Salt (6)
‘Is he crazy?’
Yuk Rin thought.
It was clear.
From below, what Seo Eun-hyun was spitting out was unmistakably the power of Bongrae.
Bongrae’s power was unknowable in its origin, and even in the Goryeok Realm it was a legendary force.
When the power of Bongrae crashed into the realm, the sea itself roared in response, amplifying it.
And that was all.
‘Foolish.’
[The Salt Sea Jade Crystal is the peak of the Goryeok Realm! No matter how strong the power of Bongrae is, it cannot surpass it!]
It was not mere arrogance.
The Salt Sea Jade Crystal was a divine art that grew stronger the more pristine salt it absorbed, the more salt it obtained.
And the salt crystals themselves were what pushed its power to its absolute limit.
These priceless salt crystals—entire mountains—were held in his hands.
‘At this very moment, I am the peak!’
A power that should have been boundless erupted from the palace of salt crystals, flooding into Yuk Rin’s sea dragon veins.
And then…
‘…Huh?’
The Salt Sea Jade Crystal began to lose ground.
[What the—?!]
Yuk Rin’s eyes rolled back.
A voice drifted up from below.
[Just as tiny grains of salt come together to form the sea…]
It was the monster of charred flesh.
The voice coming from Seo Eun-hyun’s mouth.
It sounded almost like a whisper.
No, it really was a whisper.
It was simply what Seo Eun-hyun unconsciously uttered while activating his technique.
Yet the Goryeok Realm itself roared in answer, amplifying the whisper itself.
It spread across the entire sea area where they stood.
[Pile the mountains with salt…]
Kugugugugug!
[Impossible! Don’t spout nonsense! The Salt Sea Jade Crystal is losing?!]
[The only way to reach the heavens fastest is to stack mountains of salt…]
Losing ground.
Yuk Rin’s sea dragon power was being pushed back.
Of course, Yuk Rin had not unleashed the Salt Sea Jade Crystal purely to kill them—he had other uses for it, and his will had been faithfully reflected so far.
Bongrae-do, once fixed in the deep sea, was slowly sinking further and further down.
And as dawn broke, the path to Bongrae-do was gradually closing.
In the end, the victor would be Yuk Rin.
But Yuk Rin could not accept it.
‘Even after sacrificing my entire life to obtain the Salt Sea Jade Crystal… even with the pure sea dragon flesh, the Salt Sea Jade Crystal, and the salt crystal mountains… I am being defeated by nothing more than the power of Bongrae?! With this strange power that hasn’t even been whispered about as strong?! The peak of the Goryeok Realm being defeated by the power of Bongrae that isn’t even legendary?!’
Chiiiii-
From his body, black-red demonic energy erupted.
Yuk Rin’s life force began to skyrocket.
[I will not tolerate this! I win! My Salt Sea Jade Crystal must be invincible!]
‘Even if I burn my lifespan, I will win!’
Burning the life of the sea dragon bloodline he had finally obtained, he spat his dragon power like a scream.
The power stream bearing the Salt Sea Jade Crystal grew thicker still.
And then…
‘What…?’
Seo Eun-hyun’s light began to brighten.
* * *
Kugugugugug!
For an instant, the entire Goryeok Realm shook.
In the center of the Goryeok Realm, the highest mountain of the Cheji-yeok, Haewang-san.
From the top of the mountain, inside the Haewang-jeon, a pained groan echoed out, filling the entire Cheji-yeok and Dogye-yeok.
“The Ascension!”
“Ascended Saint! What has happened?!”
“Haerin ascended!”
The Integration Grand Completion kings who worshiped the ascended Saint Haerin of the Goryeok Realm rushed forward before the Haewang-jeon, shouting her name.
At the center of the Haewang-jeon, on the coral-carved throne.
There, Haerin trembled from head to toe, blood flowing from both eyes.
“M… Me… An incantation… incantation…!”
Wuaak!
He vomited a basin of blood from his mouth and panted heavily.
