Perhaps because ritual materials were abundant and the field had been well chosen, Mingchengzi had results after only a single night.
Upon receiving the word, Chen Chuan went straight to the altar. It was divided into three concentric stepped tiers, with the very center serving as the place where offerings were cast.
Mingchengzi invited him to the highest tier of the altar, pointed below, and said, "Look, Xuanji. Prince Yi's whereabouts have been found."
Chen Chuan directed his gaze downward. At the center below lay a sand table modeling a portion of the Former Imperial House's territory. The primary focus was the area ringing Tiger Fang Islet, and near its border, a prominent depression was clearly visible.
That depression clearly represented the target they sought.
Mingchengzi said, "Xuanji, ordinarily, locating his whereabouts would require scouring every direction, ideally sweeping across the entire territory of the former dynasty. That would have taken far too long. However, considering Prince Yi's temper and disposition, I judged that even in hiding, he would never stray far from his own power base. Thus, I searched only within a five-hundred-li radius around Tiger Fang Islet.
"Sure enough, we hit the mark in one stroke. He hasn't left that area."
There was a faint note of pride in his voice. A five-hundred-li radius was by no means the limit of the technique; a thousand li would have been ideal. However, the latter would have taken three times as long, requiring around three days to yield results.
By narrowing it precisely to five hundred li, the ritual required only a single night. Naturally, this had not been without risk. Had he failed to find the prince this time, he would have had to perform the secret technique anew and expand the search area to a thousand li, needlessly wasting materials and time.
Yet precisely because he had judged it accurately and read Prince Yi's mind thoroughly, he had ferreted the man out in the shortest time with the least materials. How could he not feel proud?
Chen Chuan understood a bit about esoteric rituals, so from Mingchengzi's tone, he could roughly guess the distinction.
He did not hold back his praise:
"Your skill matches your courage, Gaogong. Your judgment was spot-on, seeing right through Prince Yi's mind. I doubt anyone else conducting this ritual could have been as swift and accurate as you, all without any excess waste."
This compliment struck the exact right chord in Mingchengzi's heart. Crucially, Chen Chuan genuinely understood rather than just offering casual, pacifying pleasantries, which made Mingchengzi all the more enthusiastic.
Mingchengzi extended his hands, bringing the spaces between his thumbs and forefingers together. He focused his gaze there for a moment, and gradually, a plume of mist welled up between them.
As this vapor rose high into the air, it simulated a scene identical to the sand table below, then steadily expanded until it stopped at about half a zhang across, presenting the terrain in three dimensions.
One could easily distinguish the exact layout of islands, sea waters, and mountain forms with remarkable clarity.
When Chen Chuan looked at that depression again, it was starkly clear. He could see movement pacing back and forth inside.
Mingchengzi said, "Xuanji, that is Prince Yi."
Chen Chuan watched for a while, then asked, "What is he doing?"
The slight movement seen here translated to a considerable distance across actual ground.
Mingchengzi observed it, thought for a moment, and said uncertainly, "Perhaps he is cultivating, or perhaps searching for something?"
Chen Chuan considered this. Because Prince Yi was not from the orthodox imperial lineage, if he wanted to hold his ground there while guarding against the imperial court, he had to secure outside aid.
The man had done precisely that, maintaining close ties with ancient deities and the Chan Sect.
Now, neither of those could likely offer him much help.
Thus, Chen Chuan suspected Prince Yi wasn't necessarily cultivating, but very likely pursuing another matter—the thing most probable under the circumstances.
If it was as he guessed, the sooner they struck, the better.
He said, "Can you keep an eye on him continuously, Gaogong?"
Mingchengzi said with confidence, "I can. Once this technique locates someone, unless he abandons all ambition of being a sovereign ruler, there is no chance he will slip from my sight."
Chen Chuan said, "Good." Telling him to keep a constant watch on Prince Yi's movements, he immediately left and returned to the fortress. He drafted an operational request report and transmitted it to combat command, appending some of his own considerations and thoughts.
The reply from command came quickly; in under three hours, approval for the operation was granted.
Moreover, taking his assessment into account, they authorized him to employ drastic measures if necessary. They also informed him that a martial artist had been dispatched at top speed, carrying a relic that could be used at a crucial moment, and instructed him to wait briefly.
Once Chen Chuan received the word, he immediately gathered everyone for a meeting to outline the operational objectives and plan.
Because Mingchengzi had deduced the location so quickly, the personnel originally slated to rotate back to the southern front did not need to leave yet; they could take part in this operation together.
It wasn't that he strictly required their combat strength; rather, he did not want them to miss out on the merits of encircling and eliminating Prince Yi. Those Dongxuan View martial artists from the southern line understood his intention and silently noted the favor.
After another two hours of waiting, the relic was finally delivered.
Once Chen Chuan had it in hand, he wasted no time. He immediately rallied the group, took to the air, and sped west directly toward Tiger Fang Islet.
Remote as it was, at their speed they arrived in about half an hour.
