infodatos Chapter 268 : The Absolute One of the Central Heavens Martial World
Chapter 268 : The Absolute One of the Central Heavens Martial World
Chapter 268: The Absolute One of the Central Heavens Martial World
Once Hyeonwol opened the Blood-Realm Connecting Gate and disappeared, the Floating Stronghold that had been absorbing the Energy of the Five Elements also lost its power.
Because it had exhausted all of its strength opening the gate leading to the Corpse-Blood Realm, the spell formation ceased operating.
As a result, the martial artists of the Five-Wheel Five Elements Cult regained their strength and were finally able to display their true abilities.
The previously balanced battlefield began to tilt to one side.
Moreover, the Radiant Light Sect was not only facing the Five Elements Cult.
“Out of the way, weaklings!”
As the murderous monkey Monster Great Sage Tongpung rampaged and Makya Wol swung his chain sickle wildly, the Radiant Light Sect was quickly overwhelmed.
“Surrender! We surrender!”
Yeong-hwa, one of the Ten Thrones of the Radiant Light Sect who had appeared ready to smash Warding Technique Lim Gwan-hwa to pieces, immediately surrendered the moment Hyeonwol vanished.
“Surrender my ass.”
“We really are surrendering! We got stabbed in the back too! We never expected that bastard Hyeonwol to run away like this!”
“Then what’s that thing?”
Yeong-hwa, whose collar was seized by Great Sage Tongpung, hurriedly answered.
“That traitor said he could receive help from the Corpse-Blood Realm. He said he had a contract with cultivators and that they would definitely come to help.”
“The Corpse-Blood Realm? That thing’s connected to the Corpse-Blood Realm?”
“Yes, probably.”
Thinking he had heard enough, Great Sage Tongpung frowned and tried to rip Yeong-hwa’s head off, but Lim Gwan-hwa approached and stopped him.
“She must remain alive if we are to stabilize the Radiant Light Sect’s situation.”
“Stabilize my ass. We can just kill them all.”
Great Sage Tongpung bared his teeth and growled.
People had been misunderstanding him because he lived as a member of the Demon-Slaying Corps, but Great Sage Tongpung was originally an uncontrollable Monster.
The reason people could think of the battle-crazed Monster Great Sage Tongpung as an ally was solely because of Jang Woo-hyun.
But right now, Jang Woo-hyun was not here.
“After tearing all these bastards apart, I’ll head to the Corpse-Blood Realm myself, so you all can get lost.”
“Great Sage, the Corpse-Blood Realm is not a place to speak of so lightly. Merely breathing there would inflict fatal injuries upon living people.”
“I’m going to the Corpse-Blood Realm!”
Ignoring Seon Tae-gyeong’s attempts to stop him, Great Sage Tongpung shouted.
At that, the scattered martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Corps gathered together.
Not only Jang Woo-hyun, the leader of the Demon-Slaying Corps, but even Chosu and Jin Ha-un, whom most of them liked, had vanished.
So everyone was prepared to do whatever it took to rescue their companions.
“Great Sage Tongpung, stop rampaging like a reckless fool. Acting like this will not bring back those who disappeared. We must stabilize the situation here before moving.”
From Lim Gwan-hwa’s perspective, they could not move rashly.
Jang Woo-hyun’s disappearance had happened suddenly, and though the Radiant Light Sect had surrendered, they still could not be trusted.
Who knew what schemes they might still be plotting?
So even if it took time, she intended to prepare safely before taking action.
Naturally, Great Sage Tongpung and the Demon-Slaying Corps did not agree with her thinking.
“You handle your own cleanup. I’ll handle my own business.”
“You do not even know what that thing is or what lies inside it, so I fail to understand what you intend to do. In practical terms, it cannot even be destroyed.”
Great Sage Tongpung and Makya Wol had already attacked the giant red sphere several times, but they had failed to damage it.
“Well, we’ll just figure that out now. I said I’ll handle it myself. And besides.”
Great Sage Tongpung abruptly stopped speaking and turned his head to one side.
Something had been irritating him for a while now.
“How long are you going to keep hiding over there?”
He spoke toward an empty space.
In that instant, the air rippled and an old woman appeared.
Everyone gathered there was startled by the sudden event.
