Chapter 340 : The Shattered World (2)
Chapter 340: The Shattered World (2)
Back in the Middle Realm, Jang Woo-hyun had already experienced what cultivators were like.
There were normal cultivators like Feng Xiaofeng, but he was the exception.
Most cultivators were completely insane.
If Jang Woo-hyun ever got another chance to talk with a cultivator, he intended to tear off their arms and legs first.
'They don't die easily anyway.'
The only reason Jang Woo-hyun granted Lei Yunli's request despite thinking that way was because he trusted the Dragon King's Scale, which had become different from before.
After witnessing Lee Tae-seong's memories, the Avatar of the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon had passed everything it had prepared to the Dragon King's Scale.
The Dragon King's Scale now possessed power completely unlike before.
Even Jang Woo-hyun himself could not accurately judge its limits.
When fighting the five Great Ascension Stage cultivators, including Yang Jeon-gun, the Dragon King's Scale had imitated Yong Cheon-myeong's Microcosm to assist him.
That alone was enough to prove it possessed tremendous power.
Knowing none of this, Lei Yunli entered the Dragon King's Scale and tried to claim it for herself.
Instead, she was caught in her own scheme and devoured by the Dragon King's Scale.
【The Palace of Myriad Immortals serves as both the gathering place and alliance of the True Immortals. It isn't an especially close alliance, but it is indispensable whenever they face a common enemy.】
Having been absorbed into the Dragon King's Scale, Lei Yunli could now practically be considered an ally.
She cooperated enthusiastically and readily shared every piece of information she remembered.
【Besides the world I created, there should still be quite a few shattered worlds remaining throughout the Upper Realm. The power and traces of True Immortals should remain within them as well.】
“You mean leftovers like you?”
【I admit I'm a leftover, but saying it so bluntly is a bit... I'm on your side now— Ack! Wait! Wait! Alright! I won't complain anymore!】
After expressing a slight complaint, Lei Yunli was promptly beaten inside the Dragon King's Scale.
The Dragon King's Scale vibrated continuously for a while.
Only after calming down did Lei Yunli continue speaking.
【...Anyway, if you absorb the power left behind by the True Immortals in those shattered worlds, I can open the path. Consuming this world as well would provide at least a little assistance. Lord Dragon is capable of devouring entire worlds.】
The image of the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon remained within Lei Yunli's memories.
Had she known from the beginning that the Dragon King's Scale was one of the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon's Avatars, she never would have attempted to settle inside it.
Together with Lee Tae-seong, the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon had slaughtered countless True Immortals.
It had absorbed their fragments.
At times, it had even devoured countless stars.
Another name for the Sighing Heavenly Treasure Dragon was—
The World Devourer.
With such an ability, swallowing a world created by Lei Yunli would be effortless.
“What about the races living here if the world is absorbed?”
【The world is unstable anyway. It won't survive much longer. It would be better for them if it were absorbed and its power used for what lies ahead.】
Even after being absorbed by the Dragon King's Scale, Lei Yunli still possessed the mindset of a typical cultivator.
Shaking his head, Jang Woo-hyun spoke.
“Forget it. You said it wouldn't help much anyway.”
There were people living here peacefully.
He had no desire to destroy their world.
“Then how much longer can they survive?”
【About two thousand years. Three thousand if they're fortunate.】
“......”
As expected of a True Immortal, her sense of time was completely different.
That was more than enough time in Jang Woo-hyun's eyes.
He decided not to destroy the world.
After finishing their conversation, he left the world created by Lei Yunli.
Returning to the endless black void, he continued onward.
【The Palace of Myriad Immortals is both the gathering place and alliance of the True Immortals.】
【The enemies faced by the Palace of Myriad Immortals were Martial Gods and beings from beyond the world. They were commonly called Outer Gods.】
【You don't know about the outer worlds? The outer worlds are exactly what they sound like—the worlds beyond our own. Have you ever heard of Closed Worlds?】
【Closed Worlds can also be considered outer worlds. They are worlds unconnected to ours. Once civilization and humanity disappear from a Closed World, it recovers its strength before the Heavenly Gate opens again and reconnects it to our world. However, some worlds fail to recover and collapse completely instead. When that happens, an Outer God is born.】
【Well, calling them gods is a bit generous. It's more accurate to consider them leftovers or byproducts produced when a world collapses. They possess considerable power, but not enough that they cannot be stopped. They're merely troublesome. In fact, conflicts against Martial Gods from the Martial World were far greater wars.】
Thanks to Lei Yunli retaining more memories than expected, Jang Woo-hyun learned many things.
