Chapter 456: Key (1)

Pasasasasa!

With the death of the Mad Lord, the patterns that emerged on his face grow pale pink and scatter like flower petals.

And in the darkness where no light reaches,

Someone is watching the scene, their body trembling.

[Finally...]

As they began to tremble, a bright smile spread across their face.

[Finally...! The Liberation Law Talent (解放法才) has been born! The [Key] is now in my hands!]

That being, filled with ecstasy, gazes beyond the distant sky.

Staring into the dark and empty sky beyond, they clench their hand.

[Now...it's soon.]

Kugugugugu!

The fully bloomed pink quince flowers rise above the wonderfully mysterious tree.

I can feel it.

Ting, tingle...

Even I, who has reached the Second Step Before the Throne, Void Shattering, can feel my breath stop at this 'infinite' power!

'This is...'

Dudududududu!

The ground begins to tremble, and beneath the crimson coral-covered land of the Bright Cold Realm, light pink flower dust starts to seep out.

The scent of peach blossoms is carried by the wind from somewhere, tickling my nose.

'The power of Vast Cold...'

Flash!

The entire world fills with pale pink light, driving away the crimson sky.

: : Vast Cold!!!!! : :

The desperate voice, whether it's longing, despair, or anger, echoes beneath the sky.

It's when Kim Yeon starts to unleash her power.

Wiiiiiiing!

Seven orbs of light rise around the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

'Those are...'

The Mad Lord's masterpiece.

The items [She] needed in order to rise to the Star Shattering stage.

[Artificial Stars].

Originally, even if all the power sources of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress were poured in, the half-complete artificial stars could only operate for five seconds. But now, beneath the quince flowers, it feels like the artificial stars' power is fully recharging.

No...

Even the seven artificial stars cannot fully handle that power and are becoming 'overcharged'!

Kugugugugu!

At the same time, the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress at the center of the artificial stars...

No,

Kim Yeon begins to display the true power of a cultivator at the Star Shattering stage.

Pabababang!

Absorbing the power of Blood Yin, Gyu Cheon, who had displayed immense strength at the late Star Shattering stage, is flung far away.

The Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, having absorbed the power of the seven stars, begins firing its main cannons.

Pabang!

"...!"

With that one blast, the tidal wave in the north evaporates on the spot.

The main cannons continue to fire.

The fiery heat in the south, the lightning tribulation in the east, the storms in the west—all vanish simultaneously, and the world, overturned by the pink brilliance, is restored to its original state.

Kiiiiiii!

The materialized Heart Heavenly Demons charge forwards all at once.

Since they don't attack in one massive clump like natural disasters, the main cannons cannot take them all out together.

However, Kim Yeon extends her palm.

Kugugugugu!

It's overwhelming.

No...perhaps it should be called tyrannical. A colossal force begins to gather in her hand.

Her stance itself isn't particularly sharp or precise by my standards.

However, as the power coalesces in front of Kim Yeon, a quince flower starts to bloom.

Flash!

The dragon wave of the Dragon Race.

No, perhaps it's more akin to the main cannon of the Nether Crossing Ship or the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

A similar beam erupts with her palm strike, instantly shattering and killing the Heart Heavenly Demons in a single blow.

But that strike isn't the end.

She continues dancing, sweeping away the Heart Heavenly Demons without pause.

Kim Yeon's feet move.

With each step, her dance flows seamlessly, her twin palms endlessly blooming quince flowers and unleashing beams in all directions.

Chiiiiii—

I inhale deeply, feeling the smoke rising from my entire body.

The recoil of Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains technique is settling inside me.

In the past, just using Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains would have guaranteed my death, but ever since I reached the Integration stage, where my body has become a world itself, it only produces some smoke.

'Though if I really pushed it endlessly, I suppose I'd die eventually...'

I calm my breathing and look toward Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

Ever since Kim Yeon manifested the Fully Bloomed Flower, an enormous murderous energy has been surging from deep within Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

"Is that the wedge Blood Yin planted in this world?"

"That's right. Blood Yin drove a wedge into the depths of Heavenly Lotus Mountain and has been eroding the Bright Cold Realm."

Twitch, twitch...

Seo Hweol appears beside me, smiling faintly as he explains.

The moment the power of Vast Cold manifested, the red sky began to turn back to blue, and the Blood Yin Realm was reverting to the Bright Cold Realm.

"The original plan was to combine Daoist Seo's strength with the power of Vast Cold the Mad Lord had nurtured and strike the wedge within Heavenly Lotus Mountain, but..."

