Aside from the remnants of the Municipal Council, the report primarily focused on the Plague Cult.
Apart from its combat personnel, the majority of the cult consisted of specialists and biotech engineers, along with a small number of cult fanatics.
Through their research, they had come to realize that relying solely on the biotechnology and equipment currently at their disposal would make it exceedingly difficult to break through their technological bottleneck. Consequently, they had sought an alternative path: attempting to create a deity that belonged entirely to their own cult.
Their original intention had not been to manufacture a god to worship, but rather to bring forth an entity capable of offering infinite possibilities on the spiritual plane, thereby assisting them in bypassing technical hurdles and barriers.
Simply put, corporations could deploy active conscious entities to serve them. Lacking both the technology and the immense logistical supply network required for that, the cult had resorted to radical measures, seeking to compensate for the deficiency by nourishing and serving an evil god.
Chen Chuan glanced through the file. This plan had been conceived as early as twenty years ago, and had begun to be implemented in the seventy-ninth year of Jianzhi once a suitable candidate was found.
The previous ritual operator had a mysterious background, known only by the codename "Chi Luan." According to the Plague Cult's confession, it was likely a woman.
The Plague Cult had taken the matter very seriously, investing substantial resources into it. Yet in the end, the ritual had failed, and the woman had vanished without a trace.
Then came three years ago, when the Painter arrived in Center City and, introduced by a certain client, became the celebrant for the Plague Cult's new ritual.
According to the investigation, the Painter's real name was Ji Yueshan, hailing from Chuanxi Circuit. From an early age, he had studied old religious rites under a senior priest of the Xuan Religion who lived in seclusion in the mountains. He was exceptionally perceptive, quick to grasp ten principles from learning one, and soon mastered every ritual he could be taught.
He seemed intensely interested in large-scale sacrificial rites passed down from the Old Era and was suspected of having taken part in several cult rituals. However, because the cultists involved in those rituals were virtually wiped out every single time, investigations typically reached a dead end.
The best-documented incident was the one in Yangzhi, where the ritual had been disrupted, leaving behind substantial evidence of his involvement.
Bureau Director Lei had included an analysis in the report. He discovered that the man had devised a special ritual to protect his own consciousness while being possessed and remodeled by the evil god. If the evil god's power were seized by an even greater external entity, he could seize the opportunity to reclaim his body and utilize the residual power from the ritual—not only emerging unscathed, but reaping immense benefits while freeing himself from the evil god's control.
This proved the man had known of the entity's existence on the other side. Even if he hadn't been deeply involved, he was thoroughly in the know.
Yet a section of his memories appeared to be missing, very likely by his own design. Without the manifestation of a specific ritual effect, he might never recover that missing portion.
Currently, the Esoteric Cult Bureau had not given up; they were searching for ways to recover those memories and had dispatched personnel to Chuanxi Circuit to track down leads.
Chen Chuan thought it over and contacted the Disposal Bureau, instructing them to find ways to track down that original client and cooperate as closely as possible with the Esoteric Cult Bureau on an in-depth investigation, insisting on seeing concrete results.
Below the interrogation transcripts, the report listed several gains. The technical expert panel had seized a wealth of new technologies and related data from the Plague Cult. According to assessments, over a hundred of these technologies could be directly applied and turned into production projects, not even counting the associated sub-projects.
These technologies would be handed over to state enterprises for development and application as deemed appropriate, though certain technologies would be completely sealed away for breaching moral ethics and basic safety baselines.
All told, this operation had not only flushed out and eliminated remnants of the Municipal Council and eradicated the cancer that was the Plague Gang, but had also yielded considerable technological spoils. On those merits alone, the operation could be counted a success.
Having finished reading, Chen Chuan tapped his boundary credential and watched the morning sunlight that had begun filtering into the room. The remaining matters would be settled by various departments of the Government Affairs Department; for now, he had no need to concern himself further.
After finishing another cup of a hot beverage, he returned to the meditation chamber. Confirming that the esoteric ritual formation was intact, he picked up a piece of Six-Yang Gold, drew the Xuejun Saber from its sheath with a swift motion, and slashed open a fissure.
Stepping across, the space between his brows shimmered as he cast his gaze over the surroundings. Crossing over this time, he did not see the entity that had pursued him earlier. By now, however, he could roughly guess that any person or thing existing here was akin to an isolated island.
So long as he didn't blatantly project his presence or happen to resonate with certain fields, he likely wouldn't provoke such entities.
The other party had been able to give chase earlier because their paths had intersected within the field of the Six-Yang Gold, allowing it to trace his trail.
Once he returned to the material world and completely severed the connection, the trail vanished with it, causing the pursuer to lose his scent. Even if he entered again, so long as he avoided that specific domain from before, it would be impossible for the entity to find him.