Having someone to talk to also made the journey far less boring.
“What do you know about the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable?”
Even after speaking the name directly, nothing happened.
Unlike before, Jang Woo-hyun now possessed the same rank as a True Immortal.
【Silver Radiant Thousand Hands—the vanguard of the Palace of Myriad Immortals. The one who never retreats. Among all the True Immortals, he always stood at the very front in battle. Rather than relying on schemes or strategy, he preferred crushing his enemies head-on.】
Jang Woo-hyun let out a hollow laugh.
That description was nothing like the person he knew.
Until now, that bastard had relied on one scheme after another.
He had never fought openly.
Even during Jang Woo-hyun's Ascension, he had arranged for the five Great Ascension Stage cultivators to stop him.
The only reason those cultivators, who had not even achieved Lesser Ascension, were able to intercept someone in the middle of Ascension was because the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had helped them.
He had even used those cultivators merely as tools to cast his illusion.
'Vanguard, my ass.'
The Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable Jang Woo-hyun knew was a sinister, underhanded schemer.
'Even his position as the Palace's vanguard was probably just another disguise.'
After all, he was the only one who had deceived everyone else and survived.
That fit him perfectly.
【Although my memories aren't complete, I do remember Silver Radiant Thousand Hands. During the battle against the Immortal-Slaying Mad Demon, he fought at the very front before ultimately perishing.】
Even Lei Yunli believed the Three Thousand Radiant Silver Treasure Heavenly Venerable had died.
But after inheriting Lee Tae-seong's memories, Jang Woo-hyun knew he was still alive.
As they continued talking, Jang Woo-hyun asked something he had become personally curious about.
“Why did the world you created have cat beastfolk living in it?”
【I've loved cats ever since I was human.】
“......”
The simple answer left Jang Woo-hyun speechless.
For quite some time afterward, they flew through the black void in silence.
Perhaps because of Lei Yunli's guidance, they found the remaining shattered worlds much more easily than before.
Each shattered world contained traces of True Immortals left behind as leftovers just like Lei Yunli.
Jang Woo-hyun absorbed each of them using the Dragon King's Scale.
The second world.
The third world.
Neither differed much from the first.
However, within the fourth shattered world, he found something different.
【How dare you trespass upon my domain! Foolish new Martial God!】
The remnant of the True Immortal he encountered this time had retained an exceptionally powerful will.
Its remaining power was also extraordinary.
Possessing strength surpassing even the Great Ascension Stage cultivators, it manipulated the shattered world itself while attacking Jang Woo-hyun.
However—
Compared to Jang Woo-hyun, who had reached the Primordial Unity Realm, it posed no real threat.
【Nooooo!】
Jang Woo-hyun quickly destroyed it before absorbing its remaining power into the Dragon King's Scale.
As he examined the world it had left behind, he realized something.
“This one communicated with the Middle Realm, didn't it?”
【It appears so.】
Even after losing their true bodies and leaving behind only their wills, the True Immortals remained so overwhelmingly powerful that they continued influencing the Middle Realm.
'So that's why nobody fully realized the Upper Realm had become empty.'
They knew something was wrong.
But because the power of the True Immortals still remained, no one in the Middle Realm had realized the True Immortals and Martial Gods were all gone.
【Senior, this world is collapsing.】
Because the lingering will of the True Immortal had continued drawing upon its remaining power, the world could no longer sustain itself.
Unlike the previous ones, it began collapsing.
Leaving the disintegrating world behind, Jang Woo-hyun moved on.
After that, the pattern repeated.
He wandered from one shattered world to another, searching for traces of True Immortals before absorbing their power into the Dragon King's Scale.
Like Lei Yunli, most of those remnants dreamed of resurrection.
Jang Woo-hyun couldn't understand them.
'Is there really any meaning to it?'
Strictly speaking, the Lei Yunli absorbed by the Dragon King's Scale had nothing to do with the original Lei Yunli.
Using humans as an example—
An Avatar was a clone created from one's own flesh and blood while inheriting one's will and memories.
By comparison, the remnants left behind by the True Immortals—leftovers like Lei Yunli—were no different from cut hair or trimmed fingernails.
Even if they obtained new bodies or new power—
They would no longer be their original selves.
