Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Yuyeon Catches the Tiger (3)
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Yuyeon deployed the Concealing Form Formation in mid-air and, as she fell, kicked off another tree branch to land in a different spot.
Thanks to that, she now had a clear line on the backs of the shaman's and tiger's heads. She pondered whether one more twin palm strike to shatter their remaining bodies might kill the shaman too.
However, before Yuyeon could steel herself to strike first, something strange happened.
A black ink line shot out toward Yuyeon. The moment it brushed her Divine Sense, she tried to pull back.
But there was something off about the aura she sensed through her Divine Sense, so Yuyeon paused, trusting her instincts.
In response to the black ink line, the Shrine Maiden's talisman tucked in Yuyeon's inner pocket trembled faintly.
Before Yuyeon could even draw it out, Incense Fire Merit seeped from within and flowed back into the ink line, as if returning to its true master.
At last, the ink line slithered low back to its original position, feigning innocence.
What a brazen act—it sparked her curiosity about what was really going on. And since it wouldn't have taken the Incense Fire Merit for nothing, she wondered what trick it might pull next, so she held still for the moment.
"Fairy maiden! No wonder you, blessed with such fine aptitude and spirit energy, dared to wander out so recklessly—you had a lifeline after all!"
The shaman, having lost sight of Yuyeon right in front of him, spoke in a voice teetering on mania. He'd only taken losses so far, and now his boiling rage demanded release.
"I know you think you've seized the chance now that the sun is up. But do you really believe the villagers you care for so much will be safe just because it's daytime?"
As if taunting her, he advanced toward the village with the tiger in that grotesque, lurching gait. With a hand seal and incantation, the pre-laid ghostly yin mist responded naturally, surging in that direction.
Yuyeon felt a chill run down her spine at the sight. The excessive yin energy she'd sensed roaming the village outskirts—permeating the mountains and stones—wasn't just due to natural feng shui after all.
If the ghostly yin mist spread across these entire mountains responded and swarmed the village, even daylight wouldn't stop Corpse Ghosts from attacking like it was night.
Though her ambush had failed, Yuyeon had thought fleeing now might save at least some villagers. But the path ahead looked bleak.
Perhaps settling things here and now with this monstrous aberration was the only way to save more lives. If she could just stall for time, the villagers would flee at lunchtime as planned, and she could slip away alone.
In the meantime, the shaman wouldn't have a chance to command his Corpse Ghosts or direct the ghostly yin mist, so not everyone would die.
In the end, Yuyeon resolved not to hope for miracles. She'd unleash her final trump card, and if even that failed, she'd buy time and escape.
For the first time, her self-determined resolve was buckling due to lack of power, and it burned in her gut.
But in the end, she had more time—and greater speed—so she vowed to return someday and slay this monstrous aberration.
Once Yuyeon committed, she recalled it had taken a quarter-hour to reach the village. The aberration was slower than her but no slouch; still, at least half the distance remained.
Finally, Yuyeon made her last checks and lay in wait at a chokepoint on the path the shaman and tiger would take.
Yuyeon's final preparation was a single palm technique.
Palm techniques were already her main attack method, but truthfully, they were just expelling energy to push outward—nothing particularly profound.
The basic operation of inner power boiled down simply to the pull of adhesion or the push of repulsion. Think of martial experts clashing swords: masters controlled whether blades stuck or parted at will.
Among these, repulsion was easy to wield and great for damaging foes, so even without martial arts or spells, Yuyeon's sharp mind, ingenuity, and abundant inner power made it her choice.
But piecing together her observations from the journey so far, she'd devised a way to effectively use the opposite: attraction.
The core imagery for this palm technique came from the escort master's soul being dragged to the netherworld. Bits of minor experiences wove in to form the move.
At first, she'd considered naming it Minor Nether Art since it mimicked netherworld pull on souls. But something felt wrong about using that term lightly, so she called it Soul-Binding Palm instead—imitating netherworld attraction to seize souls.
After settling her imagery and finishing final checks before unleashing the palm technique, Yuyeon assumed her stance and focused.
Next, her Divine Sense caught the trees and rocks crumbling in its wake as it passed. She could track its path without even acknowledging its presence.
If Yuyeon had eyes, she'd have seen the tiger's body—ramming and shattering obstacles along the route—now ragged and battered.
As it reached the position Yuyeon had calculated, she released the Concealing Form Formation and surged her spirit energy.
The energies, once refined into spirit energy by her spiritual root, transformed back into her innate yin true essence—no, something even denser—and converged at the center of her spirit channels.
With preparations complete, Yuyeon used her movement technique for a surprise strike, this time targeting the tiger, closer to the main body, over the shaman.
Bound by orthodox cultivation common sense, the shaman pegged Yuyeon as some inner disciple from a minor sect at best—never imagining she'd dare return.
For sorcerers, personal safety and self-preservation came first above all. Especially with his envy and jealousy toward such shining talent, he'd prioritize flight.
