The Return of the Divine (4)
Not far from the realm of infinity lay Muyangjang.
Cheon Soseon was draining the blood and inner energy from her final victim.
Thud.
When she finally tossed the shriveled corpse to the ground, Yang Sahwi, who had been watching from the side, stood up.
“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat.”
He strode over to the carriage.
As he was about to climb onto the driver’s seat, he turned back. Normally, she would be urging him to hurry because she was hungry, but today she stood still.
“What’s wrong?”
Sensing something was amiss, Yang Sahwi rushed back to her.
“Are you alright?”
At that moment, Cheon Soseon’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a fierce red aura.
The energy was so intense that Yang Sahwi stepped back. Suddenly, an unknown force pulled him toward her.
In an instant, Cheon Soseon had him by the collar.
“You worm!”
The murderous intent in her eyes was so overwhelming that Yang Sahwi shut his eyes tight.
“What’s gotten into you? Snap out of it!”
“Finally, I don’t have to tiptoe around you anymore.”
At those words, Yang Sahwi understood.
“You’ve mastered the Blood Demon Art!”
“Indeed.”
“Hahaha, that’s wonderful!”
“Why are you so happy when you’re about to die?”
“Die? Why?”
Cheon Soseon was taken aback by his reaction.
“Why would you want to kill me?”
“Because you’re insufferably arrogant.”
“Is that all? Is that the kind of person you are?”
“Keep talking like that, and you’ll only make yourself look pathetic. The more worthless I am, the more pathetic it is for you to be killed by someone like me.”
“You mean ‘woman,’ don’t you?”
In an instant, murderous intent flared in Cheon Soseon’s eyes.
Yang Sahwi spoke confidently.
“You can’t kill me.”
“And why is that?”
“Because if you kill me, you’ll die too.”
The intensity in Cheon Soseon’s gaze grew, but Yang Sahwi remained unyielding, even with his eyes closed.
“Inside both our bodies are a pair of parasites called Yeonligo. If one dies, the other dies too. They’re linked to our lives. If I die, the Yeonligo inside me dies, and then the one inside you dies, taking you with it. Check if you don’t believe me.”
Cheon Soseon tightened her grip on his collar, but Yang Sahwi was certain she wouldn’t kill him.
After a moment, she released him. The murderous aura dissipated, and Yang Sahwi opened his eyes.
They stared at each other.
Yang Sahwi had anticipated her betrayal and had secretly implanted the Yeonligo in her.
“I won’t die until I witness the descent of the Blood God.”
Cheon Soseon, who had been silently watching him, suddenly smiled, then retched.
“Ugh.”
A large, worm-like creature emerged from her mouth. The writhing, pinkish creature was grotesque.
Cheon Soseon raised her foot to crush it.
“No!”
Yang Sahwi cried out desperately, throwing himself over it. It was the Yeonligo he had implanted in her.
“How is this possible?”
The Yeonligo was known to be impossible to remove once implanted.
“I am chosen by the Blood God.”
Yang Sahwi looked up at her.
As if to prove her point, Cheon Soseon extended her hand.
“Aaaah!”
Yang Sahwi screamed.
Rip.
Another Yeonligo burst from his abdomen, tearing through his insides. The pain was excruciating.
Yang Sahwi pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding but was momentarily dazed by the pain and shock.
Cheon Soseon mercilessly crushed the Yeonligo.
Crunch.
As one died, the other exploded.
“Fine, I’ll let you witness the moment the world changes. You’ll see just how pathetic you are.”
Cheon Soseon climbed into the carriage.
“Get in.”
As if the time had come, she sat in the driver’s seat instead of the passenger compartment.
“Where are we going?”
Yang Sahwi staggered over and sat beside her.
Cheon Soseon started the carriage.
“To change the world.”
The gates of the Ascension Hall opened once more.
Like a lie, the same twenty people from yesterday stood in line. They all looked so similar that it was hard to be sure, but it seemed like they were the same ones. As the guide had said, they seemed to be reborn in an endless cycle.
“Nice to see you again.”
But no one returned the greeting.
Come to think of it, were these people unable to speak? Or did they only speak when they switched from the Black Demon Army to the White Demon Army?
It was still unclear.
“Alright, let’s do this again!”
I leaped into the air and charged at them.
Swish!
Spinning my body, I swung my sword. Four fell in one stroke. I spun again.
Smack!
I delivered a spinning kick to the jaw of a demon charging at me.
The demon flew back, tumbling with the others behind it.
I launched myself at another demon, striking its jaw with my knee and swinging the Suramyeongwang Sword again.
Swish.
Two demons charging from the sides flipped over and fell. I used my hands, feet, and sword to deal with them.
In no time, I had taken down twenty and rushed forward.
Thirty, forty, fifty, sixty. The same numbers appeared in the same place as yesterday, and I dealt with them as efficiently as possible.
Today, I planned to use only half of my inner energy. Theoretically, if I used only half and returned, I wouldn’t die. If I came with half my energy, I could return with the remaining half, even if the demons I passed revived.
Of course, it was a life-or-death battle, so a mistake or carelessness could be fatal. But I decided to dismiss that possibility.
