You Trod Upon Me (Part 11)
A piercing scream tore through the air and vanished.
Only the radiant blue pillar descending from the heavens remained, illuminating the desert in blinding light.
A vast azure beam of divine energy transformed the sands into its own radiance, leaving even the sun dimmed before it.
The cannon of the Seopmyeong Ship fired by Manri-minlap, the coordinated barrage unleashed by countless Core Formation cultivators—all of it was utterly dwarfed by that single column of heavenly light.
The crude spiritual techniques and machinery crafted by mere mortals could never match the pure essence of light that heaven itself had forged.
Everyone gathered there swallowed hard, eyes fixed on the pillar.
Gyeongcheongi clutched his lips, teeth sinking deep as his hands trembled.
Makryuhangcheon drew a sharp breath, eyes wide with shock, staring at the blue pillar.
Jinryeoncheon stood with a dazed expression, mouth agape.
Makryuhangcheon turned to Cheongmun Jung-jin.
“Lord Cheongmun… we heard of your master’s curse tactic, yet this… this was never mentioned in advance.”
“Ah… that was a personal suggestion my master brought to me directly,” Cheongmun Jung-jin replied.
“Honestly, when I first learned of it, I found it hard to believe myself. Heavenly Rejection… it should only descend upon a Core Formation breakthrough, yet the minimum threshold is a Nascent Soul phenomenon.”
He was telling the truth.
Originally, Heavenly Rejection referred to the moment a mere Foundation Establishment Grand Completion cultivator ascended to Core Formation; it was never meant to strike a Void Shattering cultivator.
It was the realm where one first glimpsed the origin of the world, the threshold of the Original Spirit. Only then did heaven begin to punish the mortal.
“Even heavenly rejection… who could possibly believe it?”
Yet not every rule applied to every cultivator.
Scouring the historical scrolls, one found that among the ancient whale-like cultivators, some who ascended from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation without passing through Qi Condensation had indeed suffered heavenly thunder.
And those unfortunate souls bore the grotesque affliction known as Heavenly Rejection, a curse that blocked the Seven Stars Ceremony.
Weaklings rejected by heaven itself.
And Seo Eun-hyun had been one of those Heavenly Rejectors.
“I myself was skeptical, but my master insisted, so I accepted the plan,” Makryuhangcheon continued, voice steady as he gazed deeper into the azure pillar.
“Gyeongcheongi, even though I am the decisive factor in this operation, you should have given me a heads-up earlier. My heart is still racing from the shock.”
“I apologize, Lord Gyeongcheon. I should have informed you sooner.”
Cheongmun Jung-jin offered a sincere bow of apology.
Jinryeoncheon stepped forward.
“Big brother, what a magnificent strategy. I… I am truly in awe.”
“This is not my plan, Lord Jinryeon. It belongs to my master. Now then, why are all of you still gathered here chatting instead of returning to your positions?”
“Oh dear, please do not be so hasty. Heavenly Rejection… most of us have never witnessed such a terrifying celestial phenomenon, which is why we were caught off guard.”
Jinryeoncheon brushed his fingers lightly across Cheongmun Jung-jin’s chest and winked.
Cheongmun Jung-jin sighed deeply.
“Everyone, return to your assigned positions and maintain formation! We do not know how much life force the remnant possesses, but if it is still alive, we must launch a full assault and completely evaporate it with the Original Spirit intact!”
At those words, the allied forces quickly retook their stances.
A thunderous roar echoed from the heavens, then fell silent once more.
In that world of azure light, only two figures remained.
Me… and Wonrip.
A guttural cry erupted.
I lifted dense, curse-laden energy onto my arm, connecting it directly to Wonrip’s body.
He ground his teeth but could not break free. A crimson barrier flared around him as he poured every ounce of power into clashing with me and the heavenly thunder at the same time.
Or rather… it was not a clash at all. Wonrip was the one doing all the blocking.
And then.
