Thunder God's Reincarnation-Chapter 36
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Chapter 36
After escaping Huangfu Mingās pursuit, Baek Mu-Gun passed through the Thousand Pine Forestās trap array with the Thunder God's Heavenly Eyes and returned safely back to his residence in the Heavenly Underground Cave. Upon entering, he found Seonwoo Kang and Shangguan Bihe waiting for him. The two breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Mu-Gun unscathed.
āAre you hurt anywhere?ā Seonwoo Kang asked.
āAs you can see, Iām fine.ā
āThatās a relief. You have no idea how worried I was. How did it go?ā
āIt went as planned. They probably wonāt be able to break through the trap array for a while.ā
āI donāt know what I would have done without you, Brother Mu-Gun.ā
āItās all thanks to Young Master Baek that I can be together with Brother Seonwoo like this too.ā
āThatās right. If it wasnāt for you, I wouldnāt have been able to prevent the Great Huangfu Familyās warriors from taking Sister Bihe away back then.ā
āCome to think of it, Iām a major contributor to protecting your love. I should ask for a nice set of outfit later on.ā
āWhatās one set? Iād be willing to give you ten sets.ā
āItās fine, Iām just kidding. Iāll be contented if the two of you live happily together.ā
āIām worried this incident with the Great Huangfu Family will cause problems for your family, though.ā
āYou donāt have to worry about that. Itāll be hard for them to figure out who I am anyway. Even if they did, they wonāt be able to make a move easily given the far distance.ā
āIām glad to hear that.ā
āIf youāre so worried, why donāt you provide some support from the Medicine King Family?ā
āHow?ā
āBy getting the Medicine King Family to provide medicinal pills so that the Baek Sword Sectās martial artists can become strong as soon as possible.ā
āHmm, thatās not something I can decide on, so I donāt think I can give you the answer you want.ā
āIām not asking you to decide right away. Iām asking you to bring this up to Patriarch Seonwoo later if possible.ā
āOkay, Iāll try talking to him. However, we act with discretion when providing medicinal pills to a certain family in murim, so I donāt think Father will simply allow it.ā
āDonāt worry. I wonāt bear a grudge against you even if Patriarch Seonwoo refuses.ā
The Medicine King Family tried not to intervene in the affairs of murim whenever possible. If their medicinal pills became renowned, they would become a target in murim. In fact, the Medicine King Family providing the Thunder Godās successor with the Divine Thunder Essence Pill was an unprecedented case.
However, whether they wanted it or not, the Medicine King Family had become entangled with the Great Huangfu Family, one of the forces in murim. In addition, the only people willing to protect the Medicine King Family from the Great Huangfu Familyās threat were Mu-Gun and the Baek Sword Sect.
For the Medicine King Familyās safety, the Baek Sword Sect had to increase its power. However, the formerās support was needed to do that. If the Medicine King Family recognized that point, they would consider supporting the Baek Sword Sect with medicinal pills. In addition, if the Nine Celestial Demons Sectās existence were revealed, the possibility of that happening would be even higher.
***
Meanwhile, the Great Huangfu Family devoted all their efforts to looking for a new array master when their array master died in Mu-Gunās hands. However, doing so was not as simple as they thought.
Array masters wouldnāt wait for the Great Huangfu Family to summon them. Furthermore, not all array masters were the same. While their skills were all of different levels, only those with considerable skills could break through the Thousand Pine Valleyās trap array. However, a skillful array master was rarer and harder to find than a skilled martial artist.
The Great Huangfu Family searched everywhere for several days, but they failed to find a talented array master. Eventually, they turned to the Hebei Peng Family for help. It would have been better to ask for help from the Great Zhuge Family, who were renowned to be the best in array techniques, but they were too far away.
Hence, the Great Huangfu Family instead requested the support of the Hebei Peng Familyās array masters, who were closest in proximity to them. However, they hadnāt received a reply yet even though it had been a few days since they sent a pigeon message.
Unable to overcome his frustration, Huangfu Jun summoned Huangfu Ren and asked him, āIs there still no news from the Hebei Peng Family?ā
āThere hasnāt been any response yet. Theyād probably only make a decision after confirming the reason why we need their array masters.ā
āSome people really hate seeing others do well.ā Huangfu Jun frowned.
Array masters were usually needed during the discovery of former mastersā legacies. Hence, it was highly likely that the Hebei Peng Family was trying to delay sending their array masters on the off chance that doing so would help the Great Huangfu Family obtain the legacy of a great master.
The Seven Great Clans were tied together with the Seven Saints Alliance, but they were ultimately competitors. They wouldnāt want other families to get ahead.
āIāll send a pigeon message again to urge them.ā
āYes, do that. What about the situation at the Thousand Pine Forest?ā
āWeāre trying to look for an entrance other than the Thousand Pine Forest, but we havenāt been able to find anything in particular.ā
āA smart rabbit has three homes. They likely dug another entrance, considering they had hidden their home this much. Spare no effort in locating it.ā
The Great Huangfu Family interrogated the Jinan Medical Clinic members but failed to identify the Medicine King Family. However, they did discover that Seonwoo Kang was a descendant of a family that had been living in Mount Tai and studying herbs and spiritual herbs for generations.
