Chapter 568
“As long as we don’t kill them, that’s all that matters. There’s an abundance of methods if you think that way.”
“So what method are we looking at?”
“Well, simply put, we can borrow the power of the [Old Ruler] to place a petrification curse and clear the path. A soul cursed by the [Old Ruler] can’t become a sacrifice for another ruler.”
I frowned. “Ugh… Using that method would leave the cursed guy stuck as a statue, neither dead nor alive, forever. Do we really have to resort to such a cruel method?”
“It’s the most straightforward and efficient method, but you seem to be hesitating.”
“What about Cheon Woo-jin binding thousands of troops with his Wubo technique?”
“That could work, but then who will keep an eye on the Twelve Joules’ three masters?”
At that moment, Mangnyang, who had been listening, spoke up. “Uncle, let me go and hear the Sect Leader’s intentions first. Then we can make a decision.”
“You think the Sect Leader knows that much?”
“The Sect Leader doesn’t underestimate the Vermilion Bird. And from the perspective of the same Demon Sorcerer, he must be able to suspect enough.”
“There’s no guarantee that assumption is correct, but I guess we can try it that way for now.”
Whoosh!
Eventually, Mangnyang made his way towards Mount Ye and arrived at the location where the experts of the Twelve Joules and the White Lotus Sect had gathered. He looked down from a hill at the troops camped around Mount Ye and said, “If we storm in recklessly and commit a massacre, we’ll fall into the Vermilion Bird’s trap.”
The master of the White Lotus Sect, hearing Mangnyang’s words, responded, [I know that much. That’s why we were preparing a plan to break through to the interior of Mount Ye with an elite force.]
The Master of the Twelve Joules seemed to tacitly agree, saying nothing. It appeared that they had reconsidered their aggressive approach. Sensing the atmosphere, Mangnyang quickly made his next proposal.
“Please allow our Bancheon Alliance to participate in that elite force.”
[……]
As the Sect Leader fell silent, the Master of the Twelve Joules, who stood nearby, spoke. “There’s no time to bicker; we should hurry and prepare.”
After a brief meeting, they selected their elite force.
From the Twelve Joules side, there were the Master of the Twelve Joules, Miyamoto Musashi, three Masters from the Twelve Joules, and ten members from an unknown clan.
On the White Lotus Sect’s side, there were the Master of the White Lotus Sect, Dharma Guardian, ten experts from the Elder Council and Su Shin Sect.
As for Mangnyang, he almost included everyone except me and Cheon Woo-jin in the elite team. Once the personnel was set, it was already a considerable number. Of course, breaking through an army of 450,000 with just this number was absurd, but given the individual martial prowess, it was entirely possible.
“Shall we go then?”
With that, the Master of the Twelve Joules suddenly invoked the power of the Wood Element and placed both hands on the ground.
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive mound of earth erupted, and enormous tree trunks shot up. Some of these trunks stretched upwards, creating trees that appeared dozens of feet high. With our party now surrounded by trees, the Master calmly declared, “Follow me.”
He walked up to the upper branches, and the rest began to follow.
“This is…!!”
Cheon Woo-jin, since he was using his clairvoyant sight, looked shocked. I glanced at Cheon Woo-jin and asked, “Do you know this technique?”
“I don’t.”
“Why are you making all this fuss if you don’t know?”
Cheon Woo-jin replied, irritated, “It’s a problem because I don’t know. What kind of technique summons the World Tree to create a Dimension Passage?!”
“World Tree…”
“That tree is from the Mythological Age. It cannot be handled by human power.”
……
What the Master of the Twelve Joules called forth now was most likely the Sacred Altar Tree (神檀樹). It was the divine tree that stretched across the nine realms, summoned here with the power of the Wood Element. But until now, I had been complacent, failing to grasp why Cheon Woo-jin was in such a tizzy. I asked Cheon Woo-jin with a hint of doubt, “Can even the Great Immortal’s techniques not handle it?”
“Whether it can or not, the World Tree is not a physical existence. It’s the ultimate spiritual being that sprouts the source of power, making it hard for even Gods to manipulate. The level of the Great Immortal would find it nearly impossible.”
“Hmm… then what exactly is that… The Master seems to wield it with the power of the Wood Element.”
Cheon Woo-jin seemed to marvel. “The liberated power of the Wood Element is beyond imagination, I guess?”
