Chapter 349: Ascension to Immortality (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 349: Ascension to Immortality (5)
To defend Great King Jingwang’s honor, one could say he didn’t exactly flee of his own free will.
Of course, he wanted to run, but the heavy responsibility of being one of the Ten Kings of Hell held his legs in place, and the pride of not wanting to look pathetic in front of his subordinates gave him the strength to endure.
The problem arose the moment he used his divine abilities to summon the Heavenly Army; the flare was immediately detected by another Great King.
While Kang So-hyun’s friends were battling the army of the 1st Hell…
Great King Chogang, the ruler of the 2nd Hell, had come to meet him.
“…Are you out of your mind, you crazy bastard?! Why on earth did you call the Heavenly Army?! Can you even handle the fallout? If the 2nd Hell takes any damage because of this, you’re dead!”
“Hey, watch your mouth! What will happen to our image if the kids hear you talking like that?!”
“Watch my mouth?! You want me to show you what ‘reckless speech’ really looks like?! Even if you ignored everyone else, you should have consulted me! If the dangerous ones among the Heavenly Army show up, do you think you’re the only one with a problem?! What did I do to deserve this?!”
In truth, Jingwang understood Chogang’s perspective to some extent.
If their positions were reversed, he would have been the one berating Chogang.
Calling the Heavenly Army just because of a few intruders did seem like overkill.
“Listen, you lunatic! They said there’s an Earthly Immortal among the intruders! What was I supposed to do?!”
“…Huh? An Earthly Immortal?”
To reiterate, an Earthly Immortal represents the highest rank among immortals, second only to the Celestial Immortals.
From the perspective of those who were essentially bureaucrats rather than frontline combatants, an Earthly Immortal was a terrifying opponent to face.
At the mention of an Earthly Immortal, Chogang almost sympathized with Jingwang’s plight, but he quickly realized something was off.
“…‘They said’? You’re talking like you didn’t see them yourself.”
“I did fight the intruders with my Sword Control Technique, but…”
“But what?”
“That supposed Earthly Immortal didn’t step forward. Some young woman Taoist stepped up instead, so I couldn’t gauge his skill.”
“Oh, brilliant! Just brilliant, you moron! Then it could have just been those Distinguished Guests getting scared and exaggerating! What if the Heavenly Army arrives and—tada!—it turns out they were just petty criminals? What then?!”
“Dammit! That’s why I was going to go see for myself, but you’re the one dragging me away! Why are you even taking me with you?!”
“…I thought the Heavenly Army would turn the 1st Hell into a battlefield, so I came to save you. Fine, if you’re so unhappy about it, go back.”
“Well, let’s not be hasty.”
Steeling one’s resolve is a one-time thing. If someone interferes after that resolve is made, shouldn’t the interferer take responsibility?
“For now, I’ve hidden the entrance to the 2nd Hell, so they shouldn’t be able to track us, right?”
“Of course. I hid it with a Magic Treasure of Hell. No matter how great an Earthly Immortal is, what can they do against a treasure they’ve never seen before?”
“It feels wrong to say this, but let’s just pray the battle between them and the Heavenly Army ends within the 1st Hell.”
“…Yeah. It can’t be helped. We have to minimize the damage.”
One man shed tears thinking of the damage the 1st Hell would sustain, while the other trembled in fear. However, they were both laboring under a massive delusion.
The opponent they were fleeing from was not an Earthly Immortal, nor was he someone who could be stopped by a mere Magic Treasure of Hell.
But as they fled, there was no way for them to know that.
* * *
“They’ve definitely all fled. Unless the artifacts are malfunctioning because this is Hell, there’s no one left in the palace.”
— Artifacts don’t malfunction just because it’s Hell. Ultimately, the Magic Treasures used here are the same as what you call artifacts.
With Sun Wukong’s confirmation, it was certain.
We had searched the entire palace, and with Baek Seol’s help, we even used detection-type artifacts. Not even an ant was in sight, let alone a person.
It seemed that fellow called Great King Jingwang had indeed run off somewhere.
