Chapter 55: Domain Projection: Canglan’s Descent
Dan Woo sat in the middle of the hotel as a spew of mist spilled out of him and engulfed his body, continuing to leak outwards as the mask of Bai Chen slowly materialised.
The mist grew in thickness as Dan Woo slowly took the form of Bai Chen. He could feel his Divine Sense, the one that belonged to Bai Chen, forcefully activate as it spilled outwards, with the mist following forth.
As this happened, all meaning that came into contact with this Divine Sense underwent a forceful realignment. Cityscapes, cars, roads, even people had their current states shifted as the thin, toxic city air disappeared under the entity that was just a bubble of churning mist.
For a while, that was all there was.
Until a powerful wave of energy, having Dan Woo at the centre of the locus, rearranged everything.
Everything under the 50-kilometre radius was turned into a residence of a slice of the Canglan Continent.
Forests that weren’t there started to crop up, with cities that had a modern aesthetic slowly shifting to suit those of a cultivation world. Cars, buses, planes turned into fantastical magical instruments like flying boat carriages and things of the sort.
Everyone under the domain suddenly gained identities that they weren’t familiar with, most of them becoming mortals, but a few of them suddenly gained cultivation abilities from Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, with even some Golden Cores at earlier stages popping up.
Dan Woo could feel that the cultivation bases were random, as if people were assigned parts of a script that they were to follow.
He was confused as he tried to retract his domain, drawing it back towards himself, hoping everything would turn normal.
But he found he couldn’t withdraw his domain.
He could see people start playing out the usual scripts, with certain cultivators fighting against others, looting treasures, or taking part in inexplicable schemes.
Then suddenly, his system chimed.
[Ding]
But before he could gaze at its contents, he could feel the sudden whistling as there was a shift in energy.
He immediately opened his eyes, only to see that even the hotel’s layout had changed as he quickly deflected the flying sword directed at him.
As he looked up, he saw Kim Soo Won wearing the body and soul of Bai Qian.
The two began fighting as they moved towards a more open space in that familiar rhythm of thrusts, slashes, and clashes.
Suddenly, the disciples of the ’Abyssal Nine Netherpalace’, who were just other hotel guests and staff, started to flow towards the place.
But Dan Woo, seeing the possible danger, tried to shift the clashing of the swords and the pace of the fight away from possible casualties. He didn’t know if anyone who died under the effects of his domain could be revived, and he didn’t want to take the chance.
So they took it to the sky as they continued to clash, with Kim Soo Won radiating palpable fury.
Dan Woo wished he could try to talk to her and explain the situation, but there was nothing he could do. The memories of Bai Qian had clouded her judgment, and the more he continued, the more he found his own memories were also being driven by those of Bai Chen.
His emotions were being warped into those of Bai Chen as they came crashing upon him in waves he couldn’t comprehend.
He found himself sinking deeper into the fight, channeling his famous Blood Spirit Art, fighting against Bai Qian’s ice projectiles. A mix of blood and white streaks exploded as waves and waves of spirit pressure and clashing emanated from the area.
As they sank deeper, so did the area, becoming more and more concrete until suddenly, a brilliant reddish-golden visage shot into the sky as a devastating pressure rolled over them.
The body of an elderly-looking cultivator formed as both of them quickly stopped to face it. The pressure rolling out in waves made it feel like all underneath were ants.
"Is that..." Bai Qian began.
It indeed was.
It was the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, and one that Bai Chen was very familiar with. It was the pressure of one of the most vicious cultivators in the Canglan Continent—his master, and also the Sect Master of the Abyssal Nine Netherpalaces.
Immediately, the scrutiny of a Nascent Soul’s Divine Sense washed over everyone, as if it was searching for something, before locking onto the area of Bai Chen and Bai Qian.
A strong killing intent began to manifest before a beam of Qi descended upon them from deep within the mountains that had just formed.
They were now standing in the middle of a battle zone.
Bai Chen, being the quicker to realise the danger, took Bai Qian’s hand and went flying away with her.
