Chapter 306
Chapter 306
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 306
Chapter Title: The Fall of the Immortal Heaven Cult
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The current martial world was in a state of unprecedented chaos.
The war between the Murim Alliance and the Evil-Black Alliance.
The clash between two of the three powers that had divided the nine provinces for decades was growing fiercer with each passing day.
In a way, it was inevitable.
After all, they were unleashing decades of accumulated power all at once.
Events that occurred once every ten years were now erupting every few days.
The destruction of the Heavenly Sword Manor, the Battle of Emei Castle.
The retreat of the Iron Blood Corps and Divine Dragon Squad, along with several major unorthodox factions from the north advancing southward.
The annihilation of the Returning Origin Sect, and more.
Attacks flew indiscriminately between the Murim Alliance and the Evil-Black Alliance.
And amid this turmoil, a new rumor began spreading northward from the south.
— The Demon Subduing Squad, Escort Squad, Death-Executing Ghost Sword, Mountain River Shadowless, Heaven-Observing Single Spear, Heavenly Power Divine Monk, and other renowned experts of the Murim Alliance joined forces to assault the Immortal Heaven Cult's main headquarters!
It was shocking news.
The Demon Subduing Squad and Escort Squad were the Murim Alliance's elites.
Including the Death-Executing Ghost Sword and Heavenly Power Divine Monk meant the Murim Alliance had finally drawn its sword in earnest.
"Looks like the Murim Alliance is finally ready to show us something!"
Some lit up at the news of the Murim Alliance heading south.
"But do you really think that group can topple the Immortal Heaven Cult's headquarters?"
Most reactions were skeptical.
After all, the target was the Immortal Heaven Cult's main base.
The most massive evil cult among the Five Great Evil Gates.
It had dominated Guizhou even before the era of the three powers dividing the nine provinces.
Still, a few predicted victory for the Murim Alliance.
"You never know. With the Demon Subduing Squad, Escort Squad, and Heavenly Power Divine Monk, they might even kill the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader..."
"Right. No matter how strong their headquarters is, anything's possible."
But that was more hope than conviction.
Once the rumor spread, all eyes turned to Guizhou.
A result had to come eventually.
And soon enough, new rumors raced northward even faster than before.
— The Immortal Heaven Cult's headquarters has fallen, and the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader met his end at the hands of the Plum Blossom Divine Hero!
No one had expected this outcome.
"What? The Plum Blossom Divine Hero killed the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader?"
"I heard he shone at the Battle of Emei Castle too, but the Cult Leader as well?"
Everyone gasped in shock.
It hadn't been long since the news that he'd killed the Famine Fiend at Emei Castle.
And now the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader too?
The astonishment was only natural.
In this atmosphere, no one was more thrilled than the storytellers.
"Come gather 'round, everyone! I've got the hottest fresh info straight from the House of Revelry!"
"What did I tell you before? The Plum Blossom Divine Hero is destined to be the world's greatest!"
They shouted excitedly in booming voices.
No matter how chaotic the martial world became, it was still a realm of warriors.
For storytellers, all they had to do was sell the latest buzzing tales to the common folk and fill their pockets.
"And did you hear? The one who wiped out an entire Divine Dragon Squad battalion was one of the Seven Wonders, they say!"
"I heard the Jade Qilin repelled those trying to cross the Yangtze Basin..."
"You know the rumors that the Evil-Black Alliance Leader has finally shown himself?"
The storytellers spun the rumors in their own style, and the tales spread across the world at breakneck speed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ About seven days and nights after slaying the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader and toppling their headquarters.
Dozens of horses and ten carriages kicked up dust as they raced along the road toward Hubei Province.
They were Murim Alliance warriors.
Having crossed the Yangtze, they had left the wounded and Escort Squad at nearby Alliance branches and infirmaries, with only those in good condition hurrying back to report.
To deliver the intelligence swiftly.
And in the lead carriage charging ahead.
"Stop there."
Cheonhwi spoke commandingly to Im Ha-yul, who sat facing him, embroidering gold thread onto a robe.
"L-Like this?"
"Yes. Make that part a bit longer to the side. And here..."
"Understood."
At Cheonhwi's words, Im Ha-yul nimbly moved her needle to embroider.
How much time passed like that?
"That's good."
Cheonhwi nodded as he inspected the odd pattern on the sleeve.
'What is this?'
Im Ha-yul furrowed her brow slightly at the finished pattern on the robe's sleeve.
It was indescribable.
Like letters, yet like a picture.
Like a picture, yet like letters.
"Quite the unique pattern."
Yukwon, sitting beside Cheonhwi and watching, muttered as he examined it.
The pattern seemed haphazard, but he intuitively sensed some bizarre law governing it.
"Sanskrit or ancient script?"
"Something like that."
Cheonhwi answered casually, as if annoyed.
Explaining it properly would be too complicated.
He then extended his hand to her.
"Hand it over."
"Ah! Here you go."
Im Ha-yul hurriedly passed him the robe.
"Hm."
Cheonhwi scrutinized the robe thoroughly.
Specifically, the embroidered pattern on the sleeve.
'I engraved a simple formation to start.'
What was on the sleeve was a simplified, scaled-down version of the Illusory Maze Array.
If any formation experts saw it, they'd faint in shock.
A formation was complete in itself.
Disassembling and reestablishing it was far harder than creating a new one.
Yet Cheonhwi, who had achieved this feat, remained utterly calm.
To him, this was trivially easy.
'Now, let's see if it works.'
Cheonhwi touched the pattern on the sleeve.
While channeling internal energy from the Plum Blossom Divine Art.
Then.
Swoooosh—
A glow emanated from the pattern.
