Chapter 477
Chapter 477
Chapter 477 – Great Calamity (3)
Just moments ago.
High in the sky, the Demonic Beast Heumwon was flapping its wings vigorously.
However, unlike usual, its wing motions seemed quite awkward and strained.
This was because something was clinging to and replacing Heumwon’s wings, and that something was none other than hundreds of vengeful spirits.
Originally, it should have gone through a recovery period for the wounded areas along with its demon power, but thanks to the vengeful spirits clinging and each one acting as a feather, it had barely managed to fly this far.
However,
-Flap, flap!
Now it seemed to be at its limit.
Both the clinging vengeful spirits and the Demonic Beast Heumwon were struggling to keep flapping.
The one fortunate thing was,
“There it is!”
“Dammit! Is the war already underway?”
Seop Chun, looking down at the Ten Thousand Great Mountains below the ship, clicked his tongue.
He knew something was happening, but he didn’t expect the war to be in full swing already.
To him, Ja Geum-jeong, the fallen monk Subduing-Demon, said:
“Hey, Seop Chun. That’s all well and good, but we should probably decide where to land soon.”
-Groan.
The Demonic Beast Heumwon’s wing flaps were very unstable.
It was evident from how the ship was gradually tilting.
Mong Mu-yak, who had somewhat recovered from his internal injuries during the journey and regained his complexion, looked down.
‘It’s difficult anywhere.’
But since the war was already well underway, the various factions were all mixed up, making it hard to determine where to land.
Just then, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon at the bow of the ship pointed somewhere.
-Woosh!
A heightened killing intent could be felt.
At this, Guyang Sa-oh, the Eight Poison Snake Master, approached while leaning on his snake-headed cane and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
-It’s him. That’s definitely him.
The place the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon pointed to was a mountain peak in the rear of where the war was taking place.
Being so high up, it wasn’t possible to see who was who.
However, Guyang Sa-oh could guess one thing from the killing intent he felt from him.
“Could he be there?”
-If you really fight the one with the third eye, you’ll know for sure. I still remember that time.
At these words from the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon, Guyang Sa-oh recalled when he had received his help not long ago.
At first, he thought it was truly strange to receive help from a vengeful spirit.
But soon he learned that the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon had connections with Mok Gyeong-un, Seop Chun, Mong Mu-yak, and others.
When Seop Chun explained their situation at that time, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon couldn’t contain his anger.
-You said there’s a being with a third eye on its forehead?
After that, he didn’t give any detailed explanations, but it was clear that the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon had some terrible grudge against Mok Gan, the leader of the Secret Society.
Just then, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon shouted to Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates on the ship.
-The ship will land soon. Hold on tight to the deck or anywhere you can.
Land?
Where on earth does he intend to do that?
As they were puzzled, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon shouted to the Demonic Beast Heumwon, who was holding the ship with its huge claws.
-Heumwon, land the ship towards that peak over there. No, throw the ship there.
‘!?’
***
“A ship? How is a ship…?”
“It’s falling here! R-Run away!”
The Corpse Blood Valley warriors guarding the rock entrance to the secret passage were so shocked at the sight of a large ship falling towards the peak that they scattered in panic.
However, Jeong Hyeon-mun, the Righteous Alliance leader, had no intention of avoiding it.
“Hmph!”
Rather, he sneered at the falling ship and then swung his famous sword Il-hwi upwards.
-Swoosh!
The moment Jeong Hyeon-mun swung his sword, a massive sword energy nearly ten jang long surged from the famous sword Il-hwi, splitting the falling ship in half.
The ship, split in two, continued to fall, and the impact shook the peak as if an earthquake had struck.
-Boom!
It was chaos as shattered peak fragments flew in all directions.
In the midst of this, Jeong Hyeon-mun, who had protected himself with his reverse force technique, deflected the fragments and dust with his sword energy as he headed towards the rock entrance.
‘Did you think you could stop me with something like this?’
It was quite novel, but in the end, it was just a falling object.
But as he walked forward, a fist attack flew towards him.
-Bang!
-Clang!
Jeong Hyeon-mun deflected the fist attack, which had power beyond his expectations, with his famous sword Il-hwi imbued with sword energy.
After deflecting the fist attack, he looked ahead and saw five figures in front of him.
Recognizing them, Jeong Hyeon-mun shook his head.
They were Mok Gyeong-un’s loyal subordinates.
