Chapter 337 : The Second Ascension
Chapter 337: The Second Ascension
“Most of you already know this, but something has gone wrong in the Upper Realm.”
The traces of the True Immortals and the Martial Gods had disappeared.
Their activities had also become scarce.
Everyone gathered here was, for all intents and purposes, an absolute ruler of their respective Middle Realms, so they all roughly knew what had happened in the Upper Realm.
“We don't know exactly what happened either. Ah, although Brother Jang did tell us something. He said all the True Immortals and Martial Gods were probably dead.”
“What?”
“What do you mean...?”
“Wait, wait. That's not the important part right now. What I want to say is something else.”
Son Goku stopped speaking and looked around at the monsters and humans gathered nearby.
“Someone has been playing with our destinies. I don't know exactly what they did or how they affected everything. No, not just me—even our old masters don't know.”
Son Goku plucked out a strand of fur.
Bang!
A Golden Lotus the size of a human head appeared.
The lotus petals slowly unfolded, revealing the figure of a tiny person inside.
Because of the soft halo surrounding her, her appearance could not be seen clearly, but her silhouette made it obvious she was a woman.
“We have been waiting for this moment.”
【We have been waiting for this moment.】
Son Goku and the tiny woman inside the lotus spoke simultaneously.
【The time has come to correct the distorted destiny.】
“Explain it so we can understand.”
Muk Geom-yeong stepped forward.
He did not like the direction things had suddenly taken.
He had come here to help Jang Woo-hyun, yet the monkey monster Son Goku had suddenly begun scheming in the middle of everything.
And now he was speaking incomprehensible nonsense.
【The True Immortals are twisting everyone's destiny.】
“What do you mean they're twisting destiny? If something happened in the Upper Realm, they shouldn't be capable of using that level of power.”
【This has been happening for an unimaginably long time. So long that even we cannot measure it. You probably won't believe what I'm about to say. Neither do I. We still haven't uncovered the full truth. However, one thing is certain. The remaining True Immortals in the Upper Realm are distorting the world itself and even manipulating Heaven's Will.】
“Your proof?”
【These were the final words left to us by Lotus Heaven.】
“......”
Muk Geom-yeong fell silent the moment he heard a name he had never expected.
Lotus Heaven.
That was the title the beings of the Buddha Realm used when referring to the True Buddha—the very first Buddha.
Lotus Heaven was both the Buddha and Heaven itself, the existence that governed everything.
If these words had truly come from Lotus Heaven, then everything being said now was true.
Which also meant...
Something horrifying, something none of them knew about, was taking place.
【We have prepared for countless years to oppose this unknown force. We sent Son Goku for the sake of today.】
The being inside the lotus looked past Muk Geom-yeong toward the Bull Demon King.
She lowered her head respectfully before speaking.
【We need the strength of the Seven Great Saints.】
Monsters.
Beings born from Primordial Chaos.
Existences of disorder.
Unlike humans and every other race, they existed outside the grasp of destiny.
They neither underwent Lesser Ascension nor Ascension, so they were not swept along by the Laws.
To fight an existence capable of manipulating Heaven's Will, the power of monsters was essential.
That was why they had sent Son Goku as soon as the opportunity arose.
And now that the moment had come when they could avoid Heaven's gaze, they were personally delivering their message.
Everything had happened so suddenly that no one spoke for quite some time.
A short while later—
The first person to move was Sambong.
“I don't know whether I'll be of much use, but if help is needed, I'll lend my strength. Though... what exactly are you planning to do?”
“We're going to help Brother Jang.”
Son Goku answered as he looked toward the passage Jang Woo-hyun had created during his Ascension.
“I don't quite understand. How exactly are you going to help Woo-hyun? He's already ascended to the Upper Realm while we're all still trapped in the Middle Realms. Are you planning to have everyone here Ascend as well?”
Even as he said it himself, Sambong knew such a thing was impossible.
Moreover, the Seven Great Saints were monsters.
The concepts of Ascension and Lesser Ascension did not even exist for them.
They continued to grow stronger, but they had been born powerful and were forever bound to the Demonic Spirit Realm.
Those concepts simply did not apply to them.
If monsters had been capable of Ascension or Lesser Ascension, they would have long ago created martial arts or cultivation methods of their own.
Even the Bull Demon King's sorcery had not been learned from anyone.
It was an innate talent that had naturally awakened over time.
【Ever since we discovered the existence manipulating destiny, we have been making preparations. The Buddha Realm will use all of its remaining strength to assist you.】
“So that's why you handed something over to Jang Woo-hyun.”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage walked over to Son Goku and asked.
He had said from the beginning that the Buddhas had helped him.
Now there was finally an explanation.
