Chapter 80: Full Power Deploynt
The Green Forest had established its main stronghold in the back mountain of a small city called Hongui in Guizhou.
Unlike the eighteen mountain strongholds under its command—which were mostly located deep within rugged terrain and towering mountains praised as massive peaks—the main stronghold had settled in a place no different from an ordinary village’s back hill, low and unassuming.
That was why those who visited the Green Forest’s main stronghold for the first ti were always shocked. It was terrain where one would never imagine the leader of the Green Forest residing.
The reason the Green Forest’s main stronghold was located in such a place lay in the geographical position of Hongui.
Go slightly west, and one would escape into Yunnan, where dense jungles stretched endlessly. Move just a little east, and one would reach Guangxi, which bordered the sea.
Through trade-heavy Guangxi and neighboring Guangdong, enormous quantities of goods flowed into the inland regions.
In other words, there was no end to what could be plundered.
A place with imdiate hiding grounds in tis of crisis, and with prey perfectly suited for plundering close at hand.
That place was Guizhou’s Hongui.
Moreover, it was a ti when the martial world flourished. Historically, periods when the martial world prospered coincided with tis when the state declined.
The martial world was, by tradition, an ard collective beyond the effective control of the authorities. Naturally, from the officials’ perspective, it was difficult to tolerate.
Thus, when the state prospered, the martial world declined.
The state tightened its grip and reduced the martial world’s power.
In other words, a ti like the present—when the martial world flourished—ant the state was in shambles. Naturally, the will of governnt troops to suppress bandits weakened.
In reality, Guizhou officials who accepted the Green Forest’s bribes only suppressed powerless minor bandits and never even touched the Green Forest.
Hongui’s officials were even worse.
That was because the wealth the Green Forest plundered from afar was traded openly in Hongui’s markets.
Absurdly enough, rchants then flocked in to buy those goods.
They were cheaper than anywhere else, and full of high-quality items.
Both sellers and buyers knew the goods were stolen. Even so, they were traded without hesitation—sothing only possible because the state itself was in ruins.
In any case, it was a cold era in which everyone had to struggle desperately just to survive.
And into that Hongui, a black hand reached.
The Man-Sa Calamity Emperor had stord in, leading a Blood Corpse at the forefront.
Even though the Green Forest had mobilized the finest experts from its eighteen strongholds in preparation for such an event, the main stronghold collapsed helplessly.
Whether peak masters or near-peak masters, there was no answer to the Blood Corpse’s ruthless charge. After all, it was a Blood Corpse created from Eightfold Confusion Monk, who had already broken through the Transformation Realm and ascended to the Manifestation Realm.
The Blood Corpse’s body, instinctively protected by Force Energy, could not be hard even by Sword Energy wielded by peak or near-peak masters.
As for the spears and blades of ordinary warriors, they could not pierce it at all.
After shredding and crushing hundreds of ordinary warriors and dozens of experts, the Blood Corpse finally faced the master of the Green Forest—the Nine Mountain Giant King.
To be fair, the Green Forest had not waited without any counterasures.
From the mont Living Zombie had been ntioned, they had prepared thoroughly.
All records the Green Forest uncovered of defeating Living Zombies had been achieved through fire.
Taking inspiration from that, they dug pits all around the main stronghold and buried jars of oil.
So places were prepared so thoroughly that dozens of oil jars—each large enough to hold a grown man—were buried together.
They also prepared hundreds of ceramic fire bombs, filling small earthen jars with oil, sealing the mouths with cloth, and setting them up to be ignited and thrown in ergencies.
The reason flas now soared sky-high in all directions around the Green Forest’s main stronghold was because all of those preparations had been used.
The reason Deputy Banner Lord Kang Hwang had not been seen was that, when their prepared fire attacks failed to take effect, he had grown desperate and hurled himself to his death.
He had leapt into a pit where dozens of oil jars were buried, clutching the Blood Corpse tightly.
The raging flas that erupted then were intense enough to incinerate even Kang Hwang—a near-peak master—in an instant.
Yet the Blood Corpse erged safely even from within that violent pillar of fire.
