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As the moment to confront Zhu Rong arrived, the Celestial Sage Tripitaka was swept up in worry instead of the expected fervor.

Was this truly the right decision?

Yet, the bonds forged among the Eight Parts of the Divine made it difficult to turn tail and run. Even if the odds were low, there lingered a faint hope that Zhu Rong hadn’t shown up with a sound law of cause and effect.
‘Let’s endure this as a prolonged battle.’

Scattered escapes would only mean obliteration. Instead, the Celestials resolved to gather their strength and draw out Zhu Rong’s energy.

Garuda roared upon witnessing the Thief Gang get ruthlessly devoured.

[How dare you! Eat this instead!!]

As Garuda took a deep breath, his chest swelled to twice its size, and the next moment, a pillar of light erupted from his mouth.

Divine Flame!

[Ohhh… Not bad.]

Zhu Rong, perhaps taking Garuda’s Divine Flame seriously, raised his hand to conjure a blue barrier. When the blue barrier collided with the pillar of light, a massive explosion occurred, with the flash dispersing infinitely. The radius of thirty li was engulfed in searing heat, creating a deep crater.

With a thunderous boom, a mushroom cloud rose over the Divine City, foreshadowing the tragedy below. As everything was sent flying by the shockwave, Garuda noticed blue flames approaching through the cloud of dust.

‘How dare you!’

BANG!! Garuda shot another Divine Flame, colliding with the blue flames. But oddly enough, unlike before, they didn’t neutralize; the flames began to slither around Garuda’s body like a serpent.

Hissss!

[Graah!]

Garuda screamed as he spewed Divine Flame from his entire body, but the blue flames had already shredded him like a thorny whip. Blood gushed from Garuda as he staggered, and Zhu Rong’s laugh echoed ominously in the hall.

[Good, I’ve decided. I’ll keep you alive as my pet.]

[Gaaah! Don’t get cocky.]

The moment Garuda tried to charge again, Mahuraga’s music calmed him down. When Garuda flinched and halted, Mahuraga spoke quietly.

[Garuda, only your Divine Flame can affect Zhu Rong. We need to assist you if we stand a minimal chance.]

[Ugh.]

[Should you fall, victory will be impossible. We will end up devoured like the Thief Gang. Keep your cool.]

[Got it.]

As the three of the Eight Parts of the Divine formed a formation, Zhu Rong frowned. Despite being weaker than him, facing that defensive stance wouldn’t be an easy task.

The Celestial Sage Tripitaka addressed Zhu Rong.

[Zhu Rong, what do you desire to be summoned to the earthly realm for?]

[How strong is the desire of wanting to see your master’s face?]

Zhu Rong squinted while continuing,

[If I kill you all one by one, he will surely show up…?]

Chilling malice hung in the air.

The Celestial answered calmly.

[How long can a summoning using a single human sorcerer last? You should be the one to worry about your future.]

[Heh, such arrogant concerns.]

Zhu Rong chuckled before suddenly raising both hands to the sky.

[Oh, Jeon Wook! Lend me your strength.]

FWOOSH!!

The light of the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace shined down through a black cross opened in the sky and illuminated Zhu Rong. Simultaneously, the Eight Parts of the Divine realized that Zhu Rong’s law of cause and effect had massively increased. They could sense this since they held divine power in their original states.

[……!!]

[T-the limit of the law of cause and effect!]

The Eight Parts of the Divine were flabbergasted. Zhu Rong declared,

[Oh Yeong Jeon Wook has shown great interest in this matter. Especially since that punk mentioned the Seven Luminaries, I’ve consented to lessen the effect of law of cause and effect, even at some cost.]

[Ugh… Ridiculous.]

[Now, speak.]

Zhu Rong spoke with an exaggerated generosity.

[If you possess the Seven Luminaries, hand them over; if not, tell me their location.]

[What if we can’t?]

[Hehe…]

Zhu Rong wore a chilling smile, implying nothing good would come from the situation. Thinking of the Thief Gang who had just been devoured weighed heavily on the hearts of the Eight Parts of the Divine, but they didn’t lose hope.

The Celestial shouted,

[Don’t underestimate us!!]

