Chapter 123: What You Trampled On / The Path You Have Tread (11)

Piiiiiit!

All sound fades.

Only the blue pillar that descended from the heavens illuminates the desert.

The immense beam of lightning is the only light, overshadowing even the rays of the sun.

Not even the main cannon of the Nether Crossing Ship fired by Manli Min-lap, nor the combined attack launched simultaneously by numerous Core Formation cultivators, could compare to that brilliance.

The light created by the crude hands of mere humans in the form of spells and formations is of no match for the pure brilliance directly forged by the heavens.

All members of the alliance, standing there, swallowed their saliva and gazed inside the pillar.

Byeok Cheon-gi bit his lips fiercely, his hands trembling.

Makli Hwang-cheon looked at the blue pillar with shocked eyes, inhaling deeply.

Jinlu Yeon-cheon's face was blank as she opened her mouth wide.

Makli Hwang-cheon spoke to Cheongmun Jung-jin.

"Look here, Cheongmun Clan head. I've heard of Cultivator Seo's curse strategy, but... I wasn't informed of anything like this."

"Oh... This strategy was individually proposed by Cultivator Seo to me." 

Cheongmun Jung-jin continues.

"Honestly, when I first heard of it, I couldn't believe it either... Heavenly Tribulation isn't a phenomenon for Core Formation, but a celestial phenomenon that starts striking from at least the Nascent Soul stage..."

It's just as he said.

Heavenly Tribulation isn't for originally striking Qi Building cultivators as they become Core Formation cultivators.

It begins at the Nascent Soul stage, where mortals start to behold the world's origin.

That's when the heavens punish those fated to die.

That is Heavenly Tribulation.

"Heavenly Rejection phenomenon. Who would believe it?"

But, such laws didn't apply to everyone.

Historical records show that among ancient cultivators, there were those struck by heavenly lightning not during Core Formation, but while advancing from Qi Refining to Qi Building.

These individuals also carried the bizarre phenomenon of Heavenly Rejection, blocking the Seven Stars Ritual right from Qi Refining 7th Star.

Weak yet rejected by the heavens.

And Seo Eun-hyun is one of those Heavenly Rejected, afflicted with the Heavenly Rejection phenomenon.

"I too was skeptical and only agreed because Cultivator Seo earnestly requested it. We made it an individual operation because I had no confidence to apply such an exaggerated legend as the strategy for the entire alliance."

Makli Hwang-cheon looks inside the blue lightning, his expression hardening.

Byeok Cheon-gi comes over and speaks.

"Ha ha, still, you should have at least given a hint to me, one of the three critical factors of the strategy... It's so sudden my heart is racing."

"Ah, I'm sorry I didn't inform you, Byeok Clan head."

Cheongmun Jung-jin apologizes. 

Jinlu Yeon-cheon approaches him.

"As expected of Orabeoni, such an impressive strategy. It's truly awe-inspiring."

"It's not my strategy, Jinlu Clan head. It's Cultivator Seo's strategy. More importantly, why is everyone here chatting? Return to your positions!"

"Oh, don't be so strict. It's a Heavenly Tribulation, after all. Everyone's just gathered here, shocked because they've never witnessed such a fearsome celestial phenomenon."

Jinluu Yeon-cheon gently brushes Cheongmun Jung-jin's chest with her fingertips, winking.

Cheongmun Jung-jin sighs and shouts.

"Everyone, return to your positions and maintain formation! I don't know the extent of the old monster's vitality, but if he's still alive, we must launch another total assault and completely evaporate him to his Nascent Soul!"

At his words, the alliance resumed their stance.

―――――!

In the world of silent blue light,

Only two beings exist.

Yuan Li and me.

Kiiiiing!

To prevent Yuan Li from escaping, I raised numerous curse spells on my arms, connecting my cursed hands to Yuan Li's body.

He gnashed his teeth, unable to get away, and unfolded a red shield to bear the heavenly lighting with me with all his might. 

No, it might not be right to say he bore it with me.

He is simply blocking it all.

The baptism of blue light that seemed endless, eventually ceases.

Chiiiiii―

The blue lightning dissipates, and Yuan Li gasps for air, glaring at me with eyes emitting a bloody glow.

[You… trash…!]

But.

Kurung, Kururung!

The heavens begin to rage again.

As if to question my audacity to bypass heavenly lightning with another's help.

