Volcanic Age-Chapter 418: Seven Stars, Blessed Existence (2)

Volcanic Age-Chapter 418: Seven Stars, Blessed Existence (2)

The Murim Alliance was divided into two.
While the main force of the eight thousand faced the Dark Heavens Association Army at the main gate, a detachment of two thousand led by Zhou Xuchuan entered the bamboo forest.
"Since the Martial Alliance Leader and the Evil Valley Master have already spoken to you on my behalf, I won’t say anything more. Let’s go," Zhou Xuchuan said.
About half an hour had passed since they entered, but their movements weren’t especially fast.
"The nature formation in front of us is no longer a secret known only to the Zhuge Family. Considering Blessed Existence isn’t just a master of strategy but also skilled in formation arts, there’s a high chance he’s tampered with it and reactivated the formation," Zhuge Xiuluan explained.
And just as she said, it was true.
While it may have been too much to completely dismantle and rebuild the entire formation from scratch, modifying or changing it to some extent wasn’t impossible.
It wasn't something that could be done overnight, but it had been quite some time since the Dark Heavens Association had raised its flag at the Martial Alliance headquarters, so it was certainly possible.
"Even though it might take more time, we'll be moving carefully."
Though she mentioned delays, their pace wasn’t slow. As a genius in both strategy and formations, Zhuge Xiuluan was able to lead them through relatively unharmed. Had anyone else been in charge, they might still be standing at the entrance, unable to find a way in.
"Be on guard from all sides."
Zhou Xuchuan prepared for any movement.
The special forces were also on high alert.
The atmosphere was heavy with tension. The thought of entering the enemy's stronghold filled the air with unease.
Some might call such caution excessive, but the fact that not a single one of them made a mistake was proof of why they were called a special force.
Everyone knew that the enemy was sensitive to sound, so they kept silent without saying a word.
Just like the calm before a storm, the eerie silence continued until a sharp sound split the air.
Shing!
"You dare!"
Zhou Xuchuan quickly drew his sword. He struck down the dagger that had flown toward him without even a glint of light, its blade so dark that not even the sunlight reflected off it.
Clang!
"The enemy!" The special forces shouted in surprise.
"Where are they?"
"In front!"
"Behind!"
"They're here too!"
"They're everywhere!"
Their field of vision was limited. However, despite the fact that they were stuck in the enemy's jaws, there was no sign of panic.
As if to prove that they hadn't survived this long for no reason, they calmly assessed their surroundings and ed.
"Young Lady Zhuge! What should we do?"
The advice of a tactician and formation master was needed.
"The dragon veins of the land are tangled with the eight gates."
Zhuge Xiuluan’s delicate brows furrowed.
"Explain it simply!" Zhou Xuchuan shouted as he cut off one of the Seven Stars Division soldiers' heads.
"It will take some time to find the life gate and break through it."
"Can't we break through it?" Luo Xiaoyue dodged an incoming sword, spun gracefully, and pierced her enemy’s heart.
"This is a nature formation that's been in existence since the founding of the Martial Alliance Headquarters in Hefei. It won't be easy to break through it. Moreover, even if we were to try, it would take too much time…"
"It's useless."
Zhuge Xiuluan's words were interrupted by someone.
"What
is
that?!"
When he absentmindedly raised his head to find the owner of the voice, a warrior from the Martial Alliance let out a startled cry.
It wasn’t just one person who cried out. Gasps and shouts rose from all directions as people held their breath in alarm.
"A-a shadow?"
It wasn't an ordinary shadow. A shadow several dozen feet tall appeared before their eyes, reminiscent of a giant from mythology.
As soon as Zhou Xuchuan saw the shadow, he curled his thumb and middle finger into a circle and flicked it with full force, sending out a purple light.
One of the few Flicking Finger Arts of the Mount Hua Sect, the Violet Haze Finger, sliced through the air like a meteor and struck the shadow.
