The Eve of the End

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**KRRRACK****

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**“W-What in the name of the Venerable have you done!?”****

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**“W-What…?”****

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**I staggered out of the confinement chamber, my face battered and swollen.****

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**“Forget about it. Whatever happened today, it stays between us.”****

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**UUUUU****

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**I twisted the Supreme Consciousness of my Inner Clone, forcing the shattered and mangled vessel back into its original state.****

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**A moment ago…****

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**I had released Yeon Wi and sealed every ounce of her law power, internal energy, will, and every weapon and secret art she possessed.****

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**Then I beat and battered her with my bare fists.****

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**Because Yeon Wi could wield the special ability of a puppet, our bare-knuckle exchange had been savage.****

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**Only by beating her to this extent would her panic finally listen.****

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**I had forced her to speak the truth for a long time.****

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**Geum-sin-ja Yang Su-jin’s creation, the Thunder Star-born Geum-jin-jo.****

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**And the connection between the Thunder Star Sea and Geum-jin-jo. Her plan.****

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**And Baek-woon’s descent, the way she had kidnapped Jeon Myeong-hoon through her.****

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**And how I was currently working with an evil existence born from the Blood Sound Realm to rescue Jeon Myeong-hoon.****

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**With just ten thousand years, I would definitely save him.****

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**I told her all of it only after we had fought for a long time.****

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**Whether Yeon Wi had accepted it or not, I could not tell.****

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**I had not checked her will or consciousness on purpose.****

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**Whatever truth I could offer, I had given with my whole heart.****

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**Now it was her turn to decide.****

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**‘Heon-won…’****

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**I hated Heon-won.****

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**The fall of Geumsin Cheonroemun had carried a portion of his share.****

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**Just thinking of him made me want to beat him to death right there.****

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**But…****

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**Beating him to death was at least Yeon Wi’s responsibility.****

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**“I’m sorry, Yeon Wi.”****

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**All I could do right now… was simply give her this.****

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**With that thought, I dissolved my Inner Clone and turned my consciousness toward the Star Realm.****

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**KWIIING****

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**Then…****

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**My Inner Clone had already arrived at the White Jade Tower on Cheon-ryeon-san in Gwanghan Realm.****

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**Before the throne of Saintess Baek-woon.****

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**And it was not just me.****

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**The other Venerables of Gwanghan Realm.****

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**Jang Ik, the Heaven-Sinking Venerable; Wol-jin, the River-Bending Venerable; Ham-rak, the Peaceful Heaven Venerable; Geuk-gwang, the Way-Bending Venerable; Jin-wol-ryeong, the Moon-Bending Venerable; and Gyu-ro, the Peaceful Heaven Venerable.****

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**And the newly recognized ‘Kim Young-hoon,’ who had reached the Venerable stage and received the Saintess’s approval.****

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**All eight Venerables of Gwanghan Realm were gathered in one place.****

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**Except Jang Ik and Kim Young-hoon, every Venerable immediately prostrated themselves before the Saintess.****

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**“This humble Venerable pays respects to the Saintess!”****

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**Jang Ik and Kim Young-hoon and I simply returned a sufficiently respectful bow so as not to be rude.****

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**Baek-woon waved her hand and spoke.****

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**“Enough of these formalities. Now is not the time. For now, let us speak plainly. Everyone, take a deep breath. Prepare yourselves for the shock of the [wisdom] I am about to reveal.”****

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**The Venerables murmured briefly, then each began to ready themselves.****

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**Kim Young-hoon looked confused, not understanding what was coming, but he had already learned from me and Jang Ik how to face the presence of the one above.****

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**‘What exactly are they trying to show us?’****

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**I steeled my resolve and maintained a clear and tranquil mind.****

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**Baek-woon looked around and spoke.****

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**“Everyone seems prepared. Then… I will tell you. In this world, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there exist beings known as the Imperial Immortals who rule over the entire world.”****

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**“…!!!!”****

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**“…!”****

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**“!!!”****

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**All the Venerables in the White Jade Tower collapsed to the ground at once, vomiting blood like lava or heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.****

