Chapter 479: If It Is Destiny, I Will Usurp Fate

In Daoism, the seven stars of the Big Dipper were known as the Seven Primal Lords of Starry Tribulation Relief. Residing in the Seven Palaces of the Big Dipper, they represented joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, hatred, and desire, taking humanity as their Dao. This was my first time using the Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper. Starlight converged in my palm, transforming the talisman into a sword. I had never heard anyone speak of such miraculous phenomena before.

With my blade forging a path and the seven stars protecting me, I charged headlong into the ghost soldiers. At this critical life-or-death moment, I had no time to let my mind wander. I only wanted to fight my way out and enter Lightless Alley.

One man, one sword, overflowing with starlight. It was as if I were draped in a silver-white battle robe, slaughtering my way through an army of thousands.

"Cultivating both the Ghost Dao and Daoist arts... I underestimated you." For the first time since his appearance, Lord Snake's expression changed. He had originally planned to crush me openly and squarely with his ghost arts to see what was so miraculous about mine. He hadn't expected me to use the Profound Truth Dao Method, nor that the talisman in my hand could unleash power rivaling an Upper Vehicle Talisman beneath the starlit sky.

Not only had Lord Snake failed to anticipate this move, but even She Qian, who had fought me previously, was caught entirely off guard.

"He hid his depths well." Retracting his smile, She Qian stared at me like a venomous snake, a trace of confusion between his brows. "The Celestial Master of the Profound Truth Dao clearly subjected him to the Heart-Slaying Dao Inquiry, and the conclusion was that he had never secretly learned the Profound Truth Mental Method. Yet this Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper is undeniably an authentic technique mastered to a profound level. How did he evade the Heart-Slaying Dao Inquiry? Does he harbor other secrets?"

Feeling a trace of a chill, She Qian reached his cold hand into his black robe and slowly retreated to the outskirts of the alley.

"Old man, get out of my way!" The starlight was blinding as my sword cleaved through the ghost soldiers. I was already quite close to Lightless Alley, and my greatest obstacle to entering it was Lord Snake.

Ordinary ghost soldiers couldn't breach the protection of the Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper. As long as I wasn't surrounded by too many of them at once, I still had a chance to escape.

"I admit I underestimated you earlier. However, if this is all you have, I must still tell you: you will not survive today!" As Lord Snake spoke, his aura underwent a sudden transformation. Previously, he had seemed like a dying old man, but now, his hunched back slowly straightened. His presence felt like a massive mountain pressing down on the alley's entrance. "Snake Master, Snake Master, coiling upon the earth! Lightning flashes and sparks fly, easily seen yet easily hidden! Traversing the mountains with impunity, retracting into hibernation!"

While desperately fighting the ghost soldiers, I frequently glanced back, not daring to take Lord Snake lightly. This old man had bizarre methods; he was truly difficult to deal with.

'His incantation doesn't seem to have anything to do with the ghost soldiers?' I thought uneasily. 'He isn't beseeching the ghost soldiers of the five directions, nor is he chanting to the Yama King. He only mentioned a "Snake Master." What exactly is this Snake Master?' The Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper wouldn't last forever. Even with the starlight's support, once the final divine runic line dissipated, the talisman would turn to ash.

'He calls himself Lord Snake, so could this Snake Master be...' While I was making my deductions, the surrounding evil cultivators of the Three Yin Sect retreated one after another. They backed far away, as silent as winter cicadas.

A rustling sound echoed from the dilapidated houses at the entrance of the alley, like scales scraping against the ground. Just hearing it made me break out in a cold sweat, and what I saw next shocked me to the core.

"A snake!"

A Snake King measuring five or six zhang long slithered out from the dilapidated two-story building!

Covered in multi-colored patterns, its species was impossible to identify. Its eyes had been gouged out, and it flicked a pitch-black forked tongue. It slithered over the broken bricks and shattered tiles, coiling beside Lord Snake like a pet.

"Crap!"

The Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper could eradicate evil and filth, but it had no effect on insects or snakes. Dealing with a giant snake while surrounded by ghost soldiers was simply impossible.

"Snake Master, capture this man!" Lord Snake waved his hand. The evil cultivator closest to him, his face deathly pale, reluctantly extended his left hand and used a knife to chop off his own little finger.

Blood dripped down. Catching the scent, the giant snake opened its maw and swallowed the severed finger in a single gulp, then slithered toward me, blending into the ranks of the ghost soldiers.

'How do I deal with this thing?' I thought. The Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper could only hold out for another two or three minutes. Whether I could break through the encirclement of ghost soldiers was already uncertain, and now a blind giant snake was blocking my path ahead.

I gritted my teeth as my hopes slowly faded. I knew this was an almost certain path to death, but I had no other choice.

