Chapter 213: Awakening
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It was engulfed in tremendous vibration.
Both Cheol Ryu-heun’s body and the space of the fortuitous encounter.
The tremendous force loaded in the palm pressing down from above his head.
PAAAAAA- PAAAAAAAAA-!
Waveforms of luminescence that no one could see, only Cheol Ryu-heun could see, burst out dazzlingly in all directions with a great sound.
The palm, large enough to cover the entire water surface of this Demon Buddha Secret Pool, had blocked the light ray emitting from above his head as if it hit a ceiling, scattering it in all four flying eight dispersing directions.
Also.
CHWACHWACHWACHWA, CHWACHWACHWACHWA…
Even the waterfall that had formed a sphere dispersed and cried out.
Was it the will of the heavenly deity not to allow ascending to immortality?
His violently shaken body immediately fell downward.
HUUUUK-
Following along, the lotus that had been supporting him in the air also quickly sank down.
As it fell toward the dark blue water surface.
‘Now!’
Cheol Ryu-heun, having flashed his eyes, threw wide open all the phantom blood-energy system he had created within his body.
Simultaneously.
SHUSHUSHUSHUSHUSHUT-!
As if evoking great waves, black current and yellow current explosively burst forth.
The conflicting energies he had summoned with the absorption formula.
They were precisely the powers of the Heavenly Demon and Bodhidharma that had remained in the Demon Buddha Secret Pool.
The two energies that had gushed out rapidly intertwined and collided as if trying to determine their unfinished duel from the old days.
KWAKWANG!
Did it respond to that?
Each broad petal of the pink lotus created fierce trembling and fired radiance.
A space dyed in brilliant light.
FLASH FLASH.
The moment the light rapidly emitted by the lotus became brighter.
STOP.
It stopped just before touching the water surface.
Both Cheol Ryu-heun’s form and the giant lotus.
Because of that, even the palm stopped descending.
No.
It was stopped.
Blocked by the repelling force from below.
CHICHICHICHI-T, CHICHICHICHI-T, CHICHICHICHI-T…!
Soon, sounds resembling friction ceaselessly flowed from the small gap between his crown and the palm.
Light powder scattered in all eight directions.
That’s right.
It was a contest between the force trying to press down and the force trying to endure.
-WHAT ARE YOU PLOTTING!
An echo like a transmitted voice from high above in the heavens.
Did he panic?
The being, whether a heavenly deity or what.
‘You’ll find out if you watch!’
Right after Cheol Ryu-heun shouted inwardly.
SEUSEUSEUSU, SEUSEUSEUSEU…
The lotus, having played a faint sound of energy, began absorbing the black current and yellow current.
Just like when Heavenly Demon and Bodhidharma had fought in the old days.
That wasn’t all.
Even the palm was drawn by that power.
SEUSEUSEUSEU…
Precisely, the light emitted by each petal grandly enveloped that palm and was absorbing it, slowly turning it to powder.
It was absorbing all external energy present here.
The mystical power of nature in its unaltered state, activated to protect the secret realm.
It seemed that due to the collision of black and yellow currents, all the energy surrounding Cheol Ryu-heun was considered a hazardous element.
The heavenly belongs to the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth.
Whether human or god, only the size of possessed power differs – one cannot carelessly defy nature and the universe.
Cheol Ryu-heun had aimed for that.
For the mystical power of nature that had even sealed away the energies of Heavenly Demon and Bodhidharma, transcending the mortal world in the past, to be exerted.
-SURELY NOT…!
A short echo from the heavens.
The palm’s owner also realized.
Cheol Ryu-heun’s scheme.
Through the mystical power activated by nature’s profound laws, he intended to absorb and utilize heavenly energy.
Trying to reawaken the divine power of the Divine Martial Sword, presumed to be dormant in his body.
The reason that was possible was one.
An unprecedented body.
Earlier, Cheol Ryu-heun had mounted the lotus and raised his internal power to its peak.
As if he would explode the power or not.
The lotus of Demon Buddha Secret Pool reacted the moment it sensed that.
Thus, it put Cheol Ryu-heun’s form into the abyss.
So that his power, ready to burst, couldn’t threaten the secret realm.
Cheol Ryu-heun, having entered the pond, drew the power of the Heavenly Demon and Bodhidharma with the absorption formula.
The fierce collision in the abyss naturally moved into his body and then shifted to the space of mental imagery.
Thus, when his deep meditation dominated mind and body, the lotus rose.
Because the wondrous application exerted by Cheol Ryu-heun’s body was in the same vein as nature’s mystical power.
In other words, it had accepted him as part of the providence of nature.
So it even helped.
Enabling him to achieve cleansing of hair and marrow and complete body transformation by harmonizing the lotus’s inherent mysterious energy with the demonic and Buddhist powers within his body.
The waterfall forming a sphere was also a phenomenon acknowledging that existence as part of nature’s providence.
Cheol Ryu-heun was certain.
Using the same method, the heavenly power of unknown origin could also be sufficiently harmonized into one.
Using that as a seed and sprouting it would finally make the divine power raise its head.
Even if only partially.
In truth, ascending to immortality was a tremendously dangerous attempt.
Because it was an enlightenment accompanied by death.
Already, several past owners of the Divine Martial Sword, including Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon, had achieved it, so the sequence of stages and essence were well known.
However, after becoming human rather than a sword, he had never thought of attempting ascending to immortality.
Of course.
When the ultimate goal is revenge against a nameless wanderer, what good is ascending to immortality?
He would rather die fighting.
But the strange phenomenon linked to the ascending to immortality that had accidentally occurred some time ago changed his thinking.
The unknowable palm that had descended from the heavens.
Ascending to immortality was blocked.
Along with the cry that this is not a place for you to come.