The seemingly endless baptism of azure light finally came to an end.
A crisp sound followed.
The pillar passed, and Wonrip panted heavily, blood-red eyes burning with hatred as he glared at me.
“You… trash…!”
Then.
Boom. Bo-o-o-m!
Heaven itself began to rage anew.
As if furious that a mere mortal had received heavenly aid.
The fury of heaven rained down once more through azure light.
The azure pillar grew thicker, more massive than before.
We were sealed inside the pillar again.
Wonrip clenched his teeth and raised a new barrier without a moment’s hesitation.
Heavenly Thunder… or Heavenly Rejection… Heavenly Punishment… this celestial phenomenon descended the moment one reached Nascent Soul.
Records spoke of it as a trial one must overcome alone. If one received help from another, heaven would grow even more enraged, unleashing an even stronger strike.
No matter the circumstances now.
It seemed I was receiving the aid of another.
The four guardian towers of Wonrip’s Law Treasure enveloped us.
Red light poured from the towers, forming an oppressive barrier around us.
Yet.
Crack. Crack-crack.
The barrier shuddered, then began to split.
Wonrip’s face twisted in agony as he gritted his teeth.
A strange cry rang out.
The crimson towers blazed even brighter.
The cracks seemed to vanish, but the towers looked dangerously strained.
Just as the towers reached their limit.
A sharp scream.
The heavenly thunder finally stopped.
Wonrip coughed up blood, eyes murderous as he stared at me.
“You… will die…!”
And then heaven prepared the third strike.
In the blink of an eye, the third bolt slammed down upon us.
A colossal explosion.
Wonrip’s Law Treasure towers shattered like shattered glass, and the explosions inside them destroyed the towers completely.
A deafening boom followed by a series of thunderous cracks.
In the end, the Law Treasure towers that had borne the brunt of the defense were torn apart forever, reduced to drifting ash within the heavenly thunder.
A ghostly wail.
Wonrip unleashed a torrent of blood light toward the heavens.
He extracted seventeen bone swords from his Golden Elixir and launched a fatal slash into the sky.
But.
The blood light was swallowed by the azure light.
The two Ghost Kings fled the moment they saw the heavenly thunder, their bodies shaking in terror.
The slash formed from the bone swords lasted a moment before collapsing.
An endless roar.
Wonrip poured every last drop of strength into a new barrier.
A spherical barrier of blood light appeared around us.
The crimson shield of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator blocked the heavenly thunder.
Yet.
Pfft. Pfft-pfft.
The shield began to crack, and heavenly thunder began to seep inside.
And then.
Crack.
Wonrip’s barrier exploded completely.
Heavenly thunder struck us both directly.
We were exposed to the Heavenly Rejection at the same time.
Silent screams of agony tore from our throats.
But I had endured it before. I was familiar with the pain.
And so, in that state, I held Wonrip steady and unfolded my Invisible Sword.
A sharp sound.
I suppressed the struggling Wonrip and hurled him upward, using his body as my own shield.
Indeed, the flesh of a Nascent Soul cultivator blocked heavenly thunder exceptionally well.
Occasional drops of Rejection still seeped through, but I easily repelled them with my Invisible Sword.
Crack. Crack-crack.
Wonrip’s body was riddled with holes by the heavenly thunder.
Light poured through the wounds.
More and more holes appeared on his frame.
I gritted my teeth and struck down every incoming bolt with my Invisible Sword.
How much time had passed?
A cataclysmic roar.
The eternal storm of thunder finally ended.
Thanks to the way I had blocked the heavenly thunder with Wonrip’s body or repelled it with my Invisible Sword, heaven judged that I had withstood the Rejection and simply scattered the remaining clouds.
They no longer prepared the next strike.
The thick clouds of divine light slowly dispersed.
“You… are finished…!” I roared, turning to the allied forces.
A cannon shot.
Manri-minlap fired the cannon of the Seopmyeong Ship.
A flash.
