Chapter 402: With The Wind (7)

The storage scroll of Lofty Dragon True Person.

Under the Xiezhi Worship Layer lies the Care Layer.

How long have I been waiting in a lotus position on the altar above?

Kugugugung!

I feel the entire storage scroll reverberate.

I open my eyes wide and smile.

"They've come!"

Now, it is time to leave.

Inside the storage scroll of Lofty Dragon True Person, several forces enter.

The Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect is the first to reach the interior of the storage scroll.

Right after them, the two Four-Axis stage cultivators from the Tall Tree Race and the Paired Wings Race enter.

Finally, I see Gyo Yeom and his party enter the storage scroll.

They slowly advance upward, making their way through the interior of the storage scroll.

I look down at them from the physically uppermost Care Layer and chuckle.

'This is quite a unique feeling.'

Just watching them progress in their expedition is entertaining enough that I'm not bored.

I can also observe how each race approaches the expedition.

The Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect is the same as before.

But behind them, I can see Gyo Yeom leading the Demon Race below the Heavenly Being stage, bustling and rushing about.

"Gyo Yeom is proceeding in that manner, and the Tall Tree and Paired Wings Races are..."

They are advancing rapidly through the storage scroll in an interesting way.

First, the Four-Axis stage cultivator from the Tall Tree Race uses wood attribute spells to grow trees in the field, and the two cultivators climb up.

Then, the cultivator from the Paired Wings Race spreads their wings, grabs the Tall Tree Race's Four-Axis stage cultivator, and glides downwards, swiftly traversing the storage scroll.

'They bypassed the flight prohibition within the storage scroll in such a manner.'

I observe them briefly before turning my gaze back to the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect.

'Once again, Hyeon Gwi is leading the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect.'

However, this time it seems they couldn't find a suitable Four-Axis cultivator, as only people from the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect are present.

The expedition through the storage scroll progresses swiftly, and it doesn't take long for Nok Ju and Baek Wi-ik, the cultivators from the Tall Tree Race and Paired Wings Race, to fly here.

The two Heavenly Tribe cultivators laugh joyfully, debating whether to pick the Heavenly Lotus Fruits from the Melia tree, while I sense the Black Scale Fish Commanding Sect defeating the Calamity Flame and advancing below.

And finally,

"Just three drops. Please let me have only three drops of the Heavenly Lotus Fruit's juice!"

Gyo Yeom and the Demon Race, along with the two Heavenly Tribe cultivators, meet.

The history within the storage scroll does not deviate much from my previous life, except for the absence of Seo Li.

Gyo Yeom, as expected, kneels before the Heaven Tribe, and when the two Heaven Tribe cultivators ridicule and insult his wife, he becomes enraged and starts a battle with them.

Kugugugung!

Baek Wi-ik unfolds his Four-Axis Canopy, and together with Nok Ju, they pressure Gyo Yeom.

Unlike before, Gyo Yeom seems unable to properly exert his strength against the two Heaven Tribe cultivators.

The reason is obvious.

'It's because I've collected and stored all the artifacts Gyo Yeom would have brought.'

Currently, the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect and Gyo Yeom have likely moved up without gaining much advantage from the lower layers.

This is because I, having entered the storage scroll before them, have gathered and hidden all the treasures within.

Perhaps because of this, the Black Scale Fish Commanding Sect and Gyo Yeom have reached the Care Layer much faster than before, and Gyo Yeom is being overwhelmed by the Heaven Tribe cultivators due to not obtaining any proper benefits.

'At this rate, Gyo Yeom will probably lose.'

The Black Scale Fish Commanding Sect, having reached the Care Layer, show no interest in the forces of the Four-Axis stage cultivators engaging in battle. Instead, they gradually move toward the Melia tree and begin examining the Taenghwa nearby it.

'The Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect came to acquire something called the Recognizing Sin Taenghwa or whatever to escape from Hyeon Eum...'

I have no particular business with them.

My objective is those Four-Axis stage cultivators anyway.

But if there is something that piques my interest...

'I'm a bit curious what that Hyeon Gwi bastard is up to.'

I pass by the disciples of the Black Scale Fish Commanding Sect, who are diligently sifting through the Taenghwa near the Melia tree at the lakeside, and approach Hyeon Gwi, who is examining a Taenghwa in a secluded spot.