He seemed prepared to fight, come what may. The odds were slim, and pain was likely at Zhu Rong’s hands, but it didn’t matter.

BOOM!

Moments later, the clash between the Eight Parts of the Divine and Zhu Rong ignited the Divine City. The Celestial recited spells while Mahuraga supported with music, and Garuda attacked Zhu Rong. Throughout, Zhu Rong casually deflected the assaults of the Eight Parts of the Divine; however, as the intensity of the attacks increased, he seemed burdened.

[Ugh…]

Had he underestimated them?

Zhu Rong realized that Garuda’s attack power exceeded his expectations. It seemed the emotional whirlpool influenced his strength, as significantly stronger flames soared towards him than before. Though he was a flame giant, taking a direct hit from the Divine Flame would not be overly damaging, yet it seemed to prick his pride.

Zhu Rong’s eyes shone.

[Don’t run your mouth. I know all of your weaknesses.]

Zoom!

Slowly, an ancient curse began to spill from his mouth. It was a sound that could never be pronounced using human language or vocal cords. As it did, tremendous magical power erupted from Zhu Rong, consuming violently.

[No!]

[Stop it.]

Upon seeing this casting of a spell, the Eight Parts of the Divine were shocked and hurriedly increased their joint attack power, but it was already too late. As the incantation rang out, millions of bizarre characters floated into the air, surrounding them, and the Eight Parts of the Divine staggered all at once.

[Gah…]

[Ugggh.]

Mahuraga dropped his instrument in shock, and Garuda hung his head in anguish. The Celestial became rigid, ceasing the spell he was executing. As the Eight Parts of the Divine crumbled in an instant, Zhu Rong laughed heartily.

[Hahahaha!! Praise Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen.]

[Damn it… Even if it’s the First Character… If we had stayed united…]

The Celestial muttered with frustration, though the situation was already a mess.

With all their power halved in one incantation, the Eight Parts of the Divine no longer had the capacity to defeat Zhu Rong. And no one knew this better than Zhu Rong. He didn’t rush, just wore a cunning smile.

[This Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace is unbearably dull; finally, something entertaining.]

Zhu Rong swung a whip wrapped in blue flame.

[Let’s enjoy this.]

The Zhuge Clan watched the battle between the Eight Parts of the Divine and Zhu Rong through their spirit servants.
‘The First Character.’

The world’s first written character created by Chi You. The character Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen had ordered to be made as evidence of a ‘promise.’ This was something Baek Woong, through his past experiences, already knew was the Eight Parts of the Divine’s weakness. However, since the moment it was created, it had been dedicated to Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen. It was a character so powerful that even the Great Race couldn’t collect it. Hence, they had no choice but to clash forcefully against the Eight Parts of the Divine.

But Zhu Rong knew how to use that First Character.

Therefore, even though there was little disparity in power between Zhu Rong and the Avatar of the Demon King, he could overwhelmingly suppress the Eight Parts of the Divine.

‘Just as I expected.’

When Zhuge Sa had entered the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace and noticed that Zhu Rong had been recommended as the exterminator of the Eight Parts of the Divine, he could almost predict this situation. After all, no matter how high-ranking one was in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, having such a relaxed demeanor against eight demon-level beings was bizarre. Given the balance of power, even though Zhu Rong was strong, he should have been tense while constrained by the laws of cause and effect.

Thus, Zhuge Sa had formed a hypothesis.

Zhu Rong knows the First Character, which is the most significant weakness of the Eight Parts of the Divine.

That was why Jeon Wook showed no hesitation in sending Zhu Rong alone, believing he could wipe out the Eight Parts of the Divine. While there was no solid proof, the situation alone was sufficient to make that judgment.

But Zhuge Sa didn’t plan to repel the Eight Parts of the Divine outright by borrowing Zhu Rong’s summoning spell. It offered no real benefit to Baek Woong’s group to repel the Eight Parts of the Divine. The moment they confirmed that the leader of the White Lotus Sect and the Master of the Twelve Joules had no trust in them during their meeting, everything was set for mutual destruction.

