Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1433 Mingguang Retreats from the Black Tide
The beam of light crashed down, and an intense burst of light exploded in the north-central part of Youdu. Amidst the deafening roar, a massive, churning cloud rose into the sky.

With the entire ritual largely diverted by attacks from below, the majority of the force of this strike landed on the most crucial central point of the ritual, causing fundamental damage.

Under the impact of this powerful force, the ritual space was so overwhelmed that the layers of objects had no time to stack up and resist. They were instantly torn apart by the suddenly expanding shockwave, and starting from the center point, they collapsed rapidly outward, layer by layer.

Due to the influence of light and dust, the entire process of collapse can even be seen directly.

Although Yu Chi Bin was not in the exact center when he was struck by the spiritual force, he was still affected by it and was thrown away.

If it weren't for the remaining secret ritual protecting him, most of his body would have turned to ashes the moment the impact hit.

He shook his head, sat up halfway, and was utterly shocked.

In his entire life, he had never seen such a powerful spiritual impact. The feeling he had just experienced was as if the sun of the Old Continent had fallen into the Netherworld.

He opened his eyes and saw that everything around him was a vast expanse of white. After a moment, the surrounding atmosphere filled in the center, forming strong vortexes of air.

A spiritual fire rose from his body, he picked up a long axe, slammed it into the ground with a clang, and his massive body stood up again.

Looking around, he realized that the place where he had been standing, which was one of the highest points in Youdu, had now been almost entirely leveled.

The place where the secret rituals were originally most concentrated is now a huge pit, where everything has disappeared.

He stared silently at that spot, then suddenly seemed to realize something and looked up at the sky. He saw that the thick fog that had shrouded his head for over a hundred years had finally dissipated, and the light from above shone down without obstruction.

Amidst the rising dust and lingering light above, a figure shimmering with platinum gold floated, causing him to unconsciously reveal a solemn expression, and he immediately gripped the long axe in his hand tightly.

At this moment, the dissipation of the thick fog over Youdu had a tremendous impact on the entire city's military and civilians.

Long before the Da Shun forces launched their attack and caused continuous damage to the capital, the entire city was gripped by fear, and now it had turned into extreme terror and despair.

At this moment, most of the soldiers and secret service officers in the capital gave up their plans to continue resisting. Many people in key positions either stood there dumbfounded or simply scattered. Only a few people managed to hold their posts, but they were clearly not in good spirits.

For days, everyone in the city has been under tremendous pressure, their hearts taut, and now that taut string has finally snapped.

According to the judgment of the Da Shun side, it would probably take ten days to half a month to cause the necessary damage to the ceremony and to capture the city, which was a bit too long.

However, from the perspective of the soldiers and civilians of Youdu, the situation is completely different. When the Da Shun army besieged the city, most of them thought about giving up.

It was thanks to the capable leadership of the senior officials and the prestige accumulated by General Yuchi Bin over a century that order and resistance within the city were forcibly maintained under their joint efforts.

And this barely condensed spirit crumbled as the thick fog dissipated.

Grand Secretary Shi sat in the rear pavilion, watching the light shining down from above, listening to the distant cannon fire becoming clearer, and dust plumes falling from above.

He said, "The city is about to fall, you may all go."

Grand Secretary Fang said, "I have received great favors from the country and cannot bear to leave."

The other two elders exchanged glances, stood up, and bowed to them. They showed no resentment, returning the bow in kind, and the two silently departed.

They remained seated steadily. Grand Secretary Fang picked up his teacup, lifted the lid, and was about to drink when a clump of dust fell from above, spreading in the water. He paused slightly, then drank it down in one gulp.

After closing the lid, he put down the cup and asked, "I wonder how things are going on with Grand Secretary Hong."

Grand Secretary Shi said, "Grand Secretary Hong probably hasn't had the chance to see the Emperor yet."

He then shook his head and said, "What good would it do to see him? We only see his body, not his country. The whole world is devoted to one person. Even with brilliant strategies, he can only save himself, not the world."

Grand Secretary Fang sighed and said, "We have all received the Emperor's favor for generations. Today, we will share the fate of the country, which is enough to repay the Yuan family."

Above Youdu, Chen Chuan's gaze pierced through the swirling dust and mist, falling below.

At this moment, he could sense more clearly that there were four more Dongxuan Temple fighters in the city, each scattered in different directions.

