The Hell of This Place (Part 1)
CRACKLE!
The heavens and earth are swallowed by crimson thunder.
“Damn it…”
Even after pouring inner energy into my mind to steady myself, it changed nothing.
My very consciousness had shattered completely.
It had already been teetering on the edge, but the news that Yeon-jin was gone was too much.
‘Will I be able to restrain him?’
The thought had barely formed when—
CRACK!
“Kyaaaah!”
“…??”
The shadow envoy from the Human Alliance, sent by Jeon Myeong-hoon, whose Origin Soul had exploded, let out a scream as his body regenerated.
‘How!? I clearly saw the Origin Soul explode… yet he’s still alive?’
Those above the Origin Soul realm could revive even if their bodies were destroyed, but the flip side was that their greatest weakness was the Origin Soul itself.
‘He survived after his Origin Soul exploded?’
“Wait, that’s…”
RUMBLE!
Behind Hyun-shin, three Origin Souls rose.
“!?”
One of those Origin Souls was sucked back into his body.
In an instant, Hyun-shin was fully reborn.
“You… monster! How dare you consume even one of my Origin Souls!? I’ll kill you!”
‘He condensed four Origin Souls at once…?’
Jeon Myeong-hoon stood silently within the lightning, staring at Hyun-shin with eyes twisted in madness.
The sight was chilling. Hyun-shin flinched, then began to boast about his own power.
“Haha! The secret technique of the Four-Empyrean Origin Souls from Black Linen Daoist Sect splits the original into four, then nurtures them slowly until they reach four full Origin Souls! You puny thing won’t defeat me so easily!”
After speaking, he immediately formed a seal.
RUMBLE!
Three Origin Souls rose behind his back.
Each Origin Soul shaped itself into a character and locked into the same seal as the rest.
RUMBLE!
At the same time, a crack shaped like a mouth appeared behind his back.
Because one of the Four-Empyrean Origin Souls was missing, the crack was incomplete.
“I am the envoy of the Human Alliance! I have come to capture you, Seo Eun-hyun, the Void-Shattering powerhouse, and Jeon Myeong-hoon, estimated to be a Four-Pillars expert!”
RUMBLE!
At the same moment, a crack opened behind Hyun-shin’s back.
Something began to emerge from within.
I widened my eyes and stared at the scene.
‘What is that…?’
The qi fluctuation grew wild.
In my vision, yin and yang swirled and dove deep into the qi.
Simultaneously, through the crack, I saw something being pulled upward from the qi realm where yin and yang rotated.
RUMBLE!
And in reality, visible changes had already begun on Hyun-shin.
Black scales rose across his skin.
At the same time, a shadowy dragon form crawled out of the black crack behind his back and clung to his body.
CRASH!
Hyun-shin’s body transformed, resembling Seo Ran’s half-dragon form.
[Many of our disciples from Black Linen Daoist Sect are offshoots born from the concubines of the Integration-stage Black Dragon King Hyun-eum. Thanks to the lineage of the immortal beast Black Dragon passed down by the Venerable, it is possible to draw upon the power of the ancient immortal beast…!]
CRASH!
The weather itself changed.
Yin qi flooded the heavens and earth, and rain began to fall once more.
SPLASH!
This time the rain was pitch-black water.
CRASH!
The clouds above gathered, reshaping into the form of an ink dragon.
BOOM!
Rain fell from the sky as water gushed from the earth.
The natural laws of heaven and earth were shifting.
‘This is…’
A clear Four-Pillars-level force!
‘The black dragon’s shadow clinging to him… it is granting him power!’
It was not the power he had performed himself.
Through the lineage of the immortal beast, he had borrowed the strength of something from some distant place!
From beneath the ink dragon, Hyun-shin pointed at Jeon Myeong-hoon and roared.
[Submit and hand over your Origin Soul, Jeon Myeong-hoon! Otherwise…]
And.
[Agh…]
BOOM!
[Shut up!]
The clouds filling the sky tore apart in a single strike.
Red lightning pushed away the yin qi and ripped the clouds apart.
The red thunder gathered like the sun, splitting the clouds, and from the center, Jeon Myeong-hoon howled like a madman.
[Everyone… everyone die. Why are you all still alive in this meaningless world?]
RUMBLE!
The sky was covered in red lightning.
The ink dragon formed by Hyun-shin’s clouds was torn to shreds by Jeon Myeong-hoon’s blow.
[W-wait, what the…]
Before the monster could even react, Jeon Myeong-hoon blurred forward at the speed of lightning and grabbed Hyun-shin’s face.
RUMBLE!
