Chapter 332: Old Monster's Rampage (1)

Paaaatt!

A beam of light engulfs everything.

Jun Jae is renowned.

A genius who reached the Integration stage in just 5,000 years.

A prodigy of Metal (金) attribute methods, and, along with Hon Won and Gol Maek, a monster symbolizing the Human Race's martial prowess.

Kwagijijijik!

Golden scales sprout all over Jun Jae's body as he swings his hand at me.

Thud—

I neutralize the power with the All-Heavens Sword, contain Jun Jae's force within it, and then use that very power to repel Jun Jae.

He makes an irritated expression and reaches out towards me.

Kwagijik!

"...!"

As if space itself twists, I suddenly find myself caught in Jun Jae's grasp.

Simultaneously, Gol Maek, clad in pure white bone armor from head to toe, descends upon me from above.

I twist my body in mid-air, positioning Jun Jae's body in front of Gol Maek, and quickly retreat to escape his grip.

Kwaaaang―

Jun Jae fails to dodge Gol Maek's attack in time, and Gol Maek strikes him.

An enormous shockwave seems to echo, and Jun Jae's body plummets through Heavenly Human Island, crashing into the ground below.

"Aigoo, that must hurt."

The next moment, Gol Maek rushes at me while extending their fist.

'It'll be dangerous if that hits.'

Thud, thud!

In a split second, I slash their elbow with my sword and infuse an energy wave. I then strike their palm to maximize the force of the energy wave through their elbow.

Kwaaang!

Their arm explodes in mid-air before it can even touch me.

Kwaaang!

"Kugh...!"

However, despite not making direct contact, the sheer resulting pressure blasts me out of Heavenly Human Island.

'Gol Maek...'

"Kuaaaaaaah!"

They roar like a beast, infusing energy into the bone armor that envelops their entire body.

A tail made of bone sprouts from the armor.

Claws resembling those of a beast emerge from the bone armor on their arms.

Gol Maek, a late Integration stage loose cultivator, is, like Hon Won and I, a Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation practitioner.

Due to this, they are considered on par with Grand Perfection Integration cultivators like Jun Jae, making them one of the representatives of the Human Race's martial prowess — that is Gol Maek.

Their self-created Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation method, Bone Armor Treasured Origin Art (骨甲寶元功), is notorious for extracting the bones of defeated enemies, storing them within their body, and fusing them with their own body when needed. It's a bizarre technique where until their bone armor is completely shattered, it's almost impossible to inflict any wounds on them.

But perhaps furious over their arm being destroyed by my earlier attack, they gather strength in their entire body and prepare to leap at me.

Just as I'm about to take my stance, an overwhelming force presses down on me.

Kwaadudududuk!

'Jun Jae!'

From below Heavenly Human Island.

Jun Jae, who had been driven into the ground by Gol Maek's strike, reemerges and presses down on me with his strength.

'How sturdy, to be unscathed after taking a strike from a Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation practitioner.'

As I think this, Gol Maek leaps at me again, swinging their bone-armored hand.

Kwaaaang!

A tremendous force strikes my body.

But in the next moment, Gol Maek emits a startled intent.

Wo-woong―

It's because of my hand gripping their arm.

From my forearm which begins to shine with starlight, an immense force erupts.

Simultaneously, ghostly energy surges from my entire body, revealing nineteen heads.

Tuk, Tuk-tuk!

Blood tears fall from each of the 19 heads, blooming into Black Blood Tears Flowers.

Realizing something is wrong, Gol Maek tries to pull away but I grip their arm tightly, nearly crushing it as I speak.

[Where do you think you're going?]

Kiaaaaaaaaah―

Uuhhaaaaah―

Huuaaaaaaaah!

As the Black Blood Tears Flowers bloom, unbearable screams fill Heaven and Earth.

Gol Maek, realizing the danger, cuts off their bone armor like a lizard shedding its tail and barely escapes the range of my curse.

Chwaaah―

The bone armor quickly rots and melts away under the power of the curse.

Chijijijik―

Circuits are engraved all over my body.

Kwagijijik!

Once again, Jun Jae tries to restrain me from afar, pressing me down with his attraction force.

I look at Jun Jae and step into the air.

