Chapter 683
At Zhuge Sa, although the Master of the White Lotus Sect lost an arm during the attack of the Eight Parts of the Divine, I heard he dealt them considerable damage using the Primordial Spirit. Thus, I predict that the next assault from the Eight Parts of the Divine will be more thorough, and knowing the cautious nature of Chi You, it might take quite a while.
We have plenty of time.
It would take at least a month.
Even so, moving from the Southern Continent to the White Lotus Sect within a month and forming an alliance with the Twelve Joules as well as preparing countermeasures was entirely Zhuge Sa’s ability. At the meeting with the Master of the Twelve Joules, he said:
“I know the location of Mount Penglai, but can we assault it right now?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“The branch of the Celestial Realm, Mount Penglai, is currently under attack by the Sea God Clan. If we can strike there, we can secure the passage to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace through the Five Demon Gate and acquire a Divine Treasure. The plan is to use that treasure to strengthen our power.”
“Oh?”
After pondering Zhuge Sa’s words for a moment, the Master of the Twelve Joules replied, “I won’t question how you got that information. But you say Mount Penglai is protected by strong Sea God magic; how do you plan to get in?”
“If we can get inside, we can wipe everything out, right?”
“That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“If we go to the Seven Stars Altar of the Tamna Kingdom and channel powerful spiritual energy, the barrier should open.”
“……!!”
The Master of the Twelve Joules seemed rather surprised at that. After hearing the location of the Seven Stars Altar from Zhuge Sa, he crossed his arms and fell silent for a while before calling for the Three Masters who were standing behind him.
“Let’s go.”
“Understood.”
Whoooosh –
Moments later, the Master of the Twelve Joules entered the center surrounded by the Three Masters forming the shape of the Three Talents, holding his Cosmic Fragment and began chanting a spell. Watching this, Zhuge Sa threw a glance at Jin So-cheong and sent a secret transmission.
[ Jin So-cheong. Can you take down the Master of the Twelve Joules right now?]
Zhuge Sa desperately wanted to subdue the Master of the Twelve Joules and seize the Liberation Wood. In fact, if he could steal the Liberation Wood, he could somehow manage with help from Cheon Woo-jin and others. The crucial thing was to suppress that thorn in their side, the Master of the Twelve Joules, at least once. The thought of a sneak attack never crossed Zhuge Sa’s mind.
But the response from Jin So-cheong was negative.
[ Not possible.]
[ Why not? Is it impossible even with such a large opening?]
[ I can faintly feel Miyamoto Musashi guarding the Master of the Twelve Joules through the gap in space. He’s been here from the start.]
Though Jin So-cheong had yet to perfectly perceive Musashi’s stealth techniques, she was suspicious from the beginning that he was here, enabling her to detect him.
[ Tch…]
Zhuge Sa clicked his tongue inwardly. If Cheon Woo-jin had been here too, perhaps they could have managed somehow, but that wasn’t how things played out. Also, if the Master of the Twelve Joules believed there was that much danger, he wouldn’t be chanting spells in the first place.
Wham!
Moments later, the Cosmic Fragment the Master of the Twelve Joules held glimmered and erupted with blue light. And in an instant, he vanished along with a green radiance, seemingly moving through space. Zhuge Sa waited briefly, and sure enough, the Master of the Twelve Joules reappeared before them with the Three Masters.
“The door has been opened.”
“So you’re planning to get our help in dealing with the Sea God Clan? This is your chance to claim the Divine Treasure alone.”
“Aw, don’t be like that. We’re allies, right?”
Though the Master of the Twelve Joules spoke playfully, a sinister competition of wills brewed between him and Zhuge Sa. The Master of the Twelve Joules had confirmed Zhuge Sa’s intel but was reluctant to expend his own strength and was unaware of what traps awaited him. Zhuge Sa had anticipated that the Master of the Twelve Joules would return from the outset.
‘ And since it’s too risky for us to go to Mount Penglai ourselves, I’ll have to use that Master of the Twelve Joules as a shield…’
There was a reason Zhuge Sa had deliberately leaked the information about the treasure that could be obtained with just his group. Zhuge Sa said, “Alright. But you’ll have to do me a favor.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“That sounds ominous~”
Whoosh!
