NOVEL NEXT Chapter 693
Chapter 693: Dark Heaven Village
“Kugugugu…”
From afar, I could see the Sacred Altar Tree, which stretched so high it seemed to pierce the heavens, beginning to collapse slowly. A breach had been opened in the barrier by the Eight Parts of the Divine, but soon, the damage became meaningless as the barrier started to weaken rapidly.
“Uaaaaah!”
“Run away!”
*Kukukuung!*
The experts and sorcerers of the Twelve Joules, stationed at the lower part of the Sacred Altar Tree, panicked and fled. It was a catastrophe so vast and immense that they were oblivious to the fact that the Eight Parts of the Divine were attacking. Fragments of tree trunks fell all around, shattering the ground like a giant beast, and casualties began to pile up. It was only when the higher-level martial artists and sorcerers led their subordinates in retreat that the situation began to stabilize a bit.
“Where’s the Joule Master? Where is he?”
In the midst of the chaos, the Lord of North Sea Ice Palace shouted nervously. He was a man in his fifties, with silver hair and blue eyes, a hybrid of Western descent, boasting high martial skills among the leaders of the Twelve Joules. He had brought all the elites of the North Sea Sect here, knowing that the fate of the Twelve Joules hung in the balance, and now he found himself flustered by the sudden collapse of the Sacred Altar Tree.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a colossal shadow enveloped the hundreds of people in the hall.
“……!!”
*Giant Rock!*
It was a massive boulder, over one hundred and fifty times larger than a human being. At that moment, everyone thought that no human effort could resolve such a thing. The ancient giant rock embedded in the middle of the Sacred Altar Tree, upon the release of the tree’s pressure, fell towards the ground.
‘No way!’
The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace instinctively sensed he couldn’t shatter that giant rock even with all his might, and despair washed over him. He could evade with a divine technique, but everyone else here would become mere fodder.
“Master Zhu Yi!”
*Ultimate Technique!*
*Thunder God Lineage Fist Technique!*
*Kwaahhk!*
A powerful wind erupted from the ground as a sword form lunged at the giant rock, knocking it high into the air, scattering it like dust. With just one strike, he shattered a boulder the size of a cliff!
As the fragments flew, the experts unleashed their qi to dodge or block them. The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace also cried out, joining in.
“Master Zhu Yi! Truly remarkable skill!”
How many martial artists among the populace could repel a boulder of that size with just one strike?
*Taaat!*
Like a bird landing lightly, the leader of the Zhu Yi Sect, one of the Three Strengths of the Twelve Joules, possessed mechanisms resembling steel on both arms. Despite his gaunt appearance, his entire body was muscular and robust, and he folded his arms, speaking with a chilling tone.
“What is happening? Why is the Sacred Altar Tree collapsing?”
“I’m not sure. Is there no way to contact the Joule Master?”
“I’ve already searched for the Buddhist Sect and Haedong Milcheon. However, the Buddhist Sect lacks long-distance communication sorcery, and the leader of Haedong Milcheon has been killed.”
“What…!! By whom?”
“It must be Zhuge Sa.”
“……”
The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace bit hard on his teeth.
‘Betrayed right before my eyes! Those wretched Central Plains men.’
Of course, he knew Zhuge Sa, the strategist of the Baek Woong leader, as they had seen each other for months and were formally introduced. However, Zhuge Sa was supposed to be nameless and quiet, and unexpectedly, he had killed his ally. The leader of the Zhu Yi Sect said,
“I’ve found nearly all the other masters. First, let’s leave this place and head towards the Amur River, where our sect’s estate lies.”
“Is that not too far? It would be better to retreat to the Mudan River and observe the situation…”
The Lord of North Sea Ice Palace hesitated as he spoke.
“No, are you giving up on finding the Joule Master already? What about fighting the Eight Parts of the Divine?”
At that moment, a new expert that had appeared interjected.
“The Joule Master gave us direct orders. In case of an anomaly, we are to abandon the battle here and immediately retreat to the Zhu Yi Sect’s headquarters.”
“Master Saoulabi.”
The leader of the Twelve Joules, Cheok Jun-ki, who led the Saoulabi, fiddled with his beard as he continued.
“We don’t have time to explain. Move quickly.”
“I don’t understand the Joule Master’s intentions.”
“Well… if I had to say, it would be within the bounds of conserving strength.”
“For what? If we can’t fight when it’s time to fight…”
Seeing the Lord of North Sea Ice Palace filled with doubt, Saoulabi Master Cheok Jun-ki smiled bitterly. It was indeed a situation where feeling powerless was reasonable.
