In the midst of the deathly pale cluster of light, an external visage that had only just manifested outside Chen Chuan rapidly dissolved under the brilliance.
Yet no sooner had this one vanished than a new external visage materialized in its place.
This was not something just anyone could achieve. Under normal circumstances, once a martial artist's external visage was shattered, it inevitably dealt some impact to themselves; even a Dongxuan View martial artist could not reconverge one in an instant, which in battle would undoubtedly cause them to lose the tactical initiative and be overwhelmed by the enemy.
Yet he could.
The Visage of Man was a path whose floor was exceptionally low, but whose ceiling was extraordinarily high. It was destined that the higher one advanced, the fewer peers remained; yet those who stood at the pinnacle could often look down upon any martial artist of the same level.
Over the next few minutes, often before the outermost visage had even fully dispersed, a fresh visage was already burgeoning beneath it. There was no gap whatsoever between them, and each seemed to emerge even faster than the last.
This process repeated itself time and again.
After he had replaced it twenty-one consecutive times, the phantom figures surrounding him abruptly ceased their cycling. The radiance flickered several times, then vanished just as abruptly.
Chen Chuan remained hovering in midair. His spirit once again sensed its communion with the celestial layers above, and his heart no longer registered any trace of danger.
It was certain: the destructive power of this ritual had fully exhausted itself, and the crisis had passed.
Yet if the one enduring the attack had not been him—if it had been anyone else here—it would have been certain death.
Still, this experience could not help but spark an insight within him.
For a Visage of Man martial artist, beyond relying on speed and strength to engage the enemy, there should be another means:
Namely, using the human visage to bear various external assaults in place of the physical body. After all, it was a part of himself, yet at the same time not himself.
Once an external visage could be employed to such a degree, it might also mean that within a relatively short window, he could consciously use it to withstand the harms of various anomalous powers and rituals without being affected in the slightest.
He felt he should be able to achieve this, but something was still missing; he would need to give it more thought.
He suddenly thought of his next breakthrough—which began, first and foremost, with "Inquiring Within."
No one could tell him how to proceed from here. Anything others could share was merely their own understanding—or perhaps they simply lacked the capability altogether and naturally had nothing to teach him.
Only what he knew, realized, and mastered himself truly belonged to him.
This could be sought through cultivation, but it could also be comprehended in the crucible of battle.
At that moment, Jiang Linghuai and Mu Xiaoren caught up. Seeing Chen Chuan standing there lost in thought, the two exchanged a glance.
Merely laying eyes on that light had forced them to withdraw earlier; it was difficult to imagine the kind of onslaught Chen Chuan had endured while trapped inside for its entire duration.
Seeing him standing there unharmed, they could not help breathing a sigh of relief, though some lingering worry remained.
Jiang Linghuai tentatively asked, "Department Commissioner Chen? Just now—"
Chen Chuan snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "I'm fine." He then looked toward the airship ahead. "There should still be one person over there."
Aboard the airship, Mi Zhuzi's eyes filled with disbelief as he watched Chen Chuan weather the ritual from start to finish purely by force.
For he could sense that Chen Chuan had resisted the rite entirely through his own power, without drawing upon the slightest shred of outside assistance.
"If I had channeled higher celestial power into the rite, perhaps..."
At that thought, he shook his head again. "No, ill-advised."
If he could draw on such power, the other side could borrow it as well. The ritual just now had already been the best possible choice under the current conditions.
Not to mention that borrowing higher celestial power was exceedingly perilous, often entangling one in the conflicts of the upper realms. As a member of the Duanchen Faction of the Xuan Sect, he avoided such entanglements whenever possible and would never actively resort to it.
And now, it was time to leave.
He glanced ahead with a trace of regret. He had originally intended to crack that anomaly field; it was like tackling a difficult problem—knowing full well he could solve it, yet being forced to abandon it beforehand, was bound to leave him brooding.
The main reason was that Chen Chuan had eliminated everyone on the field too quickly—so quickly that Mi Zhuzi hadn't had the time to finish it.
In fact, throughout the process of deciphering it, he had developed a degree of admiration for the opposing side's methods. From the start, they had boldly turned their enemy's esoteric ritual to their own use and set up in time without making a single error.
Furthermore, when firing shells at them, those microscopic variants hadn't actually been meant to attack them, nor to kill the mutated creatures beside their airship, but to provide concealment for the field.
The one who arranged this rite was undoubtedly an esoteric ritual master.
Yet that was secondary. What mattered most was that the other party was merely a mortal, yet could achieve such ritual efficacy. This implied that these techniques were replicable, and combining nascent technology with ancient esoteric rituals could blaze an entirely new path.
At this moment, he could not help but sigh inwardly: this signified that Great Shun's national power had completely surpassed and overwhelmed the Former Imperial House. He needed to consider his future course—whether to continue standing with the Former Imperial House or simply look on with folded arms.
Different choices called for different actions.
