A woman lit a cigarette, took a drag, and propped the elbow of the hand holding the cigarette with her other hand. "What do you want to do, Boss?"
The burly middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "The simplest and most direct method is, of course, physical elimination. But in the past, it was an internal incident within the Purist Faction itself. If we do something like that again now, even if we succeed, the Purist Faction won't let the matter rest. Therefore, the best way is a fair duel. Whichever side admits defeat steps aside. That way, it won't escalate into an all-out factional war."
The woman said bluntly, "Not to blunt your enthusiasm, Boss, but that idea is far too wishful. Why on earth would that Supervisor Chen pay any heed to you? Even if he were willing himself, the Purist Faction would never agree."
Just as the burly middle-aged man was about to reply, the field screen in front of them suddenly flickered and shook.
"Interference again," the woman said. "Go out and take a look."
A security guard immediately parted the curtain and stepped outside. A gust of sand-laden wind blew in at once, but the moment it entered the room, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, failing to disturb anything inside.
Outside, beneath them, was a colossal lizard-like creature crawling forward. Bearing upon its back was the very house they were in—a tall, three-story wooden building. Looking all around as far as the eye could see, there were only mounds of red sandstone and sand swirling across the sky.
They were unmistakably in the Confluence.
Farther away, wisps of mist shimmering with multicolored light drifted over. Wherever it passed, hard rock shattered into dust out of nothing, instantly collapsing into loose gravel that scattered over the ground.
Seeing the kaleidoscopic colors reflected in the security guard's goggles, the woman's four pupils suddenly contracted. She turned her head toward the interior and called out, "Boss, it's a Rainbow Barrier! We can't handle this thing!"
The middle-aged man immediately picked up a book from the table before him and began reading aloud in a deep, richly emotional voice:
"...Under the gentle moonlight, Morty arrived beneath the familiar little stone bridge. Peering through the gaps in the wild grapevines and along the horizontal branches of the birch tree, he gazed toward that familiar second-story window. He could imagine the dreamlike silhouette behind it, and those captivating green eyes..."
His fierce, hulking appearance paired with such an expressive, tender tone was truly enough to induce goosebumps, yet the surrounding security guards and the woman could only wait in numb resignation.
After two sentences, the burly middle-aged man abruptly ceased speaking, set down the book, and walked out. His figure flickered and vanished. A flash of light shimmered outside, and in what seemed like a mere instant, he reappeared at the doorway. A few strides later, he settled back onto the sofa and naturally picked up their previous conversation:
"That was just my ideal scenario. When brainstorming, one can naturally start off bold. If that won't work, we can lure him into the Confluence. There are far more ways to deal with him here, and we can bypass a lot of trouble."
"The strategy has potential," the woman said, "but how do you plan to draw him out?"
"How could a martial artist stay in Center City forever? He will definitely come. Once he's in the Confluence, anything is possible."
The woman took another drag of her cigarette and flicked the ash with a slender finger. "Fair enough, but who knows how long that will take? The Municipal Council has already agreed to provide that Supervisor Chen with a steady three-year supply. If he doesn't come out for three years, are you going to wait three years, Boss?"
The burly middle-aged man wasn't worried. "Don't fret. With Zhao Zhenye there, there's no way they'll leave him alone. At worst, we'll have Zhao Zhenye show his face. Do you really think the Purist Faction could sit still then?"
The woman smiled playfully. "That Mr. Zhao... he might not necessarily listen to us."
Black smoke swirled within the burly man's eyes. "I will speak with him personally."
A serious expression crossed the woman's face, and she cautioned, "Boss, not that I'm looking down on you, but that Mr. Zhao is formidable. He isn't our subordinate either; he won't necessarily heed your words."
"I'm not stupid. I'm not going there to provoke a fight. What the Purists intend to do—could he fail to understand that? We have a foundation for cooperation. But this matter must be taken slowly; we can't rush it. Besides, if we truly have to fight..."
The burly man looked at the field screen. "On my own, I might not be able to keep him here. We still need to devise a way—a foolproof way."
***
Inside the residence in Wuding District, Chen Chuan concluded a night of cultivation and was currently feeding Chaoming. The first batch of foodstuffs provided by the Municipal Council was exceptionally rich in nutrients, so Chaoming could only eat a tiny bit each time before falling asleep, and this batch would last at least six months.
Once the feeding was done, he was about to head to the study when an incoming call arrived on his boundary credential. Andun prompted, "Incoming communication signal from the National Courier Company."
Stirred by this, Chen Chuan connected the call. A thoroughly ordinary voice sounded from the other end: "Mr. Chen? Hello, we are from the National Courier Company. We have an express package to deliver to you."
Chen Chuan asked, "Where are you now?"
"We have already entered Wuding District and are heading toward your residence. We expect to arrive within ten minutes."
Chen Chuan said, "Alright, I'll be waiting."
He instructed the security personnel below to open the main gates. A few minutes later, a medium-sized cargo truck drove in from the side road and, guided by security, parked in the open space before the residence.
