Echoes of a Shattered Battlefield
Even the spiritual energy of Heukgyodo, the nominal heart of his territory, was severely lacking. Back when he was still a Great Yao, he could manage well enough by borrowing the power of the grand formation, but now that he had reached the Yao King realm, he felt a suffocating tightness and a burning thirst. His spirit and flesh cried out to him, desperate for a denser, richer flow of spiritual energy.
I need a spiritual vein.
A grade-two vein would be ideal, but even a grade-one vein would do. Once Jekyeong resolved to obtain a spiritual vein, he began weighing his options.
The first was the grade-two spiritual vein held by the Jansu Whale King. Since he couldn't very well march into the Gakchung Clan's headquarters and pick a fight with the Insect Mother, the vein at the Whale King Palace was realistically the only grade-two spiritual vein within his reach. But the Jansu Whale King would never willingly share such a precious resource. If Jekyeong wanted it, he would have to fight for it.
However, the Jansu Whale King was a mid-stage Yao King, possessing a depth of power that Jekyeong, who had only just ascended to the Yao King realm, could not fathom. A battle without a guaranteed victory was a gamble with his life, and unless he had absolutely no other choice, Jekyeong had no desire to make such a wager.
The remaining options are the former site of the Court of Demons, or a spiritual vein in another cultivation region like Jimagwon.
Between the two, Jekyeong found himself leaning toward the former. First, the former was much closer than the latter, making it far easier to relocate his foundation from the Heukgyo Water Territory. Second, his calculations warned him that leaving the Yangseo Lake cultivation world to establish himself independently elsewhere could leave him highly vulnerable. By remaining in the Yangseo Lake demon territory, he could keep himself under the broad umbrella of the Yangseo Lake Yokai, securing a more stable position to face external threats. Furthermore, the Yangseo Lake cultivation world had recently suffered several major catastrophes, depleting its vitality. This meant he could likely enjoy a quiet, safe period of peace for the foreseeable future.
Looking at it this way, staying in Yangseo Lake was clearly the superior choice.
I should go confirm it first.
Of course, this was all predicated on the assumption that the Court of Demons' spiritual vein was still intact, and that he could safely claim it.
The moment his mind was made up, Jekyeong set off for the Seongya Archipelago—the former site of the Court of Demons, now reduced to a hazardous zone. As he drew closer to his destination, Jekyeong sensed that something was amiss. Despite it being midday, the sky was as dark as night, illuminated only by silent flashes of light in the void. A chilling wind, far colder than mere words could describe, swept through the area. In this horribly altered ruin of the Court of Demons, Jekyeong felt an indescribable sense of dissonance and dread.
The spiritual energy... isn't bad.
He was currently at the outer edge of the spiritual vein. Even so, the ambient spiritual energy here was not much weaker than what he had felt at the heart of the Heavenly Fire Sect's vein. Even considering that the Heavenly Fire Sect's vein had been partially drained by vein-extraction techniques at the time, this level of energy was still highly impressive.
Jekyeong knew that the Court of Demons' spiritual vein was artificial rather than natural. He had heard that the Heumwon clan had invested heavily to construct this vein, and seeing it in person confirmed those rumors.
At this rate... it might actually be viable.
The environment here was certainly hazardous, but it wasn't completely impassable. To put it simply, while it was undoubtedly dangerous terrain, calling it a forbidden zone felt like a bit of an exaggeration. Of course, it was too early to draw any definitive conclusions. Since he was still on the periphery, he would need to venture to the very center of the spiritual vein to make a proper assessment.
Jekyeong spread his divine sense as far as it would go and cautiously moved forward.
As he penetrated deeper toward the center of the spiritual vein, his vision began to blur. His eyes, capable of piercing the deepest darkness of night, failed him here. Had it not been for his divine sense, which had grown significantly stronger upon his breakthrough to the Yao King realm, he wouldn't have been able to pierce even the dense mist surrounding him.
How strange.
When he was on the outskirts, it had been nothing more than a faint sensation. But the deeper he went, the stronger a mysterious, spine-chilling dread became. The premonitions of a cultivator—especially a Core Formation cultivator—could practically be considered a form of foresight. However, such foresight rarely manifested, and even when it did, it often vanished like a passing illusion. Thus, only a tiny fraction of Core Formation cultivators could truly benefit from these premonitions.
