Chapter 370: Variables

Actually, there was a way to escape from the encirclement even without unfolding the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture.

It would suffice to utilize the True Blood he had hidden here and there in the secret realm.

If he used the True Blood, which was no different from a clone, to teleport, he could escape even from a completely surrounded situation like the one he was in now.

However, he wanted to save the escape method utilizing the True Blood as a last resort.

The enemies were not foolish either.

If he openly showed the movement method through the True Blood, they would try to find a countermeasure, which would be problematic.

What if, by some rare chance, the hidden True Blood was seized?

They would truly play all sorts of annoying tricks.

They might track him using the blood, or they might place a curse on him.

To avoid exposing the fact that he had hidden True Blood all over the secret realm, it was best to save this means until the very end.

Furthermore, he could not forget that a tracking arrow was currently embedded inside his body.

As long as his location was completely exposed, there was no meaning in escaping the encirclement.

That was why,

He did not stop even though he knew there was a trap ahead.

He continued to advance toward the Law-Decreeing Palace’s Dao Sovereigns, who had set up a formation and were waiting only for their prey to arrive.

‘Just a little more…’

It was a situation where they were both targeting each other.

The distance between him and the enemies, who were waiting with bated breath, narrowed second by second.

By the time a cold chill settled in the eyes of the Law-Decreeing Palace’s Dao Sovereigns,

‘Now.’

He accelerated while unfolding the Blood Wings and the Heart-Shattering Blood Glyph.

He moved first, a beat faster than the opponent, right before the ambush began.

Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture .

He displayed the secret technique containing the essence of the human race’s cultivation civilization,

And the tension that had been tightening like a bowstring vanished without a trace.

Why was that?

His vision elevated, and the entire battlefield was overlooked at a glance.

The Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture unfolded for the second time after ascending to the Unity stage was different yet again.

Every slowly flowing moment was vivid.

Whoosh!

The flame bloomed by burning his lifespan melted the wall.

Since the wall blocking his front had crumbled, what was there to hesitate about?

The moment he took a step forward,

The wall called the minor realm lost its meaning.

The sense called perception,

Dharma power,

And the strength dwelling in every single fiber of his muscles…

Every ability he possessed as a cultivator grew by one stage.

Was it because he had become proficient after unfolding the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture several times?

It was different from usual; the moment he crossed the boundary was felt completely.

And,

Another rise followed.

The realm that would have originally taken hundreds of years of bitter tempering to reach became close enough to touch by merely stretching out his hand.

He realized instinctively.

That if he melted the wall currently in front of his eyes, he could exert the power of the late Unity stage.

He felt curious; what would be next if he crossed this wall?

The Great Circle of the Unity stage?

Or… was it some unknown thing beyond that?

A powerful impulse arose.

An impulse to not care about the consequences and just break through spectacularly.

‘Stop.’

This much was enough.

Melting the next wall would consume an immense lifespan.

When fighting against a large number of enemies like now, he had to judge strategically.

Even if he went wild after losing his reason, he would only be hunted like a beast.

Leaving his regret behind, he regained his composure.

As he suppressed the flame bloomed by burning his lifespan, the endlessly continuing rise stopped.

The moment he perceived that,

‘It has changed.’

He realized that the proficiency of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture had grown by one stage.

Now, he had become able to control how much lifespan to burn and to what extent he would raise his realm.

His joy was short-lived; suddenly, a thought came to him.

The next realm of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture was Abandoning the Dao, Two Moons .

Could raising the proficiency of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture like this be one of the conditions for awakening Abandoning the Dao, Two Moons…

He felt curious, but he could not fall into deep thoughts in a situation with enemies before him.

Shaking off all idle thoughts, he kicked off the void.

He took a step while walking through a split second that even sound could not catch up to.

He swung the sword toward the wide-open nape.

Slash!

Seeing the blood line drawn right in the center of the neck, he twisted his wrist.

The blade struck diagonally, parting the upper body,

Crunch!

