Chapter 159: The Tomb of the Ming King (4)
Chapter 159: The Tomb of the Ming King (4)
“Is that really the Huto Palace Master of the Mount Mao Sect?”
“It is. Not a few masters have dared to enter this forest, but nearly half of them have become lonely ghosts at his hands.”
I stared at the lunatic floating in the air, hurling lightning and flames. He was burning talismans and firing... something. Honestly, I couldn't even tell anymore.
In a world where internal energy and dantians exist alongside spiritual beasts, I suppose a mage or two wouldn't be out of place, but suddenly, I felt a surge of indignation.
‘This isn't Wuxia!!’
That sentiment added a spoonful of frustration, making me gasp in spite of myself. I mean, how long has it been since I crushed that necromancer sect in Chongqing? And now an elemental mage pops up?
“I don't have a broad knowledge of Taoist arts, but... if this Huto Palace Master was truly this powerful, I don't understand why I haven't heard of him before.”
“Is he not the head of the Huto Palace, which oversees the formations and geography within the Mount Mao Sect's arrays? Once he steps outside this grand array, his martial prowess would be considered Super Peak at best.”
“Aha.”
Right. There were public rumors that the Ghost Gate Meridian Lord was on the lower end of the Fifteen Lords, but the performance he showed in Paxian, Chongqing, was quite overwhelming.
At that time, the Meridian Lord wielded enough power to leave three seasoned Super Peak masters in a near-death state, all while intervening in the life-and-death duel between the Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon to support the former.
The fact that he triggered a zombie outbreak across all of Paxian was just a bonus.
It made no sense for someone of that caliber to be ranked at the bottom of the Fifteen Lords. Even Eon Do-cheon, who received similar evaluations, hadn't reached that level of absurdity.
It was only right to consider that a Taoist practitioner essentially gains a two-to-threefold advantage within their own domain.
“Why isn't he coming toward us?”
I was slightly undervaluing the Huto Palace Master's prowess, but regardless, I had already drawn plenty of attention by setting fires within the array. If his goal was to annihilate everyone inside, he should have come straight for me.
“The frequency of the Huto Palace Master’s attacks on masters has decreased since yesterday. It seems he is searching for someone.”
“Since yesterday?”
I was slowly backing away while watching the Palace Master fire talismans from midair when my feet came to a dead stop.
He’s been doing that since yesterday?
Instead of his original goal of killing masters, he’s been obsessively searching for one person? That meant there was someone else who posed an immediate threat, even if it meant taking a detour.
That ‘threat’ couldn't be pure martial force. If such a person existed, they would have attacked and captured the Huto Palace Master by now.
It had to be a factor that could interfere with his objective—something other than raw power.
In other words, someone capable of breaking this array.
And as far as I knew, the only Taoist from the Mount Mao Sect who had entered this array was the Huto Palace Master. This was almost certain, as the Taecheong Pavilion Lord himself had guaranteed it.
If so—
“Gal-yeong?”
With the formation laid by the White Lotus Cult, refined by the Zhuge Family Head, and reinforced by the Huto Palace Master, there weren't many martial sects in the vast Central Plains capable of interfering with the array itself.
“Why have you stopped? What are you doing?”
“Can you kill the Huto Palace Master?”
“Hmm... If we meet your friend and break the array, it’s not impossible. Didn't you say he would know how to dismantle this formation?”
“It seems the Huto Palace Master has realized that as well.”
As I spoke and gestured with my chin, Jang Il-yeong’s expression crumpled. He scratched his head and let out a sigh.
“So you’re saying we have to face the Huto Palace Master while standing on a formation laid by his own sect? Has your realm reached the Harmony Realm? I haven't even dared to challenge the Super Peak yet.”
“We don't have much time.”
I gestured toward the flames burning behind my back. If the array wasn't dismantled, we were all destined to be cremated here anyway. It was just a matter of going sooner or later; as long as we were inside the formation, we had already booked a one-way ticket to the underworld.
