Once Yuchi Bin reached midair, a sudden flicker flashed before his eyes—clearly, another spiritual impact was hurtling straight at him.
Although he had not seen Chen Chuan strike firsthand, he could roughly deduce that the previous two blasts had come from the spiritual visage, whereas this one likely came from Chen Chuan himself.
Moreover, its power was bound to be even fiercer than before. If he failed to block it, even if he escaped injury, he would probably be constrained and might even be forced back to the ground.
That meant the opponent would only need to unleash continuous spiritual impacts to pin him there until the others finished off their respective foes and returned to surround him.
His offensive momentum could not be broken here. A faint gleam flickered on the long horn atop his head, and in the next moment, his body turned ethereal and illusory.
This was another of his aberrant powers, named "Chengxiang," which could turn his form into nothingness for an instant to evade any incoming attack.
To ensure he would not be restricted, he even activated a defensive relic to shield himself from the influence of any opposing relic during that split second.
Thus, he surged clean through the spiritual impact completely unharmed. Only then did he truly feel that he might have a sliver of hope.
When a spiritual impact was unleashed from the true body, there was a certain chance of a brief delay, which would give him an opening to close the distance!
No longer holding anything back, he rallied all his strength, tightened his grip on his long axe, and charged straight at Chen Chuan ahead.
Yet before he could swing the axe, all three of his heads flew off at once.
Chen Chuan now stood behind Yuchi Bin. His external visage had already merged as one with his true body.
Glancing back, Chen Chuan flicked his fingers slightly, and the three heads disintegrated into ash in an instant.
Earlier, when probing with his relic—perhaps because Yuchi Bin had been relatively close, or perhaps because the relic the opponent used for interference had been slow to activate—Chen Chuan had not only learned what god-fiend the general visualized, but had also gleaned several crucial secrets.
The man possessed a rather troublesome innate aberrant power: unless all three heads were severed at the same time, he could not be easily slain. Even if reduced to flying ash, he would reconstitute in an instant.
Conversely, once all three heads were severed simultaneously, he would die on the spot with no chance of recovery.
Having learned this, Chen Chuan's choice had become simple: force out all three heads, then sever them all.
To accomplish that, he had to apply unrelenting pressure. The emergence of the other two heads was beyond the man's conscious control; once the pressure he bore grew too severe, they would sprout on their own.
Yet that was not the end of it. Once all three heads emerged, Chen Chuan would have to face an opponent with triple the physical strength. Though this was not necessarily an overall enhancement across all aspects, the sheer boost to strength and speed was not to be underestimated.
Moreover, the opponent was sure to have aberrant powers or relics to shield himself from external attacks after exposing his weakness, making him even harder to deal with. Out of respect for this adversary, Chen Chuan chose to merge with his visage and sever the three heads at maximum speed.
As the heads drifted away as black ash, the colossal body seemed to lose its master and plunged from midair, slamming heavily onto the ground. Billowing smoke then poured from it, reducing it to an ordinary headless corpse.
Chen Chuan sensed that all vitality had vanished from the body, but out of caution, he shifted his intent. Clusters of Mystic Void Fire descended from behind him, engulfing the remains and burning them away to nothing in short order.
A flash of light enveloped him as he withdrew his spiritual visage. Watching the drifting black ash, he reflected that the old general was indeed formidable. Had he not obtained information in advance, finishing him would have required repeated probing and considerably more effort.
Comparing him to previous opponents, Yuchi Bin was roughly on par with Yuan Congye in terms of raw power, but far more experienced in battle. Between the two, Chen Chuan favored the former.
Looking toward the others, he saw that their battles were also drawing to a close.
Those who had come were all elite martial artists from the military. To guarantee victory in this war to destroy a nation, nearly every Dongxuan View martial artist present had been equipped with a suitable relic as the campaign progressed.
Many of them were already well acquainted with one another. Operating in coordination, several fighters gang-pressed a single opponent who was unable to abandon his defensive post. It was a complete rout, and the engagements were effectively resolved in moments.
A few breaths later, violent rumbles erupted from several directions as buildings collapsed in plain sight, signaling that the esoteric ritual nexuses in those sectors had likewise been breached.
By this point, the lingering black mist had dispersed entirely, laying bare a distinct sector to the south, veiled only by a layer of white fog.
Chen Chuan studied it for a moment. That was likely the Anye Palace, where Emperor Wenguang resided.
Everything within the palace precinct had been constructed by the imperial household's own ritual masters, not arranged by the Fulong Faction; it formed a self-contained system, presenting them with their final hurdle.
Chen Chuan slowly floated higher into the air, and the other Dongxuan View martial artists rose alongside him in concert. At the same time, the Dongxuan View martial artists waiting in the rear hurried forward to rendezvous with them.