And right now, Jekyeong had a premonition. An unknown threat lurked within these depths. This realization put Jekyeong on extreme alert.
After ascending to the Yao King realm and evolving into a true Gyoryong, Jekyeong had started to believe that while he might not be the protagonist of this world, he had at least risen to the level of a major supporting character. Had he not even shaken off the shadow of the Malevolent God? Even when he openly invaded human territory and obliterated an entire island, the human Golden Core cultivators had only tried to negotiate with him from a position of submission. All of this had bolstered his confidence. While he wasn't entirely fearless, he had reached a level where he could pursue his desires without constant worry.
Yet now, he was abruptly reminded of humility and caution. He even found himself contemplating whether he should retract his decision to prioritize the Seongya Archipelago's spiritual vein.
No, I've already come this far...
The hesitation was only fleeting. Though the intensifying dread was irritating, it was merely an annoyance, not true fear. And whatever threat lurked inside had only piqued his vigilance; it was not enough to make him feel afraid.
Jekyeong stopped flying, descended, and submerged half of his massive body into the water. He no longer felt any awkwardness while flying and could levitate as naturally as breathing, but he still found the water far more comfortable than the open air. It was somewhat amusing that a Gyoryong who had literally forged a Fire Dragon Pearl felt more at ease underwater, but reality was what it was. If the danger lurking within proved greater than he anticipated, Jekyeong fully intended to flee to the deepest depths of Yangseo Lake without a single backward glance.
Boom! Boom, boom!
As Jekyeong cautiously pressed onward, a thunderous racket echoed from somewhere. Yet, Jekyeong could neither discern the cause of the noise nor pinpoint its origin. In that instant, Jekyeong realized something was wrong with his divine sense. Either that, or the thunderous roar was no ordinary sound.
It was then.
Crash!
Without warning, a bolt of lightning struck down directly toward his head. Sensing the danger, Jekyeong reflexively lashed out with his Flame King Whip to deflect the strike. However, like a snake lunging at its prey, the lightning slithered past the trajectory of the whip and struck him anyway. A sudden numbness surged from the tip of his horn to the end of his tail, but his body did not freeze entirely. He threw his jaws wide toward the sky, and from his gaping maw, a massive pillar of fire erupted. It was aimed precisely in the direction from which the lightning had descended.
Roaaar!
The fog dissipated, and the darkness receded. The crimson pillar of fire swallowed everything in its vicinity in an instant, its immense heat throwing the chaotic spiritual energy of heaven and earth into disarray. As the flames soared high enough to pierce the heavens, embers and tongues of fire scattered in all directions. Amidst the chaos, Jekyeong’s physical eyes finally beheld what had been concealed behind the mist.
It was a giant whose feet trod the earth while its head touched the heavens, and a monstrous demon bird that shattered mountains and conjured typhoons with a single flap of its wings. Jekyeong recognized their identities at a glance. The giant was a Dharma Image, and the demon bird was a Yao King.
A human Golden Core... and So-byeok-ik-wang.
They were locked in a fierce battle high up in the unfathomable sky. The strike Jekyeong had just taken was merely a stray strand of Dharma Power deflected from their clash. However...
They are illusions.
Incredible as it seemed, they were phantoms. Had they been a real Golden Core cultivator and a real Yao King, this entire area would have been reduced to dust long ago. Moreover, that single stray strand of Dharma Power would not have been so weak. Therefore, these were not the actual Golden Core cultivator and Yao King. Strictly speaking, they were mere illusions, phantasms. Yet, the sheer pressure, the vividness, and the intensity of the clash proved that this was no ordinary illusion.
Jekyeong deduced that this was a reenactment of a battle that had actually taken place here—a lingering memory etched into the environment. Though he couldn't tell whose memory it was, it undoubtedly belonged to one of the participants. It could belong to the human Golden Core cultivator, to So-byeok-ik-wang, or perhaps... to someone else entirely.
Crash!
A colossal, giant-shaped Dharma Image collapsed, sending massive plumes of water spraying into the air. Annoyed, Jekyeong spat out a burst of Yokai Fire, sweeping away the falling Dharma Image and the phantoms beyond it in a single stroke. However, his Yokai Fire—which possessed enough power to incinerate an entire island—only temporarily disrupted the massive phantoms blanketing the sky; it could not erase them completely. When the Yokai Fire finally died down, the phantoms seemed slightly fainter, but that was all. Jekyeong frowned as he realized this. He could not comprehend how these phantoms had been created, nor why they refused to dissipate. An ominous feeling grew steadily stronger within him.