For instance, right now, while he could not unravel the ritual, he could easily reinforce it in reverse. With just a slight push, he could make the anomaly on the opposing side turn far more ferocious, even escalating beyond their ability to control.
Doing so would unquestionably cause trouble for Great Shun; killing one or two martial artists and large numbers of troops was not out of the question.
Yet it was pointless. As long as Chen Chuan remained, what difference did it make if one or two Great Shun martial artists died?
In that case, best to let the matter rest here.
He cast a wary glance toward the rear. A faint, shadowy silhouette had been lurking there moments ago—likely someone sent to monitor him and clean up loose ends. The Former Imperial House did not fully trust him after all.
After a brief deliberation, he shook his sleeve, left several items on the desk before him, and turned to walk away. His form then slowly dispersed.
Not long after he vanished, Chen Chuan's group of three arrived at the airship.
Chen Chuan looked around and said, "Please wait outside, both of you. I'll go inside and take a look."
Jiang and Mu both nodded in agreement.
Chen Chuan's figure flickered as he entered the airship's cabin. He could sense that the relic restricting his speed was still active, so he walked toward its source.
Arriving inside one of the cabins, he found an altar ahead bearing several shattered jade plaques, upon which the names of the individuals he had slain earlier were still recognizable.
The relic affecting him sat right on a side desk. In appearance, it resembled a paperweight, and beneath it lay two letters.
Leaving it behind had likely been a precaution against Chen Chuan giving chase, prompting the man to simply discard the object. The relic used to scramble information, on the other hand, had presumably been taken along.
His thoughts shifted; this person was undoubtedly Mi Zhuzi. Being of the Visage of the Divine, he was precisely of the sort adept at fleeing. Attempting to pursue him now would almost certainly be in vain.
Stepping forward, Chen Chuan picked up the relic, inspected it, stowed it away, and then picked up the top letter.
Upon it were inscribed the words "For the Personal Perusal of Chen Xuanji," clearly left for him.
Opening it, he found a detailed account of the Former Imperial House's operational plans, along with ledgers of personnel and supplies deployed for this battle, noting that everything had been preserved and could be found in the quiet room at the rear.
The letter also noted that the other missive was entrusted to Chen Chuan to deliver to the esoteric ritual master at the rear; it contained a method for unraveling the anomaly, requesting that the master offer a few "corrections."
After reading through it, Chen Chuan put it away, stepped out of the airship, and handed the two letters to the pair.
Mu Xiaoren scanned them quickly, then looked up and said, "Department Commissioner Chen, the Former Imperial House choosing to withdraw is tantamount to conceding defeat."
Chen Chuan asked, "How are the two who pushed toward the rear?" He was referring to General Who Pacifies the East Yan Poling and General Who Pacifies the North Cao Ping.
Mu Xiaoren replied, "Generals Hong and Zhu intercepted the two of them. Just now, I already dispatched an avatar body to eliminate them."
Chen Chuan nodded. Both of those Former Imperial House generals were Longevity View martial artists, whom Hong Ancheng and Zhu Kongqi should be able to hold off. But in a war between two states, when one could crush weakness with superior force, there was naturally no need for single combat; resolving it swiftly would also help stabilize the rear.
He said, "Have our people come over and fly this Former Imperial House airship back, and report the outcome of this battle to Zhongjing. As for the two of you—" He glanced at Mu Xiaoren, as well as the streak of white shadow standing behind him. "Head back first to deal with the anomalies clinging to you."
Jiang and Mu both nodded.
A few minutes later, the three returned to the rear, found Wen Mingzhong, and delivered the letter Mi Zhuzi had left for him.
Wen Mingzhong did not look at the letter first, prioritizing helping the three resolve the anomalies clinging to their bodies.
Fortunately, the anomaly had merely devoured Yuan Rong, so its head-to-body proportion had not swollen past a certain threshold, making it not overly difficult to handle.
The procedure on Chen Chuan's end was the simplest: all he needed was to stand for a brief moment inside the prepared ritual.
Yet he declined, saying he would handle it himself, as he needed to use the anomaly to gain further insight.
Mu Xiaoren sat in the prepared ritual for over ten minutes before feeling the chilling sensation gradually fade. However, because he had communed heavily with the anomaly, fully ridding himself of any latent hazard would likely require staying here for several days.
Jiang Linghuai's situation was far simpler; in just a few minutes, he had completely shed the anomaly's entanglement.
Seeing that matters here were well in hand, Chen Chuan returned alone to the site of the battle.
With a shift of his thought, the weapons dropped earlier flew upward one after another, accompanied by numerous armor fragments, all swirling and hovering around him.
The vast majority of these weapons were realm-fused weapons, making them prime collectibles. It was only a pity that under the burning of the Mystic Void Fire and the concussive shocks of battle, the armor worn by these foes—especially Yuan Congye's—had been shattered. Even so, they could be brought back and an attempt made to repair them.
Chapter 1412