Rifts in the Void
"Well, fine. This isn't so bad either." So-byeok-ik-wang spread his three pairs of wings wide and soared high into the sky. Simultaneously, a black rain began to fall from the heavens. The tense Core Formation cultivators immediately activated their respective defensive arts, bracing themselves for the impending danger.
"Fellow Daoist So-byeok! Do you truly intend to take this to the very end?!" The only one who did not react defensively was the Insect Mother, who had maintained an expressionless facade. She glared up at So-byeok-ik-wang, who had ascended to a dizzying height in an instant, and bellowed.
"The end? Do you even know what the end truly means? Every word that spouts from your mouth is nothing but a joke to me!" A violent flap of his wings whipped up a tempest, and the black rain fell even harder. But this black rain was not water—they were thin rifts. Countless void rifts flickered in and out of existence in the air, looking like flesh repeatedly tearing open and stitching itself back together.
"Enough!" A spark of rage finally flared in the Insect Mother's ice-cold eyes. With a flick of her hand, a blade-like wave of dharma power surged toward So-byeok-ik-wang. The razor-sharp wave managed to pierce the shroud of darkness surrounding him, but that was its limit.
"How foolish. Have you learned nothing after suffering so much?"
"It is merely a habit." Retorting coldly to So-byeok-ik-wang's mockery, the Insect Mother's figure blurred. In the next instant, she materialized directly in front of the black mist. She no longer maintained her human form. Two pairs of wings sprouted from her back, a thick carapace encased her entire body, and horns of various sizes rose from her head like a massive crown.
"Disperse!" There was absolute authority in the Insect Mother's shout. Though she did not consciously infuse it with dharma power, the moment the command left her lips, a strange force carried it forward. This force swept away a portion of the dark shroud, revealing So-byeok-ik-wang's colossal true form that had been hidden within.
"Slave of the Heavenly Dao. What do you propose to do now?" Stripping away the dark shroud was akin to peeling off armor and exposing bare flesh. Any attack received in this state would strike his physical body directly. But what of it? So-byeok-ik-wang remained utterly unperturbed. Mocking the Insect Mother, he continued to tear wounds into this small world. It was a blatant display of disregard and sheer contempt.
"You bastard!" This time, even the Insect Mother could not hold back. As the leader of the Gakchung Clan and the pinnacle of the Yangseo Lake cultivation world, she bore a heavy burden. And those who carry heavy burdens naturally walk with heavy steps. However, that did not mean she lacked pride. On the contrary, she was prouder and more arrogant than anyone else.
Those who stand at the peak are destined to shoulder the heaviest loads first. Furthermore, the burden she carried was the very fate of an entire cultivation world. It was a task impossible to bear without an unyielding sense of responsibility. And often, this sense of responsibility stemmed from the supreme arrogance of believing only I can do this. So-byeok-ik-wang saw right through this, which was why he mocked her from the bottom of his heart. A mere horned insect trying to hold up the heavens? At this point, it wasn't just arrogance; it was sheer delusion.
Crack! Purple lightning erupted from the Insect Mother's horns, striking his true form and sending a numbing pain coursing through his entire body. No matter how much he looked down on her as an insect, she was still a late-stage Core Formation cultivator. The power born from her cultivation was not something even he could easily ignore. Moreover... this lightning carried a faint trace of the Heavenly Dao's authority.
Is she a highly favored slave? Or is she simply growing desperate? The Heavenly Dao possessed no emotions, but it maintained rules. And rules were always accompanied by enforcement. Thus, it was not surprising that this foolish insect could borrow the majesty of the heavens at this critical moment.
"Hehe! It is still useless." To him, the sky of such a tiny world was nothing. So-byeok-ik-wang endured the Insect Mother's attacks with his bare body, forcing down an even heavier torrent of black rain.
"We must stop him!" His intentions were clear. Not only the Insect Mother but the other cultivators as well unleashed their full power to attack So-byeok-ik-wang. However, the shroud of darkness, which they thought had been completely dispelled, constantly attempted to cover him again, forcing the Insect Mother to repeatedly expend her strength to tear it away.
"Cough!" No matter how powerful of a Demon King he was, he could not emerge unscathed from a coordinated assault by eleven Core Formation cultivators. So-byeok-ik-wang was quickly battered and bruised, coughing up blood as his once-mighty aura fluctuated precariously.
"You madman! Even after being pushed to this state, you still refuse to give up?!"
"This state? What of this state?" So-byeok-ik-wang cut a wretched figure as he sneered. Two of his three pairs of wings were broken and dangling uselessly, his long, mystical feathers were mostly scorched and torn away, and blood leaked continuously from his beak.
Boom! A blue light slammed into his head, which was laughing as if weeping, while hundreds of hideous masks latched onto his body, letting out eerie, ghostly shrieks. The attacking Core Formation cultivators could feel So-byeok-ik-wang's aura steadily waning. At this rate, they would be able to deliver the killing blow. Seon-yu, the patriarch of the Heumwon clan, rejoiced inwardly, yet he still frowned at the writhing shroud of darkness that refused to dissipate.
"How incredibly persistent. The Demon God Mingshe truly dotes on you!"
"Hehe. Of course. And I have you all to thank for this favor." The staggering So-byeok-ik-wang suddenly opened his maw wide and spat out a five-colored radiance. As the light sliced through the air, the unhealed void rifts tore open even wider, conjuring a bizarre wind. It was a sinister, chilling gale that felt as though it would freeze one's soul solid upon the slightest contact.