The strategy of mutual destruction was predicated on the assumption that Zhu Rong could single-handedly crush the Eight Parts of the Divine. After all, Baek Woong’s group was also being watched over by Chi You, and even if they wreaked havoc within the White Lotus Sect and the Twelve Joules, it was unlikely for the Eight Parts of the Divine to take pity on them. The Eight Parts of the Divine were ultimately adversaries that had to fall.

If Jeon Wook hadn’t given a promise in the Ten Thousand Ghosts Palace, Zhuge Sa might have put everything he had into allying with the Twelve Joules and the White Lotus Sect. However, having received ample power from Jeon Wook, he betrayed them without hesitation to prioritize his own gain.

Yet one question remained.

How does Zhu Rong know about the First Character?

It was an offering directly given to the emperor by Chi You!

The only ones who knew that were the Emperor and the Three Sovereigns himself. And Zhu Rong was merely a proxy; he didn’t belong to that hierarchy. So, did someone among the Three Sovereigns inform Zhu Rong about the First Character?

While Zhuge Sa had a strong suspicion it could be Jeon Wook, he couldn’t be entirely sure. After all, the secrets of the Divine Age, connected to Chi You and the ancient giants, were a tangled web of events from deep history he knew nothing about.

“……”

Now was not the time to ask himself that. As Zhuge Sa calculated various possibilities in his mind, he noticed a spiky-haired young man standing nearby and let out a sigh of relief.

“Quite skilled. Is he unscathed amidst all that chaos?”

Jin So-cheong, who had followed as a guard for Zhuge Sa, stood unharmed. It seemed he managed to protect himself amid the clash of enormous beings. Zhuge Sa thought perhaps Jin So-cheong had grown even stronger. No matter how extraordinary the Absolute Realm was, being unhurt by multiple surges of divine power was odd.

‘This guy’s talent seems almost inhuman.’

Zhuge Sa was a recognized genius himself and had seen many gifted individuals in his life, but among all, Jin So-cheong was undoubtedly a prodigy. Most of all, he had never witnessed someone like Jin So-cheong, who seemingly gained insight through battle.

At that moment, Zhuge Sa caught on to something.

There was a strong light of determination in Jin So-cheong’s eyes.

Could it be Jin So-cheong’s true goal was…?

“No way.”

But his intuition came true, for moments later, Zhuge Sa found himself standing up abruptly, flexing his invisible eyes. Though Jin So-cheong couldn’t hear him, he yelled out.

[Jin So-cheong!! Where are you going?]

No response.

All he saw was the back of a spiky-haired man approaching the colossal beings, spear in hand, through the eyes of the spirit servant.

[Stop immediately! Come back!! Damn it!]

This was the first truly unpredictable variable Zhuge Sa faced since executing this plan, and he was caught off guard like never before. While he usually acted shocked on the outside while his mind worked calmly within, this time it was different. Truly out of the ordinary was happening, which made it impossible to keep his cool.

Eventually, after walking steadily, Jin So-cheong found the spirit servant and stood before it.

[I found a clue. And now is the opportunity… I need to grow stronger.]

He couldn’t communicate through the spirit servant.

If Zhuge Sa had been in full condition, it might have been possible, but at this severely depleted state, he had barely a few chances to restore himself. Zhuge Sa could only sit dumbfounded in the hideout, listening to Jin So-cheong’s words.

[If we survive, we’ll meet again.]

With a whoosh, Jin So-cheong activated the Thunder Spirit and soared off somewhere. The streak of light headed to the location where Zhu Rong and the Eight Parts of the Divine were locked in fierce battle.

Thud.

At that moment, Zhuge Sa felt his concentration break and the connection with the spirit servant cut off.

While an overwhelming illusion flooded his mind and threatened to burst his head, he had been maintaining focus over the chaos. Yet, with such a mental shock, he could no longer hold it.

Zhuge Sa gasped in the darkness, murmuring,

[Damn it… How can that happen? Do you really think it will?]

He grit his teeth.

[You madman!! Come back this instant.]

Indeed.

Jin So-cheong’s true aim in following Zhuge Sa was not to guard the summoning ritual.

It was enlightenment in the struggle between life and death!

He had chosen the path of the warrior, seeking to elevate the realization of the Absolute Realm in the harrowing battlefield where he could truly sacrifice his life.

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