Chapter 365: Gathering Powerful Enemies

***

While examining the upside-down building, he came to learn several facts.

For starters, this building was a two-story pavilion made by carving out an entire tens-of-meters-long Rank 7 rock.

Originally, the characteristic of a Rank 7 rock was that it was hard enough to withstand even Unity stage-level dharma spells, but this building was different.

It was like a hollow shell.

It looked fragile, as if it would collapse at a mere touch.

‘Does it mean it is incredibly old…?’

The entire building was covered in moss, and a portion of the walls had completely collapsed.

Looking around the exterior, he entered through a hole in the wall.

The interior of the building was more ordinary than expected.

There was no great difference from the cave dwellings where other cultivators lived.

Except for the fact that the furniture was scattered in a mess because the building was upside down, and it was half-filled with dirt.

An upside-down table, smashed porcelain, shelves fixed to the floor…

It was a mess, as if someone had picked up the entire building and shaken it wildly.

Just as he was looking around the devastated scene,

a classic sword hanging on the wall caught his eye.

With colorful gems embedded in the scabbard, it looked like a decorative item, but perhaps because it had been abandoned for so long, not a shred of sharp energy was felt from it.

The moment he applied slight force to draw the sword fixed to the wall,

Crumble!

the sword, which had turned to sand, collapsed completely.

“Ha.”

For a sword made of high-grade steel to weather like sand…

it seemed to have been neglected for at least millions of years.

His brow furrowed naturally.

Although the spiritual herbs visible sparsely in the mountain range were tens of thousands of years old at most, why was this building so old?

That high-grade steel had turned to dust meant the history of the secret realm was unimaginably long.

Thinking about it deeply, it was truly strange.

The history of the secret realm and the age of the spiritual herbs did not match at all.

Could someone who entered tens of thousands of years ago have swept all the spiritual herbs clean?

‘I don’t think that’s the case.’

The mountain range in the secret realm was so vast that it was difficult to gauge its end.

Harvesting every single spiritual herb here without exception was a task that required a truly vast amount of time and effort.

Spiritual herbs of low age.

An unusually old building.

The information indicated by the two scenes contradicted each other.

‘…Did something happen tens of thousands of years ago?’

What if an event so grand occurred that all the spiritual herbs inside the secret realm died?

For example, if the mist currently encroaching on the mountain range became incredibly cold, the spiritual herbs would all freeze to death.

If a major disaster had struck tens of thousands of years ago, the absence of old spiritual herbs could be understood.

Engaging in various speculations, he examined the building, but there was nothing in particular to be gained.

‘I am curious about what happened in the past, but…’

The current situation was more important than the past.

Leaving the building alone, he focused on inspecting the secret realm.

For starters, he searched the mountain range to find the source of the mist, but the deeper he dug the earth, the harder the dirt was compacted, making it difficult to dig beyond a certain depth.

Except for the ground being hard and the occasional upside-down building being buried, there was nothing particularly unusual.

‘Hmm… Is the chilly mist just a characteristic of this region?’

Since bizarre phenomena commonly occurred in regions with dense spiritual Qi, it was not a strange thing.

Just in case, he wandered around for a while longer, but he could not find anything particularly special.

‘No matter how far I go, only the mountain range continues…’

It was not that there was no result at all.

As he wandered here and there, he got a sense of what kind of place this was.

It seemed this secret realm was not a place designed by someone with a special purpose.

If it had been created deliberately, a specific intention should be felt, but this mountain range was wildness itself.

Presumably, a portion of the world had been split due to some accident and became an independent space, and after wandering in the void, it happened to settle here by chance.

‘It is slightly regrettable.’

If it were a secret realm created by someone with intention, there would have been far superior fortuitous opportunities.

This mountain range was insufficient to be said to have tremendous fortuitous opportunities.

Of course, there was no need to be too disappointed.

Since the worldly energy at the level of a Rank 7 top-grade spiritual vein and the chilly mist were sufficiently useful on their own.

At any rate, having roughly grasped the secret realm, it was time to decide what to do next.

‘Maybe the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace will also enter the secret realm before long.’

Once that time came, it was safe to assume his peaceful time would be over.

If so, what should he do before it became a mess?

For starters, he pondered whether or not to defeat the Dao Sovereigns currently searching for the Heaven-Defying Treasure one by one.

Since those people were highly likely to also become enemies once the Heavenly Law Palace entered, it was not bad to deal with them beforehand.

However, if he fought them now, the possibility of obtaining the Heaven-Defying Treasure would become infinitely low.

