Clash of the Three Extremes
Two cultivators floated in the sky, so perfectly still that not a single fold of their robes fluttered, as if they were pinned to the heavens. Both appeared to be middle-aged human cultivators, one male and one female, and they seemed deeply accustomed to fighting side-by-side.
"Cultivator Jang, let us finish this quickly. If Cultivator Jeok performs worse than we anticipated, the board we so painstakingly set up might crumble."
"Haha, do not worry, Cultivator Ok. Even if he is only at the early stage of the Three Extremes, he is still a Three Extremes cultivator. He will buy us enough time."
They seemed close. At least close enough to trust each other with their backs.
Ah, we're screwed.
"Ugh. Dammit. I knew they'd have something up their sleeves, but to think they brought in rogue cultivators. Most of them should have been lured away by the offers of the great sects. You must have money rotting in your pockets."
The current situation was practically a disaster for the humans. Out of nowhere, almost the entire military force of Yagwi City, excluding the Lord himself, had launched an all-out war. The tides of war spared no one. No matter how confident a rogue cultivator was in their skills, they couldn't just wander around peacefully in a situation like this. Any human traveling alone, even a Three Extremes expert, was prime prey. The great sects, desperate for military power, had been sweeping them up.
"Tsk. I wonder what kind of bait this backwater offered to make two Three Extremes experts readily agree, when even a coalition of all the local sects can barely field two of them."
Elder Do, war hammer resting on his shoulder, unleashed his aura, a green light gleaming from within the armor that encased his entire body.
"Do you think I, of all people, cannot handle a mere two of you?!"
The Gang family. They were a great clan, far beyond the reach of the local sects whose combined forces could barely muster two Three Extremes experts. An elder produced by such a clan, where countless geniuses trained under superior cultivation methods passed down by ancestors and underwent systematic drills, was a force to be reckoned with. Having had his talent recognized since childhood and walking a guaranteed, secure path, he was like a veteran character in a game built purely for efficiency, without wasting a single stat point or skill on useless tricks.
"I was a bit short-handed, so this is perfect. Hayun, support me."
"Yes, sir."
As if to show his foundation was on a completely different level from theirs, the corners of Elder Do's mouth curled up.
"Very well. These monsters are so violent that even the children carrying the future of our sects seem in danger. We shall sever your heads and send them back."
"You truly hasten your own demise."
But looking at it another way, those floating in the sky were monsters who had reached the Three Extremes without any of that backing, ruling as local overlords. Their talent was beyond doubt. In fact, because they had monopolized and devoured all the resources of the surrounding regions, the sheer volume of wealth they had consumed must be astronomical.
"You, play with these for a bit."
The middle-aged man immediately flicked his sleeve, and a wooden puppet popped out. It was a bizarre wooden puppet from some uncanny valley, equipped with a saber, a sword, a spear, and a mace in its four hands.
A puppet.
One, two, three, ten... thirty-six. Thirty-six puppets scattered like the eyes of a formation, surrounding me and taking their stances.
"I shall add to it, just in case."
The middle-aged woman opened a golden birdcage, and two eagles cloaked in flames, which had been resting inside, soared out.
Spiritual beasts. Each at the Tong-un stage.
Yet, even this didn't seem enough for them. Seeing the Red Agate Bow in my right hand and the Golden Command Robe draped over my body, they exchanged a slightly uneasy look, nodded, and threw a massive jar.
Thud! Clatter, clatter! Screeech—!
The jar was wrapped tightly in talismans, sealed like a mummy, emitting an ominous, screeching noise from within. Soon, the talismans crumbled and turned to ash, and a pale, rotten, wood-like hand reached out from inside.
A jar gu. They melted down the bodies of hundreds of Core Condensation cultivators and possessed it with a vengeful spirit at the late Qi Circulation stage as a curse spirit. It seems to have aged for about three hundred years, so while it falls short of the Three Extremes, it is far beyond any ordinary Tong-un stage.
"Ugh." Elder Do's brow furrowed.
According to his long years of experience, he should run right now. Since the kid he thought would be of some help was completely tied down like this, it was only logical to retreat and plan for another day, but...
"You are going nowhere!"
The human cultivators clasped their hands together, activating a massive barrier that blanketed the fortress. Though it lacked the evil-expelling energy that was poison to monsters, the barrier covering the sky looked far too sturdy to break through in a single blow. It was as if it had been designed and engineered solely to keep things trapped inside.
"Checkmate, then."
In that case, there was no choice but to beat these bastards to death. The old Dokkaebi's eyes gleamed coldly.
Twang—! Squish!
