The Madman's Labyrinth
In the highest mountain of Baekwoon Continent in the Gwanghan Realm, atop Cheonlyeon Great Mountain.
A pure-white pagoda of white jade stood there, gleaming under the sunlight.
Strange beams of light swirled inside the pagoda, hiding its interior from view.
Around it, countless beams of light danced back and forth like a gentle breeze.
Uuuuuung!
Then came the moment one beam of light slipped inside.
Pasuse!
[Heh, another batch of prodigies from the Water Realm crushed in defeat? One of them even slew a patrol elder from the Black Line Legion and captured their flesh, fleeing away…]
Swoosh, crackle, crackle!
The white pagoda trembled.
From beyond the beams, something burst out through them.
It was a white branch.
And the branch was held in a wrinkled, skeletal hand.
[In this cursed world, so many prodigies crushed in defeat… After twelve thousand years, outstanding talents have finally appeared again. The entire world will plunge into chaos once more… What fate will unravel…]
Paaaah!
A beam of light like the swirling ones around the pagoda shot out from the tip of the white branch and streaked off toward some distant place.
[I sent a letter, but when will those Void Shattering youngsters return from their excursion… I, the greatest elder of the Gwanghan Realm, must heal my injuries from the Gold Immortal before the world can stabilize…]
The wrinkled hand holding the white branch trembled faintly before slipping back inside the pagoda.
Uuuuuung!
Once more the beams of light danced around the pagoda, restoring silence.
***
Kuuguugugu!
How far had the madman dragged us through all directions?
Uuuuuuung!
Jumping over mountains, crossing rivers, soaring through bizarre places and spaces, the madman finally dropped us down.
We landed in an enormous valley.
Its size was not the modest valley I remembered from the Water Realm. It plunged three or four li deep.
‘How can such a place exist…’
My resentment toward the overwhelming scale of the Gwanghan Realm’s terrain reached its peak.
[Finally, those troublesome pursuers are giving up!]
The madman grinned widely and reached for his box once more.
Then.
Kuuguugugu!
As he opened it, a gigantic castle burst forth from within.
‘So it is…’
I gazed at the castle called the Wondrous Castle and felt certain.
The Wondrous Castle resembled the Palace of Liberation quite closely.
If three of them were fused into a triangle, it would look almost identical.
In fact, aside from color scheme, the shapes were perfectly the same.
While the Palace of Liberation was built of warm-yellow tiles and pure-white stone, the madman’s Wondrous Castle used brown tiles and black stone.
I was curious, but I decided not to question him in front of this lunatic.
‘First, I need to find a chance to escape or even kill myself.’
Suicide itself was impossible right now. The [her] that was ten zhang (roughly thirty meters) tall hovered around us, releasing light from every inch and freezing all heavenly qi in the surroundings.
I could not move freely.
And then.
[Open, Wondrous Castle. Clean up the things below.]
The castle’s three gates on each side swung open.
Countless puppets in the millions poured out and descended into the valley bottom.
Kuuguugugu!
The sound of machinery echoed from below for a while, then the puppets returned from the depths carrying the corpses of bizarre beasts and insects.
[Good. The lower part is cleared. It would be best to place the Wondrous Castle here.]
Kuuuuuuu!
The castle hovering in mid-air slowly descended toward the deep valley.
[Hehe, then you two should come with me. I’ll go down first.]
Taah!
The madman leaped without hesitation toward the depth where the Wondrous Castle had descended.
At the same time, [her] hand reached out once more, lifting both of us.
‘Damn it…’
I tried to summon my Invisible Sword, but it did nothing.
Uung!
[Her] colossal body moved, carrying us down.
Shiii…
As we descended into the valley’s depths, the madman appeared below, surrounded by countless puppets preparing the ground for the castle.
Because there were so many puppets, the gigantic Wondrous Castle settled into its place effortlessly.
It rested in the deepest part of the valley.
Kuuguugugu!
The castle’s doors opened.
[Come in, both of you. Ah, four-pillar-grade materials! I’m so excited I might lose my mind! Hwaaaah! ]
“…”
Uuuuuung!
The ten-zhang [her] body shrank gradually until it became human-sized.
Only now could I see her full appearance.
[Her] figure wore a pure-white robe, with two long spears strapped to her back.
It was a weapon that could combine the two spears into one halberd.
Her face was covered by a white mask, so I could not see what she looked like.
Clop, clop…
She walked naturally toward the castle’s doors, but I could tell something was wrong.
‘It is not human movement.’
The joints moved in a way that was subtly different from humans.