As they hurtled through the sky, Chen Chuan reviewed the intelligence on the man. Currently, it was confirmed that Prince Yi cultivated the Visage of the Aberrant.
Yet no one knew specifically what he visualized. In his youth, Prince Yi had harbored grand dreams of becoming emperor and had not undertaken any cultivation before the age of fifteen. Only after the imperial succession was decided and he was passed over did he become a Xuanji martial artist.
The reason he had thought that way was said to be because at his birth, he had held a small flood dragon in the palm of his hand. From childhood, Prince Yi had believed himself to be the True Dragon and Son of Heaven. Yet in the end, it was his eldest brother who was invested as crown prince.
According to the Former Imperial House's records, upon learning of this back then, he had presumed upon the Grand Empress Dowager's doting favor to angrily march before the emperor and demand an explanation.
Emperor Chen had reigned at the time, and answered, "You are violent and cruel by nature. Were you to ascend the throne, not one of your brothers would keep his life. They are all my flesh and blood; how could I bear it?"
Prince Yi asked, what if my brothers harm me?
Emperor Chen thus enfeoffed him as Prince Yi and summoned the crown prince to swear an oath: once he took the throne in the future, so long as Prince Yi did not rise in rebellion, no punitive campaigns would be waged against him.
Judging by subsequent events, both successive emperors had kept their word.
In truth, the main reason was that Tiger Fang Islet was hardly a desirable place. Before Prince Yi arrived, it had been a wild expanse with only a few frontier towns. After Prince Yi was enfeoffed there, the Grand Empress Dowager had continually subsidized him, allowing him to forge his current domain.
In his subsequent cultivation, he spent most of his time in seas and lakes, so the subject of his visualization was most likely a water immortal or deity.
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the area indicated by Mingchengzi.
This place was called Zhenhai. They were high in the sky now, and looking down from here, Tiger Fang Islet was clearly in view.
It was just past six in the morning in the convergence zone, right as daylight began.
Mingchengzi halted and brought his hands together again. Mist emerged once more. Performed at closer range, the projection grew far clearer, and the faint outline of a person's figure could now be discerned.
He said, "Xuanji, there is no mistake. The man is directly below."
Chen Chuan was wearing his external implant this time. The conscious entity within compared the location Mingchengzi displayed with the actual terrain, ultimately locking onto the exact coordinates.
He stared at that position for a moment, then opened his palm. Moments later, a sphere of fire of spirituality surfaced in his hand, slowly drifted upward, and continually expanded.
By the time it rose high into the sky, it looked to the onlookers like a sun suspended overhead.
Yet at that point, the orb of light unexpectedly contracted inward. Within moments, it shrank to less than a foot across, continually compacting until it appeared no larger than a soybean.
Yet anyone could sense the terrifyingly immense power contained within that tiny bead.
And for Chen Chuan to compress spiritual fire to such an extent demonstrated an extraordinary mastery over the fire of spirituality; this feat alone was something not a single person present could match.
As for the Purist Faction martial artists present, they knew there might be people within their faction capable of reaching this stage, but none could possibly command it with such effortless control as Chen Chuan.
At that moment, the bead of light drifted slowly back into Chen Chuan's palm. He flipped his hand over.
In an instant, as if loosed from all restraint, the bead plummeted downward. In just a single breath, it pierced the surface of the sea and sank into the depths.
Beneath the seafloor at this moment lay a colossal subterranean chamber. Prince Yi was inside. Wearing a red crown and black armor, standing two zhang tall, he sat upon a dragon-carved throne. Not far away stood an upright Sea-Stirring Lance.
This was a place he had carved out alone for cultivation. Because he intensely despised the thick black fog of Youdu, countless luminous pearls were embedded into the cavern's rock walls for illumination.
All around hung various aberrant species he had hunted. Over the years, Tiger Fang Islet's rise had mainly relied on selling all kinds of precious materials to the Chan Sect and the major corporations of Great Shun's central cities.
At the same time, he had assembled mercenary squads dedicated to disposing of inconvenient people for local councils in the central cities.
He had been cultivating here these past few days, while also sheltering from a potential surprise attack by Great Shun.
Having learned of Youdu's fall, he knew Great Shun's next step would surely be to seek him out.
Hiding here, he felt there was essentially nothing to worry about.
Beside him now lay a languid white-scaled flood dragon.
This was the very flood dragon born with him back then, now grown into a powerful aberrant creature.
In truth, they could be considered brothers, or even parts of a single whole; when going into battle, they could merge into one, drawing upon each other's strength.
As he sat upright with eyes closed, a warning sign suddenly surged in his heart, and the half-dozing white-scaled flood dragon snapped its head up.
Within Prince Yi's outwardly projected spirit, he sensed a speck of light piercing through the sea water, plummeting directly toward him.
"Not good!"
He moved to dodge almost instantly, blue-red radiance erupting across his entire body.
And in the very next instant, his entire field of vision was filled with blinding light.
...
...
Chapter 1455