Chapter 245: A Void Refinement-level Strike
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Nineheavens.org
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Everyone was left speechless by a shock that felt like being struck on the back of the head with a brick.
“No.”
A human who was barely in the Soul Formation stage.
How dare he, so fearlessly.
Not only did he participate in the Sacred War that ten Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords were watching, but he ran wild openly as if it were his own master bedroom?
“…”
He swept up and consumed all the resources the Asura race had accumulated for ten thousand years, and even raised his realm?
This,
This was truly…
Anger following the sense of betrayal and shock, and a feeling of regret felt in a corner of their hearts.
At that moment when even the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords could not easily react to the complexly tangled emotions and merely parted their lips.
Ra-heuk, who was the only one who had not let go of a single thread of suspicion, moved first.
“Wait! Fellow Daoist, where do you think you are going right now?”
Someone urgently shouted, but Ra-heuk did not even turn his head.
“Is there any need to contemplate? I must kill him immediately.”
“…Is the Sacred War not ongoing right now?”
“No matter what happens to the Sacred War, killing that guy is several times more important.”
The old man frowned at the attitude that looked as if he would plunge into Horyong Province right away.
“Calm down. I am just as displeased by that fellow Jin So-myeong. However, is Horyong Province not sealed by a formation? There is no loophole for him to escape.”
“…”
“Since he is no different from a rat caught in a trap, responding calmly is enough. Rather, help us and finish the Blood Sacrifice first. We must capture that fellow without fail. There is much to find out.”
He said he fell into the Red Lotus Realm by chance after being swept by the Nine Heavens Wild Wind, but whether that was true, and whether he had played any tricks in the Asura race’s territory…
Although such information was also important, there was something else that was far, thousands of times more important.
The secret to strength that transcended one’s realm.
They had to find it out. If they could apply that secret to the Asura race, it meant the entire race would become stronger.
“If you touch him rashly and he commits suicide, what do you plan to do? Just endure for a little bit.”
Once the Blood Sacrifice was finished and ten Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lords besieged him, they could capture him surely without giving him any gap to take his own life.
Although it was a seemingly correct statement…
The judgment Ra-heuk made was completely different. It was because his instinct whispered to him.
Right now.
That he must kill Jin So-myeong by any means, and that he must not give him even a moment of time.
He never ignored the warning of instinct he had accumulated while cultivating all the way to the Void Refinement stage.
Boom!
“No, fellow Daoist!”
Without even replying, he flew with all his might toward Horyong Province.
***
At the same time, Jin So-myeong was in the midst of being flustered by the unexpected situation.
‘What suddenly.’
The moment he was touched by the brilliance emitted by the pillar of light that plunged from the sky, the Infinite Void Formless Robe he was wearing over his entire body was completely shattered.
Since it was something that occurred while he was concentrating on resisting the Law Domain of the Crimson Heart Lotus, there was no room to do anything.
‘Damn it…’
The formless barrier, which he had crafted by investing several treasures specialized in concealment along with an immense 50 billion points of the Supreme Great Ability, was shattered into pieces.
Looking at the Infinite Void Formless Robe scattering into thousands of pieces, his heart ached, but now was not the time to feel regret.
‘I am discovered.’
Although he did not know what the identity of the pillar of light that came down from the sky was, since the Infinite Void Formless Robe was broken because of it, danger would soon arrive.
He had hoped to be discovered at least after the Sacred War ended.
His mouth felt bitter, but he did not deny reality.
He did not hope for a fluke either. At the same time as the judgment that he was discovered as a human was made.
Clang!
Drawing the Fire Cleaving Great Saber hung on his back, he struck down vertically, and a brilliantly pure white light cut through the Law Domain of the Crimson Heart Lotus.
The essence of the human cultivation civilization, A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, was unfolded in the middle of the Asura race’s territory.
A split second.
A sensation that made his spine chill warned him.
That something threatening his life was approaching minute by minute.
Rumble!
Jin So-myeong, who even unfolded the Lightning Escape Art, sprinted with all his might toward the Crimson Heart Lotus.
While pushing forward with the horse-slaying saber enveloped in A Single Flash Lightens the Heavens, he crossed the Law Domain.
In a split second that was not even a single breath, he was able to reach right in front of the Crimson Heart Lotus.
Although he held right before his eyes the Void Refinement spiritual object that Soul Formation stage cultivators yearned for even in their dreams, there was no time to examine it closely.
Crunch!
Compressing the red lotus floating in the air with his spiritual power, he swallowed it straight away.
He let the distant energy that whipped up like an explosion be absorbed into the Chaos Origin Wheel. While hoping that the newly obtained divine ability could digest the energy of the Crimson Heart Lotus, that was.
‘Ah.’
Although he obtained the Crimson Heart Lotus that was his goal, there was no time to rejoice.
Suddenly, the sky turned dark.
The widely spread clouds parted, and a giant entity with a diameter reaching several kilometers revealed its form.
Rumble!
At the moment he realized the identity of that which fell like a meteor while pressing down on the air, he could not help but go blank.
‘To think that is a fist.’
