Chapter 442: Descend (4)

Operation Exorcize the Mad Lord is as follows:

First, I unleash a Void Shattering sword strike to slice the Mad Lord's Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress in half.

As confirmed back when Jang Ik was involved, even if the Mad Lord's fortress is cut in half, Yeon's Play will still activate, so there's no issue.

Next, Kim Yeon enters the split fortress and, through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon at great completion, triggers Yeon's Play.

Then, Mad Lord will be exorcized (attain Buddhahood) within Yeon's Play, and the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress will fall into our hands.

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress has a self-repair function, so the parts I destroy should restore themselves.

The variables here are the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress and [Her] power.

'This life's Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress has the Realm Annihilation Ground-Shrinking Formation added to it.'

Just that alone gives it the mobility of the Star Shattering stage within the Bright Cold Realm.'

'Moreover, having witnessed Kang Min-hee at the Star Shattering stage firsthand...it's unclear how much [She] has been modified based on that information.'

In other words, I have to consider the possibility that the Mad Lord might try to escape from me.

Thus, I have prepared another plan for that.

[You understand your role, right, Seo Ran?]

"Yes, Senior."

Seo Ran is aboard the Nether Crossing Ship.

Seo Ran's Nether Crossing Ship has a power source installed.

The power source from the Nether Crossing Ship that was destroyed by Kang Min-hee was moved to Seo Ran's Nether Crossing Ship.

However, since this is a temporary arrangement, there is the condition that it has to be returned to Black Ghost Valley later.

'To think that when I mentioned going to face the Mad Lord, they readily lent me the power source with both hands...'

To Black Ghost Valley, the Mad Lord is a terrifying beast that left a blemish on their 500,000-year history.

Saying we're going to eliminate such a monster, they didn't just lend us the Nether Crossing Ship, but also numerous Ghost Kings.

Kiaaaaaaah!

Kiyaaaah!

Thanks to that, the eerie cries of the Ghost Kings are resonating from within the Nether Crossing Ship.

I gesture to Seo Ran, and he responds with a nod.

Following the signal, my comrades quickly board the Nether Crossing Ship.

[It will take about five seconds to activate the Realm Annihilation Ground-Shrinking Formation. During that time, we must infiltrate the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.]

If the Mad Lord escapes while fighting me, I will pursue him, while my comrades who infiltrate the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress will activate Yeon's Play.

"Yes! I will complete the mission without fail. Even if it's to carry on my master's grudge...!"

Behind the energetically shouting Seo Ran, it feels as though I can see the faint image of Song Jin.

The Grand Elder of Black Ghost Valley who was humiliatingly defeated by the Mad Lord.

Song Jin's vengeance will carry on through Seo Ran and be executed today.

[Good, then let's go!]

I nod and turn my head again.

Kugugugugung!

The Nether Crossing Ship moves.

The Nether Crossing Ship tears through space and performs a spatial leap.

The next place the Nether Crossing Ship will appear in the next moment will be inside the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress!

I exude ghostly energy as I fly towards the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, dragging dark clouds behind me.

When the Gliding Technique of the Demon Race, which utilizes Heaven and Earth spiritual energy as stepping stones, is used in a certain realm, the Heaven and Earth spiritual energy begins to assist them.

Heaven and Earth spiritual energy voluntarily rushes in, allowing the Demon Race to move even faster.

The dense spiritual energy transforms into the form of clouds, making it appear as though they are riding on clouds as they move.

Kwarurung!

Using the Gliding Technique, I shoot swiftly towards the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress from above the black clouds.

Tststststststs!

Curses begin to flow from my entire body.

The next moment!

Kwaaaang!

I collide with the defensive barrier surrounding the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

The defensive barrier wavers.

At the same time, the part of the formation I touched begins to decay.

Wiiiiing—

An alarm blares from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

I smile faintly and stretch out both hands.

Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Ninth Move.

Landscape Painting!

The slash spread in all directions.

The transparent sword energy shatters the Mad Lord's defensive formation in one blow.

'With this, the Nether Crossing Ship will reach the interior of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress without issue.'

Since the barrier likely also includes parts that block enemy teleportation, the operation should proceed smoothly now.

