NOVEL NEXT Chapter 606
606——————==
Dark Heaven Village
Chills ran down my spine at the realization that the Queen Mother of the West recognized me. It was entirely possible that I might die here without being able to do anything. But, of course, my side would have set up a protective barrier to uphold Pangu’s command, so I was prepared for this. I calmly pondered whether I could break through this barrier. Regardless, my responsibilities remained unchanged.
‘First, through force…’
Pachin!
As I summoned the Divine Sword Technique and held up the Flame Elemental Sword, the Twin Sword Technique took shape in my hands. Although I had been through many twists and turns, and hadn’t properly trained in Twin Sword Technique, the union I was creating was potent enough for me to handle with the sensitivity of a single sword technique. I could distinctly feel the two Great Immortals residing in my dantian, channeling their maximum power to me.
Could I do this?
‘No, I must!’
I shoved aside my weak thoughts and entered a state of clarity. With my training in martial arts, dismissing unnecessary thoughts and entering the Unity of Body and Sword posture was an easy task. As I focused my mind, time seemed to freeze, and my body prepared to leap forward for a strike.
Thunder God Lineage
One Slash (一殲)!
The lightning-like slashes pierced through the barrier one after another. First, the Fire Dragon Incarnate gathered the power of Flame Element and concentrated it at a single point, severely striking the barrier, while at that moment, Yeodong-bin’s sword pierced through the opening as the vibrations resonated. Yeodong-bin’s sword technique was synchronizing with the Heavenly Escape Sword Technique’s Wind Decision and Cloud Decision, violently fluctuating, and the pinnacle of the Great Immortal’s technique tore through the barrier.
Chwaak!
“……!!”
However, the barrier, though slashed, was barely torn halfway. Luckily, it didn’t seem to regenerate, but I was left in shock at that sight. How could it not break, even after Yeodong-bin poured his life’s sword power along with the power of the Seven Luminaries and Flame Element?
This barrier was several times stronger than the barrier of the Kunlun Twelve Great Sages! To face such a formidable barrier at the very end! As I was still in disbelief, the voice of the Queen Mother of the West echoed from within the barrier.
[Yeodong-bin… Fire Dragon Incarnate… How tragic it is that capable, outstanding immortals defy me. And I never thought you would bring the Seven Luminaries. However, drawing out techniques in an unliberated state won’t allow you to transcend your limits.]
“……”
[The rebellion ends here. You shall bow your heads and step back. Your crimes will be absolved once Pangu’s command concludes.]
Her tone made it sound as if it was a matter of course; she calmly declared that I had failed. This made sense since I had just unleashed nearly all of my power, and I wouldn’t be able to muster such strength again for some time. It was obvious that my allies would be annihilated while wasting time.
As proof, the spirit energy flowing from Yeodong-bin’s sword had greatly diminished, and the Fire Dragon Incarnate was also catching his breath. They had temporarily exhausted all their strength and needed time to recover.
But I couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotions, and I shouted. All the frustration up until now burst forth.
“Rebellion? Who do you think you are to talk about rebellion?! Damn you!”
[Hmm…?]
The Queen Mother responded as if she was taken aback. She hadn’t even considered me a threat, seemingly caught off guard. I wouldn’t stop there and continued to yell.
“You wretched woman! Does devouring innocent immortals taste good to you? Do you take pleasure in scheming and mocking the Celestial Realm? Acting noble while you’re just a condescending harlot!”
[You brat…]
I glared intensely.
“Don’t move and wait! I’ll behead that pig-like neck and salt it!”
[……]
The Queen Mother fell silent, dumbfounded, before bursting into laughter.
[Heh heh heh… Look at the bug barking off like that.]
Does she still think the gap between us is hopeless? Even after being berated, she sneered at me nonchalantly, but I refused to lose my fighting spirit.
And I thought to myself.
‘The time has come…’
It was a method I had truly not wanted to use until just now. If I could break through with the Divine Sword Technique and Flame Element, I intended to just break Pangu’s command and escape with Seo Mun-hye to the surface. No matter how much I had prepared to die today, survival was the highest priority.
However, with my weaknesses laid bare, I had no choice. I would ultimately have to summon the Chaos Zone here, presupposing my own death. I started the plan by speaking to Yeodong-bin and the Fire Dragon Incarnate.
[You two. I’m sorry. The method I’m about to use doesn’t align with principles… But if I don’t use this method, I cannot win.]
At my words, Yeodong-bin replied calmly.
[Yeon-ja. You must know what method you gleaned from that Demon Sorcerer. I was present at that time too. Certainly, that method is one that cannot be accepted by any Great Immortal of the Celestial Realm.]
