Chapter 137: The Sound of Winter Fading (4)
Chapter 137: The Sound of Winter Fading (4)
We charged in with great momentum, but no one resisted.
We shouted as we scoured every corner of the official roads of the castle town, but we found no one harboring hostility.
Only a tiny handful of commoners watched us with eyes full of terror; every other house was empty.
"Has the magistrate of Paxian joined hands with the Ten Thousand Swords Hall?"
"There is no other way to see it. Look at this mess."
If commoners were driven out into the cold during this winter season, most would either freeze or starve to death. It didn't matter how plentiful the granaries were; winters in this era were no joke.
Furthermore, inside the empty houses, there was almost nothing that could be called wealth.
They must have driven out most of the commoners in this county, extorted their assets, and handed them over to the magistrate. If that was the case, it meant every official within the Provincial Administration Commission had turned a blind eye to this catastrophe in exchange for bribes.
Or perhaps it was a matter of the carrot and the stick—the Imperial Army was far away, while the Black Path warriors were right here with blades in their hands.
"There's a corpse here!"
"Here too...! Ugh...! What is this smell?"
"There are signs they tried to burn them. The bodies have been completely soaked in oil!"
The warriors checking the empty houses ran out, clutching their noses. In several houses, corpses were rotting, saturated with oil.
"Let's move. Once we finish this, we must officially report the situation in Chongqing to the government office."
"Agreed."
The Little Arhat and I spurred our horses down the official road.
The warriors of the Dragon Slaying Alliance were scattered, searching the surroundings. It was impossible for the entire force to crowd into the narrow path leading to the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall.
Grandfather Peng Ik-cheon, who was riding alongside the warriors of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance, suddenly furrowed his brows.
"Wait, where is the Pavilion Master of the Thousand Autumns...?"
With those words, the ominous feeling that had been lingering since earlier suddenly settled heavily in my heart.
The Pavilion Master had sent a signal.
Our original goal was the complete annihilation of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall. This war was supposed to end with the slaying of the Sword Demon and the elimination of every last warrior of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall.
We had prepared all sorts of schemes and strategies for that purpose alone.
We controlled information to hide our location, joined hands with the Martial Alliance Leader to strike the Jongri Family in the south, and gave Zhuge Jeong-yeong the Peng Family's combat unit to divert the attention of the Ghost Gate.
All of it was to perform a clean surgical strike on the Ten Thousand Swords Hall and resolve the situation with minimal damage.
And if one were to think of it from the opposite perspective...
‘The moment the objectives of both sides are clear, the countermeasures become just as obvious!’
The process or the complex psychological warfare entangled in between didn't matter. As long as you were certain the opponent's objective was your throat, it didn't matter what kind of feints they used to dazzle your eyes—you just had to protect your neck.
By the same logic, as long as our objective was Paxian...
They only had to defend Paxian itself.
—Pshhhhhhh.
In the distance, a red firework dyed the sky.
—Bang!!
On this dark night, where the moon and stars hid behind thick ink-colored clouds.
As if dabbing a drop of blood onto the darkness.
Someone's voice rang out.
"It's a trap!"
We lacked information.
We had grown overconfident because all our schemes seemed to be clicking into place. We trusted in the Pavilion Master's survival. No matter how extraordinary the Pavilion Master was, we had overlooked the fact that the Ten Thousand Swords Hall had reigned as the rulers of Chongqing for a long time, and that their leader was one of the Fifteen Lords of the World.
—Whiririririk!
Along with the sound of another firework soaring in the distance...
—Kwooooooom!!
Flames erupted across the entirety of Paxian.
In the 4th year of the Hongwu Emperor's reign, Commander Daejeong built a stone wall following the old site, with a height of 3 zhang.
(Daming Yitongzhi: Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission)
Daejeong then laid stones according to the old site and opened the city gates based on the imagery of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, numbering seventeen in total.
Nine gates were opened and eight were closed to symbolize the harmony of Yin and Yang.
(Chongqing Fuzhi)
In the 4th year of Hongwu, it was greatly renovated and made into a Prefecture, governing 3 states and 13 counties, with 64 townships and villages. This symbolized the 64 hexagrams.
(History of Ming: Treatise on Geography)
Paxian was a planned city systematically constructed alongside the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, every township, village, official road, and city gate was built using the most superior Feng Shui, geography, and Taoist formation systems of the time.
