Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Hero of the Heavenly Dragon Fortress
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The one leading the monks, priestesses, and Taoists surrounding Gwiwon Temple was none other than the captain of the Totua Unit, the Soul-Stealing Immortal.
“The Grand Ritual must not be allowed to fail! We must fight with all our might from our positions!”
“Yes!”
The Soul-Stealing Immortal, along with the sages of the Zhuge Clan, had prepared a large-scale ritual—a formation specializing in grand exorcism arts.
The Grand Ritual they initiated.
Its purpose was to prevent the soul of Mahuraga from returning to the Evil God he spoke of. The Soul-Stealing Immortal also observed from the center of the ritual, intending to personally confirm Mahuraga’s complete annihilation.
Each to their own position.
While the Totua Unit and the Taoists focused their efforts on the Grand Ritual, the executives and members of the Martial Alliance worked to protect the nearby residents.
They shielded the people from the remnants of Gwiwon Temple, scattered by the tremendous final explosion.
The fires that broke out from the aftermath of the explosion and lightning strikes were suppressed by Seol Ha-ryeong, who commanded ice techniques, along with many other martial artists.
To any observer, this was not a battle between martial artists, but a clear act of nature. The powerless residents, under protection, could only pray to the gods of heaven and earth in their fear.
The martial artists belonging to the Orthodox Sects were all filled with admiration.
They knew well that it was thanks to the strategy devised by Mu-heun and the Soul-Stealing Immortal that they were able to annihilate their enemies in one fell swoop.
If not for their plan, they would never have been able to corner Mahuraga like this.
Not only would a direct confrontation have been difficult, but a cornered Mahuraga would have likely unleashed countless Ghost Spirits across all of Hubei. If that had happened, an untold number of innocent lives would have been sacrificed.
The damage was tremendously reduced. And so, while the casualties were not many, they were not none.
The Orthodox Sect martial artists who went to eliminate the Dwelling Ghosts. The Beggars’ Sect members who went to subdue the Jinju Eon Clan in Hebei. The members of the Paeng Clan. The monks, Taoists, and priestesses who surrounded the mountain where Gwiwon Temple stood. The Martial Alliance warriors who had charged into Gwiwon Temple.
There were deaths.
***
Mahuraga saw the violet light approaching him. He also saw the pink light approaching from the opposite side.
And he realized.
The end that comes to all life was now coming for him.
He had been born a spiritual creature, attained divinity, and lived with power that felt as if he held the world in his hands. He had lived gloriously, looking down upon the heavens and the earth… How had he lost his divinity, fallen, and been cast down to the ground?
And how had he been defeated by humans, whom he had considered no more than insignificant creatures? Why had he endured and waited for 300 years? The martial artists he met at the end of those long years of waiting…
Their power far surpassed any humans he had imagined. Just like 300 years ago… they were far too powerful to be mere humans… Come to think of it, humans always possessed something that defied common sense.
They were like insignificant creatures, weak and easily swayed, yet an enlightened human was like an immortal sage, and some grew strong enough to reach the highest levels of divinity…
They were truly vessels for the gods.
To be defeated by them and return to nothingness.
That was all he could do now.
“Kuhahahaha! Yes, this is the end! However! Your power alone is not enough! If you are satisfied with this, you will not be able to escape the destruction that will soon come!”
With Mahuraga’s final cry, he detonated all of his energy. But the ultimate techniques of Jin Hong and Mu-heun enveloped him.
*Craaack!*
A massive explosion erupted on the mountainside where Gwiwon Temple stood.
The earth-shattering blast drove the common people living in the infinite fortress into a state of terror.
Those near the temple also witnessed the explosion, which seemed to glow with a violet light at times, and a pale pink light at others.
In between, crimson-black lightning bolts struck down.
However, what was certain was that a vortex of power, impossible to fathom just by looking, lingered at the heart of the explosion.