The image of the Blood Corpse casually brushing off the flas flowing over the yellowish Force Energy that enveloped its entire body remained vividly etched in the Nine Mountain Giant King’s eyes.
Facing that Blood Corpse, the Nine Mountain Giant King drew his beloved weapon—an axe.
The massive battle axe, as large as an average man’s body, was coated in blue Force Energy.
It was Axe Aura—harder to manifest than Sword Aura or Blade Aura.
The Axe Aura, a fragntary display of the Nine Mountain Giant King’s power, was so vivid that it enveloped the entire battle axe.
“I’ll chop you into pieces!”
Gritting his teeth, the Nine Mountain Giant King roared and moved. His enormous body, as imposing as the massive axe itself, moved as swiftly as the wind.
It was a dazzling speed, unbelievable for soone of his nine-foot-tall, house-sized fra.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted from the space where the Nine Mountain Giant King and the Blood Corpse collided.
The battle axe that had split apart everything it had ever struck over countless years was stopped midair.
Incredibly, the Blood Corpse had caught the Nine Mountain Giant King’s axe—with its vividly blazing Axe Aura—bare-handed.
The Nine Mountain Giant King’s eyes widened as he stared at that unbelievable sight.
Not only had his Axe Aura been stopped, it had failed to inflict even the slightest wound on the Blood Corpse’s hand.
What made that impossible feat possible once again was the yellowish Force Energy flowing along the Blood Corpse’s hand.
It did not appear as vivid or powerful as the Nine Mountain Giant King’s Axe Aura—rely a faint glow—yet it had blocked everything.
“This is insane!”
Whether out of rage or frustration, the Nine Mountain Giant King spat those words like a curse. At that mont, the Blood Corpse’s hand shot toward his face like a flash of lightning.
He tried to wrench his weapon free from the Blood Corpse’s grip, but it would not budge in the slightest.
In the end, with his beloved weapon seized by the enemy, the Nine Mountain Giant King was forced to retreat, pulling his body back.
Only then did he barely manage to evade the Blood Corpse’s grasp.
What drove one to madness was the fact that the Blood Corpse handled the Nine Mountain Giant King’s stolen axe with practiced ease.
“Khuhuhuh.”
Seemingly pleased by the heavy weight exceeding three hundred jin, the Blood Corpse let out a spine-chilling laugh and charged forward, swinging the battle axe that had belonged to the Nine Mountain Giant King only monts ago.
Crunch!
Everything it touched was split apart.
Not only was the blade the Nine Mountain Giant King hastily drew shattered, but even the massive pillar—thick enough to require several n to encircle—that he desperately hid behind was cleaved in a single blow.
Crack.
As the pillar was severed, the roof sagged slightly, but there was no ti to look for another support.
The Blood Corpse’s battle axe, moving just as fast as the Nine Mountain Giant King himself, was already bearing down on him.
Only after stumbling, falling, rolling, and rolling again did he barely manage to evade the axe swings.
After a prolonged onslaught, the Blood Corpse withdrew slightly—and the sight of it smiling as it looked at him caused the Nine Mountain Giant King’s fury to explode.
That was unmistakably a sneer.
Any doubts about how a corpse could move so astonishingly, or even possess enough awareness to sneer, were all swallowed by that rage.
“I’ll kill you!”
The Nine Mountain Giant King charged forward, snatching up a sword that lay nearby. His eyes were completely consud by madness.
His infamous flaw—becoming utterly reckless when enraged—had erupted at the worst possible mont.
But—
Thud!
The Blood Corpse’s battle axe flew in, casually splitting the sword that had been coated in blue Force Energy, and buried itself squarely into the Nine Mountain Giant King’s front.
Perhaps it was the weight of the axe embedded precisely between eyes filled with shock, panic, and regret.
Boom.
The Nine Mountain Giant King fell backward, gasping as his breath faded.
What followed was truly horrific.
The Blood Corpse lunged forward, sank its teeth into the fallen Nine Mountain Giant King’s neck, and began to drink his blood.
He tried to move his hands to push it away, but his body no longer obeyed his will.
