Chapter 732
I tried once again to unleash the Fire Spirit’s Sky Flame to break the subspace, but in that moment, five resonances appeared in the void, blocking my technique. Then I heard Jin Tian-Jun’s triumphant laughter.
“Hahaha! Even with the skills of the Seven Luminaries, we five can block you easily!”
BAM!
At the same time, a wave of blood-red energy and meteorites flew in and overwhelmed me, sending me flying backward despite my Protection Energy Technique. Just as I was about to hit the ground, the sand of the Dark Heaven seemed to come alive, trying to swallow me whole, so I hurriedly executed the Void Step to bounce away from the ground.
‘I’m going to die at this rate.’
No, isn’t there no way out of this? The only way to break the subspace was to shatter it with Fire Spirit’s Sky Flame, but five Ten Thousand Heavens Lords were all blocking me. Moreover, my internal power was already dwindling, and my vision started to blur.
What should I do to survive?
As I desperately racked my brain, there was a sudden CRUNCH.
At that moment, Son Tian-Jun’s head twisted. Everyone’s gaze shifted in shock, and there stood Xiang Yu, cutting the life string of Son Tian-Jun. Yuan Tian-Jun looked bewildered.
“You scoundrel! Stop right there!”
Ice of the Han Dynasty!
Yuan Tian-Jun’s hand spread wide as a chilling aura enveloped Xiang Yu. That ice had the terrifying capability to freeze even an immortal. But Xiang Yu, completely unfazed by the subzero cold that was even lower than the North Pole, boldly approached.
“Hrk! Don’t come closer!”
Yuan Tian-Jun tried to erect several walls of subspace but failed to stop Xiang Yu’s advance; he simply ignored all of it. Even when Yuan Tian-Jun attempted the Transmission Technique, Xiang Yu kept right on his tail. Blood light streamed from Xiang Yu’s eyes.
“Die!”
Yuan Tian-Jun’s eyes widened with fury.
“Aaaagh! This is insane!”
As the other Ten Thousand Heavens Lords set up a formation to attack Xiang Yu, a bizarre star-shaped formation appeared around him, nullifying all their natural disasters. Then, Xiang Yu raised his fist and slammed it into Yuan Tian-Jun’s face.
POW!
Blood splattered as Yuan Tian-Jun’s head burst apart. He was utterly defeated and lay dead.
The other three Ten Thousand Heavens Lords, faced with the loss of two comrades, retreated in panic, screaming as they vanished.
“You punks!!”
“Just you wait!”
Swoosh…
As the enemies vanished, the spatial barrier around me faded, allowing me to return to the original space. I was gasping for breath from extreme fatigue, and I awkwardly bowed to Xiang Yu.
“T-thank you!”
Xiang Yu looked down at me as if I were a bug.
“You’re way too weak.”
“……”
“To think you can’t even retaliate against those lousy punks without borrowing the power of a Divine Treasure. How do you plan to kill Nüwa?”
I had no words. There was indeed an immense gap between Xiang Yu’s power and mine, making it hard to argue otherwise. I was in no position to even come close to Xiang Yu’s strength, even if I borrowed the powers of the Seven Luminaries and Fire Dragon Incarnate.
Xiang Yu continued,
“I told you to find Yu Ji before, did you?”
His words snapped me to attention. I cautiously replied,
“My companion is using the relic of the Celestial Sage to search the depths of the Underworld. They’ve searched over half of it, but they haven’t found Yu Ji’s spirit yet.”
Xiang Yu’s tone softened somewhat as he replied,
“The relic of the Celestial Sage, huh? Your companion is quite capable for a human.”
“……”
“I hope you bring me good news.”
Swoosh!
With that, Xiang Yu left for somewhere. I realized he was letting me off the hook this time, likely due to favorable searching conditions. Xiang Yu was a figure who concealed violence and fury within his silence, and there was a significant risk of dying at his hands if I wasn’t careful.
‘Phew. Still, I owe my life to him.’
If Xiang Yu hadn’t intervened, I would’ve been dead meat. I then made my way to find my companions, and it wasn’t long before I ran into Tang San and Seo Mun-hye.
“Where are Cheon Woo-jin and Jin So-cheong?”
Tang San replied,
“No idea.”