Even if resurrected, they would merely become entirely different beings possessing the same memories.
And yet, strangely enough, every remnant of the True Immortals still struggled desperately to gather power and revive.
Whether it was lingering attachment...
Or merely the survival instinct of discarded fragments...
Jang Woo-hyun couldn't understand it.
【Senior.】
Pulled from his thoughts by Lei Yunli's voice, Jang Woo-hyun looked up.
“What?”
【May I offer a piece of advice?】
“What is it?”
【You must be careful when fighting True Immortals.】
Lei Yunli's normally cheerful tone became serious.
【True Immortals control Fate.】
“You mean they control life?”
【Destiny would be a more accurate description than life.】
True Immortals were capable of interfering with and manipulating the destinies of others.
Because of that, they never fought by ordinary means.
“That wasn't what I saw in those memories.”
【...Memories?】
Lee Tae-seong had fought in no particularly unusual way.
He had simply swung his sword.
Used martial arts.
Destroyed everything.
Neither True Immortals nor Martial Gods had been able to withstand his attacks.
'Maybe it's because his attacks were so overwhelming and unique?'
Lee Tae-seong's sword strikes influenced both the past and the future.
Perhaps that alone made him fundamentally different from ordinary Martial Gods.
Jang Woo-hyun continued asking Lei Yunli several more questions.
Even after hearing her explanations, however, he still couldn't fully understand.
This seemed like something he would only grasp through direct experience.
Afterward, he continued moving.
Searching one shattered world after another, he absorbed the leftover remnants of the True Immortals.
Several months passed as he wandered throughout the Upper Realm.
【It's still not enough.】
Although they continued absorbing the power of the True Immortals through the Dragon King's Scale, it still wasn't enough to open the path leading to the Palace of Myriad Immortals.
It couldn't absorb every last bit of power perfectly.
Furthermore, each leftover fragment possessed only a tiny portion of its original strength.
【If only a True Immortal would conveniently fall from the sky somewhere.】
Listening to Lei Yunli's grumbling, Jang Woo-hyun stepped into the spatial rift before him.
His body floated as though passing between dimensions.
The scenery changed in an instant.
The place he arrived at resembled a planetary system much like the Solar System.
Its central star, similar to the sun, had already lost its light and vanished.
Most of the surrounding planets had been destroyed.
Only one remained intact.
On the surface of that planet, slightly smaller than Earth, a brilliant light shone.
Jang Woo-hyun headed toward it.
Passing through its unstable atmosphere, he saw—
An enormous tree towering higher than any mountain range.
The colossal tree, worthy of being called the World Tree, bore glowing fruits upon its branches.
Those fruits, each resembling a miniature sun, were the source of the light he had seen from outside the planet.
Since no sun existed, the planet depended entirely upon the tree's radiance.
Everything beyond the reach of its light was engulfed in darkness.
No trace of life could be felt there.
Yet wherever the light reached, countless trees flourished.
Strangely, the planet contained nothing except trees and grass.
No animals.
No other living creatures.
“Do you sense anything?”
When Lei Yunli remained unusually quiet before such a strange sight, Jang Woo-hyun asked.
【I don't know. Even to me, nothing seems particularly unusual. Why is this planet the only one left intact?】
“You think I know?”
No light came from outside the planet.
Nor did it rotate on its own.
Although it had lost the life of a star, it continued existing through the power of a True Immortal, ignoring the normal laws of physics.
Jang Woo-hyun headed toward the giant tree bearing the luminous fruit.
The moment he decided to move—
He was already standing before it.
“The tree itself possesses tremendous power, but I don't sense anything else.”
Just as he was gazing up at the towering, radiant tree—
Rustle.
Thud.
One of the trees nearby, roughly three zhang tall, began moving on its own.
Its roots rose from the ground, becoming legs.
Its branches twisted into arms.
More branches gathered together to form a face.
Its leaves naturally became hair.
A tree person remarkably similar to Cho Ryeong, the troublesome Wood Spirit he had encountered at Yang Jeon-gun's estate, appeared before him.
Since he sensed no hostility, Jang Woo-hyun simply watched silently.
【O newly arrived God... please save us.】
Meeting Jang Woo-hyun's gaze, the tree person suddenly dropped to its knees and bowed deeply.
'Another illusion?'
Faced with a reaction completely unlike anything he had encountered until now, Jang Woo-hyun frowned.