Chapter 422
Kugugu gugu!
Behind us, Kang Min-hee was chasing after us with all her might, while to our side, the snake flicked its tongue and offered a suspicious proposal.
I turned to look at Seo Hyoel.
I knew this guy better than anyone else.
No matter what happened, he was a master of empty words and lies.
That had always been Seo Hyoel’s true identity.
‘But…’
I simply couldn’t bring myself to reject it.
Information about his real body.
And the breathing room we would gain by expelling Kang Min-hee beyond the Gwanghan Realm.
Both were irreplaceable.
Far too valuable to dismiss as mere deception.
‘That explains why the Ghost Army always interrupted Seo Hyoel’s speech and attacked.
Perhaps they sensed that once they heard his offer, even the Ghost Army would be pulled toward his intentions.’
I let out a groan and glared at the guy.
But since he was blind, our staring contest was impossible.
I considered it for a moment, then nodded.
“Fine. Let’s take it for now.”
[Thank you very much, Seo Doe.]
“But there’s a condition.”
I stared hard at Seo Hyoel as I spoke.
“If we really need to unite our strength to restore the Ghost Army’s mind, you will act only from hidden places and use remote methods during the process.”
If the bastard met my companions and brainwashed them with his filthy Tak-hon Man-cheon, I would be absolutely furious.
What if they were turned into Seo Hyoels because of him?
Crunch.
Just imagining it made my teeth grind.
I could no longer afford to lose my companions so easily.
If that happened, I didn’t know whether I would lose my sanity and do something I couldn’t control.
‘Maybe I would even recite the Dharma-Destroying True Word until the master of Taesan appeared in madness.’
At my words, Seo Hyoel smiled faintly and nodded.
[If it is necessary, I will comply. Do not worry. Before I find my true body, I must rely on the wife and Seo Doe no matter what.]
“….”
At the very beginning, the fact that there were two choices meant there was no trust between us from the start.
An extremely suspicious and bizarre alliance.
But under the current circumstances, it was necessary.
“Understood. Then… I will temporarily form an alliance with you.”
[Huhu, thank you for your kindness, Seo Doe…]
He smiled faintly and bowed as if he was happy.
“…By the way…”
[Aaaaaaaaah-]
I looked at the Kang Min-hee chasing us and frowned.
“To reach the Ghost Army, we’ll have to cut out the Ghost Dao Holy Mother first. Any ideas?”
To eject Kang Min-hee outside, the Ghost Army’s help would be needed.
But to persuade the Ghost Army, we would first have to separate from Kang Min-hee and join forces with Seo Hyoel, Kim Yeon, and Oh Hye-seo.
Yet Kang Min-hee was chasing me like a mad dog.
If we continued like this, even an alliance would be impossible to form.
‘Probably, while sensing my deathly aura and the power of a Void Refinement expert from my body, she’s chasing me to capture me and turn me into a Ghost King.’
Especially for her, a powerful Ghost Dao being, my deathly aura would stand out enormously.
‘As long as I don’t break free from Void Refinement’s sight in one go, she’ll chase me endlessly.’
Since we had reached this point, I decided to test Seo Hyoel’s scheme and asked him for a plan.
He smiled faintly and said,
[There’s a plan to gain enough time to meet your companions. Would you like to hear it?]
“Quickly, tell me.”
[Head to Gongryeong-ji.]
“…You bastard.”
I understood what Seo Hyoel was trying to say and glared at him.
He smiled faintly and continued.
[Go to Geongon City, lure it there, and drop it from the Ascension Platform. That is… push it beneath Gongryeong-ji. It looks mindless, so it shouldn’t be hard. The spirits of the Void Space react even more strongly to those with great power, so even a few Void Refinement-grade spirits will rush at it. Of course, Gongryeong-ji is an open gate, a hole that can be pierced, so it will soon come back out. But the spirits of the Void Space will buy us time.]
“…Are you telling me to turn everyone in Geongon City into the Ghost Dao Holy Mother’s belly?”
[Hmm…]
Seo Hyoel gave a thoughtful expression and asked.
[Isn’t that actually better? I hear you’re on bad terms with Taesu Heon-won, the lord of Geongon City.]
“….”
Instead of being swayed by Seo Hyoel’s words, I glanced at him and frowned.
“Stop playing with your tongue and help me. You must have placed Tak-hon Man-cheon on the living beings of the Geongon Central District. I’ll have you use your ability right now to evacuate all of them to another place.”
[Huhu…]
At my words, Seo Hyoel smiled faintly and raised a single finger.
[As expected, you cannot be dealt with, Seo Doe. However, evacuating ‘all’ of them is impossible.]
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
[Heon-won, the lord of Geongon City. Because of him… because something dangerous is embedded in his consciousness, I only spilled Tak-hon Man-cheon. I didn’t brainwash him. So you, Doe, must persuade him directly.]
“….”
I recalled Heon-won.
The Tian-luo named [Name] inside Heon-won!
‘Damn it….’
A feeling of dread had already begun.
I didn’t know exactly what the name meant.
But even a child of three feet would realize that, in my situation, it was related to the master of Taesan.
Perhaps it was even the announcement of the mountain god.
Such a dangerous thing I had wanted to dump on Seo Hyoel, but it seemed I had no choice.
“…Understood.”
I muttered curses under my breath and, along with Seo Hyoel, flew toward Geongon City.
Heon-won is dangerous.
Starting with the character ‘Gam’ attached to his eyes, and including the Taesan Yeolje Art he has mastered.