A razor-sharp beam raced toward Wonrip.
I dragged the half-conscious Wonrip directly into its path. We were blasted back and slammed into the inner sanctum of Bongmyeong Castle.
“As planned…!”
I kicked Wonrip away, sending him crashing into the castle grounds.
The familiar spiritual energy greeted me as we entered.
“Gyuto Castle.”
The ley lines of Bongmyeong Castle drew me in, filling my dantian naturally.
I sat in full lotus position and charged toward the final stages of Core Formation ascension.
A heavenly chant.
As I overcame the Heavenly Rejection, twenty-eight stars—completely filled with heavenly qi—solidified in place.
And then.
A flash.
My dantian.
A Golden Elixir formed there.
Slightly larger than two fists, its surface engraved with the twenty-eight stars, depicting the Heavenly Sphere Diagram.
The small inner elixir that had once occupied the center of the dantian now rested in the very heart of the Golden Elixir, the size of two fists.
It looked like a celestial instrument showing Earth and the surrounding sky.
Light erupted from the Golden Elixir and instantly bathed the entire castle.
I opened my eyes within the radiance.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom!
Core Formation cultivators outside slowly entered the inner sanctum.
They turned toward the charred remains of Wonrip and launched another coordinated assault.
I used the brief window to retrieve the Curse Doll from my storage ring.
The Curse Doll and I were linked in real time.
I had watched the village we had rescued through the Curse Doll for two hundred years.
I had refined the glass swords I once offered to others into colorless glass swords using the curse, and the Curse Doll was the one who performed the refinement.
Through the doll, I finally received the final transmission.
A crisp sound.
I opened the storage ring and used my incantation to summon three thousand colorless glass swords, floating them in the air.
A wave of spiritual energy.
From Qi Condensation 14th stage onward, Foundation Establishment cultivators could expel Spiritual Clouds and use them to cast techniques.
But once a Golden Elixir was formed, the clouds cultivators had been wielding for so long underwent a qualitative change.
The Spiritual Clouds became even more active, blazing with heat.
They turned into flames.
Core Formation cultivators called this flame Danfire.
I exhaled the Spiritual Flames rising from my dantian through my mouth.
Danfire spread outward and engulfed the three thousand colorless glass swords.
Within each sword, my Danfire flowed along the engraved spiritual circuits, perfectly branding the owner as me.
Through the refinement process, the weapons evolved into Law Treasures of Core Formation cultivators.
These Law Treasures would be stored in the cultivator’s Golden Elixir according to their will. Over time, they would grow stronger alongside the cultivator’s cultivation, fed by the Danfire.
As time passed and Danfire was refined within the dantian, the swords would grow increasingly robust, powerful, and potent.
Such a Law Treasure was called a Name Law Treasure.
Of course, the Law Treasure I had just refined could not yet be called a Name Law Treasure.
Still, its power was undeniable.
The colorless glass swords were not crafted from special materials. They were simply made by gathering desert sand, so refining them with Danfire did not take long.
I drew the three thousand refined colorless glass swords inward.
The three thousand glass swords settled neatly inside my Golden Elixir.
I closed my eyes and felt the traces of Buk Hyang-hwa.
“Grant me strength.”
Not only her.
Countless cultivators from Cheon-saek Castle who had helped refine the colorless glass swords.
To the friends I had lost to Wonrip.
I prayed silently for them.
Far away, the charred remains of Wonrip began to emit blood light as the Core Formation cultivators continued their assault.
The black castle to the north began to surge with crimson light, a river of blood rushing toward us.
It was not ordinary blood. It was far more concentrated and ferocious than any life force Wonrip had gathered.
The river of blood slammed into the charred remains.
Wonrip’s body regenerated, and he rose again.
Though he still wore that black mask-like visage, we all knew he had reached extreme rage.
“I will use every ounce of the accumulated true power I collected over hundreds of years in secret to reach the Heavenly Person realm… to make these bugs, these worthless trash…!”