Therefore, there was only one thing to do. Rescue Zhuge Yeong, dismantle the array, and escape.
Victory always lies ahead. At my words, Jang Il-yeong clicked his tongue and nodded.
“Do you have a plan?”
“I haven't faced many Taoists. Is there a way to bring him down to the ground?”
“If you give me twenty years, I might be able to learn the Void-Walking Step.”
“Ugh.”
There was no way to fight a guy in the air. The symbol of the Hebei Peng Family is the tiger, and tigers aren't exactly known for being friendly with flying types.
It would have been better if I had brought Cheon-hwa-ryeong. Or even Hwa-yeong, at the very least.
Just then, the bushes rustled, and a woman suddenly popped out.
“Are you perhaps friends of the Zhuge guy?”
Jang Il-yeong quickly gripped his sword hilt. It was a natural reaction, given that most people in this forest were currently playing a survival game for the Ming King’s Cup.
I quickly reached out a hand to stop Jang Il-yeong and asked, “Who might you be?”
“I’m someone from that chaotic place over there. And you?”
“Peng Family, Hyeon-hwi.”
“Oh, dear.”
The woman, who was about to step out of the bushes, froze. She looked at me with an extremely uncomfortable expression and began to crawl back into the thicket.
“B-Brother...?”
“Kangnam Branch Master Kang Yeo-hee?”
“Y-You should call me big sister... W-We’re fellow disciples, aren't we...?”
Kang Yeo-hee muttered from within the bushes, breaking into a cold sweat. She glanced behind her, let out a deep sigh, and then crept out, tensing her body like a wary cat.
It was a footwork stance that allowed her to flee at any moment. The Seven Shadow Immortal Step. I had learned it myself, but she truly lived up to being the fourth disciple of the Hao Clan Leader.
Whether she had focused solely on movement techniques, her posture was as perfect as a textbook.
I felt that if she ran away like this, I wouldn't be able to catch her.
“Umm... Well. I didn't know Zhuge Yeong’s friend would be you...”
“Kang Yeo-hee, did you betray the Hao Clan?”
“What?! What?! No! No, no! Betrayal? Not at all!”
When I spoke while resting my hand on my sword hilt, she quickly waved her hands and shouted.
“Big Sister suddenly disappeared! It’s already been months, and I... I was just following Big Sister’s wishes...!”
“The Leader’s wishes?”
“She told me to survive!”
How should I put this?
This is an ‘ambitious person’...? This person who looks so dim-witted?
I began to think that Dan So-hye’s information was either wrong or severely misinterpreted.
“Kangnam is safe anyway, isn't it? There’s the Namgung Family, and the Zhuge Family! So our disciples don't need to be strong in martial arts!”
“......”
“No, I’m serious! You, did you forget why the Hao Clan learns martial arts?”
Well, that was because most of the Hao Clan’s members were commoners who didn't practice martial arts. It was a faction established to ensure the safety of commoners engaged in their livelihoods.
So, the Kangnam Hao Clan didn't practice martial arts because they were certain the area was safer than Beijing? One could call that a very clever move.
No matter how well you sugarcoat it, the Hao Clan is a faction caught between the Orthodox and Unorthodox. Honestly, classifying them as such is only from the perspective of the Black Path; from the Orthodox standpoint, the Hao Clan belongs to the Unorthodox Faction. After all, they are part of the Sima Alliance’s Black Forest July Society.
In such a situation, if the Kangnam Hao Clan’s martial power were excessively high, it would naturally draw the attention of the Orthodox sects. They would end up in the same position as the Jinzhou Eon Family in North China. Unless they possessed martial power on the level of the Fifteen Armies, it was better to have none at all.
Living as quietly as a dead mouse while only gathering information—that was the exact position they maintained.
Thus, the martial power of the Kangnam Hao Clan members was mediocre, and the same applied to their Branch Master, Kang Yeo-hee.
