Chapter 570
“Is that a whole realm of evil summoned here?”
After Mangnyang joined forces with the White Lotus Sect, he used his tricks to stuff a tentacle fragment into a little jar. It seemed like he thought there was some research to be done on it. Soon enough, they started to move forward slowly when suddenly, Yongbi-cheon shouted.
“Whoa!”
He froze and stared at the sect leader with a rigid face. The leader seemed to catch his hesitation and nodded slightly, saying, [This area ahead is a demonic realm.]
Mangnyang replied, “Are you saying an entire otherworldly realm infused with evil is summoned here?”
[You understand it well…]
“If we don’t have any resistance to this demon energy, we won’t be able to move forward.”
[Exactly… If you succumb to the wicked power of the Old Ruler, your body might mutate.]
Mangnyang looked around and said, “We have a countermeasure in Bancheon Alliance.”
[What kind of countermeasure?]
“I plan to increase our resistance to demon power through martial arts tricks and set up a protective barrier. We should be able to prevent any weakening of our powers while fighting inside.”
[That sounds excellent… With your skills, you should be able to cast some tricks for us too, right?]
Mangnyang eyed the members of the White Lotus Sect carefully before saying, “Maybe we should just send the Elder Council back.”
This got an openly displeased reaction from Ilro and Samro of the Elder Council. Ilro was a Peak Expert who’d mastered Half Transition and Samro was no slouch either.
“You little brat, do you have any idea who we are?”
“Demons aren’t something we can just mess with using our martial arts.”
“Our members are ready to move seamlessly under my orders, but I can’t say the same for you Elders. We mere humans have to navigate the path of magic to avoid corruption.”
“……”
“If you can follow my orders, I’ll cast some tricks for you.”
“Ugh.”
Ilro seemed to think this was nonsense, gathering a dark aura around his palm that looked pretty menacing. Normally, his personality would have him attack and take care of Mangnyang right there. But then the White Lotus Sect leader spoke up sternly.
[That’s a very sensible opinion.]
“Sect Leader!!”
[Elder Council, return to the main sect immediately! Think you can break through the great army?]
“… We can. Please take care of your health…”
Reluctantly, the Elders fled from the labyrinth. Once the Absolute Formation is broken, they couldn’t use it again, but they still had the task of breaking through the encirclement of 450,000 troops. However, since they were all Peak Experts, it shouldn’t be too difficult for them.
The White Lotus Sect leader crossed his arms and looked at Mangnyang.
[Bancheon Alliance leader… You seem quite knowledgeable about techniques and magic. Who taught you?]
“Sorry, but I can’t disclose that.”
[You pointed out the weak mental resistance of the Elder Council, but you didn’t mention the Su Shin Sect experts… What do you know?]
Of course, Mangnyang already knew that the Su Shin Sect had also negotiated with the Sea God clan to accept demons into their bodies. But he dodged the question.
“Hmm… I’m not sure what you mean. It looks like you, the sect leader, are quite familiar with demon magic too.”
[That’s true for the Vermilion Bird as well…]
The White Lotus Sect leader continued, [If you go a hundred paces forward from here, you’ll encounter a demonic realm swirling with madness. Those consumed by madness must be dealt with mercifully; it would be a kindness to end their suffering.]
A chilling atmosphere crept in as the leader’s words hung in the air. What kind of hell could await them?
Kruoooh!
As they advanced about fifty steps, the ground ahead glowed a horrifying red, not from flames, but a shade shockingly close to blood. Mangnyang sensed something and immediately began to cast a spell on his allies.
“Odo Il Iguanji!!”
A blue light enveloped their group. Then the Sword Demon next to him exclaimed in surprise, “I felt dazed just now, but my head is clear now!”
“Be careful. The White Lotus Sect leader’s warnings aren’t to be taken lightly. This is a place where the Old Ruler’s domain has been summoned into the worldly realm, overflowing with wicked energy.”
“Seems about right…”
“If we stay in here too long, it’ll be half a moment. After that, my magic won’t be able to hold, so we need to escape immediately.”
“Got it.”
