Chapter 422 - What Does a Person Live for (1)

Whiooo-

Moving quickly across the Bright Cold Realm, I connect my consciousness with Kim Yeon.

Since Kim Yeon and I are linked through the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, it's possible to communicate in the case of an emergency.

'What's the current situation?'

Through her consciousness, I receive an explanation that the Nether Crossing Ship is gathering power to perform a dimensional leap into the Heart Tribe territory.

To safely perform a dimensional leap to the Chaos Realm region, even the power source of the Nether Crossing Ship, which possesses near-limitless power, needs some time to accumulate energy.

Though it's called the Chaos Realm, it's essentially a different dimension, completely distinct from the Stable Realm within the Bright Cold Realm.

Beyond being desolate, the further one moves away from the Stable Realm, the more constant the spatial storms become, and terrifying celestial phenomena start to occur frequently. That is the Chaos Realm.

The Heart Tribe territory lies deep within this Chaos Realm region, which is why their main stronghold has not yet been eradicated.

It's no wonder that the two cultivators from the Heaven Tribe were angered when Gyo Yeom mentioned that there was something they desired within the Heart Tribe territory.

It isn't just the issue of encountering a master from the Heart Tribe. It's also the fact that it takes an enormous amount of time just to reach that location.

'Since it's come to this, I might as well use the power of the Nether Crossing Ship and push Kang Min-hee into the Astral Realm with the Mad Lord.'

The Mad Lord will surely know how to draw out even more of the Nether Crossing Ship's power.

"Where is Mad Lord currently?"

I ask Seo Hweol.

Through Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, he would know Mad Lord's location more accurately than I would.

[Hmm, it seems he's currently waiting in the eastern part of the Earth Tribe territory, gathering materials.]

"The eastern part of the Earth Tribe territory..."

The Earth Tribe territory is largely divided into east and west.

In the west is the main headquarters of the True Dragon Alliance, where the corpse of Lofty Dragon True Person lies. In the east is an endless wilderness, largely undeveloped, where all sorts of demon beasts live freely.

'It's my first time going to the wilderness region...even if I ask Seo Hweol to guide me, the guy's blind right now, so while he can pinpoint the Mad Lord's location, proper guidance is impossible...'

I glance backwards.

There, Hon Won is following me with eyes wide open.

"Look here, Hon Won. Have you ever been to the wilderness in the eastern part of Earth Tribe territory?"

"I have."

"Then lead the way. We're heading there soon."

"Why do you want to go there?"

"There's someone we need to persuade there."

"Hmm..."

He furrows his brows and says,

"If you need me to guide you, it's probably better not to go."

"What do you mean by that now?"

"That'll...kurlugk!"

Hon Won tries to speak but instead coughs up a handful of blood.

"Damn...now that I've left Heaven-Earth Palace, the seizures have begun."

"That's..."

"It's the Yin Seizing, Yang Suppressing (陰奪陽伏) secret art of the Taiji Quaking Lightning Body. It's a curse that forces the yin energy to deviate from its path and forcibly suppresses the yang energy to cause an explosion. Jin Wei, that evil thing, cast that curse on me 40,000 years ago using the divine artifact, Calendar Calculations, from the Yin Soul Ghost Sect. As a result, I've been suffering from this curse for 40,000 long years, while Jin Wei's advancement to the Integration stage was blocked, and the divine artifact was sent flying into a distant alternate dimension."

"..."

As I watch Hon Won speak, I suddenly ask him a question.

"Hon Won, do you...to Yeon Wei. I mean, do you have any thoughts about Jin Wei?"

He furrows his brows and responds.

"What thoughts should I have? It was just a political marriage from the start. I had no feelings for it. The only one I gave my heart to was her..."

His eyes become distant, as if recalling something.

"Do you not have any memories of receiving something from Jin Wei?"

He snorts at my question.

"Ha! From that thing? I remember the venomous words like saying Cheon Ra is not real, to not cling to illusions like a fool, and having my eyes gouged out."

He grinds his teeth, his eyes a sharp piercing glare.

"That thing has always taken something from me. My Cheon Ra, my cultivation, my eyes! You ask if I got anything? I received nothing but pain!"

"..."

I observe Hon Won for a moment.

His emotions aren't lying.

He genuinely only has bad memories of Yeon Wei.

However, I find it strange.

'No matter what, before the entity called Cheon Ra appeared, Yeon Wei was incredibly devoted to Hon Won.'

Even when she caused so much chaos in the Ancient Force Realm, at least half of it was for Hon Won's sake when I asked her later.