To think that something so large that it was difficult to take in with one glance was a part of a body.
He soon realized what had happened.
A Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord was trying to kill him without asking questions.
‘I must avoid…’
Looking at the fist from which he felt the will to kill without fail, he kicked off the ground.
Since engaging in a head-on power struggle with one of a higher realm was a foolish act.
He tried to avoid it right away…
But even though he applied enough strength to burst his thighs, he could not move.
Even the air that had been fluttering in the wind hardened as solid as a rock, pressing down on his entire body.
‘What.’
He, who was a 5th-rank body tempering cultivator who could crush a mountain with a single hand gesture, could not even budge a finger.
At that moment when he realized something had gone wrong.
Pfffft!
The lake under his feet evaporated, and even the Fire Cleaving Great Saber held in his hand turned to dust.
‘This is truly…’
Absurd.
Just how strong was the power contained in the fist that, even before it touched, the water that was as wide as a sea evaporated in an instant, and even a 5th-rank Dharma Treasure was broken.
Is this the Void Refinement stage?
It was strong enough to make his head go blank in a split second.
Jin So-myeong, who watched the death approaching minute by minute, opened his spatial pocket.
Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron .
A Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure made by the cooperation of the most outstanding artisans of the human world.
Summoning the ice cauldron, which was large enough to hold even a mountain, he sent it flying into the air.
However, when even the Fire Cleaving Great Saber was turned to dust in an instant, would the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron work?
The result was soon revealed.
Boom!
The ice cauldron shattered into pieces as soon as it touched the fist.
Furthermore, it was completely destroyed to the point where it could never be used again. Dividing into more than tens of millions of ice shards, it plunged toward the ground.
At that moment when it was broken so easily that it felt empty.
Crackle!
Lightning Qi flickered on the ice shards that were falling powerlessly.
Rumble!
Simultaneously with a thunderclap that shook heaven and earth, a bright yellow lightning bundle connected the tens of millions of ice pieces into one, forming a formation.
“How dare you! To put up such a toy!”
He ignored the voice that was clearly filled with wrath.
The formation that could be unfolded only once by consuming the Mysterious Ice Crystal Cauldron as the cost.
He activated the Ice Thunder Heaven-Destroying Formation .
Crackle!
A lightning bolt brilliant enough to blind the eyes dyed heaven and earth, and the fist that had been striking down without stopping even for a moment slowed down for the first time.
By utilizing the short gap created with great difficulty.
He triggered the spiritual power inside his heart.
At the moment when he spread his Blood Wings and at the same time summoned Wugeuk to form a sword shape.
Clang!
He overcame the bizarre pressure that was pressing down on his entire body. Cutting through the Law Domain of the Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord, he kicked off the ground.
……………!
A shockwave erupted from the fist that struck down on the spot where he had been standing a moment ago.
There was no time to rejoice in the fact that he had avoided the strike.
“Cough!”
Just by being touched by the aftermath, the bones of his entire body shattered, and his vision cut out in a split second.
To think he suffered this much damage without even being grazed.
It was to the point of being mind-boggling, but in reality, this was a relatively good situation.
The other Soul Formation stage Asuras who were nearby could not even preserve their shapes and evaporated. They were not struck by the fist, but merely swept by the shockwave, yet it became like that.
‘Ugh.’
Swallowing the surging blood, he converted the Primordial One Qi into vital energy.
Ignoring the suffocating pain, he first mended his shattered bones.
Thanks to him reaching Great Success in the Five Viscera Hundred Tempering Art and achieving an undying body, a degree of shattered bones in the entire body was no different from a mere scratch.
Although he regenerated in an instant, the crisis continued.
Rumble!
The surrounding air hardened, and the sky turned dark once again.
The fist that popped out from between the clouds rapidly drew closer.
Furthermore, this time it was not one. Dozens of translucent fists like illusions were following behind.
‘If I am hit, I die.’
He wanted to avoid it right away, but it was not as easy as he thought.
It was because the air, which had become as hard as rock, hindered his movement, and even when he emitted spiritual power to push it away, there was no effect.
‘The difference in spiritual power is too great.’
Since a Void Refinement stage cultivator was trying to press down with all his might, it was difficult to resist with a Soul Formation stage level.
Was it because of that?
For the first time, he keenly felt the disadvantage of the Blood Wings.
‘Too slow.’
The Blood Wings were a divine ability that used the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration circulated inside the body as a power source.
Starting from the heart, the spiritual power was exponentially amplified as it passed through a total of five organs: the spleen, lungs, kidneys, liver.
That process could be called one circulation, and as the circulation repeated, the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration flowing inside the body became dozens and hundreds of times stronger.
Since one circulation ended before the blink of an eye, normally it was not a problem at all.
However,
When fighting a true powerhouse, this split second of time became a truly heavy burden.
In order to oppose a Void Refinement stage Heavenly Lord, the Blood Wings had to enter at least the fourth, or at the very least, the third circulation, but he was about to die before the first circulation even finished.
‘It is frustrating.’
