Chapter 342 Physical Exorcism and the Paradox of Shadows

Above the Guanghan base. A two-kilometer vacuum zone.

There were no dazzling magical effects or deafening sounds of battle.

This was a purely physical "deliverance" performed in absolute silence.

boom!

Chen Ge's heavy armor burst out from below with such speed that it left an afterimage on my retina.

He gripped the 1,200-pound Star Iron Ship-Slaying Blade tightly with both hands, and the hydraulic rod at his waist roared loudly. With the terrifying kinetic energy of the thruster, he cleaved the blade into a ball of black, viscous liquid the size of a millstone.

Heavy. Dull.

It was like slicing into a lump of high-density asphalt.

But this heavy weapon, manufactured by Earth's third-largest industrial company with all its might, exhibits extremely brutal industrial quality.

The thick titanium steel blade forcefully tore open the physical structure of the higher-dimensional matter.

Immediately afterwards, the [Extreme Yang Remnant Flame Array Pattern] engraved on the sword blade was forcibly detonated by true essence.

The blinding orange-red flame flickered for only half a second in the vacuum.

Before the black liquid even had a chance to absorb the spiritual pressure, it was directly evaporated into a sky full of deathly gray powder by the extreme yang true fire of three thousand degrees and the violent kinetic energy.

"Stabilize the formation! Don't be greedy and rush in!"

Chen Ge coldly shouted into the bone conduction channel, re-igniting the thrusters and driving them back into position on the defensive line like nails.

Five hundred lunar defense troops were scattered along a three-kilometer defensive line, forming an impenetrable steel net.

They were facing a rain of black spores falling blindly from an altitude of eight thousand meters.

This is an extremely tedious assembly line operation that allows no room for error.

Landing. Locking on. Drawing the sword. Slashing. Explosion.

There were no unnecessary movements.

A Golden Core stage sword cultivator shattered seven clumps of black water in succession.

The extremely frequent bursts of intense heat made his greatsword glow red, like a branding iron just taken out of the furnace.

But he did not back down at all. He used his true essence to protect the core array pattern of the sword bone, and faced the other ball of contamination that was falling from above with an extremely brutal upward slash.

The black water instantly vaporized.

The sword emitted a dull hum, yet remained steadfast.

"These lumps of iron from Third Heavy Industry are fucking tough!"

The swordsman let out a long breath in the communication channel and shook off the remaining ash from the blade.

This greatsword, which abandons all fancy spells and is designed entirely for "corrosion resistance" and "head-on combat," is a perfect fit for the extreme attrition-based battlefield of Moonbeam.

They are thick enough, and the array patterns are hidden deep enough.

Even if the surface is corroded by the black water and loses a layer of titanium steel, as long as the core remains intact, you can continue to chop.

Five hundred cultivators, five hundred heavy swords.

It erected a completely leak-proof protective umbrella for the flames directly above the Guanghan Base.

Not a single drop of black water could penetrate this physical defense.

All contaminants attempting to approach the base were swiftly and decisively sliced ​​into nothingness in mid-air.

……

Earth. Kyoto Joint Control Room.

On the large screen, the red alert representing the level of contamination at the Guanghan base remained steadily at the zero mark.

The combat footage transmitted from the front lines eased the tense atmosphere in the command center.

"100% interception rate."

Lin Feng pushed up his glasses, looked at the data terminal, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Professor Wang, the defense line is stable. Our existing military industrial system and the quality of our heavy weapons are fully capable of withstanding this intensity of physical wear and tear. The supply of the purified anode fluid is also keeping up."

Wang Mingyuan stared at the green dots on the screen that kept bursting with sparks in the darkness, his brows, which had been tightly furrowed, did not completely relax.

"It went too smoothly."

Wang Mingyuan tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Those previous behemoths could forcibly absorb the kinetic energy of missiles. Now, this leaking black liquid, though just residue, was destroyed far too easily."

"This is because we changed our tactics, and they are unaware of our surroundings," the military representative said in a deep voice. "The cultivators used their true essence to lock the Extreme Yang True Fire inside the sword blade before it exploded, preventing the spiritual pressure from leaking out and being devoured. Combined with the greatsword's cutting power, this is the most effective way to counter them."

"I know my strategy is correct."

Wang Mingyuan squinted as he looked at the heat map of the Aitken Basin deep in the far side of the moon.

"But what I fear is that the thing behind the black door will also 'learn'."

……

The Moon. The defensive line above the Guanghan Base.

The battle had been going on for a full two hours.

The intense vacuum chopping caused many cultivators' psionic reactors to alarm.

But at that moment...

The aimless, incessant drizzle of black spores suddenly stopped.

It's like someone turned off the tap in the sky.

