Chapter 470 – Peerless Grand Battle (5)

Taimo Mountain Castle Lord. Dark Heaven Emperor Cho Yeol.

His long black hair cascaded down to his waist.

His ears, jutting sharply upward on both sides, were unusually pointed like in traditional opera, and on the chest of his completely tattered pure white robe was embroidered a large golden sun.

Cho Yeol’s sculpted features harmonized with such attire. His overall impression was as cold as plaster.

Even at the moment of expelling the intent of Transcendent Martial Art.

No expression existed on Cho Yeol’s face. He seemed indifferent to all worldly matters.

Parahrak!

The sound of a strong wind sweeping up his clothes.

He had suddenly emerged using a falling dewdrop as a mirror. A skill different from even the mysterious martial sorcery techniques known to the world. Something impossible without having forged one’s entire body with true energy and spirituality.

Thus, having pierced through that instant, an orange monk’s robe suddenly fluttered behind him.

Vajra Indestructibility Technique.

There was no time for anyone to react.

Golden radiance rose from one of the monk’s shoulders, taking the form of an arm, and that hand blade immediately vertically split and crushed the back of Dark Heaven Emperor’s head.

Jjeoeoeoeoeng―!

A massive shockwave rose from the point of impact.

The ripple that spread in concentric circles from that point shook the entire hall.

Rock fragments fell from parts of the stone walls that extensively surrounded the underground cavity, making a crumbling sound. It was as if they had been struck by a bell sound.

A single move without even a word, regardless of right or wrong.

It was Divine Monk Beomheo.

“……”

Not only the masters under Taimo Mountain Castle, but even Cho Il-seo, who had hurriedly descended from his palanquin, paused. Anyone would when witnessing such a transcendent technique that made one question if this was human.

The hand movement of the Shaolin Abbot, who had responded to Dark Heaven Emperor’s surprise attack with a rapid strike in the moment the underground transformed into the ‘Realm of Void Extinction,’ was just like that.

But the gazes of the involved parties—the divine monk, as well as Lady Lu, Two Walls Sword Master, and Yue Shou-lin—were directed elsewhere.

[Beomheo.]

The center of the underground cavity.

A human form wavered in the damp air, then soon took the shape of Dark Heaven Emperor as it touched the ground.

The footstep sound echoed hollowly. The Dark Heaven Emperor who had just had his head shattered by the Shaolin Abbot had dispersed like foam and was gone.

Spirit Projection.

It’s a realm transmitted in Taoism. When spirituality that amplifies power completely unites with true energy to create another body.

Among the Nine Great Sects, Taoist Sword Immortal had wielded it, but Dark Heaven Emperor, who had mastered martial sorcery to a transcendent degree, was truly the most suitable being for this art.

[After all,]

The other Cho Yeol that had thus emerged spoke.

[You have set foot in my domain.]

The one who answered was not Beomheo. Two Walls Sword Master of the Qingcheng Sect took a light step forward.

“Since when has Hangzhou been your land?”

Blue fire flashed in his blue eyes. It was the searching eye light possessed by noble clans. Cho Yeol answered without even looking at the Qingcheng Sect Leader.

[Since before you were born.]

Two Walls Sword Master’s expression became grave.

“…It’s true.”

He said. It was directed not at Cho Yeol but at his companions.

He was confirming how long this land had been cultivated, whether it was indeed a place where the absolute master of martial sorcery had accepted restrictions on his movement for over a hundred years.

Looking at the world at large.

The danger of those who have achieved the unity of spirit, energy, and body lies in their movement technique. Those who wield martial arts more formidable than even decent artillery move through the wilderness like the wind, displaying that power.

This is even more true for transcendent masters who possess Transcendent Martial Arts. It’s why various groups with vested interests rarely leave their own territories.

Conversely, a fortress that doesn’t move is not frightening. One simply needs to avoid approaching it. It’s also correct to say it’s worthless.

The Taimo Mountain Castle Lord was such a being.

He had stood aside from martial history like the later currents of the Yangtze River. For so long that many juniors with the same epithet as him had appeared.

Looking at the state of the world, there is no greater waste.

It’s like having the power of mysterious martial sorcery but not using it to seize what one needs, instead just leaving it to accumulate in a specific space, in a long period like a well.