The thunder followed moments later. The Heavenly Persons and Origin Soul experts who had come with Hyun-shin froze, formed seals, and began casting spells at him.
But the next instant.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
The entire sky was painted in red lightning.
The red bolt surged through the entire 8th occupied zone, swallowing all things.
The aides sent to assist Hyun-shin were swallowed by the lightning, as was I.
For an instant, the world was bleached white.
* * *
SPLASH…
I panted heavily, smoke still rising from my body, staring at the sky.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE…
Red lightning still twitched in the heavens.
And I gritted my teeth, having pushed the Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law to its absolute limit.
RUMBLE!
Starlight swirled throughout my body.
Like Oh Hyun-seok had before, my body changed, shaped as if to embody night itself.
‘I… stopped him.’
I panted and looked down at the demons who had fallen unconscious from the aftershock.
Fortunately, Jeon Myeong-hoon’s attack had not killed the demons I was protecting.
I had thrown my body forward with all my might to block his thunder.
But I stared at the sky with a tense face.
Jeon Myeong-hoon was still convulsing at the center of the red sphere formed by lightning.
And the Heavenly Persons and Origin Soul experts who had been supporting Hyun-shin earlier were all gone.
Probably turned to ash.
While I assessed the situation and scanned the surroundings, a small cluster of clouds appeared in the distance.
It was a cloud formed of yin qi.
The cloud wrapped something like a small cocoon, and after some time, a person emerged from within the cocoon.
It was Hyun-shin.
He vomited blood, eyes bloodshot as he glared at Jeon Myeong-hoon.
The envoy’s clothes were torn into rags, and his body was half-cooked.
And Hyun-shin shouted at me.
“Seo Eun-hyun! Help me!”
His eyes were bloodshot with rage.
“That madman needs to be stopped! If he is left free, he will roam and slaughter everywhere! We must seal him now! If you help me seal him, in the Human Alliance trial, I will fight with all my strength for your side!”
SWOOSH!
Hyun-shin opened his mouth and pulled seven flag treasures from his golden core.
Each black flag treasure depicted a black dragon biting a pearl.
And I looked at the pearl in the dragon’s mouth and my eyes brightened.
The pearl was drawn almost exactly like the Gwanghan Pearl.
“Use the formation already laid out in the occupied zone to capture him! Help me, Seo Eun-hyun!”
“….”
I hesitated and looked at Jeon Myeong-hoon.
‘How did this happen, Jeon Myeong-hoon.’
Perhaps.
I should have entered the Golden Immortal Thunder Law this time instead of the Changcheon Great Opening Sect.
If I had known the situation,
Perhaps I could have saved him from going completely insane.
But Jeon Myeong-hoon had already gone mad, and new people had appeared whom I must protect in this life.
So.
‘I’m sorry.’
RUMBLE!
He must be sealed.
‘This is the best I can do right now.’
The Blue Spirit Star Light Five-Color Great Law turned my entire body gradually into starlight.
The power of the Starlight Body Refining Art amplified my flesh endlessly.
My body transformed like the night sky, embodying the stars.
And from my lower dantian, five-colored light swirled. From both fists, blue light.
RUMBLE!
[I will hold Jeon Myeong-hoon in place. Move while you can!]
Ironically, Hyun-shin, who had come to capture me, began cooperating against the mad Jeon Myeong-hoon.
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
I pulled out my Invisible Sword.
‘It’s not the real lightning speed.’
The red lightning Jeon Myeong-hoon fired was powerful, but far slower than actual thunder.
It was something I could see and dodge with my eyes.
And the fact that I could dodge it.
RUMBLE!
SWOOSH!
Meant I could precisely strike the weakest point with the sword!
RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
The lightning scattered in every direction and struck toward me in unpredictable paths.
And so could my Invisible Sword.
I thrust the Invisible Sword forward.
The Invisible Sword also changed strangely and clashed with Jeon Myeong-hoon’s lightning.
The single bolt he fired could cut through space itself.
But with the eyes that crossed the qi fluctuation, I could fully counter the act of cutting space.
‘The qi fluctuation that forms space…’
All things in the world.
In the end, everything in this world is decided by qi fluctuation.
The material of this world.
All of formless studies existed on the lowest tier of the Origin Soul beneath the qi fluctuation!
And those Origin Souls intertwined to form the space of this world.
With my eyes that reached the Origin Soul, I saw the qi that composed space.
How do Origin Souls cut space and perform spatial movement.
RUMBLE!
I slashed the qi fluctuation that formed space with the Invisible Sword and clashed with Jeon Myeong-hoon’s lightning.
Originally, one could only see the qi fluctuation that formed space with the Origin Soul; touching it required tremendous effort.
