Chapter 4 : Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Inside the Wind and Cloud Creation Formation.
Jaegal Yeseong, who had rushed to the rear garden in a daze at the servants' absurd words.
He was speechless at the bewildering scene unfolding before his eyes.
Jaegal Yujeong, who had followed along, was just as surprised.
“H-Hwi oppa, what is he doing right now?”
It was absurd enough that he had jumped into the Wind and Cloud Creation Formation bare-chested.
But as if that wasn't enough, wasn't he touching all the activation stones and running around as he pleased?
On top of that, he was running around like a madman, shirtless and laughing heartily.
In that moment, Jaegal Yeseong's face, which had been frozen blankly, suddenly brightened.
“Has Hwi-ya figured out a new way to break it?”
“Eh, no way. He's already touched too many activation stones and has entered the seventh stage of the creation formation. Even if he finds the life gate now, escape is impossible without outside help.”
“Your brother wouldn't be so reckless!”
He was a prodigy of the world, called the reincarnation of Echoing Energy.
A next-generation expert, evaluated as the greatest raw gem in the history of this Jaegal Clan, which was teeming with geniuses.
There was no way such a Hwi-ya would jump into the Wind and Cloud Creation Formation without any preparation.
“Ah! It's the eighth stage! It's really dangerous now!”
Gugugugugugu—
The entire rear garden was engulfed in a rough vibration.
The third young master of the Jaegal Clan, Jaegal Hwi.
He was running even more like a madman, facing the flesh-slicing wind and clouds with his whole body.
* * *
What was frightening about a high-level death formation was that it continuously distorted human senses.
By cleverly mixing reality and illusion, it disturbed the senses and perception and broke down the mind.
Such formations exhibited different characteristics depending on the mechanism and implementation method of the formula.
In the case of the Seven Monsters Illusory Demon Formation I experienced in the past, sound, that is, sonic vibrations, was the center, and the nameless formation of the Jaegal Clan spread out before my eyes now was literally ‘everything’.
The sound of the wind that was enough to tear my ears, the cold qi that dug into my flesh, and the vibrations of the ground that struck irregularly.
What was driving me crazy above all was that dark cloud that was relentlessly disturbing all my senses.
That damn dark cloud appeared irregularly from the eight directions, no, from almost all directions, and poured down a storm on me.
Just when I thought I had dodged it, it would flash and appear again, raining down storms and thunderstorms to the point of mental breakdown, so it was enough to drive one mad.
Just a moment ago, I was struck by a thunderstorm and my head was actually half-burnt.
The streak of lightning, which had never been real until now, this time contained real lightning qi.
That meant that this common biting wind that was constantly scratching me could at any moment cut my body like a blade.
This was truly a formation of a different dimension compared to the one deployed by a mere Phantom Demon, just as I had expected.
‘I could really die.’
It was not an exaggeration; even I, in my prime, could not rashly guarantee that I could break this death formation.
No, you crazy bastards, even so, it's a rear garden where people rest, and you install such a frightening death formation?
The Jaegal bastards were not normal either.
Even the bastards who pursued scholarship and reason the most in Jianghu were this crazy, so it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable for a monster like the Dark Spirit Revered One to appear.
I gave up any further resistance and sat down.
My experience from the old days, when I had broken the Phantom Demon's death formation, was telling me.
First, it was necessary to carve out the senses and not think about the formation itself.
I slowly closed my eyes.
As if extinguishing a lamp, I blocked off all my senses one by one.
‘Huu…….’
The sound of thunder that intermittently dug into my ears grew distant.
This state of Clear Mirror, which completely blocks oneself from the information flooding in from the outside, was originally a training method of the Buddhist school.
But I had neither cultivated my mind through meditation nor devoted myself to Buddhism.
It was merely the experience of me, the Martial Emperor, who had discovered a similar method in the midst of intense training.
Therefore, I achieve the Clear Mirror in a different way than them.
I calmly bring up mental images and fill my inner self.
In that expanded world of mental images, I persistently push away the information that tickles the ends of my senses.
Self-Forgetting.
Forgetting time and emptying reality.
And finally, forgetting myself.
But as expected, was it the limit with just the Martial Emperor's experience?
As long as it wasn't my complete body yet, the state of Clear Mirror was not as perfect as in my past life.
Jijijijijik!
The blocked senses were released, and an unbearable burning sensation rushed in.
A lightning bolt had pierced my shoulder blade.
I immediately sealed all the ki meridians near the resolute pressure point.
This would make it impossible to move my right arm for a while, but it would be better than losing the One Ki Divine Origin Art that had just begun to take root.
I tenaciously shut off my senses again.
But the pain was so severe that my vision blurred.
‘Damn it!’
Saaaaaaa—
The blocked senses were released again, and a sharp pain rushed in.
This time it was the biting wind.
When I touched my ear, it was half cut off.
To think that if the wind's trajectory had been slightly different, it would have been my neck that was cut, made my hair stand on end.
But if my consciousness was eroded by fear and dread here, I would face the worst situation.
A Firm Will, An Unmoving Self.
I straightened my back and closed my eyes again.
The reason I constantly maintained the state of Self-Forgetting was to forget martial arts itself.
