Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1449 The Battle of the Maze

Upon hearing Bi Lingzi's words, Ming Chengzi nodded in deep agreement.

In this world, internal strife is rampant and external calamities are imminent. The laws of the court and the rules of various countries are all based on force. What belongs to whom is ultimately determined by force. If it cannot be done, it is simply because the force is insufficient.

Furthermore, in his view, the three secret treasures here, though said to be items from the Changchao Temple, have actually become ownerless over the past few hundred years.

When Dingchao initially claimed it was a loan, they had no intention of repaying it. They simply used this place as a hiding place for their secret treasures. The difference between the outflow and inflow of wealth, without any interest, was enormous. Incidentally, they also had the Dongxuan Temple guard their secret treasures for them. This was undoubtedly a clever scheme.

When Emperor Wen Guang said that the descendants of the Chang Dynasty should come and collect the goods, it was just another way of manipulating him. In reality, he just wanted Bi Lingzi to look after these valuables for him.

He felt that Pilingzi might be able to see through it, but it might involve the cultivation methods of the Duanchen Sect, which he couldn't escape for the time being, so he agreed.

However, now that Emperor Wenguang is dead and the old dynasty has collapsed, the Great Shun is the rightful heir! Therefore, this wealth should rightfully belong to the Great Shun, and it is only right and proper for Xuanji to take it on their behalf!

Pi Lingzi then smiled and said, "What you say is true, but I have something to tell you all: the secret treasures here are all under my control, and I can destroy them with a single thought."

Since I can't protect it from either side, why don't I destroy it? That would be fulfilling the trust placed in me by my former master.

Chen Chuan looked at him and asked, "What are your conditions, Gao Gong?"

In his view, if Pi Lingzi really wanted to do this, he would have done it long ago. There was no need for him to tell them now. He was just trying to use this statement to get some favorable conditions for himself.

Pi Lingzi glanced at him a few times, then suddenly looked serious and bowed to him.

"I am willing to engage in a wager with your side, and we will use this place as the boundary..."

As he spoke, a wisp of white smoke rose from his body, tracing a large circle along the edge of the ravine.

"Within this realm, all restrictions apply equally to both host and guest. Anyone from your side may come here to fight me. The first person to leave this realm will be the loser."

If I lose, then I will stop here, and you may take the secret treasure. If you lose, then you should withdraw and prevent others from disturbing me.

"Of course, if your esteemed party finds a descendant of the Changchao imperial lineage, I can open the gates to welcome them and entrust them with secret treasures. What do you think?"

Chen Chuan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, it's settled then."

Pi Lingzi had obviously learned about Chen Chuan's identity from the young Xuan Shi, and with his promise, he was relieved and said with a smile, "Alright, then we will wait here. Once your side decides on who will fight, you can then compete with me."

Chen Chuan said to Mu Xiaoren and Ming Chengzi, "I've come to learn from this high-ranking official's skill. Advisor Mu, High-ranking Official Ming Chengzi, please wait outside for a moment."

The two left without hesitation.

Once outside, although they could still see Chen Chuan and Pi Lingzi, if the stone didn't come to meet them, they wouldn't be able to find a way back for a while. So, until the outcome of the battle was decided, they could only wait here.

Mu Xiaoren remained calm. He had absolute confidence in Chen Chuan and did not believe that Chen Chuan would lose.

Ming Chengzi thought the same way. He knew Chen Chuan's abilities, but since this was likely the Duan Chen Sect's home ground, he was afraid that if they couldn't win head-on, they would resort to some underhanded tricks. So he continued to observe and calculate, ready to provide support at any time.

After Chen Chuan and the other two left, he looked at Bi Lingzi. The latter dared to fight them, so he must have something to rely on.

The battle is not simply a contest of strength, but a contest of who is eliminated first.

This is clearly the opponent's home turf, and there are things that are obviously advantageous to the opponent but disadvantageous to him.

The first thing to face is the stone beneath your feet. If it breaks, you will be expelled from the ritual, and according to the rules of the battle, you will have lost.

However, as the other party just said, both sides face the same situation in this domain space, so the defects that he has are the same as those that the other party has, so there is nothing to complain about.

He could tell that this stone was only slightly better than ordinary hard stone; it would shatter at the slightest touch, which must have been a weakness intentionally left by the other side, so it was essential to protect it.

It's actually quite simple to do this.

With a thought, a spiritual fire tinged with purple light flowed down his body, enveloping the entire stone.

Although there are many ways to eliminate or target it, he is in human form, and his spiritual fire is the most solid and substantial. Destroying it is not something that can be done in an instant, which gives him enough time to react.