And shattered the gold bead hidden near the left flank.

He had cut definitely.

In a ridiculously short moment, the neck of a Unity stage Dao Sovereign, who was worshiped as a mythical existence, flew off.

This was what being fast meant.

If one could stand just a single step ahead of the opponent’s perception, they could not offer even a tiny bit of resistance.

“Keo-heok!”

Gazing at the opponent staggering while clutching his neck, he narrowed his eyes.

Within the slowly flowing world,

The blood line drawn on the neck regenerated, and the bead divided in half also merged back into one.

‘Shattering the gold bead alone does not kill him.’

If he pulled out the gold bead as it was, he might be able to kill him, but he left it alone for now.

‘Killing him now is a loss.’

Even if he killed him, only a gold figure that was troublesome to deal with would pop out, so he made his purpose clear.

Currently, breaking through the encirclement was the highest priority.

Boom!

He punched with a fist in which the strength of the Golden Body Dharma Image dwelt.

He continued to advance while blowing away the entirety of the slowly recovering upper body.

He charged with the intention of smashing head-on those who blocked his path ahead.

“You bastard…!”

The opponents were not simply standing and taking the hits either.

They retreated as if bouncing off and poured out spells, while some activated the formations they had installed in advance.

Rumble!

Ash-gray whips writhing like snakes, formless shockwaves, faint slashes that could not be caught by Divine Sense…

All sorts of spells poured down, but evading them was simple.

He consumed one-third of the Silver Lightning, which was steadily recovering even at this moment.

Crackle!

The moment he unfolded the Lightning Escape Art, all scenery slowed down distantly.

He broke through the spells pouring down like shotgun pellets in a single step,

And as he swung the sword, two heads flew into the air.

“What in the…”

The middle-aged woman, who was wearing a dumbfounded expression like someone who had witnessed an impossible sight, gritted her teeth.

As she waved her feather fan, a sharp northern wind swept.

Clang!

He parried the entire onslaught, which was so faint that it could barely be seen, with a single sword.

She was not the only one pouring out spells.

As he dealt with the Law-Decreeing Palace’s Dao Sovereigns charging like madmen as if to hold him back by his ankles at all costs, he felt his body grow heavy.

‘A spiderweb?’

Transparent threads that could not even be detected by Divine Sense were wound tightly all over his body.

Thanks to the Lightning Insight Spell-Breaking Eye, he knew what this was the moment he saw it.

‘It is for the purpose of suppressing movement.’

It was a thread originating from the formation installed by the opponent, and the entire world, regardless of heaven or earth, was filled with transparent threads.

When he tried moving his arm, it was considerably tough; by the look of it, it did not seem like it would break easily.

‘Is this a method to counter my Lightning Escape Art?’

If he moved carelessly, more threads would become tangled, and if so, there was no use in breaking through the encirclement.

It was clear that before long, he would be bound as if caught in a spiderweb.

It could be called a difficult situation, but he did not care too much.

A problem like this could be solved easily.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

While dealing with the continuously rushing Law-Decreeing Palace’s Dao Sovereigns,

He glanced sideways.

He grasped roughly where the other Dao Sovereigns chasing from behind had reached.

‘Once they all gather…’

Just as he was drafting a plan in his head,

He felt a chilling sensation that made his fine hairs stand on end.

He rotated his entire body like a spinning top and swung the sword backward,

Clang!

And deflected something that was right on the verge of piercing his spine.

A deep blue line cutting through the void…no, an ice spear shaped like an icicle grazed past his earlobe.

Crack!

The moment the ice spear that flew in like a meteor was driven into the ground,

As if a flower was in full bloom, ice crystals originating from the ice spear expanded in all directions.

Watching the ice crystals sharp like thorns fly in,

He extended his fist.

Boom!

With a single blow completely laden with the strength of the Golden Body Dharma Image, he crushed the explosively expanding ice crystals in an instant.

Right before the fist-shaped shockwave completely shattered the ice crystals,

Hum!

