I Prayed for a Murim Reincarnation, But I Was Born as the Youngest Imperial Prince - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 108
Having already received reports from his subordinate that Yaxian had departed, Mandok Mazon smiled with deep satisfaction.
“Hooked at last.”
“Your Eminence’s ingenuity is so profound it could deceive Heaven itself, so how could a mere medic like Yaxian possibly escape it? Allow me to offer my congratulations.”
The subordinate’s blatant flattery only widened Mandok Mazon’s grin.
While sycophancy could feel grating at times, it was always pleasant to hear when he knew himself that he had executed a plan flawlessly.
“But you say the Three Dragons accompanied him as well, not just Yaxian?”
“Yes. They reportedly tagged along under the guise of escorting Yaxian while engaging in a scholastic dialogue on medicine along the way.”
“Hahaha! This is even better.”
Yaxian alone was already a grand sacrifice.
Having the Three Dragons added to the altar made it an incomparable bounty.
If they were true dragons, it would be a monumental celebration, but that was nothing more than an impossible dream.
Still, breaking the future of those hailed as dragons in the Wulin was highly gratifying.
Should even one of the three turn their heart and submit to the Demon God, that too would be a glorious occasion.
“The stars are aligned.”
“Indeed. To ensnare four with a single ruse is a feat of divine and miraculous strategy that even Sima Zhongda himself could never hope to achieve.”
“Kakah! Things are simply falling into place. It wasn’t as if I designed this snare with those three in mind.”
“Is it not the flow of Demonic Fortune?”
“Quite so. Everything progresses smoothly when destiny wills it.”
Both Jinguo Manei of the Manoe Faction and Mashu Xuesheng had recently fallen at the hands of those Three Dragons.
‘Jinguo Manei’s defeat was a particularly bitter pill to swallow.’
The plan had been to annihilate the Zhuge Clan, announcing the return of the Demons to the world and etching true terror into the hearts of all.
Instead, the Imperial Court had utilized prior intelligence to wipe out Jinguo Manei, resulting in the world singing the praises of the Imperial Court even louder.
In the end, the Imperial Court had simply countered their plot by practicing Zhangjie Qujie.
‘Where could the leak have come from…? That fool Jinguo Manei couldn’t even manage his own subordinates properly, allowing his tail to be caught so easily. What a pathetic end.’
Because of his brilliant schemes, he had overlooked the man’s arrogance in claiming equal status despite not reaching the Realm of Creation, but to meet such an absurd demise was embarrassing.
It felt like a waste of all the high regard he had been given.
‘Yet, I shall exact your vengeance for you.’
The Chivalrous Dragon and the Sword Dragon.
And the Earth Dragon of Zhuge.
The three of them would more than suffice to settle the immense debt owed to the Manoe Faction.
“You must keep a vigilant watch on how far the bastards have advanced.”
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
“I would like to step forth personally, but…”
He ground his teeth.
If he left the Hidden Demon Seclusion Formidable Array now, his Demonic Qi would bleed out into the surroundings, alerting them from afar.
If that happened and the four of them sensed it, they would flee rather than approach, ruining a perfectly set table.
The restrictive seal placed upon the Eight Demon Sovereigns.
Because the Great Barrier of the Heavenly Dragon covering the empire rejected their inherent Demonic Qi, it made concealing their presence covertly an arduous task.
Although he and the other Seven Great Demonic Venerables prided themselves on being able to match any of the Top Ten Masters of the Imperial Court or the Wulin, facing all of them at once was out of the question.
Furthermore, their overwhelming Demonic Qi was incredibly easy to detect from a distance.
It was no different from actively inviting a subjugation army to their doorstep.
Therefore, they had to lure the enemy to a remote place like this, or entirely plan out the means to vanish again after instantaneously wiping out a target, just as they had attempted with the Zhuge Clan.
Inside the Hidden Demon Seclusion Formidable Array, they could lie in wait while evading the Heavenly Dragon’s seal, but the moment he stepped outside, the entire world would know his location from five miles away.
They hadn’t deployed an inescapable net of heaven and earth with Demonic Practitioners either, so if Yaxian and the Three Dragons noticed the shift and bolted into hiding, tracking them down would be a grueling ordeal.
Moreover, blindly pursuing them would conversely draw a massive subjugation force directly to his head.
He could easily slaughter an ordinary number of troops, but if the Top Ten Masters of the Imperial Court and the Wulin joined hands to march upon him, even he could not withstand it.
And on the off chance that the Heavenly Dragon himself moved, it would truly mean catastrophe.
‘If only it weren’t for the Heavenly Dragon…’
Regardless, this was the best course of action for now.
‘Once those bastards come before me…’
He would slaughter them in an instant.
Even if the Imperial Court attempted a subjugation after pinpointing his location, it would take considerable time for an actual pursuit force to reach such a remote region.