A true puppet.
Ziiit…
‘Damn it, I cannot stare for long…’
It was definitely a four-pillar-grade puppet.
[Are you two not coming in? What are you waiting for?]
Uuuuuung!
Before the madman’s voice finished, both of us rose into the air and were sucked straight into the Wondrous Castle.
‘I cannot resist…!’
Taah!
I was sucked in and almost slammed headfirst into the floor.
But I caught my balance and pulled Kim Yeon close, holding her tight.
‘Here…’
I looked around the interior of the Wondrous Castle.
It possessed a vast space thanks to spatial laws.
And above all else…
‘It is completely different from the Palace of Liberation.’
Kuuguugugu!
Countless puppets roamed everywhere.
In halls, factories, and repair workshops, puppets were produced, discarded, and repaired.
They were created and managed in countless compartments…
‘…?’
And they lived.
In the literal sense.
Two puppets that looked like a married couple walked hand in hand, exploring the castle.
Not only that.
Everywhere in the castle, puppets ran shops.
Puppets danced.
Small puppets squeaked as they played tag.
It was as if…
A real city where humans lived.
Yet…
Chills ran down my spine.
‘What in the world…’
I felt a deep unease at this bizarre sight.
These puppets acted naturally as if they were human, but none of them were truly alive.
They were connected by strange qi flows, and those flows were so intricate they looked almost like real human thoughts.
But that was all.
These things were not alive, yet they imitated humans.
When I felt a chill, the madman called out. [What are you staring at? Come over here.]
Kuuguugugu!
“!?”
The space around us warped, and Kim Yeon and I found ourselves in some hall of the Wondrous Castle.
Kuuguugugu!
It was a vast space filled with huge cogwheels and strange puppet arms.
Countless mechanical devices cluttered the area.
Clank, clank, clank…
I flinched!
In this eerie space, a large workbench stood, and above it, many puppet arms and mechanisms moved.
And in front of it, the madman laughed wickedly while modifying a green-armored craftsman.
[As expected, a four-pillar craftsman. Using a real four-pillar supreme cultivator’s flesh to stabilize the unstable qi flow of [her]. Hehehe, perfect! Perfect! ]
The madman tinkered with his tools for a long time.
While he did, I glanced sideways at Kim Yeon, who was still unconscious.
‘She has been marked by a curse…’
It was not mere unconsciousness.
Something similar to the Ohaeng Hyeoljubeon was embedded in her dantian, suppressing her monstrous consciousness.
When I looked at her, the madman turned and spoke.
[Well, basic work is done… Shall I decide your treatment?]
I kept my face rigid and pulled out my Invisible Sword.
Thinking I had fully inserted it into my mouth.
The madman no longer pressed his curse on me, and I could move my sword again.
‘If it comes to it, I’ll kill myself right here…’
I glanced at Kim Yeon.
Perhaps she would have to die too.
Better to die than live in this madman’s modified body, neither dead nor alive.
At that moment, the madman laughed.
[What are you doing? I said I would take you two as disciples. Aren’t you greeting your master?]
“…?”
I froze, sword raised.
‘Is he serious?’
This madman’s next move was impossible to predict.
I wondered whether his words were genuine or born from his twisted mind.
Tap!
At that instant, the curse in Kim Yeon’s dantian vanished as the madman snapped his fingers.
Along with it…
Pooohwaak!
Kuuguugugu!
Her monstrous consciousness spread in all directions like threads.
It twisted into a web that seemed to swallow the heavens and earth.
But…
‘What is this…’
I was startled by the bizarre aura coming from her.
She displayed such immense consciousness, yet her head did not explode.
I immediately understood why.
Dual-colored auras—yellow and blue—surrounded her, stabilizing her body.
“Lingzhi?”
[Before entering the Ascension Gate, I fed you the precious medicine I obtained back then. I gave you Hongling San to create a Hongling Tree Body. How much affection I have wasted… Well, without a Hongling Tree Body you could never have endured such an enormous consciousness.]
“H-Hongling Tree Body!?”
I asked in shock.
Lingzhi such as Gui Yun Hwaseon or Cheonsang Geunroe Shinche were mythical, legendary, and almost delusional.
Hongling Tree Body was not that mythical, but it was a well-known constitution that formed a unique spiritual root.
It was the constitution that produced dual spiritual roots of wood and earth.
Due to its nature, it had no difference in spiritual root or cultivation speed from others, but it could read the subtle threads of wood and earth qi, making it far stronger than ordinary supreme cultivators of the same stage.
However, this constitution was not inherited bloodline but was awakened by a person’s innate spiritual energy difference.