Step. Step.
“……!!”
Swoosh!
Finally, the moment everyone stepped into the demonic realm, everything around turned a horrifying blood red. The ground felt alive, squishy like something that had flesh, blood vessels throbbing all around. Eyes sprouted everywhere, glaring horrifically.
It felt as if the floor and ceiling were breathing, pulsating with blood coursing through veins.
Extreme Tiger looked around and spat out, “Looks like human innards.”
It was true. This place felt unnatural, like stepping into the insides of a gigantic creature. The unsettling feeling that they were walking atop a heart’s artery lingered in the air. The White Lotus Sect leader muttered upon seeing this.
[There blooms a Blood Shadow Flower…]
The leader’s gaze fell on a massive flower with a grotesque human face that wriggled with tentacles. Calling it a flower was debatable, but after spotting it, the leader warned their allies.
[Heighten your senses and be vigilant of your surroundings. Especially avoid getting close to the Blood Shadow Flower; any attack from it would be perilous.]
“What is that?”
[Weeds blooming in the Ruler’s garden; they love humans very much.]
“We need to be cautious…”
“Loving humans surely means they love human flesh.”
Extreme Tiger grumbled, “There’s at least one every twenty steps…”
As Extreme Tiger noted, there were indeed quite a few Blood Shadow Flowers and suspicious eyeballs scattered around. If each one were a trap, it’d be nearly impossible to break through without immense skill. The Sword Demon chuckled at Extreme Tiger’s comments.
“Oh, stop whining, Extreme Tiger; you’ve got enough skill for this.”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Go ahead and break through first, just for a test.”
“Ugh.”
As the Sword Demon pushed him forward, Extreme Tiger, clearly reluctant, began to cast his technique.
“Soul Removal Technique!”
“Heavenly Light!”
Swoosh!
“……!!”
Gasps filled the air. A flash streamed out in a split second, and in the blink of an eye, Extreme Tiger zipped through over a hundred paces without a hitch! It was like lightning incarnate; the Blood Shadow Flowers along the path responded too late and exploded, but it was far too late. Extreme Tiger landed lightly on the opposite side and yelled.
“These things seem suspicious! Breathe carefully!”
Upon hearing this, Yongbi-cheon reached out both hands, manipulating the air currents.
Whooooosh!
With the power of his wind, the entire atmosphere got sucked in, creating a temporary vacuum. Then, Yongbi-cheon thrust an air lance into the gooey ceiling, and a flood of blood splattered everywhere.
Splatter!
[Is breathing causing roots in the human’s insides? As expected, the Blood Shadow Flower is an extremely dangerous lifeform…]
The White Lotus Sect leader murmured as he gathered his strength to clear the ominous blood mass far away. Not just the White Lotus Sect leader, but the Dharma Protectors began clearing hazards slowly, all thanks to Extreme Tiger who had already blasted the Blood Shadow Flower, revealing a safe path. Finally, once the entire party reached safely on the other side, Mangnyang sighed in relief.
“Phew! How can such a sinister place exist…”
[I sense a strong power ahead.]
The White Lotus Sect leader glanced back at the other side. The fleshy terrain came to an end, giving way to the abyss-like darkness emerging ahead. Something over there seemed to radiate presence, but only the White Lotus Sect leader seemed capable of discerning its power. He lingered in thought for a long while.
Finally, the White Lotus Sect leader declared, [Let’s go.]
The abyss-like darkness stretched long before them. Within that darkness, iridescent rainbow colors seemed to sprinkle across the path, but it did not feel beautiful at all. Far from it, those artificial colors displeased the senses.
While they walked, Jin So-cheong murmured, “This light is disturbing my mind…”
“This is the color of the universe.”
“Color of the universe?”
“I’ve heard that it manifests when the withered power of constellations descends upon the human world. Naturally, it’s harmful to humans.”
Step.
And just like that, when they finally broke through the darkness of the abyss, they emerged into a quiet atmosphere where giant military tombs stood in formation and a colossal altar rose in the center.
On the middle stairs of the altar stood a woman clad in white.