Could that really be? I was clouded with doubts about whether it was truly the pure liberated power of the Wood Element. Cheon Woo-jin might not have memories but I had witnessed the Master of the Twelve Joules displaying unfathomable powers before. However, no matter how powerful the Wood Element was, I couldn’t fathom how he could exhibit powers on par with the Twelve Luminaries.
‘Could it be…’
If the powers of the Seven Luminaries depended on the user’s capabilities, could it be that the Master of the Twelve Joules itself was a divine being? All the vague assumptions I had held until now were crystallizing in my mind. Manipulating both the Phoenix and the Sacred Altar Tree was certainly not something an ordinary human could do through training.
But even if he was a divine being, the Master of the Twelve Joules’ powers seemed far from that of the Celestial Realm. It didn’t seem like the power from the [Old Ruler] side either, leaving me completely perplexed. I scratched my head, lost in thought about what the Master of the Twelve Joules might be hiding.
It was then.
Whoooooom!
The divine tree let out a mighty roar, and in the next moment, our surroundings shifted to the dark interior of a cave. Swiftly, the Master of the Twelve Joules incanted a spell and summoned a light orb, revealing the scenery around us.
Crash!
‘Terracotta Army!’
I secretly marveled as I looked through my clairvoyant sight at the sight before me.
Inside this enormous cave, carved right out of Mount Ye, thousands upon thousands of artificially created soldiers and horses were sprawled all around. Each doll was crafted so intricately that they looked lifelike. Noting the fantastical scene, Yongbi-cheon remarked, “Qin Shi Huang must have had a great love for art. These terracotta soldiers seem real.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules chuckled disdainfully. “Haha. They’re not just lifelike; they are real.”
“……?”
All gazes turned to the Master of the Twelve Joules. However, without explaining further, he shot a glance at the Sect Leader and said, “The Absolute Formation has already been set. Do you plan to break through by force?”
The Sect Leader retorted coldly, [Split into two groups.]
“Haha. Should we take the Bancheon Alliance with us?”
[That would be for the best…]
Without a need for anyone to say who should go where, the two groups formed accordingly. I watched, dumbfounded by the sudden troop distribution, but Cheon Woo-jin explained.
“The formation inside is made using the principles of Yin Yang Double Reflection, so it had to be split.”
“Yin Yang Double Reflection? How do you know that?”
“Ugh, where have you been spending all your time studying? Can’t you tell just by looking at the easy flags set up all over the Terracotta Army?!”
Cheon Woo-jin retorted with disbelief, while I made a feeble excuse. “I knew the formation was there, but figuring it out at a glance is hard…”
No joke—acknowledging something like that at a glance would be absurd. The changes in the formations due to the variations in the flags number in the thousands, and no one could memorize all of them. Yet, it seemed strange that they immediately identified the formation as the Yin Yang Double Reflection as soon as we arrived.
Cheon Woo-jin focused once more on the clairvoyant view and said, “Anyway, keep watching. When the critical moment comes, it’ll be up to you to step in.”
“Got it.”
As long as my life was on the line, I’d rather not step in, but if an opportunity to seize the Portrait Immortal or significant changes arose, I had to use my Golden Lamp technique to enter that Terracotta Army. Even if it meant relying on the weapon borrowed from the Prophet, I had to lend an advantage to the Bancheon Alliance. That meant I was the ace in this situation.
Swish!
The beings from the Bancheon Alliance, moving alongside the White Lotus Sect, soon felt the darkness flowing through the various sections of the Terracotta Army. Specifically, the passages that cut through the Terracotta Army began to morph slowly into a labyrinth.
This was the state of the Absolute Formation changing to ensnare intruders, so Mangnyang sensed it first and reported to the Master of the White Lotus Sect.
“Sect Leader! Bancheon Alliance’s Mangnyang has something to report.”
As if the Sect Leader had anticipated Mangnyang’s intent, he replied, [Bancheon Alliance Leader. Can you penetrate this Absolute Formation?]
“It’s definitely possible. Please leave it to us.”
[……]
While the Sect Leader took a moment to think, Yongbi-cheon suddenly stepped forward and shouted. “Stop your nonsense! Why would I trust my life to bat-like creatures like you?!”
“……”
“I can break this mere formation by force.”
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yongbi-cheon’s palms gathered a massive wind energy. Soon, the energy manifested into a Wind Dragon and shot high into the sky, and Yongbi-cheon’s eye glowed as he released the Wind Dragon forward.
