Descending
The Ghost Gate Redemption Operation was as follows.
First, I would fire a Hollow Heart Shattering Bullet to crack the Wondrous Castle of the Madman halfway open.
It didn't matter even if his soul was halved, because the Yeon-ui Yeon would activate and save him anyway, as Jang Ik had confirmed before.
Next, Kim Yeon would enter the broken castle and activate the Strange Star-Mind Scroll inside it to trigger the Yeon-ui Yeon for the Madman.
Then the Madman would achieve Redemption inside the Yeon-ui Yeon, and the Wondrous Castle would fall into our hands.
The Wondrous Castle had self-repair functions, so the damage I had wrecked would be fixed in no time.
The only variable here was the power of the Wondrous Castle and [Her].
‘This life, the Wondrous Castle of the Madman has gained an additional Eclipse Extinction Crustquake.’
Just by itself, it granted Star Shattering-level mobility even inside the Gwanghan Realm.
‘Plus, I have seen Kang Min-hee, the Star Shattering powerhouse, with my own eyes up close… I can’t imagine how much [She] has been modified based on that information.’
In other words, I had to consider the possibility that the Madman might flee from me as well.
Therefore, I had prepared another plan for him.
[You’ve memorized the role, haven’t you, Seo Ran? ]
“Yes, senior.”
Seo Ran was riding the Seopmyeong Ship.
The Seopmyeong Ship he rode had a power source installed.
That was because I had previously transferred the broken power source from the Seopmyeong Ship damaged by Kang Min-hee over to Seo Ran’s.
However, this was only a temporary transfer, so there was a condition that it would have to be returned to Black Ghost Valley later.
‘He’s heading out to fight the Madman, so they’re lending us both hands and the power source….’
To Black Ghost Valley, the Madman was no different from a horrific monster that had left an indelible stain on their history spanning over 500,000 years.
Since they were going to eradicate such a monster, they had not only lent the Seopmyeong Ship but countless Ghost Kings as well.
Kiaaaaa!
Kiyaaaa!
Thanks to that, countless Ghost Kings’ Ghost Valley howls were also echoing inside the Seopmyeong Ship.
I gestured toward Seo Ran, and he replied with a gesture as well.
My companions quickly boarded the Seopmyeong Ship according to the signal.
[Activating the Eclipse Extinction Crustquake takes about five seconds. So during that time, we must penetrate the Wondrous Castle. ]
If the Madman fled during our fight, I would chase after him while my companions inside the Wondrous Castle triggered the Yeon-ui Yeon.
“Yes! I will definitely complete the mission. Even if it means inheriting my master’s grudge…!”
Behind Seo Ran, who shouted this bravely, I could vaguely make out Song Jin.
The senior of Black Ghost Valley who had suffered humiliating defeat from the Madman.
Song Jin’s revenge would continue to Seo Ran and be carried out today.
[Good, then let’s go!]
I nodded and turned my head again.
Kugugugung!
The Seopmyeong Ship began to move.
The Seopmyeong Ship tore through space and jumped directly.
The next moment, the Seopmyeong Ship would appear inside the Wondrous Castle!
I spat out inner energy, pulling along the dense clouds and flying toward the Wondrous Castle.
The flight technique of the beast race that used Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi as a foothold began to assist the beast race once they reached a certain realm.
The dense Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi spontaneously pushed the beast race even faster through the air.
The dense Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi transformed into clouds, and the beast race moved as if riding on them.
Kwaarrung!
Using the flight technique, I shot rapidly toward the Wondrous Castle from atop the dense clouds.
Tzuzuzut!
A curse began to flow through my entire body.
The next moment!
Kwaaang!
I slammed into the defense barrier covering the Wondrous Castle.
The defense barrier rippled.
At the same time, the barrier array in the area I touched began to rot from the inside.
Wiiiing—
A warning siren rang out from the Wondrous Castle.
I smiled faintly and extended both hands.
Dan-ak Sword Art
Thirty-First Form.
Accumulating Dust to Form a Mountain!
The cutting slash extended in all directions.
The transparent sword qi instantly shattered the Madman’s defense barrier completely.