What sets this place apart from others is that, due to the highly activated spiritual fire, even if it is released, it will return to its original form and can even transform into a clone of its own power. Therefore, this place can also be considered part of its body. Thus, while protecting the stone, it also represents that it is on this place.

After that, will we be able to break free from the rocks and go out to fight?
He wasn't sure, but he felt he could give it a try, and he was certain there were many "rules" he didn't know about, so instead of rushing to defeat his opponent, he wanted to figure out the situation.

While Chen Chuan was preparing, Pi Lingzi wasn't standing still either; in fact, he had started placing his pieces much earlier. Under his urging, the white smoke that had been placed around to indicate the boundary gradually thickened, and the surrounding scenery began to blur.

This is the effect of the secret method combined with the ritual here, which can effectively block the other party's vision, so that the other party can only sense him through spirit and field. And he is the image of a god, so he can come up with many tricks in this regard.

As for whether it's fair or not, this isn't a contest of skill in a ring; it's just about winning or losing. Of course, he'll use everything that's in his favor.

His voice came from within the mist: "Honored guest, I apologize for offending you."

As he spoke, he took the initiative to make a move. His brows flickered, and a probing divine physiognomy technique rushed towards Chen Chuan.

The fighters of the Divine Form are most skilled in various transformation techniques. Directly focusing their spirit to attack is considered the most brutal and inferior method by them. Mystics like him, who have undergone the secret teachings of the Mystic Sect, will design different countermeasures based on the opponent's own will, the secret techniques they have mastered, and the strength of their spirit.

Chen Chuan had fought against many Divine Appearance Fighters and had also spent some time in the Heavenly Mystery Sect. He was not to say he knew the Xuan Sect's methods in great detail, but he had a certain understanding of them.

Now that I can sense the opponent's move, I don't need to think too much to know their intentions and the strength of their attack.

At this moment, he did nothing, not even using the Yuan Shen Seal, and simply relied on his own body to withstand the attack.

As expected, it only stirred a slight ripple in his spiritual fire, and did not cause him any harm at all.

As he endured the pain, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body surging with light, attempting to rush towards the other party.

However, the moment he separated from it, he found that although he was not immediately expelled by the ritual, he suddenly lost the trace of Pi Lingzi in his senses.

His eyes flashed slightly, and in an instant, the Great Bright Light technique expanded outward, covering the entire airspace. However, he still could not detect the other party, so he fell backward and instantly returned to his original position.

At the same time, Pi Lingzi appeared once again.

He pondered for a moment, and judging from the situation just now, it was very likely that after he broke free from the rock, the two of them would be in two relatively independent fields.

Therefore, if you want to touch the other party, you must at least keep most of your power here.

Is it possible to break the entire ritual by force?
That's probably not possible.

He had just tried to check it out. This ritual should be integrated with the external spatial field. Unless he has the ability to destroy this entire outer world in one go, he cannot do this.

However, this allowed the opponent to restrict his movement.

But that's alright; not rushing out doesn't mean there aren't other ways to play.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. He raised his hand and pointed forward, and a beam of platinum-gold spiritual light shot out toward the spot where the other person was standing.

Pi Lingzi's attack had no effect on Chen Chuan, and he immediately realized that what Ji Shaoyou had told him earlier was true. This man probably had no weaknesses in either physical or mental aspects.

Therefore, ordinary attack techniques are probably ineffective against it, and some unique methods must be used to fight it.

Through his divine perception, he was the first to sense the surge of spiritual fire within Chen Chuan, and he immediately determined that it was a spiritual impact.

He wasn't going to fight back, so his divine form immediately dispersed outwards, which was also a way of detaching himself from the stone.

Chen Chuan's eyes flickered slightly, because the ritual space had the premise of mutual restriction, which also meant that when the other party's spirit was scattered, he could not be perceived in the conventional way.

However, he discovered that he could still observe the other party smoothly. He immediately understood that when one side of the battle left the rock, it was just that he could not perceive the opponent, but this would not prevent the other party from observing him.

It seems fair, but in reality, the opponent has a slight advantage because, being a human, he is destined to be the main attacker, and many of his attack methods require close-range engagement.

On the contrary, it should not have much impact on Pi Lingzi. As a divine being, the other party is quite familiar with this secret space and may have other ways to bypass normal perception to find him, such as some secret techniques used for observation.

He looked at the scattered divine energy. After the divine energy dispersed, the spiritual impact could be avoided. However, that only applies to ordinary people. For him, it did not mean that the attack was over.

With a thought, the burst of spiritual energy suddenly split into countless scattered spiritual flames, chasing after each of the dispersed divine energies!

……

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(End of this chapter)