Chapter 351: Traces of the Martial Immortal
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Cheol Ryu-heun, who had stepped down to the ground and was advancing while pulling Divine Wind’s reins, suddenly looked back.
In his field of vision, the party in transit came into view.
At the very rear of the column were the four Heaven-Piercing Divine Birds.
But then.
Everyone’s expression was not good.
Except for a few people including Gun Mu-ak.
It couldn’t be helped.
It was due to the bizarre energy of the formation pressing upon their whole bodies.
In contrast, the divine creatures Divine Wind and the Heaven-Piercing Divine Birds had peaceful expressions, because they were accepted as existences of inevitable symbiosis that posed no particular threat to Nature’s order or mystical powers.
The Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation, as its name suggested, was a formation that created ghost-like illusions that seemed real and utterly stole people’s souls away.
Once you set foot inside, it was a place where finding a path of survival was difficult.
Entering was indeed easy.
The entire boundary of the vast formation served as entrances like traps to lure people in.
But from there on, big problems arose.
Starting from the entrance, the path you came through would vanish as if by magic, and before your eyes only a bizarre phantom along with an endless labyrinth would unfold.
Since ancient times, even the Heretic Cult wouldn’t carelessly approach this place.
It was natural.
Because it was a terrifying location that rendered powerless even various sorceries that maximized the mystical application of otherworldly energy.
Throughout history, the number of Heretic Cult figures who had knocked on death’s door trying to do something about this place counted in the dozens.
Some lucky ones did escape, but ten out of ten met their end due to the effects of extreme Qi Deviation.
What’s more, among them, figures of cult leader status who had mastered supreme sorcery numbered as many as one-third.
In other words, even the supreme sorceries mastered by the highest-ranking figures within the Heretic Cult were virtually useless.
An enormous power in a realm transcending that of humans.
Thus, the Heretic Cult had designated the unknown Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation as the one and only forbidden zone within the Shiwan Mountains.
Being the most powerful among the ancient formations that were practically part of Nature’s realm, no matter how extraordinary an unparalleled superman might be, manipulation itself was impossible.
While it wasn’t widely known, those who were aware of this said without exception:
That there was absolutely no artificial method to control the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation…
However, there was an exception.
Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya, who had been the disciple of the Celestial Sword Sovereign Beom-gyu.
The reason he visited the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation in his youth was because of the story his master, the Celestial Sword Sovereign Beom-gyu, had told him.
-You want to find a mystical realm to quietly carry out secluded cultivation?
-Yes, Master.
-The reason?
-It has already been three years since I awakened the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword, but my remaining studies are progressing slowly…
-You rascal, you seem to be getting impatient. You have already reached a level surpassing this old man.
-I know that excessive greed is forbidden, but… thinking of troubled times that may strike again someday, I cannot be satisfied with the present.
-Alright, alright, I understand well what you mean.
-The ultimate goal of secluded cultivation is spiritual communication with the Divine Martial Sword. Like the Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, and Evil Emperor…
-Goodness. Your dream is big.
-Now that I’ve actually said it aloud… I feel rather embarrassed. But as time passes, it becomes harder and harder to suppress my desire for that achievement…
-It’s fine. This old man also had such a period. Hmm, if it’s you, you might be able to accomplish it.
-Thank you for saying so. Anyway, that’s why I was thinking of exploring various remote regions of Jianghu for about a year or two…
-There is a place suitable for gaining enlightenment.
-Pardon? Really?
-Inside the Shiwan Mountains, there is a place called the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.
-Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation…? It’s an unfamiliar name to me.
-Haha, of course it would be. It’s a name I gave after first experiencing that place and coming out. I heard at some point that the Heretic Cult side also calls it that.
-Then, the place they designated as a forbidden zone…?
-That’s right. That’s the place. Based on this old man’s experience, there could be no more fitting name. Indeed, the thoughts of people are all similar.
-I heard that even a former cult leader’s party went missing there, but how did you, Master…?
-Thanks to having achieved the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword at the time, I successfully escaped from the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.
-…!
-I’ve never told you this before, but in my younger days, I first awakened the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword while exploring the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation. It was truly a journey of curiosity that staked my life.
-Ah, so there was such hidden history…
-Anyway, if that is truly your intention… I believe you will obtain some kind of answer within the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation. As I said earlier, your talent has surpassed this body’s. There is nothing more to teach.
-You mean that from now on, I must find the path to a new realm on my own.
-Yes. The moment you overcome the terrifying power of the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation, you will reach that lofty realm. A summit that even I have never trod upon… However, only after awakening the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword more completely, and truly building up overwhelming martial achievements to the point where you judge there is nothing more to achieve… attempt the exploration of the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation. As one who has the status of a master, I cannot recommend that choice before then. Because you are a disciple as precious as a child.
-Yes, Master! I understand.
-Haha. I give you three years from now. Within that time, achieve your own outstanding martial achievements.
-Three years…
-And thereby, deeply engrave the three characters of Dongbang Ya into the minds of ten thousand Orthodox martial artists. Then this old man will no longer try to dissuade you.
-I will keep it in mind!
From then on, Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya was active without restraint and raised his martial reputation high, and in a mere three years, he defeated even the Shaolin Temple’s Abbot and was reborn as the greatest and strongest martial artist of the Orthodox faction.
Of course, in that process, the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword also partially awakened anew, and his martial prowess level advanced.
