When this radiance shone forth, Chen Chuan immediately sensed that this power bore some resemblance to the Great Radiant Sun he had encountered before.
Beneath the enveloping glare, his Spiritual Fire flickered violently, and psychic force was heavily disrupted, making it impossible to pinpoint Xiaoyuezhai's exact position.
Although the man was no match for him in a direct, head-on clash, using this method effectively masked his weaknesses.
Yet Chen Chuan knew such a state could not possibly be sustained for long; during this window, his opponent would surely seize the moment to make a move.
Finding a breakthrough against him was unlikely—whether at range or up close, the man had already tried and failed. Therefore, his first instinct would almost certainly be to target Hu Kan, just as before.
Xiaoyuezhai indeed had this exact intention. Chen Chuan possessed external conditioning jin, backed by immense strength and speed, countering him far too severely; Hu Kan, on the other hand, presented a vulnerable opening.
His earlier use of the Layered Shadow Saber had been aimed solely at delaying Chen Chuan. A martial artist's techniques required matching speed and force; even the slightest hindrance, a fraction of a second's delay, could completely change the outcome.
Moreover, acting the moment the light erupted gave him an initial step ahead. Masked by the glare, he had already crossed to Hu Kan's flank in a flash and silently slashed out once more.
Hu Kan seemed affected by the glare, completely oblivious to his surroundings. This time, he failed to evade at all, taking the long saber condensed with Spiritual Fire head-on.
Yet after tearing through the outer Spiritual Fire, a strike that should have cleaved his hardened flesh had no effect. Instead, a clear clang rang out, as if striking tempered steel.
Esoteric technique: Golden Armor Body!
This technique concentrated the Spiritual Fire densely inward to achieve tactical deception. However, unless mastered to utmost refinement, it severely restricted one's movements; taking up defense made offense impossible. In combat, this was exceptionally passive—if an enemy could strike once, they could strike again—so he rarely used it.
But now was different—he had an ally! If Xiaoyuezhai attacked him, there would inevitably be a disturbance, and that would be Chen Chuan's opening.
Sure enough, an overwhelming air displacement surged past his flank, catching Hu Kan's breath in his chest. Only then did a skull-rattling boom detonate right before him, and the blinding mass of light instantly scattered into nothingness.
His psychic senses detected Xiaoyuezhai at the same moment. Knowing his chance had come, he spun purely on instinct and hurled one of his great hammers in that direction!
The moment his slash proved futile, Xiaoyuezhai knew he was in trouble. He immediately executed Embracing Thought Body, one of Anyao Arena's Three Body Arts, instantly curling his frame into a tight ball.
Almost the instant he curled up, a fist slammed heavily into him. His Spiritual Fire wavered violently, nearly extinguished, but the esoteric technique deflected a portion of the force, allowing him to use the momentum to fly backward.
Right then, a gleaming hammer flew in from an angle, smashing into his shoulder and back with a heavy thud, utterly shattering the last vestige of Spiritual Fire he had struggled to maintain.
Chen Chuan had already closed the gap. As though in perfect concert with Hu Kan, he seized the opening in Xiaoyuezhai's defenses and drove a fist forward!
With a resounding boom, the vessel's head was blasted apart. Under the onslaught of Spiritual Fire, the entire husk instantly tore open, exploding outward in every direction.
Chen Chuan's gaze shifted. This time, he clearly felt that Xiaoyuezhai had detached a step ahead, meaning he had only smashed an empty shell. Without pausing after the blow landed, he tapped the ground with his toe and surged toward a specific spot.
He had deduced where Xiaoyuezhai was heading: straight for the other giant figure that had previously stirred and been struck by him.
The dread of Divine Visage lay in its persistence: so long as there were suitable vessels to possess and psychic power remained unspent, the user could keep fighting indefinitely, making them exceptionally troublesome. However, each detachment and re-coalescence exacted a massive toll, so he had to seize this chance to swiftly destroy that body.
Crossing a hundred meters in an instant, Chen Chuan delivered a kick charged with Spiritual Fire right into the giant silhouette's waist. The impact blasted a massive breach through the torso, leaving only a tenuous remnant holding it together.
Hu Kan had arrived at the same conclusion. Leaping forward simultaneously, he gripped his remaining hammer with both hands and swung it down viciously toward the figure's head, roaring, "Die for your granddaddy!"
With a muffled crunch, the head caved in beneath the hammer blow, collapsing straight down into the chest.
Under their combined assault, the vessel was destroyed in the blink of an eye. In that very instant, a semi-translucent figure holding a blade rushed out from within, slashing toward Hu Kan directly ahead for the third time.
Having had his possessed vessels repeatedly destroyed, Xiaoyuezhai's psychic power was severely diminished. Even if finding another vessel were possible, he would have no opportunity to mobilize it for battle. He completely abandoned that thought, staking everything on a desperate counterattack.