Seo Hweol lets out a small laugh.

"I never expected that miss to...amplify the power of Vast Cold... Thanks to that, it seems Blood Yin has taken an unimaginable shock. If Daoist Seo purifies the wedge in this state...Blood Yin will undoubtedly suffer a fatal blow."

Perhaps because Blood Yin's sky has retreated, Seo Hweol kindly explains in his actual voice the current situation and what I need to do.

"Go now, Daoist Seo. Pierce a hole through Heavenly Lotus Mountain, drain the power of the wedge, and then have the miss strike it with a single strike infused with the power of Vast Cold. That will completely collapse Blood Yin."

"Alright."

Cheok!

Seo Hweol places a hand on my shoulder and smiles.

"I will place Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens. I know what you're thinking, but this time, it's really not like that. Without me, Daoist Seo won't be able to face Blood Yin's will head-on."

"..."

"...Because of our contract, I can't pull any tricks. Besides, if you're suspicious, you can easily dispel it with the power of the Heart Tribe, no?"

"I didn't say anything..."

Though I feel uneasy, I reluctantly nod.

Seo Hweol smiles faintly, placing his hand on my shoulder, and something sticky and dark starts to seep into my soul.

I feel his sticky personality layering itself over my soul.

As if a wrapper labeled 'Seo Hweol' has been placed over my soul.

I take my stance and rush from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress toward the center of Heavenly Lotus Mountain, where a terrifying killing intent surges.

Kwaaang!

My charge creates a hole straight through Heavenly Lotus Mountain.

I head toward the core of Heavenly Lotus Mountain, brandishing my sword intent to cut through the path ahead, and finally, I manage to enter a large cavern.

Kururung!

'This place...'

I narrow my eyes.

What probably once was an ordinary cavern is now filled with sticky blood and something resembling brain matter, and the walls of the cavern have transformed into flesh, as though they belong to some creature.

At the center of the cavern,

There, thousands of red auras writhe like tentacles, coiling around something in the shape of a sphere.

From the center of the red sphere, a pitch-black dot emerges, glaring at me.

"Hm...!"

Ziiiiing!

An overwhelming [Gaze].

As soon as I face that [Gaze], I receive a mental shock so intense that my mind begins to melt, and my body trembles.

"Kuuuuugh! Guugh..."

'Is this...the vision of a Star Shattering stage?'

With the vision of Void Shattering, I read the malicious intent that blankets the entire Plane of Soul.

An overwhelming malice and filth.

A conglomeration of filth, obsession, and stickiness!

The moment I lock eyes with [It], I feel thousands of devilish arts and understandings of the Devilish Path etching themselves into my mind, gnawing away at my consciousness.

And then, I realize that even this is only barely possible because Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens is protecting my mind.

'From the Star Shattering stage and beyond, the higher one's realm, the harder it is to gaze directly upon a [Higher Being].'

It seems that as one's vision of the world broadens, sharpens, and becomes grander, so too does one's ability to comprehend, as well as the pain that comes with it.

It's like how a person with sharp senses feels pain more acutely!

Zziiiiiiiiing!

I feel a will transmitting itself from the orb of tentacles that looks like an eyeball before me.

: : Pray to me. Worship me. You shall uphold my will...immediately turn around and kill the bug spewing the power of the Vast Cold. If you do so, you may become an Esteemed One under my command... : :

Ziiiiiiing!

An overwhelming will presses down, trying to twist my own.

I can sense it.

If I lose focus even for a moment, my consciousness will be swallowed by that will, turning me into a puppet in an instant.

I realize that if it weren't for Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens acting as the minimum protective barrier, the existence known as 'me' would have been devoured by Blood Yin before I could even steel my will.

I stand before Blood Yin and speak.

"...This little one has always held deep respect for the [Chief Judge of the Netherworld, Nether Devil True Lord Yu Hao Te]."

Splash!

A fountain of blood spurts from my entire body, but I pay it no mind and continue speaking.

I can feel that Blood Yin's eye no longer tries to control me and instead listens to my words.

"He was noble. He possessed a character that commanded the utmost respect from all. I find it truly regrettable that he met with misfortune while going to help his friend, in loyalty befitting his authority."

No intent can be read from the eye before me.

However, I can tell from the way this space no longer rejects me and quietly listens to my words that it is quite 'pleased.'

