Chapter 770 – To My Younger Brother, From The Heavenly Demon (3)

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.

“Someday, when the timing aligns well.”

“Hm?”

Invincible turned to look at him. Jeong Yeon-shin slowly met her eyes and spoke.

“I was planning to tour a hydrangea field with the Literary Star’s predecessors. Carrying something like Five Cloud Mountain Vegetable Dish.”

“…Why hydrangeas?”

“They bloom a lot in my hometown. They say it wasn’t like that in the old days, but it’s thanks to the dragon veins and terrain changing during the Yuan-Ming transition period.”

“Didn’t the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader turn it into a wasteland? Well, if the land is that fertile, a few more might have bloomed again.”

“Immortal Tree Spirit Leader Senior Cheon promised to boost the earth’s energy. It’s fine to ask Lady Lu Xian for a lively sword. From Beijing to Mount Hua, just a slight detour and they can stop by Xinye County too.”

“What about Desolate Fortress leadership and Nine Sects sect leaders? The Imperial Family wouldn’t sit idly by… oh, they won’t?”

Invincible nodded to herself, regardless of King Qiong-ming furrowing his brow nearby.

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.

“If you come too, it would be quite the spectacle. No need for a full meal box. Just roughly bring one bottle of liquor.”

“What?”

“Then the martial world would be shaken. Even the utterly wicked demonic path grandmaster has allied with the Desolate Fortress. With the northern kings, who sharpen their convictions like axes, reaching reconciliation, now even in the shadows, everyone must curry favor with them. What a lamentable jianghu.”

Jeong Yeon-shin recited in a flat tone, mimicking the gossips. Naturally, Invincible’s eyes arched up as if looking at a madman.

But her following question veered off course.

“Why are you sincere?”

“It’s comfortable talking like this. As expected of big sis.”

“Cut the nonsense.”

She didn’t get angry even while discussing the future with someone on the verge of death. Jeong Yeon-shin felt that her upper dantian discerned not just truth from lies, but even the depths of human intent.

He quietly said.

“I think a way to save you has appeared.”

***

“You should have just died. To propose an armistice in that tone, how dare you spout such nonsense before the Divine Tree…?”

“Is this the Law Enforcement Department’s arbitrary decision?!”

Reprimands from the clan experts.

A translucent sword wind swirled fiercely, energy waves poured toward Cheon So-myeong, the World Tree’s grand administrator.

Cheon So-myeong did not respond.

He simply stepped onto the winds exhaled by the noble clans like an immortal, lifted himself to meet the Literary Star’s eye level, then, hands clasped behind his back, quietly spoke.

“It was the same proposal I made earlier to Divine Sword Group Leader Dream Flight. Of course, this armistice offer is no different from surrender… That’s why the clans are reacting like that.”

Literary Star stared down at him intently before asking,

“Did you decide this alone?”

“As if.”

Cheon So-myeong shook his head.

There are clans innately skilled in Wind King arts, possessing special abilities, whose minds commune with the World Tree.

Extremely rare noble clansmen.

Among the outer clans, Wei Gun-hye and Cheon So-so were such—and needless to say, Cheon So-myeong, as the main temple’s grand administrator.

He spoke softly.

“It’s the Divine Tree’s will.”

“It feels like taking shelter from a storm that’s grown too fierce to endure.”

Literary Star’s words hit the mark, but Cheon So-myeong replied with a smile.

“Even so, what can the world do? It’s unmistakably the Divine Tree alone that’s been holding back the gates’ rampage.”

“Hm.”

The giant did not deny it. Even as white steam exhaled from his entire body, his curt exclamation was no different from an ordinary scholar’s. Cheon So-myeong felt chills anew.

‘The terror of this Yao Tribe’s giant demon lies here.’

He doesn’t immerse himself in battle. He always observes the overall situation.

That was why Cheon So-myeong opened dialogue with the Literary Star:

Because he was the one who best understood the difference between the Demon Realm and the Central Plains. Now, the Demon Realm had become a hell where monstrous strength and divine anomalies were everyday occurrences, while the Central Plains maintained the human jianghu in some form. Naturally, it was the World Tree’s blessing.

Literary Star slowly opened his mouth.

“In the end, it’s back to the origin. The tree, the gates, and the world’s safety.”

An absurd soliloquy. Having failed to seize hegemony in chaotic times, they now had to endure humiliation. The initiative for the armistice must not pass to those insignificant born ones.

‘The dignity of the clans, lofty through the ages…’

A thought that arose unwittingly, like the Central Plains people who value their own face as life itself.

But inwardly, Cheon So-myeong shook his head. Aren’t we the true Central Plains people who have protected the world from the gates’ flood? We who haven’t inherited our ancestors’ wrongs are the victims caught between eras.

In that instant, his contemplation was shattered by Literary Star’s voice.

“I’ll state the conditions.”

With hands clasped behind his back, Cheon So-myeong tilted his head to the side and said,

“…The world’s greatest clan has extended a hand. Withdrawing forces and minimally yielding earth energy should suffice.”

Literary Star’s thick lips curled faintly upward.

“As expected, the only grand administrator I should aim for is Brother Lim.”

