Chapter 387 - Salt (5)

Dududududududu!

The entire world begins to shake.

Yuk Rin smiles.

"It was a mistake from the start to accept the throne! Haha, if you hadn't inherited the throne, the barrier of Penglai Island would have remained firm, preventing any external forces from entering. But thanks to you taking the throne, my main body can interfere and take away the core of the barrier!"

He bursts into wild laughter, and I glare at him, trying to quickly connect with my main body.

However, my main body is still in a comatose state, and all I can confirm is that we can't fully escape this world of illusions to exert our full strength.

"I advise you to go and quickly gather the ritual worship scriptures you wanted. Once the barrier breaks, the scriptures will remain in this illusory world forever, never to be obtained again...!"

"Shut up."

I wonder why this bastard is babbling so much. It seems he's trying to confuse me with false information.

'The first thing he said is true, but everything about the ritual worship scriptures is a lie...'

But unfortunately for him, it doesn't affect me at all.

With Yuk Rin's neck under my foot, I look for anyone among my comrades who can help immediately.

Then my eyes meet Kim Young-hoon's.

"Hyung-nim, can you come over?"

Kim Young-hoon, having just regained his senses, seems displeased with something he experienced in the illusion, indicated by his dark expression.

Nevertheless, he nods.

I glare at Yuk Rin.

It seems that after we achieved the formation's objective, this guy planned to drag his main body over while we were trapped and escape with the core of the formation.

"I'll show you that your calculations are wrong."

After exchanging glances with Kim Young-hoon, we reach out our hands into the air.

As our strength gradually returns, we begin to connect with our main bodies.

Connecting with the main body means we can use our qi.

If we can use qi, we can use consciousness, and if we can use consciousness...

"All-Heaven!"

"Surpassing Radiant!"

Executing the single strike of Seated Detachment, Standing Oblivion strike is nothing!

Flash!

The world shakes, and Kim Young-hoon and I shoot our respective strikes towards the sky.

With a blinding ray of light, we break free from the formation of Penglai Island and soar upward, meeting the gaze of Yuk Rin's main body under the morning sun of Cherry Blossom Dragon Sea Domain who is exuding attraction force towards Penglai island.

Yuk Rin's main body.

More precisely, the direct projection of his main body looks at us and sneers.

[Foolish. Do you intend to oppose me? If it were your main bodies, I might have backed down...but with just these avatars?]

"Aren't you also just a projection?"

[Haha, do you think I would bring an ordinary projection on such an important day? Don't do anything foolish and quietly slumber in the depths of the Deep Sea, O Wuji Charcoal King (無極炭王).]

He laughs and calls me by the nickname 'Charcoal King,' as if mocking me for being cast as a charcoal seller.

Kim Young-hoon and I take our stances without a word.

Yuk Rin bursts into wild laughter again.

Kim Young-hoon sends me a heart message.

—Be careful, Eun-hyun. This Yuk Rin is different from last time.

Kim Young-hoon, who had faced Yuk Rin before with the Buk Hyang Fleet, warns me.

Tension is etched on his face.

I swallow hard as well.

[Do you really intend to oppose me!? It is I, who has resurrected the body of Cherry Blossom Dragon Palace Lord and seized the body for myself! I have not only inherited his divine method, but also my own demon abilities I have cultivated. I have fully supplemented my true blood, and now I am no different from a completely pure Sea Dragon!]

"Dear me... I didn't know the Sea Dragon Race was such a terrifying race."

[You should be afraid from now on. At least in the Ancient Force Realm!]

Kugugugugu!

I can feel it.

Even though it's just a projection, it seems to be in a state almost indistinguishable from the main body due to some secret arts. The power of Yuk Rin, who has taken Yuk Ung's body is...

'The same...as Hyeon Eum...!'

Grand Perfection Integration stage.

He is on par with the Black Dragon King, Hyeon Eum.

And so, the battle begins.

[Demon Ability, Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl.]

"...!"

In an instant, Kim Young-hoon and I are trapped inside an ocean sphere with a diameter of a thousand li.

[Demon Ability, Three Hundred Million Jin Sweet Water Peach.]

'This is!'

The pressure rises to a horrifying level, and Kim Young-hoon and I feel our bodies starting to be crushed.

I warn Kim Young-hoon of the next incoming attack and move while exchanging heart language with him.

Paaatt!

Before the demon ability Three Hundred Million Jin Sweet Water Peach can swell us like soaked peaches and kill us, Kim Young-hoon and I quickly escape from the inside of the Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl.

"He's coming!"

"Got it!"

Kim Young-hoon prepares for the follow-up attack of the Great Ocean Thousand Li Pearl as I had informed him through heart language.

[Demon Ability, Extinguishing Mausoleum Raining Heavens!]

Chwaaahhh!

The Grand Ocean Thousand Li Pearl explodes, and each drop of water rains down in all directions.

I deflect every droplet and fly towards Yuk Rin, while Kim Young-hoon evades the rain and raises his saber behind Yuk Rin's head.

In a split second, Yuk Rin locks eyes with me and asks.

