Chapter 562 - 359: The Baleful Surge

Inside South Mansion City, in the areas surrounding the Twelve Pillars, were several inconspicuous locations far from the main battle zones.

These places were hidden within private residences, in the back kitchens of small shops, or in the secluded corners of mansion courtyards. In each spot, pillars about half a man’s height and as thick as an arm, covered in blood-red patterns, were buried deep in the ground. Around these pillars, circles of twisted talismans had been drawn with viscous, crimson blood.

Yin Tower Believers, dressed as commoners, stood guard beside the pillars, monitoring their surroundings as they waited in silence.

The Yin Tower Organization’s large-scale offensive against the Twelve Pillars was, in reality, just a feint. Their true objective wasn’t to capture one of the Pillars, but to complete the arrangements in these inconspicuous locations.

The South Mansion’s Grand Array used man-made rivers to imitate the twelve meridians of the human body, channeling the underground Evil Qi and using the Twelve Pillars to suppress its backlash. But because of this design, the mysteries of the Earth Veins were even more profound than those of the human body.

Just as acupoints on the sole of the foot connect to the internal organs in the chest, so too did the Earth Veins have their own connections. However, the workings of the Earth Veins were so subtle that even an Array expert would struggle to perceive them. They involved a multitude of factors, from celestial timing to terrestrial advantage, pushing the very limits of understanding.

But Celestial Derivation could. He was confident that when it came to insight and perception of the Earth Veins and their Evil Qi, few in the entire history of this world could compare to him.

All it took was a slight nudge in a few inconspicuous places to activate the underground Evil Qi and, in a short time, shatter the suppression of the Twelve Pillars.

Although the effect wouldn’t last long, the resulting chaos and the temporary breach in the South Mansion’s Grand Array would be more than enough time for them to accomplish a great deal.

BUZZ!!

As Celestial Derivation’s Technique activated, the crimson blood talismans on the ground began to swirl in the eight locations where the Array Points were complete. They shifted and merged like the components of a Compass. The patterns on the pillars erupted in a brilliant light that spread outward, forming sharp spikes that plunged violently into the earth.

RUMBLE!! RUMBLE!!

The ground began to tremble. With the eight Array Points scattered across South Mansion, the Vibration quickly spread until the entire city was shaking. The golden light barrier in the sky rippled and distorted in response.

At the central point of the Twelve Pillars, upon a Magic Altar.

An Elder of the Celestial Nine Pavilion, seated cross-legged amidst the array patterns, felt his pupils contract. His entire body trembled, and a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth.

’To pull one string is to move the whole board... So their true objective was this all along! But the Evil Qi here has been suppressed for over a hundred years, and they couldn’t have investigated the city’s Earth Veins without alerting us. Even I couldn’t calculate the vulnerabilities, yet they somehow...!’

"This is bad, very bad! Someone, send a report at once! The underground Evil Qi... it’s about to erupt! Tell all sectors to prepare for impact!"

The Celestial Nine Pavilion Elder wiped the blood from his mouth and roared.

Meanwhile, somewhere outside South Mansion, the Jiuyin Child, who had been using his Nine Yin ability to communicate with the underground Evil Qi, saw that his opportunity had finally arrived.

’It seems Celestial Derivation and Zhu Xie have succeeded. The underground Evil Qi is erupting, and the Twelve Pillars can no longer contain it. It’s time for me to add some fuel to the fire.’

The Jiuyin Child chuckled to himself. "The battle of Heqing Dao... the War Monarch’s Ghost Gate Twelve Riders... I wonder how much strength you all have left after being suppressed for so many years?"

"Awaken! Your battle with the Great Wei is not over yet!!!"

Years ago, the battle of Heqing Dao was a conflict that decided the fate of the world. War Monarch Pan Rui used a Northern Shaman Technique to transform the land of South Mansion into a place of great malevolence, cultivating Undying Ghost Soldiers and Generals who were connected to the underground Evil Qi.

To ensure these Ghost Soldiers and Generals would obey his commands, he had twelve of his greatest generals abandon their Flesh Bodies and become Yin General Ghost Monarchs, commanders of the evil host.

These twelve were known as the Ghost Gate Twelve Riders.

Back then, by harnessing the power of the underground Evil Qi, all twelve of them possessed combat prowess on par with Divine Techniques. Furthermore, as long as the Earth Demon Qi was not eliminated, they were effectively immortal; even if killed, they would simply reform within its depths.

In that battle, the Ghost Gate Twelve Riders inflicted devastating losses upon the Great Wei army. Their presence also made it exceptionally difficult to later seal South Mansion’s Earth Demon Qi. Indeed, part of the reason for erecting the Twelve Pillars within the city was to suppress each of these twelve riders individually.

Over a hundred years had passed since, and they had been continuously weakened by South Mansion’s Array. No one knew how much strength these twelve Ghost Generals still possessed.

Within the city, at one of the Twelve Pillars.

The Pillar stood at the bottom of the man-made river, and the surrounding area was sealed off. Five squads, a total of twenty experts at the peak of the Sensing realm, along with a host of masters from the Refining the Internal Organs realm, stood guard, not daring to let their attention waver for an instant.

Although there were no Innate Experts among the guards, the defenses were formidable. The area around the Twelve Pillars was a convergence point for the Power of Human Dao Incense. By drawing upon this power, the peak-Sensing experts could unleash even greater strength. Under the combined defense of so many, even a powerful Innate Martial Artist who tried to force their way in would most likely perish on the spot.

The reason the Great Wei army had been able to sweep across the land was not because of its sheer number of powerful experts. In fact, the masters under the command of Great Wei’s Grand Ancestor were no match for those serving War Monarch Pan Rui. The War Monarch himself stood at the very pinnacle of the world, his personal combat prowess unmatched by anyone.

But in the end, it was the Grand Ancestor of Great Wei who conquered the world. This was because, empowered by the Power of Incense, Great Wei’s military formations could slay even Divine Demons.

A group of disciples from the Red Heart Sect, all in the Refining the Internal Organs realm and led by Wen Chang’an, were also standing guard around this particular Pillar.