But now.

If one has walked into that well of their own accord.

“……”

Two Walls Sword Master evaporated the dry saliva rising in his throat with his internal energy and gripped his sword tighter. Then he opened his eyes wide.

This was because his true energy rose more slowly than his mind. Something impossible for a transcendent master.

That gap was close to the difference between eons and an instant.

The Transcendent Martial Art had indeed been cast.

It didn’t have the destructive power equal to other transcendent masters’ life-saving ultimate techniques. If there had been a commoner passing nearby, they wouldn’t have felt anything. A special technique because it was so limited.

“What about the Mount Hua Sect Leader…?”

“It was something to be expected. We came prepared.”

Brilliant Jade Sword God said, shaking the blood off her sword. Her gaze did not leave Dark Heaven Emperor, who had earlier driven Jeong Yeon-shin to the brink of death. It was a gaze like an archer looking at a target.

‘They say Hangzhou itself is Dark Heaven Emperor’s martial sorcery formation.’

Two Walls Sword Master sensed it. That she too was not in a completely comfortable state. She seemed to be focusing to fully maintain the unity of her spirit, energy, and body.

Even the Purple Dawn Divine Skill, said to achieve agelessness from the point of mastery, is not omnipotent. Brilliant Jade Sword God must also be far from perfect.

Realm of Void Extinction.

Two Walls Sword Master could not gauge the range of this Transcendent Martial Art.

If it had been a place other than Hangzhou, it would have been difficult to exceed even one li, but now only Dark Heaven Emperor’s intent was felt. His words to the patriarch of the Wudang sect were mixed in the air.

―Do not avoid the fight. Let us compare our skills with sorcery alone, without martial arts.

Thud.

[The person I wanted.]

Suddenly, Dark Heaven Emperor’s spirit projection began to move.

[True to his nature, fled according to the natural order…]

Pajijik―

Blue lightning spread like a net from beneath his feet. A scene that was discharged each time he stepped on the ground. In an instant, the cave brightened.

[Now those who have lived just a fraction of my years have violated this place.]

That was it.

In that moment, Dark Heaven Emperor was smudged like fog.

Kurung!

The formless power that had completely shattered his body distorted like flames in that spot before disappearing without a trace.

It was the Hundred Steps Divine Fist, a power that could destroy the cave and more, vanishing on its own.

[Beomheo, Beomheo…]

On a completely separate wall.

Another spirit projection of Dark Heaven Emperor rose from the side.

[Did you think I hadn’t prepared for you?]

The sight of him standing on the wall… an unbelievable level of energy control. Even for a Elf clan member who had lived one of the longest lifespans in the world. Not as if he could endlessly draw and use energy.

“……!”

Two Walls Sword Master, who had been rushing toward the newly emerged Dark Heaven Emperor, opened his eyes wide.

Desolate Divine Spear Yue Shou-lin, who had somehow been running at an equal speed with him, suddenly had her head thrown back before falling with a loud boom. It was due to a wind pressure imbued with tremendous power.

Ssswaek―!

Dark Heaven Emperor, who had just flicked his hand, was split in two and scattered by a slash that had bent dozens of times in the air, semi-transparently rushing through the void. It was the sword energy wave of Brilliant Jade Sword God.

In the meantime, Young Castle Lord Cho Il-seo, who had regained his senses, jumped down from his palanquin in a convulsive manner. He was gesturing to the martial artists who had been entranced by the display of transcendent martial arts.

“Dark Heaven Emperor protects us! If you become a wall by deploying the formation now, those people will eventually……”

“Does the temple bell only ring once?”

The low voice of the Shaolin Abbot.

In a flash, Dark Heaven Emperor’s spirit projection, which had been reborn again from the cave ceiling, was torn away along with the space.

Below it, even the upper bodies of the martial artists who had been imbuing their weapons with true energy were shattered like firecrackers, and bright red blood hazily brushed past the light of the night-shining pearls.

Beyond them, Beomheo was lowering his golden arms.

Thud.

Another footstep sound resonated through the lightning branches on the ground. Dark Heaven Emperor taking shape from the gaps in the blue lightning. It was behind Two Walls Sword Master.

With the sound of flicking fingers, sharp stalactites rose with a boom, distorting the air from above and below.

Jjeojeng!

