Atlas of Heaven and Man

An extremely dazzling light erupted in the sky, turning the entire coastline exceptionally bright, as if it had become daytime in that instant. Everyone present was enveloped in this light, which seemed capable of melting away accumulated haze.

Before those who witnessed this could react, the ground began to rumble and shake, as if a strong earthquake had struck, accompanied by a violent shockwave sweeping in all directions.

The shockwave, carrying rolling dust, rushed over the New Light Sect's believers in the distance. Those who were closer were immediately swept away, while those who stood further away were knocked to the ground, tumbling about.

New Light Sect members observing from a hill on the other side also struggled to maintain their footing when the first wave of the impact hit, staggering back several steps before stopping.

Even so, the subsequent shockwaves pressed their beards, hair, and outer robes tightly against their bodies, while small stones and gravel pelted them, forcing them to raise their hands to shield their heads and faces.

On the other side, a wisp of blue spiritual fire appeared on Gui Zihan's body, following the path opened by the distant light, rushing forward. However, even though he spared no effort and exerted all his strength, he was still left far behind.

After chasing for some time, he finally arrived here, where a faint coastline seemed to appear before him.

At this moment, he was slightly sweating. Such flight consumed too much energy, and the journey was unexpectedly long. If he hadn't taken a lot of medicine beforehand, he wouldn't have been able to make it here.

However, at this moment, a dazzling light suddenly erupted, causing him to raise his hand to shield his face.

The light illuminated his entire body with a snow-white glow, and sensing the danger, the spiritual fire expanded outward, blocking all subsequent shockwaves. Even so, his body swayed unsteadily.

After a moment, the tremors subsided. He looked up and saw a rising cloud of dust and smoke ahead, obscuring everything. Then, as if realizing something, he turned back and saw a long void in the mist behind him, the very path he had followed.

That long trail seemed to connect all the way back to the airship fleet. However, with that explosion, the source supporting the mist seemed to have disappeared, and large patches of mist slowly dissipated outward along that void.

He took a breath and looked towards the land again. There was a vague figure there, surrounded by an invisible circular barrier that repelled all the smoke and shockwaves, with only the red tassel fluttering on the long saber being particularly eye-catching.

He stared at that figure, his chest heaving. It wasn't just the exhaustion of physical strength, but also the shock he felt at the scene before him.

Chang Sheng Temple…

Is the gap really that big?

He couldn't help but grip the ancient sword in his hand tightly.

Their breathing became rapid, because they knew exactly what they were doing today.

Chen Chuan seemed to sense their gaze and glanced towards the distant hill.

When the New Light Sect's believers saw him looking over, they trembled all over, terrified, and immediately spurred their horses to flee.

Chen Chuan didn't move in mid-air. Only a cone-shaped object flew out, circled around him, and then shot away.

The fleeing New Light Sect's believers didn't have time to react. In just a moment, all their heads exploded one after another, and they fell to the ground, scattering crimson blood flowers on the soil.

Chen Chuan retracted his gaze and looked at the crack below. The power of that thing had come from inside, and the carrier was constantly drawing energy from it.

Another being from the other side.

He recalled that the strength of this thing was not much different from the one he had seen in the lower city back then. At most, its power hadn't accumulated to its peak yet. However, he was no longer the same as he was back then.

The being that he needed to exert all his strength to defeat back then was now just a simple spiritual shock.

As for this crack, it was obviously forcibly opened by a ritual.

However, he remembered that every continent in the Federation had a central city. The nearest central city wasn't too far from here. In theory, it should have merged all the surrounding cracks. Unless there was a ritualistic barrier, or some kind of power that could independently tear open cracks.

This kind of situation wasn't unheard of. For example, the beings on the other side themselves had this ability.

He had dealt with cracks many times and had a lot of experience, so he could see that this crack wouldn't last too long. At most, it would disappear in a few hours. By then, except for some people with unique abilities or those who were good at identifying, no traces would be left.

But how could he let the people on the other side get away so easily?