‘In the meantime, I can perform the Zanma Mixing Dafa to mask my Demonic Qi and move to a sanctuary in another province.’
While the Zanma Mixing Dafa was a grand ritual fraught with flaws and limitations that prevented it from being sustained indefinitely, escaping immediately after finishing the deed would allow him to reach the next safe house.
As a seated member of the Eight Great Demonic Venerables who commanded ten thousand poisons, it was frustrating to bide his time in hiding and flee once more after defeating the enemy, but what choice did he have?
So long as the Heavenly Dragon drew breath and kept his piercing gaze fixed upon the land, this was the optimal path.
‘Phew. Still, using Yaxian and the Three Dragons as sacrifices to tear open a massive Ghost Gate will plunge the entire Hunan Province into utter chaos.’
Under the cover of that chaos, he could quietly return to seclusion and wait for the next opportunity.
It was a strategy of his own making, yet it was turning out absolutely flawless.
‘The era of the Heavenly Dragon will not last much longer.’
The Demon Realm will emerge victorious once more.
The current hardships are merely a brief retreat right before ultimate victory.
On the day the true master of the Demon Realm descends from the north, the Heavenly Dragon will crumble beneath his feet.
A triumph here would bring that day just a little bit closer.
“Should I deploy the subordinates disguised as herb gatherers into the surrounding area to further track their movements?”
“No. This is the only place in the entire region where that medicinal herb grows anyway. Yaxian has no choice but to come here. If anything, it will be troublesome if the subordinates’ Demonic Qi is detected. This is a task for you alone, since you haven’t learned Demonic Arts.”
“I understand, Your Eminence.”
A single mistake could ruin everything.
Mandok Mazon exercised caution after caution to prevent any possibility of failure. He maintained the mindset of a tiger lying in wait, enduring with absolute patience to catch a deer.
* * *
Mandok Mazon had deployed only one member of his entourage—the sole individual untainted by Demonic Arts—as a scout around the mountain area.
Additionally, a few more subordinates trained in Demonic Arts were stationed in ambush at key passing prefectures where Gal U-ryang might pass, but that was the extent of it.
Anxious to make haste, Yaxian and Seonwu’s group frequently bypassed the major prefectures without resting, preferring to camp outdoors and move with rapid speed.
Thus, while the Mazon was certain the four would arrive, he could not ascertain their precise location or exact route.
This was the fundamental difference between the movement of a military unit and a handful of elite masters.
A military force was severely restricted by the availability of provisions and water, as well as roads capable of safely accommodating a large army, but a party consisting of just four elite masters could traverse paths that even merchants avoided.
Furthermore, they could forge a path where none existed if they so desired.
Seonwu’s original intention behind camping out was not simply to take a faster route.
‘By moving like this, even if there is an ambush, they won’t be able to pin down exactly when or where we will appear.’
Going from Fujian Province to Hunan Province was an immense journey; each area was practically the size of an independent kingdom.
When a few elite masters traveled freely while veering away from the designated official highway, tracking their positions was virtually impossible unless an inescapable net of heaven and earth had been cast.
It might be achievable for the Imperial Court, which could mobilize a vast army.
But there was no way the Demonic Practitioners possessed that kind of manpower.
‘However, they must be waiting at the one spot we absolutely have to reach.’
That specific point where an abnormal concealment of spiritual energy was being detected.
That place was highly suspicious.
When Seonwu laid out all the suspicions he had harbored up to this point, Yaxian Gal U-ryang was struck with continuous admiration.
‘Ah, so he didn’t choose such treacherous terrain merely to hurry.’
He had suspected from the beginning and exercised caution from the start.
Of course, all those doubts and precautions could have turned out to be meaningless.
Yet, because he had done so, they had gained the upper hand in the current situation.
‘It wasn’t mere coincidence or luck that allowed him to unearth the conspiracies of Jinguo Manei and Mashu Xuesheng before this.’
While it was said that the Imperial Court’s grace played the largest part regarding Jinguo Manei, perhaps the Chivalrous Dragon’s role had been grander than what was publicly known.
And although it was reported that the Prefect had intervened to reveal the truth behind Mashu Xuesheng, could it be that the Chivalrous Dragon, who humbly claimed to have merely assisted, had actually orchestrated the entire thing?
‘One thing is certain: he is extraordinary.’
With that thoroughness, he would undoubtedly purge many more Demonic Practitioners in the future and rectify the deep-seated corruption within the Wulin.
“Haha, you are truly magnificent. However, if the enemy has gone so far as to station an ambush, their caliber must be extraordinary. Shouldn’t we retreat immediately? It breaks my heart to lose the medicinal herbs… but it means nothing if we throw our lives away in a trap set by the Demons.”