The ability to break a death formation had nothing to do with the level of martial arts.
In the past, while trying to break through the Phantom Demon's death formation with martial arts, I almost lost my martial soul itself.
Crunch.
Something on my body was cut again.
However, only a faint noise was heard, and no pain or sensation was felt.
Finally, I twisted my lips and smiled.
I had succeeded in carving out all the senses of my body without borrowing the power of martial arts, just like in the old days.
Only then did I open my eyes and get up from my spot.
A human's activated five senses within a death formation only served to interfere with reading the trajectory of illusions.
All other senses are blocked.
Now, within the illusion of the death formation, I will detect threats solely with visual information.
Thud, thud.
Only the sound of footsteps could be heard, but no particular sensation was felt in my legs.
When the power of my mind was maximized like that, my dantian suddenly began to react sensitively.
‘Huh?’
I was startled.
It was a situation where I had controlled all my senses and put my entire body into a state of suspended animation.
For the One Ki Divine Origin Art to react despite that meant only one thing.
The One Ki Divine Origin Art was reacting to my mental image.
What in the world is this?
‘Crazy!’
This was a phenomenon I had experienced only late in my Martial Emperor days, when I was called one of the Seven Revered of Jianghu.
That was why it was even more unbelievable.
This phenomenon was clearly a realm beyond Entering Transformation.
But, in a state where I hadn't even conquered the first stage, the One Origin Jade Flower, my One Ki Divine Origin Art was recognizing my mental image?
In that moment, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning.
A genius to succeed Echoing Energy!
I was not one to particularly believe in talent or theories of genius.
Because I had always believed that the measure of a human's capability was the trajectory of their life, that is, the total amount of years they had strived and yearned.
But come to think of it, a guy who had just been initiated into martial arts could block all the senses of his body with transcendent mental power?
Was such a thing possible with just the experience of me, the Martial Emperor, without any prior cultivation?
In that moment, goosebumps ran down my spine.
This guy who gave me his body.
He was really no ordinary guy.
Wait, come to think of it, I don't know a single thing about this guy's life, do I?
At that moment, the most fundamental question arose from my heart.
If I had taken over his body like this, where on earth was his soul right now?
‘……Does it mean he's dead?’
Although I didn't know much about a person's soul, I knew very well that two souls could not reside in one body.
Because that was a domain determined by providence.
I had no intention of grandly repaying the grace of this guy who had given me a new opportunity.
But the fact that he gave up his one and only body did not change.
At last, I felt the weight of my second life.
“Kehahahaha!”
Ruuuuuumble!
Lightning tore the sky like a net and shone down on me.
Of course, I, Jin Gang-cheon, had no intention of living his life for him.
But one thing was certain.
If he had ended his life full of regrets without achieving his cherished desire, I would fulfill them all.
In the way of the Martial Emperor.
Tssssssss—
My One Ki Divine Origin Art, which had reacted to my mental image, had become formless ki and was surrounding the area.
My One Ki Divine Origin Art began to distinguish between the reality and illusion of the formation, as if it had a spiritual nature.
I firmly stomped my feet and advanced step by step.
Thump. Thump.
With each step, my heart also beat along.
Crack, crack, crack!
The ground beneath my feet split, revealing a black bottomless pit.
A depth that made my chest grow cold.
But when the energy of the One Ki Divine Origin Art that extended from me reached it.
In what should have been complete darkness, small stones and bushes were faintly revealed.
I immediately walked across the void nonchalantly.
Now I could see everything.
The wicked illusions, and the wonderfully intricate system of the formation.
Now, the blocked senses no longer had any meaning.
I ran straight towards the huge cliff that was blocking my path.
All the formations that have existed in the history of the Central Plains were based on Zhuge Echoing Energy's Eight Trigrams Formation and the Five Elements Seven Stars Formation.
That cliff before my eyes was clearly the direction corresponding to the Wind Disruption of the Eight Trigrams, that is, a clear gate of death.
However.
Kwwaaaaaang!
In an instant, the illusion shattered and something was revealed.
What was crushed by my fist was not a cliff but the center of a large tree.
Amidst the terrible pain that dug into my wrist and shoulder, I smiled faintly.
Before falling into the formation, I had seen this tree.
At the end of the rear garden, the largest cedar tree that held a waterwheel.
This cedar tree was clearly the most important component that enabled the five-element chain of the death formation, that is, the illusion.
If so, then of course I had to get rid of it.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
It was not a trained body, so I couldn't exert its full power, but the Soul-Returning Hammer was the most powerful body blow martial art I knew.
My scapulae would be completely shattered, but I would never stop.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
A sharp sensation pierced my chest.
Seeing that my strength was draining away, my scapula and upper arm were dislocated.
And a few ribs must have been broken too.
But as long as my spine wasn't broken, my life was not in danger.
In any case, it was a situation where I couldn't last more than a moment in this dangerous death formation.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
As the center of the five-element chain shattered like that, the illusions in all the areas corresponding to the Heaven Covering flickered faintly and disappeared.
I could see the old man of the Jaegal Clan staring at me blankly in the distance.
As I was smiling at him.
I collapsed to the floor.