The first circulation, which normally passed in an instant to the point where he did not need to pay attention, felt excruciatingly slow.
What should he do?
‘The Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing…’
A secret technique that crossed boundaries by burning down Dao or life, something that was precious beyond words.
By paying the price of running counter to the Great Dao of Longevity, which was a cultivator’s primary purpose, to obtain distant power…if he unfolded the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing, he might be able to overcome this crisis.
However, he was reluctant.
If he resolved it by offering his lifespan every time he met a powerful enemy, at some point, his lifespan would be insufficient, and he would face a miserable end.
Moreover…
The future observed by the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye was also not bright.
Even if he unfolded the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing, his chances of victory were slim. He would be defeated after not being able to hold out for long.
Looking at the approaching fist, he gritted his teeth.
After hesitating, in the end.
Rumble!
At the junction separating life and death, he unfolded the Purple Lightning Escape Art, which he had saved in order to strike a gap.
By unfolding that which was four to five times faster compared to the general Lightning Escape Art, he pushed away the surrounding pressure and soared into the sky as if bouncing.
Avoiding the fists pouring down like a bombardment by a hair’s breadth, he charged in reverse.
Stab!
At the moment he pierced through the thickly piled clouds and went high into the sky.
He saw.
An entity so giant that taking it in with one glance was impossible.
It was indeed what he had vaguely imagined when he saw the fist reaching several kilometers in diameter.
A giant looking down loftily from above the sky. His eyes met with Ra-heuk.
“It is not an ordinary Lightning Escape Art.”
At the moment Ra-heuk, who frowned, raised his fist.
Boom!
Starting with the fist flying from the front, dozens of consecutive strikes poured down.
Front, back, side. Wherever he looked, it was full of fists.
It was a variety of angles that made it hard to believe the opponent was only one person. Furthermore, it was so fast that it was hard to believe he possessed a giant body, and the moment he perceived it, it was already right in front of him.
Whoosh…!
While barely avoiding the pouring consecutive strikes with the Purple Lightning Escape Art exerted to its limit, he endeavored to narrow the distance.
There was no way the same technique would work multiple times on a Void Refinement stage expert. Now that he had revealed the Purple Lightning Escape Art, he had to deliver a blow somehow.
However… it was not easy.
‘I do not see a gap.’
Normally, when facing someone of a lower realm than oneself, one would unconsciously become careless, but Ra-heuk did not do so at all.
From the time he ambushed him after taking the Crimson Heart Lotus until now.
Every single strike was filled with cold murderous intent. There was not even a fragment of carelessness.
‘Ugh.’
In the midst of narrowing the distance somehow, he was startled by a fist that suddenly appeared from the side and bent his direction.
At that moment when he barely avoided the fist containing the power to split even a continent.
At the sensation that made his hair stand on end, he hurriedly twisted his upper body, and
Thud!
A dagger that flew soundlessly penetrated his flank.
Along with a stinging pain, dizziness arose.
‘There is even poison applied? How persistent.’
To think he did not hesitate to even launch a surprise attack on someone of a lower realm than himself.
Should he say he was honored by this.
It was a murderous intent so vivid that it sent shivers down his spine. He could clearly feel that the opponent was exerting his whole heart and mind to kill this side.
Right at that moment.
The dagger that penetrated his flank emitted a dark light and then connected with the surrounding air, and a pain as if his upper body were being torn apart in its entirety rushed in.
‘Ugh.’
By the time he realized, it was already too late.
Since the dagger became an anchor and was fixed in empty air, no matter how much he struggled, he could not move.
It felt as if he had become a fish impaled by a harpoon.
Boom!
Looking at the fist flying at a speed several times faster than before, his pupils dilated.
‘Ah…’
Right before death.
His concentration reached its extreme. While staring intently at the fist approaching in the slowed-down world.
He searched for a way to live, no, a way to win.
At that moment when he was contemplating so intensely that heat seemed to rise from his head.
Right on time, the Blood Wings entered the second circulation, and the Light-Accumulating Destructive Vibration, amplified dozens of times, raced along his meridians.
At the same time.
Crack!
He felt as if something was breaking inside his head, and suddenly a doubt arose.
‘Since when did I blindly trust the future shown by the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye?’
The insight of the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye was merely a reference. The future was something that could only be known by taking a step forward myself.
Yet, because the chances of victory were slim, I would spare my lifespan?
It was an incomprehensible judgment.
To spare one’s strength against a powerhouse. What kind of arrogance was that.
‘When it is not even enough to pour in everything I have, to worry about what comes after.’
Since when had he behaved so frustratingly.
Suddenly, Ra-heuk’s pupils beyond the giant fist came into his view.
‘Ha, now that I look, you are an extremely insidious fellow.’
At the moment he realized that even his fighting spirit had withered in the opponent’s Law Domain.
There was no longer any hesitation.
That which he had forged in the midst of a fierce life-and-death struggle. He threw his soul into the flame he had forgotten at some point.
The secret technique that crossed boundaries by burning down the Dao he had established himself.
He unfolded the Moon-Burning Realm-Crossing .
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