Gal U-ryang desperately wished to save his patient, but he had no intention of blindly marching into a place of certain death for a futile cause.
Save those who can be saved, but step back when it is impossible.
He deeply valued the golden mean.
Seonwu shook his head.
“If there is an enemy, they are currently waiting for us to draw closer. If they realize we are fleeing, they will pursue us. That would place us at a greater disadvantage. It would be far better to capitalize on Jun’s specialty, deploy a formation, and lure them into it instead.”
After pondering for a moment, Gal U-ryang nodded in agreement.
“True, retreating from this position might expose us to greater peril. Since you put it that way, it is indeed wiser to fight with all our might and break through. So, what is the plan?”
“First, there is no need for us to stick our heads directly into the place where the enemy waits with their formation ready. The enemy is the one anxious to catch us, not us.”
Naturally, if there was a Demon showing their tail, he wanted to wipe them out completely given the chance, but it was vital to determine who held the initiative on the battlefield.
‘For me, subjugation is something I would like to do if possible, whereas the other side has gone through the trouble of carving out a trap. Above all, if a high-ranking Demon is indeed waiting when we force that area open as I suspect…’
He could use the Brahma Bell from the West to force that Demonic Qi out into the open.
From that moment onward, the Demon—who would have to worry about a subjugation army swarming their position—would run out of time.
This was especially true for the hidden Eight Demon Sovereigns due to the restrictive seal.
‘Still, surely one of the Eight Demon Sovereigns wouldn’t be here in person, right?’
He hoped not.
To be frank, a confrontation with someone in the Realm of Creation was a bit daunting.
‘But if one is present and the situation is unavoidable, I will just have to win.’
Seonwu turned his gaze toward Jun.
“The Divine Wind Eight Trigrams Grand Formation might be out of the question, but you can manage the Divine Wind Four Symbols Formation, right?”
“It requires quite a few formation artifacts, though…”
“I will provide the treasures from our main sect. I’ll assist you, so let’s set it up quickly together.”
“Sounds good.”
“Dan Suyeong, you help too.”
“Understood.”
Dan Suyeong glanced briefly at Jun, but bowed his head to Seonwu’s command without raising a single objection.
His personal distaste for the slippery fellow was one thing, but they were currently facing a critical battle.
“But after doing all this, it would be pretty funny if there aren’t actually any major Demons inside that concealment formation.”
Jun chuckled softly at Seonwu’s murmur.
“If that happens, we can just treat it as a brisk drill for deploying a formation. It’s far better to over-train than to experience a brush with death, isn’t it?”
Granted, such endeavors cost a fair amount of coin.
But for the youngest prince, whose budget was exceedingly lavish, there was nothing to regret.
Time was a luxury they did not possess.
Even if the Demonic Practitioners were lurking in hiding, they would undoubtedly send out a few scouts.
They would catch on if they witnessed the group conducting suspicious activities.
Seonwu put an end to the banter, intending to swiftly begin constructing the formation for their counterattack.
When he began pulling out a succession of truly precious artifacts, Jun let out a genuine exclamation of awe.
“Whoa, you’ve got a whole treasure trove here. With these, the formation will manifest its proper might even if we throw it together in a rush.”
On the other hand, Yaxian, who was watching the display, was profoundly shocked.
‘Wait, I may not know much about formations, but even a glance tells me many of those items are incredibly rare and expensive. That talisman alone is brimming with spiritual Qi. And what is that jasper statuette? Isn’t that the legendary Evil-Expelling Jasper?’
Forget the Eunhak Sect; even within the Zhuge Clan, such items wouldn’t just be pulled freely out of a storehouse.
‘Is the Eunhak Sect truly a ruined order? How do such treasures keep appearing endlessly from a sect that supposedly has only two martial brothers remaining?’
Furthermore, where on earth had he been keeping all those treasures stored?
‘Is he really pulling them out of that ring right now? Is that the legendary spatial storage ring capable of holding treasures?’
Through what miraculous fortuitous encounter did the Chivalrous Dragon come to possess such an item?
Gal U-ryang’s suspicions suddenly swelled enormously.
Was the Eunhak Sect truly just the Eunhak Sect?
Regardless of his thoughts, Seonwu handed over the pile of extracted artifacts to Jun.
“Take Dan Suyeong and set them up quickly. I have one more thing to prepare with Yaxian, so I will catch up and assist once I’m finished.”
“Alright, the two of us will head out first, so take care of your business and follow after us.”
After Jun departed with Dan Suyeong, Seonwu revealed yet another treasure to Yaxian.
“I need you to assist me with these golden needles.”
As Gal U-ryang inspected the golden needles closely, his eyes widened to the size of saucers, and his jaw dropped completely.
“Th-This… Could it be… The Go… Golden Needles of Life and Death?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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