What remains is...

Kwoong!

[We've...known each other for quite some time, haven't we?]

[She] appears above the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress!

Kugugugugu!

I feel the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress trembling.

The Mad Lord may be insane, but he's no fool.

Of course, his ability to assess situations is rather poor.

That's why the Mad Lord implanted a 'situation judgment magic artifact' in his body.

Thanks to that, when he meets a dangerous enemy, he knows how to flee at the right moment. Even if the Mad Lord wishes to fight, the judgment device implanted in him runs simulated battles with illusions, and if it determines there is no chance of victory, it forces him to attempt an escape.

After all, what do you think made that madman, who struggles to tell right from wrong, flee from the Flying Immortal Platform in the first place?

And now, the judgment device implanted in the Mad Lord seems to have decided that he stands no chance against me, as the Realm Annihilation Ground-Shrinking Formation begins to be activated.

Wiiiiiing!

I can see space bending.

'What the...? It's faster than I expected.'

It seems I made a slight miscalculation; it looks like the Realm Annihilation Ground-Shrinking Formation will only take about three seconds to activate.

In that time, the Mad Lord must have modified the formation once more, enhancing its performance.

'Now, the only remaining factor is [Her] capabilities...'

I enter into the time of instants and fix my gaze on [Her].

Three seconds.

It's short, but for those at the Integration stage and above, it's an extremely long time.

[We've had quite a lot of ill fate between us but...]

I smile as I look at [Her].

I recall the Mad Lord threatening all the other cultivation sects through [Her] in Ascension Path.

I recall [Her] chasing after me like a madwoman with just one hand, forcing me to suicide.

I recall [Her], who spent a thousand years with the Mad Lord, and in terms of energy had grown to the size of the Star Shattering stage.

[She] has always been a terrifying presence to me.

As I gaze at [Her], whose face is covered in white cloth like the Buk Hyang-hwa I danced with in the tenth cycle, I softly mutter.

[Today, I will confirm your face and sever this ill-fated connection.]

And in that moment.

I rush straight toward [Her].

Kwaaaaaang!

An immense roar and shockwave erupt.

I sense that the Nether Crossing Ship has successfully teleported into the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Now, all I need to do is tie [Her] down!

I can feel it from the first strike.

'It's insane...Mad Lord.'

She's stronger than her at the thousand-year pont!

I can already sense the power of a star at the Star Shattering stage!

'But the strength consumption is fast.'

I realize that this overwhelming wave of power will soon subside.

'At best, five seconds? After that, it'll stop functioning.'

Her strength is immense, but it only lasts five seconds.

Of course, in the Star Shattering stage, five seconds is an incredibly long time, but that's all.

'It's incomplete.'

Her output included, [She] can't move in the same flow of time as me.

The acceleration of consciousness at this stage is at an almost transcendental speed.

[Then, please be on your way...]

[She], who I once feared...

Click!

In the frozen world.

There, something like a disk rises behind [Her].

'What...?'

It's a ring.

Behind her back, like a halo, like an aureole, a perfectly round 'ring' appears.

At the same time, a sharp mechanical sound is heard from [Her].

[Celestial Energy Calculation Device, activating. Switching to combat mode. Calculation speed for countering a Star Shattering stage enemy approved.]

Wiiiiing!

Inside the semi-transparent 'ring,' which appears to be made of crystal, something black writhes.

[I will counterattack.]

Kuang!

I let out a dry laugh as I watch [Her] spear strike my sword.

'Celestial Energy Calculation Device? Just what have you created this time, Mad Lord!'

Wooo-woong!

From my perspective, [Her] spear technique is crude.

It's only about as complete as the Severing Mountain Swordsmanship I used before Kim Young-hoon improved it.

But that's not the issue here.

'Attraction force...'

Kuguguguk!

I feel the power of a star surging within [her].

Simultaneously, the attraction force turns into repulsion, flinging me away with cosmic force.

Kuwoong!

I am flung away by that cosmic repulsive force.

In the next moment, [She] moves above me using the ground-shrinking technique and concentrates the attraction force at the tip of her spear, thrusting it down towards me.

Flash!

A brilliant light bursts forth.