However, a large area in the south of the city was still obscured by thin clouds and could not be seen clearly. That should be the Anye Palace, where Emperor Wenguang lived.

Apart from that place, the remaining four Dongxuan Temple fighters should be the last remaining force of the old imperial family on the surface.

At this moment, he took out another relic for exploration that had been sent from behind, and threw it upwards. Instantly, a beam of light shone towards the four people, and in just a moment, information about the four people entered his mind.

He thus confirmed that the person standing below, staring at him with an immense and unusual appearance, was none other than the former dynasty's Grand General, Yuchi Bin. However, he had only gathered a little information when a strong interfering force soon arrived, preventing him from observing any further.

However, what he had just gained was enough for him.

His eyes flashed slightly as he transmitted this information to the minds of everyone present. He then said, "Leave this to me; you all deal with the other three."

The crowd immediately dispersed and rushed towards the three people.

Chen Chuan looked at Yuchi Bin. He would give this old general the minimum respect he deserved.

Yu Chibin looked up with extreme seriousness. He did not choose to fly up, because he felt that doing so would only expose more of his weaknesses.

In his more than 300-year military career, apart from the upper echelons, Chen Chuan was the most powerful and terrifying opponent he had ever encountered.

He never imagined that the fighters from Dongxuan Temple could be so powerful that he had already lost his confidence in winning even before facing them head-on.

What's even more terrifying is that he could sense that what he considered to be powerful was probably not the true limit that the other party could reach.

We can only react to each situation as it arises.

Chen Chuan remained suspended in mid-air, while a massive spiritual image appeared behind him. The spiritual image reached out a hand towards the ground, and with this action, a dazzling spiritual shock rushed towards Yu Chi Bin.

Using a spiritual impact as an opening attack is the most convenient, as it allows you to quickly see the opponent's reaction speed and resistance methods. The key is that it can test whether the opponent has any spontaneous reaction power.

However, his unparalleled foundation is there, and even an impact used only for testing is extremely powerful, and most opponents might not be able to withstand it.

At that moment, Yu Chibin suddenly raised his axe upwards, and with a loud bang, he also unleashed a spiritual energy shockwave that collided with the beam of light falling from the sky.

In fact, before Chen Chuan launched his spiritual attack, Chen Chuan, with his rich combat experience, predicted the attack method he might take based on Chen Chuan's position and the spiritual entity's actions, and thus made a preemptive response.

He had no choice but to do so because, based on his judgment, given Chen Chuan's speed of attack, he might not have enough time to react after seeing the attack.

Even if he makes a wrong judgment, he can force the latter to dodge or resist, and still gain the upper hand.

However, to his surprise, the spiritual impact he sent out was pushed back in an instant.

His face showed horror as he desperately tried to gather the spiritual fire in his body forward, but even so, he could only prevent the impact from hitting him immediately. Instead, he was pushed outward by the powerful force above.

During this confrontation, his eyes widened in anger, and it seemed that the excessive stimulation had triggered changes inside his body, as another head had grown on his left shoulder.

The real change is not as simple as having an extra head. The external form he visualizes is the "Six Spirits Divine Commander," which consists of three powers and three heads. Whenever he has an extra head, his power will double compared to his original form.

The triggering of the head is not something he can actively control; it needs to be gradually stimulated during battle.

However, if he could, he wouldn't actually want to do that, because there is a drawback to it, especially when facing an opponent like Chen Chuan.

But the situation on the scene did not allow him to stop at all; under the pressure of absolute power, he had no choice.

Because of the surge in power, he was barely able to block the spiritual impact, and was even trying to push it away. However, before he could make that move, another spiritual impact struck down, and it overlapped with the previous one.

This immediately pushed back his original advantage, and under such pressure, another head quickly grew on his other shoulder.

The appearance of the three heads gave him three times the power, but he knew that this was also the most dangerous time. He could no longer stay where he was and had to make use of his current advantage.

He roared and swung his long axe, using a previously unseen characteristic of the axe to deflect the spiritual impact.

With a push of his feet, he leaped up from the spot and charged towards Chen Chuan in the sky.

He possesses a unique power that can suppress and restrain enemies who approach within a certain range. Furthermore, he has the added benefit of artifacts bestowed upon him by the late emperor. Even if the opponent also possesses artifacts, they may not be able to withstand his power.

So now he's only thinking about rushing to Chen Chuan's side. Once he gets there, there's still a chance that today's situation can be reversed!

……

……

(End of this chapter)