The heavens unleash their fury on me once more through the blue brilliance.

The streak of blue is even thicker and larger than before.

Kugugugugu!

Yuan Li and I are once again trapped inside the blue pillar.

Without a moment to glare at me, Yuan Li grits his teeth again and expands the barrier.

This phenomenon, called Heavenly Lightning, or Heavenly Tribulation, or Heavenly Punishment, is said to strike once one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, according to legends.

And according to the records in the texts, such Heavenly Tribulations are something that the individual undergoing must overcome alone. If one receives help from others, the heavens become even more furious and send down even stronger heavenly lightning.

Regardless of the current situation.

I am indeed receiving Yuan Li's help.

Kugugugugu!

Kiying!

The four dharma treasures, Yuan Li's pagodas, surround us.

The pagodas emit red light, forming a barrier around us.

However.

Pajik, pajijjik….

The barrier that seemed to withstand the Heavenly Tribulation for a while began to crack.

I can see Yuan Li clenching his teeth tightly.

Kiying!

The red pagodas then emit brighter light.

The cracks seem to disappear, but the pagodas, perhaps overexerted, appear to be in a dangerous state.

And, just when the pagodas' condition seems to reach its limit.

Kiying!

Pah!

Once again, the Heavenly Tribulation ceases.

Yuan Li, bleeding from his nose, glares at me.

[I…Will…Kill…]

And then, the heavens prepare the third Heavenly Tribulation.

Flash!

Before he can say anything, the third strike descends upon us.

KwangJangChangChang!

The barrier formed by Yuan Li's pagoda dharma treasures shatter like fragile glass, and the dharma treasures explode in the middle, unable to withstand any longer.

Kwagwang!

Boom!

The pagoda dharma treasures, which had been defending Yuan Li, lose their light forever and are torn apart in the heavenly lightning.

Kiying!

Yuan Li fires a bloody light towards the heavens.

He summons the two ghost kings and the blood cloud from his storage artifact.

He draws seventeen bone daggers slashing towards the sky.

But.

The bloody light is swallowed by the blue streak.

The two ghost kings flee in terror at the sight of the heavenly lightning.

The dagger dharma treasures seemed to hold for a while but soon collapsed.

[Aaaaagh…!!!]

Yuan Li screams and gathers all his strength to spread a defensive barrier.

A spherical barrier envelops us.

The bloody barrier of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator blocks the heavenly lightning.

However.

Pssit, psisit!

His barrier too starts to show hair-thin cracks, and the heavenly lightning begins to leak inside.

Paching!

Yuan Li's barrier completely shatters.

The heavenly lightning strikes us directly.

Both Yuan Li and I are directly exposed to the Heavenly Tribulation.

We both silently scream in terrible agony.

But having been struck several times before and accustomed to the pain, I regain consciousness in this state.

And in that state, I endure while gripping hard on to Yuan Li.

Chalak!!

I overpower the unconscious Yuan Li, lifting him above me to use as a shield.

Indeed, the flesh of a Nascent Soul cultivator blocks the heavenly lightning quite well.

Occasionally, some streaks flowed through his flesh, but they were manageable with the Formless Sword.

Chajak, chajajak!

Holes begin to appear in Yuan Li's body by the lightning.

The Heavenly Tribulation leaks through the holes.

More and more holes are created.

I grit my teeth and fend off the lightningwith the Formless Sword.

And after some time.

Paaaaat!

The seemingly eternal storm of lightning finally subsides.

And.

Perhaps due to my use of Yuan Li as a shield against the heavenly lightning or bouncing off the lightning with the Formless Sword,

The heavens seem to judge that I have blocked the tribulation and do not form another one, just rumbling within the dark clouds.

Thus, the dark clouds slowly begin to disperse.

[Now's the time…!]

I shout to the allies, bursting out a command.

Piiing!

The main cannon of the Nether Crossing Ship, charged by Manli Min-lap, fires.

Flash!

A blue beam shoots towards Yuan Li and me.

I place the still half-conscious Yuan Li in the path of the beam, and we are both swept away, thrown inside Serving Command Palace.

'Just as planned...!'

I kick Yuan Li into Serving Command Palace.

Kugugugugu!

Entering Serving Command Palace again, a familiar energy welcomes me.

"Silica Earth Great Wall Practice."

Kugugugugu!

