring fixedly at Chen Chuan. Yet it persisted for only a breath before rapidly dissipating into nothingness amidst the flames.
Chen Chuan gazed at that fading phantom. If he guessed correctly, this had to be the presence of the Formless Demon attached to Wan Ke, which must have also been caught by the Mystic Void Fire just now.
Yet because this entity was of an exceptionally high level, the Mystic Void Fire was unable to trace back through the qi to its true body.
This battle could be counted as one of his more effortless engagements; there was no need to scheme or overthink—all he had to do was throw his fists.
Such was the power of the Visage of Man at its zenith: if your aberrant powers are useless against me, then you can only wait to be bludgeoned to death.
At this point, Chaoming let out a shrill cry, wheeled around in midair, shrank down once again, and landed upon his shoulder, chirping twice at him.
Chen Chuan offered a faint smile and looked toward the former imperial garrison. The battle over there seemed to be drawing to a close.
Wan Ke's mental power had previously spread without restraint, but now that he had been struck down, that oppressive might abruptly vanished. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan's presence still dominated the field, making the victor of this clash abundantly clear to all.
The first to notice were Zong Chi and the two battling him. Zong Chi's mind was profoundly shaken, inevitably throwing him off balance.
Hong Ancheng and Zhu Kongqi were battle-hardened veterans; through a seamless sequence of tactical coordination, they had firmly suppressed Zong Chi and severed any chance of his retreating to the fortress.
Seizing this opening, Hong Ancheng lashed out with a kick, sending the Mystic Golden Toad flying into the distance.
The omnipresent dragging sluggishness around them vanished instantly. Zhu Kongqi's speed surged as he clamped a hand onto Zong Chi's arm; amidst explosive bursts of spiritual fire, seizing jin penetrated into Zong Chi's body in a flash, paralyzing half his frame.
Just as Zong Chi struggled to break free, Hong Ancheng smashed an elbow into the side of his face. The protective fire of spirituality shattered instantly, and even Zong Chi's consciousness blacked out for a split second.
Zhu Kongqi exerted his jin again, forcing Zong Chi to his knees. Hong Ancheng raised his hammer-like pipe and brought it crashing down. With a sickening thud, the skull beneath was smashed to pieces.
Hong Ancheng did not stop. Tossing the pipe aside, he unleashed a barrage of punches at the headless corpse until the remaining body was hammered into pulped wreckage before finally halting.
Zhu Kongqi followed up with another spiritual impact aimed at the ground, obliterating any trace of him completely.
The two then looked toward the fortress flank. Seeing that the situation had turned dire, the Embroidered-Uniform Emissary standing there turned and fled. Yet while still midair, a beam of light lanced through her from behind, impaling her in mid-flight.
Chapter 1390