Light burst from the ice crystals, and a familiar old man popped out.

The old man, who had a calabash bottle tied to his waist, presented the back of his hand and then flipped his palm.

With that single light movement,

The giant fist that was flying through the void was deflected into the sky.

‘Heh.’

Deflecting a fist laden with the strength of the Golden Body Dharma Image so easily was indeed an astonishing skill.

Just as he was admiring, the old man, who made a sword-finger gesture with his left hand, pointed in this direction,

And the vicinity of several hundred meters was covered by a massive shadow.

Reflectively inspecting the sky, a ridiculously colossal sword was falling like a meteor.

The energy contained in the giant sword plunging at a tremendous speed was unusual.

If he took it head-on, it seemed he would not even be able to gather his bones, but he had no intention of retreating.

Boom!

On the contrary, he charged; he thrust his sword toward the old man who was extending his sword-finger.

Clang!

The blade advancing in a straight line collided with a fist, and a shockwave arose along with a sharp tearing sound.

Discharging the heavy recoil transmitted through his wrist, he became certain.

‘He has even mastered body tempering.’

The strength contained in the physical body was out of the ordinary.

The old man who deflected the sword with his bare hand gripped the void, and the wind gathered in a vortex pressurized his entire body.

An extreme chill was contained within the violently raging gale.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Pushing away the chill burrowing into his mind and body, he deflected all the successively flying fists.

‘As expected.’

Every time the sword and the fist contacted, the extreme chill tried to penetrate.

Just as he grasped that the opponent’s primary cultivation method was related to coldness,

The giant sword falling like a meteor reached the ground,

……………!

For an instant, all noise stopped.

A powerful explosion.

An impact to the extent of making his mind grow distant for a split second struck his back, and even the Law-Decreeing Palace’s Dao Sovereigns who were watching for an opening were swept up.

‘Ugh…!’

The shockwave that burrowed in instantly tried to shatter the meridians of his entire body.

He was surprised by a power stronger than expected, but it was not that there was no way to respond.

He unfolded the Yin-Yang Reversal.

He guided the shockwave trying to tear his body apart to the tip of his sword,

Clang!

And struck away a claw that had approached right in front of his nose before long.

Did he not know that Jin So-myeong would block even this? The old man who was pouring out a fierce onslaught frowned.

Within the split second of silence created as the shockwave subsided, they stared at each other.

‘He is an immense expert.’

To think he could not be overwhelmed even in the state of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture.

As expected, his anticipation was correct.

It was something he had guessed since he first saw the old man; the opponent was a remarkably outstanding expert worthy of admiration.

Consequently, curiosity naturally arose.

“If I ask to send away the friends beside you and have a proper bout, will you listen?”

“…You speak ridiculous nonsense. What reason is there for me to do such a foolish thing?”

“Mhm. If you think so, it cannot be helped.”

It was truly a shame; if he fought properly against such a powerhouse, he would be able to obtain many things.

He said, tilting his head.

“Still, meeting like this is also a connection, so how about we at least exchange names?”

The old man, who hesitated, raised one eyebrow.

“Did you just ask for my name?”

“It is just that I am glad to meet a powerhouse after a long time. Is it not allowed?”

The silent old man narrowed his eyes.

He did not interrupt and attack, but Jin So-myeong understood why he acted that way.

At any rate, from the opponent’s standpoint, stalling for time until the encirclement narrowed was advantageous; there was no reason to refuse conversation.

The old man, who was staring with a slight frown, opened his mouth.

“My name is Gok Man.”

“I see. I am Jin So-myeong.”

Simultaneously with finishing the exchange of names,

The main force chasing from behind arrived, and almost every single person in the secret realm gathered in one place.

In a situation that was disadvantageous to anyone’s eyes,

He smiled broadly.

And, he deployed Genesis .

The moment he resonated with the lake in the Secret Realm of the Mind and Geum-cheong’s nest,

Crackle…!