“That bastard obtained it…! So that’s why the group from the Ghost Realm fainted all at once! That’s why they forcibly injected it into the Goryeok Realm…!”
Pudeudeuk…
He ground his teeth.
Haerin shook all over, her expression twisted in terror.
“It wasn’t just… obtaining my master’s legacy…? Being able to use it… haha… Then…”
Haerin, whose eyes had gone completely empty, leaned weakly against the throne and gave a hollow laugh.
“…This life will end soon… It’s meaningless…”
* * *
The light grew even brighter.
I had discovered a new side of the divine art that reversed the Taesan Sunje.
“Integrate!!!”
“We will lend you our strength!”
“Hold on, Seo Eun-hyun!”
Oh Hyun-seok, Kim Young-hoon, Jeon Myeong-hoon, Kim Yeon, Buk Hyang-hwa…
And every single member of the Mugeuk Sect.
All of them added their power.
And that power flowed into the inside of the Reversehorn Mountain, naturally fusing, growing the Reversehorn even larger.
As the Reversehorn grew, it pushed back the Salt Sea Jade Crystal’s dragon power.
If this continued, we could simply push Yuk Rin aside and win!
‘Everyone is together!’
There is no way to lose!!!
“Haaaaaaaah!!!”
The Salt Sea Jade Crystal’s dragon power, facing our combined strength, grew thinner and thinner… and finally…
The power vanished!
And then…
“Haa… haa… ah…?”
From behind Yuk Rin, I saw a [hand] emerging.
It was a hand covered in scales.
Kuguguguguk!
And without hesitation.
The power that had been about to shoot into the heavens after trampling the final remnants of the Salt Sea Jade Crystal was simply crushed flat by that hand.
Kwaddeuk!
When the Light Sound Realm entered Bongrae-do, it had already passed through the Bongrae-do barrier and floated inside the barrier.
Even if we all fell asleep, the Floating Array would maintain itself.
Yet the Floating Array was meaningless—the Light Sound Realm simply fell, slamming onto the ground of Bongrae-do.
Under the merciless pull, we all dropped to our knees, and the divine art that reversed the Taesan Sunje shattered and vanished.
At the same time, Bongrae-do was pulled even deeper into the sea by the hand’s force.
I stared at the sky with a dazed face.
The sea path we had used to enter had completely closed.
All that remained around us was the endless deep sea and countless fragments of the sea.
No… there was one more thing.
A vast current of inauspiciousness wrapped around me like despair itself.
Kwaaang!
I slammed Bongrae-do into the collapsing earth.
“…Heaven…”
After being trapped in the very deep sea by the hand that had suddenly appeared, both the entire Mugeuk Sect and Bongrae-do were sealed.
* * *
Yuk Rin stared blankly at the sea.
[…Haerin ascended.]
Too close.
If not for that sudden strike of the ascended Haerin, he would have been overwhelmed by the power of Bongrae rising from below by now.
He had not died, but the Mugeuk Sect itself had been completely sealed in the sea.
There was no escape.
[Thank you for the help, Great Ascended Saint…]
Yuk Rin bowed deeply in the direction the Saint’s hand had appeared.
Haerin offered no reply, and the hand simply vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
“Hehehe…! Congratulations, Lord of Jeongryong Palace. You have not only recovered, but have achieved your wish. According to the promise, share a portion of the salt crystal with us.”
And Jin Ma-yeol, who had helped lift the Salt Sea Jade Crystal palace, appeared before Yuk Rin.
Yuk Rin looked at Jin Ma-yeol for a moment, then spoke.
[Activate. Purple Soul Filling the Heavens…!]
Chwaaak!
In an instant.
Jin Ma-yeol’s pupils seemed to fill with purple.
Yet he was being eroded by the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens and instead swung his arms wildly.
Bwoong-
Shikang!
A massive scar remained on Yuk Rin’s body, which had exhausted its power using the Salt Sea Jade Crystal.