“Brother, the bastard up there has been pulling tricks behind our backs. We can't just sit around and let him do whatever he wants.”
The Wind-Passing Great Sage nodded before standing beside Son Goku.
His grin stretched all the way to his ears.
“As long as I get to fight, I don't care. If the opponent is a True Immortal, even better. What about you humans?”
Sambong looked toward Muk Geom-yeong.
The Seven Great Saints looked toward the Bull Demon King.
“I'll hear the rest of your plan first.”
With the Bull Demon King's decision, the direction the Seven Great Saints would take had been settled.
“I never thought this would become my destiny as well... yet here I am.”
Muk Geom-yeong also agreed to what lay ahead.
“Just so happens there were exactly eight spots. That's convenient.”
Once both the monsters and the humans agreed, Son Goku and the Buddha from the Buddha Realm hurriedly continued explaining everything.
They had to finish every preparation before Jang Woo-hyun completed his Ascension.
Jang Woo-hyun continued flying.
A day.
A month.
A year.
Perhaps even decades.
He no longer knew how much time had passed.
He simply continued following the dazzling road of light that resembled countless rainbows woven together.
Even as he flew, every martial art he had ever learned unfolded within his Inner World before merging into one.
Simply by perfectly digesting his Thought Fragments and memories, he continued growing stronger.
He flew for another long time.
Then, the instant he thought,
'This is the end.'
A gigantic gate appeared before him.
It was not a gate with physical substance.
It merely took shape according to Jang Woo-hyun's perception.
That gate marked the end of the Path of Light.
Only a short distance remained.
Jang Woo-hyun suddenly stopped.
“Stop hiding and come out.”
【Your senses are as sharp as ever.】
The instant the voice answered—
Jang Woo-hyun was pushed far backward.
Not because of force.
The space itself expanded.
【This is as far as you go, Opponent of the Divine.】
The enormous gate disappeared.
A hole opened in empty space.
Through it emerged five figures surrounded by silver halos.
Each of them possessed tremendous power.
The one standing in the center stepped forward.
His eyes glittered like stars embedded within them.
Jang Woo-hyun knew that man very well.
Even though his appearance had changed, those distinctive eyes and overwhelming aura immediately gave him away.
“Yang Jeon-gun?”
The Asura Ghost Yang Jeon-gun.
One of the cultivators Jang Woo-hyun had encountered after arriving in the world of cultivators.
The pervert who had imprisoned Yong Seo-hui and Cho Ryeong.
The moment Yang Jeon-gun saw Jang Woo-hyun, rage exploded across his face.
A suffocating killing intent surged toward him.
【It's all because of you! If it weren't for you! If it weren't for you!!】
While pursuing Jang Woo-hyun, Yang Jeon-gun had encountered Muk Geom-yeong.
Because of that encounter, he had lost everything.
His countless collected Dharma Treasures had disappeared.
To survive, he had been forced to sacrifice nearly everything he possessed.
Then, driven by revenge, he joined hands with the Ascension Cult and accepted the power bestowed by a True Immortal.
Including him, all five cultivators had reached the peak of the Great Ascension Stage and stood on the verge of Lesser Ascension.
The other four had come because the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had promised them the positions of True Immortals if they stopped Jang Woo-hyun.
Only Yang Jeon-gun had a different objective.
He wanted nothing but Jang Woo-hyun's death.
“Here, I'll kill you—”
【Enough. Your personal grudge can wait.】
As Yang Jeon-gun prepared to hurl curses in his fury, the cultivator beside him interrupted.
【Opponent of the Divine, you shall go no farther. You will die here.】
An elderly cultivator dressed in white robes stepped forward and declared.
Centered upon him, an immense force spread outward in concentric waves.
Space trembled.
The scenery instantly changed.
Before Jang Woo-hyun stretched an endless sky.
Within that clear sky—
Tens of thousands of bolts of lightning poured down.
An entire ocean of lightning filled the heavens.
【The human called Jang Woo-hyun shall never pass beyond this place.】
As the second prophecy began, the red-haired middle-aged cultivator disappeared.
At the same time—
An enormous planet appeared, filling one side of the sky.
Rumble—
With an indescribable roar, the continents upon the planet began moving.
Mountain ranges and forests became eyebrows.
A gigantic lake became an eye.
A human face appeared across the planet's surface.
【It... ends... here.】
The mouth opened.
A crimson energy erupted from the planet's core.
The sea of lightning and the crimson energy blocked Jang Woo-hyun's path.
In response—
Jang Woo-hyun summoned Baekmu.
The corners of his mouth naturally lifted.
Jang Woo-hyun was a martial artist who grew stronger through battle.
He had wanted to move his body.
Now his enemies had delivered themselves to him.
