As Chen Chuan sheared off Emperor Wenguang's arm with a single slash, he also noticed that during the strike, the body had reacted purely on instinct, barely managing to keep pace with his move.
Yet likely because the one piloting the vessel was Emperor Wenguang and not its original spirit, it had failed to unleash the speed it ought to have possessed.
Even if the body's original master had been present in person, however, it would have been of no avail. The higher one climbed in strength and speed, the wider the gulf grew from those below; at the higher stages, even the slightest margin was a world of difference.
The only commendable aspect of his opponent was his exceptional defense. A luminescent glow akin to Prince Yong's resided within him as well, seeping into the spiritual fire to form an extraordinarily solid barrier.
This was not merely a fraction stronger than Prince Yong's.
Thus, to make his earlier strike count, Chen Chuan had incorporated certain techniques, pouring and condensing a vast amount of spiritual fire onto his blade to generate far greater lethality.
Having landed the blow, he did not pause. Raising his blade overhead with both hands, he brought it chopping straight down toward Emperor Wenguang's crown!
If the emperor had no countermeasure, this blow might not kill him outright, but it would certainly cleave through this vessel. Once stripped of his protective body, dealing with him would become far easier.
Facing the descending gleam of the blade, Emperor Wenguang's gaze darkened.
Chen Chuan's blade technique was exceptionally sharp and blindingly fast, and the emperor's only longsword had already been knocked flying. If he attempted to parry barehanded, he could not muster enough defensive power in time, and the foreseeable outcome would be having both arms and body cleaved in two from head to toe.
Had this physical form been all he possessed, the battle would have ended right here. Fortunately, he still had other means.
At that exact instant, a blurred silhouette flew forth from his body. Enveloped in spiritual fire and a dense, gleaming radiance, this silhouette actively threw itself against the blade's edge.
Upon collision, the vital spirit avatar instantly dissolved, scattering into countless blazing motes of fluorescent light and halting the blade's momentum for a split second.
Chen Chuan immediately discerned that his opponent had unreservedly focused all the power of his Divine Visage into this single vital spirit avatar.
It was a sound decision. Since the emperor's true self was nestled within a sturdy husk and theoretically required no extra protection, he could commit everything to this move.
Beyond that, the emperor's Visage of the Divine clearly wielded the same luminescent power reminiscent of the secret diagram bloodline.
Moreover, in wielding it, he had even channeled the luminescence inherent to the vessel itself, effectively unleashing twice the power just now.
Whether this stemmed from the bond of father-and-son bloodlines or some other special method, Chen Chuan could not say. But he could tell that only the Divine Visage could gather and wield this luminescence; the vessel itself was incapable of doing so.
Yet though the blade's momentum had been checked for a breath, it was not shaken, and it continued its inexorable downward cleave.
Emperor Wenguang had evidently not expected that even after concentrating his full might, the effect would remain so limited.
At this perilous juncture, a ring of golden light suddenly burst from his person, finally halting the blade's edge.
Chen Chuan's eyes flickered, immediately recognizing it as the same phenomenon that had withstood his first spiritual impact earlier.
He surmised it was some kind of relic. Relics generally had a limit on their uses within a given span of time, and one with such potent effects certainly would not permit many activations—two or three times at most, he guessed.
Shielded by the golden light, Emperor Wenguang gained a moment of respite. His severed arm regenerated in an instant, and he reclaimed his longsword.
Chen Chuan also noticed the colossal spiritual visage overhead abandoning its warhammer, bringing both hands clapping together to crush him.
At present, Chen Chuan's spiritual visage was fused as one with his true body, so he naturally could not detach it to contend with the giant. Yet there was no need. A massive spiritual visage was indeed powerful, but its sluggish movements could not keep pace with his current speed, rendering it negligible.
With a slight sway of his body, Chen Chuan easily darted out from the narrowing gap between the descending palms and appeared on Emperor Wenguang's other flank.
Unless Emperor Wenguang could achieve the unity of man and visage as he had, that spiritual visage was nothing more than an ornament in his eyes, posing no threat whatsoever.
Yet that involved intricate coordination of spirit and flesh. Not only was the body-usurping Emperor Wenguang incapable of it, but even if he could, the effect would be negligible without absolute purity—in fact, it might prove a hindrance.
Just as Emperor Wenguang adjusted his stance, the golden light around him dispersed.
Yet standing confined within the pillar of light, he could go nowhere, leaving the underlying dynamic of offense and defense unchanged.
Chen Chuan had already gauged the duration of the golden light, so the very moment the radiance shattered, his blade sheared inward.
This time, Emperor Wenguang raised the sword with both main arms to parry while his other two arms moved to cover him.
He did not call upon his Divine Visage to assist this time; the vital spirit avatar that had just shattered held nearly all its power, and it was still coalescing. After all, the Visage of the Divine was not the Visage of Man and was never renowned for rapid recovery.