Led by Ja Geum-jeong, the fallen monk Subduing-Demon, who was taking the stance of the Hundred Step Divine Fist, there was Ma Ra-hyeon with his face covered by a black cloth, Guyang Sa-oh, the Eight Poison Snake Master, holding his cane and exuding poison energy, and Seop Chun and Mong Mu-yak, all taking battle stances and blocking his path.
Jeong Hyeon-mun sneered at them and said:
“You vermin have long lifespans.”
“Keke, who are you calling vermin? You eye parasite!”
Ja Geum-jeong shouted, not at all intimidated by his aura.
Jeong Hyeon-mun’s eyes filled with displeasure at his outcry.
Just because they were lucky enough to barely survive and return doesn’t mean they can be his opponents, yet these vermin dare to stand on the same level as him.
“I’ll have to make you feel how insignificant you are……”
-Rumble!
It was at that moment.
Suddenly, dark clouds began to gather over the mountain peak where they were.
Then the dark clouds flashed, and thunder and lightning struck.
Jeong Hyeon-mun’s eyes narrowed.
‘A Demonic Intent Domain?’
As dark clouds formed where there had been not a single cloud before, Jeong Hyeon-mun immediately realized that this was not a natural phenomenon, but a Demonic Intent Domain created by a high-level vengeful spirit.
-Slither!
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Numerous vengeful spirits began to appear all around.
An incredible number of vengeful spirits, too many to count, filled the entire peak, and as ghost energy spread in all directions, those nearby got goosebumps without knowing why.
In the midst of these vengeful spirits, an extraordinary vengeful spirit holding dual swords in both hands appeared.
‘A high level. On par with Cheong-ryeong… no, even beyond that?’
The aura felt now seemed to be at the level of indigo spirit, not just on par with Cheong-ryeong.
And yet, that vengeful spirit’s appearance was strangely familiar.
However, Jeong Hyeon-mun didn’t care about this.
Rather,
“These vermin are annoying me.”
Those blocking his path were merely a nuisance.
But unlike before, there were two masters of the Transformation Realm, one with strange power comparable to them, two at the peak of the Transcendent Realm, and on top of that, a vengeful spirit close to the indigo spirit level.
Even for a body at the pinnacle, this couldn’t be easily overcome, so he could no longer afford to hold back his strength.
-Crack!
Jeong Hyeon-mun’s forehead split open, revealing his third eye.
As the eye opened, the tremendous energy that spread out caused Mok Gyeong-un’s subordinates blocking his path to tense up with wariness.
On the other hand,
-The Three Eyes!
-Whoosh!
The vengeful spirit Ha Yoon’s resentment exploded even more upon confirming the third eye.
His resentment was so deep that regardless of Jeong Hyeon-mun’s energy after opening the third eye, the vengeful spirit Ha Yoon flew towards him without any hesitation.
-Today, I will wash away the disloyalty of not being able to protect him that day!
***
At the same time.
Cheong-ryeong, trapped in the Thirty-Six Stopping and Sealing Techniques, was concentrating all her power on the tip of the famous sword Sun-yeon to break it.
Power wasn’t simply gathering spiritual energy into the sword.
It literally meant imbuing it with the insights and form intent she had gained about the sword over time.
In life, she had reached the Transformation Realm, transcending walls.
Normally, it would be far from enough to concentrate power into a single point.
However, for her who had become a vengeful spirit, human realms were meaningless.
Rather, as a vengeful spirit, she had surpassed even the limit of purple spirit, considered the peak of their ranks.
-Hiss!
The tip of Sun-yeon, the pure white sword, was dyed in deep blood color.
Her confused mind became blank, focusing on only one thing.
‘Mortal.’
It was the image of Mok Gyeong-un when he concentrated all his power into one.
As she projected this image onto herself, it became one with her mind.
-Swish!
At that moment, a red line was drawn in the air.
-Crack!
With that, the layered walls made of the main force of the Thirty-Six Stopping and Sealing Techniques, which had seemed unbreakable, split in an instant.
‘I did it!’
As she momentarily reached the realm of Sword Extreme that she couldn’t attain in life, Cheong-ryeong’s eyes filled with joy.
All those experiences shared with Mortal had accumulated to become her enlightenment.
But this elation was short-lived.
Her spirit body staggered as it escaped from the Thirty-Six Stopping and Sealing Techniques.
