Chapter 478

In front of the East Gate.

Qing yells out energetically.

She’s overflowing with inner strength.

With every loud shout, she’s showing off her excess energy like it’s no big deal.

“Everyone, this isn’t the time to be standing around! Those at the South Gate, West Gate, and North Gate are getting closer step by step to the Divine Treasure!”

Qing shouts with a passionate voice.

The warriors surrounding the East Gate can’t hide their anxious glances.

“Don’t you dare fall behind while all of this is happening!? Everyone, join your strength and knock on the door!”

Qing pleads, insisting they need to break down the door.

Originally, she planned to use her one-hit kill door-busting strategy again and head towards the South Gate.

But instead, they weren’t standing side by side, but rather split front and back at the East Gate.

Thanks to that, her one-hit-kill swordmaster fusion strategy got blocked.

No matter how much of a superhuman Qing was, if she couldn’t even reach the door, she couldn’t do any smacking around.

So what can she do?

She might as well try to plead (stir up).

And Qing’s plea (stirring) was already levels beyond the average Central Plain person’s understanding.

Because, to put it bluntly, Central Plains folks are a bit dim-witted, and in kinder terms, a bit naive.

In her hometown, propaganda, incitement, and exaggeration happen dozens of times a day.

Compared to Qing, Central Plains folks have seriously impaired immunity to propaganda and deceit.

“Lord Cheonseung? What if all the other gates really opened?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That can’t be. Dayeoreum? Doesn’t that sound like a pseudonym? It’s definitely an enemy sent from another gate trying to destroy our Stone Door.”

“But, what if it’s true…?”

“This is a fact with no lies! The door opens for those who knock! You must carve a path not by waiting but by forging it yourself! I shout! With all my might!!”

Still, everyone was just standing around, eyes darting, with no moves to break the Stone Door.

Qing grew desperate.

People would be rushing in from the demolished North Gate soon.

Feeling the urgency, Qing started spouting random nonsense.

Her specialty, talking a load of junk.

“Everyone! Just give me a chance! Already, countless doors have opened before me, the ones that welcome me come to over a thousand!”

Qing had grown up in a world where automatic doors existed, so she probably faced one or two that opened when she stood before them.

But the looks from the crowd were icy.

Now she was saying the doors would just open automatically of their own accord.

Even those who wondered up to this point were starting to go cold on that idea.

“Everyone! A swordsman who reaches the peak wields the sword of their heart! Likewise, this ultimate mechanical technique has reached completion, so I’ve attained the realm of the heart’s mechanism! That’s why I am the Mechanic of Legends! Don’t you understand the utmost respect contained in this title? The world’s greatest mechanic! That’s me!”

“Hmm?” “Oh really?” “Could it be true?”

A few gullible warriors were starting to waver.

If a swordsman at their peak can wield their weapon through their heart, then why not a technician at the peak manipulate machinery with their heart?

Just how extraordinary would the title of “King of Mechanic” have to be to fit in all those impressive accolades?

But the number of those being swayed was painfully small.

As naive as the Central Plains folks might be, they weren’t going to believe every load of rubbish.

The glances were growing colder.

Yet Qing continued to blaze ahead.

“So I, Dayeoreum, have reached the exalted level of opening all the doors! Because I grasp all the doors for dear life! I’m holding them tight right now! Hey, Door, you not opening? If you mess with me, I’ll destroy you! I’m gripping all the doors this tight! If I say ‘Open up right now!’—”

Right at that moment.

Gurgle…!

A strange vibration from a heavy mass rattles up from her soles.

And just like that, all the warriors turn.

“Oh no, the Stone Door!?”

“It’s opening, it’s really opening!”

Just as the chants of the people echoed.

The entire rocky mountain seemed to tremble as the gigantic Stone Door slowly sank down.

The warriors turned back in disbelief.

In their eyes was a flicker of suspicion, but not in a bad way.

More like disbelief at the great marvel, wondering how this could possibly exist in the world.

And the rest of their gazes sparkled with awe and admiration.

“It’s really Dayeoreum, it’s her for sure.”

“I knew I could trust her!”

“The heart sword, no, the heart mechanism, the realm of heart’s mechanism!”

“Mechanic of Legends!” “Mechanic of Legends!” “Dayeoreum!” “Dayeoreum!” “Dayeoreum!”

In an instant, the warriors were chanting Dayeoreum and her hardly-profound title.

But what the hell? Why is it opening?

At this point, she couldn’t very well say “Close again!” now, could she?

Seizing the momentum, Qing raised her hand high.

Cheers erupted.

“Everyone! I’ve done my part, so I shall take my leave! I am Dayeoreum! If there are any closed doors, please contact me, Dayeoreum of Zhangjiajie!”

Qing threw out a casual conclusion and hurriedly turned around.

—-

Jin Jangmyung, eyes sparkling, gives a thumbs up.

“You really opened it. Amazing.”

“No, I, uh, I don’t know what to say.”

Cheon Yu-hak snorts derisively.

“You idiot. What if it really opens up?”

“I didn’t think it would actually open! How was I supposed to know?”

Qing felt wronged.

