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“Let’s head to the Heavenly Altar of Mount Huang with everyone!”

The masters of the White Lotus Sect and the Twelve Joules looked a bit puzzled. The Master of the White Lotus Sect gazed around at the scenery and remarked, “There’s a heavy darkness here. Even more than at Mount Ye…”

“This is Mount Huang,” I replied.

“But why are we here? Could it be…?”

I turned to the Master of the White Lotus Sect and said, “The Ultimate Portrait Immortal is being created here.”

“I see… Please explain a bit more.”

“There’s no time for that. Knowing won’t change the situation anyway. Let’s take care of the Vermilion Bird first and then think.” My insistence drew a response from Yu Sa, one of the Three Masters of the Twelve Joules, who was listening nearby.

“That’s right. The ominous energy at the mountain peak is pulling the Dragon Veins closer, so we need to resolve this within a short time.” Mangnyang asked, curious, “Yu Sa, what do you mean by Dragon Veins? Are you saying that the rites on the mountain can control the Dragon Veins?”

“That’s how it feels to me. It’s drawing in an incredible amount of power. At least twelve hundred li of earth’s energy is amassing at Mount Huang,” Yu Sa explained.

“Hmm… so this Ultimate Portrait Immortal is mighty indeed. Are they planning to draw the Dragon Veins entirely to awaken divine blood?” Just as Mangnyang was expressing his awe, communication from Zhuge Clan came through via the suspicious fishhook.

“Baek Woong, what’s going on? Why did you bring all those people here?”

It seemed the Zhuge Clan was lying in wait nearby with Lee Cheong-un and had hidden when they unexpectedly spotted the Master of the White Lotus Sect and the Twelve Joules. I briefly explained what had happened, and Zhuge Clan contemplated before saying, “I see. So you felt there was still one more move left from the Vermilion Bird.”

“Sorry, if my judgment was wrong, I’ll take responsibility…”

Zhuge Clan cut me off decisively. “There’s no need to say such things. You are our king. If you deem it right, I will do my utmost as an advisor.”

“Hmm…”

“This place doesn’t have the complex Yin-Yang dual formations like Mount Ye, nor are there any Apostles or Demon Kings. There’s just the dark barrier protecting the altar at the peak, so you manage the Three Masters of the Twelve Joules.”

“Understood.”

“Lee Cheong-un and I will seek an opportunity to join the fray.” I organized my strategy in my mind and then shouted to everyone, “Follow me!!”

With a bang, a large group started moving along the path of Mount Huang. To be honest, I could have used Golden Lamp to transport everyone at once to the Heavenly Altar, but it was obvious that a barrier would block us, so we decided to descend at the base of the mountain. Mount Huang was a considerable height, so it felt like we were climbing the cliffs barehanded, yet among those gathered, there wasn’t anyone who would struggle with that.

After about half a moment had passed, everyone halted just before the remaining Cloud Bridge at the summit. The Master of the White Lotus Sect looked across the bridge and said, “That barrier is strong.”

As expected, the barrier Zhuge Clan mentioned had appeared. I had heard the countermeasures, so I shouted to the Three Masters who had followed me, “You all break it!”

“Got it.”

Uwoong!

One of the Three Masters began chanting a high-level spell, and as the incantation finished, strange characters leaped into the void and shot towards the dark barrier. The barrier crackled and twisted before starting to burst outwards like a swirling hole.

Pervavung!

At that moment, Unsa from the Twelve Joules staggered and gasped, “…We’ll hold back here.”

“What are you hiding?” the Master of the White Lotus Sect asked, and Unsa shook his head vigorously.

“There’s nothing to hide. We’ve exhausted ourselves breaking that barrier, it’s clear I won’t be of help, Master.”

“……” The Master of the White Lotus Sect fell silent. He understood that the current state of all three Masters being utterly drained meant that the full power of the Twelve Joules was now sealed. If he were to attack them now, he’d gain a considerable advantage. With their leader dead and the Three Masters gone, the Twelve Joules would sustain an irreversible blow.

However, he swiftly turned his head and commanded, “Yongbi Cheon, stay back and keep an eye on them.”

“At your command.”

It seemed the Master concluded that slaughtering the Three Masters right here, regardless of the trouble from the Twelve Joules and myself, would do more harm than good. So he left a Dharma Guardian to prevent the Three Masters from doing anything foolish.