The cause of the two energies, powerful enough to swallow Mount Tai, being unleashed. As if to completely erase the fallen divinity, the Dark Soul Martial Strike and the Plum Blossom's Myriad Mile Fragrance layered annihilation upon annihilation.
Crimson-black lightning shot out from between them. Jin Hong deflected the bolts with his Plum Blossom Sword Art, while Mu-heun also applied the Heaven and Earth Grand Shift to his Sun and Moon Sword to divert them.
However, unlike Jin Hong who deflected the lightning perfectly, Mu-heun was slightly lacking.
The reason was that Mu-heun’s realm was lower than Jin Hong’s.
Mu-heun’s power was originally at the peak of the Transcendent Realm, and he had forcibly raised his state using the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
Even then, he was only at the threshold of the Profound Realm.
Jin Hong’s realm was the middle stage of the Profound Realm. The difference was stark.
However, the divine artifact Mu-heun had obtained from Chipyeong Temple, the Yin-Yang Twin Dragon Robe, mitigated the impact and prevented internal injuries.
Absorption and release.
A moment later, the explosion formed a cloud of smoke as massive as its scale. Then, like a waterspout spiraling upward, it rose into the air.
Jin Hong and Mu-heun expanded their senses, searching for any possibility that Mahuraga might have survived.
But he could not be found.
“It seems he has been completely annihilated.”
Mu-heun said to Jin Hong after looking around, and Jin Hong nodded in agreement. Just then, Du Baek walked over from a distance, brushing gray ash off his clothes.
To have blocked that massive lightning spear head-on, he was truly worthy of being called one of the supreme masters of the Orthodox Sects.
The three of them cross-verified the current situation several times and came to a realization. Mahuraga was completely gone, and they had dealt with the source of all the incidents that had occurred in the Hubei region.
Du Baek relaxed his guard and spoke, catching his breath.
“Hoo. We can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
Jin Hong, too, regulated his internal energy and said.
“This was an incident that could have overturned the Central Plains.”
“I think so too.”
Just then, Mu-heun spoke to the two of them politely, yet firmly.
“Forgive my interruption, but this is just the beginning… Did you happen to hear what Mahuraga said at the end?”
Jin Hong did not dismiss Mu-heun’s words and answered seriously.
“Of course. I heard it as well.”
Du Baek had been busy blocking the lightning spear in the air, so he was curious about the details.
“What did he say?”
“He said that if we are satisfied with our current level, we will not be able to escape the coming destruction.”
“The coming destruction… Is that what you and the Soul-Stealing Immortal spoke of? A great war brought by transcendent beings?”
“Yes, that is correct. That being was merely a servant of an Evil God.”
“Hah… A being that the three of us, all in the Profound Realm, barely managed to defeat together was a mere servant of an Evil God… How truly despairing.”
Mu-heun hesitated for a moment upon hearing Du Baek’s words, then steeled himself and spoke to Du Baek and Jin Hong. In a serious tone, enunciating each word.
“The Profound Realm is not enough. As many people as possible must reach the Life and Death Realm as quickly as possible.”
“…The Life and Death Realm!?”
On this day, Mu-heun explained to the two men standing at the pinnacle of the Orthodox Sects the way to reach the next realm.
It was a highly abstract and distant concept, but the difference between hearing it and not was clear.
***
Mu-heun, Du Baek, and Jin Hong were talking amidst the completely shattered ruins of Gwiwon Temple.
Just then.
The figures of martial artists could be seen soaring through the air from a distance.
“Alliance Leader!”
“Sword Venerable!”
Their shouts were filled with urgency. But upon seeing the three men with their own eyes, their cries were clearly ones of relief.
“I have heard you well. You and Jin Hong should go to the Heavenly Dragon Fortress and get some rest. I will stay and sort out the current situation before I go.”
“Understood.”
Mu-heun quickly headed for the Heavenly Dragon Fortress, avoiding the crowd of Orthodox Sect martial artists rushing toward them.
