The moment the Six-Yang Gold vanished, Chen Chuan, having prepared in advance, immediately detected a subtle shift within it.
In the material world, Six-Yang Gold remained inert and immutable, but once subjected to the influence of spirit power, it became extraordinarily active.
Upon arriving here, it underwent an instant transformation, forming a unique field of its own just like everything else in this realm.
And that was precisely what he needed to find.
The space between his brows shimmered faintly as he exerted his full focus to perceive the lingering traces of field information left behind just before the Six-Yang Gold disappeared.
A spirit power far outstripping that of ordinary martial artists at his level granted him ample ease in doing this. If his strength were insufficient, then even knowing this method was likely viable, he would never have managed to advance smoothly to the next step.
Pursuing it relentlessly with his spiritual consciousness, he felt as though he had caught onto something after only a brief moment, and he drew closer toward it. Soon, just as he sensed that he was on the verge of making contact, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he could not advance even a single step further, as if a dense barrier stood in his way.
He pondered how to bridge the gap and soon realized that when martial artists of the Visage of the Divine came here, they typically arrived in a spirit-wandering state composed of the purest spirit power.
He, however, had crossed over directly in his physical body. That very fact was likely what created a disparity between himself and his surroundings, preventing him from blending in, truly integrating, and making contact.
Yet just because he could not do it himself did not mean other means were unavailable.
He glanced at the red scarf fluttering around his neck. Hongfu could probably manage it, but apart from her, there might be another way.
Tightening his grip, he took hold of the Xuejun Saber. Sensing his intent, the blade released a wisp of its own luminous mist that diffused outward.
At the same time, the barrier seemed to gradually melt away.
The Xuejun Saber trembled gently, and as the radiance expanded, the things ahead grew clearer and clearer.
All at once, he felt the surrounding world shift. The crystalline structures he had previously seen vanished entirely, as if he had stepped into another realm. Scattered before his eyes were fragment after fragment of shimmering golden objects.
Six-Yang Gold!
And plenty of it!
Some of the golden gleams had only just appeared before abruptly vanishing moments later, yet new ones constantly welled up to take their place.
He did not reach out with his field to touch them directly, intuitively sensing that if he actively tried to harvest them right now, he might be ejected from this place altogether.
He needed another method.
As if feeling his resolve, tendrils of luminous mist drifted out from the Xuejun Saber, coiling around the scattered pieces of Six-Yang Gold one by one and lifting them up. Once enveloped, the pieces appeared to solidify, no longer vanishing in rapid succession.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan gave a slight nod and stood motionless. Yet right at that moment, he suddenly caught a disturbance.
Looking up, he saw a patch of bright light emerge above this area, as though the barrier there had been melted through by something.
Immediately after, an enormous hand reached into the space. The hand possessed striking beauty—its fingers resembled tender shoots of jade, the back was as smooth as porcelain, and the skin along the forearm was as delicate as flawless white jade.
What it did, however, was far from beautiful. It swept forward, grabbing a massive cluster of Six-Yang Gold, including the very pieces he intended to take.
Chen Chuan felt an instant wave of annoyance. When he had not been taking them, this hand had never shown up; why did it appear the moment he began to collect them?
Was it intentionally trying to oppose him?
Gripping the saber's hilt with both hands, he took several strides forward and slashed horizontally right at the hand!
Almost simultaneously, the red scarf at his neck flared, and a crimson wisp settled onto the blade, causing its radiance to erupt outward by over a dozen meters.
As the arc of blade light swept across the void, an earth-shattering shriek echoed within his spirit, followed by a massive severed arm tumbling to the ground.
Chen Chuan did not spare it another glance. Pulling back the Xuejun Saber, he immediately withdrew from the scene.
Right before his exit, the stone plaque in his coat pocket stirred. A translucent, fierce-looking little civet cat leaped out, swiftly snatched a piece of Six-Yang Gold in its jaws, bounded once more, and raced out alongside him.
In the next instant, the scene completely faded away, returning him to where he had begun, and the little civet cat bounded back into his stone plaque.
He glanced behind him and reflected on what had happened. Within this spiritual realm, spatial distance was likely irrelevant; it was simply that both he and that entity had entered a specific field, causing their paths to intersect at that moment.
While he was pondering this, his gaze shifted. He sensed that the entity appeared to be pursuing him, seemingly possessing a specialized method to track his trail.
However, he had no time to waste on it today. Turning around, he walked out of the fissure and soon returned to his meditation chamber.
Just as he stepped through, he noticed something hurtling toward him at high speed from the other side of the gap.