“What do you mean?”

“Born as a hero and ascending to the world’s most mysterious sanctuary… yet seeing only clouds, the dragon and phoenix were by your side.”

For the first time, Cheon So-myeong’s composure wavered at the low voice. It was a poem the giant had roughly composed—seemingly calm, yet hollow in its recitation. Then came the five conditions Literary Star presented.

1. Extract Lord Jeong, the Desolate Fortress Lord, from the World Tree.
2. All clans of the World Tree must assemble here without exception. Thereafter, abolish the meridians of their four limbs and their dantians with the Dark Night Brilliant Blood Demon Sword.
3. Acknowledge the following facts: the World Tree is an unwelcome guest to the world; a demon that brought monstrous strength and divine anomalies; a traitor that plundered the world under the pretext of suppressing the gates; and a single tree rooted lower than the most lowly sinners in the world.
4. Immediately abolish the World Tree’s fruits. Henceforth, ensure that lowly creatures do not covet human flesh; the World Tree must never bear fruit again.
5. Proclaim the above to the world.

“Sign it.”

Literary Star said quietly.

The agreement document extended to Cheon So-myeong by the giant…

He had torn off a massive rock like a plank with his hand and engraved the contents with his fingers, in neat clerical script refined enough for provincial exam success.

It was a long while before Cheon So-myeong opened his mouth.

“…There has never been such a deadly clause in the world. How can you dismember the clans’ spirit to this extent?”

Literary Star’s head tilted.

He asked,

“What spirit remains in a nation fallen by war?”

“……”

There was no choice but to sign.

The Baihui acupoint was filled with wood energy, filled by the World Tree’s will. The clans’ soul means nothing in the myriad phenomena; his sole task was to buy time.

‘…The fruit, that is, the time until the Divine Tree’s spirit transforms into Zhang Sanfeng.’

Originally, it would have ended with the World Tree’s spirit possessing Wei Gun-hye’s or Jeong Yeon-shin’s body.

The world thinks the World Tree’s fruits are “food,” but the reality is the opposite, just as Shin Byeok, Shin Cheon-hwa, the Seven Apostle, and Jeong Yeon-shin exchanged control of bodies.

It was then, as Cheon So-myeong carved the characters “Noble Clan” into the stone agreement…

—A suitable body is needed.

Words that arose like his own thoughts.

The current World Tree is manifesting Zhang Sanfeng’s body only with spirit, qi, and the sacred tree trunk. It’s like growing a formless sword when an exceptional sword would suffice.

Even now, the clans’ clamor made his ears buzz.

—Pure Affection King! Respond!

—We know you’re connected to the Wind King arts’ telepathic network. How can you betray the clans? Didn’t the Divine Tree make you that way to begin with?

—Resonance Spirit Leader is a typical Desolate Fortress stray. Wandering the borders with fanatical sense of duty, even his aesthetic tastes tilted from clan to yao. He is a high master of sensory paths who can discern your noble status, but in his eyes, only your appearance operating the Appearance Alternating Technique…

There was no response from Pure Affection King.

It was confirmed she had ultimately captured the Resonance Spirit Leader, but she seemed to have departed to a land without tree roots, completely turning her back on the bustling jianghu.

‘It doesn’t make sense.’

The Desolate Demon is no different from the Heavenly Demon, producing absurd results from ridiculous causes. Human affairs are inferior to the Divine Tree’s jianghu. What manner of people are those gathered to protect such things?

Cheon So-myeong sensed the entire battlefield.

—Primordial Beginning Pacifying and Suppressing, come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I am Jade Cliff of Wudang.

Lord Yu Xiong and Yang Cheon were trapped in Wudang’s Great Harmony Seven Venerable Stars’ Seven Star Sword Formation.

—Sect Leader Immortal! If you do that, our sect will be destroyed again!

Just before Sun Direction Great General slew Gao Yao Holy Sword Lord, Qingcheng’s later generation disciple, Purple Dragon Jin-mu, rebuked Qingshu.

—Pajijijik!

Even the man standing before Lazy Flame Dragon, surrounded by blue lightning, was the Demon Realm’s emperor, none other than Aisin Gioro Black Return blocking Wandering Star, while dozens of Yao Tribe members around him thudded down with their massive bodies.

Legion commanders leading the Black Capital’s martial forces.

They were the emperor’s guards.

“Truly, things have escalated step by step.”

Cheon So-myeong muttered unwittingly. The Divine Tree must not devour the Desolate Fortress Lord Lightning Genius.

At that moment…

—A suitable body is needed.

The same thought was forced again, spearing down into the Baihui acupoint, penetrating the upper dantian, and dominating even his mind with wood energy.

His consciousness flew away.

As always, a side effect of unification.

It wasn’t the first time. He would close and open his eyes and find he had moved according to the Divine Tree’s intent; days or even weeks might have passed.

But there was no other way. When Cheon So-myeong regained his senses, he had been swept into a massive torrent of time, what could be called the great momentum.

‘What…?’

Suddenly, a scene unfolded before his eyes.

The vast central village had long been surrounded by the Divine Sword Group and the Yao Tribe. Here and there, even jianghu tiger clans and Nine Sects elders were visible. The scale and composition were immense.