Paaaang!

In the next moment, I'm right in front of Jun Jae.

With the All-Heavens Sword overlaid on my arm, I swing at him with all my might.

Kugwagwagwang!

The ground trembles.

Below Heavenly Human Island.

In the valley where the Grand Nirvana Temple is located, I see a Nascent Soul stage cultivator screaming and running away with all her might.

The ground cracks in several places, and the mountains and fields are being reshaped.

Chwaaah!

Shockwaves spread throughout the entire Cloud Island Archipelago that's covered in mist and clouds, tearing the clouds into a circular pattern.

'...Sturdy.'

However, I frown as I see Jun Jae standing there unfazed despite taking my full-powered strike.

A golden armor encases Jun Jae's body like scales.

And from that armor emanates a magnetic field.

'Did he use the magnetic field as armor to diffuse the impact...!'

Those who practice Metal attribute methods have a much stronger attraction force than others.

Among the Five Elements, Metal is expressed by Qian (乾) and Dui (兌) in the Eight Trigrams.

Qian is Yang (陽), so in Yin-Yang, Yang energy or light (光) is synonymous with Metal.

In the Five Elements, Earth is expressed by the Kun trigram and the Gen trigram, meaning ground and mountain.

In the Five Elements, Wood is represented by the Zhen trigram and the Xun trigram, meaning lightning and wind.

Ground and mountain, lightning and wind are all recognized attributes.

Then what does the Dui trigram represent?

Dui represents a 'pond'.

In short, it signifies a 'pond attribute'.

So some might wonder.

What on earth does 'pond attribute' mean?

Kwagijijijik!

[Kuuuuurghh!]

Utilizing the immense magnetic force derived from the Metal attribute, Jun Jae directs an overwhelming gravitational force onto me.

Kwadudududuk!

The ground caves in, and in an instant, the place where I stand turns into an enormously deep basin.

Just add water, and it becomes a pond.

The Dui trigram.

In other words, the 'pond attribute' is just an indirect way to describe the magnetic force of the Metal attribute.

[I'll turn you into a meatball, you Heart Tribe spy!]

Wanting to turn me into a Seo Eun-hyun meatball, Jun Jae's gravity concentrates on a single point.

However, I lift my 19 heads and ignite ghost fire.

Flinch!

Jun Jae recoils at my fierce gaze.

Kuguguguk―

From the depths of the enormous gravitational pit, I begin climbing up by digging my hands into the pit walls.

[Crazy..he's moving within that? This monster-like guy..!]

Kwaaang!

Gol Maek lands beside Jun Jae.

Focusing their strength on their bone armor, they transform it.

Crunch!

The shape of their bone armor changes.

Gol Maek, who has transformed their bone armor into a muscular beast-like form, nods at Jun Jae.

[Alright, go ahead. Ah, hold on.]

At that moment, Wi Ryeong-seon and Wi Su arrive at the scene using the Flying Escape Technique.

Wi Su appears to be casting some sort of spell on Gol Maek's bone armor.

Accepting Wi Su's spell, Gol Maek nods and drops down into the basin below.

Kuaaaang!!

They extend both feet towards me trying to climb up, kicking me in the face.

I try to withstand it, but in the end, I fall back down into the basin.

Gol Maek cracks their neck from side to side and says,

[Come at me, you spy.]

[Heh heh, so you’re confident in your raw strength too, huh?]

Kiiiiing—

The circuit begins to run fiercely as it begins to glow.

My nineteen heads illuminate as my entire body is covered in starlight.

We each take a step towards each other.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...!

With each step, my foot sinks into the ground due to Jun Jae's gravity.

And finally, when we reach in front of each other.

Huarurururu!

Wi Ryeong-seon swings his fan, turning the basin below into a sea of fire.

Simultaneously, Wi Su blows wind downwards like a bellow, creating an immense inferno in the basin below.

It's a flame that could burn an ordinary Four-Axis stage cultivator's very soul.

But I smirk.

[What's this? Bathwater?]

For someone like me, whose soul is already being roasted by Karmic Fire, this heat is no more than lukewarm tea.

Though my skin is blistering and cooking, it doesn't hurt much, so I just laugh in Gol Maek's direction.