What the heck? Why did it really open when I said it would?

Is it some kind of voice recognition technology?

In this uncivilized ancient China, is that even a thing?

But then again, maybe it’s possible with the wonders of the universe and Qi application?

Well, that formation technique did make people trip through illusions all the time, didn’t it?

It even managed to show others’ wounds in the most miraculous ways.

“Hmm. Did I accidentally figure out how to open it? What to do, this genius mind of mine.”

“Ha. What can you do with something that’s already opened? For now, let’s just block the South Gate. If there’s only one exit left, sooner or later some user of the Demonic Arts will crawl out of it.”

Cheon Yu-hak wasn’t one to make excuses for the already happened.

Besides, the disciple didn’t do it on purpose or anything.

It was just an unfortunate accident, so what good would blaming them do?

“Dayeoreum can’t go to the South Gate, right?”

“Looks like there might be some that came down from the West Gate; it’ll be hard to use her again.”

After all, Dayeoreum had already made her entrance three times.

No matter how effective a method was, it was supposed to wear out after three uses.

Why, isn’t there a saying that applies to ‘one use, two uses, three uses’, etc.?

“Really?”

“There’s always a way. Anyway, since we’ve seen how the door busting works, let’s try inserting a fake heart this time!”

Shintu’s expertise, or rather, his side gig as a shady merchant, was shining bright.

Operation name: Inserting a Fake Heart!

Step one: First, Namgoong Shin-jae must unleash Sword Aura to prove he’s a Supreme Martial Artist to everyone.

Step two: The rest of the group feigns betrayal and attacks Namgoong Shin-jae to extract his heart.

Step three: Place the prepared fake heart in the spot where his heart was.

Step four: The fake heart swallowed by the Stone Door will cause it to collapse. Perfect!

Thus, the group would conduct a grand deception while hiding in the secluded mountains.

Since they were already known, they would need to change their disguises.

But they had already modified their disguises twice.

Plus, Dayeoreum’s face had become too well-known.

“Ah, you can’t hide your face. Even if you add decorations, it’ll still be hard to go unnoticed. Besides, how many skilled women can you find with that physique? So…”

“Wow! The Infinite Mask!”

At last, Qing got her hands on the legendary disguise tool, the Infinite Mask!

As Qing fiddled with the floppy human face cover, Cheon Yu-hak chuckled.

“What’s so great about that?”

“It’s amazing! I really wanted to try it out just once.”

“Hmph, you won’t want to use it again once you try it out. First, wrap this around your head. Tuck your hair away inside your clothes.”

She wrapped her hair snugly with a net-like material, stuffing the long ends down the back of her neck to hide them.

Then, she tossed a cow’s intestines over herself.

Qing realized something had gone terribly wrong.

What’s this? This feels suffocating already?

Why am I covering my head with something like a contraceptive device?

And finally, she managed to wear the Infinite Mask.

The mask spread widely beneath her neck, tucking everything inside her clothes.

Wearing it tightly against her face, the discomfort was beyond description.

Sweat began to bead immediately.

Qing couldn’t hold it and tried to activate the Lamentable Skill.

And her face began to bulge up.

“What the heck, are you trying to show off that you’re wearing the Infinite Mask?”

“Oops….”

Qing slumped down with a despondent expression.

This wasn’t it. Really not it.

And now she had to prepare a fake heart.

While Cheon Yu-hak left to hunt a suitable beast, the group gathered together to synchronize their lines.

Within about half an hour, when Cheon Yu-hak returned, they had pretty much synchronized their act.

Particularly, Namgoong Shin-jae’s passionate performance of a heart-wrenching betrayal by a trusted ally stood out.

And there was Qing, colorfully acting pitiful as she dramatically handed over a heart she grabbed from her own chest!

So natural that everyone wondered if it wasn’t just acting but her true self.

So Namgoong Shin-jae strapped on a pouch of wild boar’s blood and a heart and they did one last run-through.

It was truly the image of a professional scam troupe, preparing meticulously.

However, this grand performance was never meant to be.

Because the South Gate had already swung wide open when the East Gate just opened a moment ago.

So when Qing’s group arrived at the South Gate, it merely stood there as a gaping hole.

“It’s open?”

“It’s actually open….”

“Hmm.”

“We prepped so hard for this…”

Of course, they had no questions about why it opened.

“Ah, I guess we’re a bit late.”

Impatient folks probably thought someone had already offered up their heart.

Their grand plan to smash all entry points and bury the Heart Consumption Technique in the mountains had gone downhill.

So what can they do now? They have to go check it out.

Just when they thought they could ease in…..

The area around the South Gate was thick with warriors, huddled together, glaring fiercely.

But just glaring.

None of the warriors were going inside the Divine Treasure.

They were waiting outside, hoping to pounce on anyone coming out.

Of course, with multiple entrances, waiting might not mean they’d come out from here.

Not knowing when they’d pop out, they just sat there, guarding.

Still, it seemed better than the dangers lurking in the tomb.

So, no one was blocking Qing’s group from entering the Divine Treasure.

Thus, the infiltration into the Divine Treasure begins.

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