How many times had the moon risen and set?

“……”

An eerily massive silence wandered the wooden village.

Under the hazy full moon, a fainter halo spilled down. The center of the massive crowd was the same: several shadows stretched long across the moonlight, wavering.

One among them was the “fruit.”

Now in a shape close to that of an old Taoist, clad in a shabby robe. Just seeing his hands-clasped-behind-back figure felt like lightning pouring strand by strand into the upper dantian, an agony akin to accepting the flow of the distant universe.

‘Huhk…!’

It does not permit observation.

That’s likely why most of the crowd’s wall had their backs turned. The fruit’s existence was an area-of-effect absolute technique, especially for high masters with opened upper dantians.

He must not witness more.

Cheon So-myeong hurriedly turned his head. Simultaneously, the figures surrounding the fruit entered his view: the Demon Realm’s emperor, Wudang’s sect leader proxy Immortal Jade Cliff, Divine Sword Group Leader Dream Flight, Divine Sword Deputy Leader Divine Blood Extreme Demon, a glimpse of the back of the head of Ominous Dream, Great King Vajra, Gao Yao Holy Sword Lord, Wandering Star Emperor Li Chuang, and more…

Not just them. Even those thought unlikely to intervene, like Martial Dragon Alliance Leader Helian Feng-yue and Sword Venerable Baek-seo-gun, were included.

“I wonder how far it can evade. Can it reach beyond the conventional fighting distance?”

Helian Feng-yue muttered.

It was clear these words were spoken about the fruit standing motionless. Judging from the thick haze raised by clashing footwork energies, who knew how many ultimate arts had been unleashed during that time.

What a complex and profound banquet of divine arts there must have been. Moreover, it even felt like it had just begun.

As if the greatest martial congress of all time were unfolding. Cheon So-myeong’s eyes sharpened like the tip of a leaf.

“Blasphemous…!”

That fruit is…

To some, an ultimate decisive battle weapon against the world that must be annihilated; to certain madmen, the formless one personified; to others, like a jailer confining the Desolate Fortress Lord Lightning Genius.

“Isn’t this a strange spectacle?”

Literary Star’s question cast a massive shadow over his crown. Cheon So-myeong hurriedly sought Wudang’s sect leader proxy.

‘There he is!’

Just then, a tall middle-aged Daoist was opening his mouth: Immortal Jade Cliff. A stubborn impression, a figure who would not tolerate anything disgraceful to Wudang, even according to information compiled by the World Tree’s Thousand Li Eye.

“…The principle of four taels moving a thousand catties is first the power to control a thousand catties. Only thereafter can four taels handle a thousand catties’ weight. Thus, the rumor that our sect’s cultivation is detached from tyrannical martial arts is false.”

Jade Cliff’s words were low, like chanting a Daoist invocation.

“Thus, Wudang Daoists are the snouts of thieves plundering great natural earth qi as much as possible, and that one has deflected the absolutes of these martial comrades with four taels of force. That principle defying heaven’s will is truly worthy of calling the founding ancestor’s technique…”

From what Cheon So-myeong observed midway, Jade Cliff seemed to have achieved Transcendent Martial Art. Wudang had lost another sagacious Taoist.

Then Helian Feng-yue, spreading both hands left and right, stepped forward slowly.

“The combined attack failed because the hands were chaotic. How could the paths of humans with twisted lives fit perfectly? Anyway, isn’t it just a matter of landing it properly? I’ll attempt it with this world’s greatest qi art, Great Sun Pulling Void Shield.”

It was a failure.

Saaa—

Helian Feng-yue’s hand shadows scattered like firefly wingbeats. Simultaneously, the “Zhang Sanfeng” who hadn’t stirred within the translucent green radiance moved, his wrinkled neck subtly bending downward.

“……!”

Excluding a very few, the assembly reacted in all directions, advancing guard nerves and retreating steps, masters activating sensory paths to extremes, some even performing body substitution on the spot.

But the movement taken by the fruit Zhang Sanfeng was merely snapping his fingers.

Ttak.

Space warped.

In an instant, Cheon So-myeong doubted his eyes.

The splendid landscaping’s flower beds and dozens of paulownia trees twisted like threads, their forms hard to distinguish, and the palace halls’ roofs rose like bow arms drawn taut.

Soon, everything compressed into a massive circle, and the sky’s moon halo refracted in all eight directions, descending to their feet.

“Your connections are entwined like this.”

A gently warped moonlit night.

“The jianghu remains unchanged.”

Zhang Sanfeng said.

Cheon So-myeong’s intuition followed: that is not the World Tree. The true World Tree was now “thinking” in his mind, like consciousness bouncing off from severe senility.

—Zhang, San, feng…!

Amidst it, Zhang Sanfeng’s voice was faint like a moon halo.

“It’s the place you should be.”

At this moment, high masters with broad knowledge must have felt it, the sword force of the natural sword condensed in the old Taoist’s voice.

‘What in the world is that…?’

In the silence, the ground cracked.

“……”

Faint starlights rose, forming the figure of Desolate Fortress Lord Jeong Yeon-shin.