"Zhuge Xiuluan. Not only strategy, but you're also good at formations. You really do live up to your reputation. Even though this formation was designed by the Zhuge Family, you saw through how I twisted it in a single breath. How impressive."
Underneath the gigantic shadow, a one-armed scholar slowly stepped forward.
As soon as Zhou Xuchuan saw him, he half-curled his five fingers again, and then straightened them out at the same time.
Qi, condensed at his fingertips, shot out like arrows toward the scholar at dazzling speed.
Bang!!
However, none of the five rays of qi reached the scholar.
No, they passed through him and shattered the poor bamboo behind him.
"I waited. And waited some more."
The scholar's fist trembled slightly. He bit his lip, then released it. His emotions grew intense, and the illusion of the harmony of all things distorted into a hazy white, then returned to its original state.
"Zhou Xuchuan."
It was a name that he could never forget.
When he closed his eyes, the man's face came to mind before his parents or even the Association Lord. He imagined killing the man tens, hundreds, thousands of times.
The one who had destroyed the Association he spent his life building. His greatest enemy, a man whose death wouldn’t satisfy him even if he were torn to pieces.
If only it weren't for this man…
Zhou Xuchuan clenched his fists when he saw Blessed Existence.
Despite this being his second life, there were still many victims. Even with knowledge of the future, he hadn’t been able to prevent the tragedy.
Forget about the Righteous, Evil, Demonic.
The heavens, the
murim
, had been trapped in the palm of a single man.
And now, that man stood right in front of him.
"Blessed Existence!"
The world sent three geniuses to the Zhuge Family.
However, there was still Blessed Existence in the
murim.
Quickly!
Zhuge Xiuluan immediately focused on finding a breakthrough. The enemy in front of her left no time for hesitation.
Her grandfather’s face flashed in her mind, but she shook it off immediately.
She thought harder. She used all her knowledge to find a way to escape the nature formation.
"Agh!"
"Ugh!"
"Kill them!"
Meanwhile, the fierce battle around her resumed.
If their enemy had been anyone other than the Dark Heavens Association, they wouldn't have fought immediately.
However, the Dark Heavens Association didn't allow for even the slightest opening. If they were to hesitate or even stop for a single moment, the Association would take advantage of that gap and threaten them.
At the center of it all, only two men faced each other.
"Is this the second time?" Zhou Xuchuan asked.
"Yes. But this is the first time we've met face to face."
During the Great War of Good and Demonic, Zhou Xuchuan knew that Blessed Existence was in charge of the Demon Cult's military command, so he had figured out his location.
However, he didn't see the strategist in person. He had been preoccupied with the Demon Cult's forces and the Heavenly Demon, and Blessed Existence had been too meticulous to be caught.
While Blessed Existence had seen Zhou Xuchuan's face from afar then, this was the first time he had seen it up close.
Even now, remembering that time, his chest tightened. His breath grew heavy and his head throbbed.
He had been furious that Zhou Xuchuan had survived. He knew he shouldn't let his true feelings be seen, but he still yelled at him.
"Zhou Xuchuan, if only I could tear you to pieces right now."
"Go ahead and do it if you can," Zhou Xuchuan answered in a calm tone.
Where is he?
At first glance, it seemed like he was concentrating on his conversation with Blessed Existence, but it was a trick.
He was busy looking for the real one, not the illusion. It was just that he wasn't looking around with his eyes.
When the Violet Haze Finger pierced the haze, it wasn't shaken. So at the very least, it's not Dui.
[1]
Formation arts were a skill of humanity that involved merging into harmony in all things. The beginning of the fundamental formations were the Nine Palaces, the Eight Trigrams. Nature formations on the other hand, were based on the Eight Trigrams and used them as tools to achieve harmony.
For example, Xun created wind.[2] Dui shook like the surface of a pond, creating optical illusions.
