Chapter 572
Chapter 572
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 572
Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village
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Low footsteps echoed.
After trudging up the center of the heavily damaged altar for quite some time, those walking on it began to sense something off. Han Baekryeong gazed down at the lower sections of the altar they had ascended and remarked.
"... Over two thousand steps. Incredibly high. They carved out Mount Ye to build something like this?"
The White Lotus Cult Leader, walking ahead, responded calmly.
[This altar is also part of the Demon Realm that was prepared. It may look like the material world, but it's no different from the otherworld—its laws are distorted.]
"Cult Leader. Are we trapped in a snare right now?"
[No. Moments ago, Dagwi expanded the dimension with his demonic power, which simply caused the altar to grow taller.]
Hong Gildong, who had been leading the way, spoke up.
"We're almost there."
As he said, the dark altar gradually brightened, revealing the summit. Those ascending refrained from rushing ahead recklessly, carefully scanning the surroundings for traps or ambushes. A short while later, everyone reached the flat, expansive summit altar.
Rumble...
Darkness blanketed the area, and within the pitch-black heavens, streams of light flowed like starlight. It was a dreamlike scene, but considering this place was carved from a mountain, it was an impossible sight. The Cult Leader had been right to call it a distorted otherworld.
At the center of the altar's darkness stood eight glowing blue orbs, and in the midst of those orbs floated a shadowy human figure. Surrounding and guarding that figure were dragonkin and demons in their transformed states, arms crossed.
But no one's gaze lingered on those demonic soldiers. Instead, it turned to the middle-aged man dressed in the robes of an astronomer, reminiscent of Zhuge Liang's portrait, complete with ceremonial headdress. The handsome, refined man stared at the intruders with emotionless, dry eyes.
The White Lotus Cult Leader fixed his gaze on him and said.
[Vermilion Bird.]
At the Cult Leader's call, the Vermilion Bird lowered his fan briefly below his waist and replied.
"I knew you would invade Mount Ye. I even anticipated you'd defeat the White Tiger and Black Tortoise. But... I never imagined you'd take down God's Apostle, Dagwi. I had considered the possibility, but not that it could actually happen."
[Even an apostle of God has limits to his power. Even a demon king from ancient times must fall to the united might of humanity.]
"I calculated your odds of victory at less than twenty percent. Yet here you are, having reached this point with almost no losses in your forces. Which means... there's some existence operating behind the scenes, beyond my expectations."
[......]
The White Lotus Cult Leader neither sneered nor mocked. The Vermilion Bird's words gave even him food for thought. As the Cult Leader fell silent, the Vermilion Bird continued.
"As humans who felled an apostle, I offer you my sincere respect."
The Vermilion Bird bowed his head politely. Then he added.
"However, I have an ironclad ideal I cannot yield. So, you all must die here."
Flash.
In that instant, dragonkin and demons poured in from everywhere, encircling the area as if they had been hiding until now. They seemed to be the hundreds of elites held in reserve. If they all charged at once, it would be tough, but with their current forces, it was winnable—strong battle intent filled the air.
At that moment, the White Lotus Cult Leader spoke slowly.
[One thing intrigues me.]
The Vermilion Bird stared at him wordlessly, and the Cult Leader continued.
[You seem to have touched the demonic path like me and know the truth of this world. So, is your goal to serve under God and ensure humanity's survival even after the apocalypse?]
"I have no reason to answer that."
[Whichever side wins, this battle will be the last. Am I fighting a petty man who can't confidently declare his own ideals?]
At the Cult Leader's subtle mockery, the Vermilion Bird's face hardened in silence. After a moment, he broke it.
"First, I will destroy the Heavenly Realm and kill the Jade Emperor. But that's not my ultimate goal. What I truly desire lies in the 'after'..."
[After.]
"Conversation over. Die."
Flash-flash-flash.
At the Vermilion Bird's command, dragonkin and demons charged madly from all directions. Everyone gathered here was among the pinnacle elites of the current martial world—no one was outmatched individually by the demonic creatures—but their sheer numbers caused a momentary recoil.
The White Lotus Cult Leader bellowed.
Hah!
Over a hundred dragonkin screamed and were blasted far away. It was just a shout, yet their tough hides tore like paper under its devastating power, sending chills down spines.
