Jakyeongjeong glared at me with a terrifyingly distorted face.
He must not have expected me to appear all of a sudden.
"Hoo."
I looked at the flute that had come into my hand.
If I had been even a little late, it would have been a disaster.
I didn't know how that guy had entered the core of the fuse and done such a thing, but I heard the purpose from his own mouth as he babbled on.
"Crazy bastard."
He was pretty clearly out of his mind.
He said he did this for some grand cause or justice, but he was seriously dangerous.
Who would have guessed that his real aim was to destroy the fuse and send the eight masters who swore an oath to Wonyoungshin out into the outside world?
— Smart thinking.
If the masters could get out, it wouldn't be difficult to stop Geumsangje and the Imperial Army.
But the masters, because of their oath, can neither leave this place nor interfere with the secular world.
However, Jakyeongjeong cunningly forced the situation that made the masters unable to help but act this way.
— They all look decades older.
Like Sodamgeom said, all eight masters' hair had turned completely white.
Master Geomseon was the same, and his appearance almost resembled the soul (魄) I had seen in a vision.
It seemed like he had consumed a lot of energy trying to prevent that sphere from bursting.
"Must stop that guy!"
One of the masters, the owner of the flute who seemed slightly relieved by my arrival, shouted.
For now, according to the master, subduing that guy was the urgent task.
Jakyeongjeong glared at me and said,
"You, insignificant worm, dare interfere with me again."
"Interfere? You really say nonsense seriously, huh?"
"What?"
"Not only did you betray your master, but you also did this stupid thing, yet you act so confident as if you did something right?"
My taunting words flushed his pale face.
Like me, Jakyeongjeong must really hate me quite a lot.
He said to me with a look of disbelief.
"Stupid? Do you think what I do for the people is stupid? Foolish one."
"For the people?"
"How could a lowly crow like you ever understand the noble will of the white heron."
Did he call himself a white heron?
I was dumbfounded.
From what I see, he doesn't even think he's doing wrong.
He truly believes he's doing the right thing.
He shouted at me,
"Don't interfere with my work. If you've seen the secular world, you would know. If I'm left alone like this, a greater disaster will happen."
"If you want to stop it so badly, why don't you stop it alone?"
"If I could change it with just my power, I would have done it long ago. Even now, if the masters and the fuse's cultivators join forces, we can change the world. We can create a pure utopia where no one has selfish desires."
"So you can't be persuaded, so you want to destroy the fuse?"
To me, he was ridiculous.
If the fuse is destroyed, I will never be able to return to where I originally was.
Because the core scripture of the 36 Immortal Heavenly Position Square Scriptures (參十六仙天位方經文) located at the center of this place is the Yeongbo Pen Method of the Jeongyang Jin-in.
I found this out later.
A medium to sustain the fuse was needed in the flow of time and space, and the Yeongbo Pen Method, known as the supreme magic tool, was utilized.
But if that blazing sphere like the sun here explodes, the fuse will never be created again.
"I'm just loosening the chains that bind the masters here. I don't think someone like you can understand such a noble cause."
I couldn't help but scoff.
"Hah! Now I get it."
"What?"
"They say a crazy man with conviction is dangerous, and you're just like that."
At my mocking words, Master Ha, a female cultivator with lotus flowers in her ears, who was blocking the sphere, chuckled softly.
Because my words hit right on the mark.
"You insignificant worm dare..."
Jakyeongjeong's pale face flushed red.
He looked like he was about to launch a new technique at me right away, but then he frowned and bitterly smiled.
"I almost fell for your trick."
"Trick?"
"To buy time to help the masters here prevent the explosion. Do you think I wouldn't know?"
With those words, Jakyeongjeong turned his body and stretched his hand toward the direction of the sphere.
Then Master Jo's yin-yang plate slipped from under his armpit.
"Damn!"
Master Jo tried to grab it but failed.
Because in the brief moment he tried to pull his hand away, the sphere began to grow even faster.
It meant that if anyone let go here, disaster would happen.
— Uuuuuung!
Master Jo let out a sigh of relief when he saw the yin-yang plate barely stopped.
Meanwhile, Jakyeongjeong frowned and moved his hand.
He tried to throw the magic tool into that blazing sphere with a technique called Heogongseopmul.
But did I intend to watch that happen?
— Parurrr!
I already fought him in a Gongryeok (energy) battle using the flute.
I won the first battle; why would I lose the second?
Jakyeongjeong bit his lip tightly.