— I can guess what kind of misunderstanding he had, but what a pathetic wretch. How can a King of Hell think of running away just because he’s scared of intruders? Even if he loses, he should have the resolve to fight.
“You said you planned to meet the person in charge here. What now?”
“Indeed. What does our junior intend to do?”
Ga-eul and Baek Seol asked, but this wasn’t something I could answer immediately.
The person with the answer wasn’t me, but someone else.
— Well, it can’t be helped. I wanted to take the easy way, but we’ll have to take the regular route to the 2nd Hell. Tell everyone to stay sharp. Since we’re taking the regular route, the 1st Hell will seem like a playground compared to what’s coming.
The group’s tension had clearly slackened, likely because we had passed through the 1st Hell so easily despite its reputation.
“Um, I wanted to take a shortcut, but it looks like we have to go the long way. The 2nd Hell is much more vicious than the 1st, so everyone, stay alert and get ready.”
Well, even if they had relaxed, these were people who would sharpen back into blades with a single word, so it wasn’t a problem.
— The 2nd Hell is commonly known as the Boiling Hell. It’s a place filled with lava, acid, and the toxic gases they produce. You can’t survive there just by reinforcing your physical body like you did in the 1st Hell.
‘Then what should we do? There’s a limit to purification artifacts and divine power.’
— Well, normally it’s a place for the dead, so it only needs to inflict pain; living beings aren’t usually considered. You’d need to constantly reinforce your body with mana and build up a resistance to poison. But actually, that’s not a big problem.
‘Huh? Why not?’
— It’s that idiot’s fault for leaving his palace empty. We’ll just take some of the elixirs Jingwang has hidden away. Even if we can’t reach the level of being immune to all poisons, we can raise your resistance enough to make it manageable when combined with mana reinforcement.
‘…How are we going to take hidden elixirs?’
I thought it was a perfectly natural question, but for some reason, Sun Wukong was silent for a long time.
Her reaction felt like she was dumbfounded. I wondered why, but I understood as soon as she replied.
— Sometimes I feel like you still don’t quite realize who I am.
‘Pardon?’
— I am Sun Wukong.
…Ah.
— No matter how much Jingwang improves, a bureaucrat who doesn’t even roam the battlefields is still just a bureaucrat. Do you really think his Magic Treasures or formations would work on me?
‘That’s true.’
— If you understand, hurry up and activate Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils. We have to find the entrance to the 2nd Hell and pack the elixirs, so we’re going to be busy.
‘Yes, sir.’
Following Sun Wukong’s instructions, I activated Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils and soon found a space that differed from what was visible to the naked eye.
“So, what’s the plan, So-hyun?”
When I remained silent, Ha-ni asked, looking worried. This time, I could answer with a smile.
“First…”
“…First?”
“We raid it.”
“…Raid what?”
“The treasure storehouse.”
When I pointed out the spatial distortion to my Master, she swung her sword without hesitation. The scenery melted away, revealing a door with several large padlocks.
“Oh, I wondered why you were so quiet. You were looking for this?”
“I assume that’s why you were silent, Junior? I’d be a bit hurt if you were playing favorites between me and Cadet Ha-ni.”
“If it were just the Senior, maybe, but Ga-eul asked too. Of course not.”
“My, how prickly. So, how are you going to open that massive door?”
…Good question. How do I open it?
— Open it with Ruyi.
‘You want me to break it?’
— If it were a Magic Treasure, you’d have to, but those are just big padlocks. Just command Ruyi to open them. Don’t use too much life force.
“Open them, Ruyi.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant, but once I gave the command, I understood.
Ruyi seeped into each keyhole. After a moment of clicking and clacking, the large locks opened and fell to the ground one by one.
…Wow. Now that I think about it, being able to change shape freely means it can be used to pick locks.
It’s an auto-lockpick.
“…Seriously, every time I see that Ruyi Jingu Bang, it feels like a cheat code.”
Ha-ni spoke as if she were exasperated, but her face was full of anticipation.
— Now then, shall we see what kind of precious things our dear Jingwang has hoarded away?
‘…You’re not planning to take everything, are you?’