“The Joule Master believes it’s not time to fight… he’s different from us.”
Thus, all the Twelve Joules experts withdrew from the Sacred Altar Tree. From the beginning, they had coordinated flawlessly, and the leaders worked together well, resulting in few casualties, and eventually, not a trace of their presence remained.
As silence enveloped the space left by the retreating Twelve Joules, three figures emerged at a certain moment.
*Pa-at!*
“How amusing. I never expected the World Tree to collapse…”
The Night Yasha, Sang Gwanwna, transformed from its original form back into a beautiful black-haired woman and murmured. They had indeed reached near the Sacred Altar Tree shortly after the barrier broke, but upon sensing something was amiss, they chose to remain hidden, observing the developments based on the suggestion of the expert from the Eight Parts of the Divine, Gin Nara.
And surely enough, a moment later, the World Tree’s core collapsed, losing its vitality and beginning to sink. The three from the Eight Parts of the Divine transformed back into their human forms, realizing that there was no need to waste their cause and effect by dwelling in their original state.
The bandit leader Gel-seon chimed in.
“Shouldn’t we track them down and eliminate them?”
To that, the stout Gin Nara snickered as he replied.
“Haha, there’s no need for that. It would just waste our cause and effect… There’s no reason to chase after such pests.”
“Really? Compared to our original form, they’re mere bugs, but having been active in the Martial Arts World for so long, I know the potential of the Twelve Joules. If they unite, struggling against Zhuge Yulong’s bid for dominance in the Central Plains could become troublesome.”
The bandit leader was no fool; he had gathered knowledge and experience as a Third Generation Exemplar and former leader of the Orthodox Sect, judging the Twelve Joules experts as a significant threat. If possible, eliminating them all here would be the easiest way forward.
However, Gin Nara firmly stated.
“I’ve considered it. But the losses in cause and effect would outweigh the gains of killing them. Moreover, we have yet to lay eyes on the Joule Master or the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”
“Hmm.”
“The Joule Master can handle Zhuge Yulong alone. He borrowed the Earth Star, so surely he is not incapable. Additionally, with the World Tree collapsing like this, they have lost over 70% of their strength.”
“That does make sense.”
Gin Nara’s reluctance wasn’t due to a surplus of kindness but rather the realization that, with the World Tree’s collapse, the Twelve Joules would no longer have the power to fight back. Being a strategist, he hated making a blunder by underestimating the situation.
The Yasha swung her sickle.
*Skrreee!*
A peculiar sound resonated as she felt the vibrations. After taking a moment, the Yasha spoke slowly.
“Strong auras are scattered around.”
“How many?”
“I sense three auras deemed powerful… but I cannot tell which of them belongs to the Joule Master or the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”
“It shouldn’t be the Master of the White Lotus Sect.”
“Why?”
“… We can leave the search for the Master of the White Lotus Sect to those three outside. One of them must be the Joule Master.”
Upon hearing Gin Nara’s words, the bandit leader suggested.
“How about we split up and track them down? I can easily release the seal of our original forms in this state.”
It was a reasonable proposal. Each primary form of the Eight Parts of the Divine possessed overwhelming power and would logically be faster to locate if divided. The bandit leader thought even one of them alone could kill the Joule Master without issue. However, Gin Nara shook his head resolutely.
“No! The humans’ hidden strength might be stronger than we anticipate, hiding some tricks. The reappearance of the Old Ruler’s avatar was unexpectedly powerful; it ranked among the strongest beings we’ve encountered. If it weren’t for our special abilities, we would have perished.”
“Hmm. Are they capable of summoning entities from the Otherworld again?”
“There is that possibility.”
“I see….”
As the bandit leader came to terms with this, Gin Nara clenched his fist tightly.
“We can’t afford to lose any more comrades. Until the ‘time’ promised by Master Changhil arrives…”
“Then we must stick together.”
“Exactly. Though it might be a little annoying, we will certainly win while minimizing our strength consumption.”
Gin Nara was the type of strategist who was conservative and cautious. For this reason, he often fell behind the quirky and genius strategists. However, due to his robustness, he had a higher win rate in battles where endurance and superiority mattered. Thus, a glimmer of hope for the Joule Master had subtly faded away.
The Yasha declared, “Let the hunt begin.”
Just as the three from the Eight Parts of the Divine started moving, the Joule Master, Ha Eun-cheon, found himself unable to advance due to a man blocking his path. He had descended rapidly, standing at the edge of a cliff, just outside the Divine City.
“Don’t move.”
The martial artist stood on the opposite side of the bridge, pointing his sword technique at the Joule Master.