Bang!

Soon, the summit came into view, revealing an unexpected sight.

“……!!”

The white-haired Ultimate Portrait Immortal. I had faced this mysterious enemy several times in past lives but had never truly recognized his identity—there he sat upon the altar. He appeared to have just awakened, with Zhuge Yulong standing beside him.

‘It’s been completed!’

Had I arrived too late to steal it?

While I had read the Vermilion Bird’s plan, I couldn’t keep pace with its breathing. Zhuge Yulong glanced at our side and remarked, “This is perfect. A great opponent for testing.”

“……”

“Consider it an honor to die before this being so close to God.”

This was the worst situation. I was going to fight the Ultimate Portrait Immortal…!!

‘Wait?’

As I closed my eyes, contemplating death, I suddenly realized something was odd. It felt reminiscent of the intuition I’d sensed earlier; the very situation of the Vermilion Bird standing before me was radiating a strange discomfort.

How could they have timed it to our arrival like this?

Given the Vermilion Bird’s character, I would have expected preparations to be underway much earlier. Why hadn’t they set up more than just the dark barrier? Surely they could have arranged astrologers, Dragon People, or Absolute Formations?

“……”

No, this situation wasn’t a dire one. Considering all the times I had been blindsided by the Vermilion Bird, this too could very well be a form of deception.

I rapidly processed the Vermilion Bird’s intentions in my mind and communicated through the suspicious fishhook to Zhuge Clan, “Do you know where we are? Is that Zhuge Yulong the real deal?”

[Hehe! Indeed… your intuition is astounding. I just realized something.]

Zhuge Clan laughed gleefully and continued, “Of course, it’s not the real one.”

[All right!]

Bang!

I stopped the masters of the White Lotus Sect who were about to charge at the Vermilion Bird and said, “Don’t do it!”

[What do you mean?]

“This too is a bait.”

I glanced at Mangnyang next to me, and he suddenly got it, focusing all his magical energy to shout, “I yearn for the Eye of Breaking Illusions! Odeil Ilgwanji!”

Wiying!

For a moment, the entire space trembled. Noticing this, Jeong Uchi beside him also shouted in response. As the two top spellcasters combined their powers, a massive blue light condensed in the air.

“Odeil Ilgwanji!”

It seemed they were generating inadequate power, the spell was crackling with lightning, and sweat beads were forming on their foreheads. Then, Hong Gil-dong and the master sorcerers of the Twelve Joules began chanting spells simultaneously, applying pressure throughout the entire area.

Bang!

Suddenly, the landscape before us shattered like glass, leaving only a desolate altar filled with bones and corpses. Where Zhuge Yulong and the Ultimate Portrait Immortal had stood, there was now a heap resembling a huge tomb. The mound was towering—high enough to reach the equivalent of a pagoda.

But it wasn’t a tomb. As Hong Gil-dong, a member of the Twelve Joules, got closer and examined the pile, he grimaced.

“It’s gunpowder.”

“Gunpowder?!”

Extreme Tiger gasped in shock as the Master of the White Lotus Sect crossed his arms.

[Had we attacked with sheer strength, it would have led to annihilation. Even with the Dharma Guardian’s Protection Energy Technique, we would have been in danger against such gunpowder.]

I nodded in agreement. “This was a high-level illusion designed to confuse us, to the point where it becomes indistinguishable from reality.”

The Master of the White Lotus Sect greatly admired it. [Remarkable. I can usually disregard most formations with the power of the Infinite Spirit, but this formation is at Great Immortal Level… I didn’t realize it until just now. But how did you detect this was fake, Baek Woong?]

Indeed, this was likely the final trap set by the Vermilion Bird, reaching a level similar to the illusions displayed by the Southern Flower Immortal or the Great Immortal. The upper-tier sorcerers on our end would only barely manage to break through at full strength, so the power exerted here was no joke. It was clear the Vermilion Bird had exhausted all its powers, yet strangely, I had pinpointed its intention in one go.

I scratched my head, saying, “Just a feeling.”

[……]

The Master of the White Lotus Sect gazed silently at me and finally said, [I truly do not wish to make an enemy of you today.]

Bang!

