Subjugation Battle (2)
"Demonic cultivators…!"
An excited voice rang out from up ahead. The inner disciples who had charged into the valley had apparently spotted the demonic cultivators of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect.
"Attack!"
"Wipe them all out!"
Without so much as waiting for Tae Sa-ryang's orders, they launched their assault on the spot. The sound of offensive spells igniting reverberated through the air, followed moments later by the screams of demonic cultivators.
"They're nothing!"
"What was all the fuss about, with enemies this weak?"
Agitated, the inner disciples charged in recklessly. Watching their backs as they pushed deep into the valley, Cheon Woo-jin frowned.
He was suddenly reminded of the assault on the Dokgeum Sect. Back then, rogue cultivators who had gathered from all over had attacked the sect together, and they had been far more disciplined than this mob. Perhaps Jang Ryang and Yuan Bisu had simply been more competent than he'd given them credit for.
"You think they're a disorganized rabble?"
A voice sounded behind him. It was Tae Sa-ryang, who had sent the inner disciples in first and was trailing after them at his leisure.
"Everyone is doing their utmost. You can simply leave them to it."
"……"
Cheon Woo-jin glared at him. "They're bait, aren't they?"
"That's a strange way to put it," Tae Sa-ryang said in an imperious tone. "They are merely fulfilling their role as the vanguard."
"And if they stumble into a trap and get massacred?"
"That, too, would be part of a vanguard's role."
"……"
"Well… I don't see any traps. Apart from that Golden Shatter Formation we set up outside earlier, I can't detect any particular preparations." Surveying the front, Tae Sa-ryang offered his assessment. "With the rabble, we could sweep them away using only the inner disciples, as we're doing now. The problem is their leader and the other executives."
"……"
"The moment those men show themselves, it becomes our turn in earnest. Conserve your energy until then."
Tae Sa-ryang's manner was relaxed, yet it was difficult to find even the slightest opening in his guard. In truth, this operation was a critical mission for him as well. The leadership of the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect had entrusted the subjugation of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect to Tae Sa-ryang alone. He was a promising core disciple, but should this mission fail, his standing within the sect would collapse.
That was precisely why the arrogant Tae Sa-ryang had requested Cheon Woo-jin's cooperation — this subjugation absolutely had to succeed. But that didn't mean he felt any need to look after the inner disciples. If anything, he likely believed that using them as bait, or as a meat shield, would prove far more effective. It was unquestionably a cold-blooded way of thinking — and yet it was, in fact, commonplace in the cultivation world.
"It seems it's about time…"
Just after Tae Sa-ryang murmured those words, a thunderous explosion sounded from up ahead. The Mad World Yin Spirit Sect had launched a large-scale counterattack.
"Ugh, this firepower…!"
"These savage demonic bastards…!"
The inner disciples of the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect, who mere moments before had been ruthlessly toying with the demonic cultivators, began to scream. It seemed high-level experts were now taking the field on the enemy's side as well.
"Then it's time for us to move."
Tae Sa-ryang called to Cheon Woo-jin — but Cheon Woo-jin was already in motion, before the summons ever came. He leapt into the air and surveyed the battlefield at a glance. Several demonic cultivators on the ground launched attacks at him, but he deployed the Celestial Armor Flying Spirits and deflected every one.
"That bastard…!"
"He's nothing like the pretty-faced scholars of the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect!"
With the gazes of the demonic cultivators converging on him, Cheon Woo-jin took the Five Thunder Heaven Subduing Sword in hand and drew his spiritual qi up to its fullest. Using his own qi as the fuse, he pulled in the energies of yin and yang from heaven and earth, generating a devastating thunderbolt that fell from above like lightning in nature.
Black lightning falls from on high, carrying the black principle of annihilation that unmakes all things.
KWAAK!
With a roar that shook all of Heiyu Valley, pitch-black lightning came crashing down. It was a strike laden with a black principle of annihilation that devoured everything it touched. The demonic cultivators, who had been in high spirits mere moments ago, were seized with horror. Some were caught in the lightning and vanished on the spot; even the Foundation Establishment cultivators lost limbs and shrieked in agony.
"And here I told you to conserve your strength."
A voice drifted over from beside him. Tae Sa-ryang had flown up at some point and was now floating next to Cheon Woo-jin. "Still, you managed to injure several Foundation Establishment demons, so I suppose I can call it well done."
The next instant, countless javelins materialized around Tae Sa-ryang. A rain of death poured down from the gloom-charged sky. It was an indiscriminate bombardment that paid no heed to whether allies were caught in it.
"You told me to conserve my strength, did you not?"
"I did what needed doing," Tae Sa-ryang replied in an unhurried voice to Cheon Woo-jin's rebuke. "I had to confirm their positions."
"……"
The bombardment Tae Sa-ryang had just unleashed was powerful enough to alter the very terrain of Heiyu Valley. And yet there was one spot entirely untouched by the devastation. There stood a man whose presence was as chilling as a demon risen from hell.