They appear unaffected by the flames, likely protected by Wi Su's spell.

Seeing my nonchalance, they burst into a hollow laugh as if feeling incredulous.

[...Crazy bastard, do you not feel pain?]

[As if.]

Bo-oong!

I swing my fist at Gol Maek.

The bone armor around their head is sliced off.

Gol Maek regenerates their bone armor and swings their fist towards me as well.

Pop!

One of my heads shatters, and I'm left with a wound from Gol Maek's punch.

They squint at the sword wound, looking annoyed through the gaps of their bone armor.

[Damn Heart Tribe brat...]

[You practice Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation, yet you're so fragile.]

Bo-oong!

I swing my hand at them again.

Chwaak!

A sword wound etches itself onto Gol Maek's body.

We exchange blows.

No matter how much we accelerate, the insane gravity slows our movements, making it inevitable that we get hit.

I inflict sword wounds on them, and they shatter my heads.

Crack!

'Ho...'

It seems that Wi Ryeong-seon's flames are not meant to roast me but to deplete the surrounding Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, as no more spiritual energy is flowing in.

On the other hand, Gol Maek in front of me still looks vigorous because they have a lot of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy stored within their body.

Next, Eung Yeon and Gae Jin join the fray from above.

Kugugugugu!

Eung Yeon's dharma treasure, the Heaven-Earth Demon Subduing Pagoda, falls from the sky.

Kuaaang!!

The Heaven-Earth Demon Subduing Pagoda grows enormous, increasing its weight over my head as if trying to crush me to death.

Gae Jin takes out a cauldron-shaped dharma treasure and opens its lid.

Chuarurururuk!

The liquid contained in the cauldron spills into the basin.

Chualalalak!

In an instant, the entire basin is filled with the stench of decay.

'Fungus (菌)!'

Gae Jin's spell, said to be developed by stealing the secret arts of the Fungal Bone Race of the Six Major Heaven Tribe Races, spreads throughout the basin, and purple spores begin to sprout all over my body.

The hyphae extend, sapping my strength while empowering Gol Maek.

I can see Wi Ryeong-seon and Wi Su preparing another spell.

If this continues, I might really be defeated.

'This is the power of the Human Race...'

This is the Human Race. When they combine forces, they can take down even a late Integration stage cultivator in an instant.

If Hon Won was here, I would probably have been captured and turned into something like a Seo Eun-hyun Integration Pill.

No, even now, if they really start using their full power, it will be impossible to resist.

But that's if they use their 'full power'.

[...You're not using your domains.]

I smirk, looking around with my 38 eyes.

Though they appear calm at my words, their intents are greatly shaken.

[All of you are unleashing powerful attacks, trying to end this as soon as possible, isn't that right?]

[Shut up, die!]

Gol Maek strikes at me again.

Kuaaang!

I finally can't hold out any longer and fall to my knees.

The Heaven-Earth Demon Subduing Pagoda presses down on me with even more force, and I am eventually crushed beneath it.

As I lay pinned, I sense the Integration stage Grand Cultivators gathering their strength, each preparing a powerful strike.

The Heaven-Earth Demon Subduing Pagoda becomes semi-transparent, crossing onto a higher plane.

Their attacks will penetrate through the pagoda and strike me.

However, I smirk.

[...Impressive.]

Countless beams of light head towards me.

Wududuk—

Forcing my hands to move, I infuse them with black and white energy.

The barrier of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements wraps around me.

And then, an explosion of light erupts within the basin.

Jun Jae is panting heavily.

"Did we finish him?"

"We should have. No matter what, there's no way he can withstand the full power attacks of Integration stage Grand Cultivators."

Wi Ryeong-seon wipes the sweat from his forehead as he speaks.

"Damn, I only used my strength for a while and I'm already this exhausted..."

"It's because you overexerted yourself trying to find information to avoid the End and ended up staring directly at the True Immortal. You were too greedy."

"But once this injury heals, all the surviving Integration stage Grand Cultivators of the Heaven Tribe will gain powerful lightning divine powers, so it wasn't just greed. The only races where all the Grand Cultivators survived after staring directly at the True Immortal are the Tall Tree Race and our Human Race."

