The two colossal spiritual visages grappled with one another in an apparent deadlock. The radiant flames rippling across their massive forms clashed and collided, momentarily illuminating the entire sky above the mountain peak.
Xu Mutang forced himself to muster his strength. Seeing Chen Chuan's external visage hold back the golden-armored divine general sent a jolt of shock through his heart. He had heard numerous rumors and accounts regarding Chen Chuan before and had taken them with a grain of salt at the time. Seeing it in person now, the claims had hardly been exaggerated—if anything, they had understated his prowess.
If Xu Mutang had been able to join the battle in normal condition, defeating their foe would not seem difficult at all. Unfortunately, the foul filth within his body could not be purged on short notice, leaving him with little strength. Forcing his power just now had exacerbated the contamination, to the point where he couldn't even maintain his Visage of the Aberrant.
Yet that didn't mean he was completely helpless.
He pulled a short, rod-like object from his person. It wriggled faintly, looking like a living creature. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it outward. Once in midair, the thing dispersed on its own, scattering in all directions.
At the same time, he tapped the boundary credential he wore, transmitting a short-range message to Chen Chuan's boundary credential. Even without a parent field to sustain it, the spirit between martial artists could serve as a medium to convey information.
Chen Chuan received it immediately. His gaze flicked left and right before he gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.
Then he looked upward. The opposing fire of spirituality was emitted by the spiritual visage itself—an ability possessed by those who had at least attained the stage of Longevity View. In contrast, the fire of spirituality on his side was supplied entirely by his own body rather than generated by the spiritual visage. Only after his Second Self merged with him did his doubled fire of spirituality allow him to match his opponent on equal terms.
Even so, he could sense that the opponent's combat power did not match the level he ought to possess. Most of his power seemed locked away; if the energy within the body was likened to a lake, at most only the surface ripples were stirred.
Yet if it was truly Emperor Ying's spirit possessing the husk, this was hardly surprising. From the looks of it, Yuwen Yuanqi had cultivated the Visage of the Human, which centered on cultivating both body and spirit together. Now that the original spirit was missing, it was not merely missing half; it was akin to cleaving straight into the foundation itself. It would be fortunate if twenty to thirty percent of his original might remained.
In that case, this fight was winnable.
With that thought, Chen Chuan did not obsess over the deadlock between their spiritual visages. Reaching out, the Xuejun Saber sheathed beside him flew into his grip. Catching it firmly, he kicked off the ground and charged straight toward Yuwen Yuanqi's true body.
The golden-armored divine general above sensed his movement and ceased pressing forward. Shoving hard to create separation between them, it drew a short sword from its waist and thrust downward. However, Chen Chuan's spiritual visage twisted around and swung its mace outward in time, the tip barely deflecting the descending short sword. The impact between the two produced a deafening crash.
Chen Chuan had already closed the distance. Yuwen Yuanqi leveled his long hammer, aiming the head forward in a textbook combat stance. Overhead, the weapons of the two spiritual visages clashed once more. Right then, Chen Chuan's spiritual visage executed a subtle maneuver: its mace dipped downward, circled around, and jerked outward with force, instantly knocking the opponent's giant hammer slightly aside. Simultaneously, it raised its wrist, aligned the pommel with the top of Yuwen Yuanqi's head below, and thrust straight down.
Sensing the danger, Yuwen Yuanqi had no choice but to pull back the long hammer he had intended to thrust forward. Raising its shaft horizontally to block, a sharp clang rang out as the colossal impact traveling through the weapon forced his body to sink downward.
Chen Chuan would never miss such an opportunity. The Xuejun Saber drew an arc as it slashed down, striking the faceguard directly. The highly concentrated fire of spirituality on the blade instantly tore through the opposing golden flames. After cleaving through the visor, the momentum drove the blade into the skull—yet as it sank deeper, an unyielding, gritty resistance pushed back against the edge.
Just then, the giant spiritual visage above Yuwen Yuanqi swung its hammer back to strike him. Knowing he could not press further, Chen Chuan withdrew his blade and took a step back.
With a resounding boom, the hammerhead smashed heavily into the ground before him, blasting open a massive crater. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan's spiritual visage whipped its mace across the other visage's waist. A torrential spray of the fire of spirituality scattered across the surroundings like glittering sparks. Shaken by the blow, the golden-armored visage reeled back several steps, but it swung its long hammer outward with all its might, brandishing it repeatedly to ward off follow-up attacks before steadying itself.
Below, after dodging that strike, Chen Chuan was in no rush to advance again. He glanced at the dazzling golden mask and armor opposite him, judging that this was likely also a suit of armor crafted from mutated tissue.
Ordinary mutated weapons could not breach it at all. It was only because the Xuejun Saber had been upgraded multiple times that it could inflict such damage; otherwise, it might not have left so much as a scratch. When engaging again, this factor had to be taken into account.