Inside, Dan Woo was still confused by the situation.
How had a Nascent Soul suddenly appeared?
As Dan Woo moved around, trying to dodge, he found that the farther he moved, the weaker the visage became.
That was when he found it.
This domain was different from the others.
This one was mobile.
It moved with him.
That was when a plan started to formulate in his mind.
What if he used that to move away from the area? Would this solve the issue?
No.
He didn’t have to think too much about it.
Yes, the domain was running on its own rules, but it was still connected to Bai Chen, wasn’t it?
Wouldn’t just removing the mask solve the issue?
Yeah.
That was the simplest solution to all of this. He could deal with the aftermath afterwards.
His hands moved to remove the mask, but when he tried, he found himself in a very familiar situation—the same one he had faced on his first day in this world with the mask of Lee Woo Je.
It was not working.
He struggled, trying to remove it, but it wasn’t working at all.
His struggle with the mask was swiftly interrupted by a powerful palm strike from the visage. He quickly dodged it and fell back on his other plan.
Fly away.
And as fast as he could.
With Bai Qian in his hand, he continued to fly and fly, finding that wherever he went, the domain followed him.
And as a result, the surrounding area changed from modern China to one filled with Xianxia elements, with an ancient feel.
It was like the map was rendering for him.
But he had no time to do anything, as he soon found out that the Nascent Soul didn’t fall out of his range.
It was now on their tail, quickly catching up to them at unimaginable speeds.
Bai Chen didn’t know what to do when suddenly an idea came to mind.
"Let’s split up."
"What?"
"I said let’s split up. We can’t outrun a Nascent Soul cultivator."
Bai Qian looked at Bai Chen with a look of suspicion.
"I know that he is after you, but I have an idea. Give me your sword."
"And why should I trust you?"
"You just have to unless you want to die."
Bai Qian was skeptical but finally gave in.
Dan Woo had an idea and really didn’t need any of Bai Qian’s things, as he could match the spiritual signature of Bai Qian using his domain. But he had to make it believable for her so that he could carry out his next step.
The two cultivators suddenly landed in a forest as Bai Chen took the sword and masked himself in her signature, then started to fly in the same direction as the Nascent Soul cultivator, heading for a head-on collision.
He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he had to try.
He saw that the domain had completely synced, like it was the fastest sync he had had so far, but didn’t give it a thought. So he could try to sync with his apartment in Korea.
The problem was, since this domain was locked onto him, it would be a one-way trip.
But that was the only way he could think of evading this disaster.
Well, it was the better choice to the alternative.
He only wished that Kim Soo Won would be okay during his trip back to Korea.
If only he had another anchor in China.
But just as he was about to enact his plan, he—Dan Woo—could feel something flying towards his direction at great speeds, with powerful Meaning locked onto his area.
He then shifted from his initial direction to one following the direction of the incoming target.
This switch made the Nascent Devil Cultivator trail behind him, as they both headed for a head-on collision.
Before he could act, he activated his domain, ready for travelling, as everything around him turned to mist and fog.
Inside the fog, he could feel the mask that was stuck to him suddenly dissolve, allowing him a brief rest.
Dan Woo wasn’t sure if the cultivator disappeared with his domain, but he felt relieved to have the mask off.
He was still wondering why he summoned the domain in the first place when suddenly, the familiar book made its appearance as it ejected itself from his chest.
It turned to the page from which was born the piece of paper Cha Hwa Rim had collected after the kidnapping of Cha Ha Rin.
The page started to glow in a rhythmic dance before suddenly, a door appeared in that grand mist.
Dan Woo was confused about the door.
At first, he thought it was one of the four doors of his domain, but no. This looked different.
In fact, it looked familiar.
It was a modern door with a keypad and that same house number that he knew.
Was Baek Hari on the other side?
He could feel himself getting nervous.
Why was the door in front of him, and why was he nervous?
That was one of the reasons he projected that domain, wasn’t it?
Maybe behind that door, he could get answers as to why this was happening.
Maybe he wouldn’t be so in the dark.