"That is also true."

While they are chatting, Wi Su moves her hand.

Hwiiiiiiiiii—

The wind blows, clearing the dust cloud.

Standing tall in the dust is Gol Maek, still clad in their bone armor.

"Cultivator Gol. Please retrieve the spy's body and soul. We'll interrogate him further at the Grand Cultivator meeting."

"But to think that someone from the Human Race learned both the Heaven and Earth Dual Cultivation method and the Heart Path Method...he's quite the genius."

"Even so, given that he learned the Heart Path Method, he must have been influenced by Jang Ik. His ideologies are definitely contaminated, so we must purify his thoughts through suggestion and bring him back as a proper member of the Heaven Tribe."

Jun Jae converses with Wi Ryeong-seon, then glances back at Gol Maek in the basin.

"Fellow cultivator, just what are you..."

Then, Gol Maek's voice is heard.

"R-run aw..."

The next moment.

The bone armor covering Gol Maek shatters, revealing a blood-soaked woman with white hair and red eyes collapsing to the ground.

"Cultivator Gol Maek!"'

Jun Jae is startled and tries to fly to her.

However, a monstrous being of starlight with 19 heads emerges from within the dust cloud, laughing.

[If this were a prolonged battle, I would have surely lost...but it seems everyone's condition is rather poor, seeing that you are all reluctant to even deploy your domains...]

"You bastard...!"

Kuguguguk!

Jun Jae once again emits a magnetic field, pressing down on Seo Eun-hyun.

However, the gravitational force is far weaker than before.

Seo Eun-hyun, crossing his arms, speaks.

[Earlier, I had no choice but to respond since you all attacked me. But continuing this fight is meaningless...I wish to sit in the position of a Human Race Grand Cultivator. Considering that everyone's condition has deteriorated after facing 'that being', wouldn't it be mutually beneficial to accept me, a late Integration level force as a Grand Cultivator?]

At that statement, Wi Ryeong-seon, Wi Su, and Jun Jae simultaneously glare.

"Nonsense! You're asking us to accept a Heart Tribe spy as a Grand Cultivator of the Human Race Grand Alliance!"

[Am I not part of the Human Race...? In theory, the Heaven Tribe can master all three methods of Heaven, Earth, and Heart, so why this discrimination?]

"Ha, the ones who are born amidst unspeakable abuse and torment are the Heart Tribe, and the same goes for the Human Race. In theory, the Heaven Tribe can master all three methods, but any Human who learned the Heart Path Method would be influenced by the Heart Tribe's ideology. They would go around denying slavery and engaging in absurd liberation movements. How can we trust them?"

[Hmm...is that so?]

Clicking his tongue at Jun Jae's attitude, Seo Eun-hyun grabs Gol Maek, who collapsed before him, by the neck and lifts her up.

Though Seo Eun-hyun says nothing, Jun Jae glares at him with rage in his eyes.

"You vile...! Taking a hostage...!"

[No...]

Seeing Gol Maek captured, Wi Ryeong-seon and Wi Su also close their eyes tightly.

"...Leader, we have no choice. For now, we should accept that monster's proposal. Cultivator Gol Maek's life is at stake."

"Kugh...! Vile Heart Tribe bastard...!'

[No, wait...I haven't even said anything...]

In the end, Jun Jae clenches his eyes shut, deciding to protect Gol Maek from the mad Heart Tribe spy monster who walks around with the heads of 18 Four-Axis stage cultivators of the Human Race on his shoulders.

"Fine...! I will allow you to take the position of a Grand Cultivator! However, you may not interfere in the affairs of the Human Race Grand Alliance, holding only the title. No place will be given to you on Heavenly Cauldron Mountain, and all resources allocated to you must be used by you alone. If we find any indication that you are transferring resources of the Human Race to the Heart Tribe territory, you will be arrested and put on trial immediately! If you cannot accept this, we will end you even at the cost of Cultivator Gol Maek's life!"

[...Uh, I accept but...]

"If you accept, then hand over the hostage immediately!!!"

The Human Race Grand Alliance, exchanging Gol Maek who was taken as a hostage, ultimately accepts Seo Eun-hyun as a Grand Cultivator.