Chapter 214
Chapter 214
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Encounter with Paegun
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“Hmm?”
The white-haired old man, who had been tending his vegetable garden, stopped hoeing and raised his head.
His narrow eyes stared into the empty air.
The sun high in the sky and drifting cloud fragments.
The old man's narrow eyes, fixed on the clear blue sky of this fine day, slowly opened.
Chilling white eyes emerged.
Within the whites of his eyes, pupils as black as if painted with a brush's dot pierced the void like a glare.
Sss—
And at that moment, a faint anger dominated the space.
By the time the weeds and grasses around the unfinished vegetable garden bowed their heads as if frightened by his anger...
Rumble—
The ground rumbled lowly.
This land had shown no change, however small, for years. Yet now it trembled, emitting low vibrations.
“......”
The old man's white eyebrows twitched once as he felt the vibrations through his soles.
This was no ordinary occurrence.
It was the signal that someone had entered the Small Heaven and Earth Vitality Formation.
“I told them not to enter as they please.”
His firmly closed lips parted, letting out a very low voice.
Unlike his benevolent appearance, the old man spoke in a heavy tone as he lightly thrust the hoe in his hand into the ground.
Then, as he straightened his bent back...
Thud!
The surrounding air sank heavily.
An overwhelming pressure engulfed the space.
He had neither circulated his internal energy nor released his aura.
It was simply the natural emanation of an absolute being who had reached the realm of absolutes.
A dominating presence that made one's back bend involuntarily upon sight, compelling submission.
Even a fairly skilled warrior would be unable to meet his gaze.
Thus, the old man tending his garden vanished, replaced by the absolute expert known as Paegun.
Paegun stared intently at the empty void, his eyes gleaming.
“......An uninvited guest, is it.”
His low, subdued voice subtly carried a strange sense of anticipation.
At the same time...
Sss—
The anger enveloping the surroundings vanished as if washed away.
Interest rose in Paegun's white eyes as he erased his fury at an astonishing speed.
'The first since I set up the formation.'
This was a forbidden ground.
To be precise, ever since he had made it his dwelling, no one had been allowed entry.
And decades had passed since then.
The number of visitors to this forbidden ground could be counted on one hand.
The current family head, Zhuge Sin, and Zhuge Myeong, who was as good as appointed young master.
And his old friends from before.
All told, no more than five, and he knew all their energies.
But the one who had entered now...
“......A presence I've never felt before.”
A smile crept across his lips.
Finding the Small Heaven and Earth Vitality Formation was as hard as plucking stars from the sky.
This was because the formation was one he had personally created by combining dozens of arrays handed down in the Zhuge family.
Even Zhuge Sin would have been confused about its location without prior knowledge.
Yet this uninvited guest had found it alone.
No, not only found it but plunged into the Small Heaven and Earth Vitality Formation without hesitation.
Entering this place alone proved either profound knowledge of formations or skill enough to read the reverse flow energy it produced.
But it was far too casual.
“Foolhardy? Or confident?”
Paegun half-closed his eyes.
Beneath his half-lidded gaze, the deep black pupils still fixed on the empty void.
“I wonder who it could be.”
* * *
“What madman made this thing?”
Cheonhwi, who had entered the formation without a second thought, wore an incredulous expression.
He could understand the landscape changing upon entry.
Formations with illusions naturally altered scenery and induced hallucinations.
But what he saw now was hard to comprehend.
Could this even be called a landscape?
Day and night, sun and moon, mountains and sea.
All coexisted.
The sun hung on the left, the moon on the right, and a vast sea flowed from towering mountains to the horizon.
And it all kept moving, circulating endlessly.
“What a mess.”
Cheonhwi shook his head.
The world was utterly jumbled.
But even more serious was that it wasn't just the scenery.
The energies of yin-yang and five elements emanated from all directions, constantly swapping places.
A circulation that was hard to call proper.
Yet not distinctly definable as something else—a unique method.
As Cheonhwi looked around, he unwittingly let out a hollow laugh at the water, earth, and clouds flowing regally beneath his feet.
“But seriously, what was the point of making such a ridiculous formation?”
There were limits to mental disturbance.
This rejected the world's principles, cycles, and natural order entirely.
“Not like they're trying to become the Heavenly Demon.”
Cheonhwi muttered in disbelief, then suddenly thought it sounded plausible.
The Heavenly Demon was a being that defied heaven.
A divine absolute who rejected worldly principles and stood transcendent above them.
And this formation achieved such defiance, so it seemed similar at a glance.
Though only within this space.
“But the guy here called Paegun is peculiar too. Setting up such a bizarre formation on purpose. Trying to mess with anyone who enters?”
Cheonhwi quickly scanned his surroundings.
The more he examined, the funnier the formation seemed.
There were no dangerous energies or death gates amid the chaotic scenery.
Just scattered life gates that led one to wander endlessly, and even those posed no mortal threat.
Even if someone stumbled in by mistake, they wouldn't die—just wander until fainting and be expelled from the formation.
“Doesn't match the reputation.”
The intent wasn't entirely clear.
But it was evident that Paegun disliked outsiders entering, alongside any killing intent.
“I'll find out when I meet him.”
Cheonhwi muttered nonchalantly and immediately spread his senses.
A thick plum blossom fragrance emanated from his entire body, spreading bit by bit into every corner of this indefinable world.
Soon, Cheonhwi detected dozens, nearing hundreds, of life gates.
“Too many.”
His brows furrowed upon sensing them.
All but one led back outside.
Too many to check one by one.