This technology was later utilized and greatly developed by the Yongle Emperor during the reconstruction of Beijing. This is why the relocation of the capital to Beijing was called "Following Heaven" (順天), and the current city of Beijing is called Shuntian Prefecture (順天府).
It contained the meaning that the technology built by man (順) had finally reached the heavens (天).
Since it fully incorporated the technology used to build a nation's capital, it was no exaggeration to say that Paxian was one of the lands where the most superior formations existing among the populace lay dormant—
—Kwooooom!!
The Nine Open Gates closed with a thunderous roar. The nine gate towers forming the outer wall of Paxian were locked all at once. With this, the Nine Palaces were closed.
The Eight Closed Gates crumbled into dust. The eight gate towers forming the inner wall of Paxian collapsed simultaneously. With this, the Eight Trigrams were shattered.
The Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams were demolished, and the harmony of Yin and Yang that had been gathering the Earthly Qi was broken.
—Whooooosh!!
The internal districts of the city, consisting of 64 townships, were engulfed in flames. Looking down from the sky, it was clear. Meng, Kan, Jian, Lü, Dun, Cui...
The districts symbolizing each hexagram burned in an order and form that defied logic. Burning the corpses hidden within, they scattered wicked energy high into the sky.
A formation created over two hundred years ago with the immense capital and manpower of a great empire that had unified the Central Plains.
At this moment, it met the long-term preparation of a master considered to be at the pinnacle of Taoist sorcery and the techniques generously provided by the Outer Gate Grand Elder of the Blood Cult.
—Crackle!!
Paxian was severed from the world.
"It worked! It... it actually worked! Hahaha!! It would be no exaggeration to call me the greatest sorcerer under heaven! Who else in this era could have refined such a foundational sorcery?!"
Because his Primordial Spirit had been greatly depleted, the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord's face was distorted, as if it had reclaimed its true age.
However, he laughed uproariously, his wrinkled hands trembling. This level of power already far exceeded what nature could contain.
It was an achievement that was only possible at this moment, requiring the sacrifice of all sorts of wealth and human lives, and even borrowing the power of the Blood Cult. But with this, he was certain he could even deal with the Heavenly Demon.
No, not just the Heavenly Demon. He felt confident he could face all Three Venerables of the World even if they came at once.
This was an institutional formation planted by the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, leading all the sorcerers in the world.
The most outstanding sorcerers of the current era had clung to that ancient formation and revived it.
Glancing at the boisterously laughing Ghost Gate Meridian Lord, the Sword Demon spoke with a wide grin.
"Slaughter them all, raise their corpses, and make them kneel."
Looking at the warriors of the Dragon Slaying Alliance who had charged in, they were the core members of their respective sects.
The right hand of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance Leader, the younger brother of the Peng Family Head, the direct lineage of the Peng Family and the Zhuge Family, the Little Arhat of Shaolin, and the Pavilion Master of the Thousand Autumns Assassination Pavilion.
Not only that, they were the finest elites the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance could muster.
They were heroes who would not be found wanting anywhere in the world, and the connections and grudges they held in this Martial World were by no means shallow.
If all of them were remolded into Blood Ghosts right here, through the power of Paxian...
"The Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance will fall into our hands."
What did it matter if Chongqing burned?
Half of them would return to their sects with soul-scars carved into their bodies, created by the secret techniques of their own sects.
A direct descendant of the Peng Family was killed by the martial arts of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance.
The warriors of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance were assassinated by the martial arts of the Thousand Autumns Assassination Pavilion.
The Arhat monk of Shaolin was killed by the Zhuge Family.
The direct descendant of the Murong Family was brutally murdered by another Black Path warrior of the Dragon Slaying Alliance.
Receiving the corpses of their beloved masters or precious disciples, each sect of the Dragon Slaying Alliance would draw their swords against one another, crying out for vengeance.
That would be the result of this expedition.
They would say that although they burned Chongqing and tore down the Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance, internal strife broke out over the credit during the journey back to Hebei.
"This place shall decide the reign of the Sima Alliance."
To begin with, the Black Path Unorthodox Faction was composed of people who could not exist as a single organization. They were those who ran wild and acted freely according to their own desires and ambitions.
