Within the deep crater smashed out of the high ground, the talons of the horned serpent pinned Xu Mutang firmly beneath them. The silver flames flickering across its claws clashed and eroded against the cold-cyan Flame of Spirituality enveloping his body.
Xu Mutang had not suffered much damage in the impact just now. Although the horned serpent possessed immense strength, the quality of its Flame of Spirituality fell well short of his own. A single strike was far from enough to shatter his defense.
However, the opponent's primary aim was clearly to restrain him. If he failed to break free from beneath the beast's talons in time, the figure on the serpent's back could attack him without restraint, and things would turn dire.
At this moment, relying on his abnormally massive physique, he thrust out two pairs of his arms, seizing different parts of the serpent's claws. Twisting his waist, he flipped over and threw his weight outward with a tremendous heave. With a deafening boom, he toppled the horned serpent onto its side.
Meanwhile, the robust figure above leaped down, bringing a warhammer smashing down toward his head. Having anticipated this, Xu Mutang raised his remaining free pair of arms above him, gripping his whip with both hands to block the strike.
Yet he had not yet climbed out of the crater. When the two forces collided, his body was inevitably driven deeper into the earth. At the same moment, the horned serpent scrambled with all four talons, rolling back to its feet. Planting its foreclaws into the ground, it rammed its horned head straight at him.
Xu Mutang leaned backward, and his lower two pairs of arms caught the creature's solitary horn with pinpoint precision. Seizing upon its momentum, he hauled himself up out of the crater. Realizing this, the serpent shook its head violently from side to side, and with an outward jerk of its horn, flung him away once again.
Midair, Xu Mutang intended to use the distance to regroup, but an instinctive sense of danger flared within him. Flicking his whip outward with a sharp clang, he batted away a short spear flying in from nowhere.
Though the spear had failed to strike him directly, the force behind it was considerable, knocking him even farther back.
Right then, he saw the robust figure stow the long hammer behind his back while thrusting an open palm toward him. Within the palm, a brilliant golden light began to flare.
Xu Mutang's expression changed. Falling through the air toward the ground and still affected by the lingering impact of the spear, he had no time to dodge or evade. Left with no other choice, he mustered the Flame of Spirituality across his body with all his might, gathering it before him.
At the same time, he used the power of his field to twist his torso, doing everything he could to avoid taking the brunt of the hit. The instant before he touched down, the flash erupted with a roar, arriving before him almost instantaneously. As he raised his arms, steeling himself for the suffocating impact, a soft pop sounded, and the blinding light abruptly ground to a halt barely three or four meters away.
Dazed, he looked up to see a figure standing there, enveloped in flickering platinum flames. One hand was raised, holding back the incoming radiant blast. The two opposing flames crashed against each other. Under the blinding brilliance, only the silhouette of the figure and his billowing surcoat could be seen.
After a prolonged moment, the burst of light finally exhausted its force and dissipated. The figure remained standing before him with his back turned, holding a long saber in one hand, while the red scarf tied around his neck whipped furiously in the violent currents of air.
At that moment, the figure tilted his head slightly. "Chief Inspector Xu, are you all right?"
The voice sounded surprisingly young, yet resonated with calm confidence. It was immediately clear that he was an ally—a martial artist from Great Shun!
Surging with relief, Xu Mutang also felt a prickle of astonishment. "I am unhurt. Thank you for the assistance. May I ask who...?"
The figure turned slightly more, revealing half of a young, handsome face. "Jibei Circuit, Chen Chuan."
Xu Mutang started, then had an epiphany. "You are Section Chief Chen?" He said with great solemnity, "Section Chief Chen, I have heard of you. Thank you for what you just did!"
Chen Chuan looked ahead. "Chief Inspector Xu, we can talk later. Let's deal with this thing first."
Xu Mutang lifted his whip, glaring at the man and serpent opposite them, and replied decisively, "Right. I'll join you, Section Chief Chen!"
Chen Chuan shook his head.
Xu Mutang looked puzzled.
Chen Chuan said earnestly, "Chief Inspector Xu, leave this to me. I suggest you deal with what's happening to your body first."
"What's happening to my body?"
Xu Mutang froze. Perplexed at first, he looked down, and cold horror struck him. Densely packed tiny perforations had broken out across his body, with countless little insects crawling in and out. Wherever these cavities formed, gaps opened up in his Flame of Spirituality.
The moment he noticed them, a sudden wave of weakness washed over him. With a dull thud, his massive body sank to one knee.
He immediately understood: the contaminant that had seeped into his body earlier had not been entirely purged after all. A lingering trace had remained latent within him.
So long as he remained oblivious to it, he would never have detected it before the infestation was complete. But now, having recognized it, the mutated tissues in his body instinctively rebelled against continuing the fight in a bid to save themselves.
In this state, he truly could not fight. Just then, he saw the horned serpent dig its claws into the ground and bound toward them. He shouted a warning at once: "Watch out, that's—"
Chen Chuan watched the horned serpent hurtle right in front of him, charging with ferocious momentum.