Mount Tai was not far from Jinan, where the Great Huangfu Family was based. Nevertheless, the Great Huangfu Family never caught wind of their presence.
They werenāt just staying in some random location. Rather, they had been living within the home ground of the Great Huangfu Family. Just the fact that they could live under the Great Huangfu Familyās noses made their meticulousness and stealthiness as plain as day. Those people wouldnāt have come unprepared. Hence, there was a need for a thorough investigation.
āUnderstood. I also received reports from the members I sent to the Great Sima Family.ā
āWhat did they say?ā
āFor starters, it seems true that the young patriarch of the Great Sima Family, Sima Bi is currently away on a trip.ā freew(e)bnovel.(c)om
āWhatās the destination and reason for the trip?ā
āThey werenāt able to confirm that.ā
āWhat about Sima Biās composite sketch?ā
āWell, itās not easy to find someone familiar with Sima Biās face.ā
āDoes that make sense to you? That man is the Great Sima Clanās young patriarch. Lots of people should know what he looks like.ā
āThatās usually the case, but Sima Bi hasnāt done any external activities in the past decade.ā
āAre you saying he's been cooped up in a small room for ten years without doing anything?ā
āItās known that over the past decade, he frequently entered into closed-door training and focused on honing his martial arts. Due to that, there have been rumors circulating around stating that the level of his martial art is very high.ā
āIf so, we canāt rule out the possibility that the person who broke Shengās arm was Sima Bi, can we?ā
āItās not entirely impossible, but I honestly doubt it.ā
āWhyās that?ā
āEven if the Great Sima Familyās forces had grown rapidly over the past decade, theyāre still nowhere near the Seven Great Clans. It wouldnāt make sense for him to reveal his identity like that either unless the power of the Great Sima Family is much stronger than what is known.ā
āAre you implying that someone deliberately used Sima Biās name to create a conflict between us and the Great Sima Family?ā
āYes. I have found a piece of evidence to support that theory. Someone allegedly annihilated the Great Sima Familyās Flying Lion Platoon in Nanjing.ā
āIn Nanjing?ā
āThe Great Sima Familyās Flying Lion Platoon were occupying the Sky Flower House for some reason, but they seemed to have been obliterated by an unidentified individual.ā
āIsnāt Sky Flower House a brothel?ā
āYes.ā
āWhatās there to gain from a brothel?ā
āI couldnāt confirm that much. However, the Flying Lion Platoon wouldnāt have moved just to obtain a brothel.ā
āThat aside, did you just say that the Flying Lion Platoon was annihilated?ā
āYes.ā
āTo summarize, the mysterious figure who destroyed the Great Sima Familyās Flying Lion Platoon may very well be the one who broke Shengās arm?ā
āYes. If you think about it that way, the story would make sense.ā
āBut what grudge does he have against us that he is trying to cause a conflict between us and the Great Sima Family?ā
āEven if he doesnāt have a grudge against us, he could have a grudge against the Great Sima Family. Maybe heās trying to borrow our power to get rid of the Great Sima Family.ā
āIn other words, heās trying to trick us into killing someone else so he wouldnāt have to lift a finger.ā
āThatās right. Furthermore, since he interfered with the Great Huangfu Familyās matters and broke Shengās arms, he likely tried to shift the responsibility to the Great Sima Family in fear of future troubles.ā
āWhat do you think is the possibility that heās also the black-masked man who killed the array masters?ā
āIn my opinion, itās likely the same person.ā
āIn the end, the answer is within the Thousand Pine Valley.ā
āSince weāre on the subject, what do you think about sending extra Peak Realm masters?ā
āSending additional Peak Realm masters?ā
āI think Ming will find it difficult to catch him alone.ā
āHmm, if weāre going to do it, we should do it with certainty. Send Kuan and Juan.ā
āUnderstood.ā
The Great Huangfu Family sent Huangfu Kuan and Huangfu Juan as additional support to the Thousand Pine Valley. Like Huangfu Ming, Huangfu Kuan and Huangfu Juan did not make it into the rankings of the Ten Heavenly King Fists, but they both boasted strength in the Peak Realm.
The addition of two Peak Realm masters following Huangfu Ming further threatened the Medicine King Family. However, as long as they couldnāt break through the Thousand Pine Valleyās trap array, it was useless no matter how many Peak Realm masters came.
***
Fifteen days had passed since Mu-Gun killed the two array masters. So far, the Great Huangfu Family had not been able to break through the Thousand Pine Valleyās trap array. Since they hadnāt made any movements to examine the trap array yet, they probably still couldnāt find an array master.