‘With this, the Seopmyeong Ship will reach the inside of the Wondrous Castle without any problems.’
The barrier had included the part that blocked enemy transmission, so the operation would proceed smoothly from now on.
What remained was…
Kwoong!
[…] We’ve known each other for quite some time now, haven’t we? ]
[She] appeared above the Wondrous Castle!
Kugugugugu!
I felt the Wondrous Castle shaking.
The Madman was insane, but he was not stupid.
Of course, his judgment wasn’t perfect.
That was why the Madman had implanted a ‘judgment law artifact’ into his own body.
Thanks to that, when he encountered a dangerous opponent, he knew how to flee at the right moment.
The Madman wanted to fight, but if the judgment law artifact in his body simulated a mock battle with the enemy and judged his win rate to be zero, he would be forced to flee on his own.
After all, he was a madman with poor common sense who had fled for the first time during the Border War.
And right now, the judgment law artifact implanted in the Madman seemed to have judged that he had no win rate against me, so he began activating the Eclipse Extinction Crustquake.
Wiiiing!
Space began to bend, visible to the naked eye.
‘What… it’s faster than I expected.’
There had probably been a slight calculation error, so the Eclipse Extinction Crustquake only needed about three seconds to activate.
During that time, the Madman had apparently modified the Eclipse Extinction Crustquake once more to raise its performance.
‘Now the only thing left is [Her] performance….’
I entered the flash of a moment and stared at [Her].
Three seconds.
Short as it was, it was an extremely long time for those above Integration realm.
[During that time, we had quite a lot of entanglement…]
I smiled while looking at [Her].
In the Deungsunhyang Forest, the Madman who had threatened all the other sects through [Her] came to mind.
The [Her] who had driven me mad in one hand and forced me to commit suicide came to mind.
The [Her] who had grown to Star Shattering size along with the Madman over a thousand years came to mind.
[Her] had always been a terrifying existence to me.
I murmured while looking at the [Her] whose face was covered by a black cloth, just like Buk Hyang-hwa who had danced with me in the twenty-seventh loop at Seokma Village.
[Today, I will confirm your face and sever this enmity. ]
And in an instant.
I charged straight at [Her].
Kwaaang!
An enormous roar and shockwave rang out.
I felt that the Seopmyeong Ship had safely transmitted inside the Wondrous Castle.
Now all that remained for me to do was to capture [Her]!
I felt it in the first blow.
‘He’s gone crazy, the Madman….’
She was stronger than [Her] in the time after a thousand years!
The power of stars like Star Shattering had already been felt!
‘But the consumption is fast.’
I realized that the insane power wave would soon subside.
‘It probably won’t last longer than five seconds? After that, the movement will stop.’
The power was strong, but only for five seconds.
Of course, five seconds at Star Shattering level was an enormous time, but that was the end.
‘It’s incomplete.’
Both the output and [Her] were unable to move in sync with me in the same time frame.
The acceleration of consciousness became transcendent around this realm.
[Then farewell…]
The [Her] I once feared…
Clang!
The world stopped.
In that place, a circular object rose behind [Her]’s back.
‘What…?’
It was a ring.
Behind [Her]’s back, a round ‘ring’ appeared like a halo or aureole.
At the same time, a crisp mechanical sound came from [Her].
[Celestial Calculation Device, activated. Switching to one-on-one battle form. Approving calculation speed for countering Star Shattering-level opponents. ]
Wiiiing!
It looked like glass, and inside the semi-transparent ‘ring,’ something black seemed to be writhing.
[I will counterattack. ]
Kwang!
I laughed dryly while watching [Her]’s spear swing my sword aside.
‘Celestial Calculation Device? What else did you make, Madman!’
Wuuung!
[Her] spear technique was inadequate even by my standards.
It was a martial art of the same level of completion as the Dan-ak Sword Art I had used before Kim Young-hoon improved it.
But that didn’t matter.
‘Inner force….’
Kukguguk!
I felt the power of stars from inside [Her] body.
At the same time, the inner force converted to repulsion and flung me away with cosmic power.
Kuuung!
I was flung away by that cosmic repulsion.
The next moment, [Her] who had arrived using the Crust Qiming technique from above me brought her spear tip close and swung it down at me.