Perhaps through him, the master of Taesan could monitor me in real time.
But precisely because of that, I needed to know more about him.
To investigate Heon-won’s current state.
And, following Seo Hyoel’s plan, to bind Kang Min-hee’s feet, I headed to Geongon City.
* * *
Kugugu gugu!
After flying for about half a day, the Geongon Central District came into view in the distance.
‘How much faster it has become.’
Previously, even at the speed of a Taesu, it would take days to reach the Geongon Central District from the human race territory.
But now that I had reached Void Refinement stage,
With all the techniques combined—Fixed Body Technique, Pigeon Technique, Gliding Technique, and Sword Flight—I had arrived in half a day.
Of course…
‘Kang Min-hee is the same.’
Kang Min-hee chased me in a straight line, absorbing the souls of every race along the way, strengthening herself and turning them into her subordinates.
She still hadn’t absorbed enough souls from the human race territory, yet her body kept growing larger at a steady rate.
Gugugugu!
Not just size.
Her speed was also slowly increasing.
I glanced back at the dark storm chasing me and sped up toward Geongon City.
For half a day, I aimed to reach Geongon City faster than Kang Min-hee by even a little.
Thanks to that, I arrived in Geongon City slightly ahead of her.
‘Now, in about a quarter of an hour, Kang Min-hee will arrive.’
I had to finish my meeting with Heon-won within that quarter of an hour.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Perhaps because everyone had evacuated due to Seo Hyoel’s Tak-hon Man-cheon, Geongon City was quiet.
Yet I felt a powerful presence in the center of the city and frowned.
Even though Seo Hyoel’s Tak-hon Man-cheon had persuaded him, Heon-won was still staying in his place.
Boom!
Jjeoreoreong!
With my gesture, a vast sword energy rose and sliced through the city walls, charging straight toward Heon-won’s palace hall.
Kugugu gugu!
Geongon City collapsed as I looked down at the place where Heon-won’s training hall was located.
He was dressed exactly the same as before.
The same purple dragon robe, hair sticking out messily from his hat, untidy topknot, and overall disheveled appearance.
But there was one difference from before.
Whoosh—
He looked up at me.
I looked down at him and clicked my tongue.
“…How did you end up like this, lord of Geongon City?”
Heon-won’s eyes, unlike before, were dim.
The bright mark of the ‘Gam’ character had completely lost its light, leaving only darkness.
Perhaps it was related to the master of Taesan being taken by light.
His gaze was so unfocused that it seemed he had lost his eyesight.
However, since Integration-stage cultivators still had a conscious domain even if they lost their eyesight, he recognized me despite his dazed eyes.
“…I don’t know. Suddenly my eyes lost their light a while ago. I don’t know why.”
“Didn’t you hear from your subordinates? A terrifying Ghost Dao being is coming to Geongon City soon.”
But Heon-won laughed coldly and said,
“What do you want me to do? If it’s stronger than me, I die, and if I’m stronger than it, I catch it.”
“You will never catch it. Evacuate quickly.”
“…I won’t.”
He smiled slyly with his gloomy eyes.
“Anyway, you and Jin Myeong-hoon didn’t properly protect the Golden God Thunder Gate… From the moment that Golden God Thunder Gate disappeared from the human race territory, I honestly couldn’t feel any reason to live anymore. Yeah… I’ve lived long enough. Only the Taesu who are at least at the Integration stage know this secretly. In ten thousand years, this world will be destroyed… Anyway, with no reason to live and everything ending in ten thousand years, why should I live longer?”
He turned his head and said,
“I will sit here and recover while watching to see if any miracle happens that the Golden God Thunder Gate disciples come up. If the only thing I was told to do was to evacuate, then get lost. I don’t want to meet you anyway…”
“….”
I stared at him for a while.
And.
“Huu…”
I descended in front of Heon-won.
“You couldn’t stand to hear it, could you?”
I growled and grabbed Heon-won by the collar, lifting him up.
“The Golden God Thunder Gate was destroyed, it was because of me and Jin Myeong-hoon, you couldn’t feel any reason to live… You only say things that are really irritating.”
“Can’t you let go?”
“There’s not much time left, but it should be enough. From now on, for a quarter of an hour, I will fix that rotten head of yours… You will feel the pain close to death, and your will to survive will awaken.”
“Puhehu… A brat who hasn’t even lived ten thousand years… Do you really know what the pain of loss is…?”
He looked down at me with a sly smile.
“Luckily, you reached Integration stage in five hundred years with outstanding talent, huh. Do you think you are the protagonist of the world? You think you know all the misfortunes and pains of the world and dare to preach to me? Don’t be mistaken! You are just a little brat who hasn’t lived even one tenth of my life! The pain you have experienced is nothing but a fingernail compared to the pain I know!”
“….”
Squelch, guguguguk!
Gradually, the weight on Heon-won began to grow heavier.
The momentum of the guy I was holding started to rise.
“Let me go and get lost. Die or live, it’s up to you.”
“…You should have had no eyes and only a tongue.”
I glared at Heon-won with a fierce expression and released his collar.
“My thoughts have changed slightly. You will truly taste the pain that even death might be considered merciful.”
“Brat, at that time my body was in bad condition, so you are using my strength as your own…”
Heon-won raised the Taesan Yeolje Art and reached out to me.
The next moment, I shattered his Taesan Yeolje Art to pieces, grabbed his face, and flung him away.
The entire Geongon City was shattered into pieces with a single strike.