Since my physical body is currently on the outskirts of the Nether Ghost Realm, it's impossible for anyone to perceive me unless they are a ghost cultivator who has cultivated the Ghost Path Method and transformed their Nascent Soul into a Ghost King.

"Hmm, I just can't figure out what this guy is up to..."

I approach Hyeon Gwi to see what he is doing.

He is focused on searching for something without paying any attention to his surroundings.

Then, at a certain moment.

"Found it! Western Heaven Taenghwa!"

Clench!

Hyeon Gwi's face lights up with joy as he pulls out something that looks like pitch-black paper from the Taenghwa and clutches it tightly.

Flinch!

I'm a little surprised by this sight.

'If it's the Western Heaven Taenghwa...'

Isn't it the one Yuk Yo mentioned?

I glance at the Western Heaven Taenghwa in Hyeon Gwi's hand.

As expected, it's interestingly made of pitch-black paper, making it impossible to discern what is drawn on it.

Yet somehow, Hyeon Gwi seems to 'see' something as he sinisterly caresses the center of the Western Heaven Taenghwa.

'What is this bastard up to?'

What kind of secret does Hyeon Gwi hold?

Just as I try to observe him more closely.

"Hmm?"

Hyeon Gwi suddenly raises his head.

"...!"

"...!"

Hyeon Gwi and I are simultaneously startled.

'He's looking in my direction? And he is surprised?'

I am momentarily startled but quickly understand the direction of his gaze and feel relieved.

Hyeon Gwi isn't looking at 'me' but 'above' me.

'Is there something over there?'

I turn my head in the direction of Hyeon Gwi's gaze.

In the distance, there is a hanging scroll depicting a map of the Bright Cold Realm.

It's a huge scroll hanging on all sides of the Care Layer.

I glance at the map of the Bright Cold Realm but can't find anything special.

'Just what is Hyeon Gwi looking at!?'

Determined to uncover Hyeon Gwi's secret today, I glare at him.

The subject of my scrutiny for a while, Hyeon Gwi, chuckles and floats the ink-black paper called the Western Heaven Taenghwa into the air.

Woo-ooong!

The Four Symbols Nascent Soul unique to the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect rises into the air, creating a spatial rift.

He tosses the Western Heaven Taenghwa into the spatial rift and then dissolves the Four Symbols Nascent Soul.

"To see you in the Saha World, how strange."

"...?"

He suddenly starts muttering incomprehensible words while looking at the void.

'This bastard, is he crazy?'

I heighten my vigilance when Hyeon Gwi starts acting unpredictably.

'Or is it some kind of secret art? Drawing upon the power of some higher existence?'

The Four Symbols Nascent Soul secret art of the Black Scaled Fish Commanding Sect is specialized in borrowing power, so he might be trying to borrow the power of a True Person.

However, right after spouting strange words, Hyeon Gwi proceeds to do something utterly incomprehensible.

"...!"

Pukwak!

Hyeon Gwi's Nascent Soul explodes!

Immediately after, Hyeon Gwi dies.

He committed suicide.

"What in the...?"

Unable to hide my bewilderment, I approach Hyeon Gwi.

He is dead.

His face shows no sign of lingering attachment or regret.

'Just what is this...'

Hyeon Gwi is a cultivator at the Heavenly Being stage, a promising talent with a bright future ahead.

Yet, this promising talent chose to abandon his life without a moment of hesitation?

I can't comprehend it, so I examine Hyeon Gwi's corpse multiple times.

"...What are you, Hyeon Gwi?"

It was the same in my previous life.

When he died at Seo Li's hands, he reacted as if it was a nuisance.

If Hyeon Gwi had been someone's split soul or had a means of resurrection, it might have been understandable.

But I saw it clearly.

Hyeon Gwi's soul did not travel anywhere through the Plane of Soul.

It simply headed beyond the outskirts of the Netherworld to the afterlife, like the souls of ordinary people.

In other words, Hyeon Gwi died without a doubt.

Completely.

After examining Hyeon Gwi's body, I realize I can possess his body since he died so cleanly.

Yet somehow, I feel uneasy.

'I should feel uneasy.'