This was an act of returning what was wrong to its proper state. It was time to break the constraints of the Black Path Demonic Alliance and return to the original form of the Unorthodox Faction to wander through the chaotic world once more.
The Master of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall smiled contentedly and gripped his sword.
He looked forward to seeing what kind of expression that damn old man, Peng Ik-jin, would make when he received the corpses of his brother and grandsons.
Amidst all the flames, ghostly wails echoed. The screams and shouts of the warriors scattered throughout the city followed, along with the clashing of weapons.
Confusion spread through the ranks. The warriors of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall, who poured out as the inner gates burst open, took the offensive.
In the meantime, the fallen warriors rose as ghosts to attack their own brothers, and the illusions of the sorcerers deluded the eyes and ears of the warriors.
In terms of total martial power, the Dragon Slaying Alliance was clearly superior.
However, the unfamiliar urban terrain, the districts severed by flames and sorcery, and the warriors of the Ten Thousand Swords Hall who struck using the element of surprise were more vicious than expected.
"Six-Armed Rakshasa. Have you been well?"
"Sword Demon...!!"
The two Harmony Realm masters glared at each other and charged. They had their own battlefield.
And for the others...
"We must break through a path of retreat. Patron Peng! If we stay like this, everyone will die!"
The Little Arhat shouted and threw a punch. With a sound like a temple bell ringing, his Fist Qi shattered a moving corpse.
Even in that state, the corpse squirmed and crawled, grabbing the ankle of another warrior.
When the startled warrior's gaze turned toward the ground, the blade of a Ten Thousand Swords Hall warrior pierced his throat.
Amidst this chaos.
Amidst the flames.
—Flutter!
A single flag stood alone.
"Dragon Slaying Alliance—!!!"
A shout erupted. It was an ordinary shout that didn't contain particularly majestic internal energy.
However, the spirit behind it...
"Do not be afraid—!!!"
Krak-boom! A thunderous roar echoed in everyone's ears. Lightning split the sky, tearing through the ink-colored clouds as it fell.
Like a thunderbolt striking the top of a spire, the lightning flowing down the flagpole was vivid.
"The Great Hebei Peng Family is here—!!!"
The blade, imbued with lightning, struck the necks of the corpses and incinerated their limbs. Thunderbolt Severing the Heavens. The strike of lightning that tears the sky and cleaves the earth.
A fist strike imbued with lightning shattered and scattered the body of an approaching warrior. Thunderbolt City-Destroying Cannon. The strike of lightning that crushes a castle town.
In the ancient Taoist legends, the reason why the first creatures developed a lower Dantian is called the gift of the Thunder God.
It is said that when Nüwa was molding life, the Thunder God, proud of that feat, gifted that organ to all living things.
The Thunder God symbolizes the Hunyuan. In the distant primordial times when everything was lumped together and heaven and earth did not exist, the first trace that split the sky and solidified the earth is called lightning.
When heaven and earth are separated from within the Hunyuan...
This is called the Hunyuan Thunderbolt Art.
—Krak-boom!!
It wasn't some grand function or overwhelming martial prowess.
"Do not retreat!!"
Simply through that spirit of moving forward, everyone's eyes were drawn to him.
Even in this chaos, a single flag remained unbent, fluttering in the wind.
The Peng Family banner was still standing.
"Victory always lies in moving forward—!!"
Peng Hyeon-hwi shouted at the top of his lungs, cleaving an approaching Ten Thousand Swords Hall warrior in half and planting the flagpole into the corpse.
"Cough!"
Seong Ryang-ha, the Pavilion Master of the Thousand Autumns, was repeatedly coughing up blood while slaughtering the Blood Ghosts that were rushing in from all sides.
No matter how many he killed, there was no end, and it seemed as if they fundamentally had no death.
They continued to move even after having all the acupoints of the human body—which should have meant certain death for any human—pierced. If one could call that being alive, then so be it.
"Pavilion Master, are you alright?"
"I've shown you a pathetic sight."
Hwang Jung-man of the Danseongbu, the younger brother of the Heavenly Thunder Alliance Leader and a Super Peak master of the alliance. He appeared, struck down five Blood Ghosts simultaneously, and shouted.
Having gained a moment to catch his breath, Seong Ryang-ha looked bitterly at the swept-away corpses.