Zhou Xuchuan recalled the knowledge he had seen in books in the past and what he had heard from Zhuge Xiuluan, and searched for the real body of Blessed Existence.
"What grudge do you have against me that you keep interfering with my plans?" Blessed Existence growled softly.
"Think back on what you've done so far," Zhou Xuchuan replied with a cold expression.
"Blessed Existence, there was something I wanted to ask when I saw you."
While part of his question was to buy time, it wasn't the only purpose. It was also out of genuine curiosity.
"What?"
Zhou Xuchuan met his gaze and asked.
"Why? Why do you want to overturn the
murim
?"
The Dark Heavens Association was originally a group that ran away and hid from the Ming Emperor. And they had been successful in doing that.
The officials had disappeared from this world without a trace, and it had seemed that the Dark Heavens Association would disappear into the darkness.
However, for some reason, they suddenly started interfering with the
murim.
In fact, it had been the Dark Heavens Association Lord who had been left behind.
"Why, Blessed Existence?"
The Dark Heavens Association Lord had resumed his activities, starting with Blessed Existence and Destructive Soldier. Among them, Blessed Existence was a particularly important figure.
He set up and coordinated everything on behalf of the Dark Heavens Association Lord, the embodiment of power.
Zhou Xuchuan was curious about the reason.
In the case of Destructive Soldier, he was tired of a life of war, like Meng Gang. He had decided to join the struggle to escape his hell.
"Why?"
Blessed Existence laughed at Zhou Xuchuan's question.
"Hahahahahaha!"
He laughed louder.
"The more I think about you martial artists or those of you from the
murim
, the more ridiculous you all seem."
Zhou Xuchuan listened to Blessed Existence's words.
"Then let me ask you something. Why do people in the
murim
like to fight so much?"
Blessed Existence's eyes were filled with contempt.
"Do you know why the civil war between the Miao Family Sword Gate and the Flashing Waterfall Saber Gate started? It was martial arts! Dozens and hundreds of people died simply because of trivial reasons like someone believing sword arts were the best or saber arts were the best!"
"..."
"It's not just that, either. The
murim
has been fighting and taking lives for reasons that are absolutely ridiculous for a long time. Can't you see it just by looking at the Righteous and Evil Factions? Conflicts about ideologies and beliefs? Stop talking nonsense."
Blessed Existence laughed as if it was ridiculous.
"What, are you asking why I'm trying to turn such a
murim
, in which millions of people have died and have been slaughtered for such shitty reasons, upside down?"
The smile on his lips vanished.
"Do you know what my first thought was when I researched this history stained with violence in order to conquer the
murim
?"
Zhou Xuchuan didn't answer Blessed Existence's question.
"Really? They really fought for such reasons?"
Agh!!!
Screams echoed all around him.
"Good, Zhou Xuchuan. Since you made me laugh, I will give you the truthful answer to that question this time without any tricks."
Blessed Existence's voice became serious.
"There was once a scholar named Lu Cun who dreamed of an ideal. He not only returned home in glory, but also punished those who were corrupt and greedy without a cause and ruined the country, and worked to save the people. He thought that if he studied hard without giving up, he would one day achieve his dream. However, when he set foot in the palace, it didn't take long for him to realize that his dream was in vain."
His eyes were filled with anger. His voice was filled with deep disgust.
"There was no world where a scholar from humble origins could achieve his dream. If you were from humble origins, you were discriminated against. If you couldn’t afford a bribe, you weren’t even treated properly. If you spoke the truth or pointed out injustice, you lost your head.
"I watched those who once dreamed together slowly decay due to fear and despair. That's when I gave up everything and let my abilities rot away. But then, that person appeared."
Blessed Existence spoke as if lost in reminiscence.
"The only one left in the Dark Heavens Association, the Dark Heavens Association Lord."
1. The second of the eight trigrams, ☱. ☜
2. ☴, the fifth of the eight trigrams. ☜

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Chapter 418: Seven Stars, Blessed Existence (2)