Having taken a slash from Chen Chuan, wisps of platinum light seeped from the cut on Yuwen Yuanqi's mask and helmet.
Before long, however, they were suppressed and extinguished by the continuous eruption of golden radiance. At the same time, his aura grew increasingly heavy, unfurling thin, whisker-like strands of golden light outward.
Chen Chuan recognized immediately that his opponent had likely used some method to wring out more power from this body.
If that was how it was—
He inhaled sharply. His breath turned searing hot in an instant. His entire body, including his spiritual visage, seemed to transform into a colossal furnace. As waves of heat poured forth, even the air warped, and billows of white mist rose along the spiritual visage.
After staring each other down for a moment, both sides stepped forward in unison. Overhead, the golden-armored divine general struck first, hurling its long hammer down at Chen Chuan's physical body. Raising his saber to parry, Chen Chuan deflected it with a resounding clang, though his body sank slightly under the weight. Overhead, his spiritual visage whipped its mace across, striking the golden-armored general on the shoulder and forcing it to dip to the side as its golden flames trembled violently.
Below, Yuwen Yuanqi seized the moment of Chen Chuan's slight hesitation to swing his hammer. Chen Chuan brought his saber around to block, but unable to bring full power to bear in time, he was jarred into stepping backward.
Yuwen Yuanqi attempted to press forward, but the sky above darkened abruptly. Chen Chuan's spiritual visage brought a hand crashing down toward him. Forced to check his advance, Yuwen Yuanqi raised the hammer shaft with both hands. With a heavy thud, he was pinned firmly in place.
Meanwhile, the golden-armored divine general swung its long hammer in a wide arc, sweeping across near the ground. Chen Chuan raised his saber to block. Bang! The ferocious force threw him far back, his feet plowing a trench into the ground. During this retreat, a short spear flew in from nowhere, darting straight for his face.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. He swung his blade and batted it away. Spinning a few times in the air, the weapon flew back and vanished into the opposing spiritual visage.
Yuwen Yuanqi was about to pursue, but before he could move, he abruptly spun around and swung his hammer, deflecting an incoming object with a crisp clang. Only then could it be seen that it was an awl-shaped object. With a hum, it returned to Chen Chuan's side and hovered beside him.
Only now did the air currents displaced by their fierce clash howl sharply and disperse in all directions, forming visible ripples. Rubble and tiles were tossed into the air, and palace structures near and far groaned under the strain of the shockwaves.
Chen Chuan stared across at his opponent. With the inclusion of spiritual visages, the battle had grown vastly more complex. There was far more to account for; both perspective and thought processes had to expand, effectively ascending an entire dimension.
If circumstances permitted, he would have welcomed a thorough duel. However, his opponent possessed an inexhaustible reservoir of stamina and majestic fire of spirituality, and more of that latent strength was steadily being tapped. This battle could not be allowed to drag out—it had to be settled as swiftly as possible.
Turning slightly sideways, he slowly raised his saber with both hands, slanting it before him as he fixed his gaze on his foe. Above, his spiritual visage raised its mace high across its head. From top to bottom, the platinum flames blended into a seamless whole, and wisps of white steam rose straight into the air, gathering high above like steaming clouds.
From behind the mask, Yuwen Yuanqi's eyes watched him for a brief moment. He shifted his long hammer and charged. Amidst flashing golden light, he plowed through the atmosphere and closed the distance. Saber and hammer clashed repeatedly. After just a few exchanges, as the distance closed, the weapons of both the spiritual visages above and the physical bodies below locked together. Both sides sought to overwhelm each other with pure strength, but neither could prevail in that instant.
Right at this moment, several long cords suddenly rose from the ground. Weaving through Yuwen Yuanqi's armpits, the bends of his knees, his waist, and his shoulders, they snapped taut with sudden force.
One end of these cords was held in Xu Mutang's hands, faint spiritual light flickering along them. However faint, it was enough to hinder the warrior for a crucial split second.
Having prepared in advance, Chen Chuan snapped the Xuejun Saber back and slashed down with explosive force. Simultaneously, a force field radiated from both Chen Chuan and his spiritual visage, enveloping their foe. This caused the golden-armored divine general to freeze momentarily as well, preventing it from aiding its physical body below.
Though the restraint lasted only an instant, in such high-stakes combat, it created a near-flawless opening.
Yuwen Yuanqi watched the long blade descend toward him, entirely unable to evade. At that critical juncture, a strange gleam flashed in his eyes, causing the descending blade to veer slightly off course and miss cleaving cleanly along the previous incision.
Yet Chen Chuan had gathered full momentum for this strike. Bolstered by the Heaven and Earth Furnace breathing method, this slash was several times more powerful than the last. It cleaved clean through the visor and helmet, biting deep and nearly splitting Yuwen Yuanqi's skull in two. With a sharp snap, the gleaming golden helmet and mask shattered to pieces, clattering across the ground.
Chapter 963