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**Even I, who had endured internal energy, was startled by the sound for the first time in a long while.****

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**But the most serious was Kim Young-hoon.****

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**With almost no internal energy regarding such beings, he bled from his seven orifices and collapsed, trembling on the floor, foam already bubbling at his mouth as he tried to faint.****

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**I and Jang Ik stimulated his consciousness with Asim-geom and Pakdo, and his mind slowly returned, but the shock from the [wisdom] was still evident on his face.****

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**She waited until we had calmed slightly, then continued.****

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**“And… among these Imperial Immortals, the Mountain God Venerable and the Lord of Light are currently engaged in… a decisive battle. A few hundred years ago, the same confrontation occurred, but it ended in victory for the light.”****

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**In the world’s time, it had been a few hundred years ago.****

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**In my regression, it was around the nineteenth cycle when I had awakened to the event where ‘the world’s light briefly dimmed and the mountain’s spiritual veins briefly shook.’****

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**‘So…! Then the reason this phenomenon occurred across the entire world back then… was because Taesan Sangje and the light clashed!?’****

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**At that moment…****

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**“!!!”****

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**“W-What…?”****

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**“In the world… what in the heavens is happening…?”****

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**It was daytime.****

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**Yet suddenly the light of the entire world darkened.****

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**The sun lost its light, and a starry sky appeared in the heavens.****

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**That was not the end.****

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**CHIIIII****

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**The stars in the sky also began to lose their light all at once.****

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**BOOOOM****

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**And together, Cheon-ryeon-san, which we had been on, began to violently shake as the mountain’s spiritual veins raged out of control.****

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**KUDUDUDUD****

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**Earthquakes swept across the entire Gwanghan Realm.****

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**Volcanoes exploded in many places, and all that looked like piles of ‘mud’ began to collapse or sway.****

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**Cheon-ryeon-san nearly crumbled, but Baek-woon and all of us worked together to maintain it.****

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**And a short while later…****

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**The earlier anomalies vanished, and the sky returned to normal daylight.****

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**The shaking of the mountain disappeared.****

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**But something remained.****

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**‘The mountain’s spiritual veins are still weakened, and the light of the sky has also weakened.’****

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**Geuk-gwang, the Way-Bending Venerable, asked in a hopeful voice.****

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**“I-It seems the light has returned. Then… has the mountain Venerable lost? Has he been sealed away again like a few hundred years ago?”****

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**Geuk-gwang clearly had much to learn from the Saintess and seemed to know a great deal.****

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**The Venerables brightened at the words, but I felt uneasy.****

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**‘Can Taesan Sangje really be sealed away so easily?’****

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**The nightmare of the Dharma-Destroying True Word still lingered in my mind: one stroke that compressed and destroyed the entire universe with nothing more than a projection.****

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**‘Impossible. The light is still slightly weakened, and the mountain’s spiritual veins are also slightly weakened. Perhaps…’****

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**I cautiously voiced my guess.****

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**“Perhaps… the two gods are still in the middle of battle? The spiritual energy of both light and mountain still feels slightly weak…”****

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**Geuk-gwang exploded at my words.****

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**“How faithless can you be! Do you dare doubt the great light! You dare speak of the Saint of Light even after…”****

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**[Shut up.]****

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**And Baek-woon opened her mouth with tension.****

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**At her words, Geuk-gwang quickly clamped his mouth shut, and all the Venerables turned their attention to Baek-woon.****

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**Baek-woon looked at the sky, as if observing something.****

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**‘I heard the Saintess’s foresight could rival true immortals by borrowing the power of the entire central realm…’****

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**Perhaps she was not merely calculating heavenly secrets with the power of the central realm, but directly observing the battlefield of those gods.****

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**‘Even without that, calculating the situation of the battlefield with the power of the central realm should be possible…’****

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**What on earth was happening in the other heavens right now?****

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**We were all on edge.****

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**DE, DEDEDE… DEDEDEDE****

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**Baek-woon began to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tremble like a pine tree.****