None of them had sensed someone hiding nearby.
Only Great Sage Tongpung had noticed something strange.
“The monkey has sharp instincts.”
The person who revealed herself was a short old woman with an ordinary and kindly appearance.
She looked like someone who could be selling vegetables in a corner of the marketplace without anyone finding it strange.
Yet Yeong-hwa, whose collar was still held by Great Sage Tongpung, widened her eyes in shock.
Seon Tae-gyeong, who recognized the old woman’s face, also became filled with astonishment.
Though they had only seen her once, both knew exactly who she was.
Because she was someone impossible to forget.
At the same time, both of them spoke her identity aloud.
“Dream Heavenly Lord…….”
One of the absolute rulers of the Central Heavens Martial World had suddenly appeared.
---
The Six Great Heavens were called the skies of the Central Heavens Martial World and were powerful beings with few equals even throughout the entire Central Heavens Realm.
Their prestige was so great that their names were known even beyond the Central Heavens and into the World of Monsters and Demons.
After sensing an unknown spell art activating within the Central Heavens Realm, Dream Heavenly Lord had sent a Projection to resolve the matter.
Upon arriving at the battlefield where the Radiant Light Sect and the Five Elements Cult clashed, Dream Heavenly Lord’s Projection listened to the explanation of what had happened and remained attached to the red sphere for quite some time.
However, the Blood-Realm Connecting Gate, created using both the power of the Eight Kings of the Corpse-Blood Realm and the Five-Wheel Guardian God, was not a spell art that Dream Heavenly Lord’s Projection could easily resolve.
Naturally, it took time.
And as no progress was made, Great Sage Tongpung began berating Dream Heavenly Lord.
“Why the hell is some Monster bastard from the World of Monsters and Demons here?”
Even Dream Heavenly Lord, who appeared kind and gentle, could not help but grow angry at Great Sage Tongpung’s constant grumbling from behind.
She was one of the Six Great Heavens.
Where else would she ever receive treatment like this?
And why did she have to be scolded by some insane Monster bastard?
From Dream Heavenly Lord’s perspective, the very sight of that mad Monster speaking casually with humans and wandering around among them made no sense.
Because the Great Sage Tongpung she knew would never behave like this.
“Did you summon him? As long as this creature remains here, even things that should work will fail, so send him back immediately.”
“…….”
She tried speaking to Seon Tae-gyeong, but such a thing was impossible.
To begin with, the relationship between Great Sage Tongpung and Seon Tae-gyeong was nothing like that of an ordinary summoner and summon.
“Send me back? Why? Looks like things aren’t working, huh? How many days has it been now? You’ve been hanging around this thing acting like you’ll accomplish something, but you’ve achieved absolutely nothing, and now you’re taking your frustration out on others.”
“You think this is merely frustration? Fool who knows nothing but fighting.”
“Stop talking and fight me already. You’re just wasting time while accomplishing nothing.”
As Great Sage Tongpung continued acting stubbornly, Dream Heavenly Lord’s expression steadily hardened.
“It is not that simple. You know what may happen if that red sphere is mishandled.”
“You keep talking like you’re doing something grand. But you’ve been clinging to it this whole time and it’s still perfectly fine.”
Great Sage Tongpung pointed toward the enormous red sphere created by Hyeonwol.
“Do you even know what that thing truly is? It is a passage connected to the Corpse-Blood Realm. And that means the Central Heavens and the Corpse-Blood Realm could end up linked together if things go wrong. Do you understand what kind of catastrophe would occur if the Corpse-Blood Realm connected to this place, yet you speak so casually—”
“Ah, I don’t care about any of that. If you’ve got complaints, let’s just fight.”
“…….”
Crunch.
Dream Heavenly Lord unconsciously ground her teeth at Great Sage Tongpung’s relentless provocation.
“Fine. Today, in this very place, I shall teach this monkey Monster what manners are.”
“W-Wait a moment. Great Sage! Heavenly Lord! Please calm down for a moment.”
Seon Tae-gyeong desperately tried to mediate between them, but it was not easy.
“Hero Mak! Please try stopping them. The Heavenly Lord came here to help us, so there’s no reason for them to fight.”
“Hm? What are you talking about? If people disagree, you solve it with this.”