A single streak of blue lightning connected heaven and earth.

A flash brilliant enough to be dazzling dyed the world, and a hot gale followed.

In that ridiculous heat,

Three Dao Sovereigns vanished as if evaporating.

If there was a commonality among them, it was that they could not respond properly because their necks had been cut.

“…!”

The other Dao Sovereigns were at least in a better situation.

They blocked the hot gale with the spells they deployed reflectively, and most only went as far as their complexions turning pale.

Those who were close to the lightning strike were blown away covered in blood, but they saved their lives.

By the time astonishment settled in everyone’s eyes,

Rumble!

From the place where the lightning had struck, a colossal tsunami overflowed and swept everyone.

The entire world was submerged in rough currents.

It was not ordinary water; it was water imbued with lightning powerful enough to be difficult to endure even for Jin So-myeong himself, who had deployed Genesis.

Crackle!

Within the pain of his entire body burning up, he laughed.

If he was suffering to this extent, how would the others be?

Instead of suffering, he laughed.

And he absorbed the swirling lightning energy as much as possible.

Just as he was guiding the lightning energy, powerful enough to make his mind grow distant, to the Chaos Origin Wheel,

Sizzle…!

He felt the tracking arrow embedded inside his body melt away without a trace.

‘It is done.’

As expected, his anticipation was correct.

It was an arrow that clung tenaciously, but it could not withstand Genesis.

Just as he smiled at the refreshment resembling a thorn being pulled out,

The blue torrent that was sweeping the entire world vanished as if washed away.

The Genesis deployed by consuming ten trillion points of the Supreme Great Ability was finished.

As a result,

“Keo-heok…!”

Over a hundred Rank 7 puppets turned to ash and vanished, and the Dao Sovereigns spat out blood with pale complexions.

Everyone staggered with shocked faces, but unfortunately, those who died were only four.

‘To think they endured the Genesis deployed in the state of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture…’

Could all of them indeed be that strong?

He wondered what was going on, but the question was soon resolved.

Gok Man, who was closest to the place where Genesis’s lightning struck, was unfolding a gold mirror like a shield.

Thanks to blocking Genesis at the very front, the damage was sharply reduced.

‘That mirror… is the gold bead that was inside the body.’

It seemed it could also be used like a dharma treasure in that manner, besides transforming into a monster when the owner died.

Examining the gold mirror, which was still intact though slightly scorched, he met eyes with Gok Man.

Seeing the slightly trembling pupils, he kicked off the void.

Utilizing the last remaining Silver Lightning, he unfolded the Lightning Escape Art and broke through the encirclement in an instant.

There was no one interfering.

Taking advantage of the gap where the enemies were too shocked by Genesis to react, he left the battlefield.

There was no need to worry about the tracking arrow embedded inside his body, as it had been burned away by Genesis.

The same was true for the formation that suppressed movement; it had long since evaporated in Genesis’s heat.

***

How long did he fly? The surroundings grew quiet.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the leisure created after a long time, he checked his body condition first.

For starters, the lifespan consumed by this Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture was approximately seven hundred years.

Perhaps thanks to the increased proficiency of the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture, the lifespan consumption was small considering how grandly he had run wild.

And the remaining energy after unfolding the Moon-Deducing Dao Scripture was enough to unleash the Moon-Burning Slash three times, which he had safely entrusted to Limitless.

‘By the way, they are indeed not easy.’

Going through a clash, he grasped the enemies’ level at least roughly.

Although this side was superior in instantaneous firepower and mobility, if the battle prolonged, the chance of winning would become infinitely low.

It seemed he might be able to win if he repeated hitting and running short…

The enemies were not foolish either, so the possibility of them bringing out other countermeasures was high.

Thinking deeply, he nodded.

‘As expected, a variable is needed.’

Among the variables currently existing in the secret realm, the largest was,

Naturally, the unidentified something buried underground.

If it was that, which was presumed to be a Heaven-Defying Treasure, the state of the battlefield could be completely overturned.