A loud sound burst twice.

Sparks of protective energy flew from Two Walls Sword Master’s back and abdomen, which were being crushed from above and below, because the golden palm of Shaolin’s Thousand Hand Avalokitesvara Technique had stamped down on Dark Heaven Emperor’s head.

Semi-transparent flames of true energy rippled in the thick dust. Dark Heaven Emperor continued to emerge from different places despite repeated defeats.

[Young Castle Lord, do not act rashly.]

“Castle Lord…!”

[It is enough to hold them.]

Those words stopped the Shaolin Abbot for the first time. The old monk’s single eye calmly looked at Dark Heaven Emperor.

“How long can you keep doing this?”

[Another hundred years.]

Dark Heaven Emperor answered expressionlessly.

The scene reflected like a mirror in his pupils at this moment.

Brilliant Jade Sword God walking steadily toward him, Two Walls Sword Master descending after shattering a sharp rock with a single sword strike, and Beomheo standing motionless all existed.

A line of figures that was the epitome of splendor. It would be difficult to find such a scene again in the current world.

From one side, Young Castle Lord Cho Il-seo raised his voice.

“Shaolin Abbot, please withdraw your empty display of power! Even to this ignorant junior, it’s clear that your speed of internal energy deployment is different from before. The Mount Hua Sect Leader is also noticeably slower, to the point where I think she might be struck by a junior’s technique. Furthermore, even if you were to reach the Castle Lord’s location after great hardship, how could you possibly deal with the elf clan members nurtured by the main sect as a hundred-year strategy……”

[Be silent.]

Dark Heaven Emperor said quietly. Immediately, Cho Il-seo’s words ceased.

“The old man overlooked one thing.”

A girl’s voice.

Yue Shou-lin was rising with a deeply frowning face. Even against a spirit projection, she had been hit by Dark Heaven Emperor’s technique.

Impact was inevitable. Indeed, blood was flowing down her neck. It was bleeding originating from the back of her head.

But Yue Shou-lin wanted to shake her opponent even if only with her lips.

“You’ve lost an ally who was one of Heaven’s Five Swords, and now someone else is hostile to you because of that.”

[Desolate Day Extinction.]

He seemed to understand immediately.

But Dark Heaven Emperor deliberately said no more.

Two Walls Sword Master guessed the reason. Desolate Day Extinction Jeong Yeon-shin who had developed his upper dantian beyond limit.

At his age, with that level of martial prowess, he must possess an energy sense imbued with divinity, but at this moment, in the space of the Realm of Void Extinction, what was most useless was precisely such formless spirituality.

A land where all capabilities of the upper dantian have disappeared.

Naturally, one must fight only with physical senses. Long-accumulated experience over years, the robustness of one’s body, and one’s energy control were important.

One had to compensate for degraded internal energy deployment with these three things.

‘Even if heaven’s luck brought him here…’

Two Walls Sword Master immediately pushed Jeong Yeon-shin out of his mind.

He had already expelled the Unorthodox Path’s Finest Sword from the battlefield. He dared not hope for more. At this moment, he should not stand on the battlefield of transcendent masters.

***

Read only at nineheavens.org

Translated by Nine Heavens!

https://discord.gg/XC9DTsTQ9Z

***

The movements of the Dragon Head Sect Leader and Desolate Fortress’s purple were like rays of light.

In an instant, they crossed a river and raced across dry plains, and at the end, the Sect Leader’s pursuit technique shone. He had accurately pinpointed their destination.

But in the old beggar’s eyes, there was rather a look of bewilderment. As if he couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible.

“Your true energy… was it really dharma power?”

“The seniors who have mastered orthodox martial arts seem to like it. But there were few whose condition improved just from being exposed to the energy wave. You must have accumulated a lot of merit, senior.”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s arrow-like thrust, speaking like a Shaolin monk, penetrated the ground. The stabbing technique that had pushed back the Sword Empress at the Mount Hua Agreement penetrated and descended into the earth.

A tremendously loud sound reverberated for a very long time, and the ground, which had been shaking violently as if an earthquake had struck, only ceased its movement after quite some time.

After that, the old and young pair invaded the underground. Divine Beggar appeared somewhat bewildered.

“This is.”

In that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s body staggered.

A vast stone chamber.