“Make a move, and you will pay for it.”
“…….”
The Joule Master, Ha Eun-cheon, could not ignore that warning. Neither could Hong Gil-dong, the Grand Elder of the Manha Spiritual Gate, who stood beside him. The reason was that the attack range resembling a barrier from the swordsman on the other side was overwhelmingly threatening, trapping them in place.
A powerful Formless Qi radiated, controlling the area.
If they stepped even slightly into that domain – even the tips of their fingers – they would be sliced apart.
There was no escaping this battle.
And this fact also meant that their opponent was an absolute expert who had entered the Absolute Realm.
“Hmm.”
The Joule Master glanced at the blue lantern and bright dragon held by Hong Gil-dong. Then he turned to the man on the other side of the bridge.
“That’s your comrade, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Unintentionally holding hostages… Please step aside before I throw them over the edge.”
The Joule Master threatened casually, but the man didn’t flinch.
As silence stretched between them, the Joule Master sighed.
“Ha, throw them.”
*Whoosh!*
In the next instant, Hong Gil-dong tossed the unconscious Cheongwol and Minglong over the cliff without hesitation. That was because they weren’t nice people enough to feel regret for leaving behind someone who had become their enemy. Then the swordsman on the opposite side quickly drew his sword.
*Piying!*
An invisible sword aura flew and formed a crescent moon, slowly cradling the bodies of Cheongwol and Minglong, lifting them to safety somewhere.
*Swish swish swish!*
It seemed like an attack at first glance, but the Joule Master and Hong Gil-dong soon realized that this sword aura held no killing intent and was orchestrated with perfect control to ensure they landed safely, like feathers falling to the ground. Eventually, Cheongwol and Minglong vanished from the hall, drifting below the clouds.
The sword aura had truly reached the realm of art, making Hong Gil-dong marvel in admiration.
“Impressive….”
At that moment, the Joule Master shot a sharp gaze at Hong Gil-dong.
“Hey, why praise the enemy in a situation like this?”
“Oh, sorry. But it is impressive, after all. When you’re in the position of using clones, you can’t help but admire it. Just how much precision is required to achieve that?”
“Seriously… could you just shut up?”
As Hong Gil-dong tried to justify himself, he shrugged his shoulders.
“Sure.”
“Just being strong doesn’t make you worthy of being a Grand Elder.”
The Joule Master, irritated, took out a small wooden container from his pocket. Shaking it lightly, a near-unconscious Extreme Tiger appeared. The Joule Master aimed the Cosmic Fragment at the Extreme Tiger’s head, saying,
“I concede your impressive sword aura. You truly are a great swordsman. But this time, you won’t have the chance to show off your tricks; it’s time to crush this friend of yours.”
“……”
“Still not moving away? Do you think you can save this young friend while standing against us? Even the Master of the White Lotus Sect would struggle to do so?”
This threat carried a significant weight. As the Joule Master stated, the swordsman had no way of saving the Extreme Tiger’s life, now incapacitated, while being right on the Joule Master’s heels.
Yet the swordsman remained undeterred.
“The Extreme Tiger risked his life to reach the Sacred Altar Tree’s peak. That alone fulfilled his duty. He’s been fighting with his life on the line from the start—what regrets could he possibly have?”
“Are you serious? Who do you think you are to determine whether he wants to live or die?”
“He is a man and a comrade.”
The swordsman declared fiercely, his spirit rising.
“Comrades don’t just cocoon each other. If they share the same purpose, they must sometimes carry out their missions without wavering—even if it means facing someone like you, the enemy!”
“……”
“If the Extreme Tiger dies, I will bear the responsibility and follow him into the afterlife.”
He’s unshakeable.
‘A completed warrior.’
The Joule Master admired him inwardly. It wasn’t mere admiration for the swordsman’s skill but a deep respect for the thoroughness with which the opponent had cultivated his mental strength and will.
There are many skilled experts in the world, but it is exceedingly rare to find one who rigorously adheres to their principles as a warrior, earning the respect of both allies and enemies alike.
The Joule Master said, “You’re likely here under the orders of Zhuge Sa, attempting to detain me. No matter who we are, it is not easy to defeat an expert in the Absolute Realm. Besides, in this valley filled with countless Manjangan Cliffs, fixating on capturing us would only lead to endless trouble. The terrain is crafted to perfection.”
“That’s correct.”
“Well… it seems I have no choice. I wanted to settle this amicably.”
*Chiririring!*
The Joule Master equipped the special Doujin Wuha Jeongya, channeling his strength. He spoke as he held the Cosmic Fragment firmly.
“I’ll have to kill you now, Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong.”