Therefore, freely cutting space and entering the void to perform spatial movement was a privilege of those above the Heavenly Person realm.
But my Invisible Sword, which freely cut across the qi fluctuation, and my eyes of the Origin Soul merged, allowing me to freely traverse space like a Heavenly Person expert and block Jeon Myeong-hoon’s attacks.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!
His qi grew stronger.
And again, six flags rose from his back.
But this time, the flags did not come out one by one as before.
BOOM!
All six flags emerged at once.
RUMBLE!
At the same moment, the red lightning covering his surroundings began to change shape.
The lightning took form and changed into a giant.
It looked like a thunder god.
A rugged thunder god raised one arm toward the sky.
His shoulder widened, and another pair of arms sprouted.
The additional pair spread both arms wide.
And again, another pair of arms sprouted from the shoulder.
The newly sprouted arms reached forward.
On the thunder god’s hand that had changed into the form of the Six Paws, each flag was gripped.
OOOOO!
The thunder god roared.
At the same time, the sky turned red and the heavens and earth shook.
CRASH!
The thunder god absorbed the surrounding thunder power and grew larger.
The flags gripped in its hands also grew larger.
A few moments later, a thunder god the size of about 700 zhang looked down at me.
ZAP, ZAP…
Thunders filled the heavens and earth, and each time I moved, static electricity prickled my body.
I looked at the red light in the thunder god’s eyes and said.
“…I’m sorry, Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
I formed the qi finger seal.
“I let the monster become so monstrous.”
RUMBLE!
The thunder god roared and swung the flags.
Every time the six arms swung the flags, multicolored lightning rained down on me.
Our battle had begun.
* * *
The headquarters of the Human Alliance in Cheonin-do.
At the center of that place, the Integration-stage Venerables were staying on Heavenly Pot Mountain.
Seven grotto-heavens were on Heavenly Pot Mountain: the dwellings of the Venerables, mostly carved caves.
From one of them, white light burst forth.
A few moments later, the white light soared to the peak of Heavenly Pot Mountain and settled on a small formation at the summit.
RUMBLE!
As the formation activated, the white light transformed into the form of a man and took a seat in the formation.
A few moments later, six faint human forms rose above the formation.
[Venerable Wei, why have you summoned the Venerable Assembly?]
One of the human forms asked the white light’s form, Venerable Wolryeong.
Venerable Wolryeong’s form frowned.
[I sent an inspector to capture Seo Eun-hyun, the temporary governor of the 8th occupied zone suspected of betraying the Human Alliance, but he was caught by the survivor Jeon Myeong-hoon of the Golden Immortal Thunder Law and killed. So we sent Hyun-shin again to bring him in.]
[Hyun-shin… is the one with the densest immortal beast bloodline from Black Linen Daoist Sect, right?]
[We sent excessive power.]
[With ancient immortal beast power borrowed from the Heavenly Person level, he can unleash the peak of mid-Four-Pillars power…]
[Even if Seo Eun-hyun and Jeon Myeong-hoon are both Four-Pillars level, from what we know, Seo Eun-hyun is only barely at the Four-Pillars level. And Jeon Myeong-hoon is not someone who can explode with mid-Four-Pillars power for only a short time, is he? There is no way he can defeat Hyun-shin, who can stably wield the peak of mid-Four-Pillars power for a whole day.]
The Venerables’ words caused Venerable Wolryeong to sigh for a moment before speaking.
[I received a message from the Supreme Commander of the Demon Extermination Army, Hyun-won. He said he sensed the death of his brother, Hyun-shin.]
[What…!? What does that mean!? Did Hyun-won misread it?]
[I had my clone at Seoyun-do confirm the death record just now. The death record of Hyun-shin has vanished.]
[This is impossible… Do you mean Seo Eun-hyun and Jeon Myeong-hoon have surpassed mid-Four-Pillars power?]
Venerable Wolryeong coughed and continued.
[From Hyun-won’s report, the situation is roughly as follows.
Jeon Myeong-hoon began a rampage he could not contain, and Hyun-shin temporarily allied with Seo Eun-hyun to use the formation of the 8th occupied zone to seal Jeon Myeong-hoon. However, during the process, he was fatally wounded and all of the Four-Empyrean Origin Soul secret technique was scattered. Hyun-shin informed Hyun-won of the events using the secret technique and then died.]
[….]
[…Seo Eun-hyun was not the problem. The real problem was Jeon Myeong-hoon…]
[This is absurd. Not even those with immortal beast bloodlines can kill a Four-Pillars Venerable in the Origin Soul realm…? And the Venerables of Black Linen Daoist Sect are specialized in survival…]
A silence hung among the gathered Venerables.