Only after repeatedly confirming that the phantoms paid him absolutely no mind—focusing solely on tearing into each other—and that their stray attacks posed no real threat to him, did Jekyeong resume his slow advance. The further he went, the more sights unfolded before him. They were all phantoms. Though they varied in size and strength, they were fundamentally no different from the first illusion he had encountered.
"Hold them back!"
He saw a massive Yao King with three pairs of giant wings spread wide, battering the Island Protecting Grand Array of the Seongya Archipelago. He saw Golden Core cultivators appearing out of nowhere to stand against him, and he saw the Yao Kings of the Heumwon clan joining forces with the human Golden Core cultivators to fiercely corner the blood-drenched Winged King. If one only looked this far, the battle seemed to be tilting toward the defeat of the Yao King, So-byeok-ik-wang. Yet Jekyeong was certain that things could not have ended so simply. If So-byeok-ik-wang had been so one-sidedly overwhelmed and defeated, why would the Seongya Archipelago be in this ruined state now, and why would the humans have retreated so deeply?
But... something truly extraordinary must have happened here. Everything in this place is proof of that.
Jekyeong heightened his vigilance even further as he pressed toward the heart of the spiritual vein. The concentration of spiritual energy where he now stood was already denser than that of the Heavenly Fire Sect's damaged vein. It was easily comparable to an intact, average grade-one spiritual vein. And this was precisely what puzzled Jekyeong. By his estimation, there was still a considerable distance left to the center of the vein. If spiritual energy was already overflowing like this out here, what would the center be like? What on earth was going on? Was the Court of Demons' artificial grade-one spiritual vein really this exceptional? Could the Heumwon clan have truly poured their entire fortune into constructing this vein?
As his thoughts grew increasingly tangled, Jekyeong eventually began to pass through the phantoms with indifference. Once he realized that the occasional stray attacks were weak enough for him to take head-on without issue, he stopped reacting as violently as he had at first.
"Hahahahaha!"
A booming laugh reverberated through the air. The sheer madness laced within that boisterous laughter momentarily rattled Jekyeong's mind. Involuntarily raising his head, Jekyeong beheld So-byeok-ik-wang, draped in a shimmering darkness like a cloak. The darkness did not merely cover him; it was actively consuming portions of his physical body. Yet, So-byeok-ik-wang laughed with absolute, roaring satisfaction, as if utterly delighted by it. Jekyeong stared at the grotesque sight and the fractured, shattered void surrounding the Winged King. The darkness consuming So-byeok-ik-wang was spilling directly out of those very Void Rifts.
Jekyeong etched this scene deep into his mind and heart. Even though it was a mere phantom, he felt an indescribable sensation from the sight.
"You! Traitor! Do you not fear the retribution of the Heavenly Dao?!"
Passing through the battlefield echoing with mad laughter, a sharp, piercing cry stabbed through the air. Jekyeong looked up to see a mysterious entity adorned with crown-like horns confronting So-byeok-ik-wang head-on.
The Gakchung Clan. Is that the Insect Mother?
Enveloped in brilliant lightning, her presence was barely inferior to So-byeok-ik-wang's. There could not possibly be two such entities in Yangseo Lake. The moment he confirmed the Insect Mother's phantom, Jekyeong could finally piece together the full picture of what had transpired here. So-byeok-ik-wang had come here to wipe out the remnants of the Heumwon clan, and the Gakchung Clan and the humans had allied with the Heumwon clan to face him.
So-byeok-ik-wang... Senior So-byeok. Truly incredible.
It was no wonder the Core Formation seniors of Bulmangwon had been so wary of Senior So-byeok. Setting everything else aside, his sheer strength alone was a testament to his extraordinary nature.
"Betrayal? What betrayal? How utterly laughable. How can there be betrayal when trust never existed between us in the first place? And even if I did betray you, those are not words for you to utter. You are nothing but a mere slave."
With So-byeok-ik-wang's mad roar, the Void Rifts multiplied rapidly. The countless fractures began to merge, expanding into a single, colossal rift.