And yet, he only has bad memories of Yeon Wei.

What does that imply?

'His memories have been completely distorted.'

That's right.

Currently, due to the influence of [Cheon Ra], his memories have become significantly warped and twisted.

I have already seen people from the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect being brainwashed for years by Zhengli, obsessing over banners, and I even have memories of myself being brainwashed by Yeong Seung. Hence, the possibility that Hon Won has been entangled with a being of at least True Immortal rank and brainwashed is entirely plausible.

'At the beginning of the 19th cycle, the power and aura I felt from the name [Cheon Ra] within Hon Won were chillingly similar to that of the Owner of Great Mountain. There are some differences, but... Hon Won might have been living his entire life as a puppet under the control of the Owner of Great Mountain.'

I wonder if Hon Won's mind will ever be healed.

Will he ever be able to escape from the clutches of that tyrannical and arrogant being?

I silently hope that, at least for Yeon Wei's sake, Hon Won can be cured someday. With that, I end the conversation and quickly fly on.

Woo-wooong!

Kugugugugu!

In just half a day, I arrive at the wilderness region within the Earth Tribe territory.

"Now that all my comrades have gathered, let's go to the Mad Lord."

I tell Hon Won to guide us, and he leads us toward the wilderness region.

Seo Hweol, seemingly puzzled, asks me a question.

"... By the way, Daoist Seo. Didn't you say we would be joining up with your comrades?"

He looks around.

"I don't detect any of your comrades in my consciousness."

"We've met up. You don't need to know the details, so just explain in more detail how we're going to awaken the Mad Lord's mind."

As we move, I take the time to link my consciousness even more closely with Kim Yeon.

Through her Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon, Kim Yeon connected her consciousness with the other comrades. As a result, although our bodies are apart, it's as if we are all moving together in the Plane of Soul.

If necessary, I can even use the power of the All-Heavens Sword to summon the strength of my comrades here.

"Hoho, well, if Daoist says so...then let me explain in more detail. First, we will enter the Mad Lord's mind through his Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon. Afterwards, using my madam's ability, we'll retrieve the Mad Lord's past memories. Finally, with my Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, I'll paint over a specific scene from the Mad Lord's past memories, which will temporarily bring him back to his senses. Of course, it will only be for a short while."

"What do I need to do?"

"All you need to do, Daoist Seo, is hold onto the Mad Lord while we enter his mind."

"Hmm...got it."

I nod and accept his suggestion.

Shortly after, in the distance, a familiar fortress begins to appear.

"Hoho. Now then, as planned, Daoist Hon will deal with the puppets of the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress. Daoist Seo will handle [Her] and the Mad Lord, and my madam and I, along with your comrade, will infiltrate the Mad Lord's mind..."

But before Seo Hweol can finish his sentence,

A massive beam of light shoots towards us from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

"...!"

I open my eyes wide as I see the beam and reach out my hand to deflect it.

Kugwagwagwagwang!

"..."

I furrow my brow as I look at my hand.

It's tingling.

This power is definitely something I have experienced before.

A power similar to that of Yuk Rin, the Dragon Race's breath.

Dragon Wave!

With a hardened expression, I gaze at the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Kug-gugugu!

Countless puppets begin to emerge from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress.

Among them, I notice two particularly powerful presences that make me tense up.

[Hu, huhi! Huhihihihihihi!!! Who do we have here! Isn't this our Scorpion-Snake King? For what reason has the great Scorpion-Snake King descended before me? And who's this beside you? Isn't this the kidnapper who took our cute little disciple!!!]

Behind the two puppets, the Mad Lord emerges.

Seo Hweol, standing next to [Her], has a slightly dumbfounded expression as he sees another puppet emitting an aura similar to [Her].

"... What the...? Ho...hoho. Old Man, for now..."

[Alright, you Seo fellows! I'll make both of you into General Seo. I'm thinking of making a puppet with two heads. One with a Seo fellow on the left, and another with a Seo fellow embedded on the right. Wouldn't that be something!]

He laughs maniacally as he returns to the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, and the two puppets with exceptionally powerful auras begin to move.

One is the [Her] that we all know well,

And the other is the Black Dragon King Hyeon Eum.

This is clearly the same monster that once fused with the extremities of an Esteemed One's body, demonstrating abilities close to those of Immortal Arts. There is a high probability that he is also connected in some way to the Blood Yin Realm.

The human form Hyeon Eum, upon receiving a command from the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, instantly releases its compressed body and transforms into a dragon form puppet.

The Mad Lord's excited voice echos.