That’s when it happened. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from a peak about a mile away in an instant. It wasn’t just once, but five consecutive gigantic bolts seemed to dance as if they were alive. At the same time, an urgent message came from Zhuge Clan.

[Baek Woong!! I’ve found the real one. Hurry over!]

[Right! Lee Cheong-un is fighting the Zhuge Yulong right now…]

[No! It’s not Zhuge Yulong. It’s the Ultimate Portrait Immortal that has awakened.]

[……!!]

The Ultimate Portrait Immortal?!

There was no time to waste.

“Let’s go!”

Pav!

As we moved to the next peak, Lee Cheong-un was using Thunder Spirit to battle the ‘Ultimate Portrait Immortal’, but the situation was quite one-sided.

Pervabung!

His brain piercing attack and the vigorous energy of his strike! Bright flashes and dazzling attacks followed. Each blow from Lee Cheong-un bore potential greater than Ultimate Techniques that ordinary martial artists would call secret techniques, capable of even subduing Dokgo Jun in a single blow. With such a sustained assault, it was natural for the opponent to fail to withstand it.

Yet the white-haired Ultimate Portrait Immortal was the one enduring it all. He wore a somewhat blank expression while also withstanding Lee Cheong-un’s furious onslaught.

No, should I say he was withstanding it? Lee Cheong-un’s strikes landed directly upon the Ultimate Portrait Immortal, turning him into a bloody mess. But in that instant, it was as if the injuries and blood vanished completely, and he reverted to his original state.

He was neither blocking nor dodging.

He was simply taking hits without falling over.

‘What the hell is that?!’

That ability was far too strange to be mere super regeneration. Super regeneration, no matter how fast, would still be caught by the eye of any expert, and it would clearly register on even an awareness level. So it was just a troublesome monster that was hard to kill, even if it bore regenerative capabilities.

Clatter…

However, the way the Ultimate Portrait Immortal was recovering was bizarre. It was as if no such moment existed, clattering back to his original state consistently. That wasn’t something achievable by physical recovery.

It was as if a vortex of time dwelled within him!

Did Lee Cheong-un sense that fact too? After punching the Ultimate Portrait Immortal, he stepped back, turned to me, and shouted to everyone, “Master! Baek Woong! Let’s combine our powers to take that guy down!”

[So, Lee Cheong-un, you’re alive?]

“This isn’t the time for such chit-chat. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!”

Usually relaxed and smiling, Lee Cheong-un now bore a face filled with tension and alarm. Despite having crushed countless enemies, he was visibly threatened by the Ultimate Portrait Immortal before him. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, “That guy’s power is gradually waking up. If everyone awakens, we won’t be able to handle it. We need to kill him before that happens!”

Lee Cheong-un’s cry was filled with desperation.

‘What is it?’

What could he have sensed from that white-haired Ultimate Portrait Immortal who was merely taking attacks?

But the Master of the White Lotus Sect nodded and calmly commanded, [All members of the White Lotus Sect, annihilate that Ultimate Portrait Immortal before your eyes.]

Bang!!

In the next moment, as if waiting for the signal, the Dharma Guardians and the masters of the Su Shin Sect began launching an insane blitz of internal power attacks. An overwhelming cascade of infinite internal power poured down, causing the peak to crumble altogether.

I turned to Jin So-cheong and the Sword Demon as I said, “Let’s wait for the White Lotus Sect’s attack to finish before we wrap things up…”

But then Jin So-cheong abruptly interrupted, saying, “Baek Woong, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Huh?”

“I have a bad feeling about this. I feel something outrageous is about to happen…”

“……”

Truthfully, I sensed what Jin So-cheong felt too. That’s why I wanted to plunge into the White Lotus Sect’s joint assault and strike alongside them, but I was abstaining so as not to interfere with that massive attack. Just as I was pondering what to do next, Zhuge Clan spoke.

“Baek Woong, you’ll have to rely on your intuition.”

“Hmm…”

“What do you think we should do? This isn’t a situation where we can devise any more plans.”

I stated firmly, “If that guy survives this attack, I’ll talk to the Ultimate Portrait Immortal. I want to know what he’s thinking.”

We have to determine whether the Ultimate Portrait Immortal has any humanity left.

That is something I must figure out. Only then can I solidify my reincarnation plan moving forward.

 

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