“I was trying to find a life gate to meet quietly, but at this rate, it'll be morning before I do.”
Cheonhwi immediately drew his sword.
The revealed White Lotus Sword reflected sunlight and moonlight, emitting a strange glow.
“Really annoying.”
Grumbling, Cheonhwi raised his sword.
The straight sword tip aligned with the end of his gaze, emitting crimson light.
Soon, the crimson light slashed.
No sound of cutting wind.
Just as the red trail stretched long, they began multiplying one by one.
Suddenly, the jumbled landscape was dragged along the trails and shook violently.
Trails scarred across the scenery horizontally.
So fast it was hard to follow with the eyes—the swung trails continued multiplying at even greater speeds.
A single sword strike.
But infused with hundreds of variations, unleashing tremendous power.
Truly astonishing speed sword and variant sword.
Before long, the web-like trails filled the formation densely, forcibly halting even the moving landscape.
Due to the trails' excessive speed.
Thus, amid the frozen time, Cheonhwi, who had been swinging his sword, abruptly stopped.
Right then.
Crack!
The empty space warped, and soon the surrounding landscape shattered.
Clang!
Like bronze mirrors breaking, the sound echoed as the night sky revealed itself through the crumbling scenery.
Faint moonlight and countless stars.
Cheonhwi, now out of the formation's illusion, slowly surveyed his surroundings.
“Surprisingly simple inside.”
As he muttered at the bare land save for the vegetable garden and thatched hut...
“I put some effort into it, you know. Guess I need to tend the garden more.”
A low voice came.
An old man sat on the porch of the hut.
The white-haired elder, hair neatly tied up, held an old teacup in both hands, gazing at Cheonhwi.
'Well now?'
Cheonhwi's eyes flashed momentarily.
Though staring straight at the old man, he felt nothing.
No aura, no presence.
At a glance, just an ordinary old man tending a modest garden.
But Cheonhwi knew.
No, instinctively sensed it.
The man before him was no mere mortal.
And proving it, a sharp glint flickered in the old man's narrow eyes.
Then the old man smiled softly.
“But you made quite the spectacle.”
The old man said, looking at the ruined vegetable garden.
Not just the garden.
The Small Heaven and Earth Vitality Formation was utterly smashed, looking irreparable.
“Heh, it was good for gardening, but now even that's impossible.”
The old man—Paegun—set down his teacup.
With a clink, his slightly hunched back slowly straightened.
“Who might you be?”
Paegun opened his narrow eyes and asked.
Cheonhwi replied nonchalantly.
“Cheonhwi.”
Surprise flickered in Paegun's pupils.
He hadn't expected an uninvited guest to answer so readily.
Then Cheonhwi spoke again.
“You're Paegun, right?”
“Heh, so you knew of me and came?”
“Wanted to see for myself. The so-called Eight Martial Gods.”
Suddenly, Paegun burst into laughter.
“The young one has quite the spirit.”
Paegun's lips stretched long and thin.
Thinner and narrower than the crescent moon overhead.
Then his mouth opened.
“Indeed. I am Paegun, Zhuge Gocheon.”
In an instant, the air grew heavy.
Not just the air.
Even the crescent moon and stars in the night sky dimmed under his pressure.
Everything blurred gradually.
Save for one: Paegun Zhuge Gocheon.
Lofty and majestic.
Cheonhwi grinned at Paegun, who revealed his absolute demeanor in a moment.
This smile was different from usual.
Filled with battle spirit...
Just like the one he wore in his previous life, dancing between life and death.
'So this is the level of the Eight Martial Gods? Worthy of the hype.'
The pressure Paegun exuded now wasn't intentional.
It naturally flowed from those who had surpassed the Heavenly Martial Realm into the Martial God Realm.
Then Paegun spoke.
“Now that you've seen me in person, what do you think?”
“Truly worthy of being called a Martial God.”
Cheonhwi said in an excited voice.
“Your martial realm already touches the heavens, fitting the name Martial God.”
Paegun stared piercingly at Cheonhwi.
At the same time, his chilling white eyes emerged from beneath his lids and moved.
After scrutinizing Cheonhwi for a while, Paegun tapped the spot beside him.
“This might take a while. Don't just stand there—come sit. I've prepared more tea.”
“Got any liquor instead of tea?”
“Liquor?”
The old man who asked back chuckled.
The sight of a robed youth asking for liquor reminded him of an old friend.
“You're quite the drinker too.”
Recalling his friend, the old man rose, lightly patting his waist.
“Then wait a moment. I should have some fruit wine I brewed long ago.”
As he watched the old man enter the room, Cheonhwi's entire body heated up.
Due to the boiling battle spirit.
“Strong. Incredibly so.”
A stimulus came to his recently bored life.
In his previous life, he had pursued only martial arts, earning the title Absolute Heavenly Demon and standing as the world's greatest.
But it was equally lonely.
With the world at his feet, no one stood beside or competed with him.
At the pinnacle, only he remained.
Thus, upon gaining this new life, he had secretly hoped.
'After three hundred long years, perhaps another peerless master.'
But that hope faded quickly.
None among the experts he met in the jianghu deserved the title peerless.
The White Four Gods and Jongnam Sword Saint were outstanding among them, but...
Even they didn't satisfy him.
But the old man before him now...
Paegun was different.
He had surpassed the Heavenly Martial Realm, challenging the realm beyond—the Martial God Realm.
A figure to quench his thirst.
In an instant, the brilliant smile on Cheonhwi's lips reached his ears.
“This is the jianghu I wanted.”