C15 Karma

A week ago, Yang Huang consulted the Eight Trigrams for a divination, and it yielded only two words: Chen Min. Despite his confusion, he understood the necessity of his journey to Dragon Tiger Mountain, so he set off for the Jiangxi region by car.

Upon arrival at Dragon Tiger Mountain, he sensed something extraordinary. His recent cultivation of the Void Step Array Dao Talisman Divination Record had honed his sensitivity to array formations and talismans, and he immediately perceived the complexity of the mountain.

Indeed, once within the mountain's bounds, he was assailed by a dizzying pressure. Thankfully, his inner strength was formidable, and he resisted the disorientation. Using human blood, he baited three Remnant Devils and continued driving. His flight led him, without direction, to a place known as Chen Village.

The old man seated at the village entrance was clearly no ordinary individual. He seemed to hover between the ethereal and the tangible, leading Yang Huang to surmise he was a Spirit Body.

Upon smoothly entering Chen Village, Yang Huang found himself staying at the home of a girl named Chen Min. He didn't believe in such perfect coincidences, so he concluded that Chen Min had an agenda likely tied to his own.

It didn't take long for him to deduce that Chen Min was at the heart of everything in Chen Village. Without her, the Eight Trigrams would not have directed him here. He even ventured to guess that aside from Chen Min, nothing in this place was genuinely real.

The village elder might offer a way forward, he thought, so he endeavored to curry favor with the old man. After a few days of interaction, Yang Huang was almost certain that the elder was not merely a sentinel for Chen Village but was here to guard something of significance.

What was he protecting? Perhaps it was the very secret behind Yang Huang's visit to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Days passed, and Evolvers began to arrive, infiltrating Chen Village and lying in wait. Yang Huang understood that they were not merely entering the village but stepping into an array that linked directly to the ley lines of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

If they had entered an array, Yang Huang could almost surmise that Chen Village was merely a part of the array—a fabrication that didn't truly exist.

As a result, he adapted more adeptly to life there. Meanwhile, he covertly reached out to Ding Yuhuan, instructing her to come to Chen Village to assassinate individuals and preserve the corpses of the Evolvers she killed for his own purposes.

Where were the bodies stored?

Yang Huang had prepared for this even before his arrival. During the crafting of talismans, he expended a great deal of resources and effort, creating not just one Mustard Storage Talisman, but two.

The second Mustard Storage Talisman was in Ding Yuhuan's possession.

He led a tranquil existence in Chen Village, feasting on evolved beasts and enjoying a rather lush life. It wasn't until Ding Yuhuan finally made her way to Dragon Tiger Mountain and unleashed a bloodbath in Chen Village, claiming the lives of nearly two hundred Evolvers.

This was precisely Yang Huang's intention. But why? It was for an experiment.

After much contemplation, he reasoned that since Dragon Tiger Mountain was enveloped by an array, Chen Village was undoubtedly part of it. If it was indeed an array, there had to be a method to trigger it. Having resided in Chen Village for several days, he noticed its serenity—devoid of conflict or resentment.

Perhaps to expose its true nature, such an idyllic place needed to be disrupted.

Yes, disrupted.

Yang Huang's experiment involved using the stench of blood to unveil the secrets of Chen Village.

What secrets did Chen Village hold? It was a village that existed within an array, so its presence couldn't be without reason.

Working at the Corpses Processing Center, Yang Huang was no stranger to death. He understood that everyone's final wish was for something beautiful. Thus, he daringly speculated that this place might be a nexus for the accumulation of death energy. The reasons for such a gathering could be manifold. Maybe "Chen Village" had once been real, later wiped out in a mass slaughter. It could be a mass grave with thousands of corpses buried beneath. Or perhaps it was the site of a battle, with countless skeletons interred within its soil.

Another detail that reinforced his theory was the elderly man at the village entrance, who persistently advocated for the preservation of Chen Village's tranquility. But he was just an old man—why such a fervent fixation? Perhaps he wasn't even among the living.

Regardless of the conjectures, there needed to be a foundational point. This foundation was the non-existence of Chen Village itself. What formed Chen Village was either the intention of the one who arranged the formation or the Spirit Sense that had emerged after the formation had been in place for many years.

Fortunately, Yang Huang's recent endeavor was a success. On the surface, Chen Village seemed serene, yet in reality, it was a nexus of slaughter and death. Many people must have perished here, or more precisely, the formation had ensnared and claimed numerous lives. Their unrested souls congregated, giving rise to what was known as Chen Village.

Put another way, Chen Village might represent the most cherished desires of those deceased souls.

Having made this breakthrough, Yang Huang could now proceed with greater ease.

Once Ding Yuhuan had slain enough people to trigger the formation's response, the seemingly tranquil Chen Village reverted to its true state, revealing a bloodied long sword and a talisman.

Yang Huang was exceptionally astute. Observing the bloodied sword and the talisman, he surmised that they were not the heart of the Dragon Tiger Mountain formation but rather components of it, responsible for the accumulation of so much malice and deathly aura in Chen Village.

Yang Huang wasn't particularly versed in swords, but he had an affinity for talismans. Faced with the choice between the sword and the talisman, he unhesitatingly opted for the talisman.

With the talisman in hand, clarity dawned upon him.

Why did the name "Chen Min" appear in the context of Chen Village? And what were the odds of Chen Min just happening to be there?

These considerations convinced Yang Huang that there was more to Chen Min than met the eye.

She certainly wasn't just another spirit drawn by the formation.

Resolved to test his theory, he used the talisman from the Blood Sword to seal Chen Min, not anticipating that it would cause her body to disintegrate and free her from the formation.

The instant the talisman touched Chen Min's forehead, Yang Huang realized much.

First and foremost, Chen Min was not as he had speculated; she was neither an integral part of the formation nor a vengeful spirit lured by the formation and Spirit Item. Nor was she the key to unraveling the formation.

Secondly, she was indeed a living person, yet the entity lurking within Chen Village might have been merely a fragment of her consciousness or a subtle imprint of her existence.

Thirdly, Chen Min was no ordinary individual. Her true form possessed immense power, so formidable that even Yang Huang was at a loss on how to contend with it. Furthermore, she wasn't native to this realm, nor was her presence here a deliberate arrangement by the creator of the formation. Her appearance undoubtedly served her own agenda.

From the manner in which she departed, it was apparent that she had fulfilled her purpose for remaining here.

Enshrouded within Chen Min's body, or more precisely, within a wisp of her consciousness, lay a blood-red stone.

If Yang Huang's speculation was accurate, this stone was the key to unlocking the fortunes of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

It's possible that the fortunes within Dragon Tiger Mountain were tied to the array that shrouded it. Alternatively, there might be no fortunes at Dragon Tiger Mountain at all, and everything could be a meticulously designed snare by those who came before.

Regardless of whether it was a snare or a genuine opportunity, Yang Huang, now deeply involved, could not extricate himself from the situation. Even if it were a trap, he was resolved to face it with composure.