[It seems you've fought the Sea Dragon Race before. This is the innate demon ability engraved in the Sea Dragon True Blood.]

"Enough to be sick of it."

I feel him smirking at my response.

[It seems all the Sea Dragons you've met until now were half-wits.]

"What?"

[Is that the only impression you have when thinking of the Sea Dragon Race? From now on, when you think of the Sea Dragon Race, you will be overcome with fear and humiliation...!]

Woo-oong!

A familiar light bursts from his body.

'Damn...'

Kim Young-hoon and I quickly retreat after leaving wounds on his neck and back.

He is about to unleash his domain.

[I am the one...who has reached the apex of Sea Dragons...!]

Yuk Rin's blue scales appear to glow even bluer, and in an instant, his body swells greatly.

Soon, from within Yuk Rin's scales, tides surge like the sea, his eyes turn into an enormous sun and moon, and his mane becomes a storm.

Heaven Tribe cultivators from the Four-Axis stage deploy a canopy around them, and when they reach the Integration stage, they unfold their domain around themselves.

Earth Tribe cultivators, starting from the Four-Axis stage, unfold the canopy inside their bodies to enlarge their physique, and upon reaching the Integration stage, they assimilate their bodies with their domains.

In other words, an Earth Tribe Integration stage Demon King is practically a 'living small dimension.'

On the contrary, Hyeon Eum, who unfolds his domain around himself despite having an Earth Tribe body, is an oddity.

Yuk Rin, who has become a dragon of dimensions, begins to move.

Hwooong—

His first target is Kim Young-hoon.

His tail aims at Kim Young-hoon.

Of course, Kim Young-hoon is not hit at all, but Yuk Rin's strike causes a quarter of the Cherry Blossom Dragon Sea Domain to shake violently.

Kugugugu!

A storm arises in the direction Yuk Rin's tail swung, shaking the Deep Sea and submerging and collapsing the islands in that direction.

Cheouk!

He opens his jaws towards Kim Young-hoon and I.

Bo-oong!

Flash!

My All-Heavens Sword and his Surpassing Radiant Saber emit light, and simultaneously, the Dragon Race's breath, Dragon Wave (龍波), bursts forth from Yuk Rin's mouth.

Jiiiiiiiiiiing—————

For a moment, sound disappears from the world.

We can feel everything behind us in the Cherry Blossom Dragon Sea Domain being swept away by his Dragon Wave.

The only intact place is directly behind where Kim Young-hoon and I had launched our strikes.

Kim Young-hoon is fast, and I am free.

Therefore, under normal terrain, his attacks could never reach us.

However, given the nature of the Ancient Force Realm where a sea domain is trapped in a water droplet, if Yuk Rin launches a ranged attack that encompasses the entire sea domain, there is no place to avoid even if we want to.

As the light subsides, Yuk Rin immediately charges at us, bringing down his front claw.

Kim Young-hoon dodges and lands 108 slashes across Yuk Rin's entire body, but the slashes fail to penetrate his body, which has become akin to a small dimension in itself.

It's shallow.

Kwaaaang!

His claw collides with my All-Heavens Sword.

Kwaduk!

I redirect his force, grab his front paw, and throw Yuk Rin over my shoulder.

Yuk Rin's massive body topples and crashes straight into the Deep Sea.

Under normal circumstances, he would've become lost in another dimension the moment he enters the Deep Sea. But Yuk Rin's body, which has become a small dimension itself, does not sink despite being thrown down. Instead, he stands up on the surface of the Deep Sea by utilizing the characteristic of his body being made of the same dimensional attribute.

Once again, he prepares another Dragon Wave.

Kim Young-hoon and I exchange quick glances.

With just our Seated Detachment, Standing Oblivion avatars, we can only hinder him. Winning would be impossible.

He'd become a puppet in less than a day of meeting Seo Hweol, but purely as a single entity Sea Dragon, Yuk Rin is on par with Hyeon Eum, or perhaps even superior due to the synergy between the Sea Dragon Race and Ancient Force Realm's dimensions.

Flash!

Light is about to burst from his mouth, and in the next moment, Kim Young-hoon and I simultaneously rush under his jaw and strike it upwards.

Yuk Rin is strong.

With just avatars, we cannot deliver a decisive blow.

Moreover, because the main body is partially trapped by the energy of Penglai Island, I can't summon the Three Great Ultimates like I did against Jang Ik.

So then how can we deliver a shock to this creature?

Kwaaaaang!

The Dragon Wave he was about to unleash explodes inside his mouth.

'Indeed. For martial artists, defeating cultivators in this manner is the usual.'

We have to make him injure himself with his own power.

'Thinking back, the Three Great Ultimates were always too powerful, so I never lacked brute force against other cultivators.'

It's been quite a while since I had such a unique experience.

Chiiiiii—

Without taking my eyes off Yuk Rin who is now emitting smoke from his mouth, I step back to prepare a major strike.

Although his Dragon Wave exploded in his mouth, it seems that half of the explosion's power is being recirculated and absorbed back into his dimensional body.

However, in that brief moment.