[Yes, yes, I've decided! Once I capture the Seo fellows, I'll combine them with the 'Black Lord' and create a 'Great Three-Headed General Seo' with the ability to transform into a giant dragon!]

Clink!

Puppet Hyeon Eum's mouth opens, unleashing an overwhelming amount of yin energy from within.

Flash!

Once again, its Dragon Wave flies towards me, and I grit my teeth as I deflect it once more.

Tingle, tingle...

'The power...has gotten stronger.'

"Hey, Seo Hweol. Was this Hyeon Eum fellow always so weak that he could be captured by the Mad Lord?"

Recalling the time when Hyeon Eum fused with an Esteemed One of the Blood Yin Realm, I ask Seo Hweol.

He shakes his head and replies.

"It seems he abandoned his shell and escaped. Anyway, being able to revive in the body of another Dragon Race with even superior attributes as long as his information is intact—that is the one known as Hyeon Eum."

"..."

Something about that statement clicks in my mind.

'Revive with even better attributes...?'

As time passes, the secret art that gradually grows stronger and more superior as it progresses from cultivator to cultivator.

Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

'As expected...could Hyeon Eum also be practicing it?'

It seems likely he escaped using Purple Soul Filling the Heavens after failing to fight off the Mad Lord.

'But Seo Hweol, this guy...'

I glance at Seo Hweol and ponder.

He's smiling, but his expression is unusually shaky.

I sense wariness from the trembling he displayed.

'Is he wary of the Mad Lord? No. It's different. This is more like...'

Then suddenly, as I strike down the approaching Puppet Hyeon Eum, I realize what Seo Hweol is wary of.

'I see. The formula for Purple Soul Filling the Heavens is still there inside Puppet Hyeon Eum!'

I don't know if it was left by the Mad Lord or left by Hyeon Eum, but it's clear that Seo Hweol is wary of Purple Soul Filling the Heavens.

Only now do I understand why the Mad Lord suddenly decided to capture and modify Hyeon Eum in this life.

'It's because of the information I gave the Mad Lord. The information about Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens!'

The Mad Lord, likely in his search for a way to counter Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens, encountered Hyeon Eum, sensed the Purple Soul Filling the Heavens within him, and believed it's the method to oppose Seo Hweol's Tainted Soul FIlling the Heavens.

As a result, he modified Hyeon Eum into his puppet and confidently brought him out in front of Seo Hweol, with the intention of merging Seo Hweol with Hyeon Eum.

'No. His plan to modify Seo Hweol and I into a Great Three-Headed General Seo might just be a matter of personal taste...'

In any case,

I examine Puppet Hyeon Eum with bright eyes.

'Against Seo Hweol, Purple Soul Filling the Heavens might unexpectedly prove effective!'

On the day the alliance is broken,

That will be the day when I force Purple Soul Filling the Heavens under Seo Hweol's throat.

As I face off against the Puppet Hyeon Eum, I suppress the All-Heavens Sword's sharp energy and strike its head with a heavy blow.

Kwagwagwawwang!!

Under the power of the Three Great Ultimates, Puppet Hyeon Eum is driven straight into the ground.

'Fortunately, the level of the controller is low.'

I look at Hyeon Eum and [Her].

The liquid flowing inside him.

It's the [black water] that resided in Hyeon Eum's domain, and in her heart is the power source of the Nether Crossing Ship.

The black seawater and the power source resonate with each other, gradually increasing in power. If the fight would stall for longer, or if the Mad Lord's cultivation realm were higher, making him more adept at controlling the two puppets, I might have faced a much tougher battle.

Paaatt!

In the blink of an eye.

I leap over [Her] and infiltrate the Wonderfully Mysterious Fortress, grabbing the Mad Lord by the head.

The Mad Lord's expression twists in rage, but I swiftly use the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon to link my consciousness with Kim Yeon's, and combining our strengths, Kim Yeon and I infiltrate the Mad Lord's consciousness.

[Your turn, Seo Hweol.]

I take measures to prevent Seo Hweol from invading Kim Yeon's consciousness and connect his consciousness with mine using the Wonderfully Mysterious Innate Heart Canon.

[Hoho, well then. Let's temporarily erase the most terrifying memory that serves as the cause of the Mad Lord's madness.]

Tsstssts—

He connects to the Mad Lord's consciousness through mine.

Beyond Seo Hweol, I can sense the aura of Oh Hye-seo through the Tainted Soul Filling the Heavens.

Sarak, sarak—

The sound of pages flipping in reverse.

Finally, Seo Hweol, Kim Yeon, Oh Hye-seo, and I enter the memories of the Mad Lord.