Chapter 365 – Ten Perfections (6)

For a moment, silence spread.

There was no sound of collision.

The air merely distorted colorlessly as flames raged in all directions.

Tremendous pressure muffled his ears, and the silken internal energy, emitting a faint glow as it flowed, surrounded Jeong Yeon-shin’s entire body while endlessly absorbing the flames.

Protective energy, Precious Radiant Star Heaven.

Woooong—!

The breath exhaled by the rain dragon’s shadow couldn’t spread outward.

The writhing lightning was forcibly drawn into the rotating star cluster like rays of light, releasing tremendous shockwaves.

‘Faster…!’

Strength entered Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

His head was hot.

It was the heat emitted by his upper dantian.

The principles and mental imagery of the divine skill born in this moment were interlocked fiercely, woven into a single strand.

Temporary decomposition of the Luminous Wheel, full-body energy, the absorption incantation of the Myriad Heavens Flower Rain, the years shown by Ghost Cry Hegemon King, the siblings standing under the faint night mist.

Kwaaaang!

The flames were ground away by the faint light cluster. It was a defensive technique of protective energy handling wide-area strikes.

Not a single spark reached the bodies of the siblings behind him.

The surroundings vibrated violently. Even the ground gradually sank with a kuguung sound.

The hundreds of people behind Jeong Yeon-shin hesitated.

“That…?!”

“The Radiant Demon Wing Leader…!”

Former-generation martial artists, small blacksmith clans, and common people who had been disappearing one after another, enveloped by the invisible formation’s life gate.

Many witnessed Jeong Yeon-shin’s protective energy, if only briefly.

It was like an ancient tale from the Classic of Mountains and Seas manifesting in the present era. All sorts of people showed expressions of disbelief even after seeing it.

Life-saving grace.

Some, despite their shock, tried to express gratitude, raising both hands as if to make a fist-palm salute and opening their mouths, but most disappeared on the spot.

Among them, only Divine Hand Hegemon King left final words with a smirk.

“I’ll repay this favor when we meet outside.”

He deployed an incredibly swift oral technique, then disappeared from his spot like the others.

He had successfully entered the spell formation’s power.

“You…?”

At that moment, the very person who had completed the all-encompassing spell formation stopped after becoming faint. With a ghost-like semi-transparent flickering body.

The Young Sect Leader of Ming Cult.

His snow-white windproof robe and scarf fluttered roughly in white as they met the aftermath of the lightning.

‘Heavenly Demon Armor…?’

The Young Sect Leader raised his eyebrows beneath the silver mask. This was because, as the orthodox lineage of Ming Cult who had refined martial arts to the extreme, he felt something similar to his own divine skill.

There existed a slight resemblance in the form of true energy operation.

The weave of the garment that seemed loose at a glance yet had no gaps, the vibration of protective energy that would be difficult to even attempt without formidable internal energy control, the ascending principles living and breathing within the currents of internal energy as if they had always been one…

The composition and mental imagery would fundamentally differ.

The appearance was different from the start, and the loneliness felt through the upper dantian was far from the Heavenly Demon Armor.

Only the vastness imbued in the spirituality characteristic of divine skills was similar.

‘There’s much to ask.’

The eyes behind the silver mask curved like crescent moons.

The Young Sect Leader muttered to himself. He doesn’t seem well, so I can’t let him die as soon as we get out.

Woong—

The Young Sect Leader drew a strange pattern with his long fingers, then suddenly disappeared from his spot. Along with the end of his fluttering white scarf.

“Lightning Genius, that divine skill…!”

“Are you alright?”

By then, the forms of Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so, who had descended on either side of Jeong Yeon-shin, were also becoming faint.

It was right after the common people lined up behind them had completely disappeared. The ability of the Ming Cult’s Young Sect Leader. He had fully opened the life gate of the formation created by the rain dragon and departed.

Kwaaaang!

Amid the rain dragon’s karmic fire still obscuring his vision and eerily flicking its tongue, Jeong Yeon-shin opened his mouth without looking back.

“Let’s go now.”

He felt the presence of heavy nods.

Xiahou Wei-jin and Cheon So-so. They had been enduring by forcibly resisting the power of the spell formation with the immense energy accumulation characteristic of renowned clan supreme masters. His seniors were always reliable.

“Yes, see you outside.”

“If we get separated, let’s meet at the fortress gate.”

Simultaneously, the presence of both people disappeared. The energy waves they had been heavily emitting also completely vanished in an instant.

Soon after, a thick wind blew in and filled the empty spaces they had left. The mystery of the martial world that now felt only familiar.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly turned his body and bowed.

Swish.

