Chapter 373: The Decisive Battle of Chaos

Read more at Nineheavens.org

SEUREUREUK, SEUREUREUK, SEUREUREUK…

Several hundred incarnations of agony were ceaselessly absorbed into the meditating Divine Martial Sword.

At that moment.

-Let us watch quietly.

The voice of the divine being was heard from above the head.

SIK.

Cheol Ryu-heun, having raised his head, softly asked.

“If he recovers his power here… Will he be able to successfully close the Strange Gate that is secretly being generated in the Shiwan Mountains?”

A brief silence followed.

The divine being answered toward Cheol Ryu-heun.

-You will know by waiting and watching.

“Those words mean…”

-It means that it’s difficult to readily predict the possibility. Even I cannot predict all variables.

“Ah, I see. I understand. Separate from the Divine Martial Sword’s matter, the situation will change depending on how far that Fallen group’s plan has progressed…”

-That’s right. However, that… will not deviate from the scope of ultimate expectation.

At that, a smile formed at the corners of Cheol Ryu-heun’s lips.

“You believe in him.”

But the divine being had no response.

Cheol Ryu-heun too asked no more and lowered his head, gazing at the distant front.

SEUREUREUK, SEUREUREUK, SEUREUREUK, SEUREUREUK…

Incarnations of agony continuously leaping into the Divine Martial Sword.

Before he knew it, more than two-thirds had been absorbed and disappeared.

Before long, stillness arrived.

All incarnations of agony had been absorbed into the Divine Martial Sword.

‘May you recover your power. And…’

Cheol Ryu-heun, along with that thought, recalled memories.

Memories with his master whom he sincerely respected, White Gate Sword Gentleman Sagong Woon.

-Living alone without family at a young age is no ordinary difficult matter. I already know from having experienced it myself. I shall become a new family for you. If you learn martial arts, it will be of great help to your future. How about it, will you follow me?

It was the starting point of their bond as master and disciple, and a turning point in life.

It was literally the day his life changed.

Recalling the first meeting with his master made his heart warm anew.

Following that, he continued the inner words that had briefly been cut off.

‘…And please repay my master’s grudge.’

Having thus murmured inwardly, Cheol Ryu-heun quietly clenched his fists.

And through the gaps of those hands, faint droplets of emotion invisible to the eye silently seeped out and fell drip by drip.

* * *

KUREUREUREUK, KUREUREUREUREUK…

Countless personnel appeared before the Divine Martial Sword.

Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya(s) that had pierced through the layered mental realm.

Approximately three hundred?

Perhaps even more than that.

It begins.

A kind of gate that would occur before the destination of refining spirit to return to void…

Soon, the sounds subsided.

KUREUREUK… KUREUREUK…

The space then became quiet.

Deeply and heavily.

That stillness evoked a strange tension.

“Seuuup, huuuut.”

The Divine Martial Sword, having taken a deep breath, soon gripped his sword.

His gaze was fixed on the front.

The figures standing in formation like a long folding screen were captured in his pupils.

The Divine Martial Sword, who had been regulating his breathing, steeled his Fighting spirit while smiling.

‘Hut. There’s many, plenty of them.’

The number of people looked burdensome to handle.

However, he had no thought of avoiding the fight.

Since this was a battlefield of chaos he had intended from the start.

No.

This was how things were bound to become anyway.

It was just an extremely natural flow.

It was what he had expected from the beginning.

If those many incarnations of agony invaded the mental image space, wouldn’t it inevitably turn into a field of carnage?

This was the fork in the road between success and failure.

Only if he perfectly subdued each one would he achieve the goal he had set.

The methods of enlightenment within the mental realm are diverse.

The Divine Martial Sword chose one among them.

A method of achievement like combat in the real world.

This was truly a dangerous attempt, but on the other hand, it was a shortcut.

The fastest way to reach the end of enlightenment.

That’s right.

It was an extremely difficult path, but he could shorten the time to achievement.

The incarnations of agony instantly reacting to the sword-drawing stance the Divine Martial Sword had taken.

