Chapter 481: Boundless (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 481: Boundless (6)
How many days had passed?
Jeong Yeon-shin had lost track of time.
It was sometime after they had raced along the river and crossed several mountain ridges. Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the Seventh Apostle, he had been facing the Heaven-Smiling Invincible.
After countless fierce exchanges, his meridians were in shambles. It wasn't just his internal pathways; even his Purple Robe, which rarely tore, was ripped open at the abdomen.
A howling wind swept over his blood-stained abdominal muscles. Without their coordinated attacks, standing against her would have been utterly impossible.
An agonizing pain, as if his body was being torn apart, racked his entire being.
Beyond the searing reality that felt like his insides were stuffed with blades, it seemed an eternity had passed since he had lost himself in the flow of combat, throwing punches, kicks, and swinging his sword. Was it because he was facing the very symbol of this chaotic era?
They were in an unnamed canyon. From atop the cliffs rising on both sides, sunlight poured down like long, sharp blades.
Beneath it, Jeong Yeon-shin stood atop Lingering Thunder, unleashing a barrage of fist strikes.
Boom! Clang!
Transparent shockwaves scraped against the cliffs.
It was the aftermath of powerful Fa Jin. With every burst, stone dust scattered in all directions, carving hollows resembling fallen crescent moons into the stone walls with harsh, grinding sounds.
Jeong Yeon-shin and the Seventh Apostle.
And the Ming Cult Leader, the Heaven-Smiling Invincible.
The three of them kicked off the air, ran along the walls, and stepped on barren branches jutting from the cliffs, crossing paths like flashes of light. Accompanied by monstrous sonic booms, their figures—purple, red, and pure white—blurred into one, occasionally erupting in sprays of crimson blood.
Splat!
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible tore a chunk of flesh from the Seventh Apostle's flank as she swept past. Instantly, a white current swirled like a spool of thread, sealing the Seventh Apostle's skin with a sharp crack.
It was a technique that temporarily halted the overwhelming regenerative ability of the True Blood Physique.
The Ming Cult's Bare-Hand Demonic Art.
Blood sprayed in a long arc from her fingers, which had become as transparent as ice. A low chuckle drifted from behind her white muffler and the fluttering hem of her pure white cloak.
Though she had never called herself the Heavenly Demon, this was the mocking laughter of a figure who had been dubbed "heaven's mistake" long before Jeong Yeon-shin had even stepped into the Jianghu.
No matter how it ended, this was a battle destined to shake the very foundations of the world.
She's strong.
Jeong Yeon-shin thought, pulling the Seventh Apostle back by her shoulder.
She staggered as if about to plummet, but the moment his hand touched her, she spread her arms wide. With a sharp flutter, the hem of her crimson Pure Blood Robe unfurled like bat wings, suspending her in midair. It was the Graceful Body Technique of the Blood Flame Cult, renowned as one of the world's greatest movement arts.
She was actually more energetic than Jeong Yeon-shin. Her remaining stamina was on another level, likely thanks to her regenerative ability.
Rustle.
Stepping off Lingering Thunder, Jeong Yeon-shin lightly kicked its hilt.
Instantly, a translucent ripple erupted from the point of impact. Lingering Thunder tore through the air and slammed directly into the abdomen of the Heaven-Smiling Invincible, who had just turned.
Vermilion sparks billowed.
Shatter!
It sounded like multiple layers of porcelain breaking in rapid succession.
The intangible Body Protection Qi surrounding the Heaven-Smiling Invincible had been shattered by his Sword Kinesis. Pushed back slightly, an exhale escaped her lips, but the attack had only pierced the fabric of her cloak, not her flesh.
Through the tear, only her pale abdominal muscles and the faint shadows tracing them were visible. There was no telling how many layers of invisible Internal Energy Barriers she had stacked.
Impregnable…
Such was the body forged by the Ming Cult Leader. Not only was she a master of close-quarters combat, but she also stepped freely through the air, constantly playing with the distance between them.
She was truly overwhelming.
She reacted dynamically to every variable, applying all sorts of necessary variations to her existing martial arts. At some point, it had become difficult to keep up with her using just punches and kicks. Her very movements had changed.