“Damn… what do we do?”
Seo Mun-hye chimed in,
“Wouldn’t it be better to hold back and wait? It seems like our forces are at an advantage…”
“Good point.”
We might complicate things and make it harder for our allies to find us if we stray too far from here. I believed her suggestion was sound, so I took a moment to recover my energy and internal power while Tang San and Seo Mun-hye shielded me.
About an hour passed.
BOOM!!
From somewhere nearby, a thunderous sound resonated, and I heard Gong Gong’s laughter.
“Hahaha! Golden Light Saint, did you underestimate me?”
“You giant scoundrel…”
Gong Gong seemed to be winning the fight. As we moved in that direction, Cheon Woo-jin appeared using the Transmission Technique and said,
“Leave Gong Gong to himself.”
“Cheon Woo-jin.”
He confidently replied,
“He’s growing stronger, so there’s no way he’ll lose. More importantly, we need to head to the core of this fortress soon.”
“Did you find the core?”
“Yeah, we need to hurry. If Shin Gong-pyo secures it first, we’re in trouble.”
“And Jin So-cheong…”
“She’s teamed up with the Celestial Sage.”
Then, we should be fine.
With a swoosh, we followed Cheon Woo-jin, who explained that the closer we got to the core, the stronger the spatial fixation would become, making the use of Transmission Technique dangerous. While running after him, I asked,
“But what’s so dangerous if Shin Gong-pyo takes the core of this fortress?”
He hesitated before responding,
“It’s just… dangerous.”
“…? Why is this guy acting weird?”
His casual response made me wonder if I had somehow upset him. After all, I had poked his nerves just a while ago, so it wasn’t that surprising that he was irritated.
Cheon Woo-jin asked Tang San,
“Can your poison technique dissolve tough metal?”
“Of course. Why?”
“We’ll need you to melt the sealing iron fence blocking the core.”
“Got it.”
We entered a massive spiral corridor.
‘This place definitely has that otherworldly architectural vibe…’
As we descended the spiraling staircase, we didn’t feel any attacks from enemies. It was just a long staircase, deeper than I expected. Finally, when we arrived at the very bottom, we sensed something.
Upon spotting something shadowy, we drew our weapons and took up a defensive stance. As I stood before the sealing iron fence, I shouted,
“Is that you, Ten Thousand Heavens Lord?!”
‘That figure’ glanced our way.
In the next moment, we were utterly shocked.
Cheon Woo-jin?!
It was undoubtedly his appearance!
“Huh? What’s happening?”
He spoke in a dazed tone.
The one who looked like Cheon Woo-jin stared blankly at us.
I turned around.
“They transformed into Cheon Woo-jin!”
Then Cheon Woo-jin nodded, saying,
“I see… then unleash the full power of the Seven Luminaries and take that thing down! Attack!”
“Alright!”
As I prepared to charge, Seo Mun-hye shouted,
“Baek Woong! Wait a moment!!”
Huh?
Why is Seo Mun-hye stopping me?
Before I could ponder her shout, I charged in and forcefully swung the Fire Dragon Sword. The one posing as Cheon Woo-jin panicked at my attack and retreated using the Transmission Technique, exclaiming,
“What are you doing?!”
“Shut up, you fake! Take this…”
Just as I was about to shout, I suddenly felt something was off and hesitated. Why would a Ten Thousand Heavens Lord use an illusion technique to impersonate Cheon Woo-jin? It couldn’t be… I quickly activated the Fire Eye Golden Spirit to observe Cheon Woo-jin before me.
WHOOSH!
There were no signs of fabrication. If it were an illusion technique capable of fooling even the Celestial Sage, then its wielder must possess skill far beyond that of a Ten Thousand Heavens Lord. My feelings of unease deepened as I quickly turned around.
In the next instant, my eyes widened.
RUMBLE…
Seo Mun-hye and Tang San were trapped in a watery sphere, seemingly unconscious. The one who had ensnared them wore a broad smile. Though he appeared to be Cheon Woo-jin, that smile was definitely not one he would wear.
SSSSSss
Then, Cheon Woo-jin’s form morphed into someone I recognized. He transformed into a breathtaking beauty with blue hair and golden eyes, chuckling as if it were fun.
“Hahaha. This is genuinely amusing!”