There were ten days left until the Medicine King Family could finish refining the Divine Thunder Essence Pill. If Mu-Gun could hold out for another ten days, heād be able to take the Divine Thunder Essence Pill and enhance his internal energy. After that, he was confident heād be able to stop anyone from the Great Huangfu Family.
The key issue was that he had to hold out for ten days. Mu-Gun went to the Thousand Pine Forest several times a day to check if the Great Huangfu Family was examining the array formation. It took seven days and nights before he finally found people examining the array formation of the Thousand Pine Forest. They were the array masters sent by the Hebei Peng Family.
After delaying their response, the Hebei Peng Family finally sent their array masters on the condition that they would receive the Black Iron that the Great Huangfu Family procured with difficulty. Upon confirming that the array masters were examining the array formation, Mu-Gun immediately returned to the Heavenly Underground Cave and met Seonwoo Pyo.
āDid you visit the Thousand Pine Forest again?ā Seonwoo Pyo asked.
āYes. It seems like they managed to recruit array masters.ā
āThatās bad news. How about eliminating them just like you did last time?ā
Mu-Gun pondered for a brief moment before answering, āI donāt think doing thatās going to be easy. There are masters stuck next to the array masters, and I suspect that theyāre of the Peak Realm. Also, since theyāve been had once, theyāll be thoroughly prepared this time.ā
āThen what should we do? If we leave them as it is, theyāll likely enter this place in a few days.ā
āHow long until the Divine Thunder Essence Pillās refinement is completed?ā
āWe still have to wait three more days.ā
āThatās cutting it really close.ā
āIāll try to hasten the process as much as I can.ā
āUnderstood.ā
It was a fight against time now. It would be fortunate if the Divine Thunder Essence Pill were completed before their enemies could break through the Thousand Pine Maze Array, but if the opposite happened, they would be faced with the worst-case scenario.
It was also difficult to escape from the Heavenly Underground Cave before the warriors of the Great Huangfu Family could storm in. Contrary to Huangfu Junās expectations, the Thousand Pine Valley was the only entrance to the Heavenly Underground Cave.
For as long as the Great Huangfu Familyās martial artists were blocking the Thousand Pine Valleyās entrance, escaping from the Heavenly Underground Cave would be hard. Moreover, they couldnāt stop the Divine Thunder Essence Pill's refinement process halfway through to leave. If they did, all the precious spiritual herbs that they had used would go to waste.
Regardless of what would happen, they would have to wait until the Divine Thunder Essence Pill was completed. Although their situation wasnāt ideal, Mu-Gun remained relaxed. He was confident that he could somehow stop the Great Huangfu Familyās martial artists camping outside the Thousand Pine Valleyās entrance.
If that were the case, the Divine Thunder Essence Pill being refined in time and enhancing his internal energy would just be icing on the cake. While both the Great Huangfu Family and the Medicine King Family focused all their efforts to break through the array formation and finish refining the Divine Thunder Essence Pill respectively, three days passed.
The Great Huangfu Family was the first to achieve their objective. Learning from their previous mistakes, the Great Huangfu Family gave all their might to protect the array masters this time until they could destroy the Thousand Pine Valleyās trap array. Just like that, they penetrated the Thousand Pine Maze Array on the third day.
News of that was immediately conveyed to the Heavenly Underground Cave. Now that they had broken through the Thousand Pine Maze Array and entered the Thousand Pine Valley, it wouldnāt be that difficult to find the entrance to the Heavenly Underground Cave. In a brief moment, the Great Huangfu Familyās warriors would storm into the Heavenly Underground Cave.
āHow long until the Divine Thunder Essence Pill is completed?ā Mu-Gun asked, retaining his composure despite the circumstances.
āIt will take half a day more.ā
āPlease finish the refinement of the Divine Thunder Essence Pill, Patriarch Seonwoo. Iāll stop the warriors of the Great Huangfu Family.ā
āCan you do it alone? Didnāt you say that they had three Peak Realm masters in their group?ā Seonwoo Pyo expressed his concerns upon hearing Mu-Gunās words.
āDid you forget who I am?ā
āOf course, I know how strong the Thunder Godās successor is. However, you have yet to consume the Divine Thunder Essence Pill.ā
āA tiger is still a tiger even if itās yet to grow, so donāt worry and just focus on what you have to do, Patriarch.ā
At Mu-Gunās confident remarks, Seonwoo Pyo recalled the face of Guyang Hwi, the predecessor of the Thunder Godās successor. The more he looked at him, the more he thought that Mu-Gun was like Guyang Hwi.
It wasnāt just once or twice that he felt like Guyang Hwi had returned to life. Guyang Hwi was a man of his word. Upon thinking that Mu-Gun would be no different, Seonwoo Pyoās uneasiness disappeared as if it never existed in the first place.
His belief in Mu-Gun became firm.
āIāll leave it to you, then.ā Seonwoo Pyo said with a trusting smile.
Mu-Gun briefly nodded. He then headed to the entrance of the Heavenly Underground Cave to prevent the advance of the Great Huangfu Familyās martial artists.