No matter how much he increased his energy, the stopped yin-yang plate didn't budge, which must have been very frustrating.
He shouted at me.
"You idiot!... If you had been outside, you would have seen. The tyrant Geumsangje is coming here leading a large imperial army."
"...."
"The entrance to the fuse is open. If the masters are bound to the fuse, the elixir of longevity, Yongho Geumdan, will fall into the tyrant's hands. Do you wish for that?"
He was threatening the masters with the same words.
This is it.
By narrowing the choices and making them aware of it, forcing them to reluctantly choose it.
More than half of the eight masters' expressions darkened as if they were considering the choice.
They seemed troubled.
"I'll give you the same choice. Will you let the tyrant achieve his dream of immortality by preventing the fuse from being destroyed? Or will you give up the fuse and have the masters here block the tyrant and his army?"
He showed a triumphant attitude.
Even I would think the masters would have to agonize over it.
But there was one fact he didn't know.
"Ah. Do you really think Geumsangje will come here?"
"He will come for sure."
He was confident because he had already revealed this place's location and all information to the emperor himself.
If nothing happened, he should be arriving about now.
But the problem was that something did happen.
I smiled faintly and said to him,
"What should we do?"
"What?"
"I don't think he can come."
At my words, he sneered and pressed harder.
"Nonsense. The emperor's army can't be stopped by your power alone..."
"The story changes if the leader is caught."
"Leader?"
One of his eyebrows rose.
He didn't seem to easily believe my words.
"You're not saying you dealt with the emperor, are you? Even if your martial arts are decent, if you faced him, you would never come back."
He spoke confidently.
I took something out from inside my clothes and showed it to him.
'!!!'
The guy's two eyes widened.
It was the token of Seonbyeokjinok, one of the sacred relics he had stolen.
Startled to the point his internal energy faltered, the Yin-Yang Plate that had been precariously hovering before the blazing orb flew toward me.
Thud!
As I caught it, he glared at me as if realizing his mistake.
"How did you get that?"
"You brought it to the emperor as a gift to get in his good graces. What's wrong with that?"
'!?'
At those words, the eight Taoist elders blocking the orb stared at him with grim faces.
Apparently, they didn't know he had even handed over a sacred relic to lure the emperor.
He was once a disciple whom the Sword Immortal Master pitied somewhat, but now even that faint sympathy had vanished; he was utterly stunned.
"You're foolish. So foolish. You think the world is playing in the palm of your hand. Gyeongjeong, Gyeongjeong, bringing you here was a mistake."
For the first time, a sigh of regret escaped from the Sword Immortal Master.
Adding mockery, Master Ha, who wore a lotus in his ear, said,
"There's no need to choose anymore."
Hearing their words, Ja Gyeongjeong's face flushed, almost bursting from rage.
His meticulously laid plan was collapsing because of me alone, and I could feel intense murderous intent in his gaze.
Gnash!
Ja Gyeongjeong turned his head, grinding his teeth.
Then he spoke to the eight Taoists protecting the orb, which blazed like the sun.
"I hoped you would walk the same path as me for the greater cause."
"What did you say?"
"You're forcing me to shed blood in the end."
"Surely you wouldn't..."
"If you spare the masters, you'll imprison me and hide away from the world until the day you ascend. Do you really think I'll let that happen?"
Bang!
No sooner had he finished speaking than he unleashed his divine form at the eight elders.
He was completely insane.
Now, to achieve his goal, he intended to kill the eight Taoists.
But there was one thing he overlooked.
Whooooosh!
At that moment, a gray aura shimmered around him—Seonbyeok, a sacred barrier.
"What's this?"
Ja Gyeongjeong, trapped inside the barrier, turned and glared at me.
This was the power of the sacred relic Seonbyeokjinok's token.
He must have been in such a hurry to overlook that it was in my hands.
The masters knew that once the orb exploded, they would have no way to stop it, so they controlled it carefully.
I approached him trapped inside the barrier.
"Stay still. After I help the masters, I'll personally cut your throat."
No matter what, I would kill him.
He was not someone to be left alive.
But first, I had to help the masters.
If I exhausted more energy, I'd likely age prematurely rather than ascend.
Then, suddenly—
"So, you're the mastermind. If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened."
Shing!
Hearing the sword being drawn, I turned around.
He held nothing in his hand, but then pulled out a long sword from his cloak.
'!?'
At that moment, I couldn't help but frown.
The sword he drew was none other than—
"Cheondun?"
The sacred relic Cheondun of the Sword Immortal Master.
