Atlas of Heaven and Earth

Chen Chuan stood at the edge of the Fissure, holding his blade. After waiting for a while, he saw three mounted warriors riding to the top of the mountain. Reaching the edge of the Fissure, they dismounted and approached on foot.

The leading one was wearing full Armor, a face-covering helmet, and holding a white-tasseled Spear. This appearance immediately identified him as an elite Imperial Retainer Warrior.

This person's rank was probably the same as the Iron Demon he had encountered before. Judging from the sense of threat emanating from his Spirit, his Strength might be even higher. The two behind him were attendant warriors.

After entering the Fissure, the Imperial Retainer Warrior immediately noticed him. The gaze behind his helmet seemed to change slightly. Without any hesitation, he immediately underwent self-transformation, with white Mutated Tissue tendrils instantly sprouting from his body.

This wasn't an accidental encounter. He knew there was a problem on the mountain and had come to deal with it, so he didn't hold back at all and immediately entered his peak state.

Chen Chuan was also holding his blade and stepping forward. The pace of his steps was very calm, seemingly not caring at all about the other party's transformation.

Just as his Spiritual Power appeared to be transforming but had not yet fully integrated with the original body, a light flashed in his eyes, and he used "Soul-Shaking Hammer" to directly strike!

Previously, he might have needed to use weapons or other media to use this Skill, but now he was able to strike from a distance.

Struck by this, the Imperial Retainer Warrior's Spirit suddenly experienced a brief moment of absent-mindedness.

His entire action was clearly visible, very rhythmic, and had an unhurried sense of beauty throughout.

In the eyes of the two Mounted Warriors behind him, he had simply walked forward and made a simple slash, and their master's Spear and upper body had flown out.

Before the severed body could fall to the ground, the Blade flash twisted again, and the head that was connected above also flew away.

Chen Chuan maintained his final sword-drawing posture. A gust of wind swept through the Fissure, stirring his hair and clothing. A head rolled away in the distance.

The two Imperial Retainer Warriors were greatly shocked. They never expected that their master would be killed in a single move. The opponent they encountered this time undoubtedly exceeded their ability to cope.

However, under the Old Imperial Family's military system, warriors like them shared the same fate as their master. There was no possibility of escape.

If they died in battle with their master, their families would be well taken care of. If they fled back, not only would they be punished by military law, but their families would also be implicated. Therefore, the two had no way out and charged forward with red eyes, spears raised.

Chen Chuan didn't care about their intentions. Since they were enemies, he wouldn't hold back. He stepped forward to meet them. With two Blade flashes, the two who came up were also killed on the spot in an instant.

After finishing off the three, he shook the blade and stood up straight again.

A slight sense of emotion rose in his heart. If it had been back in the Convergence Zone, he would have had to fight hard to face these three enemies alone, but now it was just a blink of an eye.

Besides mastering more Skills, his own Strength had also increased significantly.

At this time, he looked at the weapons in these people's hands one by one. Except for the sword on the Imperial Retainer Warrior, the rest were not worth collecting.

Feeling slightly regretful, he stepped forward to untie the sword, and then walked back, returning to Chen Bitong, who was still sitting there.

"Master Chen, they won't be coming up for a while. We can continue talking."

Chen Bitong looked up at him: "Captain Chen, what else do you want to know?"

Chen Chuan said: "What I want to know is... How did Master Chen know that the Fissure would open here? Why is there a Convergence Zone? Why is the Old Imperial Family Army right across from here? Is there any connection between them?"

Chen Bitong didn't hide anything and directly answered his questions:

"Because to make Split Offspring find a place where "Pure Essence' exists, the Fissure must be expanded to a certain extent.

Relying solely on the natural Fissure produced after the Yi Mu Mother splits is very unstable.

But if someone on the other side of the Fissure cooperates with us to provide some Guide, we can find a way to stabilize it.

So this time, we took advantage of the Old Imperial Family's desire to break into Central City during the Yi Mu Mother Split. We sent people to communicate with them in advance and, at the appointed time, simultaneously activated the Iron-Clad Jade Stake from the same Cultivation Nest, thereby guiding out a stable Fissure."

Chen Chuan looked at him and slowly said: "So, Master Chen was in contact with the Old Imperial Family beforehand?"