Five Great Ascension Stage cultivators.
There could not have been better opponents.
Without losing his smile, Jang Woo-hyun released his power.
He threw the Dragon King's Scale toward the approaching crimson energy.
The Dragon King's Scale shot forward, pierced through the crimson energy, and entered the planet.
Releasing Baekmu from his hand, the sword dissolved into white mist and vanished.
At the same time—
Countless blades erupted behind Jang Woo-hyun, filling the entire world.
The instant the Five Elements Energy began revolving around him—
Jang Woo-hyun clenched his fist.
KWAAANG!!
The sea of lightning blocking his path was blasted backward.
Standing within one side of the Sword Forest of Dosan, formed from countless silver blades, was a giant possessing eight arms.
Microcosm—
Eight Horizons Heavenly Sword Divine General.
Responding to Jang Woo-hyun's will, the giant swung its sword.
The giant, created by imitating Seon Woo Baek-rin's Microcosm, embodied the very pinnacle of swordsmanship.
It contained every sword.
The first sword—
Swift Sword.
With a single strike, the sea of lightning split apart.
The second sword—
Heavy Sword.
The crushing pressure obliterated the sea of lightning.
The third sword—
Illusion Sword.
A magnificent sword attack filled all of space and tore the heavens apart.
【Aaaaaaah!!】
The cultivator screamed.
The sky disappeared.
Immediately afterward—
The planet exploded.
The earth overturned.
Mountain ranges collapsed.
The oceans boiled.
BOOM! KWAANG! KWAAANG!
At the same time—
Breaking through the planet, tens of thousands of silver-scaled dragons emerged.
Microcosm—
Iron Scale Dragon King's Nest.
It was Yong Cheon-myeong's Microcosm, manifested through the Dragon King's Scale.
Countless dragons burst through the planet and tore into the land.
They swallowed mountain ranges.
They drank entire seas dry.
【No! Nooooo!!】
Accompanied by desperate screams, the cultivator who had transformed into the planet died.
In an instant—
Two Great Ascension Stage cultivators had vanished.
Immediately afterward—
Yang Jeon-gun and the remaining two charged forward.
An army numbering in the tens of millions flooded every visible corner of space.
Every soldier possessed shining eyes.
Every one of them was armed with Dharma Treasures and magical artifacts.
Countless Dharma Treasures moved simultaneously.
Tens of thousands of spells merged together into one overwhelming force.
On one side—
A crimson planet appeared where lava flowed instead of rivers and lakes, while flames replaced the seas.
On the other—
A gigantic tower rivaling the Eight Horizons Heavenly Sword Divine General appeared.
At its summit—
A female cultivator frantically cast spell after spell.
Whenever space rippled, masses of flesh and enormous tentacles were summoned to block Jang Woo-hyun's path.
The power radiating from the crimson planet ignited every blade within the Sword Forest of Dosan.
Yang Jeon-gun's army charged toward the silver dragons.
The tentacled monsters merged together one after another until their size became impossible to measure.
The smile disappeared from Jang Woo-hyun's face as he looked upon the cultivators' power.
“Weak.”
The anticipation he had initially felt vanished.
Only boredom remained in his eyes.
Great Ascension Stage cultivators could no longer satisfy his expectations.
They were far too weak.
Jang Woo-hyun extended both arms forward.
The Taeguk energy that had been rotating throughout the world gathered toward him.
The world split into two.
Black and white.
Yin and Yang.
Standing at the exact center of the divided world—
Jang Woo-hyun drew his arms back and slammed both fists together before his chest.
The divided Yin and Yang merged into one.
The martial art that had left the deepest impression within Lee Tae-seong's memories—
Black and White Mad Demon True Qi.
Containing the profound principle of merging orthodox and demonic arts into one, he united the Yin and Yang of the Circulating Taeguk before detonating them.
Circulating Taeguk—
Yin-Yang Grand Explosion.
Crack...
There was no explosion.
Only the sound of something quietly crumbling.
Then—
Everything disappeared.
The cultivators.
Their powers.
All of it.
Their souls and very origins were annihilated.
Their existence itself had been erased.
They would never be reborn again.
Nothing remained before Jang Woo-hyun.
He gazed silently at the empty space before extending his hand.
The vanished gate reappeared.
He walked toward it.
Baekmu and the Dragon King's Scale flew back to his side.
When he lightly placed his hand upon the gate, which was larger than Mount Tai—
It slowly opened.
As he stepped through, Jang Woo-hyun casually muttered,
“Vermin.”
Even he had not consciously intended to say it.
Unlike usual, his eyes were filled only with contempt.
Boom.
The gate closed.
Jang Woo-hyun disappeared beyond it.