Ja Gyeongjeong smirked bitterly and said,
"The sacred relic Seonbyeokjinok's token is useful, but among the eight relics, the best weapon is, without doubt, Cheondun."
He raised Cheondun.
Zzzzhhh!
Lightning surged from Cheondun, casting a blue glow over the blade.
Ja Gyeongjeong then struck the barrier with the sword.
Ka-dak-dak-dak!
At the moment Cheondun's blade struck, a tearing roar shattered the shimmering barrier.
Through the rising dust, he walked out.
With a voice full of fighting spirit, he said to me,
"You've been training your internal energy relentlessly, but it's all become useless now."
Ssssh!
No sooner had he spoken than his divine form appeared before me.
He swung his sword as if to cut me in half.
I quickly raised Namcheon Iron Sword above me.
Ching-aaaang!
The swords clashed, sending out sharp metallic sounds and intense wind pressure.
Ka-dak!
Like the weight of a mountain pressing down, heavy energy surged through the blade, driving my feet deep into the ground—almost up to my ankles.
'So it's true.'
I had heard Cheondun not only controlled thunder and lightning but also amplified its wielder's internal energy.
Though it was just one sword, the increase was palpable.
His internal energy soared to nearly triple its previous power.
Ja Gyeongjeong sneered at me.
"Looks like you'll die before you cut my throat..."
Grrrr!
The Namcheon Iron Sword, pressed by Cheondun, slowly rose.
His eyes flickered as he tried to push me away with his surged energy.
"Your internal energy...?"
At the moment of perfect energy unification, his power exploded.
Initially, his lower dantian internal energy and middle dantian innate energy were inferior to mine.
What once briefly overwhelmed me was the result of energy unification taught by the master.
But that was incomplete.
True energy unification could only be achieved by breaking through the barrier's wall.
"Grrk!"
Rumble!
The sword that was rising slowly changed position until it became equal.
Panicked, he suddenly kicked at me.
I blocked his kick with the Willow-style stance, which swayed like a tree in the wind.
'!?'
Ja Gyeongjeong murmured with narrowed eyes.
"This is..."
"Chaehwapunggak."
At my answer, his eyes widened.
It was no wonder—the technique belonged to Nam Chae-hwa, a female Taoist who wore only one shoe.
I sent a long dagger into his chest, which startled him.
Pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pak!
Like clouds floating in the sky, the nine successive strikes pushed his divine form nearly five steps back.
Shhhhrrr!
More than the pain, he muttered in disbelief.
"Is this the little Taoist's Guwonmanhwajang?"
"Think that's the end?"
Ssssh!
In an instant, I infiltrated in front of him using the technique Ihyeonghwanwi, drawing a finger technique with my left hand and opening a palm strike with my right.
My left hand carried cold chill, while my right emitted hot fire.
Cha-cha-cha-chachang!
He desperately spread his sword and blocked it.
Ja Gyeongjeong looked stunned beyond disbelief and shouted to the eight Taoists,
"Soreumji's Huayang Seonkwon! Could it be that this guy was chosen as a joint spiritualist?"
The Taoists blocking the blazing orb silently raised the corners of their mouths.
'!!!'
Seeing that they did not deny it, Ja Gyeongjeong's eyes trembled violently.
This must be the first time he'd seen such a thing.
Until now, the eight Taoists supporting the barrier had never jointly chosen a single person to pass on their skills.
This extraordinary event had occurred.
I chuckled at him and said,
"You brought this upon yourself."
Did you think you were the only one scheming?
The eight Taoists united their wills to capture you, the one who stole the relic.
I am the embodiment of that.
Gnash!
Ja Gyeongjeong ground his teeth and then flew backward, keeping his distance.
Then he shouted,
"See who brought this trouble upon themselves."
Thwack!
He raised Cheondun high.
At that moment, thunder sounded from the sky, appearing as a joint hole.
Rumble-crash!
He was trying to unleash Cheondun's true power.
I launched my divine form at him.
"This is the true power of Cheondun!"
Ja Gyeongjeong precisely aimed Cheondun at me and swung it.
In that instant, blue lightning shot through the joint hole, striking me instantly.
Kaboom!
Unfazed, he swung Cheondun repeatedly at me.
His expression hardened as he exhaled sharply, satisfied to see me struck by lightning.
Zzzzhhh!
Step-step!
I walked calmly toward him, despite being hit repeatedly by lightning.
Smiling at his shocked face, I said,
"I'm just very used to it by now."