Kang Yeo-hee puffed out her chest proudly and said, “I’ve mastered all three of the Master’s major arts! Sound arts, footwork, and eye techniques! As you know, Brother... aside from sound arts, they aren't particularly helpful in a fight, are they? This was this big sister’s survival method!”
“Then why on earth didn't you make contact?”
“Uh... Well... The Zhuge Family Head told me to do that.”
“Isn't that betrayal...?”
I mean, joining the Zhuge Family as soon as the Hao Clan Leader disappeared—wasn't that the definition of betrayal...?
“What a disappointing thing to say! I was extracting information from Zhuge Yeon-seon! A spy! I’m like a spy!”
“And what exactly did you find out?”
“I found out that the Ming King’s Tomb actually exists! Following Zhuge Yeon-seon’s wishes, I spread the word about this ancient tomb far and wide!”
“So you were the one who spread the rumors in Kangnam?”
“Oh, hush, that’s not what’s important. Now, look?”
As she trailed off, Kang Yeo-hee suddenly broke into a deep smile. It was the expression of a mischievous brat just before playing a prank.
Then, she pulled a large sphere from her robes.
“I brought this along too!”
“...Hah.”
An exclamation escaped me involuntarily. That was an item for which there would be no excuse if the military arrested you for treason the moment it was leaked.
As if he had the same thought, Jang Il-yeong, who was beside me, muttered in disbelief.
“...A Heaven-Shaking Thunder (Heaven)?”
“Hehe, well. You said you needed to bring that guy down, right? Don't you need this?”
“If you had such a thing, why didn't you use it sooner?”
“Oh, please. If I used it relying only on Zhuge Yeong and we lost, it would be a disaster! But now that I have my brother and Zhuge Yeong too—”
She continued with a giggle.
“It looks like we have a chance of winning.”
It was a smile perfectly befitting the Kangnam Branch Master of the Hao Clan, who always prioritized survival above all else.
Jang Il-yeong and I both stared blankly at our fourth sister, Kang Yeo-hee. We glanced at the object she was holding, then looked back at the mad mage far away, who was summoning wind and rain.
Right, the Mount Mao Sect’s Taoist arts were, after all, the supernatural powers of the Left-Path Faction.
Confucius never spoke of supernatural powers throughout his life. It wasn't that he blindly claimed they didn't exist because he couldn't see them. Contrary to many people's misunderstandings, Confucianism is a religion. Naturally, it includes an afterlife and a spiritual worldview.
However, Confucius firmly maintained that living itself is hard enough, so one should live boldly without worrying about every single one of those things.
And a true successor of Confucianism who fully embraced this—a scholar of Joseon—once said:
“I pray that you repel them with fire cannons. (Annals of King Seongjong: November 10th)”
Originally, our people were the type to immediately start a bombardment if something like a ghost appeared. And in most cases, firearms are capable of delivering a fair blow to ghosts as well as humans.
I chuckled and began to walk alongside the sister I respected most.
*
“Gwahaha!! They said you were the legitimate son of the Zen Lord, but you aren't all that impressive!”
“You damn old man.”
Zhuge Yeong rolled on the ground, dodging the scattering sparks. The sparks, which bled a pale ghostly energy, followed him for a long time before fading away.
The old man was drawing all the spiritual energy from this leyline. He was acting as if he would dry up the natural energy maintaining the array; thanks to that, dismantling the formation was starting to look not so difficult...
‘Dammit, Peng Hyeon-hwi, are you even coming?’
But he was going to die before that happened. No, dying would actually be a relief. If he were caught by that man, it was certain he would be escorted back to the main family. The end of that path didn't even need consideration. He would be locked in a dungeon for the rest of his life and forced to produce a legitimate heir with a woman his father chose.
A life like a breeding stud. Naturally, if he were escorted back like that, he worried if there was anyone who could even stop his father. Even that was bleak, let alone if it were an outsider.