Those bizarre corpses, their teeth still clattering. Those monsters that seemed to be lingering on the threshold between reality and the underworld...
"Five first-class assassins and twenty second-class assassins of my sect are all dead. They waited for us to scatter and then ambushed us all at once. The Ten Thousand Swords Hall... it's their doing."
"How could they deceive even your eyes?"
"The Sword Demon killed all of his own disciples himself and handed their bodies over to the Blood Cult. The Ghost Gate Meridian Lord and the Blood Cult crafted Blood Ghosts from those corpses. Since corpses were hiding among corpses, I can only say we were caught off guard. It's my mistake."
The loss of all his disciples, the situation where those disciples returned as Blood Ghosts to attack him, and the current moment where his misjudgment had led the entire Dragon Slaying Alliance into a death trap.
It was impossible to tell which of those things shamed Seong Ryang-ha the most.
"He slaughtered his own disciples? The Sword Demon, that madman...!"
As Hwang Jung-man gnashed his teeth, a middle-aged man appeared beside him with a sword in each hand and spoke.
"Now is not the time for such talk. Is there no way, Pavilion Master?"
"Twin Arts of Laughter and Cunning. Thank you for the assistance just now. If not for you, I would have surely died."
Seong Ryang-ha bowed his head toward Murong Seo-jeong.
"A way... The Grand Elder of the Blood Cult is currently lurking in Paxian. Unless both he and the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord are defeated, this formation will not be broken."
"Then the answer is simple."
Murong Seo-jeong smiled as he adjusted his grip on his swords.
"Let's solve them one by one. Which of the two will you face first?"
"I don't know where the devil from the Blood Cult is, but the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord is plain to see, isn't he?"
Seong Ryang-ha turned his gaze toward where he had gestured with his chin.
Murong Seo-jeong spotted the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord floating in the air, laughing maniacally, and let out a hollow laugh.
"Has that old man gone mad? To have no shame."
"The Ghost Gate Meridian Lord won't be able to use his full strength against us. Just maintaining the formation is already a miracle that transcends the human realm. Shall we go together?"
"I can repay you for what happened in Pyeongseong. Let's go together."
Murong Seo-jeong said so and turned his gaze. Toward his niece who had been sticking close to his side.
"Cheong-ah...?"
Toward the spot where his niece had been.
Tracing her trail and turning his gaze, he saw a young man shouting and fighting like a demon.
"Indeed, everyone has their own place."
Finding his niece standing behind the young man with a bow in her hand, protecting his back, he couldn't help but smile.
*
"I finally found you! Finally!"
"You, you... how did you...! Hey, why on earth did you come here!"
"A friend should naturally come to help when their companion is walking the line between life and death!"
"You idiot! Did you come here to be buried with me?!"
"Then we'll just die together!"
Murong Cheong said so as she drew her bowstring and fired an arrow.
Pshhh, a single arrow flew nimbly and struck a sorcerer of the Ghost Gate who was chanting incantations in the distance.
She turned around against the backdrop of the burning pavilion.
"Didn't you say the same thing back then?"
She burst into a truly brilliant laugh.
Recalling the words I had said in Qinghe County, I couldn't help but chuckle along with her.
Right, she was right. There was no time to be cowering in fear. If unavoidable death was right before your eyes, you just had to move forward with the mindset that you were going to die anyway.
Don't live on your knees. Die on your feet. That kind of mindset cultivation.
Don't be scared. What's the worst that can happen? You die? Including many such teachings.
As I was bracing myself, recalling our family's teachings...
"This humble one does not yet have any desire to die, however."
A single black thread entangled the limbs of a Blood Ghost, crushing them as it faded away.
"If I must die, I would prefer it to be in my husband's arms."
A man walked forward. After two steps, black flames erupted.
By the third step, his form changed.
The worn martial robe became a jet-black palace dress, and the coarse male beard became a snow-white jawline.
Where the flames subsided, the Little Heavenly Demon stood.
"Since... since when have you been there...?"
"It was probably around Luoyang. You told me to wait in Tianjin and said you were heading to Henan, so I followed you. Hehe... isn't it a relief?"
"Wh-what is...?"
"Wouldn't you also prefer to be in my arms, husband, if you must die?"
I want to live.
I've suddenly developed a strong desire to live...