Chapter 184
Chapter 184
Chapter 184
The energy of Primordial Unity bloomed in Seo-jin's grasp.
The light of the Five Elements, glowing faintly within the pure white clouds, slowly spread to the surroundings.
A warm yet clear energy that harmoniously embraced everything around it.
This soon—
Shaaaa—
Gathered in his hand according to Seo-jin's will, taking the form of a sphere and shining brightly.
"……!"
Medicine King Dan Mok-hyeon immediately recognized the nature of that energy and grabbed Seo-jin's hand.
"Wh-where did you learn this martial art?"
The constitution capable of learning Primordial Unity Technique was extremely rare.
As a physician, Dan Mok-hyeon had treated many martial artists since his youth.
The number of martial artists whose lives were saved thanks to his treatment alone exceeded several hundred.
If one simply counted those who received treatment, it easily surpassed thousands.
In that process, Dan Mok-hyeon naturally analyzed the bodies and qi-blood of martial artists, learning martial arts himself and training his physical prowess.
It was thanks to this that he received the excessive epithet of Medicine King (藥王).
However,
'Despite researching for all those long years, I was unable to find a constitution capable of absorbing the Mixed Origin Elixir (混元團).'
The true owner of that item gifted by the old man who had saved his life in the distant past.
Then, by chance, Dan Mok-hyeon came to treat a person from the Gongsun Family and learned about the martial arts they practiced and their constitution.
About the martial art they were learning called 'Primordial Unity Technique.'
Afterward, Dan Mok-hyeon entered the Gongsun Family as a guest and befriended them while continuing his research.
However, even there, Dan Mok-hyeon could not obtain the answer he sought.
The Primordial Unity Technique, a martial art passed down through generations that only those with the Gongsun surname could learn.
While the energy of this martial art was similar to the energy contained in the Mixed Origin Elixir, there was a definite difference.
If the Mixed Origin Elixir was a supreme-grade spiritual medicine containing its original mystery, the Gongsun Family's Primordial Unity Technique felt as if it had been lost and deteriorated over the long years.
However,
'The energy bloomed by this mysterious man who claims to be from Goryeo is different!'
Though the energy was not strong, it was clearer, purer, and more harmonious than anything.
It felt as if he had found traces to follow of the owner of the spiritual medicine he had searched for all that time, of the old man who had saved his life.
To Dan Mok-hyeon's question, Seo-jin honestly revealed the circumstances of receiving the Primordial Unity Technique.
"By chance, I received the transmission of a martial art called Mixed Origin Unity Technique from an eccentric old man."
"Mixed Origin Unity Technique! Is that the original divine art that became the Primordial Unity Technique?"
"……I don't know that much, but it does seem certain they're related."
Blink—
As he said this, Seo-jin looked at the girl clinging to the old man through his Eye of Insight.
The wooden box she treasured in her bosom—the energy blooming from within it closely resembled the energy of Mixed Origin Unity Technique.
Moreover, the energy stored in the girl's lower energy center was of a similar form.
"Then do you know the whereabouts of that old man who taught you the martial art?"
Dan Mok-hyeon asking about Hwangseokgong's whereabouts. Did he have a reason he absolutely needed to find him?
Seo-jin slowly shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know."
Seo-jin also knew almost no information about him. Only Hyeon-wol was the link to him.
"I see……."
Seo-jin added a few words to the disappointed old man.
"But he told me something like a prophecy — that in ten years, I would see a yellow rock on Mount Gokseong. Since I heard this two years ago, it means about eight years remain."
"I see. I truly thank you."
Though he couldn't know that person's whereabouts immediately, since they made a future promise, they would surely meet again someday.
"That aside, what will you do from now on?"
At Seo-jin's question, the old man spoke with a deeply troubled expression.
"……For now, we must hide where the court's hand cannot reach. We planned to escape to Goryeo or Japan through Liaodong."
"Liaodong……."
According to Dan Mok-hyeon's explanation, originally the Gongsun Family had been based in Liaodong for generations.
However, recently they came all the way to Nanjing to pledge loyalty to the imperial family and promise to cease transmitting their martial arts according to the emperor's edict, but the emperor broke his promise and tried to annihilate the family.
Hearing such circumstances, Nam-gung Rin frowned.
"Why would the emperor do such a thing? If he breaks a promise once, other sects and families won't obediently submit."