Descending from the upper floor, he saw two ordinary-looking young men working together to lift a chest-high crate down from the truck bed. It appeared quite heavy, kicking up a puff of dust as it landed.
One of the young men glanced at Chen Chuan, seemed to cross-reference something, and confirmed his identity. He then brought over a document, stepped in front of Chen Chuan, saluted him, and offered it with both hands. "Mr. Chen, here is your shipment. Please sign for it."
Chen Chuan took it. Seeing the official stamp of the Main Academy upon it, he knew this was indeed the package. He promptly signed it and handed it back.
The young man inspected it, tore off a receipt slip for him, and asked if he needed help carrying it inside. Upon learning it wasn't necessary, he gave another salute, climbed back into the truck, and drove away.
Chen Chuan looked down at the crate. Inside was likely the cultivation method for the Visage of Man. He hadn't expected the so-called "dedicated courier" to be an express delivery company, though their conduct clearly resembled that of military personnel.
Looking at the crate, he grasped the leather strap atop it and lifted it effortlessly, as though it weighed nothing at all, before returning upstairs to the training room.
He set the crate down, unfastened the latches, and opened three layers of wrappings and covers one after another. Revealed within was a curled-up field creature resembling an intertwined, knotty vine. At the moment, it was motionless, seemingly suspended in a state of suspended animation.
A single glance was enough for Chen Chuan to understand. The information had to be contained within this field creature's body. It had likely undergone specialized modification; without the field power of the Fourth Limit to activate it, one probably wouldn't be able to retrieve anything from it.
He placed a hand upon it. After a moment, the field creature shuddered. Its knotty limbs stretched outward in all directions, extending as it simultaneously emitted a biological field.
The field trembled slightly before stabilizing, after which wisps of light radiated from its tendrils, displaying information composed of combined text and imagery.
This was the cultivation method for the "Visage of Man."
Light danced in Chen Chuan's eyes as he absorbed a vast amount of information in an instant. Just several minutes later, the field creature shriveled as though its life force had been depleted, its body and tendrils turning an ash-gray hue.
He paid no attention to that, focusing solely on the information transmitted to him.
Within, the foundational steps, required materials, and crucial key points of the path of the Human Visage were laid out in relatively great detail.
Nor was that all; there were also extensive descriptions of the Divine Visage and the Aberrant Visage. From the notes below, he learned that the academy wanted practitioners to have a clear and distinct understanding of all three paths of the Visages, lest they make a choice out of ignorance or an impulsive whim. Once chosen and practiced, there was no turning back, but changing course now was still possible.
Thus, he did not rush into cultivating either, taking the opportunity to examine them. The cultivation of the Visage of the Aberrant centered primarily on "visualization fixation." Broadly speaking, it involved seated meditation using visage visualization diagrams handed down from the past, or evoking the desired transformed aberrant visage from deep within one's own heart, thereby guiding mutated tissue to develop in a specific direction.
Most of these visualization diagrams had been passed down from various ancient religions. The advantage of cultivating along this line was having a fixed path to follow and the experiences of predecessors to consult, as many ancient dynasties of old had established their own aberrant visage systems and temples, most of which endured to this day.
To evoke it entirely from oneself, however, was exceptionally difficult. It required constructing a complete framework from nothing, which was extraordinarily arduous. After all, the aberrant visages of the old religions were well-trodden paths discovered through the accumulated trials and errors of countless generations. Perhaps an exceptionally gifted individual might transcend them on rare occasions, but that was destined to be a tiny fraction of a minority.
The Visage of the Divine, on the other hand, required traveling beyond the heavens—meaning taking one's spirit on a roaming journey into the world on the other side. There, one would temper oneself and forge a unique Everlasting Mark. Once this mark was formed, one's spirit could dwell within that realm for extended periods, and the next step was to find one's own Outer Visage Sovereign there.
Whether this so-called Outer Visage Sovereign actually existed or not was uncertain. The theory behind Divine Visage cultivation was to perceive and locate a visage compatible with one's own spirit, gradually usurp power from it, and ultimately replace it with oneself.
As he read further, the text emphasized that both paths had their respective strengths and weaknesses. In Aberrant Visage cultivation, the slightest deviation was exceedingly difficult to correct; some practitioners would ultimately stray from their original path, turning into mindless aberrations that lost their sense of self.
Meanwhile, Divine Visage cultivation constantly required contending with all manner of perilous entities from the other world. A single misstep or a stroke of bad luck could lead to one's spirit being devoured, devastating one's vitality—and that was the better outcome; at worst, it could invite something to parasite or attach itself to the cultivator.
Hence the grave warning: if a practitioner did not possess exceptional strengths in either spirit or physical constitution, they should not rashly attempt either of these two paths, and choosing the Visage of Man was far safer and more prudent.
In comparison, when starting the cultivation of the Human Visage, one merely needed to follow the method step-by-step just as in the past, making the initial entry remarkably easy.
Chapter 799