The Guardian Lions unleashed their infinite inner energy, launching attacks in all directions without holding back. As the Cult Leader and Guardian Lions began driving back the demonic creatures, the others calmly formed ranks and repelled the enemy.
Clang.
Thud-thud-thud.
Boom.
A cacophony of sounds erupted as a fierce melee unfolded. The Twelve Rites Sect leaders unleashed their unique arts to batter the dragonkin, while Dan's clan wielded bizarre sorceries of unknown origin to immobilize the demons. The Anti-Heaven Alliance comrades once again formed the Seven Star Formation centered on Mangnyang, systematically repelling the foes.
True Sword Control!
The Sword Demon unleashed hundreds of sword auras in an instant, executing his intent-based ultimate technique. The trajectories scattered like petals, slicing the necks of three charging dragonkin in one stroke. It was the first time an Anti-Heaven Alliance master had slain a monster.
Gok Ho was no slouch either. Using Phantom Soul Step, he battered the monsters with his spear tip, throwing off their attacks and disrupting their formation, making it far easier for everyone else to fight.
Flash.
Amid this, a demon exploited a gap in Gok Ho's defense, unleashing a jet-black aura. Unlike dragonkin, demons weren't physically altered into inhuman forms but harbored the demonic creature within, allowing them to wield dark powers directly. Gok Ho's protective aura couldn't withstand such a strike.
"One path, one barrier."
Boom!
Though the assault was sudden, as the incantation rang out, Gok Ho effortlessly evaded it. Enveloped in blue light, he swung his spear aura and cleaved the demon in two, then bowed to the Daoist who had aided him.
"Thanks! But what was your name again..."
Around forty years old? The dirt-covered Daoist chuckled heartily.
"I'm Jeon Woochi, who's trained in Daoist arts on Mount Jiri for twenty years! Today, I'll pour all my power into the Anti-Heaven Alliance's victory."
Clang-clang.
Gok Ho parried successive clashes with dragonkin spears and replied in amazement.
"You're from Goryeo, yet you joined the Anti-Heaven Alliance instead of the Twelve Rites?"
"Moved by the Anti-Heaven Alliance Leader's righteousness."
Jeon Woochi grinned and said.
"The Alliance Leader expended a lot of sorcery power, so rest! I'll support our comrades with spells."
"Please do, Jeon Woochi."
Indeed, Mangnyang looked utterly drained from the recent battle with Dagwi, his power nearly spent. With no other sorcerer of Mangnyang's caliber in the Alliance, Jeon Woochi stepped in as substitute. Astonishingly, the eccentric Jeon Woochi's skills surpassed even Mangnyang, who had mastered the Three Emperors Inner Gate, making him more than capable.
Boom-boom-boom.
The intense battle raged on with explosions for a time.
Roooar.
Han Baekryeong unleashed the Twelve Ultimate Dragon King Slash, drawing the character for "ten" in flames across the sky. Over a dozen dragonkin incinerated instantly in the massive attack, but she seemed dissatisfied.
"No end to them. Just how many are there?"
Indeed.
In less than half a shichen of fighting, over seventy enemies had fallen, yet demonic creatures kept emerging endlessly from all sides. Far more than the forces they'd faced before—at least five hundred, by rough estimate.
The despair of superhuman monsters equivalent to transcendent experts pouring in without end gnawed at morale, regardless of their own strength. The White Lotus Cult Leader and Guardian Lions periodically unleashed massive attacks to sweep them away, but it was like herding wild dogs—insufficient to shift the tide. Then the Cult Leader said.
[Jin So-cheong.]
Thud.
"Speak."
Jin So-cheong, who had just repelled three monsters with his spear arts, responded to the call. The two stood out even among this group, so strong that monsters hesitated to approach, leaving them in a vacant zone. The Cult Leader continued.
[We can't keep dragging this out on the Vermilion Bird's terms. I'll clear the path—eliminate him.]
"Understood."
Rumble...
The White Lotus Cult Leader gathered a mass of pure power in his palm, leisurely condensing the power of the Primordial Infant God as if it weren't for combat.