"Filthy Ghost! Desire Ghost! Seductive Ghost! Hold it off!" I activated the Ghost Ring and released the three ghosts to impede the giant snake while I accelerated my pace.

"Three Grade C ghosts with tremendous potential. Not bad, not bad at all." Lord Snake was clearly praising them, but I couldn't feel a single trace of warmth in his tone.

'Does this old man still have some unused trump cards?' The current situation was already hanging by a thread. If even a single mistake occurred, I would be doomed to eternal damnation. To me, this was already the most desperate predicament, yet judging from Lord Snake's tone, he still had other methods in reserve!

"A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit. You've struggled for long enough; it's time to end this." Lord Snake slowly retreated, his gaze sweeping over the ghost soldiers before he reached out and grabbed the tallest figure among them.

This ghost was extraordinary. His face was a blur, impossible to see clearly, and he wore an ancient robe, resembling an emperor from antiquity. At first, Lord Snake had been completely unable to command him.

"You'll do." He bit his finger and flicked out a drop of black blood. "Drink a drop of my blood, and heed my words for all your days."

'What is he doing?' I wondered. The three Grade C ghosts were barely holding the giant snake back while I continued pushing steadily toward No-Lights Road.

"Yin body, yin body, fit to join and fit to part! I now command you, merge your form with mine! A single thought enters the mind, the next enters the form! Aid my divine resonance, enlighten your lost path! Pierce through doubt and ignorance, clear as a hanging mirror! Answer the secret mantra—Human and Ghost Form Merging Art!" After finishing the incantation, blood leaked from Lord Snake's seven orifices, but he didn't react at all, standing rooted to the spot like a statue. After about a breath of time, the ancient-robed vicious ghost's blurred face suddenly rippled like water, and Lord Snake's aged visage slowly surfaced upon it!

'Human and Ghost Form Merging Art?!' I had read of a similar technique in the Yin-Yang Ghost Art. By merging human and ghost, one could unleash terrifying power. 'This is a forbidden technique that can only be learned after cultivating the Yin-Yang Ghost Art to the Peak of the Fourth Layer. Lord Snake's realm as a Ghost Cultivator far exceeds mine.'

As the face fully manifested, the ancient-robed ghost actually let out a chuckle. "Gao Jian, this is my first time using the Human and Ghost Form Merging Art. The sensation is truly indescribably wonderful."

Lord Snake had supplanted the ancient-robed ghost. Originally, he had merely summoned the ghost soldiers and could roughly designate a target for them to attack, but he hadn't fully controlled the army. Many of the tyrannical yin entities among them had simply ignored his orders. This was one of the reasons why I had been able to fight my way through the ghost soldiers alone.

But now, he had merged into one with the highest-ranking ghost among the soldiers. At this very moment, he was the commander of this spectral army, a living Yama King ruling over an entire legion of ghost troops!

Human souls and ghosts howled as countless ghost soldiers materialized from the darkness. There were too many of them—so many that I grew numb, beginning to mechanically repeat my strikes.

Often, just as I expended a massive amount of starlight and Daoist resonance to slay one ghost soldier, two, three, or even more would charge at me.

Ever since Lord Snake took command, not only had I failed to take a single step closer to Lightless Alley, but I was also forced to retreat again and again.

The radiance of the Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper in my hand flickered erratically. The path to survival was right before my eyes, yet I was being pushed farther and farther away from it.

"Gao Jian, the will of heaven is hard to defy! Your time of death is set!" Noticing my weakness, Lord Snake brimmed with absolute confidence. His aged voice shattered the tranquility of Lightless Alley. "Disciples of the Three Yin Sect, join me in capturing and killing Gao Jian!"

With Lord Snake's command, who would dare disobey?

Over a dozen evil cultivators in black Daoist robes unleashed their ultimate techniques, summoning souls and calling upon ghosts, forcing me into a true dead end.

The mouthful of Pre-Heaven True Qi in my lower dantian had long been exhausted, and the Great Divine Mantra of the Big Dipper could shatter at any moment. My body was densely covered in wounds. Looking at the sinisterly grinning evil cultivators and Ghost Dao practitioners surrounding me, and watching the tireless ghost soldiers surging forward wave after wave, a profound sense of powerlessness welled up in my heart.

'Am I really going to die tonight? Is fate truly unchangeable once destined? Could all my death-defying struggles, all the absolute effort I poured into this, amount to less than a single decree that heaven wants me dead?!'

'No! My life is in my own hands! No one has the right to take it away!'

I had never felt such intense disgust toward the will of heaven and destiny. In this moment, a sentence I had spoken to the Two-Faced Buddha when the Nine Locks were first unlocked suddenly surfaced in my mind.

"That's right, I want to gamble against heaven!"

"If heaven wants me dead, I'll defy heaven! If it's destined by fate, I shall usurp fate!"