Flutter!
Jeong Yeon-shin wrapped one arm around the Seventh Apostle's waist to support himself in the air.
A Body Protection Scripture like Void Treading inevitably suffered from lagging reaction times unless one's Three Flowers Gathering at the Peak state was exceptionally solid. He was only able to wage this kind of battle because she was holding her ground so tenaciously.
"You're holding back for my sake," the Seventh Apostle said with a smooth smile.
Perhaps because she was pushing her Great Heavenly Cycle to its absolute limit, her skin, from her neck to her face, was flushed a deep red. Jeong Yeon-shin could feel an immense fighting spirit radiating from her.
"You can push harder. This is a life-and-death duel, after all," she said, exhaling a reddish breath through her Blood Art breathing.
In truth, Jeong Yeon-shin felt an underlying awkwardness about fighting alongside someone else. This remained true even as agonizing pain wracked him, and even with a mortal enemy like the Heaven-Smiling Invincible right before his eyes.
If he hadn't witnessed the gentleness in Perfected Zhang Sanfeng's Taiji, and if Baek Mi-ryeo's safety wasn't on the line, he would have found it difficult to act this naturally.
He pondered. The Heaven-Smiling Invincible's Unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit shouldn't be perfectly solid either, so how was she roaming the air so freely?
[To think you can perform such Sword Kinesis even while half-dead…]
Her voice, transmitted via the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission, echoed within the canyon. It was an energy that felt infinitely close to Natural Qi, not demonic energy. The Heaven-Smiling Invincible was employing a bizarre internal power against him.
Just as he had created the Law-Transcending Halo Qi and the Demon-Slaying Light Trace, she overcame their incompatible natures using the method of Ashen Smoke's Hidden Embrace—which dispersed Dharma Power—and an infinitely pure internal energy. It was, quite literally, the caliber of a Grandmaster.
[Ever since Zhang Sanfeng's cave…]
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible grabbed the blade of Lingering Thunder with one hand and lowered it. Her sleeve, woven from pale fur, made a soft rustling sound.
[We spent quite a few long days and nights together, sharing our feelings. Aren't you being a bit too harsh on your big sister?]
She was talking nonsense.
Ignoring his ringing ears, Jeong Yeon-shin focused on his next move. She was an opponent who could hardly be damaged by ordinary methods.
I don't have the strength to unleash the Great Taiji. Enter the Way: Unified Transcendence is impossible to cast. Then…
All sorts of forms began to tangle in his mind, drawing colorless trajectories.
"Big sister?" the Seventh Apostle asked, her voice sharp.
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible nodded. "If we've shared that many private chats and martial discussions, we might as well be connected by a bond thicker than blood. And unlike you, we stood on equal footing."
Her voice carried a hint of amusement.
None of this mattered to Jeong Yeon-shin. The more breaths he was allowed, the more his energy would recover. The immediate problem was whether he could exert enough martial prowess to affect the Ming Cult Leader with his meager internal energy.
And then, Jeong Yeon-shin's Upper Dantian derived the answer.
Impossible.
It was an unbelievable answer, a natural conclusion born of his spiritually imbued consciousness. An insight that had always been accurate. It was nothing like that damn part of his brain that had always broken through his limits whenever he was cornered.
[My skin is tingling. You're scanning me quite deeply, aren't you?]
Having finished her brief exchange with the Seventh Apostle, the Heaven-Smiling Invincible spoke to Jeong Yeon-shin.
[You won't win. Thanks to the two of you, this seat has less than half a year left to live. Just releasing my restrictions for a short while has already ruined me like this.]
Her words were plain and direct. In the martial world, restrictions on one's martial arts and body were more confidential than anything. It was akin to asking another martial artist about their sect's Life-Saving Herb. This was proof of just how arrogant the current Ming Cult Leader was.
"Your restriction," Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, aligning his body beside the Seventh Apostle. "Is it a great technique that prolongs your life at the cost of your martial prowess?"
[Brother Jeong, wouldn't that naturally be the case?]