The sound of a bowstring snapping, followed by a crisp, bursting sound that never disappointed. Once again, the Red Agate Bow gifted me a guaranteed hit and destruction, but it failed to deliver a kill.
"Gyaaaaargh...!"
The bizarre, fleshy monstrosity clutched its neck—where only its vocal cords barely dangled—and bubbled as its flesh rapidly regenerated. Was the head not its weak point? Normally, I would have had to learn the hard way by bashing my head against it to see if its weak point lay elsewhere or if there was some hidden trick. But I had my invincible Ryeo-aemon.
That is just how those things are. It seems it doesn't possess multiple lives due to the shoddy materials and short aging period, but its regenerative abilities are flawless.
"So?"
There are several ways to kill a jar gu—specifically, a Vengeful Corpse Demon. You can beat it to death repeatedly, pour enough firepower to vaporize every single part of its body, or crush the curse spirit inside to seize control of its vessel.
Maybe it was because we'd been together for so long, but I got the distinct impression that Ryeo-ah was licking her lips.
I shall handle that one. It will make quite a valuable sacrifice.
"Okay."
That made things easy.
"Kreeee!"
"Screeech!"
On the ground, thirty-six puppets formed a battle array, while two flame eagles circled in the sky. A joint attack by two Tong-un stage spiritual beasts and puppets whose combined effects were entirely unknown. It was clearly a trap meant to withstand a Three Extremes expert, let alone a mere Qi Circulation cultivator.
Twang—! Twang—!
My response was to fire two consecutive arrows, piercing the chests of both eagles. Instantly, the puppets charged at me.
"......"
Emotionless, dry, and thus capable of executing a perfect, highly efficient kill. Four weapons each. A total of 144 weapons rained down, densely packing the surrounding space. A technique that ground the opponent to pieces in an instant, as if they had fallen into the maw of a swirling vortex. It possessed more than enough power and technique to tear, grind, and shatter soft flesh and bones that were only slightly harder.
Screeech—!
But if something other than flesh intervened, they would find themselves in quite a bind. Three types of minerals sprouted from my body. Three strange, coarse, and brutally jagged crystal clusters that radiated an eerie, maddeningly gloomy aura. The attacks from their weapons—each one a Dharma treasure—merely left minor scratches and slid off, like claws scraping against a turtle's shell.
If a turtle took 144 scratches, it would surely flee into the water. But I was no turtle.
Clatter—
I could simply shed the damaged and cracked parts like old skin and sprout fresh rock in their place. And then, the counterattack.
Smash!
A downward strike. It was a simple motion of bringing my Dokkaebi club straight down, but the effect was instantaneous. The puppet at the very front was split open from head to chest before it could even think of defending, while the one behind it took less damage but was still instantly reduced to a tattered mess. This was the power of having three peaks resting on my back. The three peaks rising from my back didn't just add to my strength; they multiplied it, amplifying each other to expand my body and elevate my existence to a higher plane.
"You've gotten pretty useful too."
On top of that, the Dokkaebi club, which had recently gorged itself on slaughter and self-strengthened, was no joke. Just as Ryeo-ah had said—that it would eventually reach the level of a Dharma treasure if it kept growing—its performance had noticeably spiked.
"Screeech!"
"You guys were still alive?"
The pair of eagles gathered their feathers and spat spheres of fire. Instead of dodging, I trusted the power of the Golden Command Robe and charged straight ahead. Seizing the opening, the puppets thrust countless weapons from my flanks and rear like thorns, but they were still too dull to pierce my inner flesh.
Crunch!
A horizontal sweep this time. Sweeping from my shoulders—right where my wing joints began—up to their heads, the two eagles lost their flames and plummeted, headless, like raw chickens sold at a supermarket.
"Chicken dinner."
That was the price of flying fire-chickens daring to challenge a human. Ah, wait, I wasn't human anymore. Regardless, now that the two fire-chickens capable of breaching my defense were dead, the rest was easy. They were numerous, but none could pierce my defense. One by one, I systematically shattered their bodies with my club, reducing them to piles of wooden splinters that crumbled like crackers.
"Kriiiigh! Screeech! Urgh!"
The monster inside the jar was swiftly suppressed by Ryeo-ah.
"Brother Jang."
"Ugh. Sister Ok."
Anxiety flickered across the faces of the two who had been pressing Elder Do. Meanwhile, delight washed over Elder Do, whose shattered shoulder guards left his bare shoulders exposed.
"Hayun! Well done! If you help me slay these old monsters, not only I, but the entire clan will bestow a massive reward upon you!"
"Ah, yes, of course."