Of course, there was absolutely no guarantee that a Heaven-Defying Treasure existed in the secret realm, but still, who knew?

There was no need to deliberately interfere with those who were diligently searching for the Heaven-Defying Treasure.

‘Let’s leave them alone for now.’

Then, what he needed to focus on now was raising his strength as much as possible in a short period.

Since accumulating dharma power to raise his realm was basic, there was no need to even ponder it.

Where should he spend the remaining time?

In the current situation, there were two ways to dramatically raise his strength.

The divine ability obtained while plundering the headquarters of the Heavenly Law Palace, Circulating Heaven Starfall.

The energy obtained while undergoing the lightning tribulation when ascending to the Unity stage, the Silver Lightning Tribulation.

If he digested these two energies stored in the Chaos Origin Wheel, he could sharply raise his strength.

‘Let’s refine the Silver Lightning Tribulation first.’

The priority was clear.

When fighting multiple enemies, the most important thing was not to be surrounded.

If he could freely handle the Silver Lightning Tribulation, which possessed formidable might, he would be able to make a tremendous leap in terms of mobility.

Simultaneously with making his decision,

he concentrated on the Silver Lightning Tribulation stored in the Chaos Origin Wheel.

The moment he lightly tapped the Silver Lightning Tribulation, which remained quiet as if asleep,

Crackle!

a thread-thin silver lightning bolt shot out from the Chaos Origin Wheel.

A single strand of lightning starting from his dantian raced along his meridians, and his entire body was enveloped in intense heat.

‘Urgh.’

A groan escaped naturally at the pain burning from the inside.

Although only an extremely small amount, not even one-thousandth compared to the entire Silver Lightning Tribulation, had shot out,

Crackle!

his skin split open, and blood poured out.

Enduring the suffocating, burning pain, he absorbed the mist densely spread around.

Sss…!

As the ice-cold energy and the hot lightning Qi collided, the pain that had been making his mind turn blank decreased slightly.

He did not waste the barely obtained leeway.

Activating his dharma power, or more precisely, his Primordial One Qi,

he suppressed the Silver Lightning Tribulation, which ran amok as soon as it was released from control, and mixed it into his Primordial One Qi.

How much time had passed?

A ray of dawn light shone from beyond the horizon.

‘Ah.’

Is it already dawn?

In a state of self-forgetfulness, the sun rose before he knew it, and the mist that had been densely spread vanished as if washed away.

‘Tsk.’

Although it was a troublesome situation to the point of lamenting, he did not lose his focus.

Crackle!

He endured the pain of his entire body’s meridians melting down, gritting his teeth.

This time passed dreadfully slowly.

By the time his mind became tattered after enduring, enduring, and enduring once more,

only then did the sun set again, and the mountain range was once more covered in mist.

‘Fhew, what a relief.’

If the mist had not formed even though night fell, he would have had to postpone digesting the silver lightning until later.

Hurriedly absorbing the chilly mist, the pain decreased sharply.

Barely catching his breath, he pondered.

Practicing so blindly did not seem like a very good method.

After thinking for a moment, he summoned a hundred clones.

‘Gather some mist. As much as possible.’

Entrusting the task of gathering the mist to his clones, the main body headed to the training ground in the Secret Realm of the Mind.

Doing so, he would be able to refine the silver lightning day and night without distinction.

After a moment,

one of the clones brought back the collected mist, and he focused on refining the silver lightning once more.

Like that,

countless nights and days repeated.

***

Three years later.

The Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace, who were waiting at the entrance of the secret realm, let out groans.

A considerable amount of time had passed since they requested support from the Profound Desolate Palace, yet no answer had arrived.

“It is taking longer than expected.”

“Could the Profound Desolate Palace be taking this matter lightly?”

“…Since they have not seen Jin So-myeong directly, that could be the case.”

Taking seriously the statement that a mere rogue cultivator could become a serious threat was no easy task.

“Just in case, we will continue to breach the restriction.”

Around the time the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace let out sighs,

Gok Man, who was sitting in the shade of a tree sipping from his gourd, narrowed his brows.

“They have arrived.”

At the brief word, the Dao Sovereigns who were exchanging conversations froze.

They immediately stood up and lined up, and Gok Man was no exception.

Just as they were preparing as if welcoming an honored guest,

a blue comet appeared beyond the horizon, and from the brilliance that flew in like a ray of light, a bright-looking young man emerged.

Wearing loose pants and rolling up his sleeves, it was an appearance as if he had just come out for a stroll on a fine day.