This strike was known as Severing Spirit Slash, a technique that forged all of one's psychic power into an unyielding blade to cut down the foe. If it struck and inflicted damage, the spirit would invade the opponent's body, fusing with their mind—effectively allowing the user to survive in another form.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan's eyes flashed, and he unleashed the Spirit-Shaking Hammer.
This method from the Taibai Contemplation was something he had learned in the third limit, but that did not mean it could no longer be used. His psychic force was every bit as formidable as his physical body; when this strike landed, it crashed into the phantom like an actual hammer.
When Hu Kan first saw Xiaoyuezhai's phantom rushing him, he had already swung his hammer and could not pull it back in time, so he hastily rallied his remaining Spiritual Fire for defense. Still unsure of the move's nature, he braced himself for the worst.
In his vision, the translucent silhouette brandishing the blade effortlessly pierced his outermost field. As the saber's tip drew closer to his forehead, his eyes narrowed involuntarily.
Suddenly, the apparition seemed violently struck by something unseen. Ripples cascaded across its form like disturbed water, and it distorted wildly—especially the face resembling Xiaoyuezhai, which contorted out of shape as wisps of transparent vapor drifted away.
In that moment, he seemed to hear a roar of unwilling fury. The translucent body still pressed forward doggedly, bringing its blade down against him.
Yet the slash failed to breach even the thin layer of Spiritual Fire. Instead, it melted away as it drew close. As the figure made its final charge, its entire body slammed into him, but without any of the expected impact. It swept past like a gust of strong wind, merely stirring his disheveled hair.
Moments later, Hu Kan landed on the ground with a thud, kicking up clouds of dust that swirled about under the influence of his field.
Only now did the shattered remains of the first vessel Chen Chuan had smashed scatter fully to the ground. Beside them, the colossal, mangled husk swayed and toppled forward powerlessly, crashing down with a rumbling thud and throwing up plumes of dust that blurred their vision.
Panting, Hu Kan looked through the haze at Chen Chuan's indistinct silhouette and gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother, you're the real deal! Your big brother is thoroughly impressed!"
Chen Chuan gave him a nod. "It was only because of your excellent cooperation, Brother Hu. If you hadn't held the front line, it wouldn't have been so easy for me to land a hit."
He was not being modest. The Spirit-Shaking Hammer required little technical finesse; had he not accurately anticipated Xiaoyuezhai's intentions, it would have been difficult to connect. Furthermore, Hu Kan had drawn almost all of their enemy's fire leading up to that point.
Hu Kan was rather baffled himself. He was the one who had a head lopped off earlier, not Xiaoyuezhai—he was the one who had cause to feel aggrieved! Why did this old bastard act like they shared some blood feud, insisting on throwing his life away trying to take him down?
Chen Chuan checked his surroundings; no psychic residue remained, indicating that Xiaoyuezhai was truly and utterly dead.
When cultivated to a high level, the Divine Visage was indeed formidable to face. Even in defeat, with sufficient preparation, the practitioner could find a way to escape and return another day.
In the old era, practitioners of the Divine Visage had been exceedingly rare—not only was the path difficult to train, but suitable vessels were hard to find. Nowadays, things were different. He had heard from Mr. Zhuan that suitable husks could now be engineered for practitioners of this path, leading to a considerable rise in their numbers.
A faction like the Convergence faction likely boasted many martial artists skilled in this discipline.
In that case, he would need to step up his practice of the Grand Radiant Light Forms upon returning. Beyond tempering his own psychic power and serving in direct combat, this set of fist forms could also be employed to strike at the spirit.
By now, Hu Kan had recovered his composure. He walked over to retrieve his hammer and said, "Brother Chen, let's head out. They might be waiting for our news out there."
Chen Chuan agreed. He walked over to the pile of mangled flesh, picked up the horse-cutting saber from within, gave his wrist a flick to shake off the clinging fragments, and stowed it behind his back.
Hu Kan hoisted his hammer onto his shoulder, looked at the remaining giant figures on the earthen wall, and sighed with feeling. "I must say, Anyao Arena's heritage is quite impressive. If this Xiaoyuezhai had even a fraction of Master Hongfa's skill from back in the day, today's fight wouldn't have been so easy."
Chen Chuan had heard many tales about Master Hongfa at the Danliu School. Looking at the radiance beyond the earthen wall, he remarked, "Speaking of Master Hongfa, it seems he ventured into the depths of the fissure all on his own in the end."
Hu Kan said, "Who knows? Maybe the old master thought he could preach the Dharma to whatever's on the other side, too?"
Gazing at the bright expanse of the sky, Chen Chuan said, "Given enough strength, it might not be impossible. Brother Hu, let's head back."
Chapter 814