As the "qi" itself—far larger than the dozens-of-zhang blasts from the Guardian Lions—began swirling with immense momentum, everyone who could sense it turned to the Cult Leader. Even the monsters sensed the anomaly, hesitating and backing away.
A moment later, the Cult Leader casually released the spherical qi from his palm forward.
Whoosh.
Eyes went white. A flash filled all vision, sounds faded, and silence briefly fell over the battlefield. In truth, the overwhelming destructive force had annihilated every monster ahead, and as a bonus, shattered the barrier constituting this space, punching a hole in the void.
Amid the gaping night sky, the only one moving with agility was Jin So-cheong. Using Phantom Soul Step, he shot forward at tremendous speed toward a spot—where the Vermilion Bird, Zhuge Yuryong, who had dodged away, now stood. The Vermilion Bird raised his sword to counter the charge.
Clang!
'Gongsun Swordsmanship!'
The world's supreme sword art, one I'd faced before! If I hadn't mastered the profound uses of the Seven Ultimates' Turtle Shell Heaven Axis Sword, I might have been effortlessly slain. The Vermilion Bird, master of Gongsun Swordsmanship, was a peerless martial artist worthy of the title of the Three Great Elders of the Orthodox Factions.
"Weak."
Spurt.
"Urk...!!"
But after a mere two seconds of clash, Jin So-cheong pierced the Vermilion Bird's heart with his spear tip and severed his head without fanfare. No matter that he was a transcendent expert and one of the Three Great Elders—against the current Jin So-cheong, he couldn't even last three exchanges!
Flash-flash.
Jin So-cheong landed gracefully on the ground. His elegant poise seemed to herald the end of the Mount Ye War.
"Huff... huff..."
"How is it? Mangnyang."
Mangnyang, arriving late behind him, panted heavily. Wiping sweat, he picked up the Vermilion Bird's head and said, deeply disappointed.
"To think it was another decoy after coming this far..."
"As I suspected. Something felt off."
"The Vermilion Bird pretended to conduct the ritual here on Mount Ye while smuggling the Portrait Ghost elsewhere. The real ritual is happening somewhere else."
"Abandoning all the altars on Mount Ye... for that. And the forces here were all the real deal."
"That's precisely why they could fool us. The Vermilion Bird sacrificed Mount Ye's advantages to complete the ultimate Portrait Ghost, even if only halfway."
Jin So-cheong sighed.
"... Can we still catch the Vermilion Bird now?"
"Normally, no. We got completely played. Even slaughtering all these dragonkin here is pointless."
Mangnyang's face was grim as he spoke.
"Yeah... We've done all we can. Now we trust Uncle and Lee Cheongun."
Flash.
With that scene, the screen went dark. Cheon Woojin, ending the Thousand-Li Eye spell, looked at me and said.
"It's time for you to step in."
"What kind of plot twist is this..."
I gaped blankly. I'd doubted it, but the improbable had happened right before my eyes. Even hearing Zhuge Family's plan left me skeptical, yet Zhuge Yuryong had truly deceived us with an absurd ploy.
Cheon Woojin chuckled.
"Those two are brothers. The Zhuge Family's pride means you don't get fooled twice by the same trick."
"Have they found it?"
At that moment, Zhuge Family's voice came through the Pure Language Pearl I carried.
[Baek Woong. Bring your comrades to the location I'm telling you immediately. It's time to finish Zhuge Yuryong.]
[For real? Where?]
[The Heavenly Emperor Altar on Mount Heng. I've spotted Zhuge Yuryong's true body. They're rushing to complete the Portrait Ghost—hurry.]
[Got it.]
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew."
Indeed.
The Zhuge Family had anticipated from the start that the Mount Ye ritual might be fake. Instead of sending all forces there, they paired with Lee Cheongun to search for the real site. An unthinkable idea by common sense, but Zhuge Yuryong had indeed backstabbed them using Mount Ye as bait—and the Zhuge Family had devoted a full day to uncovering the truth.
At this moment, the Zhuge Family had completely caught up to Zhuge Yuryong's scheme.
"Let's go!"
Of course, this time, only the Anti-Heaven Alliance comrades.
No need for White Lotus Cult or Twelve Rites.
I'll seize the ultimate Portrait Ghost and claim final victory!