The Core Formation cultivators retreated in unison. They glared at So-byeok-ik-wang, who was swaying as if about to plummet to the ground, their vigilance reaching its absolute peak.
"Ah... You lot truly strike with a heavy hand." So-byeok-ik-wang's half-closed eyes fluttered open slightly. "I really... can't hold out much longer." He let out a long, heavy sigh.
Crack! Crackle! No sooner had his long sigh escaped than a series of sharp, rupturing sounds echoed from the countless rifts in the void, and a faint purple light began to leak out. The light stained and twisted the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
"No! Stop him!" the Insect Mother shrieked, throwing herself forward. But this time, So-byeok-ik-wang did not stand idly by. Despite his battered body, he intercepted her in an instant, swinging his tattered wings to send her flying.
Crash! The Insect Mother was blown back by the impact of So-byeok-ik-wang's wings, tumbling through the air as she absorbed several successive shockwaves.
"Since you've all had your fun, it's only fair that you yield to me now." So-byeok-ik-wang steadied himself and flashed a chilling smile, scanning the Insect Mother as she rushed him once more, along with the Core Formation cultivators who had already closed in.
The natural disasters that had raged for days finally came to an end. Cheongo, who had been flying around anxiously and squawking incessantly, had also quieted down at last. The violent earthquakes, torrential downpours, and earth-shattering rumbles that had occurred without warning were more than enough to drive anyone to the brink of a nervous breakdown. Even Jekyeong felt mentally exhausted. However, his fatigue did not stem from the tremors or the noise, but rather from the violent fluctuations in the world's spiritual energy.
Truly terrifying. It felt as though the very spiritual energy of heaven and earth was trembling and screaming in terror. Of course, spiritual energy was not a living thing, so that was impossible. It was simply that the collision of such immense forces had disrupted its natural flow, much like how a whale thrashing in the ocean would churn the water. Jekyeong understood this, and it gave him a renewed appreciation for the sheer power of Core Formation cultivators.
How did it end? Had 'Senior So-byeok' truly wiped out the Heumwon clan? Had the Simjeon Demon King, Mu-ara, succeeded in switching sides? Jekyeong was curious, but he didn't dare investigate. He couldn't trust his subordinates to do it, and going himself risked making him the cat killed by curiosity.
Although he hadn't panicked like Cheongo, the chaos of the past few days had instilled a sense of humility and caution in Jekyeong. Rejecting Jang Yeong's proposal to ally with the Simjeon Demon King had undoubtedly been the right choice. Had he foolishly jumped into that storm, he doubted he would have even kept his life.
"Is the formation holding up?"
"Yes, Master. I checked it two, three times just to be absolutely sure, and found no issues whatsoever." Though a scrap of cloth meant nothing in front of a razor-sharp blade, wearing something still offered a modicum of comfort. Similarly, while the island-protecting grand formation of Heukgyodo would be utterly useless against the might of Core Formation cultivators, the mere sight of its glowing barrier brought Jekyeong a small measure of peace.
"My Lord, should we send a few of our cleverer subordinates to scout the situation in the Seongya Archipelago?"
"No, there is no need." Traveling from the Heukgyo Water Territory to the Seongya Archipelago was a chore in itself, and even if they made it, it was highly doubtful they could gather any useful intelligence. Jekyeong had no desire to throw away his few capable underlings on a useless errand.
"I will personally patrol the water territory for a while. In the meantime, guard the island in my stead."
"Yes, My Lord. Leave it to me." Jekyeong departed the island immediately. He had originally intended to patrol alone, but this time, Cheongo uncharacteristically tagged along, spinning a transparent lie about how staying on the island was too boring.
He's absolutely terrified. Despite being a Great Demon, this fellow was steadily losing any semblance of one. There was not a trace of wildness left in him; instead, his obsession with shiny things and his petty cunning seemed to grow by the day.
"There's a fight up ahead!" Still, having Cheongo along for the patrol wasn't entirely bad. He helped stave off boredom, and as he was doing now, he could scout ahead beyond the reach of Jekyeong's Divine Sense and report back, making things much easier to handle.
"Is it a Great Demon?"
"One of them is, but the other is different. It's much more violent."
"A vicious beast, then."
"Yeah, probably." The battle between the Core Formation cultivators in the Seongya Archipelago had likely sent shockwaves throughout the entirety of Yangseo Lake. Jekyeong had felt the unease himself, so he knew other Great Demons would be no exception, which was precisely why he had set out on patrol. But now, it seemed the ones he truly needed to worry about were not the Great Demons.
Vicious beasts. Yes. Those mindless brutes would have been affected even more severely. Jekyeong moved swiftly in the direction Cheongo had indicated. By the time he arrived, the fight was already over. A hideous water ape was greedily devouring blood-soaked flesh. The moment Jekyeong spotted the creature, he lunged forward and swallowed the struggling beast whole.
"Screeech!" With a few surges of his Origin Earth Fire, he roasted the thrashing beast inside his mouth, chewed a few times, and that was that.
"I'm hungry too!"
"Eat this, then." Jekyeong pointed toward the chunks of meat floating on the water's surface for Cheongo, who was gulping down saliva at the smell of roasted flesh. Though it looked grotesque, it was still the freshly torn flesh of a Great Demon, so even the picky Cheongo fished them out and ate them one by one without complaint.