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible replied, slightly curling one corner of her mouth. It could be interpreted as meaning that only heaven itself could constrain her, and Jeong Yeon-shin found himself agreeing with her words.
Perhaps it was because he suddenly saw himself in her. Despite her immense arrogance, there was nothing offensive about it.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke slowly. "You are just like me."
[Oh?]
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible's eyelids twitched upward slightly, likely due to this unprecedented behavior from him. The current Ming Cult Leader had only ever sought a sense of kinship and understanding from him; she had never shown him hostility.
Not that Jeong Yeon-shin cared. What he wanted right now could hardly be called grand or significant.
"You must also have things that give meaning to a life that might be cut short. For me, it's the Demonlight Wing. Return Sister Baek, and I will pursue you no further."
[...]
A brief silence fell.
The Heaven-Smiling Invincible twirled the hilt of Lingering Thunder in her hand, staring intently at Jeong Yeon-shin with eyes that flashed with deep blue light.
That alone silenced the canyon. It was a sorcerous martial art, one that could summon wind and rain. She had reached a realm where she could hold even the fierce winds scraping against the cliffs in the palm of her hand. Without releasing a single speck of demonic energy, she had silenced Mother Nature.
Standing tall in the air, she kept her lips tightly sealed, exuding an aura as if she were draped in silence itself.
The Heavenly Demon.
Had she released her restrictions, or had she bound them once more? There was no way to tell. Either way seemed plausible.
"Regrettably," the Heaven-Smiling Invincible slowly parted her lips, "I, too, have something I desperately desire, so I can no longer afford to share my heart with you."
"I will recite the final mnemonic for you," Jeong Yeon-shin said plainly, speaking the words of the Law-Transcending Halo Qi that she had not yet heard.
Instantly, the Heaven-Smiling Invincible's eyes, which looked like melted lightning from the night sky, trembled slightly. She had been strangely obsessed with understanding his mind, which was why she had shown such a subtle interest in the qigong he had created. It was enough to shake her composure, if only for a moment.
But the Heaven-Smiling Invincible soon shook her head.
"I've changed my mind. I won't listen," she said.
That was the end of it.
[You Purple Ranks are complete on your own.]
Her voice, which had shifted back to the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission, began to echo like a reverberating wave.
[But because of that, you have no backing. You are your own backing.]
It was a flat assertion, an attitude that looked down on the great sect of the Desolate Fortress to the very end, even while showing boundless respect to Jeong Yeon-shin himself.
"Get back."
Whispering into the Seventh Apostle's ear, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped on the top of her foot and soared upward, tearing the air with a sharp whoosh.
Having activated Ultimate Lightning, translucent, colorless leaves bloomed like lotuses all over his body. Behind the Heaven-Smiling Invincible's shoulders, the sky was engulfed in a hazy mist of true qi that she had unleashed.
In an instant, the sunlight was blocked, and the surroundings darkened.
Rumble!
In a split second, the sea of clouds thickened rapidly, flashing with blue light like storm clouds harboring lightning. Its range was incredibly vast, extending far enough to fill the entire canyon. The word 'unavoidable' naturally came to mind.
Above his head, the Heaven-Smiling Invincible stood with her back to a sea of blue lightning.
[If it were three years from now…]
Her voice continued bleakly. Amidst the loudly flashing brilliance, only her Six Harmonies Sound Transmission remained distinct.
[You would be able to crack an ultimate technique like this with a smile. I know this better than anyone. In this world, only I can penetrate your depths so deeply. So, let us leave it at this for now…]
Her killing intent was barely perceptible, yet present. Even though this strike would surely not end in mere suppression, did she believe that Jeong Yeon-shin would somehow find a gap and survive?
Sight of the Lowly…!
Just as the light in Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes deepened into a pure white, the Heaven-Smiling Invincible's words trailed off.
Hum.
Beyond the dark clouds she had spread overhead, something was faintly visible.
Something shedding a soft light, like moonlight.
But it was not the moon.
In an instant, it took the shape of a long sword, parting the sea of lightning entirely as it descended like a dream.