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**And she shouted in a voice filled with terror.****

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**“: : All Venerables, listen! All Saintesses, listen! All True Immortals, listen! Blood Sound, you too, listen! : :”****

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**ZIIIIIING****

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**I felt her voice carrying across the entire universe at full power.****

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**“: : Taesan Sangje has escaped the grasp of Gwangmyeong Sangje! He is heading somewhere! The Ilwol Cheonyeok will perish! Prepare for destruction! : :”****

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**“…!!!”****

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**I, who knew the terror of Taesan Sangje, screamed as my eyes rolled back.****

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**“Quickly!!! Quickly create a refuge space!!! Right now!!!”****

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**BOOOOM****

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*****

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**Star Realm.****

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**The original body there had already sealed the entire Meng-won-seong containing Gang Min-hee into an interspace created with his own power while half-losing his sanity, then madly prepared to regress toward Gwanghan Realm.****

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**[Regress, Seo Ran, Hong Beom, prepare!]****

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**I entrusted my body to the power of Gwanghan Realm and quickly regressed my original body there.****

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**Normally I would have chosen a Star Realm region suitable for the distance and simply entered Gwanghan Realm.****

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**But now was not the time to worry about such things.****

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**I destroyed every Star Shattering stage spirit that attacked me and instantly regressed into Gwanghan Realm.****

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**‘Wait, Hong Beom! I… damn it, damn it, damn it!!! I’m sorry!!! Hong Beom!!’****

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**I knew I had left Hong Beom behind in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Star Realm, but now was not the time to care.****

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**In an instant I pulled my companions near through my power and shouted while embracing them in a sword-form transformation.****

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**“I loved you! All of you! You have all been too generous to me!”****

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**All of you had been too generous to me.****

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**Baek-woon leaned on her jade throne with eyes from which all light had vanished, as if she were already dead, while the Venerables who had not yet grasped the situation were shouting at her, demanding they do something.****

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**And at that moment, five hazy projections rose in the White Jade Tower.****

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**From those energies came the auras of ancient power, true demon,冥鬼, and purple gold.****

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**Because I had stacked five, I could sense them precisely.****

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**And in the final projection…****

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**I felt the energy and was shocked.****

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**‘H-Hyeol-eum!?’****

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**I could never forget it.****

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**The ruthless true immortal who had killed me hundreds of times.****

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**The aura of Hyeol-eum.****

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**When I was bewildered, the projection carrying the ancient power aura spoke.****

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**[You have all worked hard. It has been a good life.]****

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**I knew who he was.****

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**The Saintess of the Purple Gold Realm, Haerin.****

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**‘The aura of Hyeol-eum and Haerin’s voice… Then these people…’****

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**They were clearly Saintesses from other central realms.****

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**Baek-woon’s body was glowing, as if she had sent her own projection to another central realm.****

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**Baek-woon opened her mouth.****

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**[We were about to die, but… I had a somewhat enjoyable life. The Heart Tribe firewood trying to moisten us was amusing. Of course, when we were young and the Star Plate promotion ceremony came, I truly wanted to exterminate the entire clan… but in the end I merely disliked them. Haerin, I remember you helping my Star Plate promotion. Yu-o, I remember the time you helped me. Ban-ta, even then you were still a young Star Plate Saintess… tsk tsk… Ja-eum! I truly cannot understand what you are thinking even now. And… Hyeol-eum. You… have too much to say, but since you are about to die, I will speak only one word. Even if you did not truly know who you were, stop being repulsive.]****

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**Her will ended.****

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**The Sage of the Purple Gold Realm, Ban-ta, opened his mouth.****

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**[If I had known this would happen, I would not have promoted to Star Plate at the time. For fifty million years, no suitable successor has appeared. You useless Purple Gold Realm Venerables. If I had known this, I would not have cared whether the Purple Gold Realm’s lifeblood vanished or whether the Purple Gold Heavenly Lord’s spirit appeared and destroyed the Ilwol Cheonyeok. I would have lived doing what I wanted!]****