He coughed up blood again.
The wounds from the Heavenly Rejection and its aftereffects still lingered.
Even I, who had barely endured the Rejection, still had residual lightning qi surging through my body. How could he possibly have survived?
I coughed up blood mixed with qi and stood up.
The Heavenly Rejection had clearly taken its toll.
Still.
The Curse Doll I had prepared in advance stood ready. Sixty-five in total.
Four had been used for the Core Formation ascension ritual. The remaining sixty-one were low-grade dolls infused with only Qi Condensation 1st or 2nd stage power.
But.
“Curse. Reversal.”
I formed the seal and activated the Yin Soul Ghost Curse.
The Heavenly Rejection injuries and residual lightning qi left in my body were instantly distributed across the sixty-one dolls.
Curse Dolls could be used to curse others, but they could also be used in reverse—inflicting all one’s own damage upon them.
The dolls could not withstand the lightning qi or injuries and exploded into ash.
Still, I had successfully transferred the lightning qi and most of the damage.
I retrieved the previously prepared elixirs from my storage ring and drank them.
I drank the Short Recovery Pill that enhanced physical regeneration and the Short Law Enhancement Pill that improved Law Treasure control.
The healing speed was astonishing.
This… is Core Formation.
I had only recently ascended to Core Formation, so the current state was difficult. But with fifty to one hundred years of training, my life force would be so robust that even if my neck were severed, I could recover after a few months of rest.
I will kill every last one of you…!
Even as I spat blood from the corner of my mouth, Wonrip unleashed an overwhelming aura.
Everyone in Bongmyeong Castle nodded in agreement.
Cheongmun Jung-jin shouted.
“All, follow the plan!”
“Close the gates!”
Prevent Wonrip from escaping or receiving any further support from the hidden black castle.
As the Core Formation cultivators formed seals, the massive gates of Bongmyeong Castle began to close.
The northern desert tribesmen stepped forward.
Four clan chiefs advanced.
The four chiefs surrounded Wonrip.
Behind them, three Core Formation cultivators each took positions.
Behind those three, seven more Core Formation cultivators filled the line.
The Northern Desert’s special formation.
“Jingyeoncheonra Array. Open!”
The spiritual power of the cultivators in the array connected.
Azure light sealed Wonrip.
The cultivators at the center of the array, enveloped in white clouds, were trapped at the heart of the bright sky.
This…
The mid-Nascent Soul cultivation of Wonrip, who had once undergone such training, dropped to the early Nascent Soul realm.
Of course, the northern desert chiefs who had opened the Jingyeoncheonra Array paid the price—faces flushed red, they could barely move, their bodies pressed against the ground with all their strength.
It was as if I had personally tied Wonrip’s cultivation down one step.
I flicked my finger.
The final Curse Doll remained.
He touched the formation array of Bongmyeong Castle according to my will.
A strange pressure descended.
The cultivation of the Core Formation cultivators dropped to Foundation Establishment level, while Wonrip’s Nascent Soul cultivation fell to the early Core Formation stage.
I, Manri-minlap, and Gyeongcheongi walked into the heart of the Jingyeoncheonra Array.
Manri-minlap pulled out his cannon and aimed it at Wonrip.
Gyeongcheongi muttered while drawing an amulet from his bosom and activating it.
I could not help but laugh, teeth bared.
The Core Formation cultivators had already fallen to Foundation Establishment.
Yet, as the Golden Elixir’s unique property, the Law Treasure’s storage and release could still be controlled freely.
Three thousand colorless glass swords rose around me according to my incantation.
They hummed.
And the fragile glass swords were overlaid with Invisible Swords.
The maintenance time of the Bongmyeong Castle formation had been extended to half a year and a half—sixty minutes—through two hundred years of research by the formation masters.
Within sixty minutes, the verdict must be reached.
I stared at Wonrip.
“This place… is your grave.”
And the decisive battle began.