Chen Bitong said: "The approximate time of Yi Mu's Splitting reproduction is clear to the other side. After a gap appears in the World Ring, the Old Imperial Family will definitely take action, most likely trying to break into Central City.

Rather than letting them break through on their own, it's better to determine a place in advance so that we can Control it and block them in front of the Fissure."

Chen Chuan understood. He had used the Old Imperial Family, and this whole thing couldn't have been done by Chen Bitong alone. There must have been others cooperating with him.

Chen Bitong then said sternly: "Captain Chen, I will not let these people cross this Fissure. From the moment the Fissure is opened, I will defend it here until it closes."

Chen Chuan knew he wasn't exaggerating. If no Martial Artist appeared, he could indeed do it.

Before the Fissure, he could avoid and shuttle through it, and he could also use his Spirit to trigger that kind of Strength. Even some people at the same Strength level might not be his opponent.

At least they couldn't cope with the Flying Dragon Fist he used before the Fissure.

"It's not just me," Chen Bitong's gaze shifted outside, "Do you see those people who came with me?

They were all my subordinates, but each of them has severe injuries and disabilities, so they voluntarily underwent body modification. Everyone who came here with me today didn't plan on going back alive."

Chen Chuan asked: "What about Assistant Fang?"

Chen Bitong said: "His father was my comrade-in-arms, and he also died from that infection. I advised him not to come, but he insisted and hoped to make this change with me."

Chen Chuan nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked: "I have another question. Even if the Fissure's position can be Controlled, how did Master Chen know that the Split Offspring would fall in this position?

As far as I know, the appearance of Split Offspring is mostly unordered. Except for the first wave, even the Ministry of Defense has difficulty completely determining it later on."

Chen Bitong shook his head and said: "Actually, I don't know, but there is a way to Guide them. Remember when I borrowed Yi Mu's energy field resources during training?

After borrowing the energy field resources, I used something to establish a connection with Yi Mu's Spirit, and this connection will deepen over a month.

Although it doesn't cause any Influence on Yi Mu itself, when it Splits, there is a high probability that Split Offspring will be born.

And if Split Offspring don't appear nearby, as long as there is a nearly stable Fissure here, it will easily attract them here."

Chen Chuan understood now. It turned out that he had already started preparing at that time.

At this time, he looked at Chen Bitong and slowly said: "Then the last question, what was the situation that appeared on Master Chen when I fought you just now?"

Chen Bitong looked up and said in a deep voice: "Captain Chen, I know what you want to ask. I have not reached any deals with the beings on the other side. That is my bottom line.

Captain Chen, you must remember not to make any deals with the beings on the other side, even if they seem beneficial to you on the surface. There are unbearable costs behind them."

After a pause, he added: "Although I am confident in defeating many people this time, I believe that my current Strength is not enough to successfully implement the plan and may not last until the end, so I made another choice.

Remember when I told you about "Imprint Being'?"

Chen Chuan nodded.

Chen Bitong said: "I told you that Imprint Being will infiltrate a person's consciousness to change them.

But what I didn't tell you is that people with firm Strength consciousness, especially those with sufficiently stable Spiritual Power, can actively infect and then use its Strength for their own use.

However, Imprint Being is not a separate existence but is connected to a higher-level existence, and its Strength comes from there.

So, this approach is equivalent to borrowing Strength from a certain existence.

But He will come back to claim His Strength at any time.

So, when I drew Strength from another world into the Fissure, He was attracted to it. If I can't suppress the Imprint Monster's Strength, I will become another person."

At this time, his voice was low, "Although because of the obsession in my heart, this person and my target may still be the same, but that's not me anymore. I don't know what else I will do in the end, so I would rather have someone stop me before that happens."

Saying this, he supported himself with both hands and slowly stood up from the ground. After he stood up straight, his original injuries were no longer visible.

He looked at Chen Chuan and said frankly: "We prepared some kind of primer in advance. As long as Split Offspring enter the Fissure, they will look for the place where "Pure Essence' exists. When the Fissure expanded just now, if nothing unexpected happened, the rift where Pure Essence exists should have been torn open.

Captain Chen, I have done what I should do. How to deal with me next is up to you to decide, Captain Chen, but..."

He looked at the Fissure on one side, his back extremely straight.

"I have guarded the World Ring all my life and have never let an enemy I could deal with slip through, even when the World Ring had breaches. I hope Captain Chen can give me a chance to fulfill my last duty."