Flash!
A flash of light gleamed.
It seemed like the Heaven and Earth between us was connected by a pillar of light, and a ‘hole’ was drilled straight below.
The space of the Gwanghan Realm itself warped, and a dimensional hole was torn open.
Chuk!
In the gap of a flash, she changed her posture through the ‘Celestial Calculation Device’ and swung two short spears at me.
I flowed the cutting slash of the short spears into the Yun-gok style and rushed at her.
‘Impressive.’
The Madman had truly created a puppet of Star Shattering level, albeit only for five seconds.
Kwaddeudeuk!
My left hand dug into [Her] waist.
[Her] narrowly evaded my strike and climbed onto a large boulder mountain to change her posture.
In an instant, I reached [Her] in front.
[Her] tried to react, but I simultaneously poured out three styles and drove the entire boulder mountain with her down below.
Kwang!
[Her] was unable to react and was driven down below, then bounced back up.
I climbed onto [Her] body and extended both hands.
With the sword on my hand, I drove her down again.
Dan-ak Sword Art
Dragon Vein
Ability Change
My left hand swung down heavily and cut [Her], while my right hand penetrated sword qi inside her and caused internal power to erupt as if to change the terrain.
Kwang, kwang!
The sound of organs breaking inside the puppet body was heard.
However, at this level, the function seemed intact and [Her] began to respond to me.
The World of an Instant.
In that place, we exchanged countless blows.
Pukwak!
We pierced through the clouds and collided in the sky.
[Her] tried to push me back with the style of the Non-Wing Spear.
She tried to pull my blind spot through the variation, but I shook her insides again with the Mountain Name Peak Response style.
She mixed the Illusory and Dominant Decrees of the Non-Wing Spear and aimed for my body with the power of hegemony inside the illusion, but I received the power and repelled her with the Public Peak Full Power style.
When I spewed rays from both hands, I responded by spewing rays from my forty-two eyes as well.
When I tried to warp the entire space with inner force to kill, I cut the entire space with the Accumulating Dust to Form a Mountain style.
Shuwaang!
The Accumulating Dust to Form a Mountain style not only cut space but continued to shoot out.
[Her] blocked the sword qi of the Accumulating Dust to Form a Mountain, but the power flung her straight up endlessly above the sky of the Gwanghan Realm.
I chased after [Her] and overlaid the All-Heaven Sword onto my body.
Finally.
Jjeoeo-eong!
[Her] was pushed by the Accumulating Dust to Form a Mountain style and reached the end of the Gwanghan Realm sky.
The ‘heaven’ dimensional veil.
Or the world-repelling veil, also called the world-order power veil.
Toward [Her] who had reached that place, I put the sword on my body and slammed my torso into her.
Kwaaang!
It seemed the entire Gwanghan Realm was shaking.
At the same time, the world-order power warping was visible to the naked eye.
Dan-ak Sword Art
Heart Mountain!
Originally a style that dug into the opponent’s inside and slashed upward.
However, this time it was transformed into a cutting style while slamming the torso.
In other words, the torso slam was not the end.
Sreung!
I raised the sword qi and slashed toward [Her] who was stuck in the warped world-order power.
Flash!
Along with that, the world-order power of the warped Gwanghan Realm exploded as it was.
Kwa-kwa-gwang!
[Her] was flung out beyond the Gwanghan Realm.
[Her] tried to regain her posture and respond to me.
However, I accelerated my consciousness even more and extended both hands.
Sword Array
Twelve Thousand!
The colorless glass swords spewed out from my entire body.
The sword array I had completed with Hong Su-ryeong wrapped around [Her].
The three thousand colorless glass swords each created three additional branches and became twelve thousand swords.
The sword array seemed to rotate around [Her], then gradually narrowed.
[It’s over!]
I shouted loudly and rapidly narrowed the sword array.
And a flash exploded.
Flash!
A vast inner force concentrated in one place along with a pure white light.
And [Her] escaped from the sword array.
One of [Her] short spears was broken, and one arm was tattered and almost unusable.
Her entire body was torn.
And…
I was finally able to see [Her] face.