Pure defense, however, was virtually useless. Under this slash, the two arms gripping the sword instantly disintegrated, and fractures webbed across the upper body bearing the force.
Like a flash of lightning, the blade cleaved into his body!
Yet despite striking true, Emperor Wenguang emerged completely unharmed. Instead, the colossal spiritual visage behind him collapsed with a resounding roar.
Emperor Wenguang had employed an esoteric imperial art—"Mirror Void, Bearing the Shadow"—transferring the force meant for himself onto the spiritual visage.
Since it was not his own spiritual visage anyway, he felt no remorse, and given the vessel's regenerative prowess, the spiritual visage would fully recover in mere moments.
In doing so, he bought time for both his body and Divine Visage to restore themselves, timing it with absolute precision.
Chen Chuan could tell that Emperor Wenguang was by no means lacking in combat experience. He showed remarkable tactical acumen in facing enemies, knowing exactly how to exploit every favorable condition around him.
Furthermore, because he paid no regard to his own losses, his actions were exceedingly ruthless and decisive.
Yet Chen Chuan held the initiative, and the tempo of the assault remained firmly in his grasp, forcing his opponent to exert every ounce of effort to counter every single move.
Emperor Wenguang had certainly made thorough preparations for this ascension, possessing relics and no shortage of formidable esoteric arts. Yet under this relentless pressure, his reactions would grow progressively slower, falling further behind the pace, forcing him to expend his life-saving trumps one after another to stave off disaster.
Once all his hidden cards were revealed and exhausted, that would be the moment of his demise!
At Chen Chuan's speed, that process would not take long. Maintaining his cleaving posture unchanged, his blade flashed as he detonated a burst of spiritual impact at point-blank range against Emperor Wenguang.
Emperor Wenguang's body suddenly turned ethereal, allowing the shockwave to pass right through him.
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Another relic. This was likely the third defensive relic he had encountered.
There might well be more. For an emperor, his accumulated hoard was truly profound.
Taking advantage of that ethereal instant, Emperor Wenguang not only regrew his arms once more, but the spiritual visage behind him also reformed.
This time, having learned his lesson, he did not allow the spiritual visage to maintain its colossal size. Instead, he rapidly drew it inward, condensing it into a protective layer around his person.
It could be said that he had not only adjusted his state, but had also reinforced his overall defense.
Chen Chuan's expression remained unchanged. So long as the initiative remained with him, he dictated the entire course of the battle; fundamentally, nothing had changed.
If the opponent made good use of his tactical strategies and remaining cards, he might prolong the fight a little longer at best.
Chen Chuan pulled his blade back and swung again, slashing straight down the emperor's centerline.
Emperor Wenguang's face was as dark as still water. After the previous clashes, he seemed to have recognized Chen Chuan's terrifying prowess.
Summoning the power of both body and Divine Visage, he first raised his sword to block, gathering a dense concentration of luminescence onto it, while a flash between his brows signaled the activation of an esoteric art.
Simultaneously, light flickered in the void as a power seemed to coalesce toward Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan's eyes narrowed. The power manifesting in the void clearly did not originate from Emperor Wenguang himself, but from the anomaly.
He had not forgotten that they were within an anomaly; Emperor Wenguang might well possess the means to harness its power against him.
His opponent clearly understood that defending indefinitely would lead to ruin, so he sought to counter by attacking. The strategy was sound, but his judgment of Chen Chuan was mistaken.
Perhaps because Chen Chuan had been briefly entangled by the anomaly when approaching earlier, Emperor Wenguang believed the same trick would work again.
Yet Chen Chuan currently carried the relic bestowed by the Purist Faction. For one minute, no relic, aberrant power, or power of esoteric rituals could act directly upon his person. Thus, this ploy was utterly ineffective.
Emperor Wenguang might have accounted for this, which was why he unleashed another esoteric art concurrently. Seeing that Chen Chuan had weathered an esoteric art head-on earlier, he likely assumed Chen Chuan would endure it the same way again.
Earlier, however, Chen Chuan had been mid-charge and wished to conceal his full depth. Now, to preserve his offensive momentum uninterrupted, he immediately invoked the Purist Faction's secret technique: the "One Primal Divine Seal."
This was another secret art the Purist Faction had imparted to him, designed to coordinate with the Grand Radiant Light Forms to counter the Visage of the Divine.
This art anchored one's spirit like a firm seal, immune to external disruption, while simultaneously allowing outward strikes. The moment it was deployed, it intercepted and dispersed the incoming esoteric art.
Thus, the offensive opening Emperor Wenguang had traded a relic to create was handed directly to Chen Chuan instead.
Seizing the opening, Chen Chuan pivoted swiftly to the emperor's rear, completely bypassing the heavily luminescent front to strike directly at the vulnerable back.
Should the blow land, the result required no imagination.
At that exact instant, another ring of golden light flared around Emperor Wenguang, deflecting the blade.
Chen Chuan's eyes reflected the shimmering golden glow. This was the third time. His instincts told him that this would be the last.
Chapter 1438