So he had to live. He had already grasped almost the entire structure of the array. If only he could get out of here alive...
‘Right, not yet.’
Zhuge Yeong pulled two small beads from his sleeve. He had gotten them in Yunnan... No, he had hoped he would never have to use them, but it was better to use them than to die while saving them.
All Taoist arts require materials. Low-level Taoists use living creatures as materials, while more seasoned ones use spiritual beasts and herbs imbued with natural energy.
And a desperate Taoist offers his own primordial essence as a sacrifice.
Taoist arts are about overturning the harmony of heaven and earth to achieve an act against nature. It is about creating a spark where there is no fire, and calling rain and wind to a clear sky.
It is the act of twisting the law that nature is complete in itself to force a desired principle. That process itself is not much different from the Intent Domain of the Harmony Realm.
To show a realm that cannot be permitted to humans, one must make a trade. A trade that can deceive the eyes of the natural laws. This is why it is called the sorcery of the Unorthodox and Left-Path Factions.
Fwoosh...!
He lit a single candle in his heart and tore away his primordial essence toward that lamp—
Just as he was about to throw it.
BOOOOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted behind the back of the Mount Mao Taoist, who had been standing arrogantly in midair.
“A Heaven-Shaking Thunder...?”
And so, with his hand stopped mid-motion from carving out his primordial essence, Zhuge Yeong stared blankly at the Mount Mao Taoist falling from the sky.
*
“Did we get him...? Ouch!”
“Be quiet!”
As soon as I saw Kang Yeo-hee snickering like that, I instinctively reached out and smacked the back of her head. Kang Yeo-hee rubbed her head and glared at me.
“Hey, I set off a Heaven-Shaking Thunder behind him before he could even deploy his Protection Aura! Of course he’s dead!”
“Sister Kang, do you not know why the military doesn't use Heaven-Shaking Thunders when dealing with martial artists?”
“Why? Why don't they?”
“Because they don't work from the Super Peak realm onwards! That guy is a martial artist who has reached at least the Super Peak even outside the array!”
At the Super Peak realm, the level of fire bombs currently possessed by the Ming Imperial Army is ineffective. Unlike the Peak Realm, where Protection Aura begins to develop, the Super Peak is a realm where one establishes a domain of intent within their own body.
Protection Aura at that level can only be breached by Astral Energy. Unless a sufficiently powerful physical force is mobilized, it’s impossible with mere medieval Chinese-level gunpowder weapons. It was a time when cold weapons were still stronger than gunpowder weapons.
Crackle, crackle...!!
“You... bastards...!!”
Sure enough, the Taoist who had fallen to the ground stood up. Even though the back of his robe had turned to ash and scattered from the sudden ambush, there wasn't even a trace of injury on his body beneath it.
If we were facing a Taoist who could fully utilize natural energy within an array, we had to assume he was a nearly perfected Super Peak master.
Roughly speaking, I should assume he was at the level of the Assassination Pavilion Lord. Even if he fell slightly short of that, he would be at the level of the One-Star Fist Lord, Eon Se-jeong.
Did I have a chance of winning against the Pavilion Lord or Eon Se-jeong? What a stupid question. Of course, I was still no match for them one-on-one.
“I was going to kill you all eventually anyway, but you commoners dare... how dare you!”
I stepped forward toward the Mount Mao Taoist, who was gnashing his teeth. I could see Gal-yeong in the distance, looking like a mess. He was grinning widely at me, which was quite annoying.
“Brother Jang.”
“Speak.”
“If I or that friend over there die, you won't be able to make it out alive anyway.”
“I know. So?”
“Let’s do our best to coordinate our moves. Can you do it?”
“I’ll try.”
Jang Il-yeong gave a short laugh and raised his sword. Looking to the side, I saw that Kang Yeo-hee had already retreated far away and was peeking over at us. Right, I hadn't expected anything from her in the first place.
“Let’s see if we can make it out alive.”
I said, driving my fingers into the space above my heart.