He made a hand gesture, and the active consciousness in the bamboo hat immediately responded, quickly recording the crack.

Ordinary boundary proofing devices and cameras would have difficulty recording this kind of scene due to energy interference, but his exo-implant body could withstand the power of the fourth limit, so it clearly recorded everything.

Of course, simply recording it wouldn't be of much use. Even if it was sent to the Federation, it would be a mess. Even if the Federation really intended to investigate this matter, it wouldn't be done in a short time. Dragging it on for a few years would be considered short, and in the end, it would most likely be forgotten, and no results could be expected.

So he didn't intend to hand it over to the Federation at all. This time, he planned to contact the International Investigation Agency after returning.

Since others could use this organization to deal with Ji Bei Dao and him, he could also use this organization to target this matter.

The members of the International Investigation Agency had all taken oaths and wouldn't turn a blind eye to this, especially when there was solid evidence.

Some things, if not said in private, no one would care. But when put on the table, it was an extremely serious problem.

And by occupying the moral high ground, even if someone used this matter to bite back, it wouldn't be possible.

At this time, he also saw Gui Zihan in the distance, nodded to him, and then his figure flashed, instantly arriving at the initial dispersion point of the mist.

He saw the ground covered with dried corpses. Judging from their clothing, they were undoubtedly the First People.

Gui Zihan arrived nearby at this time. He also saw the scene before him, and his eyes narrowed. There were no less than a thousand corpses scattered here, and they all died in the same way, which reminded him of many bad memories.

He looked up and said, "They are…"

Chen Chuan said, "Judging from the situation, they should have all died in the ritual. The specific situation needs to be confirmed by the Mystical Investigation Team."

He then said to Gui Zihan, "Mr. Gui, I need to trouble you to go back and notify the airship fleet to send a part of the Mystical Investigation Team here as soon as possible."

These things weren't unrelated to them. The public opinion here was controlled by the West Coast Party of the Federation. Before the Investigation Agency intervened, they could completely pin the blame on them, and ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. So they had to immediately report this matter publicly to avoid damage to the team's reputation.

Gui Zihan didn't know why Chen Chuan wanted to take on this matter that was unrelated to them, but he didn't seem to resist this approach. Instead, he looked at Chen Chuan with a hint of recognition.

At this moment, he suddenly felt something jump into his eyes in front of him. He looked up and saw a glimmer of dawn appearing on the horizon in the dissipating smoke and dust.

He took a breath, clasped his sword to Chen Chuan, saluted solemnly, gathered momentum for a moment, then kicked off with both feet, transforming into a stream of light, rushing back into the sky.

After Gui Zihan left, Chen Chuan waited here, originally thinking that someone would come to eliminate the traces, or at least come to take a look.

However, no one did. It seemed that the person who arranged this matter had forgotten about this place. Of course, it was also possible that all the specific responsible persons had fallen here. After all, there was no skyline here. If no one sent a message out, the people behind wouldn't know the situation on the scene.

After a long time, he heard the sound of propeller blades. Dense airships appeared on the horizon. It seemed that the entire fleet was coming here.

Team Leader Xie stood on the main ship, looking at the vast coastline. Although the team had deviated from its original course, continuing on the original course might lead to more problems. On the other hand, this side, because Chen Chuan had cleared away the trouble in front, was undoubtedly safer.

Another thing was that after listening to Gui Zihan's report, with his keenness, he naturally realized the possible problems. The fleet came here, and also pulled the people from the East Coast Party of the Federation over, so that they could witness it from the side, so as not to fall into a passive position in the upcoming public opinion battle.

As the airship fleet gradually approached, everyone on the ship saw the rising sun opposite, and the light happened to be shining on the front of the ship, as if they were moving forward facing the light.

Many people walked out of the cabins, looking at this vast land with uneasy hearts.

After nearly a month's journey, they finally arrived at their destination, the Linnaeus Federation, or what could be called its original name recorded in the ancient books of the Eastern Continent—Ying Continent.

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