The dragon veins of Serving Command Palace are drawn to me, naturally beginning to fill my dantian.

I immediately sit down in a lotus position, rushing towards the final stage of Core Formation.

Kiying!

Having overcome Heavenly Tribulation, a complete set of 28 stars, infused with celestial energy, begin to solidify in their places.

And then.

Flash!

My dantian.

Within, a Golden Core is formed.

The size of the Golden Core is slightly larger than two fists combined, and the surface of the Golden Core is engraved with 28 stars, forming the Heavenly Sphere Diagram.

The Inner Core, originally the size of two finger segments in the center of my dantian, is now located in the very center of the two-fist-sized Golden Core.

Its appearance resembles an armillary sphere that represents the Earth and the celestial sphere surrounding it.

The luminous spirit emitting from the Golden Core instantly colors the area of Serving Command Palace, and I half-open my eyes within the light.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

Core Formation cultivators outside Serving Command Palace begin to enter one by one.

They launch another attack at Yuan Li, who had been burned to a charcoal-like state.

Taking advantage of the time they bought for me, I take out the storage artifact given to me by the cursed doll.

The cursed doll and I were linked in real time.

From the centipede's cave, I watched over the village Buk Hyang-hwa and I saved, for 200 years through the cursed doll.

It was this cursed doll who also forged the glass swords, which I offered as tributes in Cheon-saek City, by engraving spiritual circuits and refining them into the Colorless Glass Swords.

And now, I finally received them through the cursed doll's storage artifact.

Charrurruk!

I open the storage artifact, summoning three thousand glass swords into the air through sword control.

Hwaruruk!

Qi Refining 14th Star.

From the stage of Infinite Spiritual Cloud in the Qi Refining stage, cultivators can spit out spiritual clouds from within their bodies to cast spells.

But upon forming a Golden Core, the nature of the spiritual clouds that cultivators had been using undergo a qualitative change.

Hwarurururu....

The spiritual clouds become more active and heat up fiercely.

They transform into flames.

Core Formation cultivators call this flame emitted from the Golden Core as Dan Fire.

I spit out the fire of spiritual power blooming from my dantian through my mouth.

The Dan Fire spreads around me, covering the three thousand glass swords.

Every glass sword has a spiritual circuit engraved on them, and my Dan Fire flows through these circuits, firmly marking me as the owner of the swords.

Through the process of refining magic artifacts with Dan Fire, they are reborn as dharma treasures of Core Formation cultivators.

These dharma treasures, evolved from magical artifacts, reside within the cultivator's Golden Core and develop gradually as the cultivator advances in their cultivation, nourished by the Dan Fire that blazes within the Golden Core.

Over time, as they are cultivated in the dantian by Dan Fire, they become stronger, tougher, and more powerful.

Dharma treasures that have accompanied a cultivator for an extended period are known as the cultivator's natal dharma treasures.

'Of course, a recently refined dharma treasure can't be called a natal dharma treasure yet.'

Still, its power cannot be underestimated.

The Colorless Glass Swords, made simply from desert sand, did not take long to be refined by Dan Fire.

Shururuk...

I absorb the three thousand glass swords refined with Dan Fire.

The three thousand glass swords settle inside my Golden Core.

I close my eyes, feeling the traces left by Buk Hyang-hwa for me.

'Please give me strength.'

Not just Buk Hyang-hwa.

The tributes of my many neighbors of Cheon-saek City used to refine the Colorless Glass Swords.

I pray silently to my connections who had been massacred by Yuan Li.

Kugugugugu!

From afar, I see the piece of charcoal gradually emitting crimson light, being hammered by the attacks of the Core Formation cultivators.

Charrururu!

Outside Serving Command Palace.

From the black castle, a crimson radiance akin to a river, surges towards us.

The color isn't a muted shade of blood but appears significantly more vivid and intense than any previously accumulated life force by Yuan Li.

Charrurruk!

The river of blood sweeps the charcoal-turned Yuan Lil.

Kugugugug!

And then, Yuan Li's body regenerates as he rises.

Still hidden behind that black mask, his true expression is unknown.

However, everyone present knows that Yuan Li is extremely furious.

[I've spent hundreds of years covertly accumulating Long Source True Power in the castle for my ascension to Heavenly Being...!!! These insect-like creatures... These trash-like creatures...!]

Cough, cough!

Even though his body fully regenerated, he still spat out blood.