Calmly raising the Xuejun Saber, he made a clean slash across the air. The fissure sealed shut in an instant, and muffled sounds of fury resonated from the other side, sending a faint tremor through the meditation chamber.
Chen Chuan lowered the blade impassively. He simply had no time to tangle with that thing today, nor any interest in wasting effort on it. If it truly managed to cross over, he would teach it proper manners.
With a flick of his wrist, he vibrated the blade. The Xuejun Saber let out a soft ring, and from within the strands of luminous mist, piece after piece of Six-Yang Gold tumbled down, clattering onto the floor.
He counted them up: he had brought out a total of fourteen pieces of Six-Yang Gold.
This was an enormous harvest!
The ones he had exchanged for previously had not been a loss either; they established an overt paper trail of transactions, preventing others from prying into his true background.
With a thought from Chen Chuan, all the pieces of Six-Yang Gold floated into the air. He was unsure whether a dozen or so pieces would suffice, but even if they fell short, he had the Xuejun Saber and could return to retrieve more.
He then glanced at the stone plaque in his pocket. The piece snatched by the little civet cat had likely already been absorbed into its body, so there was no need to dwell on it. Since he had plenty to spare, parting with one piece made no difference.
Surveying his surroundings, he noted that because his entry and exit had been extremely swift and he had actively sealed the fissure, very little seemed to have leaked through. Even so, he remained cautious. With a thought, a bright gleam flashed around him, thoroughly purifying the entire chamber before he finally relaxed.
Sheathing the Xuejun Saber, he returned to his previous seat.
He set most of the Six-Yang Gold in front of him, preparing to resume his cultivation, but deliberately set one piece aside. This was a safeguard in case he needed more later; if he could not locate the field on his own, he could use this piece as a guide.
Once everything was in order, he fixed his gaze on a piece of Six-Yang Gold and enveloped it with his spirit power. Wisps of golden smoke began to drift upward from its surface.
Perhaps because he had only just acquired it, this piece felt remarkably dense and firm. At his current speed, it took roughly half an hour to fully refine it, after which he moved on to the next. The process continued until dawn, by which time he had completely absorbed all thirteen pieces into his body.
At this point, he felt that most of his requirements had been fulfilled. Although a slight deficit remained, he could simply make another trip.
He was in no hurry to go back right away. Now that he knew the method, the material would not run off.
He sat resting for a while to restore his spirit, then exited the meditation chamber. Brewing a hot drink, he stirred in some rust bee honey brought back from the Melded Lands, stood by the window, and sipped slowly while gazing at the sky brightening with the first light of dawn.
Finishing the drink, he first went over to Chaoming, personally replacing its water and feed. Chaoming was already awake, currently practicing breathing exercises tailored specifically for it. Chen Chuan inspected its progress, found no issues, patted its head, and headed toward the dining room.
By this time, Nian Fuli and his aunt had also gotten out of bed, while the two little ones were still asleep. Growing children had no need to wake so early; studying at home carried the advantage of not having to rush to school on a strict schedule.
Judging from his aunt Yu Wan's intentions, however, once the children caught up with the curriculum and obtained the tutor's approval, they could be enrolled as transfer students so they could interact with other peers.
Chen Chuan ate breakfast alongside Yu Wan and Nian Fuli. Afterward, amidst Yu Wan's parting reminders, Nian Fuli prepared to head out to the City Patrol Department.
Chen Chuan tapped his boundary credential to check the updates from the Defense Department. Neither the Government Affairs Hall nor the Defense Department had pressing matters requiring his personal attention, but preliminary interrogation results regarding the group that had abducted Speaker Quan had arrived.
Those who had planned and taken part in the operation were almost entirely factions tied by vested interests to the Municipal Council. Their flight toward Plague Gang territory had not been due to advance preparations of their own, but rather because someone had brokered a connection behind the scenes.
This individual remained mysterious. The only person likely to have had direct contact with them was the middle-aged man known as "Chu Han"—an obvious alias. His face and body had undergone physical modifications, he possessed rigorous training, and esoteric rituals had even been used to seal his mind and memories. The interrogation remained ongoing.
Chen Chuan pondered the matter. He suspected that the Convergence faction or the Refined Practice School was likely pulling strings in the background, though they might not have been direct participants; organizations like theirs rarely left behind actionable evidence.
Yet regardless of their intentions, as long as the current balance in Center City held and the Municipal Council ceased to provide them with backing, they were bound to remain incapable of stirring up any major trouble.
Chapter 938