Should I run? Nah, that's a bit much, right? Even if I wanted to, there's no guarantee I could escape, and it's still too early.
Having finished my calculations, I wiped the dark look from my eyes and hoisted my club like a banner.
"You insidious invaders—no, human bastards! As a disciple and son of the Gang family, I shall violate you!"
"What?"
"My mistake. I meant punish you!"
Technically, we monsters were the invaders, and there wasn't a shred of justice in what I was doing, but who cared? If they didn't like it, they could just try and stop me.
"Brother Jang. I will kill that brat quickly and rejoin you."
"I leave it to you, Sister Ok."
After a brief hesitation, they decided to split up. Elder Do was clearly wounded from their pincer attack, but realizing this was his only chance, he pulled an elixir from his robes and swallowed it.
"Die!"
"You bastard! What did you just eat, you monster?!"
"An elixir made from grinding up your mother!"
"You son of a bitch!"
Do they really have to do this mid-fight? Or is it because they're mid-fight that they're doing this? The clash between the pillars of their sects, respected elders, and two Three Extremes experts was quite pathetic. Mostly because of the trash talk.
And then.
It's coming.
"Oh, shit."
As if she didn't even need to put on a mask of bravado to hide her vulgarity before me, a flying needle pierced straight through my shoulder in an instant, circling around me in a dizzying blur.
Is this... a needle? A thread? Okay, it's fast as hell, but if it's a needle, how the fuck am I supposed to dodge it if I can't even see it...
It's coming. The other shoulder this time.
"Ugh."
Whoosh—
Rather than being shot, it felt as if mist was flowing in the shape of a needle. It was incredibly stealthy, yet its speed was faster and more destructive than a tempest. If Ryeo-ah hadn't pointed it out in advance, my body would have been embroidered with holes several times over by now.
After I dodged the needle as it shot and vanished like a ghost a few times, the middle-aged woman rested her chin on her hand, looking intrigued.
"So it wasn't luck. It should have been impossible to react to... Were you born with special eyes? Once I kill you and that old monster, I'll have to pluck your eyes out and examine them closely."
Sister Ok's smooth fingers formed a hand seal. The hand seal blurred like an afterimage, and the needles scattered into an even hazier mist.
"I've increased them to three. Let's see if you can dodge this too."
I couldn't dodge it. A Three Extremes expert didn't earn their title by playing games. She was using power beyond my ability to handle, while still conserving the rest for her battle with Elder Do. In other words, without an unexpected variable, I was destined to be skewered by those needles. Even if I barely dodged one and blocked the rest with the power of the three peak crystals and the Golden Command Robe, one would inevitably pierce through.
Swish— Thwip—
I strictly guarded my head and the center of my body, but there was nothing I could do about the periphery as holes began to multiply one by one. Even when I seized brief openings to fire the Red Agate Bow, she blocked them effortlessly, proving that against a Three Extremes expert, such attacks were nothing more than basic strikes. To a Three Extremes cultivator, possessing a Dharma treasure was far too common to serve as a game-changing variable.
One by one, wounds were carved into my body. She kept going, as if determined to punch as many holes in me as the number of human hearts I had harvested.
"You're struggling quite well. Still, for a mere Qi Circulation cultivator, I wonder how much longer you can hold out."
After several waves of attacks, Hayun's body, covered in multi-colored armor, was drenched in a deep crimson, as if painted.
"Rejoice. You are the most extraordinary Qi Circulation cultivator I have ever laid eyes on. Had you been left alone, you would have surely reached the Three Extremes."
Every single strike was delivered with a Dharma treasure. Did that young Dokkaebi underestimate a Three Extremes expert who wielded their Dharma treasure like an extension of their own limbs, just because he had one too? If so, he might have talent, but he was foolishly naive.
"However, that is all. You, too, shall wither just as easily as those you have slain."
Sister Ok's needles merged into a single flying needle as thick as a finger, aiming straight for my forehead.
"Farewell."
"......"
"Give up. Even if you miraculously reached the Three Extremes, do you think you could match me? I am at the middle stage of the Three Extremes. Unless an attack on par with the Creation Realm suddenly flies at me..."
It was at that exact moment. From the center of the jar gu, an eyeball of an ominous hue flashed, staring down at Sister Ok.
"Unless... it flies... it is impossible..."
What is that? That is definitely not a jar gu. What on earth is inside that thing?
"Senior... who are you?"
Me? There is no need for you to know. Just as you said, you shall be bent and broken, no different from those you have slain.
"Sister Ok! Dodge!"
Vrrrrrr!
The ominous pupil dilated completely, and a blood-red beam of light erupted.