"Well. Perhaps he was confident he wouldn't be caught."
If he used the Brocade Guard to kill everyone involved without missing a single person, the information that he broke his promise wouldn't leak out at all.
Or.
'Perhaps the potential threat the Gongsun Family posed was great enough to endure such backlash.'
Having organized his thoughts, Seo-jin decided to move to another location first.
Though they had brainwashed the Brocade Guards with Nam-gung Rin's Taoist Arts, the moment the brainwashing wore off, they would resume the chase, so there was no time to be relaxed.
"First, let's comfort the surviving family members and move toward the Nam-gung Family. It would be better to talk in detail while moving."
"Very well."
The old man nodded while embracing the girl protectively.
***
A total of fourteen family members survived the Brocade Guard's attack.
The only bloodline continuing the Gongsun surname was the girl Gongsun Yu-hwa whom Dan Mok-hyeon was protecting.
A family that commanded hundreds of retainers, guests, and warriors had essentially been annihilated overnight.
But the Brocade Guard didn't stop there and was targeting even the last survivor of the Gongsun Family.
Clatter—
Though the situation was desperate, the living must live.
The carriage with its broken wheel replaced began moving again.
As long as the imperial family desired the Gongsun Family's annihilation, there was no safe place anywhere nearby.
They planned to go to the city first to check on the Nam-gung Family's situation, then give appropriate consolation money to the surviving family members and send them away.
Afterward, Dan Mok-hyeon said he planned to take a long journey with Gongsun Yu-hwa.
Though they didn't share blood, she was like a granddaughter he had personally delivered at birth, so he couldn't bear to abandon her.
Seo-jin sat across from the old man, continuing the conversation and gathering information.
"So, do you truly know nothing about why the emperor broke his promise to strike at the Gongsun Family?"
When Seo-jin asked about this again, Dan Mok-hyeon, who had been pondering, spoke heavily.
"……There is one thing."
"Didn't you say earlier you had no idea?"
At Nam-gung Cheon's question as he listened quietly, the old man bowed his head.
"Forgive me. But I couldn't easily trust strangers."
No matter how much they were lifesavers, he couldn't reveal everything about the family's affairs to foreigners claiming to be from distant Goryeo.
Especially in a situation where they were being hunted after annihilation, he had no choice but to be even more wary of outsiders.
Dan Mok-hyeon originally had no intention of speaking, but after seeing Seo-jin's Mixed Origin Unity Technique martial art, he changed his mind.
Not only was he the owner of the martial art he had searched for all his life, but he judged that someone using such harmonious and warm martial arts couldn't be a vicious lackey of the imperial palace.
Moreover, he wasn't in a position to be picky about food either.
Dan Mok-hyeon carefully parted his lips.
"In my humble estimation, it's probably because of the White Lotus Cult……."
***
"White Lotus Cult?"
The guest house where the strategy team was staying.
Yelena tilted her head and asked at Ju Won-jae's explanation.
"That's right. It seems the imperial family has joined hands with the White Lotus Cult."
Ju Won-jae explained his speculation.
The sorcerer who summoned them, Brocade Guard Chiliarch Hyeon Muk, had revealed himself to be from the White Lotus Cult.
The fact that someone from the White Lotus Cult openly belonged to the Brocade Guard, called the emperor's blade.
Also, the fact that such an unknown formation was allowed to be deployed inside the imperial palace was powerful evidence of an alliance between the two forces.
Furthermore.
'The large-scale subjugation and forced submission of martial arts sects.'
This too could contain not only the purpose of strengthening imperial authority, but also the intention to expand the White Lotus Cult's influence.
Since there were even rumors that the national title Ming (明) itself was influenced by the White Lotus Cult, or Bright Cult.
A conspiracy between the two wasn't particularly strange.
Then, Ha-yeon asked as if something was odd.
"Something's strange. It's true that Zhu Yuanzhang received help from the Red Turbans and White Lotus Cult when he rose up, but according to history, I know he carried out a massive purge before and after the founding."
Eliminate all forces that could threaten imperial authority. Even if it was a force he himself once belonged to.
At Ha-yeon's rebuttal, Ju Won-jae shrugged his shoulders.
"Didn't I say before? This place doesn't flow according to history."
This place wasn't an ordinary Chinese continent to begin with.
It was a martial arts world where even the emperor was a master of martial arts.