He made no attempt to dodge. Merely angling his body slightly, he drove a fist straight outward, smashing into its forehead with a thunderous blast. His feet remained firmly planted, yet the punch brought the entire horned serpent to an absolute dead stop. Its thick, elongated body arched and twisted violently under the sheer shock of the jin delivered by his fist. The radiant flames of spirituality upon it shattered instantly; its eyes rolled back in their sockets, and it slumped limp to one side.
Above, the robust figure leaped into the air, plunging downward with his coiled-snake hammer held high, bringing it crashing down toward Chen Chuan's head!
Chen Chuan lunged forward instead, stepping onto the serpent's head as he surged upward. Reaching up with both hands, he firmly gripped the hammer's shaft, then twisted his body, using the weapon itself to swing the colossal, gold-armored figure toward the ground below.
With a resounding boom, the ground shook violently as bricks and stones shattered in all directions. Exerting his strength again, Chen Chuan heaved the long shaft upward, dragging the figure with it, and slammed him brutally down onto the serpent's back!
Another violent tremor rippled through the air; the serpent's thick body was nearly crushed under the blow. Stepping forward, Chen Chuan lashed out with a ferocious kick to the gold-armored general's head. The spiritual radiance of both sides clashed in violent friction, but the strength of his kick was overwhelming. Propelled by the force, the robust figure went flying into the distance, blasting a massive breach through a palace wall far ahead!
Standing atop the serpent's head, Chen Chuan lowered his foot slowly and turned to ask, "Who was that?"
Xu Mutang was silent for a moment before speaking hesitantly, "...Yuwen Yuanqi?"
Chen Chuan arched a brow in surprise. "Yuwen Yuanqi?"
Xu Mutang was uncertain as well, yet he maintained, "It should be him. This man wields the weapon famed for a thousand years, and he wears the armor of the General Assisting the State. However... the one controlling this body now might not be him, but Emperor Ying!"
"Emperor Ying?"
In an instant, many thoughts crossed Chen Chuan's mind. He nodded. He had felt it just now: the Flame of Spirituality on this person was ridiculously abundant and potent, yet his martial skills were quite mediocre—rigid and formulaic. While it showed signs of rigorous training, there was an awkward stiffness to it. Seasoned by countless battles, Chen Chuan could tell at a glance that this stemmed from a lack of practical combat experience.
This indeed bore little resemblance to the legendary Yuwen Yuanqi, who had fought in hundreds of battles.
He could also sense that this was no yaogui; the figure possessed a degree of living aura. If there was any anomaly, it felt somewhat similar to what Wei Guochan had felt like. And since Yuwen Yuanqi had likewise hailed from the former imperial house, and from its upper echelons no less, such traits came as no surprise.
That said, Chief Inspector Xu seemed to possess knowledge unknown to the outside world.
He would ask about that later.
With a clatter of debris, the robust figure rose from the rubble and shattered bricks. The Flame of Spirituality around him suddenly surged higher, roaring tempestuously and illuminating the surrounding area with brilliant light, far more potent than before.
Thrusting his long hammer outward with a sweeping stroke, he blasted away the palace walls and fragmented debris blocking his path with a crash. Then he strode forward. With every step he took, the ground trembled beneath his feet, and the plates of his armor clattered with a resonant clang.
Behind him, something began to manifest indistinctly. Amidst the rising, flickering golden plumes of energy, a mass of smoke coalesced, finally materializing into an enormous figure. It appeared nearly identical to him: clad in full golden armor, face concealed behind a monstrous mask, wielding an immensely huge long hammer. Its lower half blurred into the radiant flames, while its upper body was startlingly distinct. At this moment, it seemed that merely by leaning forward, it could reach both of them.
As Yuwen Yuanqi drew closer, the towering Spiritual Visage above raised its colossal hammer high and brought it crashing down toward the two of them.
Staring at the giant hammer descending from above, Xu Mutang's face changed drastically. At this critical juncture, setting everything else aside, he mustered the Flame of Spirituality throughout his body and strained to raise his whip.
Chen Chuan gazed upward. Standing there, he showed no inclination to evade. Just as the great hammer was about to strike, the air above surged violently. A tall figure materialized abruptly, a long halberd thrusting forward. With a resounding clang, it braced against the hammer's shaft, halting the crushing blow in midair. Yet the collision sent rolling thunderclaps echoing outward, causing the ground below to shudder violently.
At that moment, from within the monstrous mask of the giant Spiritual Visage, two eyes burned like fire. A torrent of golden Flame of Spirituality burst from its form as its arms bulged, pressing downward with overwhelming force.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. In an instant, his Second Self merged with him. In the next moment, the platinum spiritual radiance across his body surged upward, rapidly enveloping the Spiritual Visage in its entirety. Both hands locked firmly onto the halberd's shaft, holding fast against the crushing weight of the warhammer!
Chapter 962