He placed his hands on each shoulder of the Tang siblings who were standing with their eyes closed. The sensation that touched his fingertips was cool.

Though the breath exhaled by the rain dragon’s primal spirit was pouring down strongly enough to bend his back, it was still bearable.

Only the heat that had begun to cut his skin was somewhat hot.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly moved his lips. I’ll take you home.

It was then.

“Stop following me, you b*st*rd! Where did the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader go?! Hand over the sapling before you leave!”

A frivolous and elderly voice rang out. In Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision, as he slightly raised his eyes, an old beggar was rushing in with lightness skill.

Originally just a small dot, rapidly growing larger.

His eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin’s.

Ghost Lord Man Hou-gai among the Two Kings and Three Lords.

One who had become famous for stealing the secrets of the Dog-Beating Technique and Drunken Eight Immortals Step, which were said to be passed down only to the Beggar Sect Leader and Hou-gai.

Still in shabby appearance, but his face was terribly distorted like an evil spirit.

“You can’t leave here before breaking the Golden Wing Sect Leader’s True Dragon Heaven-Treading Divine Technique! Hand over the sapling… Oh my!”

The wrinkled lips of Man Hou-gai, who had been rushing from a distance, suddenly curved into an arc.

Where the old beggar’s gaze was directed.

There were the bodies of the Tang siblings, not even slightly singed.

“I see!”

Man Hou-gai smiled slightly and accelerated his rush.

His gaze alternately scanning Jeong Yeon-shin, who was alone enduring the fierce lightning, and the siblings. The old beggar’s smile gradually deepened.

“It seems the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader values you greatly as a senior! If I capture you alive, you’ll be worth more than the sapling!”… Raw emotions were visible. The madness of one cornered, the stubbornness perhaps created by time, extreme fear of the Beggar Sect Leader and Golden Wing Sect Leader.

With the collapse of the formation imminent, he had become reckless. Despite having turned his back out of fear of mutual destruction after seeing Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial prowess earlier.

He was surrounded on all sides.

To entrust himself to the spell formation, he needed to diminish the power of the Luminous Wheel that Transcends Law Energy, but if he lowered his energy before a powerful figure like Ghost Lord, he wouldn’t fare well.

‘I can kill that one.’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

But whatever fight occurred, the bodies of the Tang siblings would inevitably be damaged.

Man Hou-gai’s expression, rushing in recklessly as if not considering intervals, was extremely vicious.

He seemed determined to pressure Jeong Yeon-shin by any means. As if he had completely lost his mind.

Thud!

Man Hou-gai, holding a club, kicked the ground and flew toward him. Semi-transparent waves of true energy burst noisily around him.

He truly intended to fight.

Why would he act like this? What great desperation must he have lived with?

“He wants to die.”

Just as Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes grew sharp.

—Fellow Taoist, you may leave.

An archaic manner of speech.

Suddenly, the fluttering hem of a Taoist robe blocked Jeong Yeon-shin’s view.

It was void treading as natural as swimming through water. The Cloud Dragon Great Eight Forms of the Kunlun Sect, which had been famous as part of the Nine Great Sects before its annihilation.

Shadow Lord Empty True Person.

—I entered to observe the rain dragon’s movements. This poor Taoist’s duty remains unchanged regardless of what happens to the formation. Even if this place disappears.

The old Taoist’s voice rang out mystically. His voice contained spirituality, but not a trace of malice could be felt.

Jeong Yeon-shin narrowed his brow.

“I can kill him with a single strike. Let’s leave together.”

—Mystical creatures that failed to ascend harbor ferocity in their hearts, and we never know when they might enter the world and cause great harm. I must observe and report. That is the heavenly mandate given to this poor Taoist when I held my master’s hand and passed through the gate of Kunlun Sect.

The appearance of a Nine Great Sects immortal.

Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan Sect he had seen in the past. They were remarkably similar.

Perhaps the elders of the Nine Great Sects of the martial world were controlling the chaos of the world in this way. From the gate of heaven said to have opened during the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Jjeojeong—!

A fierce shockwave spread from beyond the shoulder of the old Taoist who had turned his back to Jeong Yeon-shin.

He seemed to have collided with Ghost Lord Man Hou-gai. The old beggar’s voice was uttering curses difficult to understand.

—Radiant Demon Wing Leader, you will soon dominate the world.

Amid this, Empty True Person’s voice was lofty.

—I have a request for the peerless master of Desolate Fortress. Please remember one thing.

“What is it?”

—Someday, you may have to cut down the base of the World Tree. Or perhaps not…

“…?”

—Now go. It was a pleasure.

Whaaaak!