They entered Mount Penglai through the opened door at the Seven Stars Altar. The forces included the Master of the Twelve Joules, Miyamoto Musashi, the Three Masters, and from the White Lotus Sect, the Dharma Guardian Han Baek-ryeong along with several experienced members of the Elder Council.
As they made their way through, conquering the nearby magical beasts, they approached the heart of Mount Penglai and witnessed a horrific sight.
Gaaaah!!!
From every direction, Fishmen and higher Sea God Clan members charged with tridents and weapons. The numbers reached thousands, with some monsters so tough that swords wouldn’t even cut through their scales. As the group fought off the Sea Gods, they slowly felt the enemy’s numbers snowballing.
Zhuge Sa thought, ‘The difference between a dead and alive Sea God is like heaven and earth. After the Sea God died, White Woong had been able to clear them out leisurely, but compared to those times, each one of these seems at least three times stronger.’
Despite having three experts from the Absolute Realm and the Dharma Guardian with them, the sheer number of magical beasts and Sea Gods felt like a tsunami. They slaughtered over a thousand in no time, but the enemy numbers showed no sign of dwindling.
The Master of the Twelve Joules spat out exasperatedly, “Damn it. This is annoying. Musashi!”
Swish!
After felling enemies for a while, Musashi appeared before the Master of Twelve Joules, looking irritable.
“How much work do you plan to make me do? Master.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules scratched his puppet head in frustration. “I can’t use the power of the Seven Luminaries here. It’s such a waste. You need to use your strength.”
“No thanks. I didn’t forge my sword just to slice fish heads.”
“If we waste time, thousands more will show up. Are you really planning to die here?”
The Master of the Twelve Joules took a step forward, growling, “Do it. I’ll give you a proper fight when the time comes.”
“Make sure to keep that promise.”
Whoosh!
In that moment, Musashi’s sword shone like the blue moon, feeling as though the long blade was stretching. Unlike energies like sword energy or strength, it carried a certain estrangement, and in a flowing motion, it extended several times longer.
Thud!
The sword of Musashi suddenly grew to a size that could split mountains. It soared as if it were going to cleave the heavens. Jin So-cheong, watching this, gasped.
“Incredible…”
As Musashi’s intent spread further, his mental concentration peaked before he made a decisive move.
Ultimate Technique!
Supreme Slash!
Boom!
In an instant, the surge halted like a scene from a slow-motion film. The throngs of fishmen invading from all directions froze in astonishment. After three breaths passed in eerie stillness, blood poured out like a stream from their severed necks, revealing a gruesome sight.
Thud! Thud!
In a flash, the Supreme Slash of Musashi simultaneously cleanly severed the necks of tens of thousands of Sea Gods. The severed heads bled profusely, and no one was able to evade or block the attack.
Thud! Thud!
The bodies of the Sea Gods fell apart, tumbling down the mountainside like snowballs. A surreal stillness settled over the world, as if it had become a graveyard.
Musashi seemed to have expended considerable energy and took a moment to catch his breath. Meanwhile, the Master of the Twelve Joules, reveling in the quiet atmosphere of the battlefield, chuckled.
“A mind control technique that can cut anything within the range of drawing your sword… Gets better every time I see it.”
“No matter how many foot soldiers you cut down, it’s nothing to brag about. You countered pretty well on the first meeting too.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Hearing this, Zhuge Sa felt utterly befuddled.
‘ Sword-drawing range? So that means this Musashi guy can slash from dozens of miles away?’
He pondered but ultimately gave up. In the realm of martial arts, White Woong was far superior to him, so it was an unimaginable concept.
One thing was for sure; the experts of the Absolute Realm were superhuman!
While Zhuge Woong’s past seemed overly geared toward opposing high-level entities, the reality was that the experts of the Absolute Realm held absolute power, rendering the might of earthly military forces meaningless. They wouldn’t stand a chance unless they matched that realm!
After wiping out the Sea God Clan, they entered the building to rescue the tortured Immortals and meet Lee Heung-pae. The barrier that Lee Heung-pae had set up was dispelled by the Three Masters. Facing Lee Heung-pae, Zhuge Sa said, “Are you the Lord of Mount Penglai, Lee Heung-pae?”
[ … you are… an evil sorcerer…]
As Great Immortal Lee Heung-pae spoke with an angry voice, Zhuge Sa smirked.
“You’re the pathetic one saved by a sorcerer like me, aren’t you? Past heroes of the celestial realm.”