Immediately after, red eyes that appeared reflected in a mirror.
The radiance that rose in his eyes was the same red color as the unique divine power from his Divine Martial Sword era.
After that time, he organized his thoughts and reached a conclusion.
That a part of the divine power latent in his body had occurred as a sign of awakening through ascending to immortality.
Along with that, he also concluded that whatever being lived in heaven didn’t want him to achieve ascending to immortality.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to show a palm and bother to block it.
So today, he had attempted ascending to immortality again.
With the conviction that the giant palm would drop down again and block it.
Indeed, his judgment was accurate.
‘Thank you! For giving me the seed!’
As Cheol Ryu-heun rapidly operated the absorption formula.
SEUSEUSEUSEU…
The lotus’s radiance, which had been considering all powers hazardous and absorbing everything, immediately responded.
Many rays of light that bloomed strand by strand from numerous petals enveloped his body.
In other words, the energy being absorbed by the lotus was being transferred to Cheol Ryu-heun’s body.
As if an invisible path was being connected.
‘Done!’
When the concentrating Cheol Ryu-heun condensed the vast energy absorbed into his body, the mystical power of nature exerted unfathomable wondrous application.
CHWACHWACHWACHWA, CHWACHWACHWACHWA-
Once again, the waterfall formed a transparent sphere and enclosed Cheol Ryu-heun as if trapping him inside.
In an instant.
Through nature’s mystical power, the Heavenly Demon’s demonic power, Bodhidharma’s Buddhist power, and heaven’s divine power were harmonized.
‘EUEUK!’
Cheol Ryu-heun’s face contorted greatly.
His body felt ready to burst.
From the vast energy.
But he had to endure somehow.
He was on the verge of obtaining what he wanted.
‘I’ll go all the way to the end!’
Exerting superhuman mental strength, Cheol Ryu-heun created phantom blood-energy with that harmonized energy.
It was terrible agony.
It felt like countless swords were tearing apart his insides.
Before long.
The brutal agony was soon sublimated into ecstasy.
Because when he rapidly created phantom meridians and blood vessels, an unfamiliar energy stirred and spread throughout his entire body.
Following that.
KWANG-!
A formless explosion occurred inside his body.
It didn’t hurt.
Rather, it brought thrilling sensation.
Like something warm and soft caressing every corner of his body.
In a flash, Cheol Ryu-heun intuited.
That the dormant divine power had finally awakened.
Suddenly.
-TO USE MY DIVINE POWER, WHAT A CUNNING FELLOW.
The heavenly transmitted voice rang out.
Cheol Ryu-heun smiled soundlessly.
‘Yes, I’ve achieved it. Thanks to you.’
Following that, an echo-like sound again struck his ears.
-WELL… IT WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN EVENTUALLY. DO NOT RASHLY LOOK ABOVE THE HEAVENS. THIS IS A WARNING.
After that, the transmitted voice-like sound no longer rang out.
Immediately after.
CHWALRANG-
The lotus supporting Cheol Ryu-heun’s body lightly descended onto the dark blue water surface like a feather.
HWIHWIK.
He released formless energy to retrieve the shed skin of Blood Wood Black Divine Python, then came outside the lotus and stood on the edge of a broad leaf while gazing at the water surface.
The face revealed in the moonlight.
It was red.
The eye light reflected on the water surface.
A scarlet deeper than flame.
Bright and dark feelings were mixed together.
It was perfectly identical to the divine power manifested during his Divine Martial Sword era.
He had regained it.
Finally.
He still didn’t know whether this power was at a complete level.
Well, he would find out from now on.
While testing various wondrous applications by operating the divine power.
He was newly curious.
Since when had the divine power from his Divine Martial Sword era been dwelling in this body?
From the beginning?
Was it already possessed when he was reborn?
It was unknowable.
Soon, the gentle stimulus within his body disappeared.
SEUSUT.
The red eye light also vanished.
At that moment, a voice came from that direction.
“Sect Leader Cheol! Are you finished?”
When Cheol Ryu-heun cast his gaze forward, Hae Su-yeon was waving her hand.
“Yes.”
Having replied indifferently, he stepped on lotus leaves and leaped.
PAT-
A form that instantly traversed the void.
Soon, Cheol Ryu-heun descended onto the stone floor and surveyed the surrounding situation before asking.
“Enemies?”
Hae Su-yeon, approaching, nodded her head.
“Yes, they suddenly tried to kill us.”
“I sensed it earlier.”
Cheol Ryu-heun, having said that, turned his head.
Then the figures of Gal Jung-heon and the cloaked figure not far away entered his eyes.
“EUAK, EUAAAK…!”
Amid the cloaked figure’s agonized screams bursting out one after another as his flesh slowly rotted away.
Gal Jung-heon, emitting cold eyes, said.
“Reveal everything. Then I’ll end this pain.”
But the cloaked figure didn’t submit.
“Shut… up! EUHAK, EUHAAK!”
Seeing that, Cheol Ryu-heun quietly murmured.
“Blind loyalty that transcends even pain. How interesting.”
Namgung Sang-rin, who had at some point positioned himself beside, spoke with heavy eyes.
“Sect Leader Cheol, it turns out these are… confirmed to be the enemies who destroyed my family in the past.”
“HM, is that so?”
Cheol Ryu-heun soon went toward the cloaked figure slumped against a boulder and examined the shape of that sword.
It was an ordinary iron sword.
Yet.
It wasn’t unfamiliar.
‘This is…’
It was identical to the iron sword possessed by the mysterious mute who had suddenly attacked Namgung Heon-rin and Jeon Kwae before.
At that moment, suddenly.
BULGHUK!
The body of the cloaked figure in front of Gal Jung-heon rapidly swelled, then exploded violently and spewed green flame.
KKWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG- HWAAAAAAK-!