As his spasms weakened, the sound of his breathing grew faint—then ceased entirely.
The light vanished from his hollow eyes. His breath was gone.
Yet even then, clinging to the Nine Mountain Giant King’s body, the Blood Corpse continued to drink his blood.
On the day the main stronghold burned, ssage Hawks flew to every Green Forest stronghold.
They carried an order bearing the absolute command of the Chief Banner Lord, the Nine Mountain Giant King—ordering all Green Forest mbers to gather at the main stronghold without delay.
No one knew how a ssage bearing the command of the already-dead Nine Mountain Giant King could have flown out from a stronghold that had already fallen.
No one, that is, except the Man-Sa Calamity Emperor, who watched the now-empty birdcage and smiled chillingly.
“Kahahaha.”
The Man-Sa Calamity Emperor’s vicious laughter echoed through the Green Forest’s main stronghold, engulfed in flas.
As Yul Han stepped into the grounds of the Qingcheng Sect, the scenery ca into view.
Strangely, the blue clouds and red mist visible from outside could not be felt at all within.
It felt as though one had passed through a veil made of blue clouds and red mist.
Though the outside could not be seen, the inside appeared perfectly clear.
The blue clouds and red mist ford by the formation concealed the external scenery, yet allowed light to pass through, so the rays of sunlight still illuminated the Qingcheng landscape.
Yul Han imdiately grasped the center of that enormous formation.
Dozens of martial artists were forming multiple concentric circles, gradually tightening toward the summit of the peak upon which Qingcheng was built.
‘That’s the First Peak, where the White Cloud Pavilion stands!’
He recognized it instantly, because faint rumbling thunder echoed from the peak.
Yul Han drew up his body and was about to leap.
However—
Tap.
His Lightness Skill did not activate.
As Yul Han stiffened in surprise, the Profound Demon approached him and spoke.
“Within the first ring over there, other internal energies won’t work.”
Following where the Profound Demon pointed, Yul Han saw a circular formation created by thirty-two Qingcheng Daoists.
After confirming that Yul Han was looking at it, the Profound Demon continued.
“It’s the first tier that receives the power of the Azure Cloud Crimson River Formation activated from outside and funnels it toward the First Peak.”
“Do you know why other internal energies don’t work?” Yul Han asked.
The Profound Demon replied.
“Because the thousand-year internal power flowing in from outside devours everything. In that situation, any internal energy not ford from Azure Cloud or Crimson River thods becos useless.”
“Is there a way to break through?”
“When it cos to power, there’s only one truth. Power that surpasses power.”
In other words, one simply had to charge in with internal energy stronger than the power being transmitted from outside.
Power that overcos a thousand years of internal energy!
In truth, asking experts of the Manifestation Realm about internal energy was like showing off wrinkles before a cicada.
One of the basic requirents of the Manifestation Realm was possessing internal energy spanning ten jia cycles.
Ten jia cycles—so-called six hundred years of internal energy.
Even those in the Transformation Realm with five jia cycles were said to have surpassed the human realm and entered that of the divine.
After all, upon reaching the Transformation Realm, aging stopped. Vast internal energy no longer permitted deterioration.
The already-slow aging of a martial artist halted entirely.
That was why the martial world warned people to beware of the young.
The saying that one who looked young was not necessarily young was born because of Transformation Realm masters.
If five jia cycles were like that, what more needed to be said of the Manifestation Realm with ten jia cycles?
It did not rely halt aging—wrinkles vanished, teeth regrew, and hair turned black once more.
A form of rejuvenation.
It was not literal youth as described in storybooks, but the change in appearance was enough to be perceived that way.
The state in which one could discern the will of the heavens simply by observing the movent of the constellations—that, too, was the Manifestation Realm.
Not just in words, but truly stepping into the realm of the divine.
And Yul Han stood upon that realm.
He steadied his breath and gathered his internal energy.
A thousand years?
Wooooong.
Drawing in everything, Yul Han’s internal energy surged and circulated throughout his entire body.
It was full power deploynt—sothing he had not attempted even once since his regression.
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