Boom! Crash!
Hundreds of bronze terracotta soldiers shattered and flew into the air as the Wind Dragon raged around. It was an awe-inspiring sight, like a typhoon sweeping through, and before long, Yongbi-cheon had taken to the sky, effortlessly creating a series of Wind Bullets about ten feet in size, which he unleashed in succession.
Bang!
How long had the explosive sounds continued?
Yongbi-cheon was engaged in a tremendous destructive act utilizing boundless internal power, but the Master of the White Lotus Sect issued a heavy command to him.
[Yongbi-cheon, stop.]
“What?”
[I said stop.]
Yongbi-cheon, confused, descended back to the ground. Then, pointing at the cleared labyrinth, he remarked, “I’ve shattered all the elements of the obstructive formation. Now all we have to do is move forward…”
[…Hah. What a remarkable formation.]
The Master of the White Lotus Sect stated this and then suddenly waved his hand.
Whoooom!
“……!!”
Suddenly, everything that had been annihilated disappeared, returning to the original labyrinth of the Terracotta Army.
“No way!”
“Oh my…”
At that sight, most of our party gasped in surprise, particularly Yongbi-cheon, who was stammering in shock. “Sect Leader! You didn’t just restore their formation, did you?”
[That’s not it. What you thought was destroyed was all an illusion. I merely revealed the essence.]
“No way…”
[I borrowed the Infinite Inner Power of the Heavenly Spirit Pill for this, but this formation is a folded space where false (虚) and real (實) cannot be distinguished. Physical destruction will likely have no effect. I’ve seen through this illusion all along.]
……
Mangnyang stepped forward and said, “If it can’t be broken by force, we must unravel it through proper means. Please leave it to me.”
[This is the first time in my life facing such a bizarre and powerful formation. This must be the greatest Qimen Dunjia created by the Vermilion Bird, embodying its lifelong potential. Even though I can see the principle behind the Yin Yang Double Reflection, I don’t have the confidence to break it.]
Having muttered this, the Master of the White Lotus Sect stared intently at Mangnyang.
[Bancheon Alliance Leader, how skilled are you in Qimen Dunjia?]
Mangnyang replied calmly, “Best in the world.”
[……]
A silence descended. It was an awkward silence, largely due to Mangnyang’s nonchalantly audacious claim of being the best in the world. Even the Dharma Protectors stared at him with astonished eyes.
However, after a short while, the Master of the White Lotus Sect spoke. [I’ll trust you.]
Thus, Mangnyang took the lead, beginning to unravel the formation as the others followed suit, pulling out flags and replanting them elsewhere. I felt anxious watching the scene through my clairvoyant sight.
“Can Mangnyang really break this formation?”
“Of course.”
Cheon Woo-jin replied without a moment’s hesitation. When I looked at him, Cheon Woo-jin continued, “In your past life, my older brother solved all the Qimen Dunjia problems I gave him, didn’t he?”
“That was true.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Cheon Woo-jin proudly stated, “Among the entire world, there’s only one genius capable of unravelling the Qimen Dunjia of the Illusory God in a glance.”
After a short interval, the party emerged from the labyrinth of the Terracotta Army, and as soon as they did, it vanished as if newly washed away. Where the maze once stood, terracotta soldiers no larger than a finger were now tightly packed within a miniature maze, their size barely exceeding five feet.
Han Baek-ryeong observed that model, looking horrified as she said, “Are you telling me we were all wandering around in that tiny model?”
“That’s the terror of Qimen Dunjia. Within the formation, that tiny model could transform into a labyrinth spanning hundreds of miles.”
“That’s frightening…”
While the party trembled in fear, Mangnyang placed the Seven Fires, Seven Golds Line on his palm and responded, “I’ve unraveled the formation. If we go straight, we’ll likely find the Vermilion Bird waiting for us.”
As the party entered the straightforward corridor, a voice came from ahead.
“Welcome.”
A man in a white cloak wearing a mask, holding a circle, blocked the center of the path. Naturally, the identity of this man was known to most, so the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s eyes gleamed as he said, [You are the White Tiger of the Imperial Palace.]
“Indeed, I am the White Tiger.”
The leader of the Golden Eagle Guard and the White Tiger of the Imperial Palace! This was the same guy who had once put me in a crisis during my past life, and now he was blocking my path.