‘To think spiritual energy would be consumed to this extent?’
She had expected it to some degree since she concentrated all her spiritual energy into one point, but she didn’t know it would impact her spirit body this much.
As she staggered, she soon drew up her remaining spiritual energy.
There was no time to waste like this.
She had to go down immediately and warn about the approaching great calamity.
Even if she exhausted all her remaining spiritual energy and her spirit body was on the verge of disappearing, she had to stop this.
Until Mortal arrived, she was the only one who could do this…
-Swish!
It was at that very moment.
A sharp sword energy grazed past, cutting off Cheong-ryeong’s arm that was holding the famous sword Sun-yeon.
A scream burst from her lips as her spirit body was cut.
-Ah!
-Hiss!
Her severed arm, being a spirit body, scattered and dissipated.
However, the famous sword Sun-yeon, being a physical object, was about to fall.
She hurriedly tried to endure the pain and pull the famous sword Sun-yeon back with her spiritual energy.
‘No.’
But since her right arm’s spirit body, which had been concentrating spiritual energy, was cut off, she couldn’t pull it back. She flew downwards to catch the falling Sun-yeon.
She was falling to catch the sword.
-Whoosh! Grab!
At that moment, the falling famous sword Sun-yeon was caught by someone’s hand.
‘!?’
It was a middle-aged man with a rough appearance, thick eyebrows, and wearing a tiger skin.
Though it was a face she was seeing for the first time, the chilling pressure she felt upon seeing him made Cheong-ryeong stop her flight and distance herself.
After creating distance, she spoke with a darkened expression.
-What exactly is that body?
“As expected, you recognize it at a glance.”
-Crack!
With those words, the middle-aged man’s forehead split open, revealing a third eye.
As expected, it was Mok Gan’s avatar.
But while her spirit body had weakened, the pressure was on a different dimension from the avatars she had seen so far.
The sharp energy flowing out felt like it could tear her apart at any moment.
“It’s the body I cherish the most. I put quite a lot of effort into it.”
-………How many avatars have you created?
“Isn’t it more foolish to think I only made a few avatars over countless years? So-wol. Of course, creating an avatar is like splitting a healthy soul, so it’s not infinite. Regrettably, these are the last avatars.”
-Swish! Swish!
As soon as his words ended, two more men appeared around her.
Pointing at them with his eyes, Mok Gan’s avatar said with a sneer:
“Leaving some in reserve is also a strategy.”
-………
Cheong-ryeong’s expression darkened at his words.
While not as much as the avatar wearing the tiger skin in front of her, these were no ordinary beings either.
No, from the moment Mok Gan possessed the body, they could be called peerless masters since they shared his enlightenment.
‘Fighting is impossible.’
-Poof!
After quickly scanning them, Cheong-ryeong flew her form downwards.
However, Mok Gan’s avatar wearing the tiger skin blocked her path.
-Swish! Grab!
Appearing with a shape-shifting technique, he roughly grabbed Cheong-ryeong’s weakened left arm.
Then, raising the famous sword Sun-yeon, he said:
“Even if your spirit body is damaged a bit more, it won’t affect becoming one with your soul, so I’ll leave just the head and torso.”
-You!
“That anger will soon turn into affection.”
Mok Gan’s avatar wearing the tiger skin swung down the famous sword Sun-yeon towards Cheong-ryeong’s left arm with a mad smile.
-Swish!
Even though she had become a vengeful spirit, at the moment her arm was about to be cut off, she unconsciously flinched and couldn’t help but close her eyes.
But,
-Twitch!
Why do I still have sensation when my arm should have been cut off?
Puzzled, she opened her eyes, and,
“Kuuugh!”
In front of her eyes, Mok Gan’s avatar wearing the tiger skin had not only created a considerable distance but was also clutching his severed right wrist in pain.
What on earth is going on?
As she wondered, Mok Gan’s two avatars suddenly shouted in anger and flew towards her.
-Poof!
“You bastaaaard!”
“How dare youuuu!”
It was at that very moment.
-Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Between the two avatars rushing at incredible speed, black lines drew trajectories in all directions like meteors in the night sky.
Then their approaching bodies were split into dozens, hundreds of pieces.
Amidst the spraying blood in the air, the appearance of someone long-awaited.
At this, Cheong-ryeong murmured with reddened eyes.
-Mortal…..
It was none other than Mok Gyeong-un.