From the opposite corridor, the Master of the Twelve Joules emerged. Spotting the White Lotus Sect leader, he spoke, “That monster seems to be our final obstacle?”
[That’s right… It will be a formidable opponent.]
“We need to join forces, then?”
[As long as we don’t stab each other in the back, we might just win.]
“Hmph.”
All their gazes focused on the woman in white. She was dressed in ancient garb that looked like it belonged to the Han era, and her beauty was of such a degree that it could catch an emperor’s attention. But for some reason, seeing her face brought a sense of déjà vu.
‘Huh… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…’
After thinking for a while, I realized something. ‘That’s right! She looks just like Miho!!’
Of course, while she didn’t resemble Miho when transformed, the feeling was quite similar. If I had to nitpick, I’d say Miho’s transformation aimed for a more playful allure, whereas the woman had a stark, inhuman beauty. Realizing this, I looked over at Cheon Woo-jin with a hard expression, saying, “Everyone’s in danger! I need to go to her…”
“Hmph. Looks like you have some sense. But no.”
“What?!”
Cheon Woo-jin, while maintaining the vision spell, said coldly.
“If she is what you’re thinking, even you now would stand a chance of being taken down in one hit.”
“I can disable her before that happens…”
“Is that the goal here? It shouldn’t be.”
“…..”
“A wicked god’s spell can only be used once; defeating her isn’t our aim. I’ll tell you the moment you can step in, for now, just stay quiet.”
“Fine.”
Reluctantly, I stepped back as the atmosphere in the hall shifted slightly.
The woman in white took a small step forward, her alluring figure speaking in the hall, “You tiny beings. You dare to come to the Dreaded Seat of Nightmares. Do you understand that what you’re trying to do is reckless defiance against the God?”
Her clear voice mixed with a considerable amount of magic made it wobble slightly. The light tone carrying that much power indicated how formidable she truly was. The White Lotus Sect leader stared at the woman in white and replied, [If possible, I’d like to claw at that god with my own hands.]
“Hoh… how brazen you are… Do you think just because you carry chaos, you’re different from the other bugs?”
The woman in white laughed, suddenly inflating her body dramatically.
What seemed like inflation was merely an optical illusion; in reality, it was her transformation reverting as she grasped her essence. The transformation ended instantly, unveiling a massive, deformed representation of a great demon beast right in the hall.
Thud!
[Ahahaha!]
The creature was far too large to be merely called a monster. As it stretched in the cavern, the space around it seemed to expand too. Watching the transformation, Mangnyang exclaimed, “Is it expanding the dimension just with demon power?!”
When the demon fully appeared, it matched a size I was already familiar with, and the area had significantly widened. Its silvery fur flowed as nine gigantic tails wrapped around the world, its crimson eyes shining in the heart of darkness.
[Insect fools! You shall all be my meal, Daji’s!!]
The Apostle of the God, Daji, had descended into the earthly realm!
Though it was somewhat anticipated, hearing the revelation struck the White Lotus Sect leader and the Master of the Twelve Joules with quite a shock as they finally prepared for the battle. The moment Daji made her first strike by sweeping her tail,
CRAAAAASH!
It was just a swipe of her tail, but even the White Lotus Sect leader, together with the Dharma Protectors, struggled to hold their ground and were pushed back.
[Ugh!]
It seemed the Master of the Twelve Joules gave up on directly confronting her, fleeing their position. But it appeared they weren’t completely safe, as sounds of blood spattering emerged from everywhere. Just a single tail swipe was nearly enough to wipe them out.
Whirrrrr!
[I need to go all out. Dharma Protectors, assist me.]
The White Lotus Sect leader activated the Heart of Heaven’s Abundance seal, preparing to give it his all. From the opposite side, the fleeing Master of the Twelve Joules felt the energies of the Moonlight and the Cosmic Fragment rising as well. The strongest forces of humanity were poised for a grand showdown against the Apostle, Daji.
Amidst this spectacle, Mangnyang turned to his Bancheon Alliance comrades and shouted, “Now! It’s time for you to step forward!”
“Go, Jin So-cheong!”