“……!!”
It was the leader of the Tongtian Sect, Shin Gong-pyo!
In that moment, I understood how the events unfolded. The Cheon Woo-jin that had appeared earlier was actually the result of Shin Gong-pyo’s transformation technique! He had come before us with plans on how to breach the core but was caught off guard when we arrived too quickly.
“……”
Realizing this made me want to hide in a mouse hole, my face flushed with embarrassment. I couldn’t believe I had been completely duped by Shin Gong-pyo and had charged at Cheon Woo-jin recklessly.
Cheon Woo-jin muttered softly,
“… To be fooled by that guy.”
Seeing the expression as if he couldn’t muster the energy to curse, I was left dumbfounded. Silence fell over me as Shin Gong-pyo casually said,
“Now, this Tongtian Island is originally mine, so retreat from the core. We’ve achieved our goals, haven’t we? Earlier I didn’t intend to kill you; I simply wanted to show you that this place is within my estate.”
In response, Cheon Woo-jin retorted brusquely,
“How laughable. If you take control of the core of Tongtian Island and amplify your power, do you think you can turn back? If that happens, you’d be on par with the [Old Ruler] here. You cannot leave this place unless you swear allegiance and make a vow of existence.”
“Why would I have to make such a promise?”
“Then we can’t trust you. When the Celestial Sage and Xiang Yu arrive, we’ll all have a word to share.”
“What a bothersome fellow…”
“I may not be able to defeat you, but you won’t leave unscathed either.”
When Cheon Woo-jin said this, Shin Gong-pyo frowned and replied,
“Alright, let’s do this. As long as you agree not to turn against us here on Golden Crow Island, what do you say?”
“… What are you planning?”
Cheon Woo-jin turned to me. Though he frowned and seemed irritated, he was leaving the decision to me.
Feeling immensely embarrassed, I stopped playing the fool and forced a return to composure, saying,
“And make sure that the Ten Thousand Heavens Lords can’t attack us either.”
“Hmph, foolish brat.”
“……”
“Got it. It shall be done.”
After the covenant was established, Shin Gong-pyo and Cheon Woo-jin simultaneously relaxed their combat postures. Shin Gong-pyo freed the two captives trapped in the water prison, and Tang San and Seo Mun-hye appeared to have regained their senses. Shin Gong-pyo spoke to Tang San, who was wheezing,
“As I mentioned earlier, use your poison to dissolve this sealing iron fence.”
“Why should I? Can’t Xiang Yu or the Celestial Sage break through by force?”
“Those fools lack the precision to dismantle the core entirely. For just dissolving the sealing iron fence, your skills are necessary.”
“Fine.”
SSSSZZZ
Tang San concentrated with all his internal power, seemingly preparing his poison technique. I could instinctively feel that he had surpassed the Peak Expert stage and was now on the verge of Absolute Realm. After a moment, Tang San’s eyes opened wide.
CRACK!
As the sealing iron fence melted away, the massive core began to throb like a heart. Simultaneously, the ground trembled as Tongtian Island swayed. Shin Gong-pyo marveled,
“Oh… After thousands of years, Tongtian Island is finally mine once again.”
“Now, uphold your end of the bargain.”
At my words, Shin Gong-pyo glanced at us and then said,
“What? Something is crossing through time and space.”
“What?”
“Activate the barrier.”
WHOOOSH
Shin Gong-pyo cast a barrier, creating a protective dome over Tongtian Island.
SWOOSH
Then, using the Transmission Technique, the rest of the Ten Thousand Heavens Lords appeared simultaneously. Among them, two had been killed by Xiang Yu, leaving a total of eight. A figure, dressed extravagantly with uncertain gender, stepped forward and stated,
“Shin Gong-pyo, we cannot recognize you as the leader of the Tongtian Sect. When our true lord arrives, you will be a dead man.”
“……”
“We will not assist you. That must be shocking for you.”
At those words, Shin Gong-pyo scoffed.
“Heh. Wang Cheon-gun… I don’t need fools like you. You were never much help thousands of years ago anyway.”
“What did you say?”
Wang Cheon-gun’s eyes began to twitch violently.
SHINK
Shin Gong-pyo slowly drew out the Sabre Sword with a smile.
“Everyone, die.”