With [Her] single strike, it's as if Heaven and Earth are connected by a pillar of light, and a 'hole' is pierced below.

The very space of the Bright Cold Realm distorts, and a hole is punched right through the dimension.

Click!

In a fleeting instant, she adjusts her stance through the 'Celestial Energy Calculation Device' and swings two short spears at me.

I parry the slashes of the short spears with Secluded Valley, then rush towards her.

'Astonishing.'

The Mad Lord has indeed created a puppet at the Star Shattering-level, even if it's only for five seconds.

Crunch!

My left hand digs into [Her] waist.

[She] narrowly dodges my strike and climbs up a large rocky mountain before shifting her stance.

In an instant, I reach in front of [Her].

[She] tries to react, but I unleash three consecutive techniques, slamming her down along with the entire rocky mountain.

Kugwang!

[She] is unable to react in time, crashing down below before bouncing back up.

I leap onto [Her] body and extend both hands.

Overlaying my hands with my sword, I slam down once more.

Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Dragon Vein.

Mountain and Valley Transformation.

My left hand slashes down, cutting [Her], while my right hand penetrates sword energy into [Her] body, erupting the power within as if reshaping the terrain from the inside.

Kwaching, Kwaching!

I hear the sounds of mechanical components inside the puppet's body shattering.

But it seems this level of damage doesn't impair her functionality, as [She] starts responding to me again.

In the world of moments.

There, [She] and I exchange countless blows.

Splurt!

We pierce through the clouds and clash in the sky.

[She] tries to push me back using the Paired Wings Spear technique.

Using a changing technique, [She] attempts to expose my weaknesses, but I disrupt her internally again with Mountain Echoes Valley Responds.

[She] mixes the illusory moves and domineering moves of the Paired Wings Spear to attack me with domineering force within her illusionary strikes, but I counter it by absorbing the force and sending it back with the Echoing Valley.

When beams of light shoot out from both her hands, I retaliate by unleashing beams of ghostly energy from my 42 eyes.

As [She] attempts to collapse the entire space through attraction force, I slice through the entire space with Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain.

Shukwaaanng!

The force of Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain not only cuts through the space but continues to surge forward relentlessly.

[She] blocks the sword energy from Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain, but its power propels [Her] upward endlessly, toward the sky above the Bright Cold Realm.

I chase after her, overlaying the All-Heavens Sword onto my body.

Before long,

Jjeoong!

[She] is pushed back by Accumulating Dust Forms a Mountain, reaching the end of the Bright Cold Realm's sky.

The dimensional barrier.

Also known as the World Shield Force.

Towards the [Her], who has reached that veil, I charge at her with my sword enveloping my body.

Kwaaaanng!

It feels as if the entire Bright Cold Realm is reverberating.

At the same time, the distortion of the World Shield Force is visible to the naked eye.

Severing Mountain Swordsmanship.

Deep Mountain!

Originally, Deep Mountain is a move that digs deep into the opponent's space and slices upward.

But this time, I modified the technique to slash while body-slamming.

In other words, it doesn't just end with a body-slam.

Surung!

I lift my sword energy upwards at [Her], who is stuck within the distorted World Shield Force.

Flash!

Along with that, the already completely distorted World Shield Force of the Bright Cold Realm explodes entirely.

Kwagwagwang!

[She] is flung outside the Bright Cold Realm.

[She] tries to regain her stance and respond to me.

But I accelerate my consciousness even further and extend both hands.

Sword Formation.

Twelve Thousand!

From my entire body, Colorless Glass Swords are unleashed.

The sword formation I completed together with Hong Su-ryeong encircles [Her].

Three thousand Colorless Glass Swords each produce three additional split shadows, becoming a formation of twelve thousand swords.

The sword formation seems to rotate around [Her] before gradually starting to close in.

[This is the end!]

With a loud shout, I rapidly tighten the sword formation.

A burst of brilliant light erupts.

Flash!

With the blinding white light, an overwhelming attraction force concentrates into one spot.

[She] emerges from the sword formation.

One of [Her] short spears is broken, and one of her arms is so tattered that it's nearly unusable.

Her entire body is severely damaged.

And...

I can finally see [Her] face.