After such a fierce battle, he just wanted to rest a little.
“By the way, he is truly a remarkable person. To remain alone to manage the situation right after such an intense fight.”
“That is why he became the representative of the Orthodox Sects, is it not?”
“Indeed. He is a man who rose through his own merits.”
Mu-heun and Jin Hong praised Du Baek’s character as they returned, while Du Baek began to explain and organize the situation for the approaching righteous warriors.
***
After the incident was resolved, a funeral was held to honor the spirits of the fallen.
On this day, the Orthodox Sects were plunged into great sorrow.
A sorrow born from loss.
Although the Haomun Sect did not belong to the Orthodox Sects, they joined the funeral. A considerable number of their members had also been sacrificed in this operation.
The powerful disciples of the Haomun Sect had fought alongside them in this battle and joined in mourning the fallen.
Those who had lost someone.
Or those who had barely survived.
At the memorial, everyone shared the same feeling of sorrow, but a few clutched their chests and thought.
‘It is a blessing that it ended with just this…’
What if the man from the Demonic Cult, Baek Mu-heun, had not been there?
Or what if the Orthodox Martial Alliance had refused to listen to him until the end? What if the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable Jin Hong and the Alliance Leader Du Baek had not cooperated with him to defeat the enemy’s leader?
What if the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans had not observed the fight between Baek Mu-heun and the rising stars of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly? And thus, had not experienced the clash between Baek Mu-heun and the Jinju Eon Clan?
It was all pointless now, but these small what-ifs.
The possibilities were truly chilling.
Everything could have been different.
Not a single one of those events could have been missing. Of course, what happened to the Jinju Eon Clan was unfortunate, but it was because of that incident that the leaders of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans were able to actively cooperate with Baek Mu-heun’s plan.
What if they hadn’t actively cooperated with Baek Mu-heun’s words?
How would they have handled this catastrophe, which was utterly incomprehensible by common sense? Even a rough estimate suggested the scale of the damage would have been unimaginable.
They shuddered at the terrifying future that could have been, one that had been averted by a hair's breadth, though it had not come to pass before their eyes.
And they realized. They realized just how important a figure Baek Mu-heun was. He was not someone to be neglected or ignored simply because he came from the Demonic Cult.
His cooperation was indispensable for the coming disaster.
They had to work closely with him, together.
Fortunately, many clans and sects were now actively supporting him, so they didn't have to worry about being criticized for siding with a member of the Demonic Cult.
Everything was proceeding as the Soul-Stealing Immortal had drawn it, no, as Mu-heun had drawn it.
The task of uniting the entire martial world of the Central Plains. The first button had been fastened.
***
Pa-sun and Un-pyo arrived in Xinjiang.
The territory of the Demonic Cult.
Gucha County in Aksu.
The two had once saved the despairing Gucha County alongside Mu-heun.
However.
“Th-this is…”
“What in the world happened here?”
They were speechless at the sight of the surprisingly developed streets of Gucha County.
“Is this really the same Gucha County we knew?”
The one who greeted them was none other than the Left Emissary of Light, Seo Deung.
“It is. You two have suffered much.”
The Gucha County that was helplessly ravaged by five Unorthodox sects was no more. The Gucha County where women wept and children screamed was gone.
All that could be seen were martial artists and scholars.
It was overflowing with residents who had learned martial arts under the leadership of the Fierce Tiger Clan and intellectuals who had gained knowledge through the wisdom of the Heavenly Dance Family.
“This is a complete transformation.”
The Left Emissary of Light, Seo Deung, smiled warmly at the dumbfounded Pa-sun and Un-pyo and said.
“From now on, this place will become the center of trade between our Cult and the Central Plains.”
“Haha… Ha…”
“Just as you two acted as escorts to come here, we also need to send goods produced by the Cult back to the Central Plains to be sold…”
“We will go.”
“Keke, you’re quick on the uptake. However, you won’t be the only ones going this time.”
“Then, who…”