"There you are."
Whoosh!
Tae Sa-ryang descended toward him at once, coming face to face with the fearsome-looking man. "So you're the demonic sect's chieftain?" Tae Sa-ryang maintained his supremely arrogant bearing — but that was not the same as being careless. With no opening visible anywhere, he pressed the demon before him by baring his own aura in full.
"I am Tae Sa-ryang, core disciple of the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect. By order of the General Hall, I have come to put you down."
"……"
But the man did not so much as glance at Tae Sa-ryang. His gaze was fixed beyond Tae Sa-ryang's shoulder — on Cheon Woo-jin, who had followed Tae Sa-ryang down to the ground.
"So it's you."
His voice was like a wild beast growling low. Cheon Woo-jin did not answer, but the man nodded to himself all the same. "So it is you."
"……"
As if only now had they truly met, the man bared his fangs and smiled viciously.
Jeok Ya-wol, leader of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect. In the game, he had appeared at a point later than this as a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Blood World Mara Sect — a genuine heavyweight. The Blood World Mara Sect was the most vicious of the three great sects, and even within it, Jeok Ya-wol had been an arch-villain of notorious reputation. Which was why Cheon Woo-jin had always expected that a day would come when he would clash with Jeok Ya-wol face to face like this.
"Why did you refuse our offer and side with the righteous sects instead?"
"They paid a big retainer up front."
"Amusing."
Jeok Ya-wol laughed, shoulders shaking. He had apparently taken it as a joke. "Well… fine." Keeping his sinister smile in place, Jeok Ya-wol extended his right hand toward Cheon Woo-jin. "It's not too late, even now. Come to our side."
"……"
"Throw in your lot with those hypocrites, and sooner or later all you'll get is a knife in your back. Walk the demonic path with us instead."
His voice was still rough, yet somehow it carried a magnetism that pulled people in. But before Cheon Woo-jin could answer, a cold voice cut in.
"How utterly absurd."
It was Tae Sa-ryang, whom Jeok Ya-wol had been ignoring outright. With an expression of open displeasure, he glared at Jeok Ya-wol. "Hypocrites? A knife in the back? You dare say that after murdering the Toyoman Sect's leader, who was the first to ally with you?"
"Hm…"
Only when confronted about killing the Toyoman Sect's leader and seizing his sect did Jeok Ya-wol finally deign to look at Tae Sa-ryang. "What of it? I merely purged an incompetent old fool for the efficient administration of the sect."
With those words, Jeok Ya-wol sneered at him. "Weren't you the ones using your low-ranking disciples as bait just now? Righteous hypocrisy in its purest form."
"What ridiculous nonsense…"
Cheon Woo-jin regarded the two arguing Core Formation cultivators with cold eyes. Honestly speaking, as far as he could see, they were both six of one and half a dozen of the other.
"Senior Tae Sa-ryang!"
"Sect Leader…!"
At some point, the Foundation Establishment cultivators of both factions had gathered around. On Tae Sa-ryang's side stood capable inner disciples like Jin Su-hak, while Jeok Ya-wol's executives had likewise assembled. The clash of small fry had been settled, and the battle of true powerhouses was finally about to begin.
"Rogue cultivator, I will take the demonic chieftain myself. As we discussed, you deal with the other executives alongside the rest."
Tae Sa-ryang gave the order and moved to step forward — but at that moment, Jeok Ya-wol snickered, shaking his shoulders.
"Fool."
"……?"
The instant Tae Sa-ryang's brow creased at that enigmatic remark, the ground suddenly shook violently.
"What?!"
All of Heiyu Valley was quaking as though an earthquake had struck. But a far stranger change was taking place as well. The dense spiritual qi that had filled Heiyu Valley began to vanish at astonishing speed.
"What's happening?"
"Did their ritual succeed?"
As the air abruptly cleared, the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect cultivators looked around in bewilderment. Even Tae Sa-ryang was frowning as he scanned his surroundings. Only one person maintained a composed expression — Cheon Woo-jin, alone amid the standoff between the two factions, quietly taking stock of everything.
"So that's what it was."
Cheon Woo-jin fixed Jeok Ya-wol with a glare and spoke. "I thought the ritual was being performed to secure spirit qi."
"Impressive. You've already figured it out?"
Jeok Ya-wol wore a satisfied smile — the look of a man pleased to see the rogue cultivator he'd taken an interest in display such sharpness.
"What on earth is going on…?"
Tae Sa-ryang, meanwhile, still hadn't grasped the situation. Watching him, Jeok Ya-wol's shoulders shook with laughter. "You didn't seriously think they'd hold a ritual on this scale just to supply spirit qi to a handful of low-level cultivators?"
"What did you say?"