[ … what do you want…]
“Hand over the advanced Divine Treasure, the Half Yellow Pearl. In exchange, I will rescue the immortals of Mount Penglai and return them to the Celestial Realm.”
[ If you don’t comply…]
“I’ll either leave you here or… since immortal bodies are rare, how about I try to cultivate some using otherworldly genes? I think I could create a decent combat doll. It could work as an offering for the Evil God.”
Lee Heung-pae ground his teeth.
[ You’re a ruthless bastard… fine. Take it.]
“There are many worse people in this world than me, you know.”
With a flourish, Lee Heung-pae transferred the Half Yellow Pearl to Zhuge Sa and vanished. Zhuge Sa stared blankly at the Half Yellow Pearl before saying to the Master of the Twelve Joules, “Master of the Twelve Joules, I’ll give this Half Yellow Pearl to you. Then the Divine Arts infused with the strength of the Liberation Wood and the World Tree will be much easier to execute.”
“Thanks.”
As the Master of the Twelve Joules reached out, Zhuge Sa yanked the pearl closer to himself.
“But you need to do me a favor.”
“What is it?”
“You need to open the Five Demon Gate immediately. Please help me.”
“……”
The aura of the Master of the Twelve Joules turned icy. He said in a fierce tone, “There’s no reason for me to fulfill such a ridiculous request.”
“Why is it ridiculous?”
“Even if the Five Demon Gate, the entrance to the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, is here, we don’t have the authority to enter. We’d all be annihilated by the gatekeeper. Don’t spout nonsense; just hand over the Half Yellow Pearl.”
“Is that really true?”
“We can’t face that gatekeeper. There’s no chance of victory.”
“Heh heh heh.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Just because.”
Zhuge Sa chuckled. Because he had confirmed one thing.
‘ The Master of the Twelve Joules knows that the gatekeeper of the Five Demon Gate is Spirit Power Level 1…’
And he realized that the Master of the Twelve Joules had an unreasonably good grasp of the whole situation regarding the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace. If not, there would be no way he’d show such a hostile reaction when suggesting to open the door meeting with the Three Sovereigns. The power of Level 1 was certainly something that could exceed even that of the Demon King, so with the forces present, they were definitely no match. But how did he know that? Additionally, Zhuge Sa realized that the Master of the Twelve Joules had a strong aversion to directly facing the Three Sovereigns.
The reason the Master of the Twelve Joules avoids the Three Sovereigns.
It must be something to do with his identity.
Zhuge Sa said, “If you don’t want to, then just go. We’ll open the Five Demon Gate ourselves.”
“Have you lost your mind?”
“But in that case, I can’t give you the Half Yellow Pearl.”
“……”
The Master of the Twelve Joules clenched his teeth and spoke, “Do whatever you want. We’re leaving.”
Whoosh!
With that, the Master of the Twelve Joules took off with the Three Masters and Musashi, leaving Zhuge Sa alone in the desolate building filled with slaughtered Sea Gods.
“Then shall we go to the Five Demon Gate?”
“Are you really thinking of going? If it’s true what was in White Woong’s memories about that being’s power, there’s no way we could win. That being is like a low-level divine being.”
“I don’t care. The fact that the Twelve Joules and the Divine Arts unfolding are comparatively unimportant to this matter.”
Zhuge Sa grinned.
“It doesn’t really matter if we can fend off the Eight Parts of the Divine. Whether we all survive matters even less.”
“Then what’s actually important?”
“We need to create a chance to create chaos.”
Thus, Zhuge Sa led his companions toward the Five Demon Gate located in the northern part of Mount Penglai. Standing before the gate, he yelled, “Guardian of the Five Demon Gate! I have crucial information to share, step forth!”
Whoosh!
Then, a dark figure of the Demonic Being emerged to block the entrance to the Five Demon Gate. The Being seemed incredibly furious, unleashing the power of darkness openly, and the pressure made even Jin So-cheong’s legs tremble. He exuded Spirit Power as he spoke, [ Human sorcerer… your fate will be decided by the next word.]
“Hehe. Naturally.”
Zhuge Sa spoke with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
“The Eight Parts of the Divine are about to reveal their main body and attack us. I know the precise location and time, so please lend your strength to take them down!”
[ ……!!]
The Demon’s face flickered.
After a moment, he looked to the sky and said, [ Follow me. My lord has granted an audience.]