In the instant Yuk Rin is recovering from his injury, we each take our Starting Form and compose our energies.

Kiiiing!

The All-Heavens Sword hums.

The Surpassing Radiant Saber shines.

The next moment, Kim Young-hoon becomes a Peng Bird that splits seas.

My All-Heavens Sword becomes a storm that cleaves mountains.

And then.

Jeeoooong!

The Peng Bird severs his left arm, and my All-Heavens Sword pierces a gaping hole in his chest dimension.

[...!]

Yuk Rin trembles as if in shock.

[... Is it over?]

However, at the Integration stage, one won't die until their entire domain is destroyed.

Of course, since he's a projection, dispersing his energy beyond a certain level would usually be sufficient. But he's using the power of his main body through some secret art.

In short, Yuk Rin is injured but still intact, while our energy is completely exhausted from the recent strike.

Nevertheless, neither Kim Young-hoon nor I look discouraged.

"An avatar can only do so much."

"So...shall we face you with our main bodies now, Yuk Rin?"

We have bought enough time.

Our dormant main bodies have awoken.

I transfer my consciousness to my main body and open my eyes in my true physical body above Penglai Island.

Kim Young-hoon does the same.

No, it isn't just me and Kim Young-hoon.

Oh Hyun-seok, Kim Yeon, Buk Hyang-hwa, Jeon Myeong-hoon, and the entire Wuji Religious Order have awakened as well.

From directly above Penglai Island, within the Twilight Domain,

I reveal my 19 heads and look at Yuk Rin, facing my Seated Detachment, Standing Oblivion avatar.

[Now then, if I defeat you...after returning to the Bright Cold Realm, I can personally teach Hyeon Eum a lesson, right?]

Behind my heads, the Three Great Ultimates rise.

Kwa-jijijik!

Yuk Rin tries to suppress us using attraction force.

But it's futile.

Yet, the next moment,

"... What?"

I feel the attraction force of misfortune in the sky.

Kugugugugugu!

At some point.

The Salt Crystal Palace that had certainly been on top of Salt Mountain has been pulled up beside Yuk Rin.

Upon closer inspection, Jin Ma-yeol and the clone of Yuk Rin are each using their respective concealment technique and Purple Soul Filling the Heavens next to the palace.

A part of the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens' formula that I obtained from Yuk Rin's mental body surfaces in my mind.

—Purple is the most suitable color to hide in the darkness.

While Jin Ma-yeol's concealment technique is of little use against the eyes of Seated Detachment, Standing Oblivion that Kim Young-hoon and I have, the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens complements the concealment technique, allowing it to hide even in the Plane of Soul.

Jeon Myeong-hoon shouts with a sneer.

[What's the use of grabbing treasure right before you die? You will die here.]

I urgently shout.

It's calamity.

Right now, the great calamity of the heavens is madly sweeping down upon us!

[Jeon Myeong-hoon! Defend, not attack! We must protect the order!]

[What?]

Kwajik!!

Yuk Rin's colossal body grabs the Salt Crystal Palace with both hands.

An ominous premonition peaks.

I see joy rising in Yuk Rin's eyes.

[Behold...the legendary divine method of the Ancient Force Realm, created by the Immortal Beast Xiezhi itself...]

Wooo-woooong!

The Salt Crystal Palace begins to shine.

[Salt Sea (鹽海).]

From the palace, an endless flow of pure white light streams out, creating a white sea in the sky.

[Returning Dew (歸露).]

The white sea in the sky coalesces into a sphere.

Time seems to stand still.

Even though his movements are not particularly fast, the pressure emanating from that sphere makes my entire body tremble.

It isn't just me; everyone in the Wuji Religious Order is visibly shaken and unable to compose themselves.

The only ones who can still move are myself, who has frequently encountered transcendents, and Jeon Myeong-hoon, who faced Heavenly Punishment.

[Jade Heaven (玉天)!]

Tzzzz!

Yuk Rin compresses the sphere he created and swallows it.

Right after, a flash of light capable of reshaping Heaven and Earth bursts forth from his mouth.

[Kuaaaaaah!]

Overcoming the pressure, I leap into the sky and unleash the power of the Three Great Ultimates.

Instinctively, I can tell.

'I can't perfectly block it by just cutting.'

The Severing Mountain Swordsmanship and the All-Heavens Sword, which specialize in 'cutting,' are not suitable to block that.

Then, what should I use to block it?

'Azure Wing Heavenly Shatter lacks firepower.'

Great Mountain Splitting Emperor Technique has sufficient firepower, but it's a method designed to 'trap and disassemble' the target.

In this situation, it is hard to use effectively.

In that case...

'I have only one option.'

Chuaaaa!

Yin-Yang and Five Elements, the energy of seven forces converge into one.

A variant of the Great Mountain Splitting Emperor Technique that I have yet to name properly.

An inverted cone, incomprehensible to Yuk Rin, materializes in my hand and collides with his Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade.

Kuadudududududuk!

Drawing infinite power from the Three Great Ultimates, my inverted cone meets his Salt Sea Returning Dew Jade head-on.