Realizing his intelligence had been wrong, Tae Sa-ryang's eyes went wide. They had interrogated prisoners Cheon Woo-jin had captured only days before, but there had been no hint that some other purpose lay hidden within the rituals conducted here.
"He kept his true purpose hidden even from his own subordinates."
Cheon Woo-jin glared at Jeok Ya-wol as he spoke. "His real aim is to establish the main stronghold of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect here — by reviving the legacy that the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace left behind so long ago."
"……!"
It was standard practice for great sects to establish their headquarters where spiritual qi ran richest. The Shengjue Yiyuan Sect, too, kept its General Hall in the upper tiers of Ghost Head City. But if the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect were to plant its main stronghold on the third tier… it would exert an overwhelming presence over the lower levels of the city.
"Truly magnificent. All the more reason I want you under me."
Jeok Ya-wol wore a thoroughly contented smile. He genuinely coveted Cheon Woo-jin, who had seen straight through his designs.
"The demons' main stronghold?"
"The legacy of the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace? What in the world is he talking about?"
The inner disciples of the Shengjue Yiyuan Sect still had no idea what any of it meant. Watching them, Jeok Ya-wol spread both arms wide. "Well then… allow me to show you."
The next moment, the scenery around them changed. The world lurched until the vertigo was nauseating, and then everything was different. Only moments ago they had been in a valley ringed by rugged mountains — and now they stood inside a vast subterranean cavern of bewildering complexity.
"Don't tell me — a secret realm?!"
"We've been pulled inside one without even noticing?"
Then Jeok Ya-wol's laughter rang out. He had been right in front of them moments ago, yet now he stood far away, hands clasped behind his back. The cultivators who had been gathered in one place were likewise scattered across separate spots.
"Mistaking this for a mere secret realm only shows how poorly you've studied. This is a Law Domain."
"……!"
A secret realm was a discrete space accessed through crevices in space-time. A Law Domain, by contrast, was an ordinary space with a new set of laws overlaid upon it.
In the orthodox immortal path, finding a Grotto-Heaven — a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, the ideal paradise of immortals — had always been prized above all. Even now, many in the cultivation world pursued Grotto-Heavens, and the Law Domain was a byproduct of the research that had once tried to create them artificially. The original aim had been to forge an ideal new world like a true Grotto-Heaven, but the art had eventually degenerated into a technique for rewriting the laws of space in the service of raw power.
Ages ago, the Yin Soul Ghost Bone Palace had sacrificed countless lives here to forge a Law Domain. Jeok Ya-wol had reactivated that domain and seized dominion over it.
"And once I channel that power into my own body… even this becomes possible."
KWAAAAAH!
Without the slightest warning, a colossal surge of energy erupted. Overwhelming black flames burst forth and engulfed the subterranean space in the blink of an eye. Struck by a spell that far exceeded the bounds of late Core Formation, the Shengjue Yiyuan faction was utterly ravaged. The only ones who defended themselves properly were Cheon Woo-jin, who had already drawn out the Yin Spirit Guardian Array and concentrated every scrap of his qi into it, and Tae Sa-ryang, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator.
Nearly all of the sect's inner disciples were dead, and the handful of survivors hung at death's door.
"P-please, spare me… ugh…"
"S-Sect Leader…"
But the damage was not confined to the Shengjue Yiyuan faction. Most of the Mad World Yin Spirit Sect's demonic cultivators had also been swallowed by the black flames and perished. Jeok Ya-wol, however, seemed entirely untroubled by it.
"Well? What will it be? Swear your submission, and I'll spare your lives."
"Mm…"
Hearing Jeok Ya-wol's voice, Tae Sa-ryang bit his lip. This was something even Tae Sa-ryang had not anticipated. In a one-on-one duel on equal terms, he would have had a fighting chance. But if Jeok Ya-wol could wield power beyond the limits of Core Formation with the Law Domain's backing… then Tae Sa-ryang's strength alone would not be enough to oppose him.
"Rogue cultivator."
Tae Sa-ryang called to Cheon Woo-jin, his voice strained. "Do you have any ideas?"
It was surely a question thrown out with little hope — a man grasping at straws. But Cheon Woo-jin answered in a calm, level voice.
"One, as it happens."
"……?"
Tae Sa-ryang stared at him. "You have a way?"
"I do."
For Cheon Woo-jin as well, this was the worst possible situation. In the game Yeongro Suseonjeon, Heiyu Valley had simply been one dangerous zone among many. An event like this had never once occurred, so he had no preparations in place. But he was not drowning in despair. If anything, he was concentrating on a powerful inspiration welling up from somewhere deep inside him. The transcendent power Jeok Ya-wol had displayed was stirring the vast spiritual domain that existed within Cheon Woo-jin's inner self, awakening something.
"Buy me some time, Senior Tae Sa-ryang."
"……!"
Cheon Woo-jin tightened his grip on the Five Thunder Heaven Subduing Sword.