Though the exact reason wasn't certain, this parallel world seemed to be one where Emperor Hongwu maintained friendly relations with the White Lotus Cult even after founding the Ming Dynasty.
They just needed to move based on the current situation, setting aside the original history.
Ju Won-jae checked the map in his status window and revealed future plans.
"Reverse Heaven Society must have set foot on this 60th floor too. I don't know where they were teleported, but I know where they'll head."
The place Ju Won-jae pointed to was the Nam-gung Family in Anhui Province.
Since the Nam-gung siblings were included in this strategy team members, they would surely head there.
Unless they had landed in distant Sichuan or north of the Great Wall.
Also, since the martial arts families were included in the subjugation quest list, even if they didn't encounter them, it wouldn't be a big problem.
"We move straight away starting tomorrow."
Just staying quietly inside the palace wouldn't progress the quest and had limits on information gathering.
Move quickly and find things to do.
"But what about Ha-yeon? She says she doesn't want to kill people."
Yelena worrying about Ha-yeon, whose face was shadowed.
She seemed to be suffering mentally from Chairman Kwon's pressure already, so they couldn't make her suffer with the quest.
Asking the Saintess who saves lives and cures diseases to handle purges.
Yelena herself had no qualms about killing natives, but it was difficult for Ha-yeon.
At those words, Ju Won-jae looked at Ha-yeon with distasteful eyes.
"……The Tower is not a game. I, and your comrades, are risking our lives to tackle it."
Arbitrarily refusing to participate in the strategy because it didn't match her moral standards was literally being a nuisance.
That wasn't all.
Considering how much the Tower and the renewal of new floors affected all of humanity, this was close to dereliction of duty.
Compared to Robert who was in a similar situation as Ha-yeon but tackled the strategy without complaint for his daughter's wellbeing, he couldn't understand at all why she was expressing such complaints.
Was it because she grew up in an environment lacking nothing? Or was she immature?
Ju Won-jae spoke sharply.
"If you don't want to do it, quit. It might even be better to follow Chairman Kwon's words."
"……."
As Ha-yeon stiffened her face while at a loss for words, Yelena stepped forward instead.
"Leader, that's not right."
"Then what will you do?"
"For now, there are also quests to subjugate monsters among the World Quests. Let's have Ha-yeon focus on those quests."
The 60th floor's World Quests didn't only have quests to purge powerful families and sects.
There were also quests to subjugate demons and monsters appearing sporadically across the continent.
Ju Won-jae looked at the dejected Ha-yeon and permitted it as if he had no choice.
"……Fine. I'll permit solo action for now."
***
Near the imperial palace.
The Brocade Guard Office where the Brocade Guard warriors resided.
The dim room where Brocade Guard Chiliarch Hyeon Muk dwelt.
Sssss—
In a crystal sphere carefully hidden in that room, a hazy figure appeared.
Along with it flowed a low-pitched voice.
[Hyeon Muk, what happened with the summoning formation?]
Hyeon Muk bowed his head toward the crystal sphere and made his report.
"Yes, Cult Leader. I created the formation as you instructed, and successfully summoned beings from another world."
Hyeon Muk had initially been negative about beings from another world and summoning formations.
Not only did a different world completely unlike this Central Plains exist, but they could summon someone from there.
No matter how miraculous the martial arts and techniques of the main cult were, he had doubted whether that was possible.
'My faith was insufficient.'
Indeed, the Patriarch of the White Lotus Cult. The Cult Leader's abilities exceeded the predictions of ordinary people.
[You did well. What was the emperor's reaction?]
"He didn't show great interest. He seems to think of them as new blades to use for the purge."
[As expected.]
Zhu Zhongba, despite being a White Lotus Cult member himself and even learning martial arts, tended not to believe in supernatural phenomena.
He merely found this summoning matter curious but didn't dig deeper.
His purpose was solely the unification of the realm and stabilization of power.
He would use what could be used to achieve that purpose and discard what was unnecessary. There was no exploring the origin of that power or satisfying curiosity.
'To him, the White Lotus Cult is also a blade to be discarded someday.'
Though the relationship might be friendly now, after stabilizing the realm, he would ruthlessly discard the White Lotus Cult too.
'But we won't let that happen.'
Through this summoning, they confirmed both the existence of another world and the method to summon people from that world.
……Before long, the Heavenly Demon would descend upon this land again, burning away all evil and opening a new world.