Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1447 Emerald Lake Reflects Hidden Mountains

The following morning, the Youdu frontline received new instructions from the operations command center: the next military objective was to wipe out the former King Yi, who was entrenched on Tiger Tooth Island.

He added that the intelligence department would deliver the relevant detailed intelligence later, and hoped that the frontline command would draft an action report based on the specific circumstances upon receiving it.

After receiving the instructions, Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. On Tiger Tooth Island, including Yi Wang, there were only three Dongxuan Temple fighters in total.

If it's just a matter of eliminating him and his subordinates, there's actually no difficulty.

However, this person may have the support of Zen Buddhism behind them, and once Zen Buddhism is involved, the situation becomes complicated.

Of the six major Chan Buddhist temples, apart from Xiaojue Temple, most of them are now in a state of integration, and may even be helping each other. The number of upper-level Chan monks they possess is still unknown, but most importantly, they also have a certain level of power.

In fact, after the defeat of the two religions in their struggle for more than 800 years, the Chan religion seems to have learned from past lessons and will never have a direct conflict with secular regimes. At most, it will only exert influence from the side so that it can withdraw in time. Therefore, the Chan religion would never take action for Prince Yi, nor would it be worth it. However, the worst-case scenario would not be ignored before the plan is formulated.

Since eliminating Prince Yi is the established strategy, they only need to consider how to fight.

His preferred approach is to concentrate all available forces, launch a surprise attack on Tiger Tooth Island, and take it over without worrying about what the Chan sect thinks.

Of course, the situation might be different after a major collision, but if you're worried about that, then you shouldn't do anything at all.

Even so, he still called over Ming Chengzi to ask him questions, because this man was quite familiar with Jiaorongdi and Zen Buddhism.

When Ming Chengzi heard that the next step was to eliminate Prince Yi, he was very supportive of it.

"There is no need to worry about the mystery. Although the Chan and other schools of thought are powerful in the areas where they are intermingled, they also have many enemies. Although our Xuan school is scattered in all directions, we still have many followers, and the struggle with the Chan school has never stopped."

Furthermore, when the Chan (Zen) sect entered the area of ​​fusion, it extensively subdued the local gods and monsters, recruiting them as followers. This act deeply offended the ancient deities, and to this day, they are mutually restraining each other. Under such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that they would oppose the Great Shun dynasty for the sake of a remnant of a previous dynasty.

Chen Chuan nodded, but Ming Chengzi said that the Chan sect and those gods had long been at odds, so it seemed that they might be on the same page when it came to fighting against those extraterrestrial beings.

But that's for the future. Right now, as the frontline commander, he only needs to focus on what's in front of him.

Since specific intelligence has not yet been delivered, he did not rush to make a decision and decided to deal with the Haixi Road rift first, and then handle this matter when he returned.

So he left behind a clone of his power, and then called Mu Xiaoren and Ming Chengzi. They flew away from Youdu, came out of the central city of Anbei Road, and traveled all the way to Haixi Road, arriving at the small lake.

Jiang Linghuai had been ordered to guard this place three days ago and had already received a telegram notification. Upon seeing them arrive, he stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Commander."

Chen Chuan asked, "General Jiang, is something unusual?"

Jiang Linghuai replied, "No. No one has come out of here in the past few days, and the rift has not opened. However, some people from Haixi Road came to inquire about the situation. I told them that this area has been designated as a military control zone and will need to be dealt with according to regulations later, so they went back."

Chen Chuan nodded slightly, indicating that there was a basis for designating this area as a military control zone.

Prince Yong died here in battle. It's hard to say whether the debris left behind by such a highly active alienated person will pollute the land and biological populations.

After the war, the entire area will be cleared and outsiders will be prohibited from entering.

He came to the lake and took out the black talisman he had obtained from Emperor Wenguang.

As soon as I took this thing outside, I felt a slight vibration in my hand, as if it was about to slip out of my grasp and fly away.

Now he was certain that this thing was indeed the key to open this place.

With a flick of his finger, the talisman flew away on its own, instantly reaching the center of the lake and stopping there motionless.

After a while, the rocks distributed along the lake began to vibrate slightly, and a blue light appeared above the entire lake. Then, the atmosphere above the lake actually sank inward, especially where the talisman was located, as if it had been deeply fused in, and a very obvious atmospheric vortex was generated.

A few breaths later, with a loud boom, a huge rift tore open in the middle, and wisps of blue light spilled out from within.

However, the crack was not large, and after spreading halfway, it seemed to shrink inward, and the shrinkage speed was extremely fast.

After Chen Chuan saw this, a phantom suddenly appeared behind him. A large hand reached inside and grabbed the edge of the crack. As the phantom went inside, another hand reached out and blocked the crack on the other side. Then, with both arms exerting force, it slowly pushed outward.