CHEOCHEOCHEOCHEOK, CHEOCHEOCHEOCHEOCHEOK…

Each raised their swords identically.

They were swords in the Divine Martial Sword’s form.

Every single one was identical.

Well, it was only natural.

Since Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya was the past owner of the Divine Martial Sword.

Since these were agonies sealed in that soul energy fragment, his appearance from when alive was reproduced identically.

However, the feeling was different.

At a glance, they had the appearance of immortal bearing, yet the intangible Aura/Aura/bearing was murderous.

Because their attribute was dark agony.

The Divine Martial Sword suddenly thought of that era.

‘It feels like reuniting with Dongbang Ya.’

In his youth, Dongbang Ya had displayed unmatched prowess across the land with his unparalleled swordsmanship of the immortal path, raising his martial fame.

And finally, he had placed even the Shaolin Temple’s sect master Abbot below him.

Thus, he was reborn as the foremost of the Orthodox faction and the strongest martial artist in the entire Jianghu.

He then entered this place, the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.

Following the advice of his master, Celestial Sword Sovereign Beom-gyu.

-I never told you, but in my youth, I explored the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation and was the first to awaken the Divine Martial Sword’s divine power. In truth, it was a journey of curiosity that wagered my life.

-I think you will obtain some answer within the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation. As I said before, your talent has surpassed this body. There is nothing more to teach you.

-The moment you overcome the terrible power of the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation, you will reach that high place. To a summit that even I have never set foot upon…

It was telling the Martial Immortal to find his own path to a new realm.

In the end, he succeeded in obtaining great enlightenment.

It was the completion of the supreme cultivation of the immortal path.

Also.

Furthermore, he even achieved spiritual communication with the Divine Martial Sword.

Then, when he intentionally postponed Feathered Transformation Feathered Ascension to Immortality for the second time.

The two had a conversation about the soul energy fragment of agony.

-You, not bad. To have completely separated all the agonies of life through two Feathered Transformation Feathered Ascension to Immortality processes.

-Pouring out, washing, emptying… It was truly difficult. But thanks to that, I have earned the qualification to be truly called a Martial Immortal. Since I can now freely undergo Feathered Transformation Feathered Ascension to Immortality at any time I wish. Yet it still doesn’t feel quite real.

-Are you just going to leave that? That mass of light where agony has clumped together.

-I cannot do that. If someone comes and takes the original form… it could be dangerous. Their heart could become corrupted. So, I was thinking of harmonizing it with your divine power to seal it…

-Like an arrangement of mysterious opportunity?

-That’s right.

-That opportunity talk of yours never changes even as time passes.

-Is it… impossible?

-Youngster, don’t even put such words in your mouth.

-Ah, that means…!

-It’s possible. I’ve already had similar experiences. Three times, no less.

-You mean Heavenly Demon, Sword Emperor, Evil Emperor?

-Yes. The time has come for you to join their ranks as well. Now, let’s do it right away.

-I should also maximize the power of the immortal path.

-Of course. I’m a bit curious. Who will eventually obtain this and make it their own power later…

The Divine Martial Sword, having erased the brief contemplation, wore a faint smile.

‘They didn’t know it would be me. Moreover, like this, having borrowed a human body…’

How interesting.

As they say, one must live long to see things.

Well, he had already lived a thousand years though.

‘I should begin in earnest.’

The Divine Martial Sword, having corrected his gaze, recalled a lofty mental technique.

It was a mental technique from Buddhism.

Huineng, the Sixth Family Head of Shaolin Temple in the old days and recorded as a great divine monk of Buddhism, said this:

-Agony is precisely Bodhi.

Bodhi, the wisdom of the Buddha’s right enlightenment, the highest ideal of Buddhism.

In other words, it meant enlightenment.

The One Hundred Eight Agonies that Buddhism speaks of is a journey to Bodhi.

The person who created the mental technique the Divine Martial Sword himself was about to perform was the Dharma Ancestor, the starting point of Buddhist martial arts and the founder figure of the Jianghu.

And.