With a calm face, Makya Wol raised his fist.
Seeing that, Seon Tae-gyeong wanted to cry.
No matter where he looked, there was not a single normal person around.
The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Corps were all laughing and enjoying the situation, while even Maeng Ye-ju, who had at least been somewhat reasonable, was merely watching with shining eyes as though some restraint had snapped inside him.
Eon Neung-hyeon and Yoo I-geon of the Sun Palace looked toward Seon Tae-gyeong with worried expressions, but the two, who ranked at the very bottom of the Demon-Slaying Corps hierarchy, could provide no help at all.
“This is not such a simple matter. The Heavenly Lord also seeks to aid us, so what is with this disrespect?”
Warding Technique Lim Gwan-hwa tried to help Seon Tae-gyeong, but—
“You only butt in when it suits you. Go take care of your leader who got beaten up.”
She was scolded into silence.
As the situation increasingly slipped beyond his control, Seon Tae-gyeong closed his eyes.
There was nothing more he could do.
‘At least this lasted a lot longer than expected.’
This was Great Sage Tongpung’s true nature.
Until now, he had merely behaved surprisingly differently from his reputation.
Even Seon Tae-gyeong, who had summoned him, found it strange how Great Sage Tongpung had lived among the Demon-Slaying Corps like an ally.
Honestly, the fact that he was not immediately smashing everything apart right now already showed tremendous change.
‘The Commander has to return.’
The only person capable of controlling Great Sage Tongpung was Jang Woo-hyun.
The same applied to the martial artists beside them currently placing bets because they thought this was entertaining.
‘How exactly did he control people like these?’
Jang Woo-hyun handled them with ease.
If he threatened to leave them behind or told them to get off the Great Thunder Fortress, those beast-like humans strangely tucked in their tails.
‘At this point, even I don’t know anymore.’
There was nothing Seon Tae-gyeong could do.
Having given up entirely and stepped back, he let out a deep sigh in frustration.
At that moment—
Boom!
A pounding sound suddenly echoed out.
“Hm?”
Apparently, it had not been heard by him alone, as everyone’s gaze turned toward one direction.
Boom!
The pounding sound rang out once again.
Its source was the giant red sphere.
After repeating several more times, ripples spread across the surface of the red sphere in concentric circles.
As the ripples continued, Dream Heavenly Lord turned her back on Great Sage Tongpung and approached the red sphere.
Boom! Boom!
As she exerted her power, the pulsations grew increasingly rapid.
‘Someone is opening the gate.’
Dream Heavenly Lord discerned what was happening within the red sphere.
For a moment, she hesitated over whether she should assist in opening the gate or prevent it.
She did not sense anything ominous, but she could not recklessly decide without knowing who was attempting to cross over or what problems opening the gate might cause.
While Dream Heavenly Lord hesitated, Great Sage Tongpung stepped up beside her.
“They’re trying to cross over from that side? Then we should help them.”
“What?”
“It’s someone I know, so stop worrying and help open the gate.”
“How can you say that so confidently? I shall say this again—”
Dream Heavenly Lord stopped speaking when she saw Great Sage Tongpung’s eyes.
The gaze of the monkey Monster, who had seemed like a beast just moments ago, now held absolute trust.
He firmly believed in someone.
“It seems our Commander is returning.”
Makya Wol, who had approached Great Sage Tongpung’s side, was the same.
A famous expert of the Central Heavens Martial World was displaying boundless trust without any evidence or clues whatsoever.
‘I cannot understand any of this.’
From Dream Heavenly Lord’s perspective, everything here was incomprehensible.
The insane monkey Monster living among humans like a companion.
The martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Corps casually approaching her despite her being one of the Six Great Heavens and a spellcaster whose aura was weaker than a martial artist because she was only a Projection.
Approaching Dream Heavenly Lord and her overwhelming presence was not easy.
Indeed, the martial artists of the Five Elements Cult did not dare approach her lightly.
But the Demon-Slaying Corps was different.
Perhaps they truly thought of her as nothing more than the old grandmother next door, because they casually lingered around nearby.
The fact that they naturally assumed whoever was coming from the Corpse-Blood Realm must be their companion was equally absurd.
Judging from the atmosphere, not a single one of them doubted it.