"As a mere mortal who admires that noble figure, I beseech thee. Does not the will of the Great One remain immortal within thee? Is not the Bright Cold Realm once the body of your friend? I beg thee, O Great One, in respect for the honor of your friend, to withdraw. If you act in remembrance of that honor, all the Gods of the Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds will once again see the loyalty of the Chief Judge of the Netherworld."

The entire space trembles at my words.

The eye, composed of tentacles, gazes at me with what seems like a satisfied look, transmitting its will.

: : One who knows propriety. I see that you have the eyes to recognize the truly great. But there is something you misunderstand. The reason I seek to enter the body of Vast Cold is that only I, their friend, can rightfully claim it. : :

Its words continue.

: : After Vast Cold's soul departed, they have been continuously desecrated for hundreds of thousands of years. Their name was altered to include the word 'Light,' and Baek Woon, a devotee of the Light, has erased, controlled, and suppressed every trace of Vast Cold within their body. My goal is solely to raise Vast Cold's body again and challenge Baek Woon and the loathsome Light that has desecrated Vast Cold's honor for hundreds of thousands of years. : :

I speak with a bitter smile.

"I humbly dare to proclaim. If you are truly the noble Chief Judge...would it not be proper for you to cleanse your friend's honor by growing your own strength, rather than raising their corpse to do so? As the one who judges the rights and wrongs of the deceased, should you not properly assess whether raising your friend's corpse is truly right...?"

At my words, the gaze in the sphere changes.

: : Are you trying to test my qualifications? I am Yu Hao Te!!! No matter what anyone says, I am the greatest True Lord and the greatest Chief Judge, favored by the Oldest One! I do not need validation from a bug like you, for I am Yu Hao Te!!! : :

It seems my words have pricked their pride, as their eye flares with light.

: : Explode and die, you wretched bug...! : :

Kugugugugu!

An overwhelming pressure crushes down on me.

Barely resisting, I laugh.

"...I understand. Then I will no longer address you as Chief Judge, but as Blood Yin."

: : How dare you!!! : :

At that moment.

Kwarurung!

Jeon Myeong-hoon appears beside me.

It seems he has regained his senses now that the Blood Yin Realm's influence has disappeared, and the Heart Heavenly Demons have left from his mind.

Drip, drip...

He is crying.

"Is there...anything I can do?"

It seems he heard everything through Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, fully grasping the situation.

"That bastard...showed me [that time]...over and over again...!"

It appears Blood Yin's Heart Heavenly Demon had been replaying the day of the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect's destruction in Jeon Myeong-hoon's mind.

I grin and speak.

"When I strike, immediately trigger Heavenly Tribulation."

"What...?"

"Kim Yeon!"

I call out loudly to Kim Yeon, and an overwhelming power surges toward me from behind.

Kim Yeon activates Yeon's Play.

As the Canvas of Myriad Forms and Connections resonates with Yeon's Play, figures from 'my past' are summoned to this place.

Grinning, I point to the center of the sphere of red auras.

"Isn't the one inside Sacred Master Baek Woon?"

I can feel it.

Baek Woon is inside, along with the remnants of Yang Su-jin embedded in her.

After capturing Sacred Master Baek Woon and placing her under their control, Blood Yin probably began to erode the Bright Cold Realm through her.

In other words, if I strike Sacred Master Baek Woon, I can summon Yang Su-jin's power inside her and drain Blood Yin's strength.

After weakening Blood Yin, Kim Yeon can deliver the final blow, ending everything.

Before Blood Yin can react, I take my stance and shout.

"I shall save you, Sacred Master!"

I will summon Heavenly Tribulation and stimulate Yang Su-jin's lightning spear.

I recall the countless Heart Tribe members I've met and seen within the Heart Tribe territory.

The ten thousand 3rd stage Heart Tribe members.

And...Jang Ik's 22 disciples.

River Bend.

"Sudden Wind, Sudden Rain (不時風雨)!"

Flash!

The sword strike of Gyeong Chang, who died while seeking the next realm, erupts from my blade.

The same method I used against Seo Hweol in the 15th cycle bursts forth from my hand.

But this time, it's different.

Now, within my heart, resides the ten thousand Heart Tribe members and 22 disciples!

You want to reclaim Vast Cold's body to restore your realm and position?

This is a world where even recovering your realm brings down Heavenly Tribulation!

Go ahead, keep lusting after Vast Cold!

I will bring down a Heavenly Tribulation you cannot possibly bear!

With all of Cedar Wood Grove on my back, I begin my sword dance.