[…They are all extraordinary talents.]
[If it weren’t for this incident, he might have reached the level of leading the Human Race.]
A sigh escaped the Venerables.
[And to think it was a disciple of Black Linen Daoist Sect that killed him…]
[Black Dragon King Hyun-eum will be extremely furious.]
[Furious? He’s probably just pretending to be angry while trying to interfere in Human affairs.]
[No matter what, it is important that we gave him an excuse! ]
[Damn it, the direct descendant of the immortal beast is pretending to charge in and kill Jeon Myeong-hoon, and then using him as an excuse to kill Seo Eun-hyun too.]
[We kill the talents of the Human Race at this opportunity, block the Integration-stage Demon Venerables, and then use that as an excuse to take most of the occupied zones we have occupied this time for the Black Dragon race!]
The Integration-stage Venerables all let out sighs.
[Chaos everywhere. The Human Race’s prestige has been crushed to the ground because the monstrous Human Alliance troops are stirring up all races and bringing them to extinction… The ambitious demon invasion preparation failed to show any strength, and furthermore, most of the occupied zones will be taken by the Black Dragon race. And as Integration-stage Venerables, we are all wounded and unable to leave the grotto-heavens…]
[Let’s just properly activate the Annihilation Space-Time Projection plan so that no one benefits and we turn the Demon Realm into a wasteland.]
[That’s right. Since Jeon Myeong-hoon already turned the 4th occupied zone into a wasteland, if we just explode the Annihilation Space-Time Projection without incorporating the 4th occupied zone into the Gwanghan Realm…]
[The Black Dragon race won’t gain much either.]
[In the end, we all have no choice but to perish together!]
They gnashed their teeth and debated.
The Venerables’ meeting continued for several days.
Several days later.
At the peak of Heavenly Pot Mountain where the Venerables’ assembly was held, one Four-Pillars Venerable of the Human Alliance ascended.
“I have a report for the Venerables. At the entrance of the Demon Realm, the Black Dragon King Hyun-eum has arrived and is demanding passage permission from the Human Alliance envoy who is guarding the Demon Realm entrance.”
[He finally arrived… the old man…]
The Integration-stage Venerables who were continuing the meeting sighed.
[…Let him through. I don’t like the old man stirring up trouble, but in this situation, he is the only one who can stop the Integration-stage experts of the Demon Realm.]
Venerable Wolryeong clicked his tongue and spoke to the Four-Pillars Venerable.
[And tell him that once the old man has taken revenge on Seo Eun-hyun’s descendants in the 8th occupied zone and heads to the front line, he is to immediately activate the Annihilation Space-Time Projection.]
His eyes turned ominous.
[In the end, it is better that no one gains an advantage. After activating the Annihilation Space-Time Projection, close the entrance of the Demon Realm so that the Black Dragon King cannot return and complain.]
Thus, the order to announce the end of the Human-Demon War was given at the Human Alliance Venerables Assembly.
* * *
The entrance to the Demon Realm within the Human Race territory.
In front of it, a middle-aged man in black robes stood with a pale face and an expressionless face.
A pair of small antlers of black-green color grew on the middle-aged man’s forehead.
And beside him, a Four-Pillars envoy of the Human Alliance fidgeted.
“When is the passage permission arriving? Are you a race that evolved from snails? I’m starting to get irritated.”
“H-he really is sorry, Venerable Hyun-eum, but please wait just a little longer…”
“You keep repeating ‘just a little’ from the beginning, so when exactly does that ‘just a little’ end?”
“That is…”
“My descendant Hyun-shin died, so I am very displeased, but out of minimal respect for you Human beings, I am waiting for the passage permission, and even that is being processed too slowly, how do you think my mood is?”
“That is…”
At that moment.
RUMBLE!
Bright light emerged from the jade pendant at the Four-Pillars envoy’s waist.
The Four-Pillars envoy hurriedly brought the jade pendant to his forehead.
A few moments later, his face brightened as he read the meaning conveyed through the jade pendant.
“H-passage permission has been granted! Venerable Hyun-eum may enter!”
“Hm, so passage permission has been granted?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Good… By the way, did Venerable Wolryeong not send a clone to the Demon Realm entrance?”
“Ah, yes, he did not. Venerable Wolryeong has been gradually reducing his clones and leaving management of the Human Race to the Venerables under the Human Alliance…”
“I see. Then who is the person in charge who can directly contact the Human Alliance at the Demon Realm entrance?”
“I am the direct person in charge who can contact the Human Alliance! No one else can directly contact the Human Alliance…”
“Then.”