After thinking briefly, Dream Heavenly Lord decided to help open the gate.
She sent power into the red sphere and transmitted a signal to whoever was crossing over into the Central Heavens Realm.
After two i.
A gate formed above the sphere.
As the gate slowly opened—
“I’ve returned!”
A Beastkin mouse with black fur jumped out first.
The others appeared right behind him.
“Commander!”
The first person to greet Jang Woo-hyun was Seon Tae-gyeong, who had been suffering mentally this entire time.
---
“Jang Woo-hyun!”
“Ha-un!”
“Captain!”
As Jang Woo-hyun and the other three returned, the martial artists of the Demon-Slaying Corps rushed toward them.
Even while everyone welcomed him, Jang Woo-hyun looked around as though searching for something.
After scanning the surroundings for a while, he made eye contact with Great Sage Tongpung.
“You didn’t cause trouble, right?”
“What?”
“Thankfully, it doesn’t look like anything huge happened……. But if you caused trouble, I’m sending you straight back to the World of Monsters and Demons.”
“…….”
“The rest of you too. If you caused problems with the Five Elements Cult or broke anything, I’m kicking you out of the Great Thunder Fortress.”
The moment he returned, Jang Woo-hyun immediately began restoring discipline.
“Yeah, get out then if you won’t listen to the Captain. Captain, I remain forever loyal.”
Standing beside him, Seo Ryeom held up the necklace with the red cross and sided with Jang Woo-hyun.
Anyone looking at him would think he was the very image of a sycophant.
“Isn’t that a bit much? Everyone was worried about you.”
Makya Wol muttered resentfully, and Seo Ryeom immediately stepped forward.
“You bastard!”
“You bastard? What’s wrong with you now?”
“How dare you speak falsehoods before him!”
“What falsehoods? And what’s with the way you’re talking?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? While the Captain was gone, you were definitely looking around for another fight. Yet you dare lie before the Commander of the Demon-Slaying Corps and ally of the Eight Kings! If you continue uttering such lies, I, Seo Ryeom, who risked my life fighting alongside him in the Corpse-Blood Realm, shall not remain silent!”
Seo Ryeom was currently in the best mood imaginable.
He was always pushed aside in priority and rarely got to fight true experts, but in the Corpse-Blood Realm, he had fought and defeated a powerful cultivator.
Though Jin Ha-un and Chosu had helped from the side, it was still the first proper battle he had experienced in a long time.
Moreover, without Jang Woo-hyun, without meeting Ian, such a battle in the Corpse-Blood Realm would have been impossible for him to experience in his lifetime.
Thus, his loyalty toward Jang Woo-hyun now soared high enough to pierce the heavens.
“You risked your life fighting in the Corpse-Blood Realm? Mouse, what the hell did you even do over there?”
“Great Sage, please wait a moment.”
“What? Wait? Why are you acting like this?”
“I respect Great Sage, but the Captain has returned and is speaking now, has he not? Even for you, I cannot compromise on this matter. Captain, please continue.”
The sycophant Seo Ryeom respectfully extended an arm, ushering Jang Woo-hyun forward.
While Great Sage Tongpung and Makya Wol frowned, Jang Woo-hyun briefly exchanged greetings with the gathered people.
Then he walked toward the unfamiliar old woman.
She was short and looked ordinary.
Yet her eyes shone with brilliant spirit.
Her gaze was so clear that it was hard to believe she was elderly.
Having witnessed the power of Ian and Baek Jeong-ak, Jang Woo-hyun instantly recognized roughly how powerful the old woman was.
Standing before her, Jang Woo-hyun slightly bowed his head.
“It is my first time meeting you. My name is Jang Woo-hyun.”
“Pleasure to meet you. I am Chu Ok-young.”
Unlike when she looked at Great Sage Tongpung, she wore a smile.
As she examined Jang Woo-hyun, surprise briefly flickered through the old woman’s eyes.
“Some also call me Dream Heavenly Lord.”
Dream Heavenly Lord (夢幻天主), Gujung Gucheon Chu Ok-young.
The moment he returned from the Corpse-Blood Realm, Jang Woo-hyun came face to face with one of the Six Great Heavens and the absolute pinnacle of spellcasters in the Central Heavens Martial World.