Im Ha-yul, Yukwon, and even Chu Geukwang, the Escort Squad Leader who had been quietly watching, widened their eyes at the mystical sight.
"......!"
"This energy is......"
"A formation?!"
Unlike the merely surprised Im Ha-yul, Yukwon and Chu Geukwang read the flow and gaped.
Cheonhwi glanced at them slyly.
Whoosh—
He draped the robe over himself.
Then circulated his energy to fully activate the Illusory Maze Array embroidered on the sleeve.
The atmosphere inside the carriage shifted in an instant.
The surrounding air warped in layers through the activated array, distorting like a mirage.
Deceiving the eyes.
'Something like this, right?'
Recalling the martial art the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader had used, Cheonhwi lightly shook his hand.
Suddenly, the sleeve fluttered slightly.
Whish—
His right hand moved fluidly.
A simple Prohibiting Palm technique.
But the three onlookers were stunned.
Cheonhwi's shaking hand suddenly split into dozens, filling the carriage.
A wondrous, mystical spectacle.
'H-Hands multiplying?!'
'An illusion?! But the aura feels real......'
'Right in front, yet no energy is felt......'
They were deeply shocked.
The fluttering sleeve and palms moved like butterflies, yet the power within was suffocating.
Dozens, hundreds of hands, each bearing real force.
Having fused the Prohibiting Palm with the sleeve's formation, Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes.
'Operating it will be quite a hassle.'
In practice, deploying formation and technique simultaneously was annoyingly cumbersome.
It required splitting his consciousness.
'Why not fuse them completely instead of operating separately?'
A sudden idea struck.
Formations were formations, martial arts were martial arts.
But if fused into one?
Cheonhwi's consciousness surged.
Insights exploded within.
In an instant.
His upper dantian opened, consciousness expanding like an ocean.
Countless demonic arts and Mount Hua Sect techniques he'd stored, Central Plains martial arts encountered, even foreign arts from his past life, all swirled chaotically.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of arts intertwined and scattered briefly.
'Got it.'
One technique remained in his mind.
Light burst from his eyes as he moved to act—
"Huh?"
His hand stopped abruptly midway.
His gaze fixed on the sleeve.
The faintly glowing sleeve was fading, the channeled energy scattering away in moments.
Suddenly.
Crumble—
The sleeve disintegrated into powder.
The formation couldn't withstand the insight Cheonhwi had engraved.
Pat pat.
Cheonhwi looked at the powder falling onto his lap, then withdrew his energy.
Gazing at the now-formless sleeve remnant, his eyes turned cold.
'Tch, ordinary cloth can't handle it.'
Recalling the Immortal Heaven Cult Leader's robe—no, his ritual garment—he shook his head.
'Still, I get the gist. Whether formation, martial art, or spell, they all start the same way.'
Remembering "all rivers lead to the sea," a smile curved Cheonhwi's lips.
He had gained a small insight.
'I'll perfect it later.'
Organizing his thoughts briefly, he shrugged off the robe and tossed it aside.
The sleeve with the Illusory Maze Array torn off was now useless.
"Ah!"
Im Ha-yul startled, picked up the tossed robe, and carefully examined the vanished sleeve.
'What was that just now......?'
Her eyes trembled.
The flying hands inside the carriage still vividly lingered in her vision.
And she wasn't alone—Yukwon couldn't hold back and asked.
"What was that? I definitely felt a formation's flow."
Yukwon eyed Cheonhwi eagerly.
"Just tried fusing a formation embroidered on a robe with a martial art."
Cheonhwi said nonchalantly.
But the implications left Yukwon and Chu Geukwang stunned.
"Were you trying to create something like the Divine Demon Myriad Transformations Robe?"
Yukwon recalled the world's most mysterious treasure.
But Cheonhwi tilted his head quizzically.
"Divine Demon Myriad Transformations Robe? What's that?"
Yukwon was flustered by Cheonhwi's ignorance but nodded, remembering his youth.
'He hasn't been in the martial world long.'
Nodding, he explained.
"A ritual garment that blocks all poisons and prevents qi deviation."
Cheonhwi stroked his chin.
Poison resistance and qi deviation prevention...
"In a way, similar."
At Cheonhwi's calm reply, Yukwon was surprised, then intrigued.
"Impressive. To engrave formations on clothing. You're well-versed in formations too."
"Somewhat."
Cheonhwi replied as casually as ever.
"Then, could you engrave one on my robe too?"
He asked cautiously.
A formation-imbued robe was too tempting.
At his words, even Chu Geukwang and Im Ha-yul's eyes sparkled toward Cheonhwi.
'Shouldn't have tried it here?'
He'd just wanted to test the insight from the Cult Leader fight, but now it was troublesome.
Cheonhwi shrugged immediately.
"No. As you saw, it's impossible. The cloth can't withstand it."
"But it worked once..."
Yukwon persisted.
Cheonhwi frowned at him.
'Persistent.'
Thinking quickly, he came up with an idea and spoke.
"I could, but are you sure? Even I can only manage this much. Anyone else might suffer qi deviation. Not guaranteed, but possible."
"Qi deviation?"
Yukwon furrowed his brow.
Too steep a price for one use.
"Can't be helped then."
He said regretfully, relenting.
"We'll arrive at the Alliance soon."
The coachman said softly from upfront.
Moments later, as the carriage halted.
Hm?
Cheonhwi narrowed his eyes.
Familiar energies approached rapidly from afar.
'Why are these auras at the Alliance?'
The thought crossed his mind just as.
Bang!
The carriage door flew open, and a tomboyish female Taoist poked her head in.
"Junior Brother!"
It was Cheonhyang.