Hongling San was the three that carried the spiritual energy of Hongling Tree Body directly.
Therefore, anyone who consumed Hongling San would receive its qi and awaken the wood-earth spiritual root of the Hongling Tree Body, whether they were criminals or cultivators.
‘It was said that the Hongling Tree Body also harmonized and strengthened the body, so it is fortunate that her head did not explode thanks to this…’
When the curse disappeared, I watched her slowly recover her senses while twitching her body.
A while later, Kim Yeon raised her body.
And when our eyes met, she rubbed them.
“…Is this a dream? I had separated from Senior Seo…”
“This is no dream. Wake up properly.”
I supported her and helped her up.
She flinched and trembled.
“…S-Senior Seo…? It… was not a dream…?”
She seemed moved, but my attention turned more to the madman watching us with sparkling eyes.
“…Allow this disciple to ask respectfully. What will you do with us?”
Even if this madman had gone mad and was about to modify us, I had to ask.
What would become of us?
At my question, the madman showed his teeth in a grin.
[I already said. You two will become my disciples first. No, wait—Gaijja. Gaijja sounds better. After making you my disciples and teaching you for a while, I will select a true successor who inherits my progress and make him my disciple. Then I will complete this Wondrous Castle.]
‘The Wondrous Castle…’
What on earth was this place? Why did this madman ask us to complete it?
Wasn’t his goal related to [her]?
I had a mountain of questions about [her], but I could not ask because the madman might go mad and modify me at any moment if I mentioned love.
[My body has accepted you as disciples. Is there no gratitude?]
The madman’s eyes sparkled as he looked at us.
I swallowed and gently pressed Kim Yeon’s shoulder, who still did not understand.
“Master Kim, follow my example.”
“Yes, yes? Yes.”
Kim Yeon bowed to the madman after me.
[Hehe, good. Good… Even as a criminal, you have a supreme four-pillar consciousness and a supreme cultivator’s technique, yet you crushed alone without learning any cultivation method… I’ll raise you two well… and definitely fulfill my dream…!]
After stroking his beard, he said.
[Well, first… Ah! I see. I’m sorry.]
The madman looked at the puppet of [her] standing beside him.
[I just realized I never formally introduced myself. I was about to forget your names. Thank you. After all, I cannot live without you.]
“…”
“…?”
I clenched both hands tightly while watching the madman suddenly cry and laugh while clinging to [her] puppet.
Kim Yeon still looked confused but terrified.
[Hmph. Yes, as you know, I am the puppet monarch Jo Yeon, the early connection. Since you know nothing about me, let’s skip the introduction. What are your names?]
“Seo Eun-hyun.”
“Kim Yeon…”
[Good, good. I remember clearly. Kim Yeon, you had the aptitude test and ate Hongling San before crossing the Ascension Gate, so there is nothing more to check. You may go.]
Tap!
The madman snapped his fingers, and a puppet appeared, lifting Kim Yeon.
While she was still dazed, the puppet grabbed her and jumped into space, disappearing.
Now only the madman and I remained in the hall.
[I could not determine your aptitude. From the beginning I felt something strange about you, but wrapping consciousness in the body is not a technique of the Water Realm, is it?]
What should I do?
I pondered for a moment and said.
Buung!
As I waved my hand, my Invisible Sword swept around.
[Whoa! It can cross dimensions! What on earth is that?]
“This is… a strange technique I created by using my consciousness. Thanks to it I could crush in defeat. Handling this power requires my will and heart, so if you modify me carelessly, I may not be able to use this ability.”
[Hmmm, it does seem that way. The power is directly connected to the mind. Wait, that means…]
Whoosh!
The madman stepped in front of me.
Our eyes met.
[You can see it too? ‘This vision’? If you can handle consciousness, you cannot fail to see it, right?]
“…”
Our visions met.
Our consciousnesses collided.
‘What should I say?’
Was it right to give information or not?
If I said something about consciousness and the madman found out I was lying and modified me…
“…I cannot see it.”
[Hmmm, is that so…]
The madman stepped back with a hint of regret.
I was about to sigh in relief when…
[Then for now, why don’t you lie on that workbench? First, let’s experiment if I can use the modified arm to pull out that transparent thing.]
“F-Fact is, I can see it! I’m sorry for lying!”
[Oh, really? That is surprising. I expected it anyway. Then lie down.]
Weeiiiiing!
The green-armored craftsman lay on the workbench, ready for modification.
A new workbench rose beside it, with strange puppet arms and mechanisms descending from above.