[……]
[Yeodong-bin.]
[Yeon-ja. Have courage. I, Yeodong-bin, will follow wherever you go.]
Following that, the Fire Dragon Incarnate spoke.
[Just like my disciple! You’ve said all you wanted to say, you naughty disciple.]
[Fire Dragon Incarnate.]
[Go! Even if the Celestial Realm perishes today, trust that the path you take is the right one. That is true Dao!]
[…Thank you.]
I gained courage from the words of the two immortals. With this, there was nothing left to hesitate over. The moment I firmed my resolve, I raised my right hand and slowly took out my wooden armor.
“Here lies the offering.”
I recalled the sorcery techniques and offering methods I had learned from the Zhuge clan and chanted the incantation. Although it was a simplified form, in the Celestial Realm, where spirit energy is abundant, it should be far easier to fulfill the offering ceremony compared to the human realm. As the incantation quickly concluded, I took the “offering” from the wooden armor and poured it into the sky.
“Receive this Spirit Soil and descend upon this land!! Gong Gong!!”
Kwahhhrrr!
Kwahhhhh!
In the next moment, the Spirit Soil I had collected in large quantities from Mount Huang erupted from the small wooden armor as if alive. This was the divine grace bestowed by Jeon Wook upon humanity, allowing them to control floods—the Spirit Soil! Naturally, it was imbued with immense spirit power, having the capacity to grow spiritual pills and divine items, and I had hurriedly filled the wooden armor with it in a short time.
The magic circle floating in the void rapidly absorbed the Spirit Soil. And just as the swirling Spirit Soil was being consumed, suddenly, ice and flames intersected in the air, dropping a radiant beam of light.
Kwahakahak!
[The Law of Cause and Effect has been established. I shall descend upon you!!]
As Gong Gong’s voice resounded, blue lightning crackled and surged from my body. Simultaneously, my consciousness was briefly pushed back as an immense spiritual existence descended upon me. The essence of the titan was engulfing my body.
Hooohhhh!
Once Gong Gong had descended into my body, he glanced at the Divine Sword and Flame Element in my hands, smiled broadly, and neatly put them into the wooden armor. The spirits of the two Great Immortals seemed to have no choice but to obey his will, unable to resist his might.
[You don’t need something grand to break this mere barrier.]
Then, Gong Gong moved my body and stomped down on the barrier beneath my feet without hesitation.
Thok!
In an instant, although it was only half-broken, the barrier shattered completely with a single punch from Gong Gong, and the backlash caused the immortals chanting Pangu’s command to scream and topple.
“Kraaaagh!”
“Uggh!”
Even immortals felt pain, and let alone, the gust arising from Gong Gong’s divine power was lethal to them. Some of the hurled immortals died, while many lost consciousness and were transformed into spirit bodies.
Kuuugh!
Gong Gong crossed his arms and slowly descended, confronting the being surrounded by the multicolored clouds at the center of my spirit. The being shrouded in those multicolored clouds, the Queen Mother of the West, appeared utterly bewildered as she stammered.
[What…? Gong Gong, how are you…]
[Ha ha ha! You find it surprising that I am here?]
Gong Gong painted a cruel grin and said,
[I too never dreamed that a noble being like me would play petty tricks for thousands of years.]
The flames and ice spirits swirling around Gong Gong coalesced into hundreds of spearheads. Gong Gong nodded and launched the icy flame spears at the Queen Mother of the West, and that attack seemed unavoidable, as if time itself had been erased, just like when Jeon Wook attacked Gin Nara.
Pervuub!
Gong Gong’s attack pierced through the multicolored clouds in an instant, skewering the Queen Mother of the West. Could it be that the conclusion was reached in a single blow? I thought, but it seemed not to be the case, as the Queen Mother’s multicolored clouds vanished, and the icy flame spears too disintegrated.
Sssss!
As the multicolored clouds withdrew, the Queen Mother of the West revealed herself. Unlike when I saw her in the Offering Ceremony of the Seven Luminaries, she now brimmed with a dark energy, seemingly staining the surrounding air black. The Queen Mother slowly glared at Gong Gong and spoke.
[It’s good news for me. Anyway, the moment the Seven Luminaries are unleashed, you’re also destined to die, so I’ll take care of you now.]
[Heh heh heh! You speak well. But wasn’t it you who hid behind the Emperor after being unable to handle Chi-Wu?]
[So what? Your strength can’t measure up to even a fraction of Chi-Wu’s.]
The Queen Mother replied nonchalantly, her voice filled with killing intent.