— Of course not. I have no intention of making an enemy of Hell. Let’s just take exactly what we need.
‘That’s a relief.’
— Though, to make the kids sturdy enough, we might need to use quite a lot! Who told him to abandon his palace and run away?
…I knew it.
— If he had stayed put, we would have moved on quickly. I’d say this is partly Jingwang’s fault for running away and forcing us to go through the 2nd Hell.
Hmm, hearing him say it, it actually sounds somewhat reasonable.
Everyone was looking at the treasures, secretly waiting for my permission. They seemed worried about causing trouble, but honestly, my mind was already made up.
He said it might be dangerous if we don’t use the medicine here.
“Let’s loot it!”
“Wooooooh!!!!”
It wasn’t a pleasant robbery… it was farming time.
With Sun Wukong’s help, everyone consumed a combination of elixirs tailored for maximum efficacy. Afterward, we were able to find the door to the 2nd Hell, which had been hidden by an artifact.
“Amazing. So-hyun, how do you know all this?”
Cathy Noona had been watching with wonder since I started mixing and combining the elixirs. Finally unable to contain her curiosity, she asked. Most of the others, however, looked indifferent, as if this were nothing special.
“Cathy, it’s not like this is the first or second time Kang So-hyun has done something like this. Why are you so surprised?”
Our Little Witch Professor, in particular, snorted, implying she wouldn’t be surprised even if I made soy milk out of red beans.
“It’s because it’s not the first or second time that it’s amazing. Anyone can do it once or twice, but So-hyun shows a different talent every single day.”
“It’s not exactly my own talent. It’s just that there’s someone next to me telling me what to do.”
“Who?”
“Sun Wukong, the strongest being in the world.”
“…Um, I see?”
She clearly didn’t believe me.
I was telling the absolute truth without a hint of a lie, so why wouldn’t she believe me?
Well, if I explained everything about Ruyi in detail, she might believe me, but she didn’t seem that curious. She soon focused on absorbing the medicinal properties of the elixir she had taken.
— You should focus too. We have to head down to the 2nd Hell immediately.
‘I didn’t take any medicine, though?’
I was going to, but Sun Wukong told me not to, saying it might be more dangerous if something more was added to my body in its current state.
— That’s why you need to focus even more on controlling your mana. If your life force drops because of the toxic gas, Resurrection will try to expand your vessel again.
…Ah, right. That too.
— I’ll handle the circulation of energy, so just close your eyes and sit cross-legged.
‘Yes, sir.’
As I closed my eyes and took the lotus position, my energy began to move independently of my will.
Seriously, I think it every time, but I’m so glad Sun Wukong is with me.
— Stop with the nonsense.
‘I’m being serious. I can’t believe you don’t believe me.’
It was a different feeling from Cathy Noona—more like having an older sister.
Usually playful and mischievous, but a reliable sister I could lean on when I actually needed help.
— Good grief. If I were a character, I’d be quite popular.
‘I bet.’
While we were chuckling, the others finished absorbing the medicinal properties one by one and began to open their eyes.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the palace of the Jade Emperor in the Divine Realm…
The Jade Emperor was scowling at an SOS that had been sent directly to him because the Celestial Maidens were away.
He was angry that the discipline of Hell seemed to have slipped so much that they were requesting his army for such a trivial matter.
As a fairly high-ranking god, he also had a rough idea of the identities of those who had invaded Hell.
If he interfered too much with a ‘toy’ that some other gods were interested in, he might get into a spat with them.
Yet, he couldn’t just leave it alone, as he was concerned about the order of Hell.
He needed a pretext—a justification to intervene while avoiding conflict with the other gods.
The Jade Emperor pondered for a brief moment, but he soon arrived at an easy solution.
“I simply need to send someone related to the cause of the problem.”
As it happened, there was someone in the Heavenly Army who was perfect for this incident.
“Is anyone there?!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Go and summon the Victorious Fighting Buddha.”
If the reason was that he was going to punish someone interfering with his own belongings, that would be justification enough.
The Jade Emperor nodded, admiring his own brilliant insight.