The voice of the old Taoist, concluding with “thanks for showing the excellent divine skill of a later generation,” rapidly faded.

His vision turned completely black. This was because Jeong Yeon-shin had unconsciously released the power of the Luminous Wheel after hearing the words about the World Tree.

Kwang!

Man Hou-gai, whose club had been blocked by Empty True Person’s palm, cursed.

“Young man, stop! I’ll give you the Drunken Eight Immortals Step, so bring the Immortal Tree Spirit Squad Leader here! Are you listening? You son of a…”

“The old one’s fortune is good.”

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.

“What?”

“If you had died here, at least your corpse would remain.”

It meant that if he had finally reached him, it would have been difficult to preserve the body.

Suddenly, Man Hou-gai’s energy waves were cut off. The sound of intense coughing also rang out.

Was it because he had plainly stated the facts? There was a presence like an old master quickly taking time for self-reflection.

‘A few words can avoid having to take action.’

Jeong Yeon-shin inadvertently realized the way of the gentleman.

It was thanks to the Tang siblings. He was gaining much from the rain dragon’s formation.

Even in this urgent moment, he maintained the dignity of a high-ranking official of Desolate Fortress, then completely entrusted himself to the power of the spell formation.

Kuung!

A roar sounded in his head. He even felt a pressure slightly pressing down on his entire body, but it couldn’t touch the skin of Jeong Yeon-shin, who was wrapped in Precious Radiant Star Heaven. It merely hummed.

Passing through the life gate.

He firmly gripped the shoulders of Tang Li-hua and Tang Li-li. He must never let go.

‘Different from when we entered.’

It was extremely intense. It felt as if his entire body was bouncing around inside the belly of some enormous being.

Incredibly thick spirituality burst with all sorts of vibrations outside his body, cooling Jeong Yeon-shin’s upper dantian.

Time like an eternity flowed down his spine amid the complete darkness. With a very heavy sensation.

How much time had passed like that?

Saaaa—

A refreshing wind began to tickle his face. The natural qi carried in the air was different from the start. A thin and leisurely feeling.

‘We’ve escaped.’

Finally returned.

Something chirped at his feet. The sound of insects. When he opened his eyes, a completely different landscape appeared.

Blue mountains were spread against a background of mist.

Densely protruding bushes swayed in the sunlight, and the sound of a waterfall pouring refreshingly while breaking thin ice flowed through the clear air.

Indeed, not the Golden Wing Sect. How much time had passed?

He recalled the words of the Young Sect Leader who had clicked his tongue while he was in meditation.

—It’s not just the Golden Wing Sect that can open the rain dragon’s formation, so there’s a high chance we’ll fall in a completely different place. Since the entrance wasn’t singular to begin with, the exit will also vary. Well, I’ll try to avoid the Golden Wing Sect as much as possible, so don’t worry.

Jeong Yeon-shin looked around while slightly embracing the shoulders of the Tang siblings.

It was a wide mountain path. With sparse grass on the ground and flat terrain, it was close to an official road at this point.

‘It must be a place where many people pass by.’

He would need to go down to a nearby city. Because he didn’t know how the martial world situation had been flowing.

But there was something he needed to do first.

He couldn’t carry the siblings’ bodies like this. He needed to make coffins.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.

“Come out.”

The surroundings were quiet. There was little human presence. But he glanced at his shadow and parted his lips again.

“How long do you think the Young Sect Leader’s spell technique will last?”

“……”

It was then.

A group raising dust as they ran from the hill opposite came into view… Five people indiscriminately wielding large swords and knives. Their internal energy breathing, which was panting, seemed insufficient compared to their physical strength.

“That guy! Let’s catch him!”

“Huk, huk…! He looks like he can handle a sword? Look at his stance.”

“Shut up!”

“Leader, my eye for people…”

“Fool! Would you rather be skewered by the Qincheng swordsmen?”

“No, anyone can see he’s also a martial artist… Oh? The ‘Desolate’ character! The ‘Desolate’ character! Black rank!”

“What did you say?”

“Leader, you madman! Let’s go back!”

Jeong Yeon-shin stared blankly at the low-class martial artists he had never encountered before, then carefully laid the siblings on the ground.

Thud.

He slowly stepped forward.

Two powerful energy waves were rushing in from afar. The youthful energy characteristic of rising talents of righteous sects was also felt following behind them.

Only the two at the front were worth Jeong Yeon-shin’s attention, but as he fully spread his energy sense, he could feel that such incidents weren’t occurring in just one or two places.

The entire surrounding area was unsettled. The scent of blood mixed into the previously clear air.

It was a chaotic era.