His disciple Hui-neng optimized the mental technique based on outstanding contemplation.

The so-called ultimate essence for defeating the One Hundred Eight Agonies.

The Divine Martial Sword intended to use that.

He knew it better than anyone.

Because.

The reason was simple.

Since at that time, Hui-neng was the owner of the Divine Martial Sword.

KWAK!

The moment the Divine Martial Sword re-gripped the sword, golden light spread out.

It was an energy symbolizing sacred Buddhist force.

This was not based on Internal energy.

Isn’t this inside the mind?

Internal energy used in the mortal world was meaningless.

Here, mental elements such as tenacity, will, and Fighting spirit manifest as ascending martial arts.

In other words, the brain power of the upper dantian, a kind of soul energy, one might say.

In other words, that golden light was the Divine Martial Sword’s mental power being manifested to look like energy unique to Buddhism.

The incarnations of agony with attributes of various agonies, such as desire, anger, foolishness, arrogance, doubt, and others, simultaneously spewed hostility.

A hair-trigger atmosphere.

In the midst of that, half of the golden light the Divine Martial Sword’s frame was radiating suddenly changed color.

TIK… TITIK… TIK…

Half of the golden light transformed to a color of darkness.

It burst energy sounds as if clashing with the Buddhist force.

A power as if it were darkness itself.

Demonic energy.

Precisely, it was the dark energy light unique to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

The Divine Martial Sword soon let out an expressionless voice.

“Come at me, all of you.”

Simultaneously, a heavy sound burst out.

KWANG!

The Divine Martial Sword charging fiercely.

Not to be outdone, several hundred incarnations of agony also ran at high speed as if forming a massive encirclement.

* * *

In the shaded forest, the wide road heading to White Peak Sword Sect.

There, a man in his thirties was moving his steps.

It was Ja-woo, the Imperial Guard upper-rank martial official who had previously helped the Four Great Ladies in crisis.

He walked silently forward while recalling in his mind the conversation he had exchanged with Imperial Guard Commander Gongsun Hwa.

-You shall go there soon.

-Pardon?

-To White Peak Sword Sect.

-Ah… Yes, I understand what you mean. It’s a visit in response to Sect Master Cheol’s letter.

-It is written here. If you send someone separately, you will hear detailed stories through White Peak Sword Sect’s executives… I shall write you a letter here.

-The truth of our position… It’s not yet time to reveal it, is it?

-Of course, that’s something we’ll discuss later depending on the situation. There are many watching eyes and listening ears in the Imperial Palace, so we must be careful. Especially our position… is the primary target of vigilance for those filthy power-holders.

-Yes.

About how long had he walked thus?

Finally, the main gate of White Peak Sword Sect came into view far ahead.

‘Ah, I’ve almost arrived.’

Only then did Ja-woo deploy light movement techniques, drawing up his Internal energy.

TAT, TATAT, TAT-

Befitting an Imperial Guard upper-rank martial official, it was nimble and swift movement.

Soon, when he was about twenty paces from that main gate.

He flinched.

Ja-woo’s complexion suddenly changed.

‘Heot…!’

It was because a terrifying Aura was felt from somewhere.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

It was clear that someone was hiding nearby.

Yet.

There was absolutely no trace of Aura.

In other words, the Aura of the person radiating that existence didn’t register in his energy sense.

‘A master…!’

In an instant, extreme tension surged into his chest.

‘Could it be… an enemy?’

If it was someone from White Peak Sword Sect, there would be no reason to hide.

At that moment.

KUKUKUKUKUKUKKU-

A tremendous wave of intangible pressure weighed down the space.

At that, Ja-woo’s frame wavered dangerously.

‘Kuk…!’

He immediately and quickly operated Internal energy a level higher.

But he couldn’t shake off the heavy force pressing down on his shoulders.

This was no ordinary master.

A transcendent warrior.

One possessing an extraordinary cultivation level.

In that instant.

-Who are you?

Along with a soft Secret Sound Transmission, a strange man in crimson attire appeared behind Ja-woo.

Soundlessly, like a ghost drenched in blood.