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**He seemed to feel a little regret.****

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**And Yu-o’s mouth opened.****

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**[Everything follows the will of the Emperor Venerable. It is His will.]****

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**Her words were short.****

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**Just as Baek-woon was the Saintess of light, Yu-o was the Saintess of the Underworld Heavenly Lord.****

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**Among the Saintesses, the True Demon Realm Saintess, Ja-eum, was the last to speak.****

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**I looked at Ja-eum and realized he was the first Haeryongwang born in the Purple Gold Realm.****

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**Now I understood where he had gone.****

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**‘He had become a Saintess of the True Demon Realm…’****

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**Ja-eum hesitated slightly, then looked at the sky.****

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**[Has that ruthless god broken through the light’s encirclement? He was always heading there… So the Ilwol Cheonyek will end soon. Hoo hoo…]****

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**He let out a long laugh.****

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**After that Ja-eum spoke to Hyeol-eum’s projection.****

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**[Hoo hoo… This old fool, the barrier spirit, has been throwing a tantrum to recover his lost honor these days and has ended up like this. He created a substitute body for emergency use, and when I saw it, the black dragon that used to ignore even the tips of Hyeol-eum’s feet was interfering… so he made the Haeryong clan to escape the possibility of the black dragon. If he had really been the former Chief Judge, he would not have cared even if the black dragon did something. Seeing him do this himself is the best proof that he is not the former Chief Judge. If he had truly been Hyeol-eum, he would have immediately gone to the Underworld to take him, to Gwangmyeong-jeon to take him, and to the third faction to take him… His actions were clearly those of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an idiot. Stop drowning in the past glory of a fool and look at reality. After removing the names attached by Hyeon-eum and me to the dragon and new sound, creating the substitute body and offering for emergency use, and using them carefully so that the True Demon Realm also came under his control… he was happy. My heavenly line may not be strong, but I dare to prophesy that the deeds he created will one day strangle his own neck. If a second chance is given, I hope you live properly this time. Hoo hoo… It feels good. My heart feels wide open. Hoo hoo…]****

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**To the True Demon Realm Saintess Ja-eum, the other Purple Gold Realm Saintesses, the Gwanghan Realm Venerables, and even Baek-woon and me… Hyeol-eum himself looked at Ja-eum with incredulous eyes.****

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**‘Ja-eum… was he not Hyeol-eum’s fragment or puppet…? To have such resentment toward Hyeol-eum, who was no different from the original body…’****

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**And the projection of Hyeol-eum opened its mouth.****

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**[I simply… wanted to watch the Emperor Venerable’s will once more from the same position. That was all.]****

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**He seemed to have much to say, but after calmly speaking, he dissolved the projection and vanished from the hall.****

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**I greeted the other Venerables inside the White Jade Tower with my avatar and, with my original body, embraced my companions and poured out words of love.****

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**And so… I thought Taesan Sangje had descended and the Ilwol Cheonyek was perishing.****

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**“…Baek-woon Saintess.”****

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**“…What?”****

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**“Forgive me, but… when exactly will we perish?”****

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**Baek-woon looked slightly bewildered as she read the heavenly secrets.****

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**“…The heavenly secrets of the gods’ battlefield have become too disordered to read. Even I do not know. Why… is the Ilwol Cheonyek not perishing…?”****

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**After struggling to read the heavenly secrets for a while, Baek-woon sighed deeply.****

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**[For now, I have nothing I can say. In a few days, the gods I serve will answer, so ask your questions then and I will tell you the answers.]****

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**At her words, the Venerables, including me, let out sighs of relief.****

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**At least ‘a few days’ had been recognized by Baek-woon’s mouth.****

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*****

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**Void Space between Cheonwang Cheonyeok and Jichuk Cheonyeok.****

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**There, the traces of an enormous battlefield remained.****

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**Countless spirit bodies were torn apart and drifting everywhere, and the central Gwangmyeong Pal-seon was shaking unsteadily as if it would disappear at any moment.****