Even a fool can tell.

This guy is definitely related to a True Immortal.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen death so nonchalantly.

'And the way he was intently staring at the hanging scroll of the Bright Cold Realm just now...is he somehow connected to the Bright Cold Realm itself?'

That is the only conclusion I can reach.

I look at Hyeon Gwi with a slightly uneasy expression, then turn around and walk towards Gyo Yeom.

Kugugugugu!

Gyo Yeom halts and gasps for breath in front of an enormous forest.

[Ugh, these parasite-like Heaven Tribe bastards!]

Tears of blood stream down from his eyes.

[Just what is so precious about three drops of fruit juice that you can't spare them? Are you Heaven Tribe bastards a bunch of miserly beggars who tremble at the thought of giving away even three drops of nectar?]

A sea of blood surges around him, trying to resist the forest.

However, along with the forest, a massive beam of light descends from the sky and strikes Gyo Yeom.

Flash!

Chiiiiii—

The sea of blood Gyo Yeom summoned evaporates in the light along with his blood tears.

He is being gradually cornered.

[What's so important about three drops of Heavenly Lotus Fruit juice that you can't give even a speck of it!!??]

Kuang!

Blasted away by the combined power of the forest and beam of light, Gyo Yeom vomits dryly with dried blood tears.

He doesn't even have the strength to move a single fin.

'Is this the end?'

It's then,

"...?"

Gyo Yeom notices something strange about his shadow.

'What, what is this?'

His shadow should have been that of a shark.

However, his shadow has suddenly transformed into that of a monster with 19 heads.

A small voice whispers in Gyo Yeom's ear.

—Lend me your body.

"...! Who, who are you?"

—If you lend me your body, I will grant you what you desire. Do you not wish to cure your wife's illness?

"...Th-That..."

Gyo Yeom looks at the ominous shadow, unable to speak.

But he tightly closes his eyes.

"I-I will lend you my body! Please, grant me your power!"

After all, he has nothing left.

There is no place to retreat.

If that's the case, he has to at least grasp the suspicious demon spirit's hand!

As soon as Gyo Yeom grants permission, the shadow clings to his body and begins to gradually permeate it.

Baek Wi-ik, who is radiating light from his wings, widens his eyes in rage.

"This bastard! What kind of sorcery are you casting? This sinister aura..."

However, Baek Wi-ik can't finish his sentence.

Kugugugugugu!

[Guaaaaahhhh!]

An immense pressure engulfs the interior of Baek Wi-ik's Four-Axis Canopy.

Simultaneously, Gyo Yeom screams.

Bizarre patterns are being etched all over his body.

Currently, there is a madman the Heaven and Earth Tribes fear the most after the Heart Tribe.

It's the Mad Lord's circuits.

[Kyaaaahhh! Kuaaahhhh!]

The process of engraving is evidently painful, as Gyo Yeom rolls his eyes back and foams at the mouth with blood.

Tension spreads across the faces of Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju.

"...Did you see it, Cultivator Baek?"

"...I did. Something black entered that Shark Race's body."

"Is there a demon spirit within the storage scroll?"

"Possibly. Be on your guard. For the Earth Tribe, known for their sturdy bodies, to be writhing in such pain. This is no ordinary demon spirit."

It's when Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju are concluding their preparations.

Kuguguguk!

The circuit on Gyo Yeom's body begins to glow, and simultaneously, the Three Great Ultimates appear behind his head.

"Wh-What kind of sorcery is this!?"

"Cultivator Baek! For now, focus the attraction force within the canopy!"

"I, I understand..."

However, at that moment.

Kugugugu!

The Three Great Ultimates have appeared behind Gyo Yeom, and four Axes emerge around him.

Upon seeing this, Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju's eyes widen as if it will pop out.

"H-How!? That Shark Race was atmost at the early Four-Axis stage!"

"Could it be that the realm of that demon spirit is..."

The Axes glow, and the characters engraved on them shine auspiciously.

Longevity, Wealth, Health.

And...

Love of Virtue!

"Just what is...? It's not even a Five Elements Axis..."

And in the next moment.

Paaaat!

The Axes floating around Gyo Yeom form a Four-Axis Canopy and begin to 'devour' the domain within Baek Wi-ik's canopy.