[You’ve come out to die, Gong Gong. If you wish for death so much, I will grant your wish.]
[The command of Pangu was broken, so your power must be halved, right?]
As Gong Gong jeered, the Queen Mother chuckled.
[Gong Gong, from the primordial beginning, you and I were apart in status. Do you really think I’ve weakened just because this trivial command was shattered?]
Kigigiik!
Five violet orbs floated in the Queen Mother’s hand. It seemed Gong Gong was watching me with a look of considerable surprise as I observed from inside him.
[Baek Woong! If you still have moves left, use them quickly.]
[You can’t win in a head-on confrontation against the Queen Mother?]
[Don’t be ridiculous. If I were to be hit by the Heavenly Liuzuan, even I would die instantly. It’s not the time to call for self-destruction.]
Heavenly Liuzuan?
It seemed to refer to the technique the Queen Mother was now deploying. Regardless, Gong Gong wouldn’t be complaining unless it was serious, so I had no choice but to employ the technique I had been saving.
I briefly took control of my body from Gong Gong, retrieved the Nameless Ritual Book from my wooden armor, and began to chant.
“I call upon this tome as a sacrifice; Wind Beast of the North, walker upon the wind! Please help me at this moment.”
Whoosh!
In that instant, the Nameless Ritual Book burned away. Simultaneously, the [Old Ruler] of the North, whom I had seen in the past, was suddenly summoned to this place, and he looked at me with a slightly bewildered expression.
[Why have you brought me to the Celestial Realm…]
Pervuub!
[Waaah!]
The skeletal form of the [Old Ruler] was suddenly obliterated by the Queen Mother’s Heavenly Liuzuan without warning, shattering him to pieces. Yet, because he was a divine being, it seemed he quickly began to restore his form, though he had clearly sustained heavy injuries.
The [Old Ruler] glared at me with pain-filled eyes.
[You dare… use me as a shield! I shall curse you.]
Indeed. The Zhuge clan had deemed this world to be on the brink of destruction and handed me the Nameless Ritual Book, teaching me the method of summoning the [Old Ruler] connected to the Water Element as a price.
While it was a one-time use, not many would turn down a supreme demon book like the Nameless Ritual Book, and he had sent a manifestation to assist me. However, it was essentially a shield to protect against the Queen Mother’s Heavenly Liuzuan.
Just then, Gong Gong took over my body again and casually remarked to him,
[It’s meaningless to curse my apostle. Take your anger out on the one who struck! How can you not do that, having consumed the demon book?]
[Gong Gong!]
The entity seemed to recognize Gong Gong, judging by the look on its face. After a moment of suppressing fury, the [Old Ruler] turned his attention to the Queen Mother of the West, gritting his teeth.
[You. Attacking me without reason is rather presumptuous, isn’t it?]
The Queen Mother replied with a look of surprise.
[I didn’t expect you to come out. But what are you glaring at me for?]
[What…]
[Get lost. This is my estate. Don’t interfere in other people’s affairs.]
I couldn’t contain my astonishment at that scene. That [Old Ruler] from the North was powerful enough to turn the Celestial Realm upside down when he possessed me in the past. But did the Queen Mother not recognize that strength?
The next moment, however, the most unexpected thing happened. Instead of reacting angrily, the [Old Ruler] replied as if suppressing his anger.
[No matter how great you are, can you still put on airs using a manifestation? Anyway, your Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors will become inconsequential after the revelation, and you act so arrogantly.]
You lot.
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Hearing that, the Queen Mother calmly replied.
[Since you refuse to fade away on your own, I guess I have no choice but to exert myself today.]
The Queen Mother’s spirit rose effortlessly, and she let out a powerful roar towards the west.
That cry echoed three times – the same number as mentioned by the Lantern Lantern Daoist.
Kuurrrl!
The Queen Mother’s figure suddenly grew enormous, losing her human form. With tousled hair adorned with a hairpin and possessing a leopard tail and tiger claws, half-human, half-beast appeared before us, revealing a ghastly and monstrous visage more akin to the [Old Ruler].
The Queen Mother of the West looked down indifferently at the [Old Ruler] and Gong Gong.
[This world belongs to me, the Mother of Earth. Clean up the trash here.]
Pervub!
In the next instant, the North’s [Old Ruler] was struck down by the grasping claws of the monstrous Queen Mother, obliterating him.
Even though it was a manifestation, could something like this truly be possible?
The event unfolded so rapidly that I was left dumbfounded, while Gong Gong spoke with renewed tension.
[At last, you reveal your true colors… Nüwa?]