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**The [Seat of Light] above them could no longer be seen.****

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**The Gwangmyeong Pal-seon trembled, clearly ashamed.****

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**“: : The cunning one. : :”****

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**“: : Pretending to enter the Audience Chamber and suddenly changing direction. : :”****

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**“: : I did not know he had hidden so much power. : :”****

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**“: : It was not comparable to the past Gwanghan, Geum, or Eun-ram. : :”****

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**“: : There is no need to worry. Unlike those monsters, this one’s power is consumable. : :”****

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**“: : Exactly. The more the accumulated Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood is consumed, the stronger the power will become without a stronger offering. : :”****

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**“: : The power of the Demon God has clear limits. We will catch him later. : :”****

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**“: : After fighting us, he could not immediately find a strong offering. We will wait. : :”****

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**At that moment…****

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**A messenger from Gwangmyeong-jeon arrived with urgent news.****

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**A new-form True Immortal flew quickly and delivered the message.****

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**[My Lords! The ruthless mountain has appeared in Mayi Cheonyeok! He is contacting Taesan Sangje!]****

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**At those words, the Gwangmyeong Pal-seon shook as if struck by lightning and roared in rage.****

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**“: : ------! : :”****

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**The furious roar of the Pal-seon echoed across the entire San-chen Dai-cheon World.****

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*****

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**The prison of Taesan Sangje.****

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**Sealed dimension, Mayi Cheonyeok.****

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**Before the heavenly realm that looked like a prison made of light, a massive mountain appeared, as if crushing the entire universe.****

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**The mountain was communicating with something inside Mayi Cheonyeok.****

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**Cosmic voice and signals traveled back and forth through the inside and outside of the heavenly realm.****

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**A short while later, the oppressive mountain roared.****

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**“: : You, who are the winner of this era, will you truly perish forever? : :”****

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**And an answer came from inside Mayi Cheonyeok.****

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**Hearing the communication that had returned from inside, Taesan Sangje trembled.****

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**It was a trembling mixed with anger.****

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**“: : Then : :”****

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**BOOOOOOM****

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**The entire Mayi Cheonyeok began to shake.****

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**Taesan Sangje raised his hand.****

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**The sealed dimension of Taesan Sangje began to gradually collapse.****

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**“: : Collapse the heavenly realm itself and destroy the losing one! : :”****

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**BOOOOOOM!!!****

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**Taesan Sangje and the entire Mayi Cheonyeok began to collapse and perish.****

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**And before that mountain, a white-haired woman appeared.****

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**The woman whose face could not be seen wore neat clothes and flower shoes on her feet and bowed to Taesan Sangje.****

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**[Arrogant and ruthless tyrant. Your end will not come.]****

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**As if it were not even worth listening to the words of an insect.****

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**Taesan Sangje did not care and focused on destroying the owner of the tribulation dimension by dimension.****

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**[His dream has already been fulfilled. His prophecy will never end! He will not be eaten as a loser like your teacher!!!]****

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**The white-haired woman… Jeong-ryeo.****

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**The next moment, her limbs were torn away.****

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**Just as an insect is crushed, she was tortured and repeatedly died and revived in hundreds of millions of units before her entire body was torn to pieces and she died.****

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**KWAADDDUK****

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**And finally…****

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**Taesan Sangje, who had compressed the entire Mayi Cheonyeok, swallowed the compressed heavenly realm.****

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**BOUUUUNG****

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**“: : KWAHAHAHA! : :”****

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**“: : HUAHAHA!!! : :”****

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**“: : Uwaaaak! Uwaaaaaaak! : :”****

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**From the mountain of corpses beneath him, blood like lava spurted out, and screams of pain more painful than ever erupted.****

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**At the same time, dark lightning boiled around Taesan Sangje.****

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**Taesan Sangje looked at the entire Sumi Mountain with satisfaction and began to gather strength.****

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**“: : Shall I begin to enjoy the power of the Emperor? : :”****

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**The fate of the entire San-chen Dai-cheon World began to fluctuate.****