Baek Wi-ik's face turns pale.

"Th-This madness! Devouring a domain is a divine power only possible for Integration stage Grand Cultivators, so how can a Grand Perfection Four-Axis stage do such a thing!?"

But whether his face pales or not, the True Orthodox Axis Foundation centered around Gyo Yeom expands.

The Five Blessings Axis Canopy instantly devours Baek Wi-ik's domain and takes control of the surroundings.

The scenery, which had been a temple atop a great mountain range, changes.

Saaaaaa—

It's a scenery similar to the Dead Earth Domain they visited before entering the storage scroll.

An endlessly sprawling desert!

An unpleasant gray mist that darkens the sky.

And, at the center of it, stands Gyo Yeom.

However, they all can tell.

That is not the mere Shark Race they had been facing moments ago!

Woo-wooooooooong—

Sinister ghostly energy envelops Gyo Yeom.

Then, Gyo Yeom's gigantic form is engulfed by the ghostly energy and transforms.

Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju's faces turn pale.

Through Gyo Yeom's body, a dangerous entity is descending.

They possess a body that shimmers with starlight, has 19 heads, and surrounding it, Heaven and Earth spiritual energy boils wildly in the form of white granules.

Kuguguguk!

Moreover, in the hands of that fearsome ghost, purple steam is boiling furiously, barking like a hunting dog.

"Uuuh, uuuuaaaaaah!!!"

Nok Ju, upon facing the Ghost King, immediately flees.

Kuguguk!

He tries to use his own axis to escape from the Ghost King's Four-Axis Canopy,

But it's futile.

Kwaang!

Even when Nok Ju strikes with his axis, the Four-Axis Canopy does not waver in the slightest.

Nok Ju screams.

"Wh-What is this!? It's no different from an Integrated Dao Domain! This, this demon spirit bastard! What kind of sorcery have you cast?"

Then, the Ghost King with 19 heads raises its hand and strikes down.

Kwaang!

A single strike.

Merely a single strike.

Nok Ju is knocked back by the Ghost King's descending hand, spewing spiritual liquid and faints.

Baek Wi-ik swallows hard and falls to his knees.

"How, how could an Integration stage senior treat juniors like us so harshly?"

To him, that being is essentially a Grand Cultivator at the Integration stage.

What kind of Four-Axis cultivator's Four-Axis Canopy can possess the same strength as a dimensional barrier?

"Please, I humbly ask that you convey your wishes."

The Ghost King with 19 heads looks satisfied with Baek Wi-ik's attitude and opens its mouth.

[You shall receive my command and summon my main body to the Bright Cold Realm.]

"...!"

At those words, Baek Wi-ik gulps nervously.

He can understand.

The entity before his eyes is a being from another dimension that has sent a split soul at the Four-Axis to Integration level to the Bright Cold Realm.

This otherworldly being is coercing them to betray in order to invade the Bright Cold Realm.

'If it becomes known that I sided with their side...I'll receive an execution order from my race.'

Baek Wi-ik closes his eyes tightly.

'I must commit suicide!'

He fears the execution order from his race more than the immediate terror before him.

But just then.

[Sorry, but you can't do that.]

Cleench!

Kururururu—

The purple steam that has been seething in the massive Ghost King's hands surges out like a rabid dog and flows into the heads of Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju.

[Keok, keheok! Keeeook!]

Baek Wi-ik chokes for breath with tears streaming down his face.

[A life is precious and should not be wasted carelessly. If you help me, you shall be handsomely rewarded.]

His body won't move as he wills it.

'I-If I move, my soul will be dismantled.'

He can sense it.

This unidentified old monster's purple spell can disassemble and scatter his soul and spirit in an instant.

If that happens, resurrection be damned, it will be the end.

What can he do if his soul and spirit is disintegrated!?

Baek Wi-ik lets out a mournful groan and a deep sigh.

"...I humbly pray for the venerable senior's mercy..."

Seeing Baek Wi-ik and Nok Ju completely subdued, the 19-headed Ghost King possessing Gyo Yeom's body laughs heartily.

[At last...the advent of our order upon the Bright Cold Realm is near! Wait for me, Human Race Grand Alliance! I have returned!!!]