Since Yuyeon wouldn't strike physically to deal damage, once close enough, she halted her movement technique and focused inward.
Compressing her inner yin true essence—again and again—it began extending its influence like a self-drawing vortex.
As the perfected extreme yin true essence harmonized into minor netherworld, a massive spiritual attraction arose. Even Yuyeon suffered tinnitus from the prickling pull, unwittingly lifting the corner of her mouth.
To keep the suction from radiating wastefully in all directions, she focused her Divine Sense to channel it through her arm as a conduit, extending her palm heart. Her other hand supported below, steadying the passage.
This palm force affected qi and spirit rather than matter, so the surroundings stayed silent—but everything in its grasp fell into chaos.
"""""Krrrrraaaah!""""""
Already tormented by netherworld laws that tore souls like becoming ghosts, now a new attraction yawned before them—true hell.
The Corpse Ghosts fused to the tiger's legs as limbs crumbled first, their ghostly qi shattering as souls ripped free and flew to Yuyeon.
Thud. Several legs exploded; balance lost, the massive tiger body toppled, accelerating the Soul-Binding Palm's collapse.
Judging its power far exceeded expectations, Yuyeon shifted her palm heart toward the shaman. After all, as the brain controlling this aberration, neutralizing him was key.
The shaman hadn't even considered Yuyeon returning—let alone a novice under twenty wielding such profound arts. Normal judgment failed him.
Instinctively, he countered with the ghostly yin mist and Corpse Ghosts he'd brought as shields. Not a calculated response, but damn effective.
The Soul-Binding Palm's power still worked, but too many targets diluted its binding and shattering force.
'I'll burn every ounce of spirit energy to seize you and recoup these losses.'
Seizing the brief opening, the shaman burst ghost souls for poison heart energy. Burning remaining spell power wasn't enough; he drew hidden spirit energy, formed hand seals, and commanded the ghosts.
"As your master commands—form ranks and become a sword!"
Some Corpse Ghosts broke free, their ghostly forms coalescing into a sword shape. The shaman switched seals to sword mudra and directed it at Yuyeon; the ghost sword veered from the Soul-Binding Palm's pull, stabbing at her back.
Already pouring all focus into forming and sustaining the minor netherworld internally, Yuyeon sensed the sword via Divine Sense and dodged with a movement technique.
Diverting spirit energy flow for the dodge disrupted the internal harmony; the minor netherworld dissipated.
The euphoria of wielding that vast attraction faded, leaving her wistful.
Yuyeon evaded the sword once, but the ghost-forged blade persisted, chasing her relentlessly.
She hadn't stalled long enough, but her unexpected stand had tied their feet, consumed most Corpse Ghosts—they likely couldn't move again soon.
'I've achieved all I set out to. Time to flee.'
As the sword lunged anew, its direction suddenly shifted.
In that instant, Yuyeon sensed faint Incense Fire Merit from the sword, recalling the entity that reclaimed it earlier.
The ghost-forged sword clearly had an owner, and shoving it toward that owner was blatant backlash.
The shaman panicked briefly at losing sword control but sneered at the act. He didn't know how she'd hijacked it, but she was still a green novice.
Mere neutralization would've been trouble, but backlash opened the path—he unleashed prepped counter-backlash seals to reclaim the sword.
But first, Incense Fire Merit flames raced along the spiritual link meant to counter backlash, igniting the shaman. He couldn't even respond, screaming in agony.
"Y-You... Aaaargh! You damned bitch! Filthy mutt! To think it still lived... You worthless mortal slut!"
The sword, spared backlash, launched straight—piercing the shaman's throat and silencing him. Textbook backlash: bitten by his own hound.
Incense flames then scorched the shaman's ghost-flesh parts, freeing trapped souls one by one. Instead of consuming him fully, the fire trailed to the tiger.
Even sprawled like a corpse—mouth agape, drooling black saliva—the tiger's eyes sparked with life for the first time.
The tiger staggered up, bowed its head, then hacked violently.
In this dire, urgent moment, Yuyeon couldn't help a vulgar thought: the hacking, twisted tiger face overlapped with a cat hocking up a hairball.
True enough, black clumps poured from the tiger's maw. Once started, they spewed like vomit, swiftly fouling the ground.
The black filth flowed to Yuyeon's feet, but her Pure White Body's divine ability activated, halting it.
Having expended much spirit energy and lacking focus for another minor netherworld, Yuyeon whipped up a heat wave instead, incinerating the tiger's black vomit. Countless human souls burst free from within.
Yet at the vomit clump's core, something resisted even her heat wave unscathed.
Focusing Divine Sense on the anomaly, Yuyeon grasped its form in her mind—and screamed unwittingly.
"What in the...!"
It was utterly unremarkable: a plain parasol. Wooden ribs wrapped in tawny silk—simple as could be.
Yuyeon felt a twinge of dread at the word "contingency."