I handled the second gate entirely on my own today. It was more dangerous, of course. The weapons they used were poisoned, and although I had a body immune to all poisons, I couldn’t be sure it would protect me from the poisons here.
I carefully dealt with them and passed the second gate.
I even took a log with me as I passed through the second gate.
Today, I decided to tackle the third swamp gate differently. From yesterday’s battle, I noticed that the demons ignored the log and only attacked me. At least the demons waiting in the swamp were more driven by the desire to kill me than by strategic thinking.
Yesterday, I moved the log with my energy, but today I threw it to the end of the swamp. Then I leaped onto it.
But I soon realized this method was flawed. The energy expended in the brief moment of landing on the flying log was greater than the energy used to move it continuously. It was as if a large hole had opened, and my energy poured out like water.
Fortunately, the speed of the flying log reduced the number of demons I had to face. I passed through with similar energy expenditure.
I dealt with the fourth gate’s monsters using the Blood Demon Rain. There was no more efficient way to kill these hundreds of monsters.
Swoosh.
The descending sword energy killed them all.
Yesterday, I stopped here and returned.
But today, I had more than two-thirds of my energy left.
I entered the next gate.
A vast plain with a grid-like pattern, the moment I stepped in, a formation activated.
This gate was a formation gate.
It was similar to the formation I encountered when I broke through the Black Land. In other words, it could be broken through with force.
But that also meant it would consume a significant amount of energy.
Before resorting to force, I tried to find the life gate within the formation. If I could find it, I could pass without expending energy.
Having studied formations with Galsaryang in the past, I thought it was worth a try.
If I broke through with force, I’d have about half my energy left. According to my rule, that meant I had to return immediately.
If the next gate was much harder than the previous one, I’d have to break my rule of returning with half my energy.
I set aside my curiosity about the next gate. The gates would continue anyway. It seemed wiser to follow the natural order.
I began searching for the life gate in the formation.
Back in the cave, I went to find the guide, who was cooking in the stone chamber.
“Is it possible to obtain books on formations?”
“If you’re looking for ways to break the formations in the trial, that’s not possible. But if it’s for studying formations, it can be arranged.”
“Books for study will suffice. The more helpful, the better.”
“I’ll get them for you.”
“Thank you.”
I had spent two hours but ultimately failed to find the life gate in the sixth gate’s formation.
Unless I was at Galsaryang’s level, I wasn’t yet capable of identifying the life gate in a formation I encountered for the first time.
However, I didn’t get lost in the formation either. I carefully searched for the life gate, then gave up and returned.
Soaking in the rejuvenating spring, I rested as the guide brought several books.
I began reading them while soaking in the spring.
The guide, who had been watching me for a moment, spoke softly.
“You really aren’t an ordinary person, are you?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Most people wouldn’t think of studying to pass the formation in a situation like this.”
“You’re too kind.”
I knew well that when something significant happens, letting emotions take over or rushing can lead to disaster.
In times like these, it’s essential to remember the saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
The longer the journey, the slower you should walk. Each step accumulates to create the ‘journey.’
With my eyes still on the book of formations, I asked, “Has anyone ever passed through this gate?”
The guide replied, “Not since I’ve been here.”
“And before that?”
“I wouldn’t know about that.”
“Understood. Thank you for answering.”
“You’re welcome. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour.”
“I feel like I’m just eating without doing anything.”
“Haha, don’t say that. We all have to eat to live, don’t we?”
Hearing such a humanizing comment in a place like this made me chuckle.
“You need to eat well to pass the test.”
“Thank you.”
The guide went off to prepare the meal, and I returned my focus to the book of formations.
“Commander!”
The urgent voice of a subordinate soldier made Galsaryang steady his mind. It seemed like every day brought more surprises.
“What is it?”
“Something strange has appeared.”
“Something strange?”
“It’s hard to explain. You need to see it for yourself.”
“Let’s go.”
They said it had appeared behind the main hall of the Martial Alliance.
Arriving at the grand training ground with his soldiers, Galsaryang found the area tightly secured by the elite warriors of the Extermination Squad.
Baekpyo was already there, waiting.
“You’ve arrived?”
“What’s going on?”
“Please follow me.”
Baekpyo led Galsaryang to the side, where a group of warriors formed a protective circle and opened a path for them.
The moment Galsaryang saw what was inside, he was taken aback.
“What is that?”
It looked like an egg, standing upright.
“The Celestial Egg!”
Galsaryang recognized it immediately. According to the Walli Clan, it had been in the underground chamber of the leader’s hall but had disappeared with Cheonsoseon. They had transported it by carriage, and now it had been found in the front yard of the Martial Alliance.
Not just lying there, it was standing vertically, balanced without being embedded in the ground.
Galsaryang’s heart raced. He instinctively knew something serious and dangerous was unfolding.
“Look over there.”
Baekpyo pointed to the edge of the Celestial Egg. It was transparent, allowing them to see inside. At the bottom, red blood was pooling.
“Since we discovered it, the blood has been slowly rising.”
“Rising?”
“Yes, very slowly.”
“When will it be full?”
“Based on the current rate, it should be full in three days.”
A sense of foreboding washed over Galsaryang. It felt as if something terrible would happen in three days.
No, it was certain to happen.