Jin Ma-yeol snatched a handful of Yuk Rin’s blood with a face of ecstasy and flung it somewhere, while Yuk Rin swatted at him with his front paw.
Kwaaang!
Jin Ma-yeol’s body exploded.
Yuk Rin’s attack continued.
No matter how depleted his energy, attacks from the Integration Grand Completion era were still devastating.
Not long after, Jin Ma-yeol’s domain exploded, and with only his head left, his entire body was torn apart.
Yet even so, Jin Ma-yeol was smiling.
“Hoo, hehehehe! Hahaha! So you did hide the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens. Lord of Jeongryong Palace! But I must thank you. Thanks to you, I learned how to use it! I’ve also obtained your blood… Now the only thing left is…”
Jin Ma-yeol’s head spoke as life faded from it.
“Only immortality…”
Yuk Rin stared at the place where Jin Ma-yeol had vanished with an expressionless face, then unleashed inner energy inside the Salt Sea Jade Crystal palace with an irritated expression.
Kkuguk…
And Yuk Yo came out with him.
Clearly, the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens Yuk Rin had cast on Jin Ma-yeol had transferred to Yuk Yo.
[A curse. That bastard Jin Ma-yeol… I thought he succeeded in kidnapping Yuk Yo last time, but in the meantime he must have turned her into a cursed doll.]
Yuk Rin clicked his tongue as he absorbed the divine art that had taken root in Yuk Yo’s mind.
From his perspective, feeding Yuk Yo was actually a loss.
He roughly tossed Yuk Yo into the Salt Sea Jade Crystal palace, then smiled lewdly.
[Idiot… What will you do if you obtain the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens? What will you do if you take my blood and learn the Sea Dragon Body Substitution Technique? In any case, you will never be able to master it… hehehehe.]
Yuk Rin’s gaze turned toward the edge of the Angryong Sea Area.
There, the Whale Bone Whale was diving beneath the sea surface.
Perhaps the revived Jin Ma-yeol was inside it.
[Annoying guy. But this will be the last time I revive. I knew the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens grants immortality, yet I staked my life on it… Now I wonder what expression you’ll make when you realize it was all a lie… I’m curious.]
Yuk Rin laughed mockingly.
From the Betraying King Geumwi to the terrifying Mugeuk Sect and the Demon Lord.
And Jin Ma-yeol, who from the beginning had only ever plotted to stab the others in the back.
After defeating them all, the final victor was ultimately Yuk Rin.
Yet even after crushing the enemy that had threatened him, even after obtaining the Salt Sea Jade Crystal palace he had longed for, his laughter grew smaller.
The mocking laughter soon fell silent, and in the Angryong Sea Area, where countless sea spirits had died from the battle’s aftershocks, only silence remained.
He had won, but Yuk Rin could not feel joy.
‘The Salt Sea Jade Crystal… was pushed back.’
That pierced the pride of Yuk Rin, who had believed without doubt throughout his life that the Salt Sea Jade Crystal was invincible.
Pudeudeuk…
After grinding his teeth for a while, Yuk Rin lifted the Salt Sea Jade Crystal palace and headed toward Jeongryong-do.
He gave the return order to Yuyun and was organizing future plans when he made the decision for the most urgent task.
‘I will burn the palace of Bongrae Country and completely turn it into a Book of True Names. Fuse it with the domain, then refine it into a Refining Void Law Treasure. Once it becomes the foundation for completing the Salt Sea Jade Crystal… I will truly stand at the peak.’
[…It was not the Salt Sea Jade Crystal that lost. I simply have not yet completed the Salt Sea Jade Crystal…]
Yet even after convincing himself, darkness did not leave Yuk Rin’s face.
* * *
Haewang-jeon.
At its center, Haerin trembled with blood-dripping eyes.
“…Although the method was somewhat rough… I have assisted in passing on his will according to your wishes. This is the best I can do. Now I will do my best to find a way to survive. Please protect the future descendants, Grandfather Haengyeong…”