The surroundings were blocked by eight doors. Each stone door seemed to form the Eight Trigrams. A gloomy air flowed like fog.

“It’s the Dark Heaven Emperor’s Transcendent Martial Art. Be cautious.”

Divine Beggar whispered quickly.

Who knows what might be hiding. It was completely unknown territory.

Transcendent Martial Art that disrupts the state of unity of spirit, energy, and body. If so, the means prepared by Taimo Mountain Castle’s side were clear.

A transcendent master with unified spirit, energy, and body is not artificially cultivated, but it is possible to grow energy control over long years and with elixirs, and to forge martial arts with the temperament of a wanderer.

Taimo Mountain Castle is a great faction established during the founding period. If they don’t expect their disciples to reach higher realms, they can do anything.

Thud.

Several shadows flickered before the two men’s eyes. Each possessed a weighty presence. Whether they had accumulated energy to the limit of human capability, even the surrounding air felt heavy…

“Hey, are you alright?”

Divine Beggar’s eye wrinkles, who had been asking Jeong Yeon-shin, wriggled.

“Grotesque Blood Sword Demon, Forgotten Heaven Hand, Melting Origin Divine Blade…? How are the previous generation’s masters of the unorthodox path here?”

“Your insight has transcended human realm.”

“How long has it been since we left the martial world, yet you recognize us?”

It was the voice of a middle-aged man.

Soon after, five or six people walked out through the gaps in the dark mist. They had grayish-white skin and unusually long ears. Judging by their speech and conduct, they were clearly masters of the previous generation.

Moreover, they were all elf clan members whose energy control would inevitably have reached its limit.

“Is the old beggar perhaps the Dragon Head Sect Leader?”

“And the one beside him?”

“His body is no ordinary matter. We need to deal with him first.”

Voices resonating slowly. Years were embedded in their speech and conduct.

Divine Beggar took a step back. It was because he had properly recognized the situation. Dark Heaven Emperor was on the other side of the stone wall, and these were guardians that Taimo Mountain Castle had buried in time.

Beings who would inevitably be formidable in the space of the Realm of Void Extinction.

‘We should have landed a bit further forward.’

Luck was not on their side.

Divine Beggar suddenly shouted toward Jeong Yeon-shin, who was now standing motionless.

“Hey, joint attack…!”

The faded masters of the previous generation from the elf clan did not give him time to finish his words.

With the sound of air tearing roughly, three people suddenly narrowed the distance. A youth wearing a torn purple robe was at close range.

Simultaneously.

Suddenly, Jeong Yeon-shin’s right arm extended to the side like a whip.

Kung!

A sword blade bounced off the back of his hand. Immediately, Jeong Yeon-shin dug into one person’s embrace, struck his chin upward with his left palm, and drove his elbow down like an axe into the chest that had opened wide upward.

With a “jjeojeojeok” sound, the impact of ribs and lumbar vertebrae being simultaneously shattered rang out like lightning.

The opponent was a master who had deeply cultivated internal martial arts. Because his acupoints and even bones were filled with true energy, the sound was loud.

“Yan Family Fist…?”

“No, it’s different!”

While one master collapsed like that, Jeong Yeon-shin was extending his left arm backward and turning half a circle.

Another sword handle and the swordsman’s wrist became entangled with that elbow, then bent with a “wuddeok” sound like a branch wrapped by a snake. At the same time, Jeong Yeon-shin’s knee strike casually lifted up the person’s abdomen.

Kwang!

It was as if a fire bomb had exploded. Fragments of protective strong energy, shattered in a single strike, flickered white. For an instant, the rock fragments on the cave floor were illuminated in the cloudy light cluster before disappearing.

The faded elf clan masters stood motionless.

“……”

Clearly.

The conditions should have been fair. Those called transcendent masters in the world were clearly dragged down to the realm of the inferior.

And yet somehow.

Whuuung―

Streams of strong wind circling around them scraped the stone walls.

For a moment, a sound like a ghost valley wind caressed and passed through the atmosphere.

On one side, the old beggar wore a dumbfounded expression. Like the faded elf clan members, his eyes were fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin.

“What is……”

“My body.”

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. The long purple sleeve fluttered slightly with that movement.

“It feels strange.”

There was a sense of ecstasy in his voice.