Earlier, he had simply not wanted to waste time, as fighting held no benefit. But if the entity showed up to obstruct him again this time, he would not hold back.
Resting the piece of Six-Yang Gold he had brought in his palm just as before, he locked his spirit onto it. The moment it vanished, he immediately sensed that domain. Following it with his spirit, he swiftly made contact with that barrier. The luminous mist on the Xuejun Saber spread out, dissolving it, and immediately revealed the scattered Six-Yang Gold all around once more.
Without waiting for him to urge it this time, luminous tendrils extended from the Xuejun Saber's blade, sweeping up every piece of Six-Yang Gold in sight.
Seeing he had secured them, Chen Chuan didn't linger and immediately moved to retreat. Yet just as he withdrew, a wave of shadow suddenly crept toward him.
Whatever he had encountered this time seemed different from the last, and its speed was astonishing, appearing poised to overtake him before he could exit the fissure.
Seeing this, he simply stopped retreating. Standing before the fissure, saber in hand, light flared across his entire body as the brilliance unique to the Grand Radiant Light Forms burst forth in an instant. Everything around caught fire as if scorched by flame, burning outwards with incredible speed, until he seemed to stand within a magnificent blaze of glory.
This surprised him slightly. He had known the Grand Radiant Light Forms might prove useful here, but he hadn't anticipated such a dazzling, exaggerated display.
At that very moment, the shadow halted abruptly, then retreated at a speed even greater than when it had arrived.
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow. The thing almost seemed to be fleeing. Turning the thought over briefly, he didn't pursue the matter and stepped back through the fissure, closing it with a casual slash.
He pondered the occurrence. These entities appeared whenever he took Six-Yang Gold. Once could be a coincidence, but twice certainly wasn't.
Was it because he had taken too much?
He recalled Mr. Mask mentioning that because someone on the other side also needed this material, martial artists of the Visage of the Divine could never bring back much Six-Yang Gold at once.
As for the definition of "much" or "little," he hadn't known prior to harvesting it himself. Now it seemed taking a dozen or so was enough to draw some "attention."
Perhaps the combined field of so many pieces of Six-Yang Gold was just enough to be detected by the other side, or perhaps certain "entities" were keeping watch specifically, noticing the moment anything was disturbed.
He shook his head. There was no need to dwell on it. He had brought back at least a dozen pieces this time, and together with what remained from before, it should be enough.
After a brief inspection to confirm everything was in order, he wasted no more time and laid all the Six-Yang Gold out before him.
Counting them up, there seemed to be a few more than last time—a full nineteen pieces lay in front of him.
Though the pieces varied in size, he felt it was definitely sufficient. He wasn't sure if any would be left over; if there were, he could feed them to the civet cat.
Sheathing the Xuejun Saber, he cleared the surroundings as usual, sat down on the cushion, and resumed his cultivation once more.
This session lasted over nine hours. Around evening, he finally absorbed all nineteen pieces, including the remnants from before.
Feeling the fullness radiating between his brows, he knew that the Six-Yang Gold he had absorbed this time completely satisfied his needs.
With this condition met, he could proceed with visualization and cultivation as prescribed by the technique.
This stage required projecting the true self into it. The process would consume vast amounts of energy and take a considerable amount of time. The stronger a martial artist's foundation and the more robust and complex their mutated tissue, the longer it would take.
Most crucially, the entire process was best completed in a single continuous breath. If an error occurred midway, one might have to start from scratch. There would be no need to search for more Six-Yang Gold, as it was already merged with oneself, but the expended energy would have to be replenished anew.
Chen Chuan knew the time he needed would hardly be short. After a moment's consideration, he walked out and simply devoured in one go all the remaining high-energy nutrients and foodstuffs—enough to sustain a person for a month—storing all the energy within his mutated tissue.
Then he returned to the meditation chamber, settled onto the cushion, and continued with his cultivation.
This single seated meditation lasted for more than ten days, and it wasn't until late July that he finally completed the entire visualization.
At this moment, the red mark between his brows had faded completely, replaced by a cluster of concentrated brilliance enfolding the area.
As that light grew denser and denser, pure white mist gradually began to surge from the field around his body, gathering thicker and heavier until it filled the entire chamber.
Moments later, the mist coalesced and drew inward, quickly manifesting a figure sitting cross-legged outside his body. Even seated, it stood four to five meters tall, almost reaching the ceiling of the meditation chamber.
Initially blurred in outline, the figure grew clearer and clearer, its facial features resolving into brows and eyes identical to his own, while its entire form radiated a platinum brilliance.
After a long time, Chen Chuan suddenly opened his eyes. At that very instant, the colossal figure opened its eyes as well, but within them gleamed a sea of golden light. Not only its eyes, but even in the space between its brows, a glowing vertical eye appeared.
Chapter 939