The spatial rift at an altitude of 8,000 meters no longer overflows with any matter.

After Chen Ge extinguished the last few drops of black water with a single strike, the entire two-kilometer-long lunar orbit defense line fell into a suffocating silence.

"Radar cleared."

"The optical detection array did not detect any high-dimensional matter residues."

"The source of pollution...has disappeared?"

Xu Zhao's voice came from the base's control room into Chen Ge's helmet, carrying a hint of disbelief.

Chen Ge did not immediately order the dismantling of the defensive line.

He hovered in mid-air, holding the somewhat darkened ship-slaying sword, staring intently at the crack above his head like a wolf that had sensed danger.

There was no spiritual pressure fluctuation.

No high-dimensional radiation readings were found.

It was so clean it was as if the fierce interception battle had never happened.

But a layer of cold sweat seeped uncontrollably from Chen Ge's back.

This is an extremely dangerous intuition stemming from the instincts of a high-level cultivator.

"Everyone, maintain formation," Chen Ge ordered in a low voice.

Quiet.

Absolute silence.

Only the hissing sound of the internal circulation system of the armor could be heard.

Sudden.

A dry, trembling voice came from the bone conduction channel from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Team Leader Chen..."

"My shadow...is something wrong with it?"

Chen Ge's pupils suddenly contracted.

He immediately turned his gaze to the monk on the left flank of the defensive line.

To remain concealed, the Taiyin shielding array at the Guanghan base did not project searchlights upwards.

The only source of light for the five hundred cultivators was the faint blue flames from their thrusters and the faint starlight in the sky.

According to the laws of physics and optics, in a state of microgravity levitation, the shadows on their armor should be absolutely static, elongated dark areas along a fixed light source.

But Chen Ge saw it.

The shadow on the monk's back armor did not follow the direction of the light source.

It's like a pool of living water.

It was "climbing" upwards on the surface of the monk's titanium steel armor at an extremely slow pace, defying the laws of physics.

That's not black water.

It has no mass, no substance.

That's a pure optical reflection, a conceptual "shadow".

"Left flank, team one! Check the light source!" Chen Ge roared.

"Captain Chen! It's not a problem with the light source!" Another monk's voice revealed undisguised terror.

"My shadow... is gone too! It's on my mask!"

Chen Ge suddenly lowered his head and looked at his ship-slaying sword.

The metal surface of the broad sword, which should have reflected starlight, was now covered with an extremely deep shadow.

The shadow was twisting and stretching, vaguely outlining a strange silhouette covered in tentacles.

The piercing alarm blared wildly inside each of the Xuanwu exoskeletons.

But this time, it wasn't a radar alarm.

It's actually an overload alarm from the [Miniature Soul-Locking Array]!

"Mental pollution!"

"It's cognitive interference!"

Chen Ge immediately realized that Wang Mingyuan's worst fears had come true.

It began to alter the "rules" of this space at the micro-level of information.

Without any warning.

On the tactical screens of all the defense soldiers, a burst of extremely chaotic static and noise flashed simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, a line of blood-red garbled characters, with no communication frequency source but extremely clear, was carved directly into the depths of each of their consciousnesses like a steel stamp.

That wasn't the language of Earth, but their subconscious instantly understood that cold "rule".

Rule 1: When the moon is facing away from the sun, your shadow will have the right to be seen independently.

"Close your eyes! Cut off external optical transmission!" Chen Ge roared deafeningly into the channel, "Use your divine sense! Don't look at your shadows!"

But it's too late.

The monk on the far left wing subconsciously stared at the writhing shadow of himself on his mask.

In the shadows of that flat surface, a gray-white eye without a pupil slowly opened.

It met the monk's gaze.

"Ugh—Aaaaaaah!"

A heart-wrenching, agonizing scream instantly erupted in the internal channel.

The cultivator's titanium steel heavy sword flew out of his hand.

His body was not subjected to any physical attack, but his hydraulic exoskeleton began to snap backward at an extremely bizarre, reverse-joint angle.

It was as if an unseen, high-dimensional being with absolute power was in his shadow, snapping his spine!

……

Kunlun. Heavenly Palace on the Clouds.

Gu Qing sat on the bronze chair, his deep eyes reflecting the scene 380,000 kilometers away.

The Void is never a fool who only spews acid.

They are experts at manipulating rules and concepts.

"Heavy industry can prevent the corrosion of materials."

Gu Qing's fingertips lightly traced the void, and a wisp of gray causal thread snapped in his hand.

"But when the laws of physics themselves are altered, when 'shadows' are no longer optical phenomena but become deadly weapons."

He gazed at the starry sky behind the moon, now in disarray and devoid of order.

"Can your swords still hit their mark?"