The crack flickered continuously, then gradually expanded outwards in front of the three people, finally reaching a distance of about twenty meters before stabilizing.

Ming Chengzi watched in awe. To achieve this level of skill, one must not only possess the power to resist the rift, but also have a certain understanding of the opening and closing of the rift.

The fact that this person could do this shows that he must have visited the other side repeatedly. Such skills are not something that ordinary people can possess. He felt that he had made the right decision to side with this person.

Chen Chuan then dispersed his external appearance and, after a moment's sensing, easily detected that the wisp of purple energy he had initially invested was still there. Therefore, the place he was looking for should be right across from him. He instructed Jiang Linghuai, "General Jiang, we need to go in. Please remain here and do not let anyone in. If we do not receive any news within three days, please notify Governor Fan by telegram."

Jiang Linghuai saluted. "Don't worry, Commander. With me here, I guarantee that no one will slip through."

Chen Chuan nodded and went inside first, followed by Ming Chengzi and Mu Xiaoren.

With a slight flicker of light, the scenery before their eyes instantly changed, and the three found themselves in a crevice in the mountain wall, with only a sliver of sky visible above and in front of them.

He could see the talisman hovering directly above the mountain crevice. He reached out and plucked it down. At the same time, he discovered that the wisp of purple energy he had thrown down was also hovering there.

Judging from the situation, it seems like he was rejected by someone. That young Xuanshi from that day certainly didn't have such abilities. Either this realm is very unique, or there is a master here.

With a thought, he withdrew the wisp of purple energy, then walked out along the narrow crevice, reaching the platform in front of him, and glanced outside.

Well, at first glance, it certainly impressed him quite a bit.

The scenery here is far more vivid than outside, as if the essence of heaven and earth has been concentrated here.

The lake water was emerald green, crystal clear, and shimmering with gentle waves. The sky was azure blue, without a trace of impurity, and the brilliant sunlight shone down, as if bathing the area in a warm, golden glow.

Where they were standing, a path led down to the large lake below, where stone pillars rose from the lakebed, their exposed parts forming a passage across the lake.

On the opposite side of the lake is a straight, towering mountain wall with a winding path carved into it. At the very top is a palace that looks like it was built with gold and white jade. Even from this distance, you can clearly see the exquisite patterns and reliefs on the exterior of the pillars and walls.

After taking a few glances, Ming Chengzi said with great certainty, "Xuanji, the landscape here is set according to the principles of the universe, but there are no worldly rules. This must have been arranged by the senior masters of our Xuanjiao sect."

Moreover, this is a 'heaven beyond the body,' the mystery awaits you…

He pointed upwards and said, "If we were to use the name of the Great Shun Dynasty, we would already be in the opposite world right now."

Chen Chuan looked up, his brow furrowing slightly. His Heavenly Eye instantly pierced through the clear sky and descended beyond the celestial canopy, where the boundless sky seemed to have a boundary, and he saw a layer of dazzling light.

Indeed, this is in the other world.

However, he knew that the domain of a powerful being would continue to expand outward, eventually forming an independent and long-lasting realm.

In the records of the Tianji Sect, this is called "the outer world". However, the ability to create such a realm undoubtedly involves higher-level forces.

At that very moment, inside a temple on the opposite bank of the lake, a young Taoist priest was using a twig to draw characters in the sand, teaching two children to recognize characters and understand the law.

At this moment, he noticed the commotion outside. After glancing over and calming the two children, he stood up, bowed to the back of the temple, and said, "Uncle-Master, the rift has opened. It seems that people from the Great Shun have arrived."

A gentle voice came from inside: "Our distinguished guest has arrived. Please go and greet him on my behalf."

"Yes, uncle."

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist bowed, turned and left the temple. After glancing at the figure ahead, he rode a beam of light down the cliff.

On the other side of the mountain path, Chen Chuan was looking around, not in a hurry to wander around.

After all, this is in someone else's realm. Even if he is confident in his abilities, he should still be careful in his actions.

Mingchengzi observed from the side, looking for any ritual obstacles in the surroundings.

Suddenly, they saw a thin beam of light coming toward them. However, the person was only at the level of an ordinary Xuanji martial artist, and deliberately slowed down as he approached. So the three of them just watched without making any move.

A moment later, the light arrived in front of the three. After the light faded, a young Xuan Master appeared there. He bowed to the three and respectfully said, "I am Ji Shaoyou. I have met Chen Xuanji, Mingcheng Gaogong, and this general."

Chen Chuan recognized him as the young Xuan Shi who had arrived with Emperor Wen Guang that day and opened the rift.

However, this person's energy and spirit were somewhat different from those days before, as if he were a completely different person.

Ming Chengzi looked at him and suddenly asked, "Are you a disciple of the Duanchen Sect?"

……

……

(End of this chapter)