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At this moment, Shawn Young didn’t have time to ponder any of his questions—he had to focus all his energy on breaking out of this Mystic Gate Illusion Array, or he’d be dead before sunrise!
The most urgent thing now was to find the ‘Life Gate’ in the Mystic Gate Illusion Array. Only by locating the Life Gate did he have a chance to escape. Luckily, the Supreme Celestial Record had methods for breaking all sorts of Mystic Gate arrays. Shawn Young hadn’t encountered this kind of formation before, but since he knew it was Mystic Gate Divination, he at least had a shot at cracking it.
Shawn Young glanced up at the moon. That eerie, blood-red crescent still hung in the sky, but it helped him confirm his location—he was standing right at the ‘Astonishment Gate’ of the Mystic Gate Illusion Array! (Note: Mystic Gate Divination consists of three concepts—‘Qi’ (the Three Mysteries: Yi, Bing, Ding), ‘Gate’ (eight gates: Rest, Life, Harm, Block, Scene, Astonishment, Death, Open), and ‘Dun Jia’ (Hiding Armor: six Jia—Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, Jiayin. ‘Jia’ is the most revered among the ten Heavenly Stems, always hidden beneath the Six Instruments.)
‘Astonishment Gate’—the name says it all. This spot is all about bizarre, terrifying illusions.
“So, I’m standing at the Astonishment Gate! No wonder I keep seeing all these hallucinations—” Once Shawn Young figured out his position, his mind started working at lightning speed. He knew he couldn’t just wander around in the Mystic Gate Illusion Array, or one wrong step could mean instant death!
Quickly, using the moon’s position, Shawn Young pinpointed the Life Gate in the southeast. Following the Supreme Celestial Record’s instructions, he knew there’d be an ‘array core’ there—the source of the Mystic Gate Illusion Array’s power. If he could break the Life Gate first, the array’s strength would be cut in half!
With his direction set, Shawn Young dashed toward the southeast Life Gate at top speed. He was well aware—anyone who could set up such a sophisticated trap must have some serious hidden backup!
He soon reached the Life Gate. The swirling mist faded, and the view suddenly cleared. Shawn Young saw a lonely little tree standing there, with two ancient characters—‘Godslayer’—hanging from its branches. Without hesitation, he summoned his strength and kicked the tree hard, hoping to break the Life Gate and escape in one blow!
But just then, the ground split open—BOOM! A shadow burst out from beneath the tree, a blade flashing with murderous intent, slashing straight for Shawn Young’s chest! That strike was vicious, aiming to kill him in one blow!
It all happened in a flash. In that split second, Shawn Young was ready. He pulled back his attack, retreated, and instantly activated his Flash Combat energy. With a swift kick, he struck the side of the blade—CRACK! The force sent both the attacker and the blade flying two meters away!
Now Shawn Young could finally see his fearsome enemy—a ninja in deep blue, gripping a long, gleaming blade. The ninja’s tight outfit hugged her curves, slender and seductive. Wait, was that a woman? Yup, definitely a female ninja!
Suddenly, the female ninja flipped her blade and dragged it across her left palm—blood spurted out! Shawn Young was stunned. Why was she hurting herself? Before he could figure it out, the ninja leaped back several steps, stabbed her sword into the ground, and smeared her right hand in the blood pouring from her palm. Both hands were now dripping with crimson.
Shawn Young wondered what trick she was up to. The ninja snapped her feet together, hands moving rapidly as she formed strange hand signs.
“Ah! The Nine-Character Hand Seal!” Shawn Young instantly recognized the signs and cried out in shock.
Turns out, the Nine-Character Hand Seal was so powerful that it had spread to Japan along with Mystic Gate Divination during the Three Kingdoms era. Japanese martial artists and religious sects refined it over centuries, and it became a secret weapon among ninja masters—‘Ninja Nine-Character Seal’! This female ninja clearly knew her stuff. Once she activated the Nine-Character Seal, her speed and strength would skyrocket, and with her unique training, she’d unleash some special effects too!
Shawn Young was alarmed. He knew—if the female ninja unleashed the Nine-Character Seal, he’d be in real trouble. But in this Wrathland, his own energy and Illusory Sea power were totally out of control. He couldn’t use his usual Taoist techniques to fight back. In his panic, a spark of inspiration hit him: by the same logic, she shouldn’t be able to use the Nine-Character Seal here either! So how come she could?
“Maybe it’s because she used her own yang blood to break the curse—” As soon as Shawn Young thought of it, it all made sense. The female ninja had slashed her palm to squeeze out blood infused with her own energy, using it to bypass Wrathland’s restrictions on spellcasting!
The female ninja formed her hand signs while chanting a deep incantation in Japanese: “nan, hey, du, sia, n!”
Shawn Young didn’t hesitate either—he retreated several steps, opened the distance, and with a fierce resolve, bit his tongue until blood welled up. He sprayed the salty blood onto his palms, then urgently chanted his own Nine-Character Incantation: “Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian!” (‘Approach, Soldiers, Battle, All, Formation, Arrayed, Before!’)
As he chanted the Nine-Character Incantation, Shawn Young felt a surge of overwhelming power roaring through his Illusory Sea. He’d finally found a way to break Wrathland’s hold and unleash his Taoist arts!
Different incantations, same hand signs. Shawn Young had no idea what effects the ninja’s seal would produce—he didn’t know her level of mastery. All he could do was unleash his own Nine-Character Seal, throw up a protective barrier, and hope to find a way to defeat her.