The Black Dragon King Hyun-eum smiled slyly at the Four-Pillars envoy.
“If I kill only you, no matter what happens here, the Human Alliance will not know.”
“…Yes?”
CRACK!
“Gaaah!”
The Black Dragon King moved before the Four-Pillars envoy could react and grabbed his neck.
“Gurgh, gurgle…”
Blood spurted from the Four-Pillars envoy’s seven apertures.
His blood vessels twitched, and his blood began to splash everywhere.
“W-what are you doing…”
“Unfortunately, right after the Black Dragon King Hyun-eum crossed into the Demon Realm, an unexpected meteor fell near the Demon Realm entrance, so your Human forces here are all scheduled to be annihilated. A kind Black Dragon King, having received permission from the Human Alliance Venerables Assembly, legally crossed into the Demon Realm, and the unfortunate fall of a meteor at the Demon Realm entrance has no connection to me. It is truly a sad thing, but a kind Black Dragon King had no other choice than to express condolences. Do you understand?”
CRASH!
At the entrance to the Demon Realm.
Above it, a vast black water gathered in the void.
CRASH!
The black water fell toward the entrance.
The Human Alliance army stationed at the Demon Realm entrance looked up at the sky and screamed.
“H-hyaah! What is that?!”
“H-Black Dragon King! The Black Dragon King is trying to kill us!”
“Run! We must inform the Human Alliance!”
Countless Heavenly Person and Origin Soul experts spread their feather-escape techniques and flew.
But one of the Heavenly Person experts who was flying with a feather-escape technique felt something strange.
‘Eh? Wait, was the resting area near the Demon Realm entrance this wide?’
RUMBLE!
The Heavenly Person expert looked around in confusion.
He was unable to leave the resting area.
‘Why, why?’
FLASH!
He stopped in the air for a moment, then cast another feather-escape technique.
However, a few moments later.
The Heavenly Person expert arrived back at the exact same spot.
“What? Wait… This is where I just came from?”
His face turned pale.
“Floating in the same spot? This is…”
The other Heavenly Person and Origin Soul experts also looked at the qi fluctuation in shock upon realizing something.
“The space has twisted!”
“Damn it! We are trapped here!”
And the Black Dragon King, watching the scene, crushed the Four-Pillars envoy he was holding.
BOOM!
With his hand gesture, the moisture on the body of the envoy scattered in all directions and exploded, and his Origin Soul that was trying to escape was crushed in the Black Dragon King’s hand.
CRACK!
The Black Dragon King, who had crushed the Origin Soul of the Four-Pillars envoy, stroked his beard and muttered with pity.
“It is unfortunate that a meteor fell right after the Black Dragon King crossed into the Demon Realm, so the stationed Human forces at the Demon Realm entrance had no room to move and were all annihilated. It is truly a sad thing. This king will express condolences to the annihilated Human forces.”
After speaking, the Black Dragon King Hyun-eum walked into the Demon Realm entrance.
CRASH!
Behind him, the black water he had summoned fell to the ground and countless screams echoed.
And when the Black Dragon King clenched his fist, the Five Elements changed, and the black water he dropped turned into a massive rock.
The Black Dragon King, who had arrived in the Demon Realm through the spatial gate, smiled slyly.
“You rotten Human bastards, do you think you can backstab me once or twice? With the Human Race’s nature, as soon as I enter the Demon Realm, I would close the entrance. Striking first before being backstabbed is the best way to deal with the Human Race, so understand that.”
He rose into the void of the Demon Realm and formed a seal.
“Very well. Then, shall we take a look at the Heavenly Eye of the Venerable Hyeol-eum?”
CRASH!
Strange yin qi swirled around the Black Dragon King.
RUMBLE!
Four Origin Souls rose behind his back.
The Origin Souls created spatial cracks, and from beyond those cracks, a strange crimson light began to burst forth.
[In the name of the Black Dragon King Hyun-eum, I respectfully request the Venerable of the Hyeol-eum Realm. Using the massacre and atrocities committed by the Human Race in the Demon Realm as nourishment, please reveal your true body.]
CRASH!
Hyun-eum smiled ambitiously and chanted.
[I dare to speak on behalf of the billions of demon souls who were massacred, exploited, and devoured by the Human Race.]
RUMBLE!
The blood-colored glow that extended from behind Hyun-eum struck the ground.
And it began to dye the entire Human Race occupied zone.
[O great Venerable! Reveal your true body!]
The ground where countless evils committed by humanity were piled.
In the veins of all the Human Race occupied zones that had exploited and abused the weak, red light swirled.