Mingchengzi arrived as well. Drawing near, he bowed to Chen Chuan and said, "Xuanji, though the esoteric rituals of the Anye Palace were not laid by my Fulong Faction, I can still break them."
He offered another deep bow. "I am willing to lead the vanguard."
Chen Chuan looked at him and nodded. "Then I must trouble the Gaogong."
Heartened, Mingchengzi stepped forward to take the lead. After briefly conferring with the group, Chen Chuan and the others followed.
As they passed over Youdu, the immense, unified field radiating from them pressed downward. Wherever it swept, the soldiers of Youdu collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Chen Chuan gazed ahead, pondering silently. Setting aside Emperor Wenguang's schemes, the opening stages of the war had proceeded quite smoothly. Yet there was one point he still found perplexing and rather strange.
The ancient deities had not appeared at all. Not a single one had shown itself; at most, only scattered traces of their aura could be detected. This was highly abnormal.
The former imperial household possessed vast numbers of faithful believers. Had the ancient deities simply abandoned them?
He did not know the exact population of the former imperial household, but it easily numbered in the hundreds of millions. Could so many people be discarded just like that?
Or was there some extraordinary circumstance?
As he pondered, Wen Mingzhong's voice reached his mind, conveyed with another's assistance:
"Commander, I just attempted to deploy the 'Diner' into Youdu, but failed.
"According to our assessment, either the rituals here are still active, or an extraordinarily massive anomaly or ritual already exists in this place. Personally, I believe it is the latter."
***
Outside the Changyi Pavilion, Grand Secretary Hong was still waiting. He stared motionless at the hall ahead. Even as the thick fog in the sky dispersed and the explosions behind him grew louder, his expression scarcely changed.
A junior eunuch trotted out from the palace and bowed to him. "Senior Grand Secretary, His Majesty invites you inside."
Grand Secretary Hong rose from his seat, smoothed his rumpled robes, and said in a heavy voice, "Lead the way."
The eunuch bowed. "Senior Grand Secretary, this way, please."
Grand Secretary Hong followed him forward, climbing the steps and entering the grand hall. Palace attendants drew back layer upon layer of curtains and jade bead screens, from behind which drifted the sound of music and dancing.
He could not help but frown.
Stepping into the inner palace, he discovered a troupe of performers singing and dancing merrily. Some had faces powdered stark white, some wore masks, and others crawled and writhed across the floor, presenting an eerie, sinister spectacle.
Emperor Wenguang sat upon the main seat, enjoying the performance and leisurely tapping out the rhythm.
Anger surged within Grand Secretary Hong, yet he maintained the decorum of sovereign and minister. With a solemn face, he walked to the base of the dais, bowed to the emperor, and looked up. "Your Majesty's subjects and soldiers are fighting desperately in blood outside, yet Your Majesty lingers here over song and dance. The realm hangs in the balance—is it truly not worth a single glance from Your Majesty?"
Emperor Wenguang did not appear angry at these words. Instead, he said, "Grand Secretary Hong has arrived. Attendants, grant him a seat. Grand Secretary, watch the singing and dancing with Us. We shall provide an explanation shortly."
Grand Secretary Hong refused to sit. He said in a deep voice, "There is no need. The altars of state are on the brink of collapse. Does Your Majesty truly intend to abandon the realm's hundreds of millions of subjects?"
Emperor Wenguang said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "This realm belongs to Us. If We abandon it, what of it?"
Grand Secretary Hong's face flushed crimson, his lips trembling. "A ruler may abandon his people, but the people may also abandon their ruler! Without the people, what does Your Majesty have left?"
Emperor Wenguang smiled and said languidly, "All things under heaven belong to Us. How could they abandon Us?"
He glanced outside.
"Come, Consort Teng, pour wine for Us."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A soft, delicate voice replied. Consort Teng slithered out from a corner of the hall on her serpentine lower half. Reaching the table, she extended a slender arm, lifted a jade pitcher, and filled the empty cup.
Grand Secretary Hong looked upon the scene, shook his head, and ceased his remonstrances. He turned to walk out.
Yet Emperor Wenguang called out, "Where is the Senior Grand Secretary going? Men, invite the Grand Secretary to take his seat and enjoy the banquet!"
"Yes!"
Two palace guards immediately stepped forward, blocking Grand Secretary Hong's path, and spoke in unison: "Senior Grand Secretary, please return to your seat."
Grand Secretary Hong frowned, cast a cold glare back at Emperor Wenguang, and returned to sit down, remaining entirely silent.
Emperor Wenguang took the cup from the table, drained it in one gulp, and asked, "Consort Teng, tell Us, when will the immortals and deities arrive to receive Us?"
Consort Teng smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the auspicious hour is right before your eyes. Can Your Majesty truly not see it?"
"Oh?"
Emperor Wenguang looked outward. Just then, the prolonged toll of a bell echoed from outside the hall.
Chapter 1433