Although it was a simple appearance to the point of looking like an idle playboy, the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace did not lose their manners.

“Greetings, Senior.”

“Mhm.”

Bowing even their heads in greeting, it was respectful to the point that it was hard to believe they were of the same Unity stage.

Receiving the greeting with a light gesture, the young man scanned through the Dao Sovereigns and then fixed his gaze on Gok Man.

“It has been a long time. Is it five hundred years?”

“Yes. It is about that long. However, I did not expect Senior to come personally.”

“Since you were the one who called, not anyone else, naturally I should come. However…”

The young man, wearing a bitter smile, spoke with a serious expression.

“Is it true that you made the decision after deep consideration? Is this matter important enough to ask for help from the Profound Desolate Palace?”

“I judged it to be a necessary task.”

He sighed at the calm reply.

“Sigh. Actually, traveling all the way here was not very easy for me. I had a hard time persuading the old men, who were making all kinds of excuses to find fault.”

“You must have gone through a lot of trouble.”

“My trouble is nothing. More than that, you are the problem.”

“…”

“You must have also vaguely guessed. If the Profound Desolate Palace were to select the next person, it would have been you nine times out of ten.”

Listening to the conversation going back and forth, the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace were startled.

This was because being selected by the Profound Desolate Palace was as good as their ultimate goal.

What was so good about belonging to the Profound Desolate Palace?

It could be explained in just one word.

If one belonged to the Profound Desolate Palace, they could break free from the restrictions of lifespan and live eternally.

The reason the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace roamed around searching for Heaven-Defying Treasures was to steadily accumulate contribution points to enter the Profound Desolate Palace.

“To request support from the Profound Desolate Palace at such an important time. This will inevitably lower the evaluation of you, Gok Man.”

“Haha… It is regrettable, but it cannot be helped.”

“It is not a matter to be ended simply by calling it regrettable. Right now, the old men are making a fuss, saying they must reconsider your evaluation.”

“Hmm.”

“They are playing tricks to bring someone who suits their own taste into the Profound Desolate Palace. Tsk.”

So…

it meant Gok Man had requested support even while postponing his opportunity to enter the Profound Desolate Palace.

Even though he had moved one step further away from eternal life, Gok Man’s attitude did not change.

“Rather than that, how many reinforcements were dispatched?”

The young man, who had been frowning, chuckled as if it were absurd, and stretched both arms to the left and right.

“Can’t you tell by looking? It is just me alone.”

“…”

“Heavens. Seeing you turn so serious, Jin So-myeong must indeed be remarkable. Don’t worry, I am joking. Since I have brought everything you requested.”

The young man, who let out a hearty laugh, tapped his storage pouch, and a brilliant radiance poured out.

The number of light pillars that multiplied in an instant exceeded hundreds and reached exactly one thousand…

and the light pillars that spread in all directions covered the entire sky.

And,

the light pillars condensed in the void began to take concrete shapes.

A turtle with a size as massive as a mountain, a tiger with golden wings, a three-headed eagle…

They became puppets of all kinds of shapes, and if there was a common feature, it was that every puppet emitted Unity stage-level energy.

One thousand Unity stage-level puppets.

The pupils of the Dao Sovereigns of the Heavenly Law Palace watching from the side shook.

It was an absurd force. This was a scale that far transcended their expectations.

“Additionally, three Dao Sovereigns will be sent from each of the seven Xuan. Adding you all and the Law-Decreeing Palace, it means forty Dao Sovereigns will gather in one place. How is it, is even this insufficient?”

“Hmm…”

When the answer did not come immediately, the young man raised one eyebrow.

“You are still contemplating even after seeing the puppet soldiers? Is Jin So-myeong really that remarkable?”

“No. It seems it will be sufficient.”

The young man, who was silent for a moment, nodded.

“Good. Then, with the one thousand puppets, I will install the Myriad Realms Absolute Sealing Great Array to completely blockade the area. And…”

The young man, glancing beyond the horizon, continued his words.

“Once the Dao Sovereigns sent from other Xuan have all gathered, I will open the entrance of the secret realm. Go in with them and deal with Jin So-myeong. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you for your help.”

“Do you know what I am thinking right now? I am actually thinking that I hope Jin So-myeong shows tremendous strength.”

“…”

“Because that would mean the judgment you made was correct. The old men won’t be able to find fault anymore either.”

The young man, who muttered as if talking to himself, gestured, and the one thousand puppets began to move in perfect order.