Thus, having completed all preparations, he entered the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation, a barrier born of Nature’s wondrous mystical power, and at the end of painstaking effort, achieved his final goal of spiritual communication with the Divine Martial Sword.
Afterward, Dongbang Ya, who had emerged outside, established himself as an absolute warrior transcending the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions in less than several years.
Being called by the glorious epithet of Martial Immortal by countless people…
Earlier, Cheol Ryu-heun had manipulated a certain boulder with the Gan Jiang Sword to open a hidden entrance.
That was precisely an arrangement Dongbang Ya had made in the past.
In fact, anywhere along the boundary of the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation served as an entrance.
If one wished to explore the interior, one simply had to cross that line and set foot inside.
Whether the person was aware of it or not.
However, Dongbang Ya tested his own power through the extreme divine power he obtained while spiritually communicating with the Divine Martial Sword, and also successfully completed it.
Within the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation, which was said to have absolutely no method of artificial control and which rendered even the Heretic Cult’s terrifying sorcery powerless, he had constructed a passage of his own.
That path is what Cheol Ryu-heun’s party was currently walking through.
However.
Even though the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword and Dongbang Ya’s qualities had been great at the time, he couldn’t affect the entire Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.
What he had merely created and secured was this single passage.
Of course, that in itself was an enormous feat of defying part of Nature’s grand order.
Therefore, this path was equally dangerous for others.
However.
The one point of difference from the entrances widely set along the boundary was that a solution existed to pass through while minimizing the formation’s danger.
There were exactly two methods.
One was that if one possessed the immortal path internal energy technique created by Dongbang Ya while alive, one would not be bound by the formation’s power; the other was to block off all bodily senses and move relying entirely on one’s sixth sense energy perception maximized.
It was an arrangement practically impossible for others to utilize.
If there hadn’t been a guide named Cheol Ryu-heun, most of the party would have fallen into a precarious situation.
-From now on, operate Internal energy and heighten energy sense to the maximum. Only then can you safely pass through that path.
The party moved carefully following Cheol Ryu-heun’s such advice.
They closed their eyes and shut their ears.
They simply stepped forward, reading Cheol Ryu-heun’s Aura at the lead through sharpened energy sense alone.
Nevertheless, the party was seeing the illusions of the formation.
That is, it was a bizarre and mystical power that invaded their minds.
Moreover, the visions in their minds were all different.
In the case of the Namgung Sang-rin and Namgung Heon-rin brothers, they saw a scene of their family being attacked by ghosts; in Hae Su-yeon’s case, she saw a scene where she fell into a ghost’s temptation and transformed into a wicked demon woman of the era to massacre the common people; and in Cui Lan’s case, she saw a scene where her master Head-Severing Yama Seop-pyo, who was no different from her own father, was mercilessly slaughtered by countless ghostly blades.
When one ended, another unfolded in succession, disturbing and stirring their hearts.
The remaining personnel were the same.
Each was experiencing terrible visions of losing precious people or having their memories desecrated.
That’s why everyone was making strained expressions.
But they maintained an unwavering heart based on firm mental strength.
Because they well knew that if they slipped up even slightly here, they would fall into irreversible Qi Deviation.
Without exception, everyone’s entire body was drenched in sweat.
Amid that, they moved their two legs again and again, following the Aura of Cheol Ryu-heun at the front.
How much time passed as they quietly moved thus?
With everyone’s eyes tightly closed, they felt a soft and bright light suddenly assault their minds.
Soon, the visions in their heads cleared away.
At that moment.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent voice reached their ears.
“You all endured well.”
Upon hearing those words, the party finally opened their eyes.
Following that, quiet exclamations burst out simultaneously.
“Wow…!”
Because though it was dark, the scenery of the field and the valley beyond, boasting a serene beauty as it received the moonlight, filled each of their fields of vision completely.
Moreover, what was even more surprising was the sight of the night sky.
“Good heavens…!”
What strange and transparent substance covered the sky to enormously magnify the scenery above?
The moon and stars, which should properly be floating in the far, far distance, appeared several times larger.
With slight exaggeration, it felt as if they might drop down onto this earth at any moment.
Even Gun Mu-ak, who rarely showed emotional changes, murmured as if in admiration upon seeing that.
“In my life, this is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
At that, the two attendants Eun Yi-bi and Ya Baek-ji beside him nodded.
“Yes…”
“It truly is a mystical place.”
Suddenly, several figures were rapidly approaching from far ahead on the open field.
A total of three people.
Cheol Ryu-heun, who discovered them, spoke expressionlessly.
“They’re the personnel who received rescue through the advance party.”
Sure enough, one of them emitted Secret Sound Transmission loaded with Internal energy while approaching.
-Could you possibly be Sect Master Cheol of White Peak Sword Sect and his party?
In response, Cheol Ryu-heun replied with majestic Secret Sound Transmission.
-That’s right.
Soon, the figures approached nearby where Cheol Ryu-heun’s party stood and came to a halt.
Two of the three were figures of the Guangdong Four Pillars tier: Crow Pattern Sword Hall Master Flash Blade Tyrant Do Woo-pung and South Lake Sword Sect Master Great Lake Sword Elder Byeok Woo-ham.
But then.
Cheol Ryu-heun, having confirmed the remaining one person, inwardly let out a snicker.
‘Heh, interesting. To think that fellow is here…’
The identity of the figure captured in his eyes was none other than Shin So-sul, the former Heretic Cult Leader and master of strange sorcery who had been cult leader during the Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon Ba Hun’s era.