The aftermath of the curse and the Heavenly Tribulation seem to linger.

'The Heavenly Tribulation barely touched me, yet the lightning energy is wreaking havoc within me. It's impossible for him, who bore the full force, to remain unscathed.'

Cough, cough...

I too cough up blood-stained phlegm and stand up.

The Heavenly Tribulation is definitely causing me some problems.

However.

Swoosh!

There are 65 cursed dolls prepared in advance in Serving Command Palace.

Of these, four were used for the Core Formation ceremony, and the remaining 61 are low-grade cursed dolls imbued with the strength of Qi Refining 1st or 2nd Star.

And.

'Curse. Reversal.'

Kiying!

As I form a hand seal and use the Yin Soul Ghost Incantation, the injuries and lightning energy remaining in my body disperse into the 60 cursed dolls.

Cursed dolls can be used to curse others, but transferring all my injuries to the pre-prepared cursed dolls is also possible.

Crackle, crackle, crack...

Of course, the 60 cursed dolls, unable to withstand the lightning energy, instantly turn to ash and scatter.

'But still, I've transferred almost all my injuries and the lightning energy.'

I then take out the immortal wine previously stored in the storage artifact.

The Spirit Nectar, which briefly enhances bodily regeneration, and the Mysterious Flame Jade, which briefly enhances the ability to handle dharma treasures.

I drink both liquors in one go.

Kugugugu!

The minor injuries and lightning energy left after distributing to the cursed dolls are swept away by the regenerative power and disappear.

After drinking the liquors, the healing speed of injuries is remarkably fast.

'Is this the power of Core Formation?'

It might be difficult now, having just ascended to Core Formation, but after 50 to 100 years of cultivation, I should be able to recover in a few months even if my head is severed. Such is the robustness of life force of Core Formation cultivators.

[These... bastards, I will kill them all...!]

While vomiting blood from his mouth, Yuan Li exudes a threatening aura, and everyone in Serving Command Palace nod in agreement.

Cheongmun Jung-jin shouts.

"Everyone, as per the plan!"

"Close the gate!"

To prevent Yuan Li from escaping or receiving further support from the black castle, the Core Formation cultivators form hand seals, closing the gates of Serving Command Palace.

Creak, thud!

The chiefs of the Northern Grasslands step forward.

Click, click, click, click!

Four chiefs take positions around Yuan Li, one in each direction.

Behind each chief, three Core Formation cultivators take their places.

Behind these three, seven more Core Formation cultivators position themselves.

The Northern Grasslands Secret Art.

''Blue Sky Heavenly Net. Open!''

Kugugugu!

The spiritual power of the cultivators in the formation connect.

A blue light traps Yuan Li.

The main pillars of the formation turn into white clouds, and Yuan Li in the center is trapped in the blue sky.

[This is…]

And Yuan Li, who is in the middle stage of Nascent Soul, falls to the early stage..

Of course, the chiefs who spread the Blue Sky Heavenly Net turn red-faced and are utterly immobilized but they manage to tie down Yuan Li's cultivation by one level.

And then, I flick my finger.

The last remaining cursed doll.

The doll, following my will, touches the golden order of Serving Command Palace.

Kiying!

Kugugugu!

A strange pressure suppresses the cultivation of everyone.

Core Formation cultivators are reduced to Qi Building, and Yuan Li, a Nascent Soul, falls to the early stage of Core Formation.

Then, I, Manli Min-lap, and Byeok Cheon-gi enter the Blue Sky Heavenly Net.

Manli Min-lap pulls out the cannon aiming at Yuan Li, and Byeok Cheon-gi begins chanting and takes out a talisman from his pocket, starting to activate it with a chant.

And I grin so broadly it's as if my cheeks are about to split.

Charrurruk!

Though my Core Formation cultivation fell to Qi Building, it is still possible to freely store and summon dharma treasures, a unique ability of the Golden Core.

Three thousand glass swords rise around me, guided by my sword control.

Woo-woong!

The fragile flying swords made of glass overlay with the Formless Sword.

The duration of the Serving Command Palace's restraint is the result of 200 years of dedicated research by formation masters.

It can be extended from half a gak to half a shichen.

Within half a shichen